How well do you know Hong Kong? In fact, how well do you know Kowloon Island? Do you know why is local street stalls called Dai Pai Dong? Do you know what is the meaning of the Pawn Logo? Do you know there is a specific meaning on the direction of where the Tin Hau Statue faces? If you do not know the answer to the above questions, plus if you are a foodie, you might be interested in Urban Discovery's Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk.
The Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk is a food walk design for people who want not merely wandering off the street but an in depth understanding of the city and the local food. It is an interesting experience where I got the opportunity to really get into knowing the 'shady' side of Hong Kong. The wanderwalk is well planned with interesting route, good restaurant choices and knowledgeable guide sharing Hong Kong's culture. It would be a great choice for tourist, expats or even locals to explore more about Kowloon.
The Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk carries out every Tuesday and Friday at 6pm for approximately four hours with five restaurants tasting, drink inclusive. It paths between Yau Ma Tei and Jordan. The wanderwalk costs HKD650 for adults and HKD250 for kids aged betweem 6-16 (free for children under 6 year old).
An information pack like below is given right when the tour started, to give a heads up on where we will be going and as a recap later on to trace where we had been. A surprise dish not listed on the information pack will be revealed throughout the walk to challenge your limits and dare you to try!
The walk is great for a group of friends. Even if you are by yourself, that's okay too as you will meet some friends during the walk! Just like I did!
Our Wanderwalk started at Wong Chi Ka (皇之家大姊小籠包) for a dumpling delight. We had Chicken Vicemicelli with Peanut Sauce, Crispy Radish Cake and Xiao Long Bao. The Xiao Long Bao here is quite nice with delicious soup and thin pastry. Several teas were tasted here but nothing fancy. If you do not know the right way to hold your chopsticks and the right way to eat Xiao Long Bao, you will know after this spot!
Next highlight of our food walk is 'the Noodle Bar' Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop (麥文記麵家). Here, we tried their signature Wonton Noodles and Sweet and Sour Noodles. The wonton is definitely one of the best in Hong Kong. I also love the congee here but we did not have the chance to try it today.
We continued the walk, sighting the 'dark side' of Yau Ma Tei and were told some interesting facts about them. We also walked through the temple street, where I bargain (my life) for a selfie stick!
While we were halfway through our walk, we were told its time for the 'surprise dish' of the night. We were given the choice 'snake soup' or 'turtle jelly'. Being a local born, I had tried both of the options, so I left the choice to my group members. And they chose Snake Soup.
I have never tried snake soup at Temple Street, so I was a bit curious about the place too. The place we went is called Snake King Sun (蛇王新). I never know you can pair crisps and herb with the snake soup, the combination is fantastic! The soup was not gamey as there was not much snake in the soup. Don't be put off by the fact that it is made with snake, give it a try!
We walked a bit further down Temple Street, burned off some calories and were told its time to 'Do the Dai Pai Dong'. We went to Hing Kee Restaurant for claypot rice. Apparently Hing Kee is the most famous one, if not the biggest in the area. (I actually like Four Seasons Claypot next door more.)
Hing Kee Restaurant has several 5 chain restaurants in the area, many copy cats opened nearby so make sure you do not go to the wrong place. As big as Hing kee is, their kitchen is centralised and away from the restaurants. The server will hence push a trolley fully loaded with dishes from the kitchen to restaurants. Interesting!
Hing Kee is said to be the only Dai Pai Dong in the area still using charcoal to cook the claypot rice. and here you can see the prove at Hing Kee's centralised kitchen.
We had deep fried oyster cake which was good but I reckon next door serves better ones. We also had two Claypot rice, Duo Chinese Sausage and Chicken to share among us.
Nothing ends better with something sweets, so we went to a local dessert shop for our last course of the night. I chose Ja Ja, Mixed Beans Sweet Soup which is the signature of Ngor Kee Ja Ja (鵝記渣咋). The dessert was fine but not exceptional.
The Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. I would say the food is not the main focus here as the restaurant choices were not the best ones. In fact, the culture sharing, the interaction between group members and the cheerful guide contributed most to my wonderful experience. To conclude, the Wanderwalk is a great way for expats and locals to learn more about Hong Kong while savouring local foods and meet some new friends.
If you enjoy my sharing above, you can find more information of the Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk of Urban Discovery at www.urbandiscovery.asia.
List of restaurants we went tonight
Wong Chi Ka (皇之家大姊小籠包) - G/F, 122-124 Woosung Sreet, Jordan
Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop (麥文記麵家)- G/F, 51 Parkes Street, Jordan
Snake King Sun (蛇王新) - Shop E, G/F, 36-40 temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
Hing Kee Restaurants - G/F, 19 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
Ngor Kee Ja Ja (鵝記渣咋) - G/F, 22 Temple Street, Yau Ma TeiThe Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk is a food walk design for people who want not merely wandering off the street but an in depth understanding of the city and the local food. It is an interesting experience where I got the opportunity to really get into knowing the 'shady' side of Hong Kong. The wanderwalk is well planned with interesting route, good restaurant choices and knowledgeable guide sharing Hong Kong's culture. It would be a great choice for tourist, expats or even locals to explore more about Kowloon.
The Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk carries out every Tuesday and Friday at 6pm for approximately four hours with five restaurants tasting, drink inclusive. It paths between Yau Ma Tei and Jordan. The wanderwalk costs HKD650 for adults and HKD250 for kids aged betweem 6-16 (free for children under 6 year old).
An information pack like below is given right when the tour started, to give a heads up on where we will be going and as a recap later on to trace where we had been. A surprise dish not listed on the information pack will be revealed throughout the walk to challenge your limits and dare you to try!
Our Wanderwalk started at Wong Chi Ka (皇之家大姊小籠包) for a dumpling delight. We had Chicken Vicemicelli with Peanut Sauce, Crispy Radish Cake and Xiao Long Bao. The Xiao Long Bao here is quite nice with delicious soup and thin pastry. Several teas were tasted here but nothing fancy. If you do not know the right way to hold your chopsticks and the right way to eat Xiao Long Bao, you will know after this spot!
Next highlight of our food walk is 'the Noodle Bar' Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop (麥文記麵家). Here, we tried their signature Wonton Noodles and Sweet and Sour Noodles. The wonton is definitely one of the best in Hong Kong. I also love the congee here but we did not have the chance to try it today.
We continued the walk, sighting the 'dark side' of Yau Ma Tei and were told some interesting facts about them. We also walked through the temple street, where I bargain (my life) for a selfie stick!
While we were halfway through our walk, we were told its time for the 'surprise dish' of the night. We were given the choice 'snake soup' or 'turtle jelly'. Being a local born, I had tried both of the options, so I left the choice to my group members. And they chose Snake Soup.
I have never tried snake soup at Temple Street, so I was a bit curious about the place too. The place we went is called Snake King Sun (蛇王新). I never know you can pair crisps and herb with the snake soup, the combination is fantastic! The soup was not gamey as there was not much snake in the soup. Don't be put off by the fact that it is made with snake, give it a try!
We walked a bit further down Temple Street, burned off some calories and were told its time to 'Do the Dai Pai Dong'. We went to Hing Kee Restaurant for claypot rice. Apparently Hing Kee is the most famous one, if not the biggest in the area. (I actually like Four Seasons Claypot next door more.)
Hing Kee Restaurant has several 5 chain restaurants in the area, many copy cats opened nearby so make sure you do not go to the wrong place. As big as Hing kee is, their kitchen is centralised and away from the restaurants. The server will hence push a trolley fully loaded with dishes from the kitchen to restaurants. Interesting!
Hing Kee is said to be the only Dai Pai Dong in the area still using charcoal to cook the claypot rice. and here you can see the prove at Hing Kee's centralised kitchen.
We had deep fried oyster cake which was good but I reckon next door serves better ones. We also had two Claypot rice, Duo Chinese Sausage and Chicken to share among us.
Nothing ends better with something sweets, so we went to a local dessert shop for our last course of the night. I chose Ja Ja, Mixed Beans Sweet Soup which is the signature of Ngor Kee Ja Ja (鵝記渣咋). The dessert was fine but not exceptional.
The Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. I would say the food is not the main focus here as the restaurant choices were not the best ones. In fact, the culture sharing, the interaction between group members and the cheerful guide contributed most to my wonderful experience. To conclude, the Wanderwalk is a great way for expats and locals to learn more about Hong Kong while savouring local foods and meet some new friends.
If you enjoy my sharing above, you can find more information of the Kowloon Culinary Wanderwalk of Urban Discovery at www.urbandiscovery.asia.
List of restaurants we went tonight
Wong Chi Ka (皇之家大姊小籠包) - G/F, 122-124 Woosung Sreet, Jordan
Mak Man Kee Noodle Shop (麥文記麵家)- G/F, 51 Parkes Street, Jordan
Snake King Sun (蛇王新) - Shop E, G/F, 36-40 temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
Hing Kee Restaurants - G/F, 19 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei
Date of Dining: 24 June 2014
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