There’s a bunch of places in Hong Kong that sell skewers of random animal bits; these things make for a pretty great snack.
Hui Wing Kee was probably my biggest surprise in quite a while. I hadn’t heard much about this place, other than a reference on a blog to the oyster congee being good (which I didn’t even see on the menu). Other than that, I could barely even find it online.
Though the traditional way of making the noodles for wonton noodles is to make them by hand and roll them out with a bamboo pole, almost no one actually does that anymore. It’s a time-consuming affair, and if a machine can do it almost as well with a fraction of the effort, what do you expect? Time marches on.
There’s a type of restaurant in Hong Kong called a cha chaan teng — it’s essentially a Hong Kong-style diner that, thanks to this country’s history with colonialism, serves Western-inspired dishes (stuff like sandwiches, spaghetti, macaroni soup, etc.).
The curry sauce in the mutton curry at Wai Kee is ridiculously good. It’s one of those things that’s so incredibly tasty, anything you put in it will immediately become delicious.
A pineapple bun is a Hong Kong classic, and with good reason. If you’ve never had one before: no, it doesn’t have any pineapple in it. The name comes from the dome of the bun, which generally has pineapple-like ridges (though this particular one didn’t).
Baked pork chop with tomato sauce on rice is a Hong Kong diner staple, and pretty much the definition of comfort food.
After being thoroughly let down by the internet (to recap: I searched online for good stuff to eat in Siem Reap, only to find a bunch of suggestions for touristy cafes with Western/Cambodian menus), I was just randomly wandering around looking for somewhere to eat lunch.
While walking around the other day, I spotted a restaurant that was packed with people who appeared to be locals. That’s no small feat in a city as crammed with tourists as Chiang Mai.