Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sichuan Spicy Fish

February 24, 2008 (Sunday)
Today is Sunday, I went to Tanyoto and enjoyed its signature dish at special price. On a regular day, the spicy fish costs HK$128, but today costs only HK$48 (US$6.2). Other than a good deal, it is a good way to keep warm in a cool weather. Be careful, it is extremely hot and spicy and will paralyse your tongue.

Sichuan Spicy Fish 水煮魚
Hong Kong Chinese Food - Sichuan Spicy Fish

Saturday, February 23, 2008

A Classic Cantonese Banquet

Dinner date: February 22, 2008
Occasion: Anna’s company annual dinner

Number of People: 33
Cost: Don’t know, because I am not the organiser

Restaurant name: Lippo Chiu Chow Restaurant
Restaurant address: G/F Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852-2845-4151
Anna's comment: Though this is a Chiu Chow restaurant, but it also serves Cantonese cuisine, such as tonight. Because we have expacts in our group, we have requested for individual serving. However I still prefer the Chinese food culture of having the dish in the middle of the table, and everybody pick their own portion.

Roasted Suckling Pig 紅燒乳豬
Prawns 錦繡蝦球
Crab Arm 蟹拑
Vegetable and Ham 金腿雙翡翠
Seafood Soup 菜胆花膠响螺湯
Garoupa 清蒸石斑
Sliced Abalone with Mushroom 鮮鮑脯
Roasted Chicken 脆皮燒鷄
Fried Rice 炒飯
Stewed Noodle 燴伊面
Almond Soup with Sweet Dumplings 合桃露湯丸
Dessert 甜點

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Cantonese Cuisine, Banquet


Semi Luxury Dim Sum Lunch

Lunch date: February 23, 2008
Number of People: 2
Cost: HK$260 (US$33.3), inclusive of 10% service charge

Restaurant name: Sportful Garden Restaurant
Restaurant address: 8 Fleming Road, Wanchai, Hong KongRestaurant telephone: 852-2258-7688
Anna's comment: I won some extra cash from a lucky draw last night. So today’s lunch is slightly more luxury than usual.

Pan Fried Vegetable/Meat Bun 網煎菜肉包
Deep Fried Dace Fish Ball 蜆蚧鯪魚球
Turnip Puff 蘿蔔千絲酥
Pork Knuckle 豬手仔
No photos taken: assorted fungus and fish maw, desserts

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Cantonese Cuisine

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Shanghainese Fried Noodle

Dinner date: February 21, 2008
Fried rice and fried noodle are very popular Hong Kong fast food. Shanghainese fried noodle has lots of vegetables in it. I like it a lot and it is economic, only HK$30 (US$3.8), no service fee.

Shanghainese Fried Noodle 上海粗炒
Hong Kong Chinese Food - Shanghainese

Friday, February 15, 2008

Classic Cantonese Fast Food

Roasted meat lunch/dinner box is one of the most popular Cantonese fast food. You can pick from a number of roasted meats, single or dual style. My chicken and roasted pork dinner box costs only HK$27 (US$3.5) with a bowl of soup free of charge.

Roasted Pork & Chicken Rice 燒肉鷄飯
Hong Kong Chinese Food - Cantonese Cuisine

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Why I Set Up This Food Blog?

Historic Eating Problem
Do you believe a food blog author does not eat? Well, I do eat, but not much. I love eating, but just unable to eat. This problem started bothering me soon after I turned 30. Perhaps due to slow metabolism, but no one could explain the reason. There has been a serious conflict between my natural desire for food and my body’s saying ‘no’. However I have been pleasing my mouth, and ignoring my body’s refusal of food. So my stomach is always full to overload like an airborne balloon. In March 2006, just before I turn 50, I took an important step in my life as to change my eating habit.

Change of Eating Habit
Actually over the past 20 years, doctors, dietitians and friends suggested hundreds of ways to correct my problem. Somehow I found only one way work for me – fasting. At the beginning, I went on a 6-day juice fasting. I lost 6 pounds out of that. Over the course of the next six months, I lost a total of 20 pounds.


Loss Weight As A Result of Intermittent Fasting
After the initial compulsory fasting, I target for one meal a day. I set up a food diary to record my eating history. On average, I skip 18 to 23 meals in a month. In some days, I replace a meal by snacks, a fruit or a glass of juice.

A Food Blog Idea
For someone who is only able to eat one meal a day, every meal is very important in terms of what to eat, where to eat and with whom to eat. This has led to an idea of setting up a food blog to record all my favourite foods. On any day when I am totally unable to eat, I just look at my blog and review my food photos and gain some satisfaction out of them.


A side objective of my blog is that some expact friends told me that they found it difficult to look for Chinese food websites written in English. I have therefore decided to make my blog bilingual and including the restaurant names and how much I spend on each meal just to make additional sense to travelers.

Who Else Wants to Lose Weight the Easy however Scientific Way?

During the course of my intermittent fasting, my colleagues and friends consulted me for weight-losing tips when they noticed the change in my appearance. I can only produce one answer – fasting – intermittent fasting – this is absolutely an easy way of losing weight which is backed up by scientific research.

Please understand…my blog is not to convince you to adapt my way of eating at all. Although I fast most of the time, but if I feel I need food…I eat. Fasting isn't about starving myself and it is out of my natural need for food. Of course this won’t happen overnight. I took time to build up this eating habit. Please don't eat this way until you have a deep understanding of the diet.


There is a book called Eat Stop Eat written by Brad Pilon. I was amazed that his intermittent fasting program is actually what I have been practicing since 2006. If you are interested in the scientific research behind the use of intermittent fasting for weight loss then you should find this book to be both up to date and accurate.

Brad Pilon is a nutrition professional. His graduate studies were about nutritional sciences specializing in the use of short term fasting for weight loss. Click here to check out Eat Stop Eat.


Hong Kong Chinese Food - Intermittent Fasting

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Afternoon Tea Set - Extremely Good Deal

After the Chinese New Year holiday, I am quite overloaded. Today, I decide to go on semi fasting. A tea set becomes my food for the day. Tea time (2.30pm - 5.30pm) is a good time to eat good food with little money. My tea set at Cafe de Coral costs only HK$18 (US$2.3).

Roasted Pork with Rice Noodle in Soup 义燒湯米
Hot drink of my choice (surcharge of HK$3 for a cold drink)
Hong Kong Milk Tea 熱奶茶
Hong Kong Chinese Food - Fast Food, Cantonese Style

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Sesame Balls Signifies Treasures Rolling In

February 9, 2008 (Saturday)
Today is the third day of Chinese New Year. Foods that carry good meaning are popular dishes. Jiandui (sesame ball) in Cantonese means treasure rolls towards your house.

煎堆碌碌,金銀滿屋
Jiandui (Deep Fried Sesame Balls) Hong Kong Chinese New Year Food

Friday, February 8, 2008

Home Made Chinese New Year Food

February 8, 2008 (Friday)
Today is the second day of Chinese New Year, as a tradition, we have a delicious home-made lunch. One important must-dish is a Vegetarian Platter. This in Cantonese means 'a good start'. In the afternoon, we felt not happy enough, so we went to the market and buy ingredients to make our own turnip pudding, which carries the meaning of 'growth'. These are the two most traditional Cantonese Chinese New Year foods.

Vegetarian Platter 羅漢齊
開齊 means 'a good start'

Turnip Pudding 蘿蔔糕
糕 sounds 高 which means 'growth'

Hong Kong Chinese New Year Food - Home Made Dishes

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Chinese New Year Dim Sum Lunch

Lunch date: February 7, 2008
Occasion: Anna’s Family New Year Gathering

Number of People: 15
Cost: HK$1,056 (US$135), inclusive 10% service charge

Restaurant name: Hoi Tin (Asia) Harbour Restaurant
Anna's comment: It is my family’s tradition of getting together on the first day of Chinese New Year. The name of the foods are given in a good sense the Cantonese way, such as:
* Fish – surplus
* Tongue – profit
* Knuckle – lucky money
* Oyster – lots of business


Cantonese enjoy family gathering with lots of dim sum.
This is just part of them. 滿枱點心最開心
Fish Balls (lots of surplus) 髮菜鯪魚球
Pig's Tongue (lots of profit) 大吉大利
Pig's Knuckle (lucky money come the easy way) 橫財就手

Pig's Knuckle in close up 橫財就手

Hong Kong Chinese New Year - Cantonese Dim Sum

Chinese New Year Eve Hot Pot Dinner 2008

Dinner date: February 6, 2008
Occasion: Chinese New Year Eve Dinner

Number of People: Two
Cost: HK$590 (US$75.6), inclusive of 10% service charge
Restaurant name: Tanyoto Restaurant Hong Kong Branch
Restaurant address: 129-135 Johonston Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852-2893-9268
Anna's comment: Hong Kong has been continuously freezing. We’ve decided to go for an authentic Sichuan spicy hot pot dinner on our new year eve, but had to book a week in advance. Nothing is better than a spicy hot pot dinner to keep warm. As the name of this Sichuan restaurant denotes – Tanyoto (Tam’s Fish Head) - we ordered the signature dish of fish head which was extremely smooth and yummy. Our five-course hot pot dinner menu included:
* Fish Head
* Sliced Fish Fillet
* Giant American Oyster
* Sliced Beef
* Vegetable

Soup Base - Dual Style - Fish Soup/Spicy Soup 鴛鴦湯底 魚湯,麻辣湯
Tomato soup is also very popular 蕃茄湯都好多人要
Signature Dish - Fish Head 譚魚頭,是這裏的招牌菜

Sliced Fish Fillet 龍躉魚片

Giant Oyster 美國桶豪

Sliced Beef 手切肥牛

Vegetable 皇帝菜
波菜未有拍照 Seasoning Bowl 味碗,每位10元
Soup base is added to the bowl

熱騰騰的火煱,保暖最好! 不過要成個禮拜前訂枱
Video - Boiling soup - best to keep warm
Hong Kong has been between 8°C and 10°C in the past two weeks.
We are struggling to keep warm, hot pot is one of the best way.
看看火煱如何熱辣辣

Hong Kong Chinese New Year 2008

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Sichuan Fast Food

Dinner date: February 5, 2008
Cost: HK$33 (US$4.2)

My 2-course Sichuan fast food dinner costs only HK$30. I only pay an extra HK$3 for a drink of my choice. Weather has been continuously cold in Hong Kong, spicy food is a good way to keep warm.

Soup of the Day
Sichuan Spicy Beancurd with Vegetable Rice 麻婆豆付菜飯
Lemon Tea
An extra free mug of tea

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Sichuan Spicy Beancurd

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Cantonese Fish Means Surplus

As Chinese New Year is approaching (Feb 7, 2008), my sister gave me a very meaningful souvenior after our hot pot dinner - a home made pan fried fish cake. In Cantonese, 'fish' carries the same pronounciation as 'surplus'. I have to put the fish cake in my fridge over Chinese New Year to signify that I have surplus over the past year. Many Cantonese families in Hong Kong have the same practice.


Home Made Pan Fried Fish Cake - 煎魚餅
Hong Kong Food Blog - Cantonese Home Made Festival Food

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Everybody Go Hot Pot

Dinner date: February 2, 2008
Today Hong Kong has only 8°C. Everybody go hot pot. All hot pot restaurants are fully booked. We have therefore decided to DIY at home. Our electric rice cooker becomes our hot pot. Here's our five course hot pot dinner:

  • Canadian Angus sliced beef
  • Assorted meat balls
  • Beancurd
  • Vegetable
  • Noodle

After all, we made a cup of Japanese tea. Nothing is better than something hot in a cold winter night.

Canadian Angus Beef 加拿大安格斯肥牛



Enjoy home-made hot pot with a smiling face
Hong Kong Food Blog - Cantonese Hot Pot Dinner

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