Roasted Goose in Tuen Mun

People say Hong Kong is small. Yes and no. It depends on how far you want to go in Hong Kong.

Today I went to Tuen Mun (屯門).

Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is a satellite town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories (新界), Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. For those who spend most of your time for living and work on Hong Kong Island, it’s quite a rare experience to go this far. It may be much easier to go across the border to Shenzhen from Tuen Mun than you drive from the city centre to Tuen Mun.

Hong Kong has 18 districts and you have to acknowledge that every district has its own treasures of food. For Tuen Mun, Hong Kong-style BBQ is quite thing, for example, a local restaurant in Tuen Mun like Red Seasons (季季紅) .

Red Seasons is a Michelin Guide-recommended roasted goose restaurant in Tuen Mun. The restaurant is also well known for its BBQ pork, roasted in old-fashioned stone stove, which is now already a very rare experience in Hong Kong, hence it is also featured by “Discover Hong Kong”, the official website of Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Given the remote location of Tuen Mun, food prices here are apparently cheaper than in Central. Half of the goose is for less than HK$300 and you can choose 1/4 size too.

When you go to Tuen Mun and because Tuen Mun is part of the New Territories (NT), you may see local taxis there are in green color rather than in red, like those you can grab on Hong Kong Island. That’s also quite interesting and may be worth a snapshot.

Btw, do you know Hong Kong also has taxis in blue color? Guess where you can find them?

The Cha Chaan Teng Culture of Hong Kong

If you want to understand Hong Kong, you must also try to understand the Cha Chaan Teng (茶餐廳, which literally means “tea restaurant”, just like a cafe) culture. Every Hongkonger must know his or her go-to Cha Chaan Teng, although every cafe may have quite the similar menu of food.

You won’t expect anything special or surprising at those local cafes. All you want here is just some so-called “comfort food”, for example, a bowl of satay beef noodle with fried egg and toast. I remember during my pre-Covid days I used to travel a lot; everytime when I got back to Hong Kong, I’d like to just go to a local cafe to grab a “standard meal” (常餐), typically beef noodle or fish ball soup.

What does “Home Kong” mean? It sometimes just means comfort food, and that can already make many Hongkongers very happy. Who said Hongkongers are demanding people? No, we are not. Of course, you won’t expect all Hongkongers to go to the same and only one cafe. Choice is important.

See? Cha Chaan Teng culture can teach you a lot about Hong Kong.

The Taste of Hong Kong Memory

This is not just another cafe. This is the most celebrity cafe in Happy Valley

Established in 1951, Cheung Hing Coffee Shop (祥興咖啡室) gains its celebrity status due to a long list of its VIP fans including movie star Tony Leung (梁朝偉) and the “God of Cantopop” Jacky Cheung (張學友). They used to go and grab Cheung Hing’s signature pineapple bun. Of course, you cannot afford to miss a cup of milk tea, otherwise your traditional Hong Kong cafe experience won’t feel compete.

This year Cheung Hing celebrates its 70th anniversary, still on the original location. It’s fair to say this small local cafe is a solid witness of Hong Kong history, from post-war economic recovery, to 1997 handover, Asian financial crisis, 2003 SARS, 2008 global financial crisis, 2014 Umbrella Movement, and so on, not to mention the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic…

People always say Hong Kong is a sleepless city. Actually Hong Kong has been never short of stories, good or bad, but that is Hong Kong, one of the most resilient places on this planet.

When you are drinking milk tea in the local cafe, actually you are also having the taste of Hong Kong memory.

Address: Cheung Hing Coffee Shop, 9 Yik Yam St, Happy Valley

Make An Impact

One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is to see how you can make impact on others.

Real. Positive. Impact.

Recently we completed our #VRforGood program, which involved hundreds of students in Hong Kong including many who had their first-time experience to create something in virtual reality environment. I was fortunate to attend the closing ceremony and meet some students who participated the educational program.

Many of them told me something similar: I'm an art student and I used to read literature only; If it was not because I had the chance to join this VR program, I probably would never thought about learning how to code. I wrote my first line of code, thanks to this program...

Isn't this just amazing? We always talk about hope, opportunity, and how great minds alike can change the world. Changes are actually happening everyday if everyone can keep trying.

Read this story (中文) about those bright students who I believe can someday change the world.

The History of Hong Kong Wonton Noodle

During the post-war time in the late 1940s, wonton (or wantun) noodle and congee became popular in Hong Kong.

There used to be the Big Four families in the noodle and congee business, including “Hung Kee” (the Ho family), “Chiu Kee” (the Chan family), “Chee Kee” (the Mak family), and Wing Kee (the Au family).

Originally from Canton (now “Guangdong”), Mr. Ho Chiu Hung moved to Hong Kong as a migrant worker. In 1946, he set up his first shop “Ho Hung Kee Wantun Noodles Shop” in Hong Kong. From its humble beginning as a roadside food stall in Wan Chai, “Ho Hung Kee” quickly became a household name in Hong Kong.

Mr. Ho Koon Ming succeeded his father’s trade in 1984. In September 1996, the “Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop” (正斗) was founded in Happy Valley, and the same original shop remains even to this day. It also has a branch shop in the Hong Kong airport, clearly a popular spot for many travellers and perhaps their last chance to enjoy the local Hong Kong taste before they take off.

My favourite congee here is the “Double Frog and Chicken Congee”, and it’s always nice to finish with some traditional Chinese dessert.

The restaurant is also well known for its traditional rice dumplings, aka zongzi, especially during the Dragon Boat Festival, which is June 14 this year, also a public holiday in Hong Kong.

Address: Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop, 21 King Kwong St, Happy Valley