I was lucky enough to spend the crossing of 2011 into 2012 with my closest girfriends and my man in the effervescent city that is Hong Kong. Much charm, mystique and elegance all in such small geography.
Food in Hong Kong needs no introduction. Just when we thought we'd played all our cards (Under Bridge Spicy Crab, Yung Kee for Roast Goose, Alan Yau's Betty's Kitschen for the NYE blast-off itself and legendary dim sum at City Hall Maxim's Place), Matchbox Cafe in Causeway Bay topped off our foodie flush.
I imagine if there was a Cantonese version of Mad Men they would shoot a couple of episodes here. And this soundtrack would be playing. This cosy Hong Kong coffee shop or cha chan teng 茶餐厅 made me think of 1960s qi pao 旗袍 - clad vixens enjoying surreptitious meetings with their lovers.
What would Don Draper make of Hong Kong Milk Tea? Shot of whiskey with that, sir?
Food in Hong Kong needs no introduction. Just when we thought we'd played all our cards (Under Bridge Spicy Crab, Yung Kee for Roast Goose, Alan Yau's Betty's Kitschen for the NYE blast-off itself and legendary dim sum at City Hall Maxim's Place), Matchbox Cafe in Causeway Bay topped off our foodie flush.
I imagine if there was a Cantonese version of Mad Men they would shoot a couple of episodes here. And this soundtrack would be playing. This cosy Hong Kong coffee shop or cha chan teng 茶餐厅 made me think of 1960s qi pao 旗袍 - clad vixens enjoying surreptitious meetings with their lovers.
What would Don Draper make of Hong Kong Milk Tea? Shot of whiskey with that, sir?
I embarrassed myself by asking for knives and forks - each table has a drawer full of them!
It's very characteristic of Hong Kong coffee shops to interpret Western food through a Cantonese lens. As funny as it sounds, pancakes with bolognese sauce and an egg sunny side up went down a treat. Enough goo to match a fluffy carb. My pineapple, ham, butter and sunny-side egg pancakes were equally fun. The pancakes also sat in a broth to give some soaky niceness.
My memory hazy with romantic scenes, brunch for two could have been about HKD65 each. Don't quote me on that, just sit back and enjoy.
Matchbox Cafe 喜喜冰室
G/F, Highland Mansion,
8 Cleveland Street,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
香港銅鑼灣加寧街８號海倫大廈地下 Fashion Walk（IT店）旁邊
7 comments:
I wonder whether the insistence on interpreting western food through a Chinese lens is a mark of culinary creativity or stubborn defiance? Or maybe both :D
I miss City Hall!!! Cinnamon used to live in Hong Kong, and I visited her dutifully every summer. (I know, wasn't I a good sister?) Sigh how I miss that place.
Thanks for sharing this find.
Love
Truffle
Sean: Good Question! Probably both! Plus us Asians love our experimentation!
Truffle! City Hall is a national treasure isn't it? Sigh, I would like to live in HK!
When i lived in HK, i went to a dim sum place in Mongkok called 'Tim Ho Wan'....so good! There char siu bao was different from the norm, but soooo good!
Hi Mirko! Yes I heard of THW! What were your other favourites?:-)
In terms of dim sum THW was good and cheap! As for other places I just went to local eateries so can't remember names :(.
Also loved xiao long bao soupy dumplings....
Ahhh sorry I couldn't be of any help!
Love the cheerful sunny side up on the pancakes and bolognese sauce. I'll probably give it a try one of these fine mornings when I make breakfast to see what my hubster's response turns out to be. And if he complains...I'll point him over to this blog post:D
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