The Ritual of Food
I'm back in action after not feeling so hot the past day or so - perhaps it was my (gasp!) food adventures?! Yes, I went and ate WEIRD FOOD! Well, ok, just because it's not a ham sandwich, and even that's a bit wild in my book if you put mayonnaise on it... these were some brilliant times with fun people who are local to Hong Kong (read: they really know where to go!). A very chill chick Effat (spelling?) owns a bar called Abyss, which is right around the corner from my apartment. Bartender Jonathan and several other wonderful characters are always around making the night a bit brighter and much longer! And this crew eats some amazing food...
One night about ten of us (Effat, Jonathan and his girl, and several of their Cantonese friends along with Martin, Ricci - a local dj, and me) headed down to the wet markets of Wan Chai. Nestled in between closed meat shops was a dingy little eatery I never would have glanced twice at. The menu entirely in Cantonese, the waiters not speaking a word of English, the ritual of washing your chopsticks and bowls before eating, the plates stacked upon plate of weird smelling food, and the most uncomfortable stools to sit on - it couldn't have been better. The Chinese restaurants in the States don't even start to compare with all the food we had comin'. And we cleared it. I even tried the sweet and sour fish and the bok choi. It's a good start.
Effat's friend Erel's birthday was the occasion for our next outing. This time back to Wan Chai to Kublai's, and my first experience with Mongolian Grill. Effat, the ever gracious host / Jewish-mother type! gave us the introduction: you pile as much of the raw food selection as possible into your bowl, and the chef cooks it. Oh I can definitely do this. All the starches (rice, noodles), salad selections (bean sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms), vegetables (peas, spinach, corn), meat (shrimp, chicken, chicken liver, pork), homemade sauces (adobo, bbq, house weird! stuff), and toppings (garlic, parsley, chili)... all in one bowl. You put it through the window and it comes back in a steamy bowl ready to go. Eat one, make a different combination! Eat more! Excellent experience, even if it was a bit on the pricey side.
I read coming over to HK that meals here are an EVENT. With this crew they're hella hilarious, too... and only the start of the evening.
One night about ten of us (Effat, Jonathan and his girl, and several of their Cantonese friends along with Martin, Ricci - a local dj, and me) headed down to the wet markets of Wan Chai. Nestled in between closed meat shops was a dingy little eatery I never would have glanced twice at. The menu entirely in Cantonese, the waiters not speaking a word of English, the ritual of washing your chopsticks and bowls before eating, the plates stacked upon plate of weird smelling food, and the most uncomfortable stools to sit on - it couldn't have been better. The Chinese restaurants in the States don't even start to compare with all the food we had comin'. And we cleared it. I even tried the sweet and sour fish and the bok choi. It's a good start.
Effat's friend Erel's birthday was the occasion for our next outing. This time back to Wan Chai to Kublai's, and my first experience with Mongolian Grill. Effat, the ever gracious host / Jewish-mother type! gave us the introduction: you pile as much of the raw food selection as possible into your bowl, and the chef cooks it. Oh I can definitely do this. All the starches (rice, noodles), salad selections (bean sprouts, tomatoes, mushrooms), vegetables (peas, spinach, corn), meat (shrimp, chicken, chicken liver, pork), homemade sauces (adobo, bbq, house weird! stuff), and toppings (garlic, parsley, chili)... all in one bowl. You put it through the window and it comes back in a steamy bowl ready to go. Eat one, make a different combination! Eat more! Excellent experience, even if it was a bit on the pricey side.
I read coming over to HK that meals here are an EVENT. With this crew they're hella hilarious, too... and only the start of the evening.
posted by Stephanie at 10:23 PM
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