We woke up late and reached Tim Ho Wan even later so we totally deserved being stuck in a large crowd. The process of getting a table was slightly different from what I remembered about the Mongkok outlet. At the IFC outlet, we simply pushed our way through the crowd, approached the lady behind the counter, requested a table for two, and were handed the order chit with our queue number scribbled in the corner.
We were told that the waiting time was approximately 30 minutes. We were incredibly famished and really needed some food in our stomach whilst waiting. There was not much in the area near Tim Ho Wan so we succumbed to Itacho sushi which was located beside Tim Ho Wan. We ordered about 4 or 5 pieces of sushi each and indulged in yummy scallop sashimi, perfectly seared salmon, and delicious soy sauce salmon belly.
We left Itacho Sushi after 30 minutes when our table at Tim Ho Wan was ready. When our table was ready, we handed our order chit to the lady before settling down in a corner table. We were very hungry when we made our dimsum orders and happily forgot to review our selection after eating some considerable amount of sushi at Itacho. The result of this oversight was ordering way way way too much.
The barbecued char siew buns were definitely the very best! This is the one thing which brings me back to Tim Ho Wan every single time. The crust was thin and soft, the char siew within was chunky and well-barbecued, and everything together was just amazing.
We couldn't finish the osmanthus jelly and decided to take them away instead. However, the smart me packed the osmanthus jelly in my bag throughout the whole afternoon without realising that osmanthus jelly had to be kept chilled! So when I took the osmanthus jelly out of my bag in the middle of the day, I found a puddle of liquefied osmanthus tea in the container instead.
The pan-fried carrot cake was pretty good. Nicely fried with a generous portion of lap cheong (chinese sausage) and radish inside.
I did not like the beancurd skin roll at Tim Ho Wan. I've definitely tried better beancurd skin rolls in Singapore with more delicious ingredients. The beancurd skin rolls at Tim Ho Wan did not have the usual mix of fresh crunchy prawns and nicely minced meat. They were filled with bland fish paste and soaked in some gravy.
The cheong fun was not bad! Soft, silky and very thin. I liked the prawn dumplings and siew mai too. Both were filled with fresh juicy prawns. The siew mai was exceptionally good because the minced meat mixed with prawns and mushrooms were delicious!
Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central
中環香港站12A鋪(ifc地庫一層)
We went to the Midlevel escalator after that and explored Central. It's interesting to take such a long flight of escalator and check out the rows of cafes, bars, and shops along the street. We spent the whole afternoon walking around, or rather trudging along on our tired legs (which were aching badly after the hike up Lantau Peak because we forgot to stretch), eventually settling down for a drink at Peak Cafe and Bar. We ordered Sangria as that was the happy hour drink but the Sangria was pretty disappointing. The fruits were not fresh and tasted really stale. The bar was decorated in a quaint Victorian style, dark and cool, and it was very comfortable to sit in the bar and chill in the late afternoon.
Visited the famous Lan Fong Yuen which was rumored to be the first cha chan teng to introduce the concept of stocking milk tea. We ordered a cup to try and it was really thick, fragrant and yummy! Would recommend those in Central to come by and grab a cup.
2 Gage Street, Central
We continued to explore Central and found the Tai Cheong Bakery. Tai Cheong Bakery is famous for its egg tarts and we decided to buy one each to try. The egg tart was indeed good! The egg tart was served hot, with a thin soft crust, and a thick dollop of egg in the center. We stood along the street, with a egg tart in hand and a cup of hot Lan Fong Yuen milk tea, stuffing our faces happily with food.
G/F, 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central
We were really full by then but as we walked down the slopes back to Central MTR we stumbled upon Tsim Chai Kee Noodles. Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is a Michelin-starred cafe serving wanton noodles and we heard that their wantons were huge! We loitered in front of the shop for a really long time, trying to decide whether we can stomach another food item in our burgeoning bellies. We eventually decided that we could and ordered a bowl of wanton noodles to share. Oh my, it was super awesome! The noodles were so springy and the huge wantons were filled with large crunchy prawns. I tried a few more famous wanton noodles in the next few days, but Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is definitely the best.
98 Wellington Street
We wandered around a little more, and proceeded to watch the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui. It was close to 9pm by then and we decided that we could have a little supper so we took the MTR to Yau Ma Tei for Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice. It is touted as the best clay pot rice in Hong Kong according to reviews so we came over excitedly. They have many stores along Yau Ma Tei so we found seats quickly despite the crowd. We ordered the chicken clay pot rice. Clay pot rice in Hong Kong uses light soya sauce as a condiment instead of the dark soya sauce used in Singapore. Maybe it is for that reason that I prefer the Singapore version. In any case, I find Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice nice but not spectacular.
G/F, 14, 19, 21 Temple Street & 48 Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei
Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 4 and Day 5!
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