Note: this article was, at the beginning, AI-generated, then reworked
Cantonese cuisine is one of my favourites, especially the dumplings and pastries.
Yum cha and dim sum
Yum cha means going to drink tea, while dim sum are the small dishes served with it.
A few common dishes are:
(Note, I really had to look them up)
- Har gow have a thin translucent wrapper and whole pieces of prawn.
- Siu mai are open pork-and-shrimp dumplings. They are denser, saltier and less delicate than har gow.
- Cheung fun are slippery rice-noodle sheets rolled around shrimp, beef or char siu and covered in sweet soy sauce.
- Char siu bao hide sweet roast pork inside a fluffy steamed bun.
- Turnip cake contains shredded radish bound with rice flour, often with sausage or dried shrimp, then fried until the outside browns.
I still sometimes order twelve pork dumplings. My love for dumplings will last till I die.
Wonton noodles
Hong Kong wonton noodles use thin alkaline egg noodles with a springy texture. The wontons are usually prawn-heavy, sometimes with pork, and the clear stock may include dried seafood.
Roast meat over rice
Roast-meat counters usually display their selection in the window:
- Char siu is pork glazed until sweet, sticky and dark around the edges.
- Siu yuk is roast pork belly. The skin is the best part when it is properly crisp.
- Roast goose is fattier, richer and more expensive than duck.
- Soy-sauce chicken is tender, savoury and less fatty than roast pork belly.
You can order one or two meats over rice. Roast goose is usually served in bone-in pieces.
Cha chaan teng: Hong Kong-style cafes
Cha chaan teng literally means tea restaurant. These cafes developed around affordable local versions of Western food, which explains menus combining milk tea, macaroni soup, scrambled eggs, instant noodles, baked rice and pork chops.
A pineapple bun has a cracked sugary top that resembles pineapple skin. There is no fruit inside. A bo lo yau is the same bun served with a thick slice of cold butter.
Hong Kong French toast usually sandwiches peanut butter between thick slices of bread, dips them in egg and deep-fries them before adding butter and syrup. It is much heavier than the pan-fried version common in Europe and North America.
Swiss chicken wings are cooked in a sweet soy-based sauce. Despite the name, the dish has no established connection to Switzerland; its exact origin is disputed.
Hong Kong milk tea has a strong, tannic tea flavour beneath the evaporated or condensed milk.
Shared tables and fast service are common in cha chaan teng.
Dai pai dong
The name dai pai dong refers to the large licence displayed by open-air food stalls. Very few traditional licences remain, although many indoor businesses now use the name and imitate the informal setting.
Typical shared dishes include salt-and-pepper squid, clams in black-bean sauce, stir-fried morning glory, sweet-and-sour pork and clay-pot dishes, many cooked quickly over high heat.
Traditional stalls can be noisy, hot and crowded. They suit a quick, informal shared meal rather than a quiet evening.
Some street snacks
Egg waffles should be crisp around each bubble and soft inside. Sometimes, it’s served with Ice Cream, melted chocolate or any topping of your choice.
Beef offal is a braised mixture that can include tripe, intestine and other cuts, usually served in a dark sauce.
Stinky tofu has a much stronger smell than flavour. The fried outside is crisp, while the fermented centre is soft and pungent.
Herbal tea ranges from sweet bottled drinks to dark, intensely bitter medicinal brews.
Egg tarts
Hong Kong egg tarts usually come with either a crumbly shortcrust shell or a layered puff-pastry shell. A good filling is smooth and barely set rather than firm and rubbery.
Portuguese-style tarts from Macau use laminated pastry and have a browned, blistered custard surface. Hong Kong egg tarts are normally paler and smoother.
Since I worked (indirectly) for BakeHouse, I recommend them. It’s expensive, but they have famous egg tarts (And a lot of very good pastries).
Vegetarian and gluten-free food
Oyster sauce, shrimp paste, lard and meat stock feature in Cantonese cooking, including vegetable dishes.
For gluten lovers
Like in Mainland China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Macau, you can find barbecued gluten skewers. I love them so much. Especially the one seasoned with cumin.
Water
The Water Supplies Department supplies safe drinking water, but a building’s tanks and plumbing can affect its quality at the tap.
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