Dinner @ Luk Yu Tea House, Hong Kong

Established in 1933, Luk Yu Tea House is perhaps the most famous teahouse in Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong doesn't have many famous historical sites so to speak of, Luk Yu probably qualifies as one.



I have been warned that its long established history comes with a matching blase attitude (especially to "gweilos") but I think time has mellowed its old soul. I actually managed to catch a half-smile (or was it just a lip twitch?) from one of the waiters.

We had the soup of the day and they served the soup and its condiments separately, which is swell because most of the time, you have absolutely no idea what goes into the soup. Well, now we know the soup is rich with flavour, thanks to the belly pork, fried fish, “fen guo” and “che dou”.

Luk Yu also lays claim to my first roast meat binge in Hong Kong. The char siew, chunky lucent strips of fatty goodness and roasted pork, crunchy smoky tender ingots satiated my craving for the night.

We also had roasted pigeon, served with flat as a punctured tire keropok. Hmm, taste like very bony baby chicken. If you like skin and bones, you will love pigeon. Me? I love skin, not too crazy about the bones.

One can never too full for tofu, which was crisp on the outside, almost as soft as custard within. Yet against the line up of richly-flavoured dishes, the tofu could very well do with an additional pinch of salt.

Arh, our obligatory plate of greens, stir fried cabbage, coarsely chopped and stir fried with black beans.

Now meet my all time favourite fried rice “yang chow chao fun”. My mouth literally watered at the sight of this great toss-up of egg, shrimp and finely diced char siew. Everyone has their 2 cents' worth of what makes a kickass fried rice.

Use overnight rice.. Your wok must be hot enough for the rice to ‘dance’ off the surface.. Fry the rice and drizzle beaten egg all over it.. No no no.. Fry the egg first, THEN add in the rest of the ingredients..

Any tips from your truly? Nah, i just sit back, relax and ask for third helpings. You wouldn't want ‘fried rice advice’ (hey, that kinda has a nice ring to it) from a girl who has only done it twice- once in home economics class and once in Copenhagen to prove to mum that she wasn't starving to death.



Mini mahjong parlours, marble tabletops, wood paneling, and stained-glass windows in tow, one can almost imagine in her heydays, 24 Stanley Street was the choice venue for well-coiffed spiffly-dressed folks. Dinner at this establishment was satisfying, unfortunately the same can't be said for dim sum lunch. Stay tuned.