上海飽餃店  

This small 10 seater open kitchen in Hung Hom defines why I love the food culture in Hong Kong, and why I started blogging. It's cheap, it's easy, it's local and its really bloody delicious. The menu is limited to basically what you see placarded on the walls (with pictures for those of you without cantonese), every single item being dumplings except the excellent spring onion pizza. I shuffle in and find a seat (no wait, a crate) to sit on with a very small amount of table space. No one really takes your order, you kinda just yell what you want in the direction of the kitchen and they'll make a mental note of it (so far they've never forgotten anything). The staff are all very friendly, and don't at all mind my imperfect cantonese. First to come at me are the excellent Sheng Jiang Bao ($14HKD), big plump doughy dumplings filled with pork, scallions and soup, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. By far the most carb heavy of the dumpling repertoire, but fantastic with beer. The Xiao Long Bao are steamed to order, and are all made fresh each morning ($16HKD). The skin is soft, moist and imperfectly put together. Din Tai Fung devotees, get ready for a shock: these roughly made unpretentious dumplings beat the pants off the ever-reliable xiao long bao from both din tai fung and crystal jade (the king and queen of xiao long bao makers, respectively). The soup inside is well proportioned and salty, purely heavenly. The skin also doesn't droop with the weight of the soup like a Din Tai Fung example might, as the skin is a little thicker and the soup and the meat doesn't separate as much (probably due to less time under steam). These guys are so tasty that I take them without vinegar, soy, or ginger (which isn't offered anyway). The fried pork and chive wo tip ($14HKD) are a textural delight, soft skins that tightly hug and contort the filling, and freshly pan fried bottoms with a purposeful crunch that induce a large dopamine release in the brain. Lastly, the only non-dumpling item on their menu, a big hearty slice of warm spring onion pancake ($5HKD), which really is more like a pizza. Deliciously crunchy, and laced on the outside with smatterings of sesame seeds the sandy remnants of a generous sprinkle of flour through the baking process give this friendly slice a kind of italian foccacia taste. Except you're eating it with chopsticks, which isn't very italian (or easy). All that food for $49 HKD not only makes this one of Hong Kong's tastiest local eateries, but also one of the cheapest. Located in a fairly nondescript street in Hung Hom (map on openrice), it's a bit of a trek unless you live in the area or studying at the nearby Polytechnic Uni. For me, the trek from Kowloon Tong is worth it every single time. These guys in here are worth supporting too, they work hard all day pumping out this excellent food for not much money, in fairly cramped conditions. And here's an insider tip, if you go around 9.30PM when they close, they'll give you all of their unsold dumplings of the day for a crazy price.