A Centre of kitchenware – Shanghai Street, Hong Kong

I just finished a relaxed and joyful vacation in Hong Kong during the Christmas holidays.  Since I love eating and enjoy cooking very much, I always spent time on walking around wet markets and shops which sell cutlery, tableware and cooking utensils in the trip. 

I like wandering along Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei.  It is like a centre of kitchenware.  I took MTR to Yau Ma Tei Station and started walking towards Shanghai Street from Exit C. I walked along Man Ming Lane and reached Shanghai Street.  There are over thirty traditional Chinese kitchenware shops which are selling everything from professional kitchenware for food and beverage industry to daily use kitchen utensils like Chinese knifes and chopping boards, bamboo steamers, chopsticks, woks, bowls, plates, cake tins, moulds, baking trays, etc.  The locals like going there to buy kitchenware. 

I love this place very much. I like chatting with the sales assistants about how to use the different types of kitchenware.  Most of them are friendly and helpful.  I am very interested in knowing how to choose a Chinese chopping board and its materials used. There are three main types of Chinese chopping boards which are made of wood, bamboo and plastic. I like the traditional round wooden chopping board. My grandma liked using it very much.  It is very heavy but it is more durable with reasonable price. The staff at “Man Kee Chopping Board" (萬記砧板) gave me professional advice on the choices of right chopping board and tools as well.  I wanted to buy a chopping board but it is quite heavy.  It is at least 3-4 kg depending on the size you like but I only got 23 kg baggage allowance for flying back to UK. The shop assistant suggested me mailing it back to UK.  That’s really a good idea. At last, I bought a pair of wooden chopsticks and a pack of Japanese chopsticks there.

Then I kept on finding some moulds for making Chinese New Year Puddings. When I was looking for a moon cake mould at a store called ‘I Love Cake”, I met a young man who is a shop assistant there.  He is very patient; he introduced different types of moulds and explained how to use them.  Also he shared his own recipe on making custard moon cake. I was very happy that he told me some useful tips on baking tasty mooncakes.  He is very nice.  

Besides, there are a wide variety of cake moulds, tins and trays in the shop, especially the moulds, they are very cute.  You must find some you like.  I bought a set of mooncake moulds, a pack of orange yellow coloring, some Japanese dessert spoons and two moulds for making Chinese puddings.  I felt tired after spending a half day in Shanghai Street but I enjoyed a lot!  If I have time, I will go there again! 

Hong Kong Trip - A lovely day in Wanchai

Happy holidays, everybody! I am spending my vacation in Hong Kong now. I love this service apartment very much because it faces Victoria harbour and the sea view is amazing.  The location is good,  it is only 8-minute walk to the Wanchai MTR station.  There are over 20 restaurants and cafes nearby.  Also it is clean and has a kitchenette. I enjoy buying local ingredients and cooking even in a trip. 

In a very good morning, the first thing to do is to have local breakfast in a congee store on Hennessy Road.  It is called “Chung Kee” which provides a variety of traditional Cantonese congee, rice-sheet rolls and deep fried Chinese crisps.  I order a bowl of minced beef congee and a plate of Zhaliang.  The prices are good and they are tasty. 

My journey starts in Wanchai.  I take tram to Tai Yuen Street.  The best way to explore Hong Kong Island is to take tram which is called Ding Ding by the locals.  It is the oldest and cheapest transport system and has been run about 112 years.  When I take Ding Ding, I feel peaceful and have time to take the views in since it travels at a relatively low speed.  It is a must-see attraction in Hong Kong.

                         

If you have kids or are ‘kidults’, you love Tai Yuen Street.  You will find a treasure trove of toys, kids’ collectibles and festive decorations. There are some toys shops selling a wide variety of toys along the street, you can find the latest to the classics.  There are some hawkers around the streets, they sell some daily stuffs, like underwear, towels, flowers, clothes, cooking ingredients at low prices.  Then I spend a half day there and wander through the street to Queen’s Road East. 

There is a tiny temple which is called Hung Shing Temple on Queen’s Road East.  It was estimated to be built between 1847-1852.  Traditionally, people believed that Hung Shing is the deity who could provide protection at sea, it was worshipped by fishermen, farmers and traders in the old days.  When I go there, I find a few worshippers there.  If you are very interested in ancient Chinese folk religion, you must go to see it.

‘Happy Cake Shop’ is located just opposite to Hung Shing Temple. It is a classic Hong Kong cake shop which sells pineapple buns, egg tarts and less-often-seen cream buns and palmiers.  I always ate them when I was small.  I missed them a lot.  The shop has been established in the 1970s. Its layout, with the kitchen and ovens at the back, and shop at the front, remains unchanged to this day.  Everything is baked daily on site. The price is cheap and the bakery items are very fresh.  I bought two pineapple buns for lunch.  They are mouth-watering and so tasty!!

Then I keep on walking towards Wanchai Market. It is very crowded since people are buying food and vegetables to celebrate Winter Solstice Festival.  Traditionally, Chinese people would buy a lot of good food and prepare a lavish dinner for the whole family.  This is an important reunion family activity. In addition, ‘Dong Yuen’ is generally included on the menu because its name sound like ‘reunion’ in Cantonese.

I feel very exhausted after walking around for the whole day. ‘Chuen Kee’ is my last stop.  I have never been there for nearly 20 years. I order a bowl of fish ball noodle in this local small restaurant on Steward Road.  Both fish balls and fish cakes are chewy. The flavour of soup base is relatively light.  Nothing has been changed.  It is still very yummy!!