Life as a Bon Vivant: Congee

Showing posts with label Congee. Show all posts

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Congee Noodle King 粥麵皇

On a very cold evening,

Anything is better than wandering,

Hunger I cannot stop thinking,

Best to sit down and start eating!

I always pass by this congee (or rice porridge) / noodle shop but never had the chance to try it out. Like many Chinese noodle and congee shops, they always use the Chinese word King (皇) as part of their name. The same applies to many Indian restaurants in Chung King Mansion. Having the world King 皇 in the name does not translate to being the best!! It is time to be more creative in my opinion. Anyhow, the direct translation of this place is called Congee Noodle King 粥麵皇 and I finally got the chance to give it a try. The interior of the place was unpretentious and simple as expected with way too many stools for each table. Lucky my friend and I were here in the evening because I cannot imagine the scene during lunch time with perhaps 6-7 people cramped into one table??? Might as well sit on each others' laps!

I ordered the plain boiled lettuce to start with. By plain I mean no oil to be pour over at the end, just plain water boiled lettuce. Surprisingly crisp!

My favorite congee is of course Pig's Liver and that was what I ordered. The congee was surprisingly creamy and thick EVEN AT THIS HOUR! Many congee places I visited before tends to be thinner by night because of the adding of water to the pot of congee (I assumed).

The liver was any delightful surprise as well. Thick, chewy and rich in flavor. Cholesterol? what Cholesterol? haha

While happily eating my pig's liver congee, I heard someone behind me ordered a bowl of cuttlefish. O yum! I love cuttlefish, so without much hesitation I raised my hand to order one! Once again, Cholesterol? what Cholesterol? I told my friend if I fell to the ground with my hands garbing my chest soon after, the cause should be quite apparent. HAHA. The cuttlefish was not bad, slightly chewy and bouncy (I guess) while in your mouth. I liked mine without any sauce.

I will return for sure and cuttlefish is a definite dish to order.

Likes:

very creamy and thick congee even during the evening
love the cuttlefish, chewy and "bouncy" ...

Dislikes:

Not particular comfortable

Congee Noodle King 粥麵皇
G/F., 11 Queen Victoria Street, Central
Tel: +852 2522 6089

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

Breakfast Anyone?

I am not a morning person at all and I usually trade in my daily breakfast for an extra hour of sleep! However, once in a while (once or twice a month), it is a good idea to do some breakfast gatherings with friends if they can make it of course.

Check my my article with CNNgo for some of my suggestions for breakfast:

Thursday, October 22, 2009

新九記粥麵 (Xin Jiu Ji)

A simple quick meal can sometimes be equally satisfying as a 3 courses meal at a Michelin 2-star restaurant. One of such options which I love is to have good congee and wanton at a local, homely and down-to-earth establishment. After a short chat with a friend in the Wan Chai area, we were both very hungry but wanted to try something fast but yummy of course! I am not so familiar with this area so my friend led the way. My friend visited this place once before and enjoyed the congee very much. I would not comment much about the decor, comfortableness or even atmosphere of this place because there wasn't much. It was fairly clean and that was all I cared at that moment.

The very first thing I noticed was the many POTs of congee on top of electric stoves on many tables, together with some raw ingredients on the side. Apparently this place is famous for its Congee Hot Pot / Fondue! Too bad we were in a hurry, otherwise I would insist on trying for sure!

(1) Pork Liver + Beef Congee
The pork liver was wonderful! Firm but slightly "crisp" / bouncy against the teeth. Rich in flavor as well. The sliced beef was alright, not surprises compared with the wonderful pork liver. Congee wise, it was not as creamy or as thick as I expected (and of which I love!) but it was definitely good above average!

(2) Wanton
I was still very hungry after the congee so I ordered a bowl of wanton! (and so did my friend) It was wonderful! It was not the BIG and STUFFED type, it was the typical size one with chopped shrimps and pork mixtures (plus traces of shrimp roe?). The dough layer / skin was very thin and the wrapping skills resulted with a little "tail" sticking to the wanton. (I think a typical or traditional Wanton have a certain guideline as to the proportion of the dough / skin and it should have a fairly long "tail" to it)