Motormouth From Ipoh

For the other equally mouth-watering food and travel posts from this Hong Kong escapade, jump HERE. Feeling slightly nostalgic? Then go all the way back to 2008 for even more ramblings from Motormouth. Be warned, leave your common sense behind. Seriously.

If there’s ONE Hong Kong street food that’s not only repulsive and pungent; bordering on being categorized as garbage food, yet alluring enough to aficionados and symbolizes the charisma of Mong Kok so well, it has to be the Stinky Beancurd; fondly referred to as “Chow Tau Foo”

Mong Kok in Kowloon has been portrayed as THE most notorious area in all of Hong Kong. At least, in the movies. When gangfights juxtaposed against the neon lights of hovering signboards publicizing the melange of massage parlours, mahjong dens and spitting images of tattooed men tucking into their hot pot (fondly known as steamboat in this part of the world).

On the contrary, this bustling part of Hong Kong is a foodie’s wettest wildest dreams come true. Generally crowded from day until night, you can find a cafe, restaurant or even a snack vendor/peddler at every nook and corner.

Read on for more tantalizing shots. I kid you not.

Looking almost like the Ekin Cheng/Jordan Chan portrayed in “Goo Wak Jai” (Young and Dangerous), this man was deep in his elements. Cool, calculating, and concentrating on his … fish balls.

A boiling cauldron of floating balls; pick from either the normal ones or the spicy ones for that extra kick. Don’t push your luck if you’re not fond of spicy food.

For HKD5/RM2 per stick, you get 6 bite-sized bouncy fish balls. Texture-wise; rather artificial. But not complaining since the spicy ones were soooooooo hot they literally burnt our tongues.

Grilled Octopus, the infamous Stinky Beancurd or how about a bowl mixed beef offals?

This stall serves one of the better Stinky Beancurd. Huge blocks of crispy, fermented beancurd deep-fried to perfection, before being lathered with your choice of sauces. Pick from chili sauce, sweet sauce, mustard, and a whole other range of unknowns. For HKD8/RM3.20 per cube, this should be relished if you’re a fan of the pungent creation.

Even if this is your first time, do not give this a miss. Seriously. Two in our group have never tried this infamous, somewhat acquired taste of a simple coagulated soy bean paste, and one of them has been converted.

To considerable extent. Myself? I walloped a block to myself. No sharing business, please.

Kai Kee Street Snacks @ the end of Sai Yeung Choi Street South. Just go until the southern end, and you will see this on your LEFT. Opposite a shopping mall.

While awaiting the dastardly ONE hour wait for our turn at Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum, we walked over to this very famous stall named Fei Jie (Fatty Sister) Street Snacks on Dundas Street.

Scary stuff again? Wrong. Crunchy, chilled blanched octopus and small intestines (about HKD7 each, but I forgot the real price) doused in a mixture of hoi sin sauce and the yellow streaks was wasabi/mustard sauce.

This stall on Dundas Street was an ‘award winning’ one. At least, according to Openrice website, whereby this was voted as one of the top street snacks stall in all of Hong Kong. Their specialty? The boiled/blanched octopus. You can relate to this place once you see the pictures of a smiling octopus on their green banners. But be careful as you’re NOT supposed to snap photos of the stall. Lest you feel adventurous and wanna test the wrath of some severe tongue-lashing, then by all means ….. shoot away!

Verdict : Erm, nothing that was extraordinarily outstanding. Crunchy and refreshing? Yes. Clean? Better than most stalls, no doubt. The sauce combination was right on too. But if you’re going all the way out for this, then save your hassle. I was kind of hooked on the small intestines though.

Gong Cha saved my life! More than once!

Also a hop and a skip away, you can find Gong Cha; one of the most famous chain of Taiwanese style of milk tea, coffee and other beverages in Hong Kong. They are everywhere, so don’t worry about the location. Just so this was on Dundas street, and complemented the street food hunt to a tee.

Not too expensive either, for less than HKD20/RM8, you get a HUGE cup of refreshing beverage with the pearls (optional). I need my caffeine to kickstart my day and continuous infusion would be best, hence I seek for tea or coffee every now and then. They have juices as well, just so you don’t strike this off if you’re not a coffee drinker.

A typical night scene at Mong Kok. The extremely long stretch of Nathan Road covers the whole of Kowloon, and should be experience to fully appreciate the liveliness of it all.

There are countless other street foods in Mong Kok and its vicinity that we did not manage to cover. Of course, do not forget to try the mini egg cakes (Gai Dan Jai) or waffles sold in some stalls. We omitted this as we ventured all the way to North Point on the island (a future post, I promise) to sample the famous North Point egg waffles.

KAI KEI STREET SNACKS (Stinky Tofu, Fish Balls, Fried/Grilled Octopus)
41, Dundas Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
(Junction of Dundas Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South)

FEI JIE STREET SNACKS (Blanced Octopus, Offal on skewers)
Shop 4A, 55, Dundas Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

GONG CHA (Tea, Coffee, Juices)
43E, Dundas Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Motormouth’s Google Map to Hong Kong Food