Hong Kong Eats: Spicy Crab at the Temple Street Night Market

People that I have talked to before my trips to Hong Kong have told me that the Spicy Crab was something that should definitive not be missed. There was a recurring thing, this Crab is amazing and a must try. The directions were never specific, always a vague comment regarding a corner near Temple Street Night Market, that some attractive girl would most likely approach us and invite us into the restaurant. This all seemed a bit sketchy.

So we finally embarked into the journey, we would go and find that crab. After a quick stroll around the Night Market (which to be honest there wasn’t anything impressive about the market itself, some electronics, and cheap things, maybe a good place to buy cheap souvenirs, but after the Taiwanese Night Markets, this is nothing) turning our heads in every corner looking for the elusive crustacean, and then the attractive girls wearing a 'San Miguel' beer white dress showed up from a corner inviting us in, I felt like being invited into a brothel, a bit sketchy, however, there is something almost sexual about this crab. There, I said it. The whole experience was like the sketchiest, messiest and most satisfying sexual experience you have ever had, picture that, add some greens and cold beer, and you get to this.

The Sexy Crab

The place looks like any other working class restaurant in Hong Kong, cheap tables, menu on the wall and an amazing smell surrounding the area, but there are a few differences that makes this place special, the amazingly cold beer, the kitchen paper rolls on each table (most of the places will not have anything to clean your face) and the Crab (Duh!). They actually have all the Crabs alive in plastic container bubbling up at the entrance.

So we ordered a big cold beer while we decided what to get: the crab, which you actually get to choose, some scallops with garlic and chives, we saw some greens on the table next door which looked delicious so we went ahead and order them (these are actually off the menu and are extra delicious) and because we wanted something more veggie-like we ordered the fried tofu (which was actually quite alright but I could definitely live without).

The service is incredibly fast, and the food came all at the same time (which is something I love, since my usual drill is to order a bunch of things and share everything with everyone), the veggies were amazing, garlicky and perfectly cooked, the scallops were perfect and had a little surprise, they were served with some vermicelli noodles, the tofu was bright and crispy, but let me tell you, the crab was just PERFECT, served below a mountain of crispy garlic, chives, spices and crumbs, perfectly cooked, the crab itself is amazingly sweet and tender and blends perfectly with the spices to create a wonderful mouthful of awesomeness… It was indeed a food orgasm.

After indulging ourselves in the sweet delicious carcasses of dead crustaceans we left the joint with hope in our eyes and happiness in our bellies. We could not have asked for a better dinner.

Beware that the crab could get a bit expensive (around 500-700 HKD for a big one) whilst the rest of the dishes are super affordable, so, you don't have to get a crab to get delicious food, but it is worth it, I can tell you that. So, your choice. However, even if you are just backpacking and you budget is a bit short, I think you can spare yourself from some other things just to enjoy this. You will not be disappointed. 

Temple Street Spicy Crab

No.210 Temple Street, Hong Kong.

Price Range: 100 - 400 HKD pp (Depending on what you get)

With two sexy companions.

Garlic Veggies, fucking YUM!

Fried tofu, pretty good, but not amazing.

Scallops, simply amazing.

Hong Kong Eats: Xiao Long Bao at The Crystal Jade

It is true that  Hong Kong is not known for their dumplings, Cantonese cuisine focuses in other spectra of the Chinese-Style cooking. But whatever, I am a sucker for dumplings, specially "Soup Dumplings", so while there, and telling to myself that since I was already in the area, I might as well find some good dumplings, and after asking around on the streets (turns out that the locals love Dumplings as well, and how can they not?) everything was pointing towards "The Crystal Jade" for a hefty serving of these beautiful bastards. 

Xiao Long Bao

First things first, Xiao Long Bao are not your typical dumpling, they do belong to the same Baozi family, however they are filled with a chilled rich filling, at this temperature the filling has a gel-like texture, but during the steaming process, the filling melts down into a delicious soup-like texture which gets trapped inside the dumpling, giving you then an amazing spoonful of soup inside a delicate and almost paper thin wrapping, out of this world.

When we got to the Crystal Jade I realised that it is a chain restaurant with locations all throughout Asia (and very soon to be present in the USA, in San Francisco), this made me a bit uneasy, I am not a big fan of chain anything, but I was extremely hungry, so I decided to give them a chance. Fuck did they prove me wrong! I had since come back in multiple occasions and every single time I leave the place so incredibly satisfied.

They offer a great variety of dishes in their surprisingly large menu, but they do take special attention in their signature dish, the Xiao Long Bao, from which you have a couple of options to choose from, they also offer some other mouthwatering dumplings, amazing side dishes, vegetables and the noodles are pretty good as well.

As in many restaurants throughout Hong Kong, the tea is unlimited and will keep coming until you tell them to stop, the service is extremely fast and the servers are quite nice (as you will discover, around here servers tend to have an 'attitude' but I actually love that about them, the have that edge you want without being rude). The dumplings will be the first thing to come out of the kitchen, as they keep making them continuously so there is virtually no wait, it is a very efficient production line, the fresh veggies will come second, then the warm veggies and sides, and lastly any other main dish you ordered. Whenever I go out I usually order a few dishes and I like sharing everything with everyone.

The Crystal Jade was a pleasant surprise, chain restaurants are usually not this good, but then again, Hong Kong breaks a lot of stereotypes when it come to food. It is a great place to come with friends or family.

Crystal Jade

Many locations in Hong Kong and South East Asia

http://www.crystaljade.com/

Price Range: 200-300 HKD pp.

More Xiao Long Bao

A hefty portion of Chinese Broccoli

Eel in a smokey sweet sauce

It all looks amazing (From Left to Right: Chinese broccoli, eel, pickled cucumber and xiao long bao)

Eel with Scallions.

Awesome (From Left to Right: Eel and scallions, pickled cucumber, a lonely dumpling, my magic combo of soy, chilli and vinegar for the dumplings)

Warm Greens

Noodles in Spicy Peanut Sauce.

More views of the goodness.

Other type of Dumplings.

Hong Kong. Part 2: Lantau, The Wisdom Path and The Tian Tan Buddha.

I know I keep saying it, but fuck it: Hong Kong is Awesome! Every time I decide to sit down and write about it I get happy and excited. It is truly a place of wonders. So, today, we will explore Lantau and the Tian Tan Buddha.

First of all, grab yourself a good breakfast, you are about to embark yourself pretty far away from the city (this is really a figure of speech, nothing is really that far away from anything else in this town).  So, assuming you have filled your belly with awesome food, get to the nearest MTR station and navigate to Tung Chung Station (It is in the same line that would take you to Disney Land HK), once there take exit B and follow the signs to the Ngong Ping Cable Car.

1. Ngong Ping Cable Car (www.np360.com.hk) The cable car will take around 25 minutes to reach Lantau Island. I would recommend you to come as early as possible to avoid the huge (an I mean HUGE) lines that could set you waiting in line for about 2 hrs; around 8-9 in the morning is a safe bet. The ride is 150 HKD for standard cabin and 235 HKD for Crystal, the crystal cabin is pretty awesome as you get to enjoy the views a bit better, but for this you also need to wait for a bit longer, your choice. The views are astonishing regardless of the type of cabin you choose.

You will see the airport and part of Hong Kong on your way up, pass through some park areas, see the bays and suddenly you will see the Big Buddha, it’s a pretty awesome view.

There is a pretty awesome hiking trail that runs just below the cable car and I would highly recommend you taking it, its pretty easy and not that long, it might take you couple of hours to hike it but the views are amazing.

You will arrive to the Cable Car station which, to be honest, looks like one of those fake villages you can find in any amusement park across the world, it even has souvenirs and a Starbucks… I guess it makes a bit of sense being so close to Disney… But whatever, ignore that and direct yourself to the first exit you will find on your right, this leads to the Parking Lot and to the bus stop. Resist your urges to visit the Buddha now, trust me, it is worth it.

2. Tai O is a traditional fishing village with a lot to offer. Once in the parking lot, you will see the bus station right outside, you are waiting for bus 21 which in 10-15 minutes will take you to Tai O, it runs every 30 min so you will not wait that much.

The village is famous for its fishing (duh!) and for its dry sea products. Loose yorself in its streets and markets, it is filled with interesting people and produce, by now you might be getting a bit hungry, why not take a snack at the market? The fish balls and grilled squid are off the hook.

Some seafood goodies in the Market.

You can take a boat ride for 100HKD, it will take you around the village center canal where you will find the beat up houses made with sailing scraps, I find them hauntingly beautiful, but I've been told that I'm a bit weird, so I don't know if you will like it. It is a clear example of how modern living has fucked things up for people that like living in a more traditional and austere environment.  Whenever I find myself strolling around the narrow corridors and streets of Tai O, I can't help but wondering how much better their lives would be without the pressure to join modern civilization, living their simple lives, and then I find a family living in a small shack with a big ass 70 inch TV drinking cold beer and watching a football game…

The tour will later take you around the bay in hopes to catch a glance of their famous Pink Dolphins, this is actually pretty exciting and you most probably will get to watch one of them. Turns out that all the dolphins that live around the area, are gray when they are babies and slowly turn pink thorugh their journey into adulthood. They are pretty sneaky so, unless you have a very nice zoom lens on your camera, you might not catch a good photo, my suggestion is to ditch the camera and enjoy the view. Sometimes the best photos are the ones we don't take.

Tai O holds one of the most important Dragon Boat competitions and the whole village dresses up for the occasion. Dragon Boat is an exciting team sport very famous in these parts of the world, very soon you will find an entry about this. This is a very exciting moment to visit the village, but you can expect a lot more people than during regular times.

Getting back to the Ngong Ping Piazza is just a matter of catching the same bus you took to get to Tai-O.

Once you are back at the parking lot simply walk back into the Piazza and take a right, keep going towards the Big Buddha, don’t worry, there is no way you can miss this magnificent bastard.

It is a pretty impressive sight. Turns out that at almost 35 m this is the tallest sitting Buddha in the world. You will have to climb a shit load of stairs, but this is a good exercise.

Right in front of the stair there is little round platform that faces the Buddha, it’s a great place to get some pictures, and the coolest part is, that if you stand up right in the middle, and speak, the sound will bounce back from the Buddha in an amazing echo, try it, it is like saying hello to him and getting a reply. At the bottom of the stairs, there is people selling "Meal tickets" which also include access to the inside of the Buddha and the upper level. It is NOT worth it. The food ain't great and the view is just as impressive as one level below. Save your food cravings for later at the Monastery. From the top you will get an amazing view of the surrounding area.

Once you get down, it is time to get to the Po-Lin Monastery, it is pretty impressive, it actually still works as a monastery, so you will see the monks walking around in their daily routines and most probably be able to catch one of their chanting sessions, pretty impressive to say the least. The other amazing part about the Monastery is that it offers amazing food. There is a little food shack where you can get sweet and savory dishes and drinks for a very reasonable price and also there is a restaurant that offers an amazing menu, it is all vegetarian and it is all amazing.

Right in the middle between the Monastery and the Big Buddha, there is an inconspicuous little sign that says "Wisdom Path", if you follow it for about 10-15 minutes (depending on your pace) you will find yourself in one of my favourite places in Hong Kong: The Wisdom Path. It is a little path with a series of wooden steles that have passages of the Heart-Sutra arranged in an 8 shaped path that symbolizes infinity. It is breath taking. Right here is the start of a couple of hiking trails that take you further into the mountains.

You are probably tired by now, it is time to get back. Walk to the piazza, take the cable car back and find yourself something to eat, this will not be hard to do. Trust me.

7-11 is the New Ruler of Taiwan

What from the outside looks like any other 7-11 (or 7-11-like convenience store) holds something different, an insight into Asian culture, their customs and habits. It is, in the end a convenience store, so please don't misunderstand me, you will not get lost or not be able to buy things here, but as usual, it is the subtle differences what makes, each of their1-million locations, something remarkable.

First of all, of course, It is all in Chinese (what were you expecting), so all the adverts outside will seem pretty odd. (Did you know that Baseball is Taiwan's National Sport?)

The outside

But let's assume you closed your eyes at the entrance and did not see all the adds and adverts in Chinese. The moment you enter the place, the first you will notice is the (probably) un-familiar smell of Oden. Originally a Japanese dish, it has spread across Asia, and particularly in Taiwan (You will start noticing the Japanese influence in the country since day 1). It consist of a yummy soy sauce and dashi broth and a number of goodies (ranging from fish cakes, tofu, eggs and sausages, to vegetable and noodles) that can be put in the broth making a very nutritious soup. You just take a bowl, fill it up with goodness and head up to the cahier who will count how many items you took and charge you. Btw, you can take as much broth as you want, they only charge you for the items. How about that for a difference.

The ōden

The frozen section is pretty awesome too, you can get dumplings, nuggets, fish, noodles, pasta or anything you might be craving on a very late night (within reason of course, its Asia). They will heat it up for you and throw in some chopsticks for instant hunger pacifying.

The Frozen Goods

The section that caught my attention from the very first time is the beverage section. The have their beers, ciders and cocktail like bottles, not that big of a selection but it does the job. There is virtually no sodas or carbonated drinks, with the exception of some Coca Cola products (Duh!). You will find a huge selection of bottled teas (which is pretty awesome), Yakult-like products (A Japanese fermented milk drink) and a weird selection of Juices that includes, I shit you not, Asparagus Juice. The moment I saw that I stopped watching and left, really.

The Drinks

  

You will find a lot more things around like tofu and soy milk (Duh!), noodles, sausage and eggs, even some not so crappy bread (Taiwanese Style I have to clarify).

Foods

It is not surprising that in a country that is so obsessed with food, where you can buy extremely good food in every corner, where having a kitchen is considered a luxury, and even if you do have a kitchen most of the people will not use it as the dinning options are endless, you can find so many options in a convenience store. What is surprising is that there is people that actually prefer eating at a 7-11 than in a street stand. To be honest, I ate here during my first couple of days while I was adjusting to the place and gathering 'cojones' to go and try to make myself understood in the street stands. And I occasionally make use of it when I'm coming late night after drinking and there is nothing else open.

Now, I've talked about all the food you can find here (Surprise, surprise, this dude likes food!), but of course you can get other things like toiletries, basic kitchen and cleaning goods and the latest issue of whatever bullshit magazine you read these days. And of course in here you can do a shit load of other things which include but are not limited to:

1. Pay your bills
2. Get tickets to concerts
3. Get cinema tickets
4. Get bust tickets
5. Get train tickets
6. Basically all kinds of tickets
7. Order a Cab
8. Send money
9. Charge your public transport pass (which is completely useless if you live outside Taipei)
10. Get a SIM card
11. Recharge your phone
12. Receive packages
13. Withdraw money
14. Sell your soul to the highest bidder
15. Buy virginities
16. Send or Receive Drugs
17. Talk to god or anyone in heaven
18. Get facemasks
19. Hit on girls
20. Drink beer
21. And of course Get a Big Bite Hot Dog (what, did you think  they didn’t have them here?)

Such an odd place.

The Eternal Golden Fort and Fort Zeelandia

A View from the top of Fort Zeelandia; isn't it pretty as fuck?

Tainan exists in the middle of the fast pace Technological life of Taipei and the extremely mellow and relaxed life of the south. It is a place of contrast, a place that perfectly represents what I think defines Taiwan: 'a sweet spot between tradition and innovation'.

Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan, it was first founded by the Dutch, then occupied by the Portuguese and Chinese. It has lived plenty of rises and falls. Originally designed to be a port, the Anping area now holds a collection of residential areas and office buildings surrounding some very old areas.

In these old areas we can find two very interesting buildings that have lived through the ages. I don't know much about Architecture but I will give it a try to write about these places.

The Golden fort (or Eternal Golden Castle)

Built in 1874 to serve as a defensive castle or fort against Japanese invasions. For 20 years remained inactive until the Japanese invasion of 1895, during which the Taiwanese fought the Japanese vessels from here. It has a very interesting octagonal shape with very efficient placement of the cannons at the front section of the fort, facing the ocean. The cannons were able to be reloaded rather quickly which gave the fort it's tactical edge. It also houses a rather large central square area that could be used for training purposes. After 1904, during the Russo-Japanese war, all the cannons were sold to support the war thus the fort lost all its military edge, resulting in a semi-abandonment state.

A few years ago, the place received a facelift as a tourist attraction, and I have to say: Good Job Taiwan! The place looks fantastic, it has a very nice series of banners depicting the history of the place, the gardens and surroundings are extremely well kept. And it offers an exceptional view. If you are around the Anping area do not hesitate on coming here; it is a well spent hour.

The Eternal Golden Castle

Guangzhou Road, Anping District, Taiwan

Price: 50 NTD (25 NTD discount)

A view of the entry way into the Eternal Golden Castle

Fake cannons now located in strategic locations at the Eternal Golden Castle

The Old Fort (Fort Zeelandia)

Very close, in the same area we will find the Old fort, or Fort Zeelandia as named by the Dutch. This is a much older , much bigger and, in my opinion much more interesting structure.

Built between 1624 and 1634 by the then Rulers of the area; the Dutch, fort Zeelandia has seen the rise and fall of Tainan many times, it has suffered additions, demolitions, and renewables throughout the centuries. This fort is presumably the first big structure erected in  the Island, and the Dutch picked this exact location for its ease of access to the ocean and strategic defensive value in case an invasion; which in theory sound pretty good except for the lack of fresh water supply that had to be carried in from the mainland. And this is how the actual settlement started, this was the typical European fort of the 17th century. Inside the fort was the military and administration center, church, garrisons, and jailhouse; outside was the downtown. Between the fort and downtown, there were market, slaughterhouse, gallows, execution ground and city weighing station.

Today only the main fort remains as it was back in the day. In the same way as the Golden Castle it was renewed and repurposed. It is a pretty awesome place to wander around and learn a bit of the history of Tainan. As well as having amazing gardens and an exceptional view of the Anping Downtown, it also has a couple of small museums.

My favorite part of the place is the observation deck built in the 1940's. I mean, asthetically speaking it is fucking ugly and kind of breaks down the whole harmony the place has, but it is the only place in Tainan, where anybody can go up and have an advantage point over the city, a great view indeed. If you have a chance you should come around here for a stroll.

Fort Zeelandia

國勝路82號 Anping Old Fort 708, Taiwán

Price: 50 NTD (25 NTD discount)

The stairs into Fort Zeelandia;  there was a school trip around that day, funny kids 

Minoru's Diary in Taiwan: The Day to Day Life

Tainan is a very peaceful and easy going place. The locals find it big, noisy and fast paced, but, to be honest, it is nothing like that. If you are used to the buzz of a big city, Tainan will be one of those places where you can just retire and relax.

Yes, there are a lot of scooters and some traffic, but that is only around rush hour (i.e. 8 a.m. or 6 p.m.)  and yes, there is quite a lot of pollution in the air. But there is something about the place that makes it seem, for lack of a better word, peaceful. Maybe is the fact that after 8 p.m. there is little to no traffic, after 10 p.m. there is little to no people outside.

You can always find people around fishing, immersed in their own thoughts.

Fisherman

Slippers & Geta; the rise and fall of a style.

Silly me, when I arrived in Taiwan after being in Spain and the UK for the most part of the winter, I was wearing a Coat, a Vest, a Scarf, Gloves and my trusty Doc Martens… The moment I step down the plane, I immediately thought: - Fuck! Oh yeah! It’s a tropical Island. So I took off my coat and gloves. One minute later the heat was crazy, I took off the vest. By the time I was leaving my shit at the hotel I was fucking sweating my soul  out.

So, yes, I needed to ditch my Doc Martens in order to get something that would help cope the heat that will only get worse and worse as summer approaches. 

So I heard about this place with the colourful slippers I've seen a lot of the locals wear everywhere. Apparently at some point when plastic started being popular around these parts of the world there was a company making the Iconic Blue and White plastic flip-flops many locals can recognise as something everybody has worn at some point in their lives. A few years ago, this same company started producing many different colourful variations of the same flip-flops, and they were a hit, so I thought: -Let's get myself some of them slippers!

They are sturdy, comfortable and indeed, very fucking colourful, and the best part? Well that's got to be the price, you will leave the establishment with a  shinny pair of new slippers and it will only set you back 100 NTD, oh yeah, around 2.5 EUR.

The Plastic Slippers

Boiled, hot and spicy goodies!

As I have come to realise during this past week while losing myself in this gorgeous city, is the culinary obsession that the Tainanesse (not sure if this is the correct way of calling them, but fuck it) have with food.

Menu and prices.

There are many exotic things and many not so exotic ones, and this, more than exotic is unique and interesting; think for a second on a buffet, an omelette bar and a Japanese shabu-shabu, are you there yet? Ok, now forget the details of each of these things and let us meet this local delicacy.

There are literally hundreds of this kind of joints around Tainan, the first thing you will notice is a cart outside the little shop containing a ridiculous amount of delicious things; from blood-rice cakes, sausage and meatballs, to any kind of fresh veggies, noodles and mushrooms of all sorts, passing through all the imaginable (and unimaginable) permutations of tofu.

The goodies

Minoru's Diary in Taiwan: Finding a flat & getting to know a city.

On day two I embarked myself in the titanic task of finding a suitable place to live for my next months in the City of Tainan, Taiwan. And I say Titanic for two main reasons: 1. I don’t speak Chinese, and 2.  There are only two types of flats available for a short period of time; either very nice pricey places or very cheap “shitholes”. With the help of a Colleague and a Professor (both locals) I set up a few appointments and off I went. Most of the places I saw were small, dark, smelly and dirty, but very cheap, nonetheless, the first flat I saw was very big, bright, and in general, awesome. However, people continued telling me that the horrible places I saw were very convenient (more on this word on future posts) and that I should not take the first place because it was too expensive and far away from my place of work (around 1 hour commute). I start to get the feeling that the locals prefer not to move a lot, to be close to work rather than having a nice place to live, I guess everybody has their own priorities. 

So despite of the insistence of the locals not to take the nice flat I liked since the beginning, I decided to take it. I was advised to call all the landlords of the places I didn’t like and explain why I didn’t want to take their place, and to look for reasons that would sound euphemistic enough… In the end I decided that the “reason” I would give them would be that I absolutely needed a place with a kitchen. And so, before I knew it I was setting up my moving date; the land lady would pick me up at my hotel to take me to the flat and do the whole charade (moving, contracts, payments, etc.).

I now have a lot of free time (adding the fact that the jet lag keeps waking me up at ungodly hours in the morning), so armed with my trusty camera, my now Internet connected cellphone, a big bottle of water and some tourist brochures, I exit the comfort of the air-conditioned hotel room into the hot and humid land of wonders that is Taiwan. 

My plan is as usual; there is no plan. I just walk and wander as I please, taking turns whenever I feel like, in search of hidden wonders and off-centre places. This works awesomely, somehow I find myself surrounded by an overwhelming amount of temples, shops, restaurants, and well, Taiwanese. 

A view of the NCKU Garden.