Part III - Sweet Endings

Okay, I'm finally down to the last part of my HK eating 'journey'. What would be better than to end it off with desserts?

You simply cannot go to Hongkong and leave without eating Tong Shui (meaning sweet soups). Okay, to me HK means Dim Dum, Siu Ngor and Tong Shui *grin*. In HK, people like to have a bowl of Tong Shui, which can be made from sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, egg, milk to fruits like mangoes or papaya (paw paw). There is the belief that eating Tong Shui is beneficial to health, eg walnuts are supposed to be good for the brains, while black sesame seeds nourish the kidneys, or simply to achieve a ‘cooling effect’ for the body.

Let me walk you though my 'sweet notes'.

This Tong Shui shop is on my list each time I visit HK. It may not have a fanciful menu like the one next door, but the earnest shop owners produces some top notch conforting sweet soups.

This is Chilled Steamed Egg Custard. Sometimes this type of custards can have a overwhelming ‘eggy’ taste, but this does not. Instead it is very fragrant and smooth.

The following is a new addition to the menu. Interesting dollop of black in the middle of a white ‘ocean’.

This is one Tong Shui which impressed me the most this time. It is actually Chilled Steamed Milk Custard with Black Sesame Paste(cream). Yes, that black spot is Black Sesame Paste. What amazes me is the way they managed to keep the sesame paste in liquid form while the surrounding milk custard is solid. Digging my spoon into it resulted in an ‘avalanche’ effect:

We returned to the shop the next day(we loved it too much!), where we had some tropical fruit desserts. The first is Mango with Pomelo & Sago. It is essentially a thick ‘soup’ of mango puree, mango cubes, pearl sago with a dash of pomelo sacs. As you bite into the pomelo, the slight tartness is quickly neutralized by the sweetness of the mangoes. Heavenly!

Mango pudding is commonly available, even in Singapore. Here the pudding is served with a dash of evaporated milk.

It is less sweet than the ones I’ve had before, and the milk added a slight creaminess to the pudding, very refreshing.

On our last night in HK, after dinner, we were circling the Ladies Market area, looking ‘frantically’ for a shop that sells fabulous melt-in-the-mouth Tau Hua (sweet soyabean curd). We could not recall the exact location and hoped to find it based on memory. Alas, Lady Luck did not shine on us. Tired, and a little hungry from all that walking(okay, it’s just an excuse to eat), we were attracted by a dessert shop that ‘boasted’ a must-try durian cream dessert. Arh! Durian! In HK? Must-try!

This is the durian ‘pudding’ which the shop raved about. Durian pulp in a bowl of thinned-down cream, topped with pomelo(again), I think I still prefer the Durian Pengat from Merchant Court Hotel.

Being greedy, I also ordered the durian pastry. It consists of phyllo pastry encasing a filling of sponge cake and durian pulp. This is not bad, though I detect a faint taste of durian essence.

I’m coming to the end of my post, so bear with me. Just a few more pics of what I bought during my ‘peckish’ times.

Pai Pau – soft and fluffy sweet bread rolls from a bakery. A bread addict has to have her ‘fix’ :p

This is called Gai Dan Zai – loosely translated as little eggs. It’s made from a pancake/waffle batter poured into a special pan and cooked.

It’s fun to eat by picking and popping them into the mouth one by one.

Phew! It's another long post, hope you're still awake. It’s been a fun time eating in HK. Till my next craving comes, bye to the good food of HK.