Authentic hand-made food in Hong Kong is a rarity nowadays. Chain restaurants are quickly taking over all available spaces and for the long-timers the temptation to just cash-in on the touristic traffic is high. Luckily, good traditional food outlets still exist and thrive. This post is about Lau Sum Kee, a noodle place that came to a certain degree of fame with Western audiences after a visit by Anthony Bourdain and that continues to offer delicious noodles no matter what.
The shop is located in Sham Shui Po, an interesting area in itself. People used to come to Sham Shui Po mostly for the markets (there is a huge electronic market, a fashion and garment market, a Jade market, you can really find everything here). Now more and more food outlets have opened around the crowded streets and it is a perfect destination where to combine food and shopping.
The visit
I was lucky enough to be escorted by two local friends. Given the recent departure of Bourdain, I was expecting to find a long line of tourists trying to retrace the celebrity chef’s footsteps in Hong Kong. Luckily I could have not been more wrong and at around 1.30pm on a Friday afternoon there were no tourists and our small party was immediately seated (sharing the round table with two ladies, Hong Kong style for this kind of establishment).
When you step in, you can smell the aroma of fresh noodles in the air. You can see two staff members (I suppose family members as well) working on filling wontons just across the cash register. The round table are meant to be shared and, as expected, you seat on stool. The menu is in Chinese only.
I ordered soup noodles with shrimp wontons and my friend went for the classic Hong Kong brisket noodles. Pickles are available on the table to kill time while waiting for the food. Also warm water is available for free.
Finally the food arrived. You can easily detect that the noodles are hand-made: their texture is irregular and every strand seems to have its own individuality. But the real surprise was the shrimp wonton. I have eaten many shrimp wontons and so many times they are tasteless, like crunching a piece of plastic. Not these ones! The fresh shrimp flavor immediately emerged bite after bite.
Their menu is not limited to brisket and shrimp noodles. They also have fish balls, other types of meat and you can even order two or three toppings. The noodles are available both with soup and with just sauce.
The check
A reasonably sized bowl of shrimp noodles cost me 32 HKD (around 4 USD). I was extremely pleased by the experience and I plan to go back, next time probably having a combo topping.
Bonus
Not far away, we completed our short foodie excursion with a tofu pudding, another quintessential Hong Kong dish. It is a piece of cold tofu that you can mix with sugar cane. It is the perfect dessert for the summer. Among the many shops that sells tofu pudding we chose Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory (bean curd means tofu) that is a sort of a local institution and also offers tofu in other savory preparations. A small portion of the pudding goes for 10 HKD (1.25 USD).
Where in Hong Kong:
Lau Sum Kee: 48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po
Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory: 118 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po