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Hitting the noodle jack pot in Sham Shui Po – Hong Kong

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

Brunch at the Phénix – Shanghai

The Phénix Eatery and Bar is the flagship restaurant of the luxurious Puli hotel in Shanghai. They were awarded one star in the 2018 Shanghai Michelin guide that was confirmed in 2019. I also visited them for dinner.

The visit

I had heard that they had started offering Sunday brunches and I had been thinking of trying for a while. On a sunny Sunday of June the stars aligned and I showed up.

They are one of the many establishments now offering a “semi-buffet”. It works like this: you order a couple of dishes from a menu (usually the choice is quite limited) and while you wait for the hot dishes you can indulge yourself in a buffet with exquisite sides and cold dishes.

The Phénix follows this format. The menu is based on breakfast dishes (from omelettes to tartares). You can choose two mains and a dessert from the menu and have fun with their buffet spread.

From the menu I chose an omlette (with a hint of truffle) and a beef tartare. Small portions. Done by the book. From the buffet I chose to try their oysters, a quiche Lorraine, cheese (they had five or six types available, more than the average buffet in Shanghai), cold cuts (in particular some ham) and some other random stuff. I certainly enjoyed the dessert from the menu, a nicely made chocolate cake.

Juices and tea/coffee were also included. You can check the menu on their website.

The check

The final check was 545 RMB and changes (around 85 USD). When I think about it, I cannot complain about anything, but at the same time there was nothing that stood up and made me think: “I need to come back for it!” I guess the brunch is not indicative of the cuisine that won them the Michelin star. Would I go back? No, in Shanghai there are way better choices for less that money (the weekend buffet at the Kitchen Studios at the Andaz hotel comes to my mind as the best deal at the moment and it is a bona fide full buffet; for a semi-buffet, with a little bit more the Cathay Room at the Peace Hotel offers a choice of more substantial dishes). Subsequently I also had dinner with them and I was equally not that impressed. I might go back to try their full fledged menu though.

Where in Shanghai:
2/F, 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu
常德路1号璞麗酒店二楼, 近延安西路

Chop Chop Club – Shanghai (Closed)

How can you innovate the restaurant experience? In Tokyo there is a place where you have to literally fish your meal (and if you do not, a premium will apply on the check). In Kuala Lumpur once I visited a Marché restaurant where you can build your meal hopping from a food kiosk to another. But let’s be honest, you can only go so far…

Chop Chop Club tries to add something new with a set of timed dishes… Every 15 minutes two or three mains are available for order, either in a portion or the whole dish. Guests are welcomed with the à la carte menu encompassing a variety of appetizers and side dishes, while on a separate page (that I guess is updated on a daily basis) you can find the list of the mains and their serving times. The daily mains are also displayed on a large screen.

As the name suggests, the kitchen specializes in meat, but also some fish is available.

Chop Chop Club is located in one of the iconic “food palaces” on the Bund, Three on the Bund. It shares the same space of Unico, a self-proclaimed “Latin-infused” (do not ask me what it means) restaurant and lounge. From what I understand, the Chop Chop Club kitchen operate from 6pm to 9pm, then it is all Unico.

The visit

I visited Chop Chop Club on a calm Sunday evening in June attracted by the new format and by the fact that the restaurant is the latest brainchild of Paul Pairet, a well-known Shanghai restaurateur behind the three Michelin star Ultraviolet (one day!) and one of my all-time Shanghai favorites, Mr and Ms Bund.  Easy reservation through Chope.

I went with a friend and, in general, that’s a good idea, since the portions are not huge, but they can easily be shared among two people.

We had three mains: a portion of the house pork sausage (that came with a bit of mashed patato), a portion of Grilled seabass, and a portion of  char roasted lamb shoulder. Everything was cooked by the book, maybe the lamb was a bit cold when it arrived. The sausage, that for some reason in Asia they never get right, was also good. We had only one side, some creamy cabbage (that was exceptionally good, it did not taste as cabbage at all… I should have tried more side dishes).  On the menu for the evening there were also Wagyu sirloin steak (for 450 USD), black pepper short ribs from Singapore, cote de boef and lemon chicken. The dishes arrived punctual, the kitchen must be operating like the proverbial Swiss clock.

I and my friend were very pleased by the desserts we chose: I went for a decadent Nutella mousse (you cannot go wrong with Nutella) and my friend for chilled pomelo.

The check

The total bill for two people came to 1128 RMB (around 176 USD). It was a substantial but not a pantagruelic meal and only my friend had a cocktail. Just to say that you could easily spend much more…

I enjoyed the food and the ambience. The place delivered what it promised: solid good traditional food without excessive frills and the place and service kind of justify the premium price. And what about the idea of timing the dishes? Honestly, it did not add much to the experience. Whoever out there is on a mission to innovate the restaurant format, you need to keep trying.

Conclusion: I would come back if I had to entertain a small group of friends.

Pro-tip

From the opening at 6pm to 7.30pm it is happy hour and alcoholic beverages are 50% off.

Where in Shanghai: 
2/F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu
请带我去 中山东一路3号2楼, 近广东路

December 2018 Update: now it seems to operate on a reduced schedule on Fridays and Saturdays and on a new model: you share a table with a blind menu. See their website.