GREEN ROBE ISLAND

One of the areas of Hong Kong which combines a beautiful name with an utterly commonplace appearance is Tsing Yi Tao (青衣島), east of Kowloon. Green Robe Island - does that appellation not suggest verdant hills flowing down to the water's edge, a veritable paradise of nature and solitude?

The name actually refers to a type of fish (green wrasse in English). They can be stir-fried with Chinese mustard greens or bitter gourd. Not particularly good eating, but not at all bad in saucy dishes.

The original name of the island was 'Spring Flower Rain' (春花落).

Generations ago the islanders made their living by farming and fishing, today the island is an important industrial hub and satellite community for Hong Kong.
Other than having been briefly a mecca for local nudists, the most exciting aspect of the island consists of the Tsing Yi Bridge (青衣大橋) and several modern container terminals.
I won't claim that the bridge is a marvel of modern engineering, but it is rather elegant.
A container port is never elegant.

The urban areas of Tsing Yi are by no means lovely. Very modern highrise apartment buildings and housing estates, with centralized shopping areas catering to the surrounding developments. Given the large number of people who live here, it isn't surprising that within the commercial complexes you can find some good eats.
They're easy to get to, as the buses from Kowloon go down the major streets, and the MTR also serves the island.
Air-conditioning is a way of life.


THREE RECOMMENDATIONS


稻香超級漁港 DOU HEUNG CHIU KAP YU GONG
稻香 (Tao Heung Dimsum & Seafood)
Maritime Square, 33 Tsing King Road.
Ground floor, unit G04.
[青衣, 青敬路 33號, 青衣城, 地下 G04 舖]

North-east corner of Tsing Yi Island.
Remarkably good dim sum. They use top notch shrimp for the har gau (蝦餃) and shrimp spring rolls (蝦春卷), and their beef meat balls (牛肉丸) are nice and juicy. Their various rolled sheet noodles (腸粉) are absolutely gorgeous.
If your eating habits include unhealthy stuff, above all try the char siu stuffed pineapple buns (菠蘿叉燒包). As you should know, pineapple buns (菠蘿包) contain no fruit - the name refers to the cracked appearance of the outer surface - and are considered one of the most dangerous snackfoods in Hong Kong, due to high calorie count and high fat content. Adding charsiu (叉燒) as a filling ups the ante considerably, besides making them addictive.
Soup dumplings (湯餃) in sharkfin and abalone broth are a must-try.
Also order the fabulous squab (紅燒乳鴿).

The prices are comparable to fancier dimsummeries in San Francisco, unfortunately the quality is far, far better.


長發大酒樓 CHEUNG FAT TAAI JAU LOU
(Cheung Fat Restaurant)
Cheung Fat Shopping Centre, Cheung Fat Estate,
Fifth floor, unit 501.
[青衣, 長發邨, 長發商場 5樓, 501 號舖]

North shore, near the water.
Nothing really stands out here, but it's a variety of good food at reasonable prices.
Decent dim sum early in the day, dining later.


一粥麵 YAT JUK MIN
(Super Super Congee & Noodles)
Cheung Fat Shopping Centre, Cheung Fat Estate,
Ground floor, unit 319.
[青衣, 長發邨, 長發商場 319 號舖]

North shore, near the water.
Hong Kong style convenience food. Rice porridge, noodle dishes, and sheet noodle.
You might like the 'salty lean-pork pig-blood cubes rice porridge' (鹹瘦肉豬紅粥 haahm sau yiuk chu hong juk). One common problem with many versions of congee that use lean pork is that the meat is cooked till less than appetizing - it's a textural thing. That at times is also a problem here.
But you cannot find pig's blood so easily in San Francisco, and by and large this chain does a decent job.
Have it with a cup of milk-tea (奶茶 nai cha) for a totally HK experience.


There are hundreds of other restaurants located in the shopping centres of the various housing estates, everything from HK style street food, snacks, bakeries, to Sushi, Thai, American fast-food, and high-end dining. The scope for experimentation and casual noshing is quite impressive, all conveniently close together.
Did I mention air-conditioning already?
Air-con, air-con, air-con.


If you're in HK on business, you should also know that there are various good hotels on Tsing Yi Island, many in the area of Tsing Yi Road south of the bridge. Most are mere minutes from the Tsing Yi MTR station.
Tsim Sha Tsui is within easy transport reach, HK Central district is less than half an hour away by train, the airport approximately fifty minutes.
So it's as good a place to base yourself while there as any.

Of course, there's always Mongkok, if you want something a bit more 'earthy'.




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