LITTLE SISTER'S GRUEL -- 妹記粥

One my favourite dishes is simple, basic, and cheap (皮蛋瘦肉粥 'pei daan sau yiuk juk'). Scrawny pork and preserved egg in rice porridge. No, I cannot remember when I first tried it; many years ago. But in any case it was shortly after I had learned to read the words. 皮 'pei': skin, surface. 蛋 'daan': egg. 瘦 'sau': thin, lean. 肉 'yiuk': meat, flesh. 粥 'juk': rice gruel, thin paste. You don't have to know how to read in order to enjoy food, but if you're white, it helps.

Some things require more than passing ability with a dictionary. Fish loin and meatball congee: 魚腩肉丸粥 ('yü naam yiuk-yuen juk'). This is fatty underbelly of carp, which is sweet and rich, with meatballs made of not particularly diet-friendly pork; both equally added to your bowl of rice porridge. It is "mun yü dik tim mei" (滿魚的甜味); "filled with the sweet deliciousness of fish". Shredded lettuce (生菜絲 'saang choi si') on top brings out the fresh taste.

If you are an aficionado, also order some crunchy raw fish skin (爽魚皮 'song yü pei'). Many people do. Dressed, with ginger and scallion added, to dip in soy and chili.



Congee heaven is on Flower Garden Street (花园街 'fa yuen gaai'), in Mongkok (旺角), near Argyle Street (亞皆老街 'ngaa gaai lou gaai').



妹記生滾粥品
旺角花園街市政大廈4樓熟食中心11-12舖
['mui kei saang-gwan juk pan; wong-gok fa-yuen gaai si jing-daai haa, sei lau, suksik jungsam, sap-yat sap-yi pou']

MUI KEE CONGEE
["Younger Sister's Freshly Boiled Congee Products"]
Shop no. 11-12, Fa Yuen Street Market, Municipal Services Building, Fourth Floor, Cooked Foods Centre
Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Hours of operation: Seven in the morning till three P.M.


It used to be a street food stall (大牌檔 'daai paai dong'), but like very many such it has moved indoors. The third generation of the original family now runs the place.

The term 'mui' (妹) means a younger sister, and is a flexible relational term -- meaning that I would address a young non-adult as such, but not someone reasonably close to my own age, unless there were kinship or romantic ties binding us -- and in this case posits the founder within a family or social hierarchy.

No, I do not know the backstory.

好靚好食嘅 HOU LENG HOU SIK GE!
["very beautiful and delicious!"]

Items to consider, because they are wonderful:

Carp belly and meatballs congee (魚腩肉丸粥 'yü naam yiuk yuen juk'), pork liver and carp belly congee (豬潤魚腩粥 'chü yun yü naam juk'; 魚腩豬肝粥 'yü naam chü gon juk'), and plain carp belly congee (鯇魚片粥 'waan yü pin juk'). But there are many other variations, and there is no need to restrain yourself to just these three. What you must definitely also have is "oil fried lumps" (油炸塊 'yau jaa faai'), which is a strip of deep-fried puff bread (油條 'yau tiu') cut into manageable chunks. Dump these on top one by one, to sop up some of the congee. Not all at once, as you don't want them sodden.
They are customary with rice porridge, and yummy.

If there are two of you, you should also share preserved egg with shredded ginger (生薑皮蛋 'saang geung pei daan') on the side.



熟食中心 SUK-SIK JUNG-SAM 

The Cooked Foods Centre is open from six in the morning till 2 A.M.
It's a little hard to find if you're new to the area, but worth it.



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