CLAYPOT RICE -- CRUSTY, SAVOURY, AND ECK ECK ECK!

Everyone says you should go to Kwan Kee for claypot rice, and maybe you should. But as they are so well-known (好出名！ 'hou chut meng'), you might not like them so much. It can get a bit busy there.
Claypot rice is something the locals love, and there are infinite versions of it. The idea is that the rice at the bottom is somewhat crisped, the meat at the top is steamed to perfection, and all the juices have mixed with the rice. You drizzle in a little soy sauce to loosen the crust (飯焦 'faan jiu'), and the steam adds more savouriness to both the rice and the meats.
And did I mention that Kwan Kee is well-known?
That contributes a bustling atmosphere.
Seriously, it's a good place.
Locals know food.
Eat.


坤記煲仔小菜
西環，西營盤，皇后大道西263號，和益大廈地下1號舖。
Kwan Kee Claypot Rice (and small dishes)
Shop 1, Wo Yick Mansion, 263 Queen's Road West, Sai Ying Pun, Western District


支竹牛腩煲 ('ji juk ngau naam pou chai faan'): beef brisket and dried bean curd stick claypot rice. Dried bean curd stick absorbs flavour very well, and adds a nice soft chewiness.
窩蛋牛肉煲仔飯 ('gwat daan ngau yiuk pou chai faan'): beef claypot rice with an egg added on top to cook in the heat. Which is a lovely combination! Chopped chives sprinkled over. Mmm.
臘味牛肉煲仔飯 ('laap mei ngau yiuk pou chai faan'): beef and preserved meats claypot rice. Succulent, delicious, simple.
白鱔排骨煲仔飯 ('baak sin paai gwat pou chai faan'): eel and spare ribs claypot rice.
白鱔臘腸煲仔飯 ('baak sin laap cheung pou chai faan'): eel and Chinese sausage claypot rice. Chinese sausage, in fact should always be added to claypot rice dishes, because it contributes delightfully.
白鱔滑雞煲仔飯 ('baak sin gwat kai pou chai faan'): eel and slippery chicken claypot rice.
田雞煲仔飯 ('tin kai pou chai faan'): frog claypot rice.
滑雞煲仔飯 ('gwat kai pou chai faan'): chicken claypot rice.
臘味田雞煲仔飯 ('siu mei tin kai pou chai faan'): preserved meats and frog claypot rice.
燒臘雞煲仔飯 ('siu laap gai pou chai faan'): Chinese sausage plus chicken claypot rice.


OTHER THINGS

椒鹽鮮魷 ('jiu-yim sin yau'): salt and pepper squid-fry. Nicely presented on a bed of lettuce, with chopped chilies and chives for colour. Tasty!
潮式蠔仔餅 ('chiu sik hou chai bing'): Chiu Chow style oyster omelette.
沙爹炒牛肉河 ('saa te chaau ngau yiuk ho'): Saté-sauce beef chow fun.
豉椒炒蜆 ('si jiu chaau hin'): black bean sauce stirfried clams.
蜆蚧鯪魚球 ('hin gai ling yü kau'): clam-flavour carp fish balls. The clam flavour is in the dipping sauce, made with preserved cockle (蜆蚧), which may be an acquired taste. But it's very good in congee!
生菜鯪魚球湯 ('saang choi ling yü kau tong'): lettuce and fresh-made fish balls in broth.

They also have various stews, soups, and sauteed vegetables, but you really go their for the standard claypot rice dishes, as well as the eel (白鱔 'baak sin'), frog (田雞 'tin kai'), and mud carp (鯪魚 'ling yü') combos.


Note: a friend tells me that the Persian or Armenian word for the crusty rice at the bottom of the pot is 'eck eck eck'. My knowledge of either of those languages in insufficient to question that, and he's probably right.

I love saying it. Eck eck eck!


AFTER WORD

And then there is Hong Kong style American junk food. Which is a culinary category that you already think you know, even though you eschew it. You go to the Danish Bakery in Causeway Bay for hamburgers, hotdogs, fish fillet sandwiches, and fried chicken. It is something you crave. "Bugger all refinement", you will say, "I want the yummy junkfood my third aunt living in the projects used to make", and you fondly remember the time the savage Indians circled your housing complex in Chicago. Or something similarly American. You still have a row of dried scalps back at the ranch.
As well as Donald Trump's I.Q. test results.
Which are bigly, and yuge.


丹麥餅店
銅鑼灣，禮頓道106號，禮信大廈地下。
Danish Bakery
Ground floor, Leishun Court, 106 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay

魚柳包 ('yü lau baau'): fried fish sandwich. Most often it is made with a weird MacDonaldish square of reconstituted sea food saw dust, but this version is an actual chunk of fresh fish, battered and deep fried.
熱狗 ('yit gau'): hot dog.
豬扒包 ('chyu baa baau'): pork chop bun.
炸雞脾 ('jaa gai pei'): fried chicken.
芝士漢堡包 ('ji si hon bou baau'): cheese burger. Spiced meat, a little ketchup and mayo, cheese.
豬排包 ('chyu paai baau'): shortribs sandwich.

孖腸芝士熱狗 ('maa cheung ji si yit gau'): TWO deep-fried dogs on a toasted bun with cheese! Tell them to add more! 厚厚的芝士！


Unless you are a shopaholic, there is honestly no other reason to head to Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣). But it is close to East Point (東角 'tung gok'), Canal Road (鵝頸澗 'ngo keng gaan'), and Wanchai (灣仔).




==========================================================================
NOTE: Readers may contact me directly:
LETTER BOX.
All correspondence will be kept in confidence.
==========================================================================