It was quite a contrast to come here to a restaurant which has no air conditioning and tables were placed on the side of the street with exhaust fume all around you after watching Sex and the City 2. At the same time it reminded me that a meal is not all about the glamorous decor, expensive food and extravagant dining scene; it is an experience, a less than pleasant atmosphere can be as enjoyable.
Tong Kee is famous for its congee and rice noodle rolls which are made to order. The menu clearly states that during rush hour, you may need to wait as long as 20 mins. Also, this place closes on Wed and Sun ... humm ... those are the two horse racing days ... hummm but they do open til 2am or so. Considered yourself warned.
Pork Bone Congee with Dried Bok Choy 菜乾豬骨粥 was very flavorful but rather watery for my personal liking. I like my congee more mushy, but then again, purely personal preference. The inclusion of the pork bones was to tell you that they did use plenty of them?
We also ordered the 柴魚花生粥 (dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna and peanuts congee I suppose?) which had a richer flavor that the one we just had.I am not a big fan of soaked peanuts or those being cooked but the best way get the most flavors out of this congee was to consume all ingredients together if possible.
Time for some steam rice noodle rolls, my favorite! Duck and Pig Liver Rice Noodle Roll was an interesting yet very satisfying combination. Both items have rather strong flavors so the duck flavor somehow overtook the pig liver's taste in my opinion. The pig liver was a bit too firm (sign of a bit overcooked?) but no complaints. The rice noodle paper was silky smooth by slightly too thick.
We had to order an extra one with just plain pig liver because we wanted get the rich flavors out of it. This time we can taste the it without the duck! It was slightly overcooked once again but decent enough.
In order to balance the flavors in our taste buds, we ordered the Dried Shrimps and Fish Rice Paper Roll. when I say light flavors I mean really light, it is the sauce that made the world of differences. Since I am on the topic of the sauce, I am quite certain that they did something special to it because it carried hints of sweetness to it and a dose of MSG perhaps? The sauce really made a huge difference in my opinion.
We cleaned the plates completely!!
Oh yes, almost forgot. When I tried to order the Plain Rice Noodle Paper Roll, I was informed that they are not making them??? The exact words were "sold out." Humm ... I was quite confused as to why it can be sold out when they were still pumping out orders. I bet it was because the plain version has a very low ROI (return on investment)? Higher cost? I am still quite puzzled by it.
Likes:
- Special Soy Sauce with hints of sweetness to it
- Very flavorful congee (柴魚花生粥 (dried, fermented, and smoked skipjack tuna and peanuts congee I suppose?)
- Pig Liver slightly overcooked
- Fish and Dried Shrimp version rather bland, make sure you have plenty of sauce.
Avg Spending: Below HKD100 per person
Tong Kee 堂記腸粉專門店
26 Man Wui Street, Jordan
Tel: 2710 7950
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3 comments:
The soy sauce had probably had some sugar added to it to make it taste so yummy. And I agree with your comment about the low rate of return being the real reason why plain rice noodle rolls were "sold out" in the evening, forcing customers to opt for the more expensive choices.
@cheeky angel: yeah! I just wanted a plain version of rice noodle rolls and it is often the plain version that one can truly test out the skills of the chef! ah well ...
The 2nd time I visited, the quality was much better than my first time. I think their rice paper wrap still seems a little too flappy or melty in texture, sometimes even too thick. A bit inconsistent!
Each time I visit I eat like 4-5 Cheung Fan dishes! Need to wait for ages... :D Love the Fish or Duck versions. Char Siu one is smoky. Wished they sell duck liver with the duck instead of pork liver hehe..
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