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Thursday, January 10, 2008

HK Egg Tart.....

I was dead tired by Thursday. The whole trip has been wearing me down and I felt really exhausted from all the rushing around and waking up at 6am to catch flights. I think being my body has gotten use to the "relaxed" state that suddenly it couldnt handle being thrust back into the hectic schedule!

I didnt have any plans on thurs and i declined lunch with my HK country director as I was really tired. So instead, I booked myself for any massage instead.. and plan for dinner date with david and his wife before flying out the next early morning bak to sg.

I didnt feel like lunch before massage so i went to the hotel's dessert cafe and my god, the assortment of cakes and desserts were overwhelmingly good! I had one takeaway (HK$30) and suddenly, I was struck by egg tart craving and i thought my partner would like one too since he had been busy the whole 2 days with meetings. I havent had a good one since i left HK and Sydney average cafe dessert is quite horrible by my standard.

The hotel cafe didnt sell any eggtart and so i causally asked them if they know any good one nearby which the LOCALS really like. The lady who served me was very helpful and she actually asked around a few colleagues and found out that there was one near LKF. As she didnt know I could speak and understand cantonese, I was quite absorbed by their conversations about worrying the store too far and I would get lost etc. At that moment, I didnt know if I should conclude the HK staff working in this mandarin hotel happen to be a very warm and helpful bunch, or does it have to do with their training. Perhaps its a little bit of both.

I didnt know the English road name 摆花街 in cantonese until she mentioned Yung Kee (the famous chinese restaurant for its roasted BBQ meats and packaway goose for tourists). I know where that is! I told her i knew Yung Kee and she excitedly knew me this map and marked down 泰昌(Tai Chang). I asked her if its really good and she said alot of locals will Q up in the morning for bread and tarts. That was good assurance enough for me. HK people know their bread and food.

I didnt realise it was going to be a 15mins walk and it was warm. Even though it should be winter, we were experiencing a warm spell during my stay in HK. It felt more like mild summer here while sydney was undergoing a major heat wave of 38 degrees during my absence! Lucky me!
I walked to the place and realise the street was Lynhurst Street she was refering to in cantonese. It was the first left turn into the new lane after Yung Kee. ("It was once said if you have never tasted Yung Kee's BBQ meat, then you have never been to HK...")The egg tart store was located pretty down the lane and fr a min i was wondering if the store could have been closed at 6.30pm. Just as I was wondering to myself, i pass the overhead bridge and saw a couple of girls standing outside munching stuff. I found the place!

The tarts were kept warm and honestly, it didnt look very appetitising. I was a little disappointed and so only bought 2. I rushed back to the hotel as i was running late for dinner. I was annoyed when opened my bag and saw one of my tart was half smashed. I decide to eat it while it was still warm.

the first mouthful was a shocker. the egg tart was REALLY REALLY GOOD! In fact it was the best eggtart i had had since i lived in HK! damn! I immediately regretted not buying more and tonight was my last night in HK. I was wrong to "judge the tart by its humble look" The taste was superb and the crust was just the right crisp without being overly flaky or hard. The egg custard melts in your mouth leaving a nice smooth sweet taste. At that moment, I really was so pleased with my decision to make an effort to walk there and buy the tarts! I really had the hotel staff to thank for!

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