nanamoose Musings

Fighting it out in Sham Shui Po

“I went to Sham Shui Po today,” I said proudly.

“What? What is there in Sham Shui Po?” was the wide-eyed and bewildered response I received. I don’t blame him. Ask any other Centralite or even your average Hong Kong eighteen to forty year-old and you would have gotten the same blank stare.

I don’t blame them. Having lived in Hong Kong almost all my life my trips to Sham Shui Po had been confined to “bead” shopping in my teens and more haberdashery sourcing many years later. That anything else interesting existed in Sham Shui Po just never occurred to me.

Thanks to the Taiwanese published book “Little Trip in Hong Kong” (香港小旅行), the other day I ventured deep into Sham Shui Po’s Sang Kee Watch Shop. To be in the presence of Mr. Ng and his fifty-year old shop, underneath the rickety staircase of a sixty-year old “tong lou” building on Castle Peak Road, is like walking back in time. In the display windows are laid, rather forlornly, thousands of antique watches, many often new. Behind the counter are chipped, worn and rusty tools that looked at least as old as the shop itself.

We walked into the shop speaking Mandarin. Mr. Ng seemed to have found his entertainment for the day, belting out greetings excitedly in his heavily accented Putonghua while producing one recommendation after another. His watches, we were told, were mostly inherited from his father, a skilled watch repairman in the sixties, and dug out from derelict watch factories in Switzerland and Japan.

“You see the craftsmanship in these watches? Here, feel that smoothness? You don't get that anymore these days la, everything is fast fast fast, conveyor belt style, nobody cares about the craftsmanship anymore,” sighed Mr. Ng.

How true. Mr. Ng later told us that it took him two years to learn how to fix a clock, and another three to repair watches from his father. Today, fixing watches for the local community still represents a major part of his income, and often takes at least ten minutes for a HK$20-30 dollar job. In order to cut down on costs and to prevent the watches from being burgled, Mr. Ng literally confined his whole world into this tiny, 20-30 sq. ft. space by choosing to sleep here at night.

“Rent in Hong Kong is getting more and more expensive you know – it’s the Mainlanders! They’re buying up all our property so that there’s nothing left for us!” Mr. Ng said in an animated mock whisper.

Indeed Hong Kong might be bought up by the Mainland Chinese, but our spirit will never falter, like that of Mr. Ng. Leaving his shop and heading towards Cheung Fat dai pai dong with a beautiful antique watch in hand, I started to appreciate a new meaning in the term 安居樂業 (to live and work in peace and contentment).

原來，安居可以樂業，樂業可以安居。

Taipei Finds: Have a good Sunday at Simple Life Market

Four months on from when I first reported about Good Cho’s in my blog, the café cum lifestyle store cum playground-for-youngters –wanting-to-showcase-their-talents has evolved from a cosy, laid back spot to a jam-packed weekend destination with a two-hour wait for a table during lunch hours. Visitors here include Hong Kongers, mainlanders and the occasional gwei lo, and the mood is often ecstatic. What with a continuous two-time coverage from Monocle Magazine and an ever increasingly successful Sunday market at its doorstep, I just hope that it’s not too soon before Good Cho’s become Taipei’s Disneyland.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Try to come in on a weekday. During the weekend, jump the queue and visit Simple Market on Sunday instead, in the square just outside Good Cho’s. There is a farmer’s market selling organic fruits and vegetables, teas and homemade vinegar or popsicles. On the other end are stalls selling handmade goodies from accessories, paper crafts, jam and biscuits, to of course, teakha’s handcrafted milk teas and scones. In one corner there are even performance artists providing live entertainment, come rain or shine.

Teakha’s next appearance will be on 26 June from 1-7pm at Simple Market, Xinyi Public Assembly Hall (corner of Songqin Road and Zhuangjing Road)
tel: (02) 2758 2609

Taipei Finds: Hidden Gems around Yongkong Street

Wondering through my favourite Yongkang area this afternoon I had the luxury, as I always do here in Taipei, of meeting some new friends at the recently opened “?What” . Part teahouse and part exhibition space, self –styled “dreamer / collector / sharer”, and, of course, owner of the space 小玩子 (Xiaowanzi) designed and renovate the entire space herself, collecting abandoned wooden doors and window frames and reassembling them as an open window bar. Inside Xiaowanzi littered the space with heavy copper teapots and antique wares so that the entire space resembles a collector’s dream of an old Taiwanese teahouse come true.

It was the old window frames, painted turquoise, that had caught my eye. However, when I walked over, I was further bemused to find that they were carrying teas from 貓空茶館, a teahouse I loved in Maokong (a famous tea growing area in the south of Taipei City).

“These teas are I sourced from my boyfriend’s teahouse in Maokong”, explained Xiaowanzi as she came over to greet me.

“Oh really? I’d been there a while ago and we even had a long talk about teas!”

“That’s a pleasant surprise! Come in and have some tea with us. There’s a new honey-scented Oolong I’d like you to try!” urged Xiaowanzi.

And that's how I got invited to drink some of the best Oolongs I’ve tasted, met Xiaowanzi’s friend Doctor Lin who came in later with some homegrown cucumbers, tasted the cucumbers, and even made an appointment with him (an ex-engineer and self -taught Qigong master) to cure my chronic shoulder and back pain the next week. That’s my typical day in Taipei.

If this is all too touchy-feely for you, as a friend likes to describe his feeling towards Taipei’s “warmness”, hop over to the next alley to find Flat White, rustic chic and heavily laptop-clad with students, designers and aimless people like me. Here you will find, of course, flat whites, long blacks, wooden communal tables, colourful, mix and match chairs, and all the time in the world for you to loiter. When you are done with their coffees, perhaps try a cup of Indian Chai?

?What is at 53 Yongkang Street, Taipei.
Tel: (02) 23931958

Flat White is at no. 12, Alley 41, Yongkang Street, Taipei
Tel: (02) 33938872

Love for thy Neighbourhood (Part II of III) - Hong Kong's Cheung Hing

 

Unfortunately Cheung Hing closed down late last year. This is a rerun of a post I first posted in 2007, and a video I made as Wok with Nana just before it closed down. Enjoy!

Ok ok, I do not exactly live in Happy Valley now, but I did so for about fourteen years since I first moved to Hong Kong. Ok ok, then again I did not exactly live IN Happy Valley but above it, but I did go to school there and had been going to lunch at Cheung Hing for as long as I could remember. Cheung Hing therefore holds fond memories for me, especially memory of that once when we, as fourteen year olds, got to share a table with Michael Wong!

When most people think of Cheung Hing they think of old Cheung Hing with its 70s 阿飞正传Hong Kong old school drab look and autographs of celebrities pinned up all over their walls. Old Cheung Hing does exude an old world charm hard to replicate in modern Hong Kong, so if you are looking for that particular experience look nowhere else. However, for good cha chaan tang food the new Cheung Hing is the way to go. At old Cheung Hing the noodles are on the soggy side and the Hong Kong style iced milk tea watered down. At new Cheung Hing however (with my old friend Mr. Ma, who has worked at Cheung Hing for almost twenty years, providing excellent service), the food is always (apart from the occasional Saturdays when there is horse racing in Shatin and the chefs therefore get distracted), the noodles are al dente and the iced milk tea perfecto. The 茶走 (cha chaan tang language meaning 茶走糖, i.e. tea without sugar and instead with condensed milk) here is also the best I have had anywhere in Hong Kong. My favourite is 五香肉丁出前一丁(with one egg). The 五香肉丁 comes straight out of a can but I am a firm believer in the fact that the simplest foods are often the most difficult to make, even when it is as simple as cooking a pack of instant noodles and pouring canned meat on top of it. Believe me. The五香肉丁出前一丁 here is unparalleled.

Next time you are in Happy Valley I advice you to fill up your stomach with food from the new Cheung Hing, then hop next store to the old Cheung Hing for some pineapple buns with butter and egg tarts.

煙薰溏心蛋 Tea-smoked Eggs

You will all have eaten these beautiful, delicate eggs somewhere in the world. In Japan, they're called onsen tamago, literally eggs dipped in an onsen and cooked to perfection, and served with ramen. In HK or China they're called 溏心蛋, eggs with a runny centre, and are served usually on its own. In Taiwan you can find them in sandwiches at the local convenience store, and I recently ate a lovely Thai style son-in-law egg with the centre still running at Gingerboy in Melbourne. The rest of the meal was blah, but the egg left an indelible impression in my mind.

Here's how I made mine for Wok with Nana's 6th episode, served on top of a Nicoise Salad.

Ingredients

6 Duck Eggs

100ml Water

375ml Chinese Marinade

For Smoking

2 tbsp Sugar

4 tbsp Flour

Tealeaves of your choice. We used Lapsang Suchong for added smokiness.

Method

1. Mix Chinese marinade together with 100ml water, set aside.

2. Fill pot with cold water and insert eggs. Cook on high heat until water is boiled. Turn down to medium heat and continue to cook for another 3.5 minutes, make sure to continuously stir so that the eggs receive heat evenly. Timing is key to attain the runny texture of the yolk so be careful not to overcook.

3. Take out the eggs and cool under running water. Peel off shell.

4. Marinate in marinade mixture for 15 minutes.

5. Layer wok with a piece of alumimium foil. Sprinkle with flour, sugar and tealeaves.

6. Steam eggs on steaming rack in the wok until you see smoke coming out from the sides of the wok. This should take about 5-8 minutes.

7. Slice eggs in half to serve.

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup Reinvented

NOTE: I am consolidating all my recipes from the Wok with Nana Tumblr blog into nanamoose. So please find all recipes of mine here from now on!

Special thanks to my friend Cindy for passing me this recipe. I’ve always loved the tomato version of the Taiwanese beef noodles but have not found any that tastes better than this one. I prefer my beef noodles a bit on the sweet side, perhaps due to my Jiangsu (which is very close to Shanghai) heritage, so feel free to add or subtract from the rock sugar below.

Instructions:

1. Blanch beef bones in boiling water for a few minutes. Throw out the water and wash the bones lightly. Cook in boiling water on low heat together with spring onions and ginger for 3 hours.
2. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for roughly 30 seconds until the skin comes off easily. Let cool and peel.
3. While we are waiting, use the same pot of water to blanch the beef. A few seconds will do.
4. Heat oil in pan and throw in garlic, spring onions, and chilies. Stir-fry until fragrant.
5. Add onions and tomatoes. Continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes.
6. Add beef shank and continue to stir-fry until beef is half cooked. The redness of the meat should just about to disappear.
7. Pour in the rice wine, soy sauce and rock sugar. Cook to boil.
8. Add water to cover the meat (optional, if the sauce does not cover the whole pan of meat) and simmer on low heat for 1.5-2 hours.
9. Check on water level every 20 minutes or so to make sure you don't burn the meat; add water when liquid level is low.
10. Cook noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes.
11. When the noodles are cooked, drain and split in four bowls. Add beef and sauce, and soup to mix. Eat with picked mustard greens on the side.

My interview with Yes Style!

Very honoured to have been invited to do an interview with Yes Style, an Asian online fashion and lifestyle store and blog created by the people behind YesAsia. Those of us who have studied abroad will know that YesAsia is the online purveyor of all drama and music Asian, and therefore a lifesaver when it comes to dreary boarding school days.

Here's a transcript of the interview: -

Nana Chan, also known in the blogging and YouTube circuit as “NanaMoose”, is a lawyer-turned-blogger and food writer here in Hong Kong. She traded her power suits and legalese for the wonderful flavors, textures and smells of Chinese cooking, and now stars in her own YouTube cooking show with fellow HK blogger Josh Tse, aka Cha Xiu Bao. “Wok With Nana” features recipes for different Chinese dishes, including her famous Taiwanese beef noodles. But that’s not the only thing she has up her sleeve.

One sunny afternoon, I sat down with Nana on her roofdeck, with a view of downtown Hong Kong skyscrapers framed against Victoria Harbour. Amid the mouthwatering smell of her Taiwanese beef noodles and the honey-and-red-date milk tea she demonstrated for our PeopleStyle readers, our talk turns to her love for the good things in life and paying homage to her Chinese heritage.

K: Tell us what started “Wok With Nana”.

N: Aside from being food bloggers, both Josh Tse and I have previously worked with foreign chefs, like Anthony Bourdain and Kylie Kwong for their TV show episodes that focused on Chinese cooking. However, we both realized that there were no cooking shows in English about authentic Chinese food. With my love for cooking and Josh’s skill in photography and filming, we thought of putting together a Chinese cooking show on YouTube. We started last August 2010 and made 10 episodes so far. We’re starting small but we’ve been getting good feedback from people so far so we’d like to continue this.

K: I imagine food was a very big part of your growing-up years, as most Asian cultures are centered around food in general. Can you share with us any of your favorite food memories?

N: I remember that we always had a lot of food at home. My mom cooks every single day and she’s such a great cook that I think we became really picky eaters because we were spoiled by all that good food. There was always fresh soup, afternoon tea at five and we’d have desserts afterwards. However, my favorite food memory would have to be my maternal grandmother’s Shanghainese dish called Lion’s Head Dumplings. Hers was the meatball variety and it was her signature dish. I’ve made it many times but of course, I still think my grandma’s version is the best!

K: Was there a pivotal moment in your life that made you decide to switch from being a lawyer to blogging about and cooking Chinese food?

N: My love for food and cooking has always been there, ever since I started cooking while at boarding school. Here in Hong Kong, there is so much society and family pressure to go down that route of being a lawyer, banker or doctor, joining the rat race, etc. I took an MBA course a few years ago to buy myself sometime before making this huge change in my life. I have to admit, my income now is very far from what I used to make as a lawyer but I’m very lucky that my family has supported my decision. I have never been happier, honestly!

K: Aside from your blogging, writing and “Wok With Nana” show, you’ve also started a pop-up tea stall called “Teakha”. It sounds very new and surprising!

N: (Laughs) It is! Well, the name “Teakha” is an anagram for ‘HK (Hong Kong) tea’. I went trekking in Nepal and learned that in the Nepalese language, the word for “okay” is “tikcha”. I thought that it sounded quite catchy and cute so when I conceptualized my pop-up tea stall venture, I decided to do a variation of that word.

Why “pop-up”? Because it doesn’t have a permanent location! Outside of Hong Kong, hawker stands, food stalls and food trucks are common but it’s so rigid and regulated here. Teakha stands for spontaneity, good food and a fun experience. My pop-up stall usually runs during the weekends that I’m here in Hong Kong as I often go to Taiwan, too. And the menu is pretty simple: my special tea and home-baked scones plus other goodies. I have about 40 to 50 regulars who now follow me wherever and whenever Teakha “pops up”.

K: Aside from the obvious food connection, is there a shared philosophy behind all that you do?

N: I think I’m over that phase of going to Michelin-starred restaurants and now, I’m focusing more on the simpler things like enjoying the whole process of making and savoring my own food. The fact that “Wok With Nana” is on the “small tube” and not on mainstream TV is an advantage. There’s a more intimate feel to it and a better connection to our audience. It’s the same with Teakha – there are no frills to it. It’s mostly a small gathering, punctuated by homemade food and in a ’spontaneous’ setting so that you create an entire experience that is not only about food.