Serendipitous Lunch near Tin Hou station, Hong Kong Island

Culinary Award for Shek Kee 

           Along Ngan Mok street very close to the Tin Hou MTR station is a small eatery, called Shek Kee. I chanced upon it last week when I had a lunch meeting with a long time friend Alvin Low who is based in Hong Kong.

      From exit A1, just head up the street and it is on the left hand side ; no outstanding displays of food exhibits, just a nondescript menu, some Michelin recommended food guide stickers and a bustling high turnover of eat and go patrons who typify the "sit, eat, chat and go" crowd from around the area.

Its within the circled area in the map 

        I do not pretend to be a foodie, not by any long shot, but I do enjoy good local food especially if its tasty, the ingredients are fresh and the four key elements of sight, smell, taste and touch are adequately satisfied.

       We entered this unpretentious place thanks firstly to the Club Lounge lady staff on the 29th floor of the hotel where I stayed, Metropark Causeway Bay, which is just 200 metres from the MTR station, in the gritty Tin Hou Hong Kong suburb. She pointed out this food Hub area just next to the station around Ngan Mok road where I could get cheap and good Tim Sum, Thai and other International delights at a fraction of the costs at Central or Tsim Sha Tsui areas where rents are so much higher.

     

 Briased Beef with Tomato Sauce and Rice 

             Be warned, English speakers and writers, the menus are all in Chinese, with a smattering of English posters only at the entrance, so its more like asking the waitress who has an attitude when you ask her to recommend, she will retort  "everything here is nice" . So either point and hope for the best, or (like me) resort to my lousy Chinese and look out for 'key words' like 'niu rou' (beef), 'ju rou' (chicken) or 'yu (fish) and then see what the establishment serves you.     

          Cut a long story short, by the time we reached there, the place was full, so be prepared to share a table, like we did, with a tourist from Europe. I believe that the Michelin guide is useful for both people from the Eastern part of the world to sample fine cuisine in the capitals of Europe and vice versa, Western tourists come and sample good fare in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Tokyo for example as the Michelin guide generally is a good review of quality food. 

         

Vegetable Soup

 

      My braised beef was very tender and flavourful though I would have liked some spice into the dish, I believe Hong Kongers do not take too well to spicy food, judging from the food I have tasted every single time I have been there. The vegetable soup was good using fresh vegetables and I had a 'ying yong' drink or mixed coffee and tea concoction which is a signature drink in Hong Kong. You can either have it in cold (with ice) or hot version like your normal beverage.

     My verdict, well the place was 90% patronised by locals, many working class folk judging from their attire. The food was good and the price was amazingly affordable ('duh') ; I remember the bill for the 2 of us came to HK$ 98 or S$ 18 (USD 13) for 2 which is quite unbelievable for an air conditioned cafe,  passable service and above average food.

     Will I return ? Certainly. But only If I stay near the same locale when I am next in Hong Kong island.

     Will I actually make a food trip specially to visit to eat ? No. There are so many other types of great food in Hong Kong, I would be doing a disservice to my taste buds if I neglected trying out the other food types  during my short trips.