3.140 Noodles with Shrimp and Squash

Cycle 3 – Item 140

24 (Thu) May 2012

Noodles with Shrimp and Squash

3.0

at Star Seafood Restaurant

-Sheung Wan, Hong Kong SAR, China-

with AUSOM Class of 2012, various faculty members

AUSOM Class of 2012 Graduation Trip: Day 2 of 4

Day 1 (3.139 Stir-Fried Flat Noodles in Soy Sauce)
Day 2 (3.140 Noodles with Shrimp and Squash)
Day 3 (3.141 Flying Roast Goose)
Day 4 (3.142 Roasted Goose)

In Hong Kong. Here to facilitate the graduation trip for AUSOM’s Class of 2012, which I helped to organize. Any opportunity to visit my favorite food city in the world, to gorge on my favorite cuisine at its source – Cantonese – I’ll take it, gratefully.

After a completely wasted Day 1, Day 2 wasn’t much better. We moved to a more central location, from the Disney Hollywood Hotel (Lantau Island) to the Ramada Hotel (Hong Kong Island), a geographic improvement for those with the time to take advantage of it.

So long as room service offers goodies like this excellent fried rice with conpoy and egg whites (expect to see that plate in a future dish from home).

Unfortunately, while everyone else was out on the town, I was stuck in my room with a pair of students to help them finalize their presentations for tomorrow. I always seem to be the only one working during these trips. Not that I’m complaining, really. I’m happy to be in Hong Kong in any capacity.

Nice view of the harbor, even if obstructed.

Before dinner, I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to the IFC (International Finance Center) Mall, where I was blown away by the City’Super market. Hands down, it was the most primo grocery store that I’ve ever encountered. Each aisle dedicated to a single food category – say, olive oil – their merchandising strategy seemed to consist of buying all, and only, the high-end products on the market. And unlike other posh retailers that I’ve seen in either the States or Europe, this place was more impressive with its equally strong selection of both Euro-American and Chinese-Asian foods. It represented the convergence of the mainland’s scale and volume, plus the island’s luxe and lavishness, as well as the culture’s obsession with food in general.

I got a few fun items that I look forward to using upon my return.

For dinner, the students and faculty convened at a restaurant located a couple blocks from the hotel.

The concierge had recommended it, describing the place as a small family restaurant, casual, nothing too fancy. When I asked him if it could accommodate our group of 41 on such short notice, he didn’t seem to understand the question. When I went to make the reservation, the manager also seemed confused.

When we sat down, occupying 4 tables among the dozen or so banquet-sized tables in the sprawling dining hall, and the food immediately started coming in waves, I then understood why my question had seemed nonsensical. The people of Hong Kong love to eat, in restaurants, accompanied by many, any day of the week. So, even a “small” family restaurant has sufficient capacity to accommodate a last-minute party of 41.

And again, with the convergence of scale/volume/luxe/lavishness, the food was casual, nothing too fancy by Hong Kong standards but sumptuous by any other. Ironically, the price of HK$1500 (225,000 won) for each table of ten would probably be considered pricy to the locals but cheap to us, relative to the ridiculously overpriced “Chinese” restaurants in Korea.