Honestly, I wasn’t that hungry when I walked through the door of Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop.
The night was humid, dense with anticipation of the approaching typhoon. My stomach was still hard at work deciding if the afternoon tea earlier on was worth keeping (read: else, to “repel” it, if you get my drift). I was tired after a long day. So it was the prospect of catching up with a friend and trying out a new place in Happy Valley that got me going.
Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop (what a mouthful!) looked promising from the outside. You couldn’t get any more Chinese than with waiters in costume, dark paneled wall and antique-like furniture. It was almost like the restaurant was afraid that random strangers might come through the door and not know it is a Chinese restaurant. And what’s up with the name? I mean, it can’t get anymore SEO-friendly than this… only if their website (which I won’t bother to link here) is working.
Does this sound like an opening of a bad review of this place? Quite the opposite. Tasty Congee & Noodle Wantun Shop was quite a gem, keeping true to its name sake, true and true. I found out that Tasty Congee is the second generation shop of Hong Kong’s congee and noodle expert Ho Hung Kee.
It certainly didn’t disappoint!
Fresh Fish Slices & Preserved Egg Congee (HK$46)
I was amazed by its congee menu; it was over four pages long! Cheap ones, expensive ones, simple ones, elaborate ones… the options danced in front of my tired eyes, so I decided to go for something simple. I was talking to my friend when the first spoonful, and it literally got me swooning. The congee was smooth yet not too watery, while the fresh fish slices and preserved eggs felt like dancing on my taste buds. And that was before I added a dash of pepper. Kick butt.