Michelin fried noodle

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I needed to grab a quick dinner in Causeway Bay before meeting up with a friend for drinks, and on this night, I decided to make a long-overdue return to Ho Hung Kee (何洪記).

The word "return" isn't exactly accurate, since the Ho Hung Kee today looks very different from my last visit a few years ago.  They have moved from their old, street-level shop on Sharp Street East to the bright and airy space inside Hysan Place.  Instead of old, wooden tables with glass tops, we now dine on beautiful, white marble tops.  The tables have more space between them even though they are still somewhat cramped together, but at least there is now ample space between the rows of tables.  And the dining space has at least doubled, if not close to tripling.

All this comes at a cost, of course.  The price of my favorite dish - which I had listed as among the food I would want to eat in my last 24 hours on earth in my interview with Apple Daily (蘋果日報) - has gone up by at least 70%.  And I don't seem to remember Ho Hung Kee adding on a 10% service charge at their old location...

Stir-fried rice noodles with beef (乾炒牛河) - my old favorite.  Still pretty damn good, with enough oil to make it tasty yet not enough to make it greasy.  Love the taste commonly known as "wok hei (鑊氣)", showing that the dish was fried at high heat.  And the onions, spring onions, yellowed chives, and bean sprouts all add their distinctive flavors.  Very satisfying.

But Michelin star worthy?  Not a place like this.