Tai Wai Sun Hop Fat 新合發海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Tonight, we are having a long overdue gathering with some old colleagues of mine. While we've been keeping contact all these years, it's been a while since we last met up for a meal. Someone brought up the idea of meeting up in Tai Wai (大圍), and I was of course in favor since I am always keen on exploring the food scene there.

Sun Hop Fat (新合發海鮮飯店) sounded like a good call especially for stir-fry style seafood dishes.

Pan-fried oyster cake (香煎蠔餅) ($105) — Always a crowd pleaser. The pancake itself wasn’t the best I’ve had, but the oysters were big, fresh, and delivered a nice briny punch.

Deep-fried cuttlefish (椒鹽鮮魷) ($105) — A bit underwhelming tonight. The cuttlefish tasted slightly bland, and the batter could have been crispier on the outside. But at least they didn’t go heavy-handed with salt and spice the way some Chinese restaurants do.

Poached goose's intestines (白灼鵝腸) ($95) — The portion of goose's intestines was pretty generous and together with the bed of bean sprouts, it worked well with the sweet soy sauce.

Steamed minced pork patty with salted egg (鹹蛋蒸肉餅) ($90) — Most of our dishes tonight were perfect with steamed rice, and this was no exception. I had high hopes for the minced pork patty, but I thought it lacked the juicy, bouncy texture. It was way too smooth, resulting in a lack of mouthfeel.

We were all too focused on our conversation tonight, and we seldom had time to discuss the dishes. Overall, they had decent “wok hei” but in terms of flavor and texture, there were both hits and misses. If you ask me, there should be plenty more options for stir-fry dishes in Tai Wai.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 18-21 Chik Fuk Street, Tai Wai , NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tai Wai

Tel: +852 2338-3118

Opening Hours: 6:00pm - 2:00am daily

So Kee Coffee & Milk Tea 蘇記咖啡、奶茶 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

So Kee Coffee & Milk Tea (蘇記咖啡、奶茶) is a highly popular traditional Hong Kong–style stall located on the 2nd floor of the Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre (大埔墟街市及熟食中心). It’s a favorite with locals for its exceptionally smooth milk tea and its robust ginger soup beef macaroni.

My team and I are in Tai Po for some business engagement and decided to stop by So Kee for its signature milk tea.

Once we found a table in the corner, we finally got served our iced milk tea. It was made from a custom blend of several tea leaves, and the result was incredibly silky and aromatic. Unfortunately, there wasn’t quite enough condensed milk to deliver that perfect creamy finish.

Still, it was a great moment — just enough time to enjoy a sip of tea before we got back to work.

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$

Address: Shop CFS37, 2/F, Tai Po Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre, 8 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Tai Po Market

Opening Hours: 7:00am - 2:30pm (Tue - Sun)

Bakehouse Bakery & Restaurant Shatin (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

I have a few business errands to take care of in Tai Po today, and I’m meeting up with the team for car pooling at the New Town Plaza Shopping Centre (沙田新城市廣場). With a bit of spare time left, I thought I’d pop over to Bakehouse to grab a small treat.

One of these days, I really need to sit down for a proper meal here but for now, I’ll settle for a chocolate hazelnut doughnut ($42). This was incredibly pillowy, and the generous portion of chocolate hazelnut custard left me totally stuffed well after our lunch hours. It was sooo good!

I have to admit, I hate going to this vendor’s place. A visit once a year is my absolute maximum tolerable limit. 

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 247, 2/F, New Town Plaza Phase I, 18-19 Sha Tin Centre Street, Shatin, Hong Kong

Closest Train Station: Shatin

Website: https://www.bakehouse.hk/locations#Shatin

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 9:00pm (Mon - Thu), 8:00am - 9:30pm (Fri - Sun)