One of my absolute favorite things about Hong Kong is the dai pai dong. A dai pai dong, which literally means 'big licensed stall,' is a traditional open-air food stall, and Tin Cheung Restaurant in the Sham Shui Po neighborhood is one of them. There is no fancy dining room, just a huge wok over a roaring flame, and the whole street smells like garlic and smoke. Before coming here, I had never eaten dinner on the street, but now it is one of my favorite parts of this experience.
The meal is not just one plate. You order several dishes to share, and they arrive one after another. The dish everyone comes for is the beef with caramelised potato (mat zap syu jai ngau lau), tender beef with soft, sweet potatoes. They also serve a claypot of stir-fried eggplant (ke ji bou), bubbling when it arrives, and stir-fried mussels with soybean and pepper (si jiu cing hau), salty and a little spicy. My favorite was the beef and potato.
The dai pai dong is the main event, but only one part of how Hong Kong eats. For breakfast you can go to a cha chaan teng, which literally means 'tea restaurant.' I enjoy a pineapple bun (bo lo bao), shrimp cheung fun (ha cheung fun), and congee rice poridge (zuk).
