The Adventures of Abby

Behold, this dish — skillfully made by my aunt as she and other relatives visited for the Holy Week.

This is Ginataan (literally “made with coconut milk”) a very Filipino dessert with sweet potato, yam, taro, plantains, tapioca pearls, jackfruit and glutinous rice balls. Probably sounds weird to you now, but unless you don’t like sweets, this is satisfaction guaranteed.

Just last week I was trying to explain the dish to my BF. I knew I wasn’t doing it justice with my explanation, but I remember wishing more than anything that I could have some.

And now I’m home for the weekend! Yesterday, eating this, I felt an overwhelming sense of joy. As awesome as Hong Kong is, the lifestyle and the experience, it’s never gonna beat the sheer bliss of being at home with family, eating good food like this.

Man, if only I could go home every weekend!

I consider myself to be pretty versatile with food — I’m not picky, I’m pretty open-minded, and my tummy’s rather tough. When it comes to spicy food however, it’s always matter over mind for me, so while I do have a tolerance for it, I usually go for the milder options. Before I go on, I am a Bicolana by blood, but it seems that my tongue has no respect for the heritage!

Two years ago, I had my first taste of Szechuan food at San Xi Lou restaurant here in Hong Kong. I went there with colleagues and one visiting from the US, who made it a point to visit that particular restaurant. Of course, I didn’t really understand the fascination for what I felt was a subtle form of masochism, but again, I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to food. (more…)

There’s a common saying in the Philippines that goes “galit galit muna“, loosely translated, it means “for now, we’re not friends”. As negative as it sounds, it kinda has a positive connotation: The idea is that when the food is really good and you’re really hungry, you don’t waste the precious time that could be used shoveling food into your mouth. No time for friendly chit chat, we’re here for the food. Not to mention, traditionally, you’re not really supposed to talk a lot at the dinner table.

But I’m sure that across most if not all cultures, many will agree that food is actually a great complement to social gatherings. It sets the stage for friendly chit chat, and effectively so. Hotpot, as I’ve experienced here in Hong Kong, is a stellar example.

Last night, my friends and I went to Little Sheep Hotpot in Tsim Sha Tsui, a place that looked like a local favorite but seemed to slip under the foreigner radar. Of all the hotpot places I’ve been to, this one seems special. For one, it’s all you can eat and drink! Our friend who brought us here raved about the food so much that I was pretty excited to start eating. So how was it? (more…)

I’ve been living in Hong Kong for a while now, and though I haven’t seen everything this place has to offer, I think there’s enough for me to write about. If you’ve been here this long, the Ocean Parks and Disneylands lose their appeal, and you tend to appreciate the simpler things. One such thing is a place we fondly call “Mr. Wong’s”.

Before night time and on weekdays, this place is just like any other Chinese restaurant, but go there late on a Friday night and you’re lucky to even get a table. (more…)