Cross-Border Brunch at Home

Walking out of my friends apartment in Central, Hong Kong is a breath of fresh air. O wait, no, that's fish, steamed buns, spices, organs, and smoke... all mixed into one morning whiff. And I couldn't create a better site to wake up to on the morning run for goods to brunch at home. Everything is right at your doorstep. So as good expats would, we head straight for the supermarket... how boring?! Nah, just needed to grab some ground coffee. BUT the way back, we hit up stalls and stands to pick up fresh fruit for a colorful and worldly fruit salad of figs, grapefruit, mango, watermelon and blueberries and freshly steamed black sesame/lotus paste and custard filled buns and sauteed pork dumplings. Arrange them all of a table alongside some cool yogurt and just-brewed coffee, you have an zen-like brunch in your home. 

 

Sunday Dim Sum in HK

Sundays are for family and friends, and good food of course. Every enclave has it's Sunday home-style meal. Whether that's an egg and french toast brunch or pasta dinner in my family, Sunday meals should be shared. One of my all-time favorite brunch meals is Dim Sum. From Flushing with my uncles, Chinatown NYC with my hungover mates, or Din Tai Fung, everyone's fav chain dim sum here in Asia (though admittedly not really mine...!), with colleagues, Dim Sum is the perfect Sunday meal everywhere! My brother and I went to Happy Valley in HK for our Sunday dim sum to a place called, you guessed it, Dim Sum. It's an older establishment with a huge variety of dim sum, traditional and non, AND it serves dim sum ALL day... which isn't easy to find! We tried a variety from savory including crystal veggie, the classic steamed pork bun, scallop/shrimp, and tofu-wrapped mushroom, ending with the sweet of toasted- sesame, macadamia morsels and the godly mango tempura with mango custard filling.

 

Lan Kwai Fong and Hong Kong Treats

Oh Lan Kwai Fong... you'll try to branch out but know you'll end up there every at some point during the weekend when spending times with visitors in HK. The street (L-shaped to be exact) in Central, Hong Kong, is packed with tables and chairs that are filled with people, mostly expats, drinking wine and beer on Saturday night when my brother and friends headed out for some food and drink. Chinese, Malaysian, Thai-fusion and beer? What else?! And how about Middle East for dessert?  Hookah, wine and baklava anyone??