DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Tofulism 豆腐主義

I don't subscribe to any religion, but if I were forced to, my reply could possibly be 'Food and I'm sure I have many fellow believers'. ;p A branch-off of it for tofu devotees would be Tofulism. I love tofu and most of the time I'll eat tofu in whatever form it comes in.

I came across this Tofulism outlet when I ended up in Tung Chung after finishing a hike in Lantau Island. Ivan of Food Recentrunes joked that this is the religion of old lecherous men. Why? Because in Chinese, the phrase '吃豆腐' (eat tofu)' means to take advantage of a woman in a sexual way. Ha.

Well, see it any way you want, but Tofulism sells tofu in many forms. You can get soya bean milk (豆浆) in various flavours - plain, papaya, mango, watermelon, ginger, green bean, red bean. You can also choose to have soya beancurd (豆腐花) with some of mango, green bean and red bean.

Those jars on the shelf are fermented soya beans (南乳) which is used in more commonly used in stewing and stir-frying meat and vegetable.

Pieces of pan-fried tofu are also sold together with these pieces of vegetables (sweet potato, green chilli and eggplant) that have been dipped in batter and deep-fried. I didn't think these looked very appetising. I tried the plain soya bean milk and a few pieces of the pan-fried tofu. The soya bean milk was fresh but I thought the tofu wasn't particularly good. Five pieces of tofu cost me HKD11 and the soya milk was HKD6. The food was a little disappointing, but nevertheless I like the idea of a place devoted just to tofu!

Tofulism
G/F Shop No. 8
Fu Tung Shopping Centre
Tung Chung, Lantau Island
Hong Kong

Tung Chung to Tai O

Instead of taking the cable car to the big bronze Buddha statue in Ngong Ping, my fellow hikers and I took the healthier but much longer option of hiking all the way there from Tung Chung (where the MTR station is). From Ngong Ping, we hiked for another 1.5 hours to the fishing village of Tai O. Here are pictures from the hike that took place on 9 Jan.

A photo taken at the start of the hike. Our first rest stop was the cable car tower at the top of the picture.

Walking on the broadwalk that follows the same route of the cable cars above.

At this point of elevation, we were able to see Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok international airport and the cable cars at the right of this photo.

At our third rest stop, there were several wild dogs who were eyeing the food brought by hikers passing through.

Our lunch stop accorded us a lovely view of the sea and airplanes flying towards the airport - spot the plane on the left upper third of the photo! We were probably about 450m above sea level at that point.

One for the album! It doesn't look like it, but it's really the sea down below. The clouds have cast their shadows on the sea hence it looks a little dark!

A view of the Buddha from afar. We still had about 40min of walking to do before reaching there.

A side view of the Buddha facing Lantau Peak.

Finally we reach Ngong Ping station and the Buddha!

From Ngong Ping, we hiked along the cliffs that line the coast to make our way to Tai O.

I love the sea! I love cities that are surrounded by water. There's something about the ocean that I find so compelling.

Along our way to Tai O, we came across a family of free roaming cows. The calf is so cute! Never expected it in Hong Kong, did you?

An old lady hangs fish out to dry at her home in Tai O. The residents of Tai O lead such a vastly different lifestyle from fellow Hong Kongers. You almost can't believe it's Hong Kong when you're in Tai O.

To reward ourselves after a 5-hour hike, two fellow hikers and I treated ourselves to a bowl of soya beancurd each in Tai O's village centre. It tasted especially good as we were exhausted by then!

石磨坊 Shek Mo Fong (Stone Mill Place)

For a small neighbourhood, Tin Hau has many dessert eateries. It seems like this area that's a stone's throw away from Causeway Bay, but sans the craziness, is made for me the dessert monster.

I'm a big fan of the Cantonese dessert pastes that are grounded from nuts. At 石磨坊, literally translated to mean 'stone mill place', they do these grounded nut pastes very well. Sesame, walnut and almond pastes can be commonly found around Hong Kong, so when I go to 石磨坊, I usually go for the chestnut or cashew nut pastes which are less common. Back in Singapore, I can't find anywhere that sells it!

Chestnut dessert paste 栗子糊 HKD18

I love chestnuts, so I tend to go for the former most of the time. But as chestnuts are seasonal, the chestnut paste is only available during autumn and winter.

Cashew nut dessert paste 腰果糊 HKD18

Or if you fancy trying two different flavours, you can have them mixed as shown in the picture above with a mix of chestnut and cashew nut paste. It costs the same, i.e. HKD 18, to have it mixed.

This black and white concoction is a mix of black sesame (黑芝麻) and almond (杏仁) paste.

Another popular dessert is this black sesame roll filled with pieces of mango and black glutinous rice (芒果黑芝麻糯米卷). It's served warm and tastes pretty good surprisingly! The glutinous rice gives it some added texture.

Apart from these desserts, 石磨坊 also serves shaved ice desserts. There's also a yam and sago baked pudding which is pretty good. It's a substitute (though it can't really replace the real thing) when I get cravings for my favourite Teochew dessert 'Or Ni'.

石磨坊 Shek Mo Fong
Shop 3-3C Lau Li Street
Tin Hau, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2398 9493

五代同糖 Five Generation Desserts

五代同糖 is one of my favourite places for desserts in Hong Kong when it comes to shaved ice desserts, which Hong Kongers call 雪花冰. This type of shaved ice dessert originated from Taiwan and is now a favourite with Hong Kongers, judging from the number of dessert places that sell it.

The star of 五代同糖's various flavours has to be its durian shaved ice (see above). It's creamy, rather than icy and has a strong, yet not overpowering durian taste. It's almost like eating ice cream. We were told by one of the staff there that the ice contains milk and durian; the milk slows the melting process thus allowing you to linger and enjoy the dessert for a longer time. It surprisingly goes well with cornflakes, with the cornflakes giving an added crunchy texture.

The yam flavoured shaved ice that comes with red bean and some green tea-flavoured syrup. I'm a big fan of yam, but for some reason, I don't like yam done in this way. I didn't think the yam tasted real, and it somehow didn't go well with red bean. Other flavours I'd recommend are guava (very refreshing) and peanut. If you're a die-hard chocolate fan, go for the chocolate one. Mango lovers can opt for the mango-flavoured one which comes with mango syrup, pomelo and sago. That one's very refreshing too on a hot summer's day.

Do note that the English name in the title is what I've translated from its Chinese name and is not its official one. I like its Chinese name though - there's a play on sounds here. The word 糖 ('tong' in Cantonese and 'tang' in Mandarin) is pronounced the same way as the word 堂. In Chinese, 五代同堂 refers to five (五) generations (代) living under the same roof (同堂), with its intrinsic meaning being that of an extended family living in harmony. It signifies happy family life and that life is sweet. Very apt for a dessert eatery, no?

五代同堂
Shop G11, G/F Elizabeth House
No. 250-254 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 3486 8528

The Start of 2010

Scene from the hike at Clear Water Bay Country Park Trail

Let's start off 2010 with a picture taken from a healthy activity I partook in on Sunday 26 December 2009. That was the last hike I did for the year. The day before I had gone for another hike which took me through Stages 5 & 6 of the MacLehose Trail. I had convinced Slumbering Girl (who was visiting HK with her mum) to come along with me, but I think I killed her legs that day. I must commend her on her perseverance and give her a big pat on the back despite the hike being a difficult one for her. That said, at least we went up to two of Kowloon's nine peaks - Lion Rock and Beacon Hill (both about 495m above sea level).

I spent a few days in Singapore from 31 Dec - 3 Jan and it was nice being home for a short while. Managed to catch up with some close friends. As usual, I ate too much over the holiday season and now it's time to start buckling down to getting fit again and shedding some unwanted pounds. But right now I'm down with a nasty cold that has left me knocked out.

I don't know what's in stall for me in 2010 but let's hope it's a year full of adventure, family, friends, happiness and food! :)