The deal going down

Note the plastic wrapped remote control

Restaurant Review?

Lady with the Shiny Metal Cart l Choi Hung MTR Station l Kowloon

There’s one thing that always makes things seem better. More exciting. More delicious. More fashionable. Yes, that’s right. Make it illegal!

Many years ago, MTR (subway) stations use to be surrounded by illegal hawkers selling all manners of street food from shiny metal carts. Then in the 90’s, there was a serious crackdown and they have now all vanished. Or have they?

The last few nights, as I’ve exited the Choi Hung station on my way home, there’s been the usual crowd of kids pushing cable TV and the lady with the neurological disease selling Kleenex. However, a shiny metal cart caught my eye. That and a big line up. Selling desserts in Styrofoam bowls, she was doing a brisk and steady business. The choices? Watermelon or mango with tapioca, black sticky rice with coconut milk or red bean soup with condensed milk. I bought a bowl of mango with tapioca and took the first mini bus home.

A large push for shutting down the carts in the 90’s was due to the horrendous sanitary conditions in which much of the food was made. Not wanting to take a chance I waited until I had made it all the way home before I dug in. The verdict? It was surprisingly good. I mean better than I expected. The mango was young tasting and it was packed with tapioca in a cold thin cream sauce. I inhaled the bowl in a manner of seconds as it was so refreshing on a muggy Hong Kong evening. It was so suited for this heat that immediatly started thinking about going back again. I’ve had this particular dish before but I’ve never tasted one that tasted quite so sweet, so unique, and so illicit.