The amazing thing isn't the line up, it's the fact that it's 19 degrees and everyone is breaking out the fleeces. I can't figure out why the color is so funky either.
Restaurant Review!
Gow Kee l Sheung Wan l Hong Kong
Here is a Hong Kong legend. The story goes that decades ago, they were offered a million dollars to give up the secret to their beef brisket in clear broth. They declined the offer and have continued to feed huge lineups of hungry customers from their single location on a narrow street perched on the steep roads of Sheung Wan.
I must admit that when I first went years ago, I found the brisket nice but far from unique. However, its fame persisted so I was looking forward to giving them a second try. Once again playing hooky was the catalyst for this venture as they don’t open on Sundays when I have my day off. Queuing up with 20 people in front of you at 12:30 in the morning isn’t what you usually expect to do on a Saturday morning but people were all smiles and a steady parade of cars began to park illegally on the street.
When the doors open, people rushed inwards and we split a narrow table by the kitchen. We ordered the beef brisket in clear broth with flat noodles, blanched lettuce, and a small bowl of curried brisket and tendon. It didn’t look special in the least. In fact, it looked a little messy with the pile of fatty and tender meat perched on the noodles with a dollop of spring onions on top. My first bite though filled me with awe. It still amazes me that some places can take such a simple dish and elevate it to godhood. The brisket of course was tender, with just the right amount of fat to make the whole thing melt in my mouth. Yeah, sure, the broth was on the sweet side but it did nothing to dissuade my joy. In fact, it seemed to work so well with the simply braised beef. Somewhere, there was a taste that I couldn’t quite get my head around. One of the those reptilian back brain tastes that cuts straight to the spinal cord and tells you to keep on doing what you’re doing. And, like a rat in a skinner box, I kept on pressing that lever when the red light came on until the bowl of brisket disappeared.
Gow Kee l Sheung Wan l Hong Kong
Here is a Hong Kong legend. The story goes that decades ago, they were offered a million dollars to give up the secret to their beef brisket in clear broth. They declined the offer and have continued to feed huge lineups of hungry customers from their single location on a narrow street perched on the steep roads of Sheung Wan.
I must admit that when I first went years ago, I found the brisket nice but far from unique. However, its fame persisted so I was looking forward to giving them a second try. Once again playing hooky was the catalyst for this venture as they don’t open on Sundays when I have my day off. Queuing up with 20 people in front of you at 12:30 in the morning isn’t what you usually expect to do on a Saturday morning but people were all smiles and a steady parade of cars began to park illegally on the street.
When the doors open, people rushed inwards and we split a narrow table by the kitchen. We ordered the beef brisket in clear broth with flat noodles, blanched lettuce, and a small bowl of curried brisket and tendon. It didn’t look special in the least. In fact, it looked a little messy with the pile of fatty and tender meat perched on the noodles with a dollop of spring onions on top. My first bite though filled me with awe. It still amazes me that some places can take such a simple dish and elevate it to godhood. The brisket of course was tender, with just the right amount of fat to make the whole thing melt in my mouth. Yeah, sure, the broth was on the sweet side but it did nothing to dissuade my joy. In fact, it seemed to work so well with the simply braised beef. Somewhere, there was a taste that I couldn’t quite get my head around. One of the those reptilian back brain tastes that cuts straight to the spinal cord and tells you to keep on doing what you’re doing. And, like a rat in a skinner box, I kept on pressing that lever when the red light came on until the bowl of brisket disappeared.
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