Barbra Austin

I was buying milk at the local Park & Shop the other night when something in a display of reduced-priced merchandise caught my eye:
Naturally, I bought it.

I was worried that Tim Ho Wan wouldn’t be as good as I remembered, that we would have nothing to show for the commute to Mongkok but two hours of waiting and a completed Sunday crossword. But then the pork buns arrived.

Showing up to a lunch date 3o minutes late and short of cash is probably not the best way to make a good first impression.

I had been here before but was happy to go back, particularly considering there would be ten of us. More people, more food to try.

“Ho ho sik” means “very delicious” in Cantonese, or so the internet tells me.

It’s too bad I didn’t learn this phrase before my trip, because I had ample opportunity to use it.

“Welcome back! Nice to see you again!” The knowing smiles of the staff members at BO Innovation, ushering me into the restaurant for my second meal there in one day at the bidding of the Demon Chef, were a little discomfiting. If these were the gates of hell, the greeting was awfully friendly.

Then again, souls probably taste better when they are well-buttered.

I almost didn’t go to this restaurant. And then I went twice.

When I thought about what I might eat in Hong Kong, I thought about street food, noodles, dumplings, BBQ pork, and dim sum. Michelin stars, many-course menus and molecular gastronomy were not at the top of my list.

Martha Sherpa runs a tight ship.

I initially impressed her when I produced some properly sliced ginger. She held up my translucent pieces to the other students and nodded approvingly in my direction. But then it was time to de-bone chickens.