Chachangtang Again

(Alfresco Hong Kong Style: A local and his gweilo buddy are having an alfresco meal at a local chachangtang. They were talking in English in a fairly noticable voice, probably because it was a pretty quiet side street at a non-touristy local area. It was likely that the guys had toured around the neighbourbood by bikes)

Chachangtang (literally, "Tea Meal House") is a topic we discussed some months earlier here. My wild guess is that it evolved from copying the then new-style, up-market restaurants offering western haute-cuisine in the old days when Hong Kong was ruled by British colonial viceroies.

Chachangtangs to the common folks in Hong Kong are what cafes are to the French. The only difference is that chachangtangs have some of the world's most exotic and unhealthy foods which will certainly tickle your fancy simply by their names.

Si Mut Milk Tea

Si Mut is literally silk stockings. The name is originated from the rumour that the tea is prepared in a teapot with silk stockings as makeshift tea bags to sieve the tea leaves. As long as you're a tourist, I recommend you to check the teapot out for sure when you're in a chachangtang here. Locals would likely be cursed away if they try to do the same.

Si Mut milk tea is the true daily tonic for anyone old enough to be allowed to take tea once, twice or thrice a day. It powers one up for several hours in the morning until another cup is needed after lunch. All set meals in a chachangtang are invariably sold with a cup of Si Mut milk tea (or take coffee, if you really hate Starbucks'). 

The best part of it: Si Mut milk tea is usually served in a cup with a broken rim and tea stains inside. I guess that the stains are left on purpose to make the cups actually smell of Si Mut milk tea even when empty, hence adding a stronger favour to next cup of tea. 

Deep-fried Pork Chop with Canned Fruit Salad

The choice of canned fruits gives an edge to this dish: a controlled quality. Taste it this time, taste it next time and they taste the same every time. I am quite sure that the combination of a deep-fried pork chop with the canned fruit salad is not what you can get just in any other restuarants outside Hong Kong. And the pork chop is so deeply fried as if the chef had tried to make sure that the pig was absolutely dead, finished. This special dish is only available during the tea time until usually six in the evening.  

Beef Tenderloin with Rice Noodles

These rice noodles are the thick type with a chewy texture. The beef tenderloin is marinated in special sauce which just wets my appetite as I am writing this. The highlight, however, is neither the tenderloin nor the noodles but the soup. Take the soup and make the conclusion for yourselves.

In case you are not sure whether the one you go in is a chachangtang or not. Let me give you a tip. Look at the photo below. Usually, the waiters of a chachangtang wear the unmistakable whitish shirt and a pair of jeans like the one coming out from the chachangtang when I took the photo. Sit in or sit out is up to you and unlike the cafe in France, the charges are the same no matter you sit how far away from the shop itself. Try both sitting-in and the alfresco Hong Kong chachangtang style, and get yourselves ready to taste the eye-opening culture of chachangtang.