Hong Kong: Kam Wah

Don't be misled by its name- pineapple buns are nowhere healthy. Especially if they're as addictive as Kam Wah's. Best eaten warm out of the oven, these buns have a crunchy and sugary crust that shatters with every bite. Buttery golden pastry meets soft and fluffy bread, what's not to like?

This definitely ranks as one of my favorite eats in Hong Kong and costs just HKD5 per piece to boot. I would have these for breakfast everyday if I stayed in Mongkok! Remember to ask for polo yao if you want a slab of butter with your polo bun- I didn't, but the polo bun was darned delicious on its own already!

Kam Wah

47 Bute Street, Mongkok

Tel +852 2392 6830

Plain Vanilla Bakery II

Love strawberry cupcakes? Be sure to check out those from Plain Vanilla Bakery, which are only available till this Sunday! I loved their Strawberry cupcake almost as much as their mainstay Strawberry White Chocolate, and that says a lot because the latter is mindblowingly delicious. 

The cake base ain't just vanilla- it's pastel pink from all those strawberries blended into the batter. It's a perfect match for the intensely fruity and divinely fluffy strawberry frosting that tops the confection. These need to be converted into a permanent item on the menu!

While the Mocha Chip cupcake packed a sufficient caffeine punch, I would have fancied it more if the chocolate-chip-studded coffee cake base was as tender-crumbed and greaseless as PVB's ultimate vanilla cake base. The espresso frosting was also a teeny bit sweet for my liking, but I suppose that this might have been necessary to counteract the bitterness of the coffee.

Price: $3.20 per cupcake, $18 for a box of six

Plain Vanilla Bakery

34A Lorong Mambong

Look for a doorway leading to M.A.D. about Hair (which shares a unit with PVB), located near El Patio

Tel: +65 6465 5942
Opening hours: 12pm – 8pm (Tues-Sat), 12pm-6pm (Sat), closed on Mondays

Hong Kong: Beancurd @ Ngong Ping

Beancurd made with spring water? I could not miss stopping by this stall located near the touristy Ngong Ping village on Lantau Island.

Sublimely soft and smooth, this was easily the best beancurd I've ever had and was especially comforting savored in twelve degree weather! I loved how the soya dessert was served with ginger syrup and red sugar on the side, unlike its Singaporean variant which is served with plain syrup.

Most tourists visit Ngong Ping with the intention of visiting the Giant Buddha, but I feel that Ngong Ping's worth a visit just for the food and the scenic cable car ride from Tung Chung. Do drop by the nearby Tai O if you're visiting Ngong Ping for an insight into village life- I'll be blogging about my trip there soon!

Hong Kong: Lunch at Po Lin Monastery

The chefs at Po Lin Monastery's vegetarian restaurant easily put their Singaporean counterparts to shame. I avoid local Chinese vegetarian food stalls' greasy fare and icky mock meats like the plague, but my opinion of vegetarian fare has been transformed after lunching at Po Lin Monastery.

Not only was my meal tasty and inexpensive (a standard lunch set costs an inexpensive HKD65/pax while a deluxe meal comes at HKD100/pax, my family of four opted for the former), it did a fine job of detoxifying my system after four days of non-stop eating!

I'm not a fan of Luo Han Cai, but as with all the other courses, the flavors in this dish were very clean and light. It's quite amazing how the chefs bring out the natural flavors in the ingredients without employing commonly-used aromatics such as garlic and onions, which are prohibited in Buddhism.

Who knew that soup prepared without meat could be so flavorful?

I adored the superbly fresh and silky beancurd in this sweet corn dish as well. As with the soup, the vegetable dishes came in very generous portions and we were all stuffed at the end of the meal!

Plump with crunchy turnip ribbons, the spring rolls were fried to crisp perfection. While they were the only deep-fried items on the table, the spring rolls contained barely a trace of grease.

The firm tofu pieces tossed within this colorful mix of vegetables were delightfully chewy (somewhat reminiscent of fish cakes!).

I daresay that no visit to Ngong Ping is complete without sampling the food at Po Lin Monastery. Do give the food here a try on your next visit to Hong Kong!

Meal coupons can be purchased at the base of the nearby Giant Buddha or at the monastery itself.


Vegetarian Kitchen
Po Lin Monastery
Ngong Ping Road, Ngong Ping, Lantau Island

Plain Vanilla Bakery

I was most delighted when a sweet friend of mine sent me some goodies from Plain Vanilla Bakery! Cupcakes stores are dime a dozen nowadays, but PVB distinguishes itself from the fray with its refined offerings.

 If you only have space for one cupcake, I urge you to try Strawberry White Chocolate. The vanilla cake was faultlessly airy and moist and surprised with a center of fresh, sweet strawberry bits. My favorite component had to be the cloudlike white chocolate frosting though...this was arguably the yummiest cupcake I've ever had and possibly the best cupcake that I'm ever going to have.

Chocoholics will surely take to PVB's chocolate hazelnut cupcakes. Swirled with impeccably smooth chocolate hazelnut frosting that's sweetened just right, the dark chocolate cake base is suitably richer and denser than its vanilla counterpart, and comes filled with a gooey Nutella centre. Although these cupcakes are best kept at room temperature as storing them in the refrigerator may cause them to dry out, I like to stow them into the fridge right before serving such that the frosting hardens up slightly!

This cupcake oasis dishes up mean brownies as well. Rich and fudgy with a gorgeously crunchy crust, they are best savored at room temperature if you like your brownies with a bit of chew. Alternatively, heat them up before serving if you like your brownies on the gooey side. 

If you're too lazy to head to Holland Village, PVB does delivery for a charge of $8 with a minimum order of six cupcakes. Or you could spread the love with a gift of these mouthwatering delicious cupcakes!

Price: $3.20 per cupcake, $18 for a box of six

Plain Vanilla Bakery

34A Lorong Mambong

Look for a doorway leading to M.A.D. about Hair (which shares a unit with PVB), located near El Patio

Tel: +65 6465 5942
Opening hours: 12pm – 8pm (Tues-Sat), 12pm-6pm (Sat), closed on Mondays