9.00 pm is not a time i would usually have my dinner and in the rare occasions that i do; dishes with rice are never on the top of my list. Hence, even i was taken back by my decision to have claypot rice on day four of my Hong Kong trip!
The queue i had read about from online reviews was non-existent but the timing we visited was past dinner time and i was still surprised to see a full house when i stepped in.
As expected of eating in Hong Kong's restaurants, we had to share the table with other diners. Not a big deal and i thought it's a practice we should encourage in Singapore!
After a wait of 30 minutes, our claypot rice finally arrived in front of us! The menu was actually expensive with steamed dishes, hotpot, soups, dishes cooked in hotpots but we were focused; only claypots as there were just two of us and there's no way we can stomach so much food.
Preserved Pork Sausages Claypot Rice - preferring Taiwanese sausages over the drier Cantonese style sausages, this was ordered simply because the rest contained either frog meat, preserved duck, preserved meat or internal organs that Alex and i don't take.
White Eel & Spareribs Claypot Rice - claypot rice is quite common in Singapore and Malaysia but i have never heard of white eel as an ingredient. Being risk averse, it's quite normal for me to reject such new 'meat' but its popularity among the online reviewers enticed me to give it a try!
Pouring the black sauce over the rice and hearing the sizzling in action! Wait, there's something missing! In Singapore, there's always a bowl or container of oil. Apparently, that's not required and i found it strange as the oil helped to smooth the mixing process.
Incredibly, there's no issue but the lady staff did comment that i added way too much sauce to the rice. In my halting Cantonese; i responded that a sweeter taste appealed better to us!
And both claypots didn't disappoint! The sauce wasn't the typical kind we have in Singapore; it's sweet yet with a unique flavour to it. Contrary to my expectation; the sausages were definitely not dry with the ability to spurt oil when i bit through! And they were surprisingly good with an alcohol aftertaste that's missing from the lup cheong we get in Singapore.
Spareribs didn't leave a deep impression and the pieces of eel were much better; the texture was tender and the meat tasted fresh! The rice coated with sweetness was the perfect companion and i relished every spoonful and this came from a person who has always tried to reduce his carbohydrate intake!
And i can't resist sweet, burnt rice!
p.s. Alex stopped me.
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There were just too many sausages! Was the meal good? I would say it's one of the best i had in Hong Kong and you know how i judge? Based on whether i crave for the food or not and i obviously do for Kwan Kee Claypot Rice!
Address
Wo Yick Mansion, Shop 1, GF,
263 Queen's Rd W, Sai Ying Pun,
Hong Kong
Map
As above.
Menu
As above.
Pricing
Preserved Pork Sausages Claypot Rice - HKD $85
White Eel & Spareribs Claypot Rice - HKD $105
For the summary of my seven days' itinerary to Hong Kong (with a day trip to Shenzhen), please click here.
Claypot rice is the THE winter comfort food in HK! I esp love the crunchy burnt - brings out a very different aroma of the rice and so nice when drenched in the sweet soy sauce mixture :D
ReplyDeleteno winter in Singapore but we still having e claypot rice! haha
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