In HK, Tsui Wah is a well-known cafe chain which started in 1967 serving local favourites such as french toast, milk tea and noodles.  It opens early and closes late and on Fridays and Saturdays, one can find the late-night party goers coming in to replenish energy before hitting the party scene again.  Been there myself ;p

Toronto's Tsui Wah is situated next to Chiu Chow Boy recently sampled.  They have an all-day breakfast menu and an afternoon tea menu as well as regular food menu.  Today, we went to sample their afternoon tea.  I love my milk tea but have decided to forego it this time and went with hot lemon tea, the other all-time HK favourite.

The fried chicken wings and fries were nice and golden and not burnt to a crisp as with some places.  The wonton noodles were as expected.  Overall, the place is all rright, reasonably priced, bright and clean.  However, in terms of chicken wings, the ones at Hollywood Cafe is still the best price...3 for $2.99 and a drink!

Asians are known to be big tea drinkers but I've noticed on this trip back to Toronto that a tea-drinking culture is striving in Toronto.  Plenty of gourmet tea shops have sprung up with very pleasant fusion blends of east meets west.  Coffee is nice; my HK milk tea is nice but a soothing cup of clear tea is best when one is feeling a bit under the weather or simply when one desires something lighter on the tummy. 

But Ten Rens Tea Time goes beyond simply selling teas...They offer dishes; Taiwanese-inspired, featuring tea ingredients.  Frankly, I don't really taste the tea in the dishes though the dishes are tasty.  For $15.99, you get salad, soup, main dish, side dish, dessert and a drink.  I quite enjoyed the seaweed/tofu soup, the chicken cutlet and the two desserts (green tea mousse and caramel egg pudding).  

The seating environment is pleasant enough and I do enjoy the slightly old-fashion Chinese decor but the Adele music being played somehow just doesn't fit the match.  The crowd tends to be young...Younger then later it is with the Taiwanese snacks and bubble teas being the more popular food and drinks orders.  I generally find bubble tea houses to be overpriced...It's mainly flavoured milk powder drinks with sago; but is a nice alternative to coffee if all you want is a place to mingle and chat with friends. 

Ahh...A steaming bowl of noodles in a flavourful broth just begging to be slurped right up...Just perfect when all you want is something clean to the palette, simple, warming and filling.  

I love my Vietnamese pho, my Hong Kong squid ball/fish skin dumpling noodles, satay beef vermicelli ..And now I'm going to add fish soup noodles.  I've had it once or twice in HK, but I don't remember enjoying it as much as I have tonight.  The Fish Soup restaurant recently reopened at their new location on Silver Star Blvd and we decided to give it a go.  

For $7.95, you choose the soup base you want, the type of noodles you like and two free toppings; additional costs for additional toppings. 

I went for their famed basic fish soup broth, vermicelli noodles with fish/tofu balls and pork cheek meat.  Oh....It was sooooo flavourful.  Nothing felt too greasy or too oily; it was just perfection.

I am definitely going to go back!

After spending a good few days in New York; my low-carb diet went out the  window.  Running around, enjoying cheap thrills and eating burgers, cakes and  coffee have left me feeling guilty.  I did find a couple of nice cafes/restaurants but now that I'm back, it's time to go back to basics. 

Asians eat congee when feeling cold, blue or under the  weather.  It's warm and soupy texture makes it perfect for colder days and is truly enjoyed year-round (except when I'm in Hong Kong on a typical hot, muggy summer day).  I guess it is sort of like western porridge or oatmeal though it's just for breakfast.  Congee can be had any time of day.  I like it best on cold winter afternoons or late-night  snacks. 

But here is yet another difference I share with my sister  (I'm thinking paricularly of Bamboo Girl #2 here); I find it interesting where I would gravitate to congee as comfort food and she would probably choose chicken noodle soup.  One late night, she called for late night snack suggestions and I immediately thought of congee, rice rolls, wonton noodles and the likes.  She came back with McDonalds; not to say I didn't mind munching on a few french fries but it left me thoughtful about food choices and how it is a reflection of our characters.  I'd say my family is quite muliculturally diverse when it comes to food. 

But about Congeetown in Scarborough; now this is my kind of place.  For less than $5 you get a huge bowl of congee, enough to feed 2-3 people depending on what other dishes are ordered.  I had one of the most typical version of congee today, Lai Wan congee.  It's a mixture of squid, pig's skin, shredded lettuce, a bit of meat and topped with spring onion and a bit of roasted peanuts. 

Now I know I talked about cleasing the palette with a simple rice congee...But seriously, one cannot have congee without something crispy to go with it.  Usually, I go for the deep-fried doughsticks, or sweet cruller.  But today, Rice-noodle covered doughsticks and minced beef caught my eyes. 

The minced beef tender and flavourful but the fried dough could have been a bit crispier.  It came sprinkled with toasted sesame and small dishes of soy sauce, sesame sauce and sweet sauce.  Although it was interesting and tasty, I think I prefer having it separately...Rice Rolls with Fried-Doughsticks and Rice Rolls with Beef. 

Fushion food is fun...You get mix-matched items and the pairings can be endless.  It either suits your personality or not...And since I'm a 'Bamboo Girl' (mish-mesh of Western/Asian upbringing) fushion is me!  Though I must say, of the three bamboo girls in this family, I am probably the one who would most often opt for asian fare...Give me a HK-styled milk tea over a latte any day!

Perhaps more accurate to describe this as Hong Kong-styled breakfast; it usually includes or a variation of: choice of eggs, choice of breakfast meats (ham, luncheon meat, bacon or sausage), toast and bowl of soup noodle (Macaroni or vermicelli with ham, satay beef or minced pork with peserved vegetable.  This all gets washed down with a hot drink, lemon tea, coffee or Hong Kong-styled milk tea. 

Pros: Very filling breakfast at around $5-$6.00.  Much cheaper than a western brunch and healthier than a fast food breakfast.  Love the mix of dry, salty food (eggs and bacon) with a soupy noodle (this is the Asian side of me coming out).  Love milk tea!

Cons: My pet-peeve...They use the word 'sausage' but it's really hot dog wieners which leaves me disappointed.  Places that serve this food tends not to be a place where decor and comfortable seats are priority.

But here at 'Made in China', the place is relativey clean and they've got some interesting bird cages going on as their ceiling decoration.  The booth seats are much too wide to eat comfortably though and we changed to regular tables/chairs.  It's an interesting restaurant; it shares the kitchen in the back with their sister restaurant next door, a Korean BBQ.  Made in China is a hot pot lunch/dinner restaurant but they're clever to draw in the morning breakfast people.  The staff are young and can be a bit abrupt but I'm here for good food and value. 

Dad was in the mood for HK-styled milk tea and so we went to one of our usual haunts to satisfy his craving.  HK-styled milk tea is made with English red tea, evaporated milk and sweetened with sugar.  It's thick, creamy and oh so yummy but a big no-no for the tummy.  One of my favourite expressions come to mind: What's yummy for the lips, is dangerous for the hips."

For such a cutely named cafe, it delivers poorly in design.  Simple chairs and tables and large hand-printed menus instead of pictures decorate the walls.  But what they lack in style, they make up in price and of course, their milk tea!  Dad and Mom swears the tea here is the best.

Their afternoon tea menu starts at $2.50 for a number of different breads or toasts and a drink.  For a bit more, you get French Toast or soup noodles.  We went for their deep friend chicken wings, 2pcs and fries for $3.99 and Singaporean Fried Vermicelli (stir-fried vermicelli with ham, bean sprouts in a light curry paste).

Looking for an afternoon left us frustrated this day.  The first place (Red Tea Cafe) was crowded which has never been in all the times I went...The second place (Pacific Mall)  was a nightmare to drive into due to heavy traffic...So we ended up in New Mongkok Plaza.

We did a walk-around of the plaza and ended up at  'Power King Restaurant'.  A few tables were already taken but it wasn't too crowded.  They had two specialty 'lunch boxes' for $5.99.  (a.) Short-ribs, fried rice and a spring roll or (b.) lemon chicken, fried rice and two deep-fried wonton.  We choose set (b.) and beef fried noodles.  Both came with a drink.

The food was tasty and the portions large but it was your usual congee & noodle stops.  We probably won't come back because there are so many more similiar ones to try.  

We couldn't finish the noodles and asked for a take-out box and found out that take-out boxes for afternoon tea costed an extra $0.25.