A big reason why I like Hong Kong is the fact that the city is sooo small. When so many people are crammed into a tiny place, everything becomes tiny.  There are stores smaller than my 10x10 single dorm room and restaurants not much bigger. You can imagine then, that living space is just as hard to come by, and with multiple people residing in a few hundred feet for most average homes, people are forced out onto the streets. Anywhere "out" is more comfortable and interesting than staying at home. This results in crowds on the street you'd expect at music festivals and sports arenas.


This is a typical weekday afternoon.

The push to spend more time out of the house than in comes with some pretty good benefits however. In all the time I've been here, I haven't had one home cooked meal. Not that I don't like home cooked meals, it's just the people I'm staying with aren't really into cooking anyway. The refrigerator is empty except for milk, water, soda and juice. Oh and ice cream. With so many people eating out the quality of food is outstanding, and the choice is awe-inspiring. Ah, the wonders of economic competition. This allows for a late night (12am) dinner. A delicious one at that.
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Unfortunately, that meal fell victim to one of my bad habits this trip. It was eaten before I realized I was supposed to take pictures of it. Rest assured, it was simple, satisfying and subject to be craved.

With that said, the best meal I've had the privilege to consume was not from where you'd expect. While Hong Kong is famous for its seafood and Cantonese influenced fusion food, it's also famous for authentic cuisines of all types. This meal came from a small hole in the wall "restaurant" if you could even call it that. My cousin Adrienne found it when she studied abroad at HK University, which is located close to this little gem. It has a simple menu. Noodles and dumplings. I present to you...

Dumpling King
5 Pan-Fried Cabbage & Meat dumplings


Bowl of "Shang hai Noodles"

One cup of freshmade Soy milk



Beautiful isn't it? What it lacks in color, it made up in freshness and clean, crisp flavor.

I left feeling satisfied and ridiculously happy. This was the best meal in Hong Kong I've had. Sure HK isn't known for northern China style dumplings and noodles, but like I said whatever cuisine you choose, authenticity is nothing to worry about in this international city. Best of all, both Adrienne's meal and my meal came at the total price of 40 HKD, which equals a little more than 5 American dollars.

I will probably crave this for the rest of my life.