Street Food in the Michelin Guide

Good news! Hong Kong street food is going to be featured in the Michelin Guide for the first time. According to this article 23 different street vendors will be reviewed in the storied guide. Does this matter? Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps it adds some legitimacy to street food as an important world cuisine; perhaps it takes some of the fun out of the "street" part of street food. I'm optimistic, so I'll lean towards the former. In any case, there are thousands of street vendors in Hong Kong, and it's nice to know that some of them are getting some recognition.

Hong Kong's famous egg pancake

Three Stuffed Treasures

Hong Kong, one of the most vibrant cities on the planet, is well-known for being a street food hot spot. Many a street-food-lover has made a pilgrimage to the chaotic streets of downtown Hong Kong to explore the best snacks the city has to offer. Unfortunately, like some of China's similarly cosmopolitan cities, it is sometimes tricky to find the street foods that are unique to Hong Kong's culture. You can find vendors selling foods from all sorts of cities (both Chinese and non-Chinese), and it becomes difficult to distinguish which foods originated in Hong Kong and which ones didn't. Nonetheless, careful eaters will be able to find a few terrific local dishes. Of those local Hong Kong street foods, this one, 煎酿三宝 (jiān niàng sān băo), is my personal favorite.

As is the case with many of Hong Kong’s skewered street foods, you are presented with an array of meats and vegetables from which you can choose three to five. The most traditional choices are eggplant, green pepper, sausage, and tofu, but you may find other options as well.

Whichever you choose, the vendor will skewer them up and fry them on a flat griddle, making them hot, lightly crispy on the fringes, and shiny with oil. Ordinarily, this much alone would not be enough to merit its place as my favorite street food in Hong Kong. What makes it special is that each vegetable or piece of meat is stuffed with a salty, savory paste made out of mud carp. This paste adds a lovely and surprising fish flavor to each of the components.  With this added secret, these vegetables and meat become an unusual and very pleasant taste experience. Each morsel is rich and greasy, with flavors and textures distinct from its neighbors, making it one of the finest treats available on the streets of Hong Kong.

Misconceptions about Hong Kong Food

CNN International shares an interesting list of 5 Misconceptions About Hong Kong Food. Lovers of street food will be particularly pleased to note misconception #4: the prevalence of thousand-year oil (also called gutter oil). For those uninitiated, I've written about the topic before, but the basic idea is that unscrupulous street food vendors reuse the same cooking oil day after day in an effort to save money. Though the practice does exist, it's likely less common than people think. The CNN article describes it as a "bogeyman," and I think that's a pretty apt description. The same way well-intentioned American parents often exaggerate the risks of, say, walking to school unsupervised (kidnapping exists, but it is extremely rare), parents in Hong Kong seem to be exaggerating the risks of street food. In my experience, most street food vendors are good folks just trying to make a living. Plus, as Mrs. Ho, the owner of Chuen Cheong Foods in Hong Kong, notes: "I have to face the smoke and grease from cooking everyday. I'm more afraid of getting sick from it than you are!"  So there you have it. Don't let a bogeyman stand in your way of enjoying some great street food.

From: CNN International