Islam Food 清真牛肉館

Have you heard of Chinese Islam food before? I certainly hadn't before trying this place out! For some reason, my first thoughts of what to expect were along the lines of sweet and sour falafels, kebab meat wrapped in Peking duck pancakes, or maybe... Yeung Chow fried couscous?

The restaurant, simply called Islam Food (the Chinese name 清真牛肉館 is a lil more descriptive - Halal beef restaurant), has been around since 1950, and essentially sells Chinese food with Halal meat. So, no, none of my imaginative concoctions were cooked up.

A lot of the food is done in Northern Chinese style - think Shanghai food with their xiao long baos, noodles, rice cakes etc, but there are also Pakistani-style curries and sweet and sour dishes (Cantonese food). 

There's more on their story here at www.islamfood.com.hk.

Veal Goulash is probably their most famous dish. It's a juicy beef burger patty, enclosed by a layer of dough that is somewhere between naan bread or pitta bread, and dumpling wrapper pastry, which is then fried until crispy! 

As tempting as it looks, do not pick it up and take a massive bite as soon as the waiter sets it down on the table! The scalding hot beef juices WILL burn your tongue and your taste buds will no longer be in top form to taste the rest of the dishes to come. So be careful, and daintily bite into this beefy delicacy only when its cooled a little. You have been warned!

Here at Islam Food, they have a extra high ratio of beef and lamb foods. This may be to compensate for the lack of pork dishes? Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining! Lamb, and then beef are definitely my favourite types of meat, so the menu suits me well.

This cold dish is Lamb Jello. It is some lamb chunks sitting in 'jelly'. I'm not sure what exactly the jelly is, but probably consists of lamb juices and gelatine cooked from bones/cartilage that means that it sets when cool enough. As soon as it enters the warmth of your mouth though, it melts into a lovely aroma that is surprisingly not oily.

Beef dumplings in soup. I liked how these are round in shape, and they contain yummy juicy beef inside! Again, hot liquid is encased in these little bite-size parcels!

Lamb noodles! A lot of the food here can be done with different kinds of meat, so if lamb is not your thing, choose beef. Easy!

These noodles are delicious! Okay, so maybe the noodles themselves are a lil overcooked, but the lamb broth is sooooo good! It's rich and has that lovely lamby-ness that lamb lovers love.

Okay, so maybe I should mention that this post centres heavily around lamb... If you haven't noticed =P

These are lamb jiaozi 煎餃子, which are dumplings that have been pan-fried. The filling is bursting with goodness, but the pastry is a little doughy... I prefer the lamb xiaolongbao 小籠包 which tastes amazing and is steamed instead (no photo unfortunately!)

Their curries are another thing to try! They are done in Pakistani style and are the soupy type (as opposed to thick saucy type). I found it to be hot and spicy, so it's definitely got a kick to it! 

Spring rolls! These are crispy crispy crispy, and brilliantly light. 

And a final lamb dish to rave about: Boneless lamb chops which have been deep fried. They are served with a bowl of rich and concentrated lamb soup for dipping. The meat is tender, though not for the faint-hearted, as its a fatty cut - that's probably why it tastes so good!

Final thing to mention about Islam Food is that there are two branches. Both are in Kowloon City, and the branch shop is just a street or two down from the main shop. A lot of people insist on going to the 'original' but really, its the branch shop you want to go to!

Not only is the branch shop bigger, more spacious and cleaner (at least it feels that way), but their menu is also more extensive! Some dishes are only available at this second store, oddly enough, not the other way around. And, less people know about this store (or choose not to go), so there's less chance you'll have to queue for ages. Win-win!

Islam Food // 清真牛肉館

總店: 九龍城龍崗道1號地下 // Main Branch: 1 Lung Kong Road, Kowloon City

分店: 九龍城打鼓嶺道33-35號地下 // Second Branch: 33-35 Tak Ku Ling Road, Kowloon City

More info on their website

About HK$50-$100 per person

Best Beef Brisket Noodles at Kau Kee Restaurant 九記牛腩

The first restaurant review I'm doing on the blog is on a long time favourite of mine. It's a good one (obviously!), but also a very controversial one.

Kau Kee Restaurant (九記牛腩) is a place I make a point of visiting every time I go back to Hong Kong. Their specialty, as the shop name in Chinese suggests, is beef brisket. In fact, they only sell beef brisket.

The controversy lies in that there are very varied opinions on the quality of food here... I absolutely love the food here, and would say that these are the best beef brisket noodles I've ever had in my 22 years of life. Yet, there are plenty of people who cannot understand why anyone would return, and bravely declares that anyone who praises them clearly knows not a thing about good food!

Their menu is basically either beef brisket and noodles in clear soup or curry beef brisket and noodles. There's also all the variations in between - just beef brisket, just noodles, just soup, different noodles, some really expensive cuts of beef (tendon?! maybe), vegetables...

Back to the beef brisket. If you've ever bought beef brisket and cooked it yourself, you'll know that its not the easiest cut of beef to work with. It'll turn out too chewy, too tough, too dry, too tasteless... That's why I truly appreciate the food here. The beef brisket is flavourful and tender, not at all dried out. It really melts in your mouth, yet doesn't feel oily.

There are a few different types of noodles to choose from. The white ones in the white bowl are called 河粉 (ho fun in Cantonese) and are flat rice noodles. These noodles soak up the soup like crazy and therefore taste really good. (Although they do tend to be overcooked and 'soggy'...) 

The yellow noodles in the black bowl are 伊麵 (e-fu noodles). These noodles are fried egg noodles, and tend to be chewier. They don't absorb the soup as much, but this means the soup in your bowl is left a bit saltier and tastier.

I've mentioned the soup, and that's probably the ultimate reason for visiting. The soup is a clear broth that they (assumedly) cook the beef brisket and beef tendon and other beef bits in, and is delicious! It's rich in beef flavour and tasty and savoury (salty just isn't the right word). I always want more and more of it, but unlike many lip-licking dishes in Hong Kong, doesn't leave you thirsty at all afterwards.

The curry beef brisket noodles (not pictured) are worth a try too, especially since the portion sizes are on the small side. A curry sauce replaces the broth. It's surprisingly light yet still rich and flavourful. 

In terms of price, these bowls of noodles have risen in value loads over the years, and now stand at around HK$40. Ordering beef brisket on its own will set you back about HK$100. However, I still think it's money well spent. =)

Now that the important things have been discussed, a little note about the place itself: It's crowded. Super cramped. You'll have to share tables with strangers. Expect 9 people to fit around a table that's meant for 4-6. Don't get comfy on the plastic stools (not that anyone would want to...) because you sit, order, eat, leave (and pay at the door) pronto. 

Remember, Kau Kee is a local neighbourhood noodle shop that caters to the busy Hong Kong locals on their 45 minute lunch break. So don't get offended when the waiters breathe down your neck waiting for you to order, or less than politely point you in direction of the door as soon as you slurp up the last of your soup.

If you tolerate the mediocre (and that's on good day!) service, and 30 minutes in the sweltering heat while queueing, then you're in for a treat at Kau Kee.

Kau Kee Restaurant // 九記牛腩

21 Gough Street, Central // 中環歌賦街21號地下

Closed Sundays and public holidays

Under HK$50 per person

This noodle shop is great for (and only serves) beef brisket noodles that are loved by both locals and tourists. The key to a good experience here is to be aware of the terse attitude of the staff, rushed atmosphere of the place beforehand, and just focus on the delicious food served rather than those serving it!

Warming Winter Food at Norman's Kitchen

One thing that amazes me every year I come back to Newcastle is how cold it gets. I know I should know better really (after all this is my fourth year here!) but I'm never quite prepared for it. The problem is that it gets cold so early. By the time it's the start of October, there's already wintry gusts slapping your face whenever you step outside. I think I can handle it, only for it to get colder, and colder, and colder, and colder...

I have a cute little paper thermometer, that changes colour according to what temperature it is (it's supposed to demonstrate some chemistry thing...?). It only ranges from 12ºC to 34ºC. It's blank, no colour appears, probably because the temperature in my house is not registrable on that scale, and I'm pretty sure it's not cos it's too hot!

Cold weather makes me lazy. All I ever want to do is sleep. And not get out of my warm cozy bed. Except maybe to eat.

Especially when there's good food...

There's a neat little homely place in Newcastle City Centre, near Chinatown, but not in it, that's popped up in the last year or so. Norman's Kitchen is a quiet subtle place thats easy to miss if you're not looking for it. 

I'd been recommended the place by a friend who kept gushing on about the amazing clay pot rice there. What a better thing to do on a freezing winter day than to try it out.

The menu boasts a page of different clay pot rice toppings, but they do various other rice and mains-type dishes as well.

We opted for a typical clay pot dish - beef mince with egg, and another typical Chinese dish, although not one I've seen in a clay pot before - crispy roast pork.

The wait was average, nothing too long, as can be with some restaurants who serve clay pot rice, as they require time to cook the rice only when you order it. Our rice was piping hot and smelt incredible. They also give you a dish of soya sauce each to pour over your own pot, which means you can control the saltiness according to your own tastes.

The only thing was they took the lids off as soon as they served it, while I like to keep the lid on my clay pot rice for 5 minutes or so, as the steam helps to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot, allowing you to eat the wonderful, slightly burnt, crust of rice that forms. This proved not to be a problem though, because they were quite generous with the oil heh. 

The portions were massive, we were both so full, and barely managed to finish it all! But we did, because it was just that good.

The mince beef was incredible, the texture of the patty was so smooth and fine, yet not mushy at all. The fried egg on top was the cherry on top! Could've been more runny, so all the golden goodness can run out, but nevertheless, delicious all the same.

The roast pork was not bad either, but while it did satisfy my cravings (I do miss proper Chinese food  when I'm away from home...), I can see why it's not a usual topping. The roast pork is roasted, and the added onto the rice when the rice is done. This means that crispy skin on the pork stays crispy(ish), but it also means that the rice does not get any of the flavour of the meat while it is cooked.

I think next time, I'm going to opt for ones where the meat is cooked inside the clay pot at the same time as the rice.

Because there will definitely be a next time!

If I can ever bring myself to get out of bed, and face the inhumane weather conditions of this country.

Restaurant Information:

Norman's Kitchen

Tel: 0191 261 5717

Address: 93 Clayton Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5PZ

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Normans-kitchen/372160226210960