Sham Shui Po's Best Kept Secret
4:33 PM
"Sham Shui Po's best kept secret is not Tim Ho Wan, but it's actually the colorful lifestyle outside of it. Seeing a different side to the usual Hong Kong metropolis seemed like a breath of fresh air to me."
We decided to make a little detour on our planned trip. We gave in to our hungering tummies and gave Tim Ho Wan a go. Tim Ho Wan is a world-renowned and a Michellin-awarded Chinese restaurant. Located somewhere in Sham Shui Po, we're off to finding it with no clues, no GPS ,whatsoever. It's just us, doing it the old way — getting lost. Which so far this trip, has been our greatest weakness.
Walking down the MTR with confidence made us look like we knew our way. Not. We perused the station names one more time. This time a little longer trying to figure out where the hell we were going.
As we wait for the train, an old lady, a local, asked me in Mandarin. She assumed that I was a local. I was flattered but I didn't know what to answer. So I gave her a very uncertain smile and she chuckled a little bit — figuring that I wasn't a local, myself.
A few minutes passed and the train arrived and then took off fast. Good thing I have a very strong balancing skill. Thanks to commuting in Manila daily, I have mastered the art of standing with no hands on the rail.
We climbed up the subway stairs and headed out the station. A seemingly familiar scene beheld our eyes. It resembled a lot from our very own Binondo, a local Chinatown — vivid colors of assorted umbrellas giving shade to their stalls. This is Hong Kong's quintessential way of living.
We waited in long queue of people wanting to have a taste of the original Tim Ho Wan. We wandered back and forth trying to figure out menus that are in unfamiliar Chinese characters. We felt so helpless until we found a Filipina-looking woman and asked her if she's actually one. When she shrugged, we got a little more hopeless about our current dilemma. But then her boss, who's a local Hong Konger walked near us and spoke the words I've been wanting to hear. "I speak English". She led our way to the clerk and gave us a menu with English translations. We felt so stupid not seeing the other menu. It's just right there — staring at us, so amused of our stupidity.
Her family was called inside and she whispered something to the clerk, then a miracle happened. She called us to get inside, as well. I felt like I was gonna cry from so much gratitude and hunger, possibly.
We ordered Pork Dumplings and Pork Buns, which made Tim Ho Wan a household name. With a Michelin star under its belt, Tim Ho Wan get so much expectations from people. And they never fail with delivering mouthwatering dishes and giving A+ service. I loved feeling like a local — sitting with local Hong Kongers and acting like we belonged there for a moment.
Sham Shui Po's best kept secret is not Tim Ho Wan, but it's actually the colorful lifestyle outside of it. Seeing a different side to the usual Hong Kong metropolis seemed like a breath of fresh air to me. If we were given more time to roam, I would hang around much longer and dig deep into its rich food scene.
I'm Eden Morales. A UI/UX Designer by day but a full-time dreamer. To travel and explore outside my comfort zone are the things I crave to do ever since. These are the chronicles of my first-hand experiences from all the places I have gone to and will go to in the future.
0 comments