One thing I miss on my current detox are desserts! I have quite the sweet tooth (don’t we all?) and last weekend I met up with one of my friends from uni who lives in HK. I’m so glad I have friends in this city and it was such a lovely catch up since I only saw this particular friend very briefly last Summer. She introduced me to Misukiya (瀰月屋) which just so happens to be in Woodhouse Mall (活方) that is an up and coming Japanese hub of eateries and fashion. I particuarly like Zacca Freeq which is a gadget shop full of random Japanese items from mini handbag cases for your camera to Hello Kitty teddys that dance along to your iPod. Random but fun to browse.
While it’s nice to check out the clothing brands that are available in the mall that I recognise straight out of Vivi magazine, the clothes here are a tad on the expensive side (let’s face it, all Japanese brands are expensive, for example anything by Emoda/Murua/Spiral Girl are priced towards the £100 price point). I didn’t spot anything that was quite ‘me’ but it is a haven for Gyaru fashion brands and other trendy Japanese brands. Anyway I digress, this post is about dessert and I’m glad to say that the food at Misukiya was definitely easier on the purse strings!
The decor was simple but
I loved the retro inspired posters and props that could be seen. I also love that absolutely everyone in HK takes pictures of food. My friend and I and the people around us were avidly taking pics of their food orders. My family have all learned to wait patiently while I snap away routinely at each dish. Sorry guys!
Time for food
pics! We had Mitarashi dango with red bean paste. Essentially it’s little mochis that have been glazed in sugar and placed on skewers. Dipped in some roasted sesame seeds and Azuki bean paste (red bean), it makes a pretty tasty and fun snack. Definitely a good call but also easy enough to make at home. I reckon they’re not too dissimilar to Tong Yuen that we make on occasion at home. I also had a Green tea with Hokkaido milk and roasted brown rice. The most amazing and filling drink ever.
We
were also recommended to try their Apple pie which takes 20 minutes upon ordering before it’s ready. It’s a whole apple wrapped in puff pastry and finished off with a dollop of custard in the middle. It was pretty good, looked amazing when it came out and was delicious. Though the Mitarashi Dango was definitely the more unique of the two!
Next time I visit, I might sit, or rather kneel outside at these tables. We chose not to as my friend and I had lots to catch up on and we didn’t know how long we would have to kneel there! This place is definitely worth a visit even if it’s for a quick snack and a browse around the shops. It’s located next to the infamous Chung King Mansions in TST (famous for it’s er…high crime rate) and opposite iSquare shopping mall at 26-44 Nathan Road.
Staying with the Japanese theme, one of my favourite things is Taiyaki which is filled with vanilla ice cream and red bean paste. While this isn’t quite authentic (it’s a cheap version from the local supermarket) I love eating these Japanese ‘ice cream sandwiches’ just because they remind me vividly of the animes that I religiously watched as a child where Taiyaki featured often enough for me to link the real thing to child hood memories. All were tireless recorded on VHS in Hong Kong by my lovely grandparents and posted back to the UK. Sailor Moon, Dr Slump, Super Pig were among some of my favourite Cantonese dubbed animes. Oh the memories!
Sooo back to the detox, I’ve never dieted/detoxed before so joining in this
healthy eating detox routine with my family for the next few weeks has proved
challenging! I definitely miss all the local food, from the freshly
baked Chinese buns, the milk tea and all the various eateries I pass on
the way to and from work. Still, we’ve already planned to have a Korean
BBQ, Hot Pot and really good sushi when we’re done…
