"shanghai street" in yau mai tei is a must see for every homecook visiting hk... the street is filled with kitchen gadget shops - ranging from products for amatures like me and products for big restaurants...
i brought my second traditional chinese wok... (forget about the ultra expensive titanium teflon coatings, scanpan, circulatrons et al - they are useless! i've tried them and dumped them)
the traditional cast iron or stainless steel wok (below) have their natural petina - which builds up the more you cook and it's a natural non stick coating... the best thing is they don't need detergent to be kept clean - just some boiling water and may be some salt and elbow grease!
so far, i've found my cast iron wok is good for a slight "charrd" taste or smoky flavour in my stirfry and the st st producing a quicker stir fry and easier to wash afterwards...
the lovely wok i bought is from chan chi kee in shanghai street (http://www.chanchikee.com/)... they assured me that this is a solely hand hammered wok (i don't really think it is), but the st st is really thick - much thicker than the ones one can normally find... at HKD$55 (AUD$7) - what a bargain!!! the one i got is the more curvaceous peking style wok with handle, much easier to manouvour than the shallower cantonese double ear kind...
chan chi kee is famous for their choppers, so naturally how could i have left the shop without owing one?i chose the small veg chopper, slightly more slender than the usual chopper... they have newspapers on the counter to demonstrate the sharpness by shredding paper on the spot... lovely... that was a bargain (but not as much a bargain as the wok) at HKD $130 (AUD$19)... but definitely a bargain when lying next to a global or shun...
it has the company and address stamped onto the chopper...and chopper sharpening is HKD$30... here is oz is AUD$5 at the farmers' market
chan chi kee... stainless steel... (but i reckoned that it is st st outside with a sliver of carbon steel as its core for the sharpness)
apart from the lovely choppers co... there were other gems... like this stone grinder! only HKD $50! that's less than $8 auzzie!it is much smaller that my grandma's one (which has been sadly lost)... i am awaiting for a longer holiday so i can venture into almond soup or sesame soup making...
it's not just kitchen stuff the bargains of the holiday...
there were also these silk underware /PJs - the fabric is smooth as silk (because it is silk)... very light and very warm under heavy doona... cool when there's a breeze - good for winter and summer - all seasons... one can find then at yue hwa department store, undies section... about HKD $250-300 per piece (30-40 bucks oz), not dirt cheap but much cheaper than buying it here...
and a must stop shop in hk is GOD goods of desire - clothing, household goods and furniture...quirky bags and clothing with a vintage hk feel... like this "double happiness" handbag...
slashed from HKD $750 to $350... yest 1/2 price!
and i can't begin to tell you how cheap and what a bargain "u-right" is... it is not the most trendy place to buy good... yes, one would have to dig things out of bargain bins with hoards of other housewives and bunbun looking for bargains... but it was worth it for me... just look at this "down jacket with fake fur trim" - HKD$100 (that's an amazing AUD$13.50!) - i know it is not made of true "down feathers", but instead, synthetic down like fibres - which looks exactly the same should you pull one little fibre out from the inner of the jacket... no wonder it is so warm... natural or synthetic - still warm, so who cares! bargain!
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