Good Hello Friends! This sun shiny day we are off on an adventure through the Hong Kong wet markets with one of my all time fave food bloggers, Bobbi Marshall from BAM’s Kitchen.
Hi there fellow shenANNAgans followers! My name is Bobbi, or as some of you know me, BAM from Bam’s Kitchen. I am delighted to be guest posting here with Anna today. Anna has such a zest for life, food and travel that you cannot help but love her passion too.
Bam’s Kitchen is a Healthy Global Cuisine recipe website that features hundreds of different recipes from around the world. Many recipes are gluten-free, dairy free, egg free, some are paleo, diabetic friendly and cardiac friendly. Come on over and check out what’s cooking today.
Our family has lived in Asia for over 7 years, 6 of them have been in Hong Kong. From the moment you step foot in Hong Kong you can feel the electricity pulse through her veins.
This fast paced city is filled with skyscrapers, crazy shoppers, nightlife, temples, Chinese medicine shops, one of the busiest airports in the world, wild boar, more Lamborghini’s’ than you can shake a stick at, durian, some amazing hiking trails, and of course amazing seafood and dim sum.
It is quite an eclectic mix and today I plan to give you a whirlwind tour of some of my favorite things to do in Hong Kong.
I know girls are supposed to love shopping, but how many shoes and handbags do you really need, right?!? My idea of shopping includes wearing wellies, and toting behind a colorful Grannie bag on wheels down through the Hong Kong wet markets.
Now this might not be your first choice of ‘things you must do‘ when you roll into a new country, but I promise you that the whole handbag shopping thing down in the Ladies Market in Mong Kok is way overrated.
I guarantee you will go crazy over all of the fresh fruits. Make sure to try some of tropical fruits that you will not have the chance to try when you go back home.
We have longan, lychee, rambutan, durian (you will either love it or hate it, if the smell doesn’t turn you off, you’ll enjoy its rich creamy texture, but don’t eat too much as this is quite the hearty fruit) huangpi, jack fruit, chermoya, yangmei, egg fruit …. the list goes on and on.
Hong Kong has loads and loads of fresh veggies with some you have probably tried many times before like bok choy, maybe others like long beans, Choy sum, fresh bamboo, fresh lotus seed, Asian egg plants, sweet potato greens, daikon radish, bitter melon, dried tofu skins and homemade fresh tofu you might not have tried before, but would be great if you could.
Today I found some beautiful okra at the wet market and am making delicious Paleo Indian Spiced Okra to help keep Anna on her new Clean eating diet. Quick and easy and depending on how fast a chopper you are, you can get this dish from wok to plate in about 5-7 minutes. Paleo Indian Spiced Okra is gluten-free, cardiac friendly, diabetic friendly, vegan and a little guilt free indulgence. You are just going to love Paleo Indian Spiced Okra as it is super crispy, aromatic from the Indian spices, and has a little zing from the squeeze of fresh lemon.
You can find the recipe for Bam’s Kitchen’s Paleo Indian Spiced Okra HERE.
Now the reason I always wear wellies in the wet market, is because of the live fish and all of the storekeepers hosing down the area with old fish water from the tanks. The people in Hong Kong demand freshness, that means all of their fish are still swimming up until the moment you pick them out from the tank. You point your fish out, and a sweet little fish monger lady scoops it out, clubs it on the head with her clever, guts it, descales it and puts into a baggie for you before you even have a chance to get your iPhone to film the process… LOL
After you have your Grannie bag filled with wet market goodies, you are going to need some proper utensils to cook them with. Head on down to Shanghai Street in Kowloon to “Cooking Street”, where you can find everything from woks, to steamers and be sure to grab yourself one of my favorite Chinese cleavers from Chan Chi Kee Cutlery Co., LTD located at 316-318 Shanghai Street in Kowloon too.
Be sure to visit the Chinese Medicine shops down in the Sheung Wan area. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been a way of life here for over 2000 years and people live a very long time, so obviously they are doing something right. TCM is based on the concept of qi (a person’s vital energy) and its need to run freely throughout your body. Excess yin or yang can upset this delicate balance.
You can visit a Chinese medicine doctor and they will check your pulse, look at your tongue and ask you many questions about your history and symptoms. The Chinese medicine doctor will then prescribe acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion , tui na (type of therapeutic massage), dietary therapy and Tai Qi and or qi gong and/or Chinese herbs to take balance your symptoms. I am a Western trained nurse and I really enjoyed learning acupuncture as a part of the Chinese Medicine course here in Hong Kong. Chinese medicine is all about balance of the yin and yang and keeping your qi flowing freely. Before moving to Hong Kong, I never really understood how the different foods we eat affect our yin and yang and our overall health. Now, I put this into practice each day.
Hong Kong is a fast paced city full of culinary delights, when you next visit be sure to hop off the beaten path and enjoy the wet markets, a shopping trip to cooking street and the Chinese Medicine shops.
BAM would love to stay in touch… So please friends, be sure to hop over to her website Bam’s Kitchen or Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter or Pinterest and say hi.
Tell me dear reader, have you tried durian? If yes, what did you think? And does the city or town you live in have markets like the Hong Kong wet markets?