1 Michelin Starred Ho Hung Kee for the Best Congee Ever

Michelin Starred places used to be synonymous with expensive places with certified good food. But with the story of how the Michelin-rating was born, with the Michelin tire group creating demand for their tires by giving people something worth driving to (1 star means you've succeeded as a chef, 2 stars means your restaurant is excellent, but it's the 3 starred places that are worth driving to). With that in mind, it makes sense, that price doesn't really factor in that equation, and it just so happens that the most affordable Michelin Starred Places are located in Hong Kong, where good food can be had at a very affordable price.

For our last trip, one of the new places we tried was Ho Hung Kee at Hysan Place, which has 1 Michelin Star in the 2015 guide. They actually lost their star the year before, but they were able to gain it back.   

The CMD gang at my new favorite Congee place.

We arrived at the place past 8pm, and we didn't have to
wait long for a table. 

Only the office mates still carry Sof.

The thing I love most about Ho Hung Kee, aside from the food of course!, is the ambiance. It seems like the most famous restaurant for "Cheapest Michelin Starred" category is Tim Ho Wan, and if you've been to the original branch in Sham Shui Po, you can see that ambiance is not why people go there at all. You can read my post on that here.

In contrast, Ho Hung Kee, which can give Tim Ho Wan a run for it's money on affordability, pun intended, really looks nice and modern.

The place has turquoise and gold accents, which you can see behind my
favorite girls.

Ceiling

Wall

I love their glass wall, and turquoise booths for smaller groups.

The only catch with the place, is they only have 1 table for a big group (of 10), so you'll have to sit an separate tables if you don't want to wait for it.

Ironically though, it seems like it's their wanton soup
that they hype up.

Everyone on our table ordered the small wanton soup,
except for Sof, who ordered the bigger one, because I
was reserving the right to share it.

The wanton noodle had a nice clean taste, but I don't think it's something
I'd ever look for. The smaller bowl had 4 wanton dumplings (HK$38),
and the bigger bowl had 6 dumplings (HK$55).

But their congee is a totally different story.
While it looks plain and unassuming, this one I am already craving for!

I ordered the Century Egg with Salted Pork Flakes (HK$58) and I can say,
this is the best congee I have ever had. It was very fine and light, yet flavorful.

Boys Table with Len, you can see the open kitchen in the background.

Girls table that all ordered wanton noodle except for me.

I let Jackie taste my congee, and she liked it so much,
she ordered a bowl of Fish Congee, after the wanton noodle.

The fish serving was really generous. The one on the plate is only part of it.

However, the fish isn't boneless, so you need to be careful when you eat it.
Though I was told that it wouldn't be as tasty if it were cooked without bones.

This is a place that I am definitely looking forward to coming back to. Another good thing about this place is you really can't get that full if you only have congee (or wanton noodle) for dinner, so it means you'll definitely have enough space to go for dessert, or try another place for midnight snack. just saying.

Just as added information, the three most affordable 1- Michelin Starred places in Hong Kong also includes Yat Lok, famous for their Roast Goose Noodle, which I also plan to try next time.


Ho Hung Kee
Shop 1204-1205, 12/F, Hysan Place
500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay