National Pie Week

Apparently, it's national pie week in the UK. That is great news as most Brits LOVE pie. The hot debate is which pie do you love the most?

It could be a creamy fish pie with blushing prawns and juicy hunks of fresh fish, a belting steak and ale pie or a comforting cottage pie. (If you chose Pukka or Fray Bentos then shame on you!!) Whichever pie you choose, hot and bubbling straight from the oven is the only way.

Living in Hong Kong, it has become apparent that the only way to find a decent pie is to make your own. That is exactly what I just did specially requested by Mr Woo for a birthday treat (see pic). Having said that, the Globe and Coast in Central do pretty good jobs of the pies they produce. Unfortunately, many eateries try to create a pie by cooking the filling and the lid separately then sticking them together in an attempt to look modern. The lid must be baked with the pie so some of juicy gravy and flavour soaks in. There is nothing more off putting than a pie lid like cardboard and just placed last minute on the side of the plate!!

I think the best pie I have tasted in recent years was a wonderful rabbit pie at 'The Bell' in a quaint English village called Sapperton near Cirencester . Check out their website here: http://www.foodatthebell.co.uk It was BIG, delicately flavoured, creamy with chunk of succulent rabbit that simply fell apart in the mouth.  have not yet found a pie to rival it! Feel free to submit your ideas for the best pies around :)

All the good stuff is disappearing!

Dai Pai Dong: A traditional open air food stall once very popular in Hong Kong.

I recently read a report in Time Out Hong Kong about Hong Kong's best Dai Pai Dongs. What astounded me was that the few they mentioned as being the 'best' are pretty much the very few left in Hong Kong. Dai Pai Dongs have now largely been moved to inside locations such as above markets or they have simply disappeared.

To me they truly represent food culture in Hong Kong. They are the most awkward places. I believe they are the ultimate in organised chaos and I love eating there. The places are often family run with a patriarchal type overseeing the goings on. Customers sit on plastic chairs, are given tea to wash their own bowls and chopsticks (oh how the Cantonese love their cleanliness) and a large loo roll is plonked on the table. The offerings are anything from an afternoon treat; hot steaming 'lai cha' (Hong Kong brewed stocking tea) with a crispy (and dripping with goodness) slab of HK french toast, to a multi-course sea food extravaganza including super fresh stir fried razor clams in black bean sauce and blushing pink steamed prawns etc.

There are no English menus so many expats or foreign visitors will not venture forth to try out these places. It's a shame as they serve up some of the best food in the city. I always make these places a first port of call for visitors to Hong Kong. My top two spots are,  in second place, Tai Tong Road, Yuen Long Yuen Long Dai Pai Dong and holding the position in first place,  Sha Kok Estate in Shatin Sha Kok Estate Dai Pai Dong. My suggestion is that you try them now before the last remaining few disappear for ever.