Airplane olives (fei gei lam)
Hongkonger Kwok Kam-kei gave these preserved olives their name: “Uncle Kei” would throw bags of the olives straight into homes of customers. As tastes change, these salty-sour-sweet snacks are getting hard to find. These days they’re mostly sold in preserved sweet shops, but Uncle Kei’s widow occasionally sells the originals from the same battered green olive-shaped tin. Get it here: Outside Public Bank, 15 Nga Tsin Wai Rd., Kowloon City.
B is for…
Bowl pudding (put chai gou)
The perfect on-the-go dessert, bowl puddings are sugary, wobbly, gelatinous carbs studded with red beans and served either in a porcelain bowl or held up with two bamboo sticks. They’re best when they’re warm, soft and sticky, so look for a vendor with a traditional wooden box. Get it here: Kwan Kee Store, Shop 10, 115-117 Fuk Wah St., Sham Shui Po, 2360-0328.
Buns, big ones from steamers (bao)
Does anything beat the inevitably oversized, inevitably understuffed buns you buy from outdoor steaming racks? Yes, the dough is never as delicate as it is in a restaurant. Yes, it rapidly begins to sweat into the plastic bag it’s thrown into. But for a cheap, fluffy taste of heaven, there’s nothing better.
C is for…
Cheung fun
You know the dim sum version of these thin rice noodle sheets, filled with shrimp, beef, or char siu. But take it to the streets, and these bad boys are rolled up plain, cut into bite-sized pieces, and served in a heap sprinkled with sesame seeds, soy sauce, and plenty of sweet and peanut sauces. They’re even better with a squirt of chili. Get it here: Fat Kee, 67 Kin Yip St., Yuen Long, 2474-2201.
Cha yeep daan (tea eggs)
It’s always that savory, spicy, earthy scent that lures you to a pot of boiling, brownish, cracked “tea eggs.” They steep slowly in a brew of tea and spices, soaking it all up under the shell. Peel one whole in search of that unmistakable marbling, and then bite down. A winter hack: tea eggs are served boiling hot—the perfect hand-warmer that you can eat afterwards.
