Asia Archives - Pale Ale Travel

Dao Dao Noodles: Everything But the Kitchen Sink in a Single Bowl of Noodles

April 24, 2024April 24, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Big Body has been a bit of a sad boy lately. Caught somewhere in the dreg of the in-your-face requited love bug that appears to have bitten everyone and their cousin and the depravity of Joe Bananas and late-night McDoubles. It has led to a lot of time spent by myself. For better, or worse, I’m unsure.

However, in the pits of dejected Charlie Brown walks and exasperated sighs while brushing my teeth in front of the mirror, there was a shining light. I took a solo trip out to Hong Kong’s eighth-largest outlying island by size, Cheung Chau, to slow my roll, explore a Chinese pirate’s cave, and eat some mothaflippin’ delicious cart noodles.

Here’s a little bit about Dao Dao Noodles and why I would argue it’s worth making the trip to Cheung Chau for on its own.

Sonny’s Slice Shop: A Welcome Addition to Hong Kong’s Pizza Scene or Hot Garbage?

April 4, 2024April 4, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Fresh out of the oven from Singapore and newly minted at the corner of Hollywood Road and Elgin, Sonny’s Slice Shop is the new pizza kid on the block serving up crispy, authentic New York-style pizzas (with both familiar and local homages) by the slice or whole pie, beef hotdogs, and freshly churned soft serve milk ice cream. If that isn’t pure nostalgia and comfort food rolled all into one little shop then I don’t know what is.

Sonny’s caught my eye after stopping by the 7-11 next door and noticing that yet another new eatery had popped up on Elgin. This location carries special significance in my life, as after moving back to the city in 2020, I spent one of my first nights standing outside where Sonny’s is now (formerly Dough Bros and some other random shop) shotgunning beers well into the early morning – with proper mask etiquette being practiced, of course. Coincidentally, that same night, a furloughed Australian Cathay pilot challenged me to hand-to-hand combat after I didn’t laugh at one of his jokes, to which I declined.

Out of sheer curiosity and insatiable hunger, I decided to swing by this saucy slice shop to see if it had any staying power in Hong Kong’s faltering gastronomic landscape.

8 Free-Flow Brunches in Hong Kong to Live that Good Life Like Kanye & T-Pain

April 1, 2024April 15, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, nothing may ever compare to a Hong Kong pastime for balding middle office Deutsche Bank muppets bursting out of their newly tailored pants, social media marketing evangelists dreaming of that next highly derivative viral Instagram reel, and [insert other self-absorbed, inconceivably, unskilled expat workers here] quite like the free-flow brunch. While I once tried to infiltrate corporate culture and was quickly spat out and sent on a dejected Charlie Brown walk out of IFC, I still pine for free-flow Aperols and sushi boats like the best (or worst) of them.

As Dr. Evil, in the G.O.A.T.’ed Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, remarked to the ultra groovy, womanizing, anachronistic, and strikingly hairy international spy himself, “We’re not so different, you and I.” So, I’ll say it. We’re not so different, you and I.

And, unlike the for-profit “foodie” magazines that churn out regurgitated gastronomic platitudes at the behest of whichever “up and coming,” Christ-like F&B gospeller has filled out their contact form and paid the troll toll, I’ve gone through and tested each of these free-flow brunches in Hong Kong for myself – multiple times over. So much so that I wrote this wondering if a gastrointestinal transplant from a cow to a human was and/or is possible.

I Think I Found the Best Burger in All of Hong Kong

March 28, 2024March 28, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

If you know me in real life then you’ll hear me endlessly lament how I think that “the algorithm” has got me. Endless Instagram reels of Kazakh twins dancing to the same three songs, politically charged and semi-literate Facebook statuses by that one friend’s mom who uses social media as her diary, and more day-in-the-life videos of dropshipping YouTube entrepreneurs than my brain is capable of processing. Simply put, it has a strong grip on me and I’m not mentally or intellectually strong enough to dig myself out.

However, there is one positive that has come from my Black Mirror-esque existence – one where I’m only a few years away from having hopium pedaling, snake oil, TikTok real estate guru seminars on a continuous loop in the brain chip implanted in me by Elon – an Instagram story highlighting the burgers at Belly Boys in Causeway Bay.

The Big Bodyssey: The Beefiest, Most Bodacious Burgers in Hong Kong

March 23, 2024April 10, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

It’s burger season everyone. And do you know exactly when that is? Literally every day and month of the year. “I’ve always told people, you know I’m a very hungry guy. I’ve been to the best burger places in Hong Kong. I recently walked into a burger joint and said to myself ‘Wow, this is a delicious burger.’” Picture this being said in a Donny T accent with lots of nonsensical hand gestures, pauses, and inflection. The timing of this post felt long overdue, fortunately (or unfortunately) driven by the internal shame and guilt after realizing that I haven’t eaten as many burgers as I feel is required as my ~~civic~~ gourmandizing duty in this patriotic city.

Part of that stems from a general disdain for overpriced dried-out hockey pucks that are all too commonly served throughout the city. Part of it is due to the fact that I’m a creature of habit and walk the same sad 1 km radius loop between work and home every single day (like most of you reading this), unable to extricate myself from this fatalistic rat race. And part of it is because I know if I go too heavy into the burger life I may have to be sent to the zoo with the rhinos, hippos, and that one Malaysian guy for future MRIs due to there being no medical technology capable of withstanding my inconceivably rotund frame.

Birria Y Birria: Casa to the Best Tacos in Hong Kong

March 18, 2024March 26, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Say “Hello” to my little friend…and my new favorite restaurant in Hong Kong – Birria Y Birria. Before I dig into why this (relatively) new Sai Ying Pun shop should be on your Hong Kong dining bucket list, there’s a chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t even know what birria is. The “WHATTTT?” comes before the “why,” or the “OKAYYYYY” if you’re Lil Jon and the Eastside Boyz. So, we should clear some things up first. Come closer and choose between the red pill and the blue pill.

Birria refers to a Mexican meat stew or consomme made from almost every meat you can imagine (except pork) that is marinated in vinegar, garlic, dried chiles, and other colorful, herbaceous spices (oregano, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and cloves). After bathing in that witches’ brew of caliente Mexican spices for hours, the tender meat is then flavor-fied even further and is cooked in that deep red broth.

The result? A savory, smoky, somewhat gamey, sweet, and warm, mahogany concoction of everything right in the world.

If that wasn’t already getting you more torqued up than 12-year-old me when I’d “accidentally stumble” into Blockbuster’s ‘adult section’ (R.I.P. Blockbuster), which was just sectioned off by a tiny curtain, then you’re about to be. In the late 2000s, Birria, unlike the ivory-billed woodpecker, evolved from its humble roots as an accompaniment to bean, rice, bread, and tortillas, expanding its gustatorial repertoire and entering into a not-so-surreptitious affair with tacos, cheese, and even ramen.

Noodles With My Fahza: YKY Home Noodles in Sai Kung

March 5, 2024March 6, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

Friday ~~beers~~ noodles. It has a ring to it. This is something that has become somewhat of a regular staple (and the highlight of my week) for my father and me over the last year in Hong Kong. However, it doesn’t always have to be noodles but most of the time it is. ‘Friday noodles’ is more of a mindset than anything. It’s a call to spend quality time with loved ones.

On the docket for one of the most recent ‘Noodle Fridays’ was YKY Home Noodles (自家麵) out in Sai Kung, a popular no-nonsense chain, with locations scattered across Hong Kong, serving up highly customizable bowls of homemade Chinese noodles, steamed dumplings, and beef pies (xian bing).

Here’s what I love about YKY and what you can expect when you go.

Time to Make the Power Moves & Get the Mozzarella: The Best Pizza Restaurants in Hong Kong

March 3, 2024March 25, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

“It’s time to make the power moves and get the cheddar. And buy the real nice things that make life better.” I have no doubt in my mind that Big L was rapping about pizza when he said that. He just used ‘cheddar’ instead of ‘mozzarella’ to fit the rhyme scheme. I know that’s at least 50% why I slug it out with these thankless robots devoid of any form of common sense or empathy each day – to get the ~~cheddar~~ mozzarella. The other 50% is, as Mr. Bizkit himself said, “for the nookie.”

While Hong Kong may not match up to cities like New York or Naples when it comes to the pizza game, it is a powerhouse in the cheese and crust colosseum of Asia. Occasionally, like Commodus in Gladiator, I’ll have to empathetically flip my thumb down in disgust at what took place before me. But more often than not, I find myself not only pleasantly surprised but coming back for more.

From light, airy, and traditional Neapolitan pizzas to hefty, toppings-packed, foldable New York pies (and New York-Neapolitan hybrids), and crispy, saucy Detroit-style squares, here are 10 of the best pizza restaurants in Hong Kong for gastronomic ‘amore’.

Why Kushikatsu Should Be on Your Osaka Eating Bucket List

February 26, 2024February 26, 2024Asia, Food, Japan BigBody Leave a Comment

If you couldn’t already tell by my name ‘Big Body’, there are several types of foods that took me from just a slightly plump little boy to the hulking, bipedal Sasquatch-lookalike (but more like that one from the famous blurry Sasquatch video), the main culprit being fried food. While I’ve dialed my fried food consumption back over the years, I’ve still been known to crush a KFC family bucket in a dark corner of my apartment similar to Gollum in Lord of the Rings when he savagely tears into a fish after catching it. My precious….11 herbs and spices.

So you can imagine my excitement when I learned of a popular deep-fried dish called ‘Kushikatsu’ that was said to be at the heart of Osakan identity, having first originated as an affordable, filling, and quick meal for Osaka’s blue-collar workers in the early 1900s. During my three months living in Japan, kushikatsu became somewhat of a regular occurrence and/or stop on a big night out to fuel up (in both liquid and solid form), without breaking the bank.

Forget tempura. You’re in the world of kushikatsu now.

Below, I’ll walk you through what exactly kushikatsu is, a little history behind it and why it’s beloved in the Kansai region, the one faux pas you shouldn’t commit while eating it, and a bit about an unforgettable kushikatsu omakase experience that I booked several weeks in advance along with a must-try kushikatsu staple and chain in Osaka.

The Medium-Rare Letter: Burger Shaming at Eggslut in Causeway Bay

February 14, 2024March 26, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

I may be very well late to the game with this one. But I still don’t have an iPhone, I’ve never posted an Instagram story (and am not really sure how), and like Dr. Dre (aka Dre Brickhard the Mechanic) I still rock my khakis with a cuff and a crease (“still the beats bang, still doing my thing, since I left ain’t too much changed”).

As a mindless, YouTube food show fiend, I was no stranger to an infamous L.A. breakfast sandwich and burger restaurant that, in name, appearance, and taste, appeals to both the gastronomic and prurient interests of generations cursed by crippling social media addictions and narcissism. I mean, with a name like ‘Eggslut’, it was set to catch your attention no matter what – even for those who take qualms with the crassness of its etymology.

That’s ‘Marketing 101’ right there.

I didn’t take as long as I did to patronize this promiscuous chicken restaurant because of any sort of moral high ground or pseudo-intellectual protest against social media self-aggrandizing, I just simply didn’t know that there was a location in Hong Kong. So, when I found out there was a (relatively) recently opened branch in Causeway Bay, I clucked with excitement and knew I better taste it before the sky inevitably falls.

On the second day of Chinese New Year, after a quick gym sesh, I kept my smelly running shoes on and chicken ran out to this former fishing town turned densely populated mini-city of consumeristic tribalism to see if Eggslut’s burger was just fowl or actually foul.

Here’s what I found.

I Narrowly Escaped Death at a Fugu Restaurant in Osaka

February 11, 2024March 5, 2024Asia, Food, Japan BigBody Leave a Comment

I kind of feel like Blake Lively in her opening monologue of that underwhelming 2012 action-thriller, Savages, when she stonerishly says, “Just because I’m telling you this story doesn’t mean I’m alive at the end of it. This could all be pre-~~recorded~~ written and I could be ~~talking~~ writing to you from the bottom of the ocean.” You know, minus the Mexican Cartel, Salma Hayek (and Benicio del Toro), and strange (and steamy) sexual throuple with a Navy Seal and marijuana grower.

Fugu (aka pufferfish) is one of those foods that you hear ~~nonchalantly~~ condescendingly tossed around in conversation, by the likes of that one couple friend who always seems to fly Cathay business to Japan, Bali, or whatever nearby Asian destination needs to be ticked off their gastronomic checklist. It’s a delicacy. It’s divisive. It’s (allegedly) deadly.

I had to find out for myself whether a “dance with the devil” (Immortal Technique-style) was in my immediate future and decided to tempt fate. So, I threw my finest Orix Buffaloes baseball jersey and stretch-fit jeans on and headed to a fugu restaurant just 15 minutes to the west of Osaka Castle (in Osaka Japan, of course) to check it out for myself.

Read on to find out if I survived or if I’m writing this from the bottom of the ocean with Blake and Amelia Earhart. I’ll also explain what fugu actually is and why it should be on your radar should you make a trip over to Japan.

Ballin’ on a Brisket in Sai Kung: Rossi’s Pizza & Smoked Meats

February 9, 2024February 9, 2024Asia, Food, Hong Kong BigBody Leave a Comment

At first, I had written several paragraphs on how brisket was at the heart of the American identity. Frankly, it was superfluous. I took a step back, looked at my scraggly Scorcese eyebrows in the mirror, and realized that brisket is a universal language and that there was no need to complicate great food with patriotism, geopolitics, and intersectional social justice.

In Asia, you can find BBQ. Can you find great BBQ? Not often. And when you do, there’s a high probability that whatever restaurant it is, doesn’t serve brisket. There’s a labor of love and a high margin of error when it comes to smoking it, primarily due to space and time (sung like Mos Def in ‘Travelin’ Man’) requirements.

Having lived in Hong Kong for over six years now (and experienced the city at various stages of its political decline), there has been very little in terms of reliable, high-quality BBQ. Sure, you can get a rack of ribs and some cornbread, and it feels familiar – but how often do you walk away actually (a) full, (b) satisfied, (c) not broke, and (d) feeling it was done proper justice? Rarely.

But then I ate at Rossi’s Pizza and Smoked Meats in Sai Kung. And to quote my dawg T-Pain on Maino’s hit song, ‘All the Above’. Rossi’s checked off…All. The. Above. I always naively assumed that the apex of Western cuisine in Hong Kong was typically situated on Hong Kong Island (or in the likes of one of the five-star hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui). But this article is written to shatter that misconception and to cartoon Batman-slap myself back into reality.