Guong Shing Bing Sutt is a classic HK coffee shop located in Sheung Shui. It was a pit-stop in our…read morecycling tour across eastern New Territories. Along a small side street, we managed to find some "parking" for our bikes but were told by the shop staff to not block the entrance. The shop was continuously busy, with a steady flow of people coming in and out, even mid-afternoon. One step inside and it feels like you've been transported to old HK. The interior has been well preserved, with the vintage yet familiar white and green floor tiling, old wall fans in each corner, and handwritten menus framed on the shop walls. It is truly a rare gem that must be protected at all costs! When it comes to ordering, you better be familiar with the HK chachaanteng classics - iced milk tea or lemon tea, pineapple bun with butter, french toast, or how about macaroni with ham? There didn't seem to be an English menu available, so we had to decipher the Chinese menu on the walls to our best ability. 1. Pineapple bun with butter: good carb-loaded snack, but didn't quite hit the spot for the best boluo yau 菠蘿油. 2. Macaroni soup with beef: might not look like mucj but tastes soo good! It came out steaming hot with tender slices of beef. It healed my soul. 3. Scrambled egg and corned beef sandwich: holy moly, this is the endgame sandwich. Who would've expected it'd be here in Sheung Shui!? It tastes like heaven in your mouth, well-flavored egg and beef sitting in between slices of buttered bread. Mmmm! 4. Cold lemon tea: a classic drink but the tea was not as strong as I'd hope; it was a bit diluted. The staff were super friendly and not pushy at all (like at other CCTs in HK). One of the ladies even complimented me on my photo of the pineapple bun, haha. I will definitely return to try other items on the menu and go for the milk tea next time!

Speaking of typical Hong Kong snacks what comes into your mind?…read moreFish balls (魚蛋), shiumai (燒賣) and rolled up rice pastry (腸粉) sure top my list. Popular as they are, it is often difficult to find these of high quality; you know, these are not meant to be expensive delicacies and often qualities are sacrificed for lowering the costs. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this place sells them at a high price for a "more desirable" quality; rather, I applaud them for their low price without sacrificing the quality of the food. Let me not ruin your excitement on how low the price of the food can get but I shall share with you my thoughts regarding the food: Fish balls - some like them bouncy and chewy, I like them less so. Drenched in a hot broth, you can have it spicy or mild; slightly softer than those you would expect from hotpot, the fish balls have the texture of elastic ball of fresh mozzarella with a hint of dried orange zest; served best with a touch of hoisin sauce. Shiumai - not one of those pricy dimsum you would expect from a yumcha place, no shrimp, no mushroom yet they are just comforting, reassuring really to have fish shiumai with soy sauce and hot chili oil. Soft bellied with a flavorsome coating, yum. Rolled up rice pastry, or as people call them in Hong Kong, "Cheung Fun" - it is interesting how a bland sheet of steamed rice pastry could turn into a delicacy. Smooth, silky sheets of rice pastry rolled up into a slender cylinder, the fun part is the combination of sauces: typically drenched in soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame paste topped with a sprinkling of toasted sesame. This flavor base also goes amazingly well with the fish balls and shiumai you ordered to give a cohesive taste experience. Dine in standing or take away in a plastic bag, a speedy solution to an empty stomach or a mouth that craves for snacks.

This restaurant relies on locals who live nearby so unlike 90% of Hong Kong, the overall eating…read moreexperience is good. The best businesses are those that want you to come back. You can't say that about all the restaurants in the tourist areas.

Here is a Chinese Restaurant that has been around in the thick of Sheung Shui for years and years…read morebut I'm sad to say that from my latest 2 visits it is clear that the quality of food and the service has declined considerably. There were deficiencies in the food that were starkly apparent to me: the noodles were oily, lacking in flavour and variety of colour and lacking in ingredients; the fried fish and other dishes such as cheung fun that consisted of pieces of dim sum were placed hitherto on their plates with disregard to presentation; what was supposed to be a milky custard bun turned out to be bitty, dry and overcooked inside; the vegetarian cheung fun was very plain indeed, looking like a novice had prepared it and smothered it in soy sauce; the pig's foot, ginger and egg stew only contained one egg and very little ginger, the prawn wrapped in fried beancurd had minimal amounts of prawn and the mixed dumpling selection was possibly the most unattractive that I've ever seen as the Siew Long dumpling was more wrinkly skinned than I could ever have imagined, the Siu Mai dumpling was lopsided and demented, the Chiuchow dumpling had burst at the rim thereby spilling contents upon being picked up and the Taro bun had clearly been peeled away from another bun as a bit on the side was missing. During my first visit my table actually waited up to 30 minutes for a second order of dim sum that included 3 portions of buns, this demonstrated poor organisation as it strongly suggests that the order was not placed until chased up and of course no apology was offered. Then in my second visit the room in which my family were placed was chillingly cold as it was already a cold day and the restaurant had switched an air conditioning system on. When we asked to switch the air conditioning off we were told that it was already at its lowest level and had to be kept on or the place gets stuffy but the roomful of people were clearly dining in coats and hats and still cold; it took over 3 attempts and a lot of grovelling for the restaurant to finally switch the cold air off but only to turn it on again just about an hour later. Hence overall the service left much to be desired, even by typical haphazard Chinese standards, and although edible there was a distinct lack of care in the preparation and presentation of the food.