Beef Tongue

I love Hong Kong. It's a foodie paradise. Everything is good. While you might not find the absolute best of any particular dish, you know you're not going to get anything bad. They don't have time for that here.

They also have the best waiters here. They don't bother you when you want to be left alone, and they know what you want before you order. Some of the older guys intimidate me -- they don't even need to write down an order of 20 some-odd dishes -- they just have impressive memories.

My favorite part is the seemingly wacky combinations that always work. Won-ton soup, bitter melon, chicken curry, crab in milk, tea mixed with coffee, and for dessert? This place does cheesecake. At a Chinese restaurant? Of course! Look around, everyone's got cheesecake. Go with the tao.

Hong Kongers are the crazy about food. More than any other people or place I've experienced. Restaurants are open at 4am everywhere, and they're packed. It's common to have two dinners in one night, then hit up a dessert cafe or soup joint after a night out.

But one mystery that still haunts me -- why the hell do Hong Kong restaurants blast the air conditioner, even in the middle of winter? We were freezing at almost every restaurant we went to. Is it so people can show off their winter collections? Oh, great, I can wear my Prada jacket in here! Not cold enough outside.

One night a friend took me to a Hong Kong institution called Tai Ping Koon. When I took a look at the menu, I was worried -- It's one of those historical places that packs in the sucker tourists. They've got a story about the restaurant on the front of the menu, and there's a list of dishes that are "favorites." Usually a bad sign. But not here, this place is good.

The waiters are elderly men with pep and energy, no-nonsense, but total class. You know you're in good hands. Things run smooth. We ordered the favorites. Or rather the waiter suggested this and we agreed. They know, we know, all's good. Go with the tao.

The most famous of these "favorites" are the "Swiss sauce chicken wings" -- the story is, about a hundred years ago, a waitress at the original location misunderstood "sweet sauce" for "Swiss sauce" and the misunderstanding was a legend born. They're yummy. Tender juicy chicken wings marinated in a thick, slightly sweet soy sauce.



(sorry, it's a cell phone pic)

I was surprised, considering this was a tourist spot, that our waiter suggested the beef tongue. Most tourists I know would flinch at a large, unadulterated cow tongue on a plate.

I'd had beef tongue only once before... but I don't remember if I actually ate it. I have a vague memory of my mother bringing home a beef tongue from the grocery butcher in Kansas City (we spent a few years living in Missouri). I remember her having fun freaking out my Dad and us kids, when she told us to open the fridge and look at the cow tongue, like a dare. We didn't believe her, but then there it was, sitting on a plate, all large and gooey looking. We picked it up and played with it, and I chased my sisters around the dining room, delighting in grossing them out. That's all I remember, I don't recall eating the thing.

So now, years later in Hong Kong, I finally had a chance to carve into some beef tongue. The texture was pretty close to what I expected, but the taste was much better than what I imagined. Thick and juicy and fulfilling, and only very slightly rubbery. It was a good match for a Guinness, which I would never choose to drink in Hong Kong's warm climate, but then with the air conditioner on full blast, it made sense.

Address:
Tai Ping Koon, 40, Granville Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon.