Tiny Green Kitchen

When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I made an effort to eat out mostly in local Chinese restaurants rather than Western ones. Now that I have been living here for more than one year, however, that is not so much the case. It's not that I don't like Chinese food -- though I don't know that Cantonese cuisine is my favorite style of Chinese -- but there are so many kinds of international foods in Hong Kong to try.

Plus, I also enjoy cooking at home, so I only go to restaurants a couple of times each week. That may sound like a decent amount, but most Westerners I know eat out much more frequently, possibly even every day. You can get good takeaway for anywhere upwards of US $3, so it is pretty affordable, though I think cooking can still be cheaper.

Last night, my roommate and I went to my favorite Chinese restaurant in North Point: Tiny Green Kitchen. We used to live just around the corner from it, and now we are still only a 5-minute walk away. I don't go there as often as I used to, which means I always order my favorite dish (pictured above) because I don't know when I'll be back.

Nor do I know the name of my order because it is only on the restaurant's special picture menu, which has Chinese characters and no English. Basically it is a delicious stir fry of julienned carrots, green peppers, mushrooms, bean sprouts, tofu, cashew nuts and some kind of pickled Chinese vegetable. For me, it can make two meals when served with rice, and I always add a little soy sauce for flavor.