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Brad A. Johnson

Food & Travel

Brad A Johnson
  • Blog
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    • Food Photography
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Shun Kee, Typhoon Shelter, Hong Kong

  • May 3, 2011
  • Brad A. Johnson
This is one of the most incredible restaurants in Hong Kong. It’s a floating restaurant in the typhoon shelter in Causeway Bay. The kitchen is on a ramshackle boat, and the only way to get to it is on another boat.
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)
Entrance to Shun Kee, Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter restaurant, Hong Kong (Photo by Brad A. Johnson)

The restaurant operates several of these old boats outfitted with dining tables and chairs; each boat can accommodate anywhere from two to 10 or so diners. You have to call ahead and reserve a “table,” which you’ll board from a sketchy, very grungy section of the pier. It will feel like you’re in the wrong place, but this is it. A really old Chinese woman with the strength of 10 rugged men rows the boat over to the kitchen and ties the boats together.

These are not a fleet of beautifully restored antique boats or modern floating dining rooms. They are grungy and dirty. Our boat had an open-air toilet right next to the dining table; I assume it dumped straight into the water below. It’s all very ghetto and surreal, as the sparkling spectacle of modern Hong Kong rises in the background. But, damn, the food is good!

The food is based not on traditional Cantonese cuisine but rather the unique fisherman cuisine of the Yau Ma Tei boat people. The harbors around Hong Kong used to be filled with hundreds of fishermen and their families who lived on their boats. There was an entire community on the water, but it’s a lifestyle and culture that has all but disappeared as Hong Kong has become a thriving modern metropolis. The chef who runs this boat/kitchen only recently opened here–after years of negotiating a permit, he was finally allowed to open for business. He’s basically singlehandedly keeping alive this amazing culinary tradition. There’s no menu. You’ll simply eat whatever the chef decides to cook—and in my case that included huge sea snails, noodle soup with roasted duck, stir-fried pig intestines, and the most incredible wok-fried lobster with mountains and mountains of fried garlic.

Fair warning: You must love garlic to eat here. And it’s critical that someone in your party be able to speak Cantonese. Nobody at this operation speaks English.

For more travel inspiration and photos, I invite you to follow me and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

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Brad A. Johnson

Brad A. Johnson is a writer and photographer specializing in food and travel. His work has been honored by the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards, James Beard Awards, World Food Media Awards, Food Photographer of the Year Awards, Society of Features Journalism Awards and others. Based in Southern California, Brad currently serves as Editorial Director of the new luxury consumer travel magazine of the Global Travel Collection (launching Spring 2023).

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Hey, OC. FYI in case you missed it, @ryegoods has opened a new location on Red Hill in Tustin, just down the street from Flight/Mess Hall. Same incredible breads and pastries as the original on the peninsula. No lines here, plus a huge seating area. #sourdough #pastries #coffee #orangecounty 322 9
One more post from our lovely stay at @fstokyo. Delicious lunch at @maisonmarunouchi, the casual sibling to @sezannetokyo. Excellent all around. And clearly popular with Tokyo's ladies who lunch: the clientele during our visit, almost entirely women. Quite the see-and-be-seen crowd. 57 1
I’m not sure which I liked better about the @fstokyo, the valet greeter and escort from the train station, the view of the trains from our room, or the super comfy pajamas. Excellent service all around. #Tokyo #Japan #hoteljunkie 79 3
I think @sezannetokyo ⁠has a #footfetish, and I’m ok with that. Truly fantastic lunch. Impeccable service. ⁠ 63 1
We had a really fun "Lost in Translation" moment at @meatman_roppongi. Google Translate failed hilariously. Delicious meat/fat overload anyway. Great staff, charming hospitality. Lots of sake. Thank you, @fstokyo for securing the reservation! #Tokyo #Roppongi #sake 76 1
Well, that was interesting.  A toast to 2022. And looking forward to ‘23. Cheers, and safe travels to all. 81 1
Brad A. Johnson
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Writer. Photographer. Traveler. Restaurant Critic.

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