Cha chaan teng cheat sheet: What to order at the most popular eateries in Hong Kong

Mon, 02/20/2012 - 10:15 — Anonymous by Jason BeermanCha chaan tengs fuel
Hong Kong. These local diners are where Hong Kongers sate their appetite for
almost anything at almost any time. They operate round-the-clock, serving
distinctly indigenous comfort food with no-nonsense service and an atmosphere
of bustling industriousness. Cha chaan teng culture came of age in the 1950s
when Hong Kong's increasingly cosmopolitan and westernized middle classes
began to broaden their palates. The result is a melange of tastes that fuses
the cuisines of the various transient populations of Hong Kong into a new
pastiche cuisine: accidental fusion food.  It lacks a singular definition
and there are nearly no parameters. The menu at a typical cha chaan teng is
seemingly endless in scope. Written on paper and taped to the walls, they
extend wall-to-wall like a madman's scrawl.read more