Life imitating art: Hong Kong Breakfast

Not long ago, I came across a Sydney-based illustrator/designer called Nicole Foo, who does a brilliant job at capturing the food and culture of south-east Asia (check out some of her work here).

Seeing her illustrations of chicken rice, char kway teow and roti canai brought back some great memories of wandering around Singapore and KL in search of food - but there was one piece that I was particularly drawn to: that of a ‘Hong Kong Breakfast’, showcasing some of the dishes you’d find at a cha chaan teng (a HK-style cafe) or at yum cha.

Now, having emigrated from HK before I was old enough to understand what these dishes were, I can’t gushingly claim that they ‘were the staple of my childhood’ or that they ‘brought back memories of sitting at my favourite stall in Sheung Wan’ - but nevertheless, they’re dishes my parents sought out when we were growing up in Canberra, and for me, there’s still a strong sense of identity and connection associated with them.

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After a grabbing a postcard version of the illustration from Nicole, and having it sit on my dining table for a few weeks, I thought to myself: “I’m enjoying looking at this so much - why don’t I enjoy it IRL?”. And there, my friends, is how the photos below came to be. As Oscar Wilde famously wrote: “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”.

Four plates of food on a table, representing a Hong Kong breakfast

Sure, it's a "carbohydrate-forward" spread - but as is typical of Cantonese meals, it's all about the variety of textures: the springy, slippery cheung fun (rice noodle rolls); the thick, creamy jook (congee); the crispy, chewy yau char kwai (youtiao / fried dough sticks); and the light yet bitey soy sauce noodles. The flavours are simple - a drizzle of soy here, a spoonful of hoisin there, and a sprinkle of spring onions over the top - but when it all comes together, magic happens.

The only thing missing? A hot mug of Horlicks and the constant turnover of strangers to share the table with.

Two people eating a Hong Kong style breakfast