Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 2020 | Page 55

Hong Kong Young Writers Awards 2020
A Whole New World
St. Paul’s Convent School, Cheung, Jessie – 13
A brand new ‘sort-of ’ country anywhere in the world would be shining, shimmering and
splendid and a new fantastic point of view. But for our home to be apart of this said ‘sort-of ’
country, it would become a dazzling place we never knew and full of indescribable feelings.
And in the midst of it all, food writer Serena Kiang was on a thrilling chase in pursue for
delicacies in this brand new ‘sort-of ’ country — the Greater Bay Area.
So here she stood, in a two-hour long for a taste of one of Macau’s top places for its
signature Portuguese egg tarts. She had only two more people in front of her and it would be
her turn — and she would finally taste, for the first time ever, one of the most iconic foods
of the historic place. She had her mind set on one thing and one thing only — the classic
Portuguese tart, no fancy flavours and no custom additions.
She had her mind set. That is, until she heard the young couple just two spots before
her in line receive egg tarts that looked slightly different than the classical one she would be
trying. Watching the content sighs and satisfied grins on said customers, Serena was just ever-
so-slightly convinced to try it out.
“Excuse me,” Serena asked the couple, “What is that? It looks different.”
With a mouth full of their special egg tart, the young man looked over to Serena. “Fresh
cream for filling, instead of the usual flour and water.”
“Is it any good?”
The young girl nodded so enthusiastically that Serena thought the girl’s head was about to
fall off. “So good. Way better than the classic, not that it’s any bad.”
Serena thanked the couple and watched as they head to their next destination for photos.
Some would say that she was shameless, but that was just the kind of woman Serena Kiang
was — she didn’t care for social expectations or etiquette, for filling her stomach with good
food was the most important thing for her.
So Serena set her mind on something else: one of each.
The couple was right. The cream-filled tart was better than the classic, but the classic was
not bad either. In her notebook, she scribbled down just how delectable the local treats were
for later organisation.
Her next destination in her search for Greater Bay delicacies would be Hong Kong —
where she looked forward most to curry fishballs and egg puffs, shark fin soup and Kong-style
milk tea.
Her journey throughout Hong Kong was entertaining, to say the least. She, like she did
in Macau with the tarts, took other’s orders into consideration before only adding more to her
order. When she tried the curry fishballs, she couldn’t help but order a bowl of a variety of
beef parts with turnip; when she tried the egg puffs, she couldn’t resist not ordering a rare and
exotic flavour; when she had shark fin soup, she couldn’t not have the chef ’s recommendation
of stinky tofu; and when she had her milk tea, there was no way she could call her trip
complete without a Kong-styled club sandwich.
She ended up spending more than her planned budget for Hong Kong dining, but she had
no regrets.
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