#Trusty Congee King

[stenoodie]

Trusty Congee King at MOSTown

Trusty Congee King at MOSTown. #chickencongee #wontonnoodles #ricerolls

January 16, 2019: Dropped by Trusty Congee King (靠得住粥麵小館) after noticing the advert for it in the MOSTown shopping mall. It was apparently a Michelin Star restaurant. We arrived at 4:50 p.m. just in time to take advantage of their afternoon tea special. It was a nicely designed and chic-looking Chinese restaurant inside of the mall. Upon closer inspection, their placemat signified another…

[iameboybautista]

Sa pangalan palang, magdududa ka pa ba? The best siguro dyan. . #goat #greatestofalltitos #titosofparanaque (at Trusty Congee King) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6tF0HcH8E2/?igshid=1cbi1hi3yyo38

[viviliciousxo]

So this was my actual last bit of #food in #HongKong. My #congee buddies will understand my #joy, even though the air conditioning had broken down! :-o Never mind. I sweated through and still savoured my #scallop and #pig's liver #jook. Ahhhhh.... #HappyBelly #HKEats #latergram (at Trusty Congee King)

[friendswhofork-blog]

Dear Maximilian,

How's the job hunt going?

Massive news from my end of the world: I quit my job working as the office bitch for bald vag/sexy brow central. They asked me to punch in more office time (ie. stop working from home on my column and as a freelance writer) but refused to up the ante, salary-wise. In the end, we decided it was best to part ways. Of course they made it sound like they didn't want to hold me back from writing, my "true career path," but really I guess it was a big fat excuse for being penny-pinching depilation merchants. It had been barely a month. At least I lasted longer than our accountant. She was at our books for one long ass excruciating day... Until she got a better offer that evening and left the very next day.

I wasn't required to finish out the month, as I'm pretty sure they didn't want me to bill them for that as well. As a result, my status has shifted back to "funemployed" since last week. I celebrated by walking into the salon and getting a Brazilian.

That week that I spent hairless and job hunting culminated in Hong Kong's biggest sporting event of the year: the Rugby Sevens. This is a three-day event consisting of Hulk-like rugby players from all over the world tousling about in Hong Kong Stadium, located in Causeway Bay. The real appeal, however, is the fact that locals and tourists alike use this tournament as an excuse to go on a disgustingly debauched bender. People are at the stadium as early as 7 a.m. just to get good seats. Trust me when I say they start drinking just as early. The matches start as early as 9 or 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday (Friday matches start in the late afternoon) and end around 7 p.m., at which point the drunken denizens wobble over to Wan Chai or Central, taking their merrymaking and jackassery well into the wee hours.

I would like to think that at 27, I'm quite capable of sticking to my guns when I decide not to end a night out with barfing on a bouncer's shoes, a maxed out credit card or waking up next to an ugly stranger. This, now clearly just a delusion of maturity, was why I decided not to watch the rugby matches (what the fuck do I care about rugby anyway) and instead, meet my friends out in Wan Chai that night for the post-game shenanigans.

Long story short, that decision didn't stop me from getting wasted OFF MY FACE. Let me break it down for you...

Saturday night: I roamed the streets of Wan Chai with a Mickey of cheap 7-11 whiskey in my purse, running into random friends and sharing said whiskey with them. Ran into friends of mine dressed like Sailor Moon and a Princess. Shared cheap whiskey with them and random Mario Brothers (real original, right?) and sassy gay Black Swan. Went disco dancing in a nightclub that was clearly a place for foreigners to pick up Filipino prostitutes. Stole a hot pink feather boa from a stranger. Ran up to my friends pulling up to a bar in a taxi and flashed them. Didn't realize one of them was taking a video at the time. Didn't really care. Did tequila shots. Went home in a cab at the buttcrack of dawn. Drunkenly left my BlackBerry in there.

Sunday: Woke up still drunk. Watched Grey's Anatomy reruns till the afternoon. Finally mustered up enough energy to shower. Found bits of hot pink feather boa in my hair. Mustered enough energy to meet friends at a bar for a tribute concert (friends' bands were playing). Ran into a buddy who offered me a beer. Almost ralphed so instead left to have dinner at a Japanese paper grill restaurant down the street. Went back to the bar. Ran into Sailor Moon, still in his Sailor Moon costume and another guy friend. Listened to some live music. Did tequila shots. Ended up turning bar into a three-person dance party. Ate curry. Had random Smiths-sing-along on the street outside 7-11. Decided to take the afterparty to a hotel with three friends, after purchasing drinks and cigarettes from 7-11. Blacked out.

Monday: Woke up next to guy friend in hotel room. We were both in our underwear and still drunk. After attempting to piece together what happened in hotel room that morning, were relieved to discover we didn't have sex. Spent the rest of the day watching cartoons and Canto soaps, and smoking cigarettes. We finally checked out at 6 p.m. I went home to TST, popped a sedative and slept till 2 p.m. the next day.

Needless to say, the Rugby Sevens aftermath has me feeling like life took a big fat steaming poop inside my brain. I'd been feeling ill for two days already and was certain I'd be fighting the urge to throw up or slit my wrists all week, until a friend of mine suggested I try a good congee. I swear to god it was the most brilliant idea I have ever heard a person share with me ever. This local take on rice porridge has, for ages, been the ultimate comfort food I look for when I am hungover or sick, or in this case, both. He took me to Trusty Congee King, which, ironically, is in Wan Chai. Their specialty is rabbit fish congee. I have no freaking idea what a rabbit fish is, but I swear to the foodie gods, that shit is delicious and made me feel so much better. We had it with some fresh fish skin, which I know sounds gross but really, has a similar taste and texture to seaweed (served with soy sauce, chives and chili peppers). I remember the weekend benders we had when we were interning here and how I would always look for congee to cure my nuclear hangovers.

When you finally make it out here, I assume we may very well end up revisiting the debauchery of our days as interns. If that happens, the cure's on me the next day at Trusty Congee King.

Write soon, will you?

Love,

Alessandra