Gau Gee
21 Gough Street
Hong Kong Island

Doing the research for Busan restaurants was a fruitless effort.  Busan is just not as big of an international destination like Tokyo or New York City.  Some simple Google search terms will get you a ton of results for the best of anything in those major cities, unlike Busan.  Luckily, we had Area Codes to bring us to eat Busan’s best.  We surely would have been lost without him.

As for Hong Kong, the city has no shortage of AMAZING food, so the results were overwhelming.  Being the well connected foodie that I am, I just hit up some friends for personal recommendations.  The Annoyer’s brother, 3SB actually lives in Hong Kong so he was able to narrow down some top eats for our 9 days in the city.  Overlord is a frequent visitor to the densely populated island and gave us his 2 cents.  He couldn’t stop talking about the beef brisket noodles at Gau Gee.

The place usually has a long line out the door, but we didn’t have to wait too long for a party of 2 on a weeknight.

A quick Google search for “Gau Gee” or “Kau Kee” results in a litany of links and articles praising the beef brisket noodles here.  The Annoyer also sang its praises.  Not too far off from Hollywood Road, it serves to remind all the surrounding expat establishments that this is still Hong Kong.  The restaurant is small.  The lighting is stark white and uninviting. The waiters could care less about your “customer experience.”  Waving hands in your face or shouting at you is completely normal and not rude at all.  After sitting down, the waiter comes to take your order within minutes.

Yes sir, you’re on camera!

Curry Beef Brisket Noodles
Overlord really encouraged me to get the curry beef brisket noodles.  While tasty with plentiful tender chunks of brisket, the curry was much more peppery and intense than I was expecting.  This was a far cry from sweet, tangy, and salty Japanese curry I crave and adore.

Beef Brisket Noodles
The whole thing looks so simple and plain.  It was hard to imagine why Overlord and The Annoyer said it was one of the best things to eat in Hong Kong.  I will admit that that murky broth is actually really tasty and flavorful.  I wouldn’t even be able to tell you what’s in it.  One thing is for sure.  The chef has a heavy hand with MSG.  This broth is that kind of tasty.  

Despite that obvious flaw, since using MSG in cooking is like using steroids in competitive sports, I happily slurped down those noodles and soup.

Gau Gee is certainly some damn fine beef noodles.  The noodles are not overcooked.  They’re not chintzy with the tender brisket.  The soup is soo tasty, maybe too tasty in the that MSG kind of way.  The bowls run about $5 and are a good quick meal.  I didn’t get to try any of the other popular beef brisket noodle places in Hong Kong so I can’t say I have a great reference point for comparison.  But I can’t deny tasty when I eat it.

10 – You NEED to eat here
9 – Awesome
8 – Very good 
7 – Good (minus points for using MSG)
6 – OK
5 – Average
4 – Not bad
3 – Not good
2 – Terrible
1 – Do NOT eat here