Nathan Congee and Noodle

During the briefs moments when I had access to internet when I was in Hong Kong, I was elated to discover local Unilocal reviews. Made our way here for breakfast and it was the best congee I had during my entire visit — (and I had congee for breakfast every day for a week!).
The place is a bit of a hole in the wall, but the congee is the perfect consistency — served fast, hot and fresh. Pork with preserved egg is my go to «flavor» and this hit the spot. Thanks Unilocal

I stopped by here for breakfast, I had a ratatouille moment, the food brought me back to my childhood!

I stopped by here for breakfast, I had a ratatouille moment, the food brought me back to my childhood!
The restaurant is located on a dirty street however, if that could be a factor in your decision I would find an indoor place instead.

Not the biggest congee fan but Nathan’s nails it. Their base is super fluffy, not too watery or too thick and virtually no detectable signs of MSG. My go-​to are the chicken congee and blanched pork liver and spleen with scallions and ginger. The chicken is marinated overnight with rice wine and ginger before it’s cooked to order in the congee.
Congee with fish slices, pork offal congee and blanched fresh fish skin are solid picks as well. I’ve never tried the abalone and chicken congee but they do spring for Calmex abalone so it’s probably worth a try if you’re feeling luxurious. They also have a chicken/​frog leg congee if you’re about that protein life.
Saw an old white dude in here today with his Chinese gf. He had a look of fear in his eyes as he sat down and later brutally rejected her congee recommendations. «Don’t they have noodles? Beef? Chicken??» Maybe they got lost on their way to Spaghetti House.

not bad congee. I got the frog legs and my friend got the beef w salted fish.
dont be scared about the location; its one of those local cool places. dough ball things are gewd
also ask for extra century egg! yummy.

I am not a congee expert but I do love their congee. I would have given them five starts if their fried dough sticks (油炸鬼) were crispy and warm but they were cold which does not taste as well.
There are so many different congees to choose from, but if you are not used to Cantonese congee I would suggest going with something less scary, such as: pork or chicken. Although, if you like to try something more local then you should really try the «thousand year egg» or «pig liver».
Tips: Don’t be frighten by the menus in Chinese, they have menus in English too!

Nathan congee is my mother’s favourite breakfast spot. And they do serve a mean bowl of congee. Though the fried dough sticks (油炸鬼）are always cold because they have the nasty habit of leaving them out sitting open air and they are always pre-​fried. Mom says that is because they are to be used to dip in the scalding hot congee, but I still prefer them hot and crispy…
Conveniently located right off the busy Nathan road, you can get there easily by a lot of buses. It is also near my niece’s school DGS and where she learns how to play drums.
The prices of the congee varies from as low as $ 18 for plain white congee all the way up to over $ 100 for the abalone congee.
I have tried the pig’s kidney and liver congee (mom’s favourite, interesting texture but awful taste), thousand year egg and pork (good egg but I don’t like pork strips, prefer thin slices though hardly any place do slices anymore…), chicken (very tender meat, my favourite though the often crushed bones are pain to deal with), and plain (which we use to add in other congee with ingredients to make a second half bowl because they are generous with ingredients.
Surprisingly, you will see in addition to Chinese menus and specials on the wall, they have ARABIC!!! Which is weird as I see they have more Japanese and Korean tourist customers frequenting than any middle eastern folks. (Actually I have not seen a single one).
Prices are higher than your typical congee place but you get back what extra you paid for in quality. This place kicks ass.
清倉令郎聽湯

Typical congee house conveniently located across the road from the Novotel (Nathan Road). As you walk past, you can see the raw uncooked congee ingredients in the window and if you dare venture in, they will be in your bowl within minutes. Generally there is 1 staff member who can speak English and there is an English menu but you can probably get away with no English if you’re not afraid to look around and point at what other people are having (generally congee and fried dough sticks).
The congee base is well cooked and piping hot without any hint of a burnt flavour. I’ve been here a few times and have had standard century egg + pork congee, fish congee and frog leg congee. The frog legs were the best as they are have that ‘exotic’ feel to them despite them tasting no different to chicken or fish.
Prices are probably a little higher than standard due to proximity to tourist areas but compared to the western world — it’s still a bargain. This is what a quick HK breakfast is all about !