Enjoyed my new subscription of Brooklyn Magazine while flying business class.
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hong Kong. Show all posts
Monday, October 31
Wednesday, November 4
Travel: HK: YunNan Spicy Rice Noodles
Whats the most intimidating thing about eating out in a foreign country?
(Besides the fear of getting the runs)... Not being able to read the menu!
Luckily we had our HK office team to help translate.
This small little hole in the wall restaurant specializes in YunNan (SiChuan related) rice noodles.
You choose from 6 levels of ma la (peppercorn-- that numbs your mouth) spicy broth, and then add from a list of ingredients as you wish.
We started with cold non spicy appetizers first so that we would have it on the table when we needed a break from our flaming noodles.
Luckily I grew up with these dishes so I wasnt grossed out.
(Top left to right): Pigs ear (cartilage is crunchy), pickled cucumbers, steamed veggies, pigs kidney (least favorite).
For my noodles, I chose a level 4 and added the following ingredients:
1. pig blood (the purple looking tofus) 2. seaweed 3. sprouts 4. pigs intestine (yummy) 5. just slices of pork (hey, had to play 1 safe card right?).
**I love spicy flavors, but a level for me, was giving me a runny nose and the only thing that could put the flame out was of course-- soybean milk!
But Shontay, my sister from another mother, DRANK ALL THE BROTH UP!!!
Her bowl is DRY....She out-spiced all 6 of us!
(Besides the fear of getting the runs)... Not being able to read the menu!
Luckily we had our HK office team to help translate.
This small little hole in the wall restaurant specializes in YunNan (SiChuan related) rice noodles.
You choose from 6 levels of ma la (peppercorn-- that numbs your mouth) spicy broth, and then add from a list of ingredients as you wish.
We started with cold non spicy appetizers first so that we would have it on the table when we needed a break from our flaming noodles.
Luckily I grew up with these dishes so I wasnt grossed out.
(Top left to right): Pigs ear (cartilage is crunchy), pickled cucumbers, steamed veggies, pigs kidney (least favorite).
For my noodles, I chose a level 4 and added the following ingredients:
1. pig blood (the purple looking tofus) 2. seaweed 3. sprouts 4. pigs intestine (yummy) 5. just slices of pork (hey, had to play 1 safe card right?).
**I love spicy flavors, but a level for me, was giving me a runny nose and the only thing that could put the flame out was of course-- soybean milk!
But Shontay, my sister from another mother, DRANK ALL THE BROTH UP!!!
Her bowl is DRY....She out-spiced all 6 of us!
Tuesday, November 3
HK: Pigeon
On recommendation from my HK-nese friend Elaine, and multiple affirmations that I should definitely check out the very famous Tai Ping Koon, Shontay and I ventured out to have our first taste of pigeon.
My assumption was that pigeon would taste kind of like chicken.
Maybe even more like a quail.
Probably not too meaty, since theyre small.
The outcome looked promising!
The swiss sauce used was essentially soy sauce, with some added sweetness, and thicker stickier texture like a glaze. The skin was seared and crispy, very delicious. Smelled amazing.
But it tasted like liver.
My dad would have loved it, and I can understand if you did like liver that pigeon would be just up your alley. But I like my liver as a pate, served with pickled onions to balance the flavor. NO amount of swiss sauce could mask up the taste of liver here.
So....I....politely...spitted it out into a napkin...!!!! I know, I cant believe I did that! I am officially one of those people who go 'eeeewwww' when you mention pigeon. Shontay was amazed. We've spent many company trips eating all types of food--rabbit, sweetbreads, foie gras--and this was my first time not finishing a meal.
But I am proud to have crossed that off my list of 'things to eat'. And I loved that they served the severed head too.
Pigeon? Never again-- but fun experience!
My assumption was that pigeon would taste kind of like chicken.
Maybe even more like a quail.
Probably not too meaty, since theyre small.
The outcome looked promising!
The swiss sauce used was essentially soy sauce, with some added sweetness, and thicker stickier texture like a glaze. The skin was seared and crispy, very delicious. Smelled amazing.
But it tasted like liver.
My dad would have loved it, and I can understand if you did like liver that pigeon would be just up your alley. But I like my liver as a pate, served with pickled onions to balance the flavor. NO amount of swiss sauce could mask up the taste of liver here.
So....I....politely...spitted it out into a napkin...!!!! I know, I cant believe I did that! I am officially one of those people who go 'eeeewwww' when you mention pigeon. Shontay was amazed. We've spent many company trips eating all types of food--rabbit, sweetbreads, foie gras--and this was my first time not finishing a meal.
But I am proud to have crossed that off my list of 'things to eat'. And I loved that they served the severed head too.
Pigeon? Never again-- but fun experience!
Monday, November 2
HK: Sai Kung Fish Market
We ate our first meal in Hong Kong at Sai Kung (西貢), a fishing harbor with the freshest selection of seafood you can find.
Sai Kung is basically an open market with huge exotic fish tanks displaying all the wonders of the sea. Its like a zoo for crustaceans. Once you pick your live selection of lobster, crabs, fish, clams, eels etc-- the vendor hands them over to the restaurant and they prepare your dish for you.
My Cantonese vocabulary goes as far as "yao mo gao cho" (youve got to be kidding me), "diu leh" (f*ck you) and "ho tong ah" (it hurts)-- and the vendors English is next to none-- so we basically pointed and used broken Mandarin to communicate.
We had no idea what version of seafood we were actually eating-- if it was a Sri Lankan crab or Singaporean prawn. All we knew was that they were all alive and swimming before we ate them.
And we were definitely indulging ourselves in our selection. The table next to us, 5 local men, shared 1 crab, 2 rice dishes and 1 vegetable dish. I can only imagine what they thought of us 3 American girls sharing 3 large selection of seafood, no rice, only Yanjing beer. (The bill was only $35 a person, so we remained well within our company stipend).
Our first dish (sorry theres no before pictures) was a huge crab. The best part is how they cooked it-- bi feng tang style. Its basically deep fried (so you can eat the shell too) and smothered with bread crumbs of panko, dried shallots, tons of garlic, and chili.
So delicious that when we finished the crab, and the waiter came over to take the dish away, Ling Mei yelled at the guy saying that she had not finished eating all the breadcrumbs. And then she proceeded to lick the bowl clean. :)
Our second dish was a whole fish, steamed with ginger, scallions, cilantro and soy sauce. Its a very clean version of cooking, complimenting the tender fresh meat of the fish.
My mom would be proud of me for taking the liberty of eating the head, cheeks and eyes!
And for our last dish we ordered the largest prawns Ive ever seen. The vendor actually just recommended us buying 2 and sharing it between ourselves-- but nope. We went all out and ordered one for each of us! The meat was sweet and juicy-- and of course, we cooked it bi feng tang style again.
If you had to choose between going to Lei Yu Men (same set up, other side of HK) or Sai Kung-- its really a toss up. Its definitely cleaner, more condensed down, and very local in Sai Kung- but if you dont speak ANY Cantonese/ Mandarin at all, Id go for Lei Yu Men-- its more tourist friendly.
Sai Kung is basically an open market with huge exotic fish tanks displaying all the wonders of the sea. Its like a zoo for crustaceans. Once you pick your live selection of lobster, crabs, fish, clams, eels etc-- the vendor hands them over to the restaurant and they prepare your dish for you.
My Cantonese vocabulary goes as far as "yao mo gao cho" (youve got to be kidding me), "diu leh" (f*ck you) and "ho tong ah" (it hurts)-- and the vendors English is next to none-- so we basically pointed and used broken Mandarin to communicate.
We had no idea what version of seafood we were actually eating-- if it was a Sri Lankan crab or Singaporean prawn. All we knew was that they were all alive and swimming before we ate them.
And we were definitely indulging ourselves in our selection. The table next to us, 5 local men, shared 1 crab, 2 rice dishes and 1 vegetable dish. I can only imagine what they thought of us 3 American girls sharing 3 large selection of seafood, no rice, only Yanjing beer. (The bill was only $35 a person, so we remained well within our company stipend).
Our first dish (sorry theres no before pictures) was a huge crab. The best part is how they cooked it-- bi feng tang style. Its basically deep fried (so you can eat the shell too) and smothered with bread crumbs of panko, dried shallots, tons of garlic, and chili.
So delicious that when we finished the crab, and the waiter came over to take the dish away, Ling Mei yelled at the guy saying that she had not finished eating all the breadcrumbs. And then she proceeded to lick the bowl clean. :)
Our second dish was a whole fish, steamed with ginger, scallions, cilantro and soy sauce. Its a very clean version of cooking, complimenting the tender fresh meat of the fish.
My mom would be proud of me for taking the liberty of eating the head, cheeks and eyes!
And for our last dish we ordered the largest prawns Ive ever seen. The vendor actually just recommended us buying 2 and sharing it between ourselves-- but nope. We went all out and ordered one for each of us! The meat was sweet and juicy-- and of course, we cooked it bi feng tang style again.
If you had to choose between going to Lei Yu Men (same set up, other side of HK) or Sai Kung-- its really a toss up. Its definitely cleaner, more condensed down, and very local in Sai Kung- but if you dont speak ANY Cantonese/ Mandarin at all, Id go for Lei Yu Men-- its more tourist friendly.
Monday, October 26
Traveling to Hong Kong: 10/25 to 10/31
Hi Readers,
I am in HK now, so there won't be any new postings this week.
Pls follow up on Monday 11/02!
Thanks!
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