Shenzhen tour day 2: the tide is high

Pin It

I decided to do a little bit of work in my hotel room after getting up this morning, which was why I missed grabbing breakfast with the family. Funnily enough, I ended up going to the same shop they visited nearby to have some Cantonese-style steamed riceflour rolls (腸粉). My Favorite Cousin and I had done some research on breakfast joints near the hotel while we were sipping on our whiskies last night, and Hong Li Cun (红荔村肠粉) in Times Square Excellence (卓越时代广场) seemed like a good idea.

Steamed riceflour roll with mixed vegetables with egg (罗汉斋肠粉加蛋) - once in a while I enjoy having the classic dish of mixed vegetables and fungus known as 羅漢齋, and it's not common for me to see it as the filling of steamed riceflour rolls. This would have qualified as a vegan breakfast... until I decided to add some egg to it. Pretty big portion for breakfast, and I didn't have reason to complain.

Shenzhen tour day 1: third time is the charm

Pin It

I'm in Shenzhen for a couple of days, tagging along with My Favorite Cousin and her parents as they explore the city a little bit. Having gotten a tiny little taste of the city's dining scene in the last 2 years, I'm actually eager to expand my horizons.

Thanks to a prior engagement, I missed out on lunch at a restaurant I was curious about. I did make sure that I arrived at Futian Station (福田站) via the High Speed Rail by late afternoon, and from there it was just a short walk for me to check into the Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen minutes later.

We took a short stroll around the mall at UpperHills (深业上城), mainly for me to show the elders all the EV makers displaying their models at just one corner. There were lots of people strolling around at dinner time, but My Favorite Cousin noticed that there were very few people browsing inside the stores.

For dinner tonight, I took the family to a place I've become somewhat familiar with. I have dined at The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) at Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen on two previous occasions, and I'm happy to return any time for their refined Chiuchow cuisine. Given that the others had already dined at a Chiuchow restaurant for lunch, this would be their second Chiuchow meal today...

As usual, there was a welcome drink.

Wine and goose

Pin It

We're back in Hong Kong and Foursheets decided to have a small dinner to welcome in the new year of the snake. We took our house guest to our current favorite Chiuchow restaurant Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居), as authentic Chiuchow cuisine isn't easily available in Toronto

An order had been placed for flower crab when the booking was made, but the boss notified us upon arrival that they didn't have any decent ones to serve us, so a substitution was made.

Chilled razor clams Chiuchow-style (潮式凍蟶子) - this was something we always enjoyed on previous visits, and tonight the soy-and-chili sauce - with the Sichuan peppercorn oil numbing and tingling the tongue - managed to highlight the sweetness of the razor clams. Really fresh and delicious.

Shenzhen with MO day 1: back at The Bay

Pin It

On my first trip back to Shenzhen last November, Foursheet and I had a very enjoyable dinner at The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) in the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen. When an invitation came to spend a couple of days at the hotel, including a meal at the restaurant, I didn't hesitate to say 'YES' once I figured out my travel schedule.

The jouney by car on a weekday morning took just less than 1 hour, and we were greeted by the ladies from the hotel upon arrival. Minutes later I stepped into the Skyline View Suite the hotel had prepared for me, and the view over the city was just fantastic.

After soaking up the calm above the city, it was time to head to The Bay by Chef Fei for our lunch. This time we were placed in one of the private dining rooms and not in the main dining room. A few of the nibbles were already laid out on the table when I arrived.

Oysters and goose

Pin It

The King is passing through Hong Kong on his way to sightseeing in China, and asked to meet up over dinner before boarding his high speed train tomorrow morning. I tried to book a few high-end Cantonese restaurants located in 5-star hotels on the Kowloon side, only to find that the first three I checked were all fully-booked for the evening, even more than a week out! After some discussion with our visitors, I decided to take them to our new favorite Chiuchow place Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This seems fitting since I last saw the King at Sheung Hing Chiu Chow Restaurant (尚興潮州飯店) just days before its closing.

This would now be our fourth visit in the last 3 months or so, and Foursheets is now on familiar terms with boss lady so that dishes are being pre-ordered via messaging...

Marinated goose webs (滷水鵝掌) - very nice flavors of master stock (滷水).

The usual good stuff

Pin It

We have a friend in town for the first time in 8 years, and a mutual friend who dined with us last month while he was in town insisted that we must take this friend to Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This happened to make total sense, as our visitors were staying in an area not far from the restaurant.

Unfortunately I had to navigate rush hour traffic across the harbor in a Friday night, so I ended up being pretty late... and quite a few of the cold dishes had already arrived at the table before I even stepped into the restaurant. I'm grateful that everyone waited for me.

Goose liver marinated in Chinese wine (極品酒香鵝肝) - after our experience last time while comparing the two different versions of goose liver, we decided that the one marinated in wine was superior. And indeed, not only is the liver really smooth in texture, but the marinade was just much more fragrant in the mouth.

Dry aged piece of ass

Pin It

S hasn't been in town for 6 years so, naturally, there is a long list of places she wants to hit. She rattled off the names of a few places, and I made the executive decision to book us a table at Wing (永). It has been much too long since I last visited Vicky's restaurant, and I feel a little indebted from that last visit as it ended up being just three of us in the room. Tonight, though, we would be squeezing 9 of us around that table thanks to a late addition. It was gonna be a cozy evening.

Our visitor was stunned by the balcony attached to our private room, and that wicker hanging chair that Foursheets loves so much. I do have to admit that I myself find it a really nice perk, to be able to step out and take in the view of the city... and also enjoy a cigar after dinner. That will come later.

As always, I left everything in the hands of Chef Vicky Cheng. I know there would be a lot of tasty goodies, and it would finally be my turn to taste that abalone. I was also wondering at what point I would see some gold...

Coastal glehnia root and longan tea (北沙參桂圓茶) - we are now in the season of "white dew (白露)", and we started with our seasonal drink. I have no idea what glehnia root tastes like, but the longan flavors were certainly prominent and recognizable.

Seventeen going on eighteen

Pin It

Ahleeso is busy going through her birthday month at full speed, being wined and dined just about nightly. Since they were kind enough to take time to help me celebrate my birthday earlier this year, it was only right that we return the favor. Foursheets has been telling Ahleeso about her new favorite Chiuchow place, and taking a Chiuchow girl for a birthday meal out at a Chiuchow restaurant just seemed perfect... so we rounded up a couple of more people for a night out at Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This was, actually, my second visit this month.

Our focus last time out was on the lo shui (滷水) dishes marinated in masterstock, but we had heard that the hot dishes coming out of the kitchen were not to be missed. The task of pre-ordering dishes then went to RAW Yeah, and within minutes of us sitting down, the first dishes started to arrive in rapid fire fashion...

There was a bowl of pickled radish, and I liked the citrus notes coming from the orange.

Chilled razor clams Chiuchow-style (潮式凍蟶子) - very nice and refreshing. Just a little touch of kick from the chili.

A double cross evening

Pin It

Our friend from the Big Apple is back in town, fresh off his wedding bash in Bali with his wife in tow. It's her first visit to Hong Kong so we kinda wanted to show her around a little. Our evening started with some pre-sunset cocktails at Sugar on top of East, which was easy for me to get to. I think they got some pretty good pics of Victor Harbour at sunset.

For dinner, our friend decided he wanted some Chiuchow cuisine, and Foursheets booked us a table at Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居) on the recommendations of a few people. We crossed the harbor to an area I don't visit often, but the minute we arrived and saw the marinated goose hanging in the windows we knew this place was legit. I only wish we had come with more mouths so I could try more dishes!

Goose liver marinated in Chinese wine (極品酒香鵝肝) - this was very, very soft and silky... getting to be like tofu in terms of texture. Definitely melt-in-your-mouth, and the marinade was really, really fragrant.

Closing day, part 1: that Chiuchow place

Pin It

It's the day of the big reunion, so a number of old friends are back in town for the event tonight. But it happens to be my birthday, and I told the organizers long ago that I wasn't gonna spend my birthday with this lot... Meanwhile, I hadn't seen the King in a little while, so we took the opportunity to catch up while he's in town. As Sheung Hing Chiu Chow Restaurant (尚興潮州飯店) has decided to close their long-standing location next week before moving into new, more modern digs, my friend decided that he would like to come one last time.

The place has always been run down and didn't exactly look spanking clean, and the various adjoining shop spaces - which they all owned - weren't all that different in that respect. I guess that's one of the reasons why I never thought about going there much - especially when their dishes weren't significantly better than other Chiuchow restaurants in town.

As is their usual practice, we were offered small cups of gongfu tea (工夫茶) to start us off.

Cold crab Chiu-Chow style (潮州凍花蟹) - this was obviously a MUST for this meal, and coming in at HKD 1,600 it wasn't outrageously priced. Pretty nice.

Country bumpkin goes north: traversing the city

Pin It

We got up early today as we are headed east for a tombsweeping mission. It took us nearly two hours to get to Dapeng Bay (大鹏湾) and back, and we quickly showered before checking out of Futian Shangri-La. Now we are ready to continue exploring the city.

Dan Jia Cai (蜑家菜) is a place DaRC recommended, and they serve simple cuisine that traditional Cantonese boat people eat on their boats. It was a short taxi ride from our hotel in a residential neighborhood.

Steamed boatmen's three treasures (船仔蒸三宝) - whitebait (白飯魚), salted fish (鹹魚), and squid. Steamed with soy sauce and a sprinkle of spring onions on top. Simple and homey.

Country bumpkin goes north: surprise by the Bay

Pin It

The pandemic years have seen the borders between Hong Kong and the rest of China pretty much closed, requiring an amount of time in quarantine on both sides which borders on stupid. We have therefore not set foot in China since late 2019. In fact, I haven't been to Shenzhen for more than a decade. Having heard many stories of how the city has experienced rapid development, along with tales of delicious food at prices far below what we pay in Hong Kong, we began planning for an eating trip up north.

The first trip got derailed by me finally getting Covid. A rescheduled visit was subsequently cancelled when the restaurant I was due to visit lost its chef. Finally, I used the pretext of visiting a friend to get us across the border.

During the years when I did cross into Shenzhen with some frequency, it was almost always by taking the train up to Lo Wu (羅湖) then walking across that bridge. Futian District (福田區) was far away from any golf course I was hitting or shopping and massage places my friends wanted to visit. But this is where the new station is for the high speed rail, so we decided to limit our activities to this area.

The ride on the high speed rail was quick and efficient. A mere 14 minutes elapsed between the time we started moving to the train coming to a rest at our destination. Definitely not long enough to justify me paying for first class, but I know how Foursheets hates the crowd when she rides the train to Lo Wu. Today there were just 3 of us in first class...

We had a little trouble finding our way inside the massive Futian Station (福田站), but we finally managed to get above ground right next to Futian Shangri-La - my chosen hotel for this trip. For first-timers like us it just made sense to be in the center of everything.

We had heard many stories about how people from Hong Kong now go north to do their grocery shopping - much like Singaporeans cross into JB - so Foursheets decided she wanted to hit a local supermarket. Olé has an outlet just 3 blocks away from our hotel, so we strolled over to check it out. Must say their selection is pretty impressive and they definitely cater to customers who want the nice stuff. Pricing ain't exactly cheap, but if you ever wanted a leg of jamón from Cinco Jotas or some organic local produce, this is the place. Foursheets did notice, though, that the tourists from Hong Kong only looked around and took advantage of tasting offers - they weren't buying anything this premium.

After freshening up back at our hotel, we set off to meet our friends for dinner. They have been stationed in Shenzhen for a few years now and don't get many visitors from across the border, so I think they were pretty happy to see us. Of course, it's another excuse to pop open a couple of nice bottles of wine!

The Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen is less than 2 years old, and looks absolutely grand and stunning. The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) is not in the main structure and has a long name, but the dining room is classy and elegant. I had not heard of either the restaurant or its chef before (it turns out that the other restaurant that bears his name has 2 Michelin stars in Guangzhou), but I happily went along my friend's suggestion. And boy! Am I happy that I let him pick the restaurant!

The restaurant had proposed a selection of dishes for the four of us, and initially I told my friend that I was happy to go along with anything, but... I guess I just couldn't resist changing things up a bit. In particular I wanted to try a couple of Chiuchow dishes and see how a fine dining restaurant in a luxe five-star hotel would interpret them.

Our welcome drink had jasmine tea as a base, with a very lovely fragrance.

Marinated radishes, vinegar, soy sauce (椒麻樱桃萝卜) - right off the bat, we were very impressed. The pickled cherry radish came with a nice balance between acidity and sweetness, accented by Sichuan peppercorn oil giving it that unique fragrance.

Come into my world

Pin It

We haven't seen DaRC and Ro Ro for a few weeks, so we set aside tonight for our gathering together with Chaxiubao. Not surprisingly, they chose a Chinese restaurant after traveling in Europe for a few weeks, and I was happy to get to try a Chiuchow restaurant I had never visited before. In fact, I had never heard of the restaurant... or have I?

A few years ago as I was snapping pictures of vanity licence plates on cars, I came across a plate reading "COME INTO". I was scratching my head at the time as it didn't make any sense to me. Well... we had dinner at Come-Into Chiuchow Restaurant (金燕島潮州酒家). Suddenly a light bulb lit up in my head...

Hong Kong was under the influence of a typhoon over the last day or so, and the Hong Kong Observatory only lowered their Signal No.8 after 4 p.m. today. We weren't sure whether the restaurant would open for dinner, or how prepared they would be in terms of ingredients. I guess we were taking a chance.

Not being an expert on Chiuchow cuisine (actually, am I an expert on ANY cuisine?) I opted to let DaRC do the ordering. I was just happy to eat and hang out...

Soyed goose (滷水鵝) - OK la.

Mom's HK Michelin tour day 1: a very fishy dinner

Pin It

After a night's sleep, we awoke to the sound of CC's barking as she protested the Parental Units' presence in our home. After feeding CC her brekkie, it was our turn. While the parental units stick to their habit of eating a ton of fruits for breakfast, I had something else in mind.

Months ago mom had mentioned her interest in trying out my collection of canned sardines. Now that she's actually here, it was the perfect opportunity to open up a tin or two for her. I took out a tin of sardines from Porthos' Vintage Collection and served in on some Melba toast. I've been aging a bunch of tins in the cupboard, and this was probably at least 3 years' old...

For lunch, Four Sheets went over to Hung Master Goose Special Shop (熊師傅滷水鵝專門店) to buy some takeout. This is one of our favorite neighborhood shops, and specializes in Chiuchow-style marinated goose and other goodies marinated in master stock (滷水). We got ourselves a hind quarter (下庄), some pig trotters, stuffed pig intestines, and cuttlefish.

Canto-Chiuchow lunch

Pin It

There was a last-minute call for a team lunch today, and I scambled to find a suitable venue to fit our requirements. After weighing a few options, I settled on Chiu Tang (潮廳), a place I haven't patronized in a number of years. In fact, I have not been to their current location.

With a minimum spending requirement for our private room, I made sure to order a few big-ticket items to help us get over that threshold...

Signature marinated goose's liver (馳名滷水鵝肝) - can't come to a Chiuchow restaurant and not order something lo shui (滷水)! Can't go wrong with the goose liver here.

Out of quarantine

Pin It

The Compatriot is back in town after more than a year, and I was so looking forward to seeing him that I took him out to dinner on his first day out after the 21-day hotel quarantine.  I figured he would be missing some good Chinese food, so Howard's Gourmet (好酒好蔡) was my choice for that all-important first dinner.

I asked the restaurant not to serve us any shark's fin, but otherwise the menu was set by the chef based on seasonal ingredients. I was curious to see what we would be getting tonight.

Chaozhou snacks (時令兩小菜) included preserved radish with diced pork (菜脯肉丁) - which was fatty, crunchy, and chewy - as well as bamboo shoots marinated with chili.

Chef's espresso (特色暖胃湯) is a staple here, and tonight this was made with pumpkin, carrots, and potatoes. Certainly does the job of warming one's stomach in advance of the dishes coming our way.

Delicious high end Chiuchow lunch

Pin It

Sankala had been wanting to try Howard's Gourmet (好酒好蔡) for quite a while, as she's heard a lot about the place.  In fact, she chose it as the original venue of our wedding last year, before an unexpected turn of events derailed our plans.  Knowing this was an itch she wasn't waiting to scratch, I figured we should have ourselves a nice lunch there.

The menu today seemed a little longer than I remembered from my last lunch 5 years ago, but that's OK.  Most restaurants have been trying to maximize revenue at lunch during the months when dinner service was banned.

Chaozhou snack (潮州開胃小碟) - marinated cucumbers were slightly spicy, and we've also got marinated wood ear fungus with some Chiuchow-style fish cakes - with the latter being pretty springy.

Chef's espresso (特色暖胃湯) - made with red rice.

Stuck on the Ashes of Time

Pin It

This dinner has been waiting to happen for a long, long time.  More than 2½ years after my first visit, I finally found occasion (and company) to re-visit VEA.  Vicky Cheng's cuisine has been getting a lot of attention lately - due in part to the constant, heavy marketing assault by the PR - and I had been keeping track of all the dishes that I had not been tasting.  So I convinced the Film Buff - who originally introduced me to the restaurant - to accompany me.

We were once again seated on high chairs in front of the counters, because they are meant to be the best seats in the house.  I had a real issue with this last time, as I kept having to get out of my chair to take pictures of the food.  Now that I've switched to a camera with an articulating screen, things were a little easier tonight.

As usual, there was a whole slew of snacks to start us off:

Corn and sweet potato chip

Red capsicum chip

Bread stick

Fish skin - the dehydrated fish skin came topped with diced abalone that had been slow-cooked, abalone liver purée, coriander, pickled chilis, and covered with a layer of dashi (出汁) jelly.  The fish skin itself was really nice, and the abalone was certainly tender, while I didn't notice any kick from the chili.

Eat at Morpheus: dragon or durian?

Pin It

We abandoned our original plans of grabbing a sandwich and visiting our favorite shop cat so that we could spend a little more time in our nice suite at the Morpheus.  A nap sounded like a good idea, and I probably should have caught some zzzz instead of working on the blog.

Soon it was cocktail hour, and we regrouped at Voyages by Alain Ducasse.  A couple of drink carts were rolled in front of us as we were offered some of the signature drinks.  I took the kalamansi negroni since negroni is often my drink of choice, but while there was certainly citrus fragrance here, the scent of calamansi was so faint that it took me a long time to convince myself that it was, in fact, calamansi...

I spotted a bottle of Monkey 47 during our tour earlier, so I suggested that Hello Kitty get herself a gin and tonic made with Monkey 47.  Curiously, we were told that it was unavailable... so Hello Kitty took one with Tanqueray N° Ten instead, since that bottle was on one of the carts.

Chiuchow classics

Pin It

Ro Ro wanted to get together this weekend, and when her top two restaurant picks were both unavailable thanks to the last-minute nature of our gathering, we found ourselves at Sheung Hing Chiu Chow Restaurant (尚興潮州飯店).  This is undoubtedly one of the most famous and classic places in town serving Chiuchow cuisine, and it's been quite some time since I last paid them a visit.

Eel wrapped in pouch (荷包鱔) - this was my first time tasting this classic dish.  I normally don't care for the eel at Cantonese restaurants because there's always that strong muddy flavor, and the muddiness was still there tonight, but at least there was plenty of pepper in the soup to counter that.  Wrapped inside the large piece of pickled mustard leaf (咸酸菜) were diced bamboo shoots and shiitake mushrooms.  Pretty interesting, and I'm glad I finally tried this dish.