Yuki

-Poached Northern Chinese style dumplings where the wrapper is a bit chewy and filled with lots of vegetable and a bit of fatty pork. Served with lots of garlic -Steamed Chiu Chow dumplings, the kind with the thick yet delicate and chewy wrappers with chives, pork, and other ingredients. Served with chili in hot oil I don't think it is possible to have bad dumplings but my experience with dumplings are limited. I've had many kinds of Asian dumpling but the only non-Asian kind that I've had was the perogies and they were from the supermarket too.

Thanks for providing this interesting information since I didn't know that the bamboo scaffolding was done by women. The scaffolding are still used today but I usually don't see women around construction site, maybe I am just not there when they are putting up/down the scaffolding. Speaking about the village in the New Territories, are those people Hakka too? I've only had poon choi once since my parents were not fond of eating from a large dish and the female members of the family are extremely scare of the dogs that wander around the village.

The first time that I had enjoyed poon choi(盆菜) was from a village in Hong Kong where they would usually serve poon choi for festivals. It is common to put the cheaper stuff at the bottom of the pot and all the expensive good stuff at the top. Poon choi has been popping up everywhere in Hong Kong in the last couple years where people see it as an easy eat-in/take out/delivery order for large gathering. There is usually a pretty standard set of ingredients that you would see in poon choi but today, anything is possible. You can find ingredients such as abalone, spicy crab, and green vegetable. Another reason as to why I don't like poon choi is that some people like to dig around the pot. I don't like the expensive stuff at the top and save my stomach for the bean curd, mushroom, daikon, fatty pork, and fish ball.

When I was younger, my mom would return home at 6 and my dad at 7. We would eat dinner together with dishes prepared by mom. Now, my mom usually do not get home until 8:00 and my dad would be lucky to get home by 9:00. It is increasingly common for workers in Hong Kong to get home at around 8 or 9. Most middle or upper class families hire helpers to take care of the chores and the children. Parents do not want to be bothered with cooking and lecturing the kids at the dinner table so the helpers and the children would usually eat dinner at an earlier time. I think it is easy to critize those that do not spend time with their children for dinner but they do try their best to make up to their children such as spending their night talking to their children and going through their homework(when they have already been exhausted by 11 hrs of office work).

I think it also depends on how much friends he can convince to go with him and eat because in most of the Chinese restaurants, you can't try out that many food without lots of friends. The easiest thing that he can enjoy is the street food because it is everywhere and available in manageable portion. Shanghai Ask him to wake up as early as possible and wander into the residential area (It seems like Shanghai's hotels and residential area is really close together so it should not be a problem) for breakfast. Try the salty soya milk(it has shrimp drimp, fried dough, green onion, and lots of other stuff in it), the huge varieties of buns and fried dough, egg crepe, noodles, and other breakfast items. I also had some of the most amazing grilled lamb skewers and bread(they are kind of like naan) in the street of Shanghai. Do not be afraid to poke into places because I got a bowl of freshly made noodles with some amazing chili paste for US$0.50 in a small place beside the bus station. You don't need a guide book for street food in Shanghai but just like everywhere, when there is a line up, just stand in the line even before you know what they are selling. Hong Kong I don't want to sound bad but I don't like most of Hong Kong street food due to the quality decline. It used to be that everything is fresh but now they would fried large batch of food at once....... Of course it is still worth it to try the food if he sees that the food is freshly prepared. Curried Fish balls, Fried Vegetables stuffed with fish paste, waffle, crepe, meat balls, bubble tea, cream puff, and anything the Hong Kongers can come up with. Most of the street food is concentrated in Mong Kok but you would be able to find it everywhere in Hong Kong. Also don't forget to get some fresh egg tarts, pineapple buns, and milk tea at tea time.

My grandma grow lots of stuff in her backyard but as she is getting old, the varieties are getting smaller. Currently she has: Bok choy, gai lan, snow peas, wolfberry, strawberries, zucchini, and green onion. Although she doesn't grow a lot of vegetables now but she does exchange with her friends so we end up with too much vegetables in the house.

If the abalone is small and fresh then it is best steamed with dried orange peel or grilled. I don't really like big and fresh abalone since it usually gets too tough during cooking. If the abalone is dried then of course give it to my aunt to turn it into braised abalone. My aunt is a master in braising abalone and knows how to treat the abalones so they would have a "sweet centre" after braising. She told me that the abalones that are brought in most stores are usually not ready for consumption. The abalones are not completely dried yet so it is best for the buyer to put the abalone in a cool place and take it out into the sun every once or twice a year. Some of the cheaper dried abalone would also be good in soup.

Um... I don't store them in the fridge because I live in a really dry place. The black bean shouldn't need to be stored in the fridge since in the humid Hong Kong, they leave them out and nothing seems to happen(maybe I am wrong though ). I usually just store them in their original cylindrical paper container. I rinse the black bean under the water and mash it up a bit before mixing it with chopped garlic. Some of my favourite dishes include steamed white eel and steamed spare rib. If I am at a restaurant then I would order a Cantonese style fried noodle dish with a sauce consisting of black bean, pepper, and beef. Most shellfish also taste very good when it is stir fried with black bean, garlic, and a bit of hot pepper. Black bean is a wonderful thing but you have got to pair it up with garlic to get the best flavour.

When I was in Singapore, most of the food was packed in clear plastic bags for takeout order. I guess once the food arrive at the office or home, people would pour the soup and noodles into their own reusable containers. I think the plastic bags are better than using styrofoam containers since they are not as easy to leak and doesn't produce as much garbage. If someone would like a nice clear plastic box for their food, they would have to pay extra.

There is a popular saying from Hong Kong, and I am sure lots HK children would have heard it from their mothers already. Angry mother: I would rather give birth to a piece of char siu than you....... At least I can eat the char siu.

I just got back from Shanghai but I am still too lazy to post the pictures from the trip. When I was in Shanghai, there are lots of shop that specialize in selling individual packaged food that is great for gifts. I saw individual packaged duck parts(gizzard, liver, feet, tongue, and lots more), many different types of nuts(I especially like the mini walnut), Chinese dessert and cake, and many other weird things. Of course since she is coming back to the US so I suppose she can not buy the wide varieties of preserved meat in Shanghai. When your sister in Shanghai, I would suggest going into the residential area in the morning where she would find great breakfast at a cheap price. The grilled lamb skewer is great with the freshly baked bread. I would also recommend the Polo restaurant(I will dig the address up sooner or later ) for Shanghai style food. For me, Shanghai is not about going to the fancy restaurant, but it is about lining up behind a crowd to get food. In Shanghai, some people do not line up for buses but they are really patient when it comes to lining up for food. Don't be afraid to try out new food and you know there is great food when there is a line up!!

When I cook with tofu, I prefer the silken ones since they are so much more smooth. If I need to use tofu to absorb the flavor in a dish then I would use fried tofu, or iced tofu(freeze silken tofu in the fridge and defrost them, they will turn into a sponge). There are so much different types of tofu product and even the silken tofu from different company would have different taste and texture. You might want to try different types of tofu to find out which kind is more suitable for different style of dishes.

You don't need to cook the tofu first. I usually just cook the mixture until it starts to bubble up a bit then add the silken tofu(cut into large block). The dish is then stir fried for a few moment until the tofu warm up and it is dinner time.

I like the modern Asian restaurant that is popping up everywhere in Hong Kong. They tend to offer traditional and creative Asian dishes but the portion is meant for 2-3 people. Since there are many young adult and families without kids eating out now, those restaurants offer the chance for their customers to taste a variety of dishes without over ordering. I wish that they could do that here so I don't have to order salt and pepper squid that is meant for 6-8 people by myself... not that deep fried food is a bad thing but it just take a while for me to finish it.

I have a even worse habit because I would order a lot but would take one or two bites from each dish. Since my family go out to mostly Asian restaurant so it is not that big of a problem since everyone is going to share the food anyways. But my parents dislike it when I get hungry at 12 and would eat only a small bowl of fried noodle and a couple bite of cold dishes, then at 2, I would declare that I am hungry again. Umm... I do not really have an excuse but people that know me would know that I usually eat lots of small meal. They know that when I say that I am "hungry", I am not to be trusted. I have no problem with eating left over so I would just bring everything home for breakfast.

I know of 3 common kind of spring roll: 1.) A wet mixture of ground pork, and a bit of chopped up mushroom 2.) Shredded taro with a bit of ground pork (my absolute favourite, I love anything with taro in it) 3.) Vegetarian- shiitake mushroom, wood ear mushroom, bamboo, and stuff that I do not remember Modern kind of spring roll (you can wrap anything in it!!) 1.) Shrimp or any seafood with lots of mayo 2.) Banana with red bean paste Edited to add in: Um... realized that this thread is actually on American spring roll/egg roll. Actually I do not have much to say about them since I have never had one before. The only thing I know about them is that they are huge and people like to pour sweet&sour sauce or plum sauce over them.

Yeah, I told her that but when she was eating the egg tart, she just scooped up the egg and threw away the pastry.

I actually tried out your recipe but due to my incompetence, the result is not even close to your wonderful looking dan tart. My sister made another batch today using her own recipe, but she cheated by using frozen puff pastry. The egg ended to be smooth but the crust is just not there.... I think the hardest part in dan tart is the crust and I will leave that to the professional. I have a far-off relative that works in a bakery but I am not sure if it is okay to ask her if I can watch the dan tart making process...

I just baked the egg tart today and have to report that they are a failure. The egg ended up extremely rough with air bubble inside and the crust tasted raw. I don't think I want to try making them again for a while... I will just go to the bakery to grab some fresh egg tart next time.

Thanks for clearing up my questions between lard, butter and shortening. I saw some recipes that use both the "water" skin and the "oil skin", and the "oil" skin contains butter and lard. Although those recipes sounded really good but they seem to be more difficult to make. I will buy lots of lard and butter this weekend to do some experiment even though I am quite sure that my result would not be good. Thanks, I've seen Tenderflake before and now I know where to get some extra cholesterol. I've no one to share my egg tart with and my sister just baked a strawberry tart so our intake of sugar and fat might be quite high this week.

I will start the dan tart this weekend but I have some questions first. Where would I find lard in the supermarket? In the refrigerator or the baking section? If I can not find lard, what can I use? I've only used butter and oil for baking before, but I know the crust that are made with lard or shortening taste so much better.....

We go regularly to our wonderful dim sum restaurant, Lucky Garden in North Providence RI, where two ex-HK chef brothers work tirelessly with their family members to produce happiness in my and my family's bellies. We are going there today, in fact, to celebrate our daughter's first month. And when we go, let me tell you, we are going to fill up, as in "don't need dinner tonight, kids" fill up. From the looks of the many other people who are there, some of whom hail from HK originally, they're filling up, too. So isn't it possible both to socialize and fill up? I get the little plate concept and I realize that there are different cultures of eating, but when you can get food like this only once a week or so, why wouldn't you want to enjoy it to the extent you can? ← I think one of the reasons why we don't fill ourselve up at dim sum is because we usually get to the restaurant before 9. Dim sum is viewed as a breakfast to tide us over until we get to our late lunch or tea time. Another reason why my family do not eat up is because we prefer to eat lots of small meal, and even if we decided to pig out on a meal, it certainly would not be on dim sum. I am not saying that dim sum is not good but I have been getting dim sum for many years and I can get decent quality dim sum whenever I want. If I fill myself up every weekend on dim sum then I can not eat other delicious food. I was brought up by my grandma's friend, and they brought me to dim sum every morning after the morning walk. We got to the dim sum restaurant by 8:00, and stayed there for an hour or two. After the dim sum, we went to the market to buy some food for lunch and dinner. The lunch was consisted of mostly vegetable, a bit of meat/fish, and soup. I guess I was just brought up with the idea that dim sum is not suppose to be a big meal? I understand that some people would order a full table of dim sum, and of course they are able to fill up and socialize at the same time. I just do not think it is a sensible way of eating when I have to maintain my weight and still eat lots of yummy food.

The point about going to dim sum is not to fill you up, it is more like a time to socialize with families and read the newspaper. It is very typical for my family(4 people) to go for 2 hrs of dim sum and order only 6-8 dishes. The elderly people go out for dim sum every morning after their morning walk and exercies, but they only eat a bit. The most common dim sum ordered by the elderly would be a starch dish like congee, or a steamed rice dish with chicken, preserved meat, or meat patties. They might also order one or two dim sum to go with the main starch dish. It is important to realize that people usually do not pig out when it comes to dim sum in Hong Kong since it is available everywhere.. what's the point of stuffing yourself?? Remember that moderation is the key!! Also exercising regularly so you can indulge in fatty food might also be a good idea.

I love the new Hong Kong style dessert house, they are great. You can get everything from durian pancake, cream brulee, cheesecake, mixed fruit with sweet soup to the traditional dessert. Just one more month then I will be back(I can't stop thinking about the summer, my friends think I am crazy ).

I had never had tomato beef with egg until my students from mainland China cooked it for our international food fair. Then my kids ate supper at my brother's while we were away, and she added eggs strips. Now my kids always ask me to add egg like "kow Mo" does. My students add scrambled eggs (clumps) which didn't look as appetizing to me. I like the look of the strips. ← But the scrambled eggs are much more fluffy, wouldn't the strips be too long and thin?? I think the Cantonese style served at restaurant are more like a stir fried dish while the style that I get at home is like a watery soup version.