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hzrt8w

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by hzrt8w

  1. As for me: if I only have time to visit one place in Hong Kong, it would be the Victoria Peak. It offers the magnificent view of the Victoria Harbor, North side of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Taking the tram up to the Peak is most scenic. You can combine the trip with a visit to eateries in the Central District, some of which were mentioned here or elsewhere in this forum. If I only have time for a second place to visit, it would be the giant Buddha Statue in Po Lin Temple, Lantau Island. Po Lin Temple is supposed to have the best vegetarian meal (Chinese style) in Hong Kong. My wife and I tried it 8 years ago and thought that was a bit over-rated. Good but not great. Going to the Po Lin Temple used to be a full-day affair. (Ferry trip + bus, round trip) With the built-out of the new HK airport, it's much easier. One can take the subway to Tung Chung, and transfer to some minibus to go up to the temple. Takes only maybe 1.5 hour to reach it from Kowloon. Maybe on the return trip, you can take the bus/taxi to Mui Wo (there are some street-side kind of eateries near the ferry terminal for good seafood), then take the ferry back to Central and enjoy the voyage. If I only have time for a third place to visit..... sorry, you can plan according to your taste and time-budget. While in Hong Kong, I would suggest to take advantage of the opportunity to try something that are best in Hong Kong on my list: - Cantonese seafood (steamed fish, boiled shrimp, oyster, crab, etc.) - Other Cantonese stir-fries (e.g. ong-choy with beef (shrimp paste)) - Meat/vegetables cooked in a clay pot - Cantonese BBQ (roast duck, roast pork, BBQ pork, soy sauce chicken, etc.) - Jook (congee), with cheung fun, yau zha gwai, zhong - Wonton noodles, beef brisket rice noodles, fish balls, beef ball noodles, etc. - Hong Kong bakeries: dan tart, bo lo bao, gai mei bao, cakes, etc. (afternoon tea) And if you haven't had enough: - Hot pot - Some specialty restaurants (Chiu Chow, Shanghai, Hakka, Peking, etc.)
  2. Dejah: This picture is for you! I remember way back when you mentioned you did not know what the snack "prawn rolls" look like. Here it is. A package of small prawn rolls, US$1.25.
  3. It's time. Today is the day. Now is the moment. The moon is bright and round hanging a tad above the horizon. The double yolk lotus seed paste mooncake from AA Bakery in San Francisco. They also have their shop logo (Cantonese name: Wing Hing - meaning forever prosperous) on the cake. Like to play the puzzle again? Sorry it is kind of smudgy. A A Bakery & Cafe Address: 1068 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108 Phone: (415) 981-0123 I have a quarter of the cake tonight. The lotus seed paste filling is smooth, fragrant, not overly sweet. It is done very well, much better than some other ones I had. I like this classic filling over other new ones.
  4. Tepee: Across the street from this old Farmer's Markets location (maybe still current) - or I should say the same side of flower fields - is exactly where your beloved, or will be beloved, factory outlets are in Carlsbad.
  5. Tepee: Marvelous pictures! The birthday cake looks great! Without reading the narratives, I really thought it was a photo elbum! x2. LOL!!! Q's: 1) The steamed fish with minced ginger. Why was the ginger so green? What kind of ginger was used? 2) Dessert: were the logans, grass jelly and palm fruits in some special syrup?
  6. Yeah. Red beans expand quite a bit when soaked. From my experience, they expand to 2-3 times by volume.
  7. It is a Chinese belief that we should be yau tau yau mei [Cantonese], meaning (phonetically): yau = have tau = head, also = beginning yai = have (again) mei = tail, also = end In other words, we believe in doing things from start to finish. Therefore in most of our poultry dishes (ducks, chicken, etc.), we must include the head and the tail of the bird. Or else we will be missing the beginning or the end. Not good. Whether the guests eat it is a different story. Some do, most don't. Many Chinese elders like eating chicken tails. One picks the chicken tail and serves it to the more senior person at the table as a show of respect. I ate chicken heads when I was younger. Didn't think much of it. It is quite boney. The whole skull. Hardly any meat at all. And you can't crush the beak. Chicken brain is very small. You hardly notice it. Tastes like tofu anyway. You should have the Chinese steamed pig brain with eggs... that is some brain to be afraid of! Today I don't eat chicken head any more. But when we order deep-fried pigeons, I still like to chew on their heads. Much smaller. The winter melon soup looks lovely. But cooking with the whole melon... a lot of work. Great for presentation. As for the taste, not that different from cooking with sliced winter melon. The thing about this dish is mostly for showmenship.
  8. Yes, the black bean sauce is more popular for cooking fu gwa (bitter melons). I chose to illustrate my cooking with the lesser-known way of using foo yu and nam yu. Using jo-mel's grand-motherly, kind voice: "I love them both equally!"
  9. I used to eat these around 8th moon 15th day when I was a kid. The sharp horns poked into my lower jaw. Hurted so bad!!! The reward did not warrent the risks!
  10. Wow... you really are a food artist! These little piggies look so cute!
  11. And so are the miso paste and wasabi.
  12. I heard of those methods before but I have never practised them because we like the bitter taste. I think parboiling them (may be with a pinch of salt) would definitely help. But then again, parboiling vegetables also gives the taste away a little bit.
  13. Stir-fried Bitter Melons with Foo Yu My wife and I love bitter melons. For some people, the taste of bitter melons may take a bit of getting used to. To us, the bitter taste is their attractiveness. Get a few bitter melons. Wash well. Trim both ends. Slice each melon into halves. Use a serving spoon to scoop out the seeds and pith. This step is absolutely essential. The seeds and pith are too bitter and taste nasty. Slice the melons in cross cuts. The sauce is very simple: minced garlic with foo yu (fermented bean curds) and nam yu (fermented red bean curds). (The two kinds taste slightly different). If you have one but not the other, that is fine too. Heat up the pan to very hot, add cooking oil, add garlic, foo yu and nam yu. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds. Crush the bean curds with the spatula. (Optional: add a pinch of salt. Note: foo yu and nam yu are already salty.) Add the sliced bitter melons. Add some water (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup). With lid on, cook for about 15 minutes in medium/high heat. Bitter melons take a little while to cook. When cooked, they turn soft and dark-green. The finished dish. Variations: Bitter melons are very good to be stir-fried with beef or chicken. Marinate your meat separately (with sesame oil, white pepper, light soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine and corn starch). Parcook the meat separately. Remove. When bitter melons are about done, re-add the meat and stir-fry some more with the melons.
  14. Pretty much. But with coca-cola, you may want to boil off the sauce longer without the lid on so as to concentrate the sauce a bit before using it on your chicken.
  15. The Chinese stores carry two kind of pei dan. Like Yuki said, the one with a runny yolk is supposed to be more "delicate". In Cantonese, we describe the runny-yolk kind as tong sum pei dan (meaning the center is sweet). Usually, or supposedly, they say it on the label. (Mine was supposed to be the runny-yolk kind, which turned solid. ) I don't know if there is an easy way to tell by just looking at the egg or back-light the egg with some light.
  16. Where have you been? Blame it on Tepee. She's our comedian! Always make me crack up. I remember in the "old" days: 60's/70's, they used to sell pei dan which were still preserved in ashes/lime/grain-shells. But in recent decades, the eggs in the packages have all been cleaned. I like the old ways in that they preserve the eggs better. But the modern packaging is a lot more convenient, of course. I remember I used to hate helping my father to prepare pei dan because it was such a "dirty work".
  17. If Chinese bakery would interest you... My favorite is "AA Bakery" on Stockton street (China Town). I have posted some pictures in this post: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1011406 Out of what they offer, the "egg tarts" (Cantonese: Dan Tart) are the best! Also, bread with shredded coconuts and cream (Cantonese: Lai Yau Bao). Prices are very reasonable. Egg tarts ~$0.70 a piece I think. Lai Yau Bao is ~$0.60 a piece. The biggest issue is: hard to find parking. May be have someone in your party to drop you off to buy the bakery items, circle around to pick you up.
  18. I have also posted my impression of 3 Chinese bakeries in San Francisco in the Chinese forum: Where to buy good mooncakes in San Francisco China Town? There were 3 bakeries mentioned in San Francisco China Town in this Mooncake thread. Last week I passed by all of them. I have taken some pictures. Eastern Bakery Address: 720 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94108 Phone: (415) 982-5157 They said to be the oldest bakery in China Town. I wouldn't doubt. Could use some uplift work though. President Clinton was here... (sorry for the glare from the glass. The best that I could do.) The window display at Eastern Bakery. Note that they show some real BBQ pork baos and bo lo baos at the window. The baos look pure white because they had been bleached by the sunlight over the years. (I don't want to know how many) Last year they were showing some age-old mooncakes too. For some reason, the owner decided to change out the mooncakes this season. These are freshly wrapped. Good! Should last another five years. No line! They are eager to please, offerring free samples to tourists. "Sorry, I am just looking... (and have enough from the window display...)" Golden Gate Bakery Address: 1029 Grant Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133 Phone: (415) 781-2627 I saw a wall of people lined up outside Golden Gate Bakery - at least 20-30 waiting to buy something. (Must be good!) Tourists and local Chinese mixed. On the display window, they only showed a few pieces of mooncakes. Looked pretty good. Hmmm.... I am unwilling to wait for 10-15 minutes (at least) to get my bakery goods. I am hungry... but not that hungry... I will pass this time. Perhaps in my next visit. A A Bakery & Cafe Address: 1068 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108 Phone: (415) 981-0123 So here's my favorite bakery: AA Bakery. On Stockton Street. Oh, yeah... I know I may be biased. Whatever... My taste-bud is trained in Hong Kong. I just know what would please me. Hmmm... even a couple of tourists found their way to AA on their rental motor-tricycle! Display of their bakery items inside AA Bakery. Rows of mooncakes. After elbowing with other fellow patrons (that's one thing bad about some of these shops full of local patrons - there are only crowds and no line - you have to fight for your place: just like the motherland, they would say), I got my order in. Double yolk lotus seed paste mooncakes... The moon is just half-full tonight... 7 more days! P.S.: Double yolk lotus seed paste mooncake: Price US $5.00 for a single. (Usually a tin contains 4)
  19. In the Chinese forum, I have posted my experience of a Chinese "Chiu Chow" (Teochew) noodle house in the Pacific East Mall in Richmond (I-80 exit Central Ave). There are quite a few Asian restaurants inside this mall, which is anchored by a 99 Ranch Market. We had tried only 2 of them so far (we don't drive by Richmond too often). Over time, perhaps, we can try out most of them... Here is my review and pictures for anybody who is interested: I went to try out this small noodle house in the new shopping mall in Richmond, California (Pacific East Mall): VH Noodle House In Pacific East Mall (I-80 exit Central Ave) 3288 Pierce Street, #B101 Richmond, CA (510) 527-3788 They advertise as a "Chiu Chou" (Teochew) style noodle house. We went in and ordered a few items. They tasted pretty good. Please comment if you know whether they are "Chiu Chou" (Teochew) specialties or not... The big sign of "Pacific East Mall" in Richmond, next to I-80. Exit Central Avenue. Pacific East Mall, Richmond, California VH Noodle House inside the Pacific East Mall. Fried Fish Cakes. Pickled cabbage on the side. No special condiment. We just dip them with some Hoisin sauce that's on the table. The fish cakes were quite tasty. My rating: 8/10. Price: US$4.95. Beef Fried Rice Noodle with Satay sauce (Sa Cha sauce). I didn't like their version. It seemed a bit too plain (and not salty enough) compared to the Satay sauce that I am used to. My rating: 6/10. Price: US$8.00 (this is not on the menu. I think they charged a bit too much compared to the other chow fun dishes) This is the Duck Noodle Soup. The duck is "Preserved Orange Peel Duck" (Chun Pei Aup [Cantonese]). The duck meat was excellent, very fragrant, albeit a little bit too salty. My rating: 9/10. (It would have been a 10/10 if it wasn't overly salty). Price: US$5.65. Total, lunch for two: about US$18.00 + tax.
  20. No. I just want to see how often I need to check my cupboard.
  21. Tepee: Thank you for "straitening" me out. I knew something looked funny but couldn't tell what it was. My eyes are not as good as they used to be... I have seen sliced boiled eggs used in Indian home cooking. Would this be an Indian influence?
  22. prasantrin: First let me apologize for using the term "you" in my post. The "you" meant in general the reader of my post and not specifically directed to "you" prasantrin. The use of "one" would be more appropriate. I made no assumption on anything. It is a discussion of general availability and probablility. For example: if I go to Paris, would I be able to find really good, authentic Chinese food? Maybe. As good as the ones in Hong Kong? Maybe - but probably not. Can one find really good Indian, Italian, Japanese (and others) food in Hong Kong? I am sure there are probably some. Are they everywhere? I don't think so. On the other hand, one can get very tasty Cantonese food just about anywhere in Hong Kong. Abundant availability. Beside, rating something as good or not as good is subjective too. Unless one is from that country (India, Italy, Japan, etc.), his/her rating would be based on his/her upbringing. It's not right or wrong, just what one is used to. If for someone who grows up in the USA getting used to eating Chinese "chop suey" dishes and tells me restaurant XYZ is "good", that "good" would not be the same as someone who grows up in Hong Kong getting used to eating Hong Kong Cantonese food. Anyway. foodienyc was asking specifically for Chinese restaurant recommendations (unless there is some "to-die-for" non-Chinese), for a short visit of 3 days. I am going to stop here before getting too far off topic.
  23. Unfortunately, Tepee, the stretch from Carlsbad to San Diego is coastal, high-rent areas. Most restaurants are expensive. There is no known good Chinese restaurants (in our standard) until you hit Convoy, which is about 27 miles away. The Chinese restaurants on Convoy are good, but not necessarily "cheap". If you don't restrict yourself to only Chinese... There is a small chain Greek restaurant called Delphi. There is one in Oceanside, only 5 miles north of Carlsbad (on Mission Ave + Coast Highway). My wife and I like it very much. We like to order the Greek chicken plates. The price is reasonable. Something like US $6.50 or so. It is a self-serve set up. (But I heard someone in your group cannot live without Chinese food so I am not sure if this is an option.)
  24. I am not sure if I can agree with that. So one would choose to eat subpar non-Chinese dinners rather than ordering one (or two) delicious Cantonese dishes? When you dine in non-Chinese restaurants, you still just order one entry too. Unless you go to eat Korean... There are plenty of single diners too in Hong Kong. It is true that most stir-fried entres are best enjoyed in a group so you can have the variety. But one can also have a bowl of wonton noodle (best in Hong Kong), jook (best in Hong Kong) and order some BBQ items such as roast ducks, BBQ pork, roast pork, etc. (again, best in Hong Kong). There are plenty of chow fun (fried rice noodle), chow mein (fried noodle), and the something-over-rice plates (again, best in Hong Kong). The American-chains of fast food taste about the same (e.g. McDonald's, KFC, Burger King). Why fly over 7000 miles to have something that you can have at home? If you try to find some other non-Cantonese food, I am afraid you would walk out with an unsatisfied experience.
  25. How do they rank in the order of sweetness? Is it: lanas lenas nanas nenas ???
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