annchang

Some of My HK gourmad friends recommedns me The Peninsula Hong Kong has the best dim sum. After I sampled it out, I do not know whether it is the best in HK, it is certainly has the exceptional quality which has impressed me tremendously. Spring Moon restaurant (Peninsula) offer 27 top quality chinese tea and serve it at true Chinese way, in other words, per person has their own teapot which just serve one cup of tea. Once you finish your tea, the waiter will come to you to add more water, therefore, you always have a tea which at the right temperature to enjoy. The dim sum itself is more on the creative side ( Lighter, less greasy, small portion, using a lot of expensive ingredient with the creative match such as roasted duck and dried oyster mix together as the filling and use filo to wrape it and fried , extremely delicious) rather than tradition Hong Kongese dim sum ( mostly use prawn, pork , beef and large portion). The sweet dim sum is also exceptionally tasty, frankly, this was first time I realize that Chinese dessert is no less than Western one. One sweet dim sum ¥¤¬Ó¥] (I am sorry for typing CHinese here, because I do not know the proper translation) which you can taste it every dim sum restaurant (US, UK, HK, and etc). THe ingredinet is very simple, just butter, chesse powder, egg and coconut milk. YOU probably already try the boring version, however, the one I have tried in Spring Moon was memorable. The taste stayed in my mouth for few weeks. If Pierre Herme is best at creating many different layer of tasting experience in one bite, the Spring Moon's ¥¤¬Ó¥] is best at bring out the long forgetten best flavour of few basic ingredient. Strongly recommend . www.peninsula.com Ann

Dear Cabrales, There is on japanese canned abalone called Ji Pin (I have to check the japanese name) consider as the best in canned version. Calmex is the second best. However, it is exteremely expensive and rare, only few even get chance to buy it. Check all th top Japanese department store in Tokyo. ( I mean really top gourmet shop) Be frankly, I never have the luck to try the abalone especially the one made be Chef Young in Fook Lam Moon. Last month he just introduce a la cate based on abalone which per head is around US$ 720. If you ever try it, please share the experience with us. Ann

Dear Fat Guy & Bux The only thing I can say is come to Taipei and HK. There are millions kinds of Chinese sweets and desserts you will fell in love with. You have to see the real thing by yourself. Ann

Dear Ed There is one article saying how Chang Tai Chien invents Tai Chien chicken. I will forward the original article to you; however, I will try my best to translate it for you here. As you know, Chang Tai Chien had stayed in Dunhuang cave *North West part of China) for few years. He wanted to create a dish to commemorate all those days. While in Dunhuang cave, the local dish he like most is called Hand Picked Young Lamb because of its wonderful aroma, crispy and tender taste. However, the local lamb in that areas already possess the quality of aromatic and tender. To let the meat being crispy requires great skill in handling the heat. However, by that time, Chang Tai Chien was living in south, and there is no good lamb available, there he chose the chicken instead. The chicken has to be a young male chick who just able to make a sound. But this young chick is not good for stewing, therefore, Chang Tai Chien opt for steaming method. Because he was from Szechuan, he has great fond of Szechuan preserved cabbage. Therefore, he chopped the red and green chili pepper, which are the common ingredient in Szechuan preserved cabbage, to go with the chicken, which was first steam and then stir-fry. And because the Hand Picked Young Lamb only use salt as seasoning, therefore, Tai Chien chicken also only use salt. This dish should taste light and tender, and should full with the aroma of preserved cabbage. It is not only tasty, it also shows his fond feeling to Dunhuang Cave and Szechuan, therefore, Chang willing to lend his name to this dish. Chang Tai-Chien himself never orders this dish in the restaurant because he thinks the restaurant version is too far from his original version. There are some other articles on his banquette and I need more time to do the proper interpretation. Ann

The best Fujiam -Taiwanese cuisine restaurant in Taiwan -Mingfou, which has been recommend in e-gullet under Taipei title before. Chef A-ming's cooking is among one of the best in Taiwan, and after dining in Mingfou, there will two to three day you feel everythin is tasteless. Highly recommend. Ann

One tip Stir fry the minced garlic until golden brown andthen mix with other ingredients. Ann

Dear Ed, I know exactly what you means. Dear Jinmyo. Following receipe is the famous dish created in HK restaurant called Taou Taou in 1930'. Try and enjoy it! Fermented bean curd and Chicken wing Chicken Wing 900 g ( only the meaty section maintained, you do not need the end part) Oil- 1 tablespoon Some chopped garlic ( two gloves at least) Cornstratch 1/2 teaspoon Water 1 Tablespoon Fermented bean curd one large cube Shaoshing rice wine 1 tablespoon Sugar 1 table spoon salt 1. clean the chicken wing and dry it properly 2. Deep fry the chicken wing until pale golden color and immediately take the chicken wing out 3. Mix other ingredients well as a sauce like 4. Put the chicken wing into an container and mix with the sauce 5. Steam it for 15 to 20 minutes until it is tender Ann

Dear Ed, Sure! There are many articles on him. Please allow me two days to sort the articles through. There are other very interesting Chinese gourmet stories I wish to show you. By the way, can you speak or read Chinese? Ann

Dear Jinyo Fermented Bean Curd is one of the condiement especially goes well with porridge (made of rice). We used to eat it for breakfast. We also serve some preserved cucumber, roasted peanuts and preserved sadrines alongside. You can use fermented bean curd for stir fry chicken. There is one very famous Cantonese dish name after it. I will go home to check the receipe for you. It is extremely easy. Dear ED, A well made fermented bean curd is extremely delicious. I wish one day I can show you some well made one. Ann

Dear Ed Thank you so much for your generous reply. I have read a few articles on the wonder of Chang Tai-Chien¡¦s famous family banquette. The detail and time-consuming process of every single dish makes my eye wide opened. My grandmother is also Szechuan origin, and when she was young, she used to cook a lot of wonderful dishes for her beloved grandchildren. I still remember the delicate taste now can only be found in top restaurant, e.g. handmade fish ball, which took her whole day from buying the fresh fish, and bone it, carefully chop the flesh and mold it. The fish ball turn out to be as soft as tofu but with wonderful fish taste. With the little touch of white pepper powder and proper made chicken stock, it was the most wonderful fish ball soup I ever taste it. It is fist time I realized that Szechuan cuisine is not merely the hot and spicy, and the fine Chinese cuisine is beyond my imagination. As a result, I start to read as many articles on fine Chinese cuisine as I can. But you are the one who is in it and you are not even Chinese! I really envy you because at least you can make yourself an authentic Wanton with hot chili oil anytime you want! Once more I thank you again and I wish you could share some other interesting stories from time to time with us. Ann Ps: Would you mind to tell me the recipe of three sauces for Wanton and chili oil?

Dear Ed, When I read that your were the student of Chang Ta-Chien's personel chef , who actually invented the Tai-Chen Chicken, I could not hold my breath. You know the fine art of Chinese cuisine much better than the most chinese today. Could you tell us more about Uncle Lou, eg. his style of cooking? his favourite dish? Also how would you view the mordern chinese cuisine in HK, Taipei and CHina (Bejing & Shangshai)? Ann

Dear All I am so flattered by all the warm responses here and in cooking board. It is very exciting to join e-gullet. It took me quite a while to overcome my psychological barrier to come out and post the message. And all of your friendly gesture really encourages me. I will study English harder from now on! Dear Robert ¨C Thank you so much! I will try my best to write some more and net being stopped by the high frequency of checking dictionary. Dear Schaem ¨C I like Korean pickles very much! There are so many varieties of Korean pickles, and this is the topic I am interested right now. There is the trend in eating Korean food in Taipei (the capital of Taiwan) now. Plenty of Korean restaurants come out and I am still trying to find the most authentic one. Have you ever tried the North Korean style pear and cabbage pickle? Dear Bux ¨C I have been enjoying your article for long time. Actually, it was your article led me to the Astrance this year. Yes, I live in Taipei now. There are more and more people start to appreciate the foreign food, French cuisine is among the most popular one. Apart from the restaurant¡¯s setting is the better dating place than Chinese cuisine; people start to appreciate many aspects of French cuisine, whether it is earthy home cooking or haute couture cuisine. Obviously, there will always be the great following to Michelin Guide but I think there are increasing number of diners start to take all different guides as a reference and count on their own taste bud. Dear Magnolia ¨C I am only the person who likes to eat and cook. I am far from professional standard. E-gullet is a great place for people like us. I have tried to show my excitement by dining in Gagniare with my colleagues and they just thought I was nuts by spending fortune on one dinner! Dear Marcus ¨C Thank you for another homework! First of all, I want to say it is unfair to compare Astrance and Gagniare because of the different price. I was ordering 75 Euro dollar of tasting menu in Astrance. Frankly speaking, it is very good value of money with all the top quality material, beautiful cooking and a good level of creativity. The difference between Astrance and Gagniare again lies on the blending flavors. Astrance is also using quite a lot oriental and western spice. The chef manipulate the spices well, should I say, but did not bring it to the level as unexpected well. Also, many dishes compose two to three different ingredients. They taste well individually but I cannot see any relationship why they have to be put together. For instance, there was a dish is well-saut¨¦ed leek and fillet of sea bass. The leek itself is so sweet that it is like fruit rather that the boring leek we used to know. The fillet of sea bass was so tender and fresh. However, when you taste them together, it was OK. I do not see why the leek and sea bass has to go together. The only reason is leek was in season at that time and probably sea bass was very good in the market that day. If so, why not the chef focuses on the leek to make something out of it? However, I still think the chef got the potential; there was a dessert - the black chocolate pie with pepper sorbet. The black chocolate pie has its silky taste (I suspect the chef put some milk chocolate in because the pie do not have that strong bitter-sweet flavor)£¬and the icy cold and a bit taste bud stimulating white pepper sorbet provide the beautiful counter balance to the chocolate pie. Personally, I think the success for one single dish lies on all the ingredients are complement to each other and bring out the best flavor of each other. The responsibility of a cook is to delete the unnecessary ingredients, find the best percentage of each ingredient and the best cooking methods, which bring the flavors out. Gagniare teaches me another important lesson, there is never a boring ingredient or spice. Look at them and think again. Ann

It is such a great discussion and I learn and enjoy so much from it. My only dining at 3 star restaurant experience was devoted to Pierre Gagniare at Feb this year. I was absolutely wowed over by him. I ordered the tasting menu. Before the first course, there was a series of mini appetizers. The very first mini appetizer already strikes me. It was a Cantonese carrot pickle with the brown bread infused by floral-scent olive oil. I do not know whether the Cantonese restaurant in USA serves this kind of vegetable pickle. However, in Taipei, if you order Cantonese roasted duck (not Beijing type), the restaurant usually serve a free plate of pickle vegetables that is usually consist of carrot, radish and cucumber. The vegetable is marinated in Chinese white vinegar and sugar. It is very sweet and sour and your taste bud can get bored after few bites. However, Gagniare transform this pickle into something heavenly. The taste of pickle is still staying the same; it is the combination of pickle, olive oil and brown bread that works so beautifully. It will never occurs to me in million years that I can put this ordinarily boring taste pickle with olive oil and bread. He chose exact right type of olive oil and bread, which do not offset pickle’s sweet flavor but reduce that sharpness the Chinese white vinegar brings. Needless to say, I was surprised by the following courses one after one. He used a lot of oriental spices and materials but combine with French cuisine technique and flavor. I remember there is one course, which freshly sautéed squid with asparagus. However, once you cut the squid, there are few fine slices of soy sauce stewed pig ears hidden underneath. The squid is soft and juicy. The pig ear is crunchy (because the soft bone within it) and the asparagus is sweet. Again, it is the combination and the flavor blending beautifully. This dinner really opened my eyes. I had dinner at Astrance the night before and I prefer Gagniare’s cooking. Well, I bet you all get tired of my horribable English writing, and I shall better leave you all here. I am so glad to join this group and I have learn so from from all of you. Thank you. Ann

Due to the milk already has the natural sweet taste, I recommend you to add probably no more than 1 tablespoon sugar per 200 CC milk. As for the ginger juice, it will take you a large chunk of ginger to extract 20 CC juice, therefore it is quite a good way to use ginger when you have plenty of them. A very important point, Only at the time you want to make this dessert, you can start to make ginger juice. Do not make it beforehand, it will no work. Also , please always use the "old" ginger (with yellow brownish skin), not the "young" one. The young ginger in Chinese cooking is for making vingear preserving ginger. It is a great chuntney for summer dish. Ann

Dear All, I am Chinese an live in Taiwan now. My english is not very good so please kindly bear it with me . My family keep the excess ginger in the sand. You could just get any kind of box and fillit with the sand and then put the ginger in. The ginger will be in very good condition all the time. There is also a very famous Chinese dessert called ginger custard. You can find it everywhere in HK. It is so declicious that you won't believe it is only made of milk and ginger . I will try my best to write down the receipe : Ginger custard Full-Fat milk 200CC Ginger juice (freshly extracted) 20CC ~40CC suger 1. Grind the fresh ginger , you have to obtain at least 20 CC clear ginger juice . Leave the ginger juice in the bowl 2. PLease heat the milk and sugar together ( stirring all the time)until your thermometer reach 90 Cº 3. Immediately pour out the milk into one clean bowl and let it cool for a while until the thermometer register 70Cº 4. Immediately pour the milk into the bowl with giner juice. and leave it untouched for at least 7 minutes. The mixutre wil turn into a custrd-like. 5. You can eat it hot or cold. However, when you want to taste it, please always spoon the surface (do not stir it and dig straight into it) to keep the texture firm. ps1: This dessert is not as easy as it seems, however, it is still worth trying once you have taste it. If the ginger-milk mixure do not thicken like custard, please discard it . ps2: This dessert is extremely good foe the women during period or after birth.