aprilmei
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Posts posted by aprilmei
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The fruit next to the kiwi is sea coconut. The reptilian looking fruit is snakefruit (and I've never seen it before in HK; only in Malaysia) and the dark larval looking thing is sea cucumber.
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That fruit is custard apple. Weren't you asking about it before? It's an ugly fruit but it tastes delicious, unlike dragon fruit which is beautiful but doesn't have much flavour (at least the white-fleshed ones, which are they only type I've tasted).
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I'm not sure if the mutton casserole is available now because it's a winter dish. The yuen cheung might not be, either - for the same reason. I actually very rarely look at the menu when eating there - we depend on our waiter to recommend what's good that day.
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They call them bamboo clams Hong Kong, and they're delicious. Next time, order them steamed.
I believe they're the same as razor clams but I'm not sure; I've never eaten them in the States.
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Just mix it into boiled egg noodles. It's as fast as making instant noodles but a lot more delicious.
You'll be very thirsty afterwards, though.
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The "ocean bottom coconut" is used in soups - especially with conch and pork. I don't think you really eat it.
Yes, you can eat it. There's a chain of Chinese dessert shops here that in the summer, makes this delicious coconut ice cream and they add chunks of the sea coconut.
The fruit (or whatever it is) has a thin papery husk. The flesh of it is quite thick with a tender crispness that's sort of like rambutan. It doesn't taste like "regular" coconut, though.
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Day1: In between meals (more)
There are some Taiwanese brand names setting up shops along Nathan Road to sell their snack food. I passed by this "Mei Zhen Hsuen" (my guess by Cantonese pronounciation).
Is this a Taiwanese brand? I never realised it, If I had thought about it, I would have assumed it was Singaporean for some reason - probably because Singaporeans are really into their meat jerkies!
Next time you go to Macau, on the return trip, stop by in the duty free shops - there are two or three, right after you go through immigration but before boarding the ferry. They sell this amazingly addictive crispy pork - it's thinner than jerky although the flavour is similar. It comes in packets, about four sheets of super thin, crunchy pork - so delicious.
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Ling, I went to Victoria on Sunday with my relatives and we ordered the fried beef brisket. The waiter approved of our choice, saying it was delicious. And it was - so good we ordered a second plate of it.
On our waiter's recommendation, we also ordered the baked chaxiubao - something I never order for dim sum because it's so easy to get it at Hong Kong bakeries - and at much cheaper prices. This was amazing - the perfect chaxiubao.
The outside was soft, delicate and thin, holding an impressive amount of chaxiu. I'm a convert and will order the chaxiubao whenever I go to Victoria.
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I always thought the steamed ones were Cantonese? Or are we talking about different things?
I need to go home and look in Florence Lin's book.
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Yes, the chewier ones have yeast. The Cantonese styles ones don't.
I think the baked ones have yeast, the steamed ones don't.
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Thanks, aprilmei! I don't think I can get shrimp roe around here, but I do have some good ham I could add.
The shrimp roe isn't necessary. The only ingredients that are consistent from one XO sauce to the next are the dried scallops, oil and chillies.
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I've made it but I couldn't give you amounts. I didn't add any dried shrimp or ham because as I mentioned before, I like the scallops part the best.
Dried scallops: soak for a few hours then steam until very tender (this is important; I didn't steam them long enough so they were too chewy in the finished product)
Garlic, minced
Shallots, minced
Dried and fresh chillies (I used Thai chillies), chopped
Oil (you need more than you think is healthy)
Dried shrimp roe
Soy sauce, if needed
Shred the steamed scallops. Heat some oil in a pan, add the garlic and shallots and cook until soft. Add the fresh and dried chillies and cook for a few minutes then add the scallops. You'll probably need to add more oil - I just kept adding it until it looked right. It should be very oily - it's a condiment, after all - but not too much oil should be floating to the surface. I cooked it over low heat for about 45 minutes but I was trying to soften the scallops (it didn't work). If it needs it, add some soy sauce then stir in dried shrimp roe.
I made it because I was curious and had loads of dried scallops. It's easier (for me) to buy it and the quality sold by restaurants in Hong Kong is so high, I don't think I could make it any better.
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The supermarket versions are not good examples of XO sauce. As canucklehead says, it depends on the quality of ingredients - and for the good stuff, you have to buy it from restaurants that make their own. Even then, I'd be selective about which restaurant to buy it from. The best versions (in my opinion) have a lot of dried scallops compared to (relatively) cheaper ingredients such as dried shrimp and Chinese ham - I like it to taste very scallop-y. Others disagree, though.
All the top Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong make their own and sell it.
I also like it as a dipping sauce, or mixed with boiled noodles (preferably crab or shirmp-roe noodles) for a quick meal.
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Did you make a trip to Din Tai Fung on the weekend? They make these beautiful one-bite xiao long bao but only on the weekends - I like them much better than the ones you have to eat in several bites because you don't have to worry about losing the soup. I think there were about 20 in a steamer basket.
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aprilmei: You are making me feel like I totally missed out on the specialty items! No I didn't get to try the roe and I didn't get to have iron eggs! I saw the iron eggs in a snack shop and Henry said the idea of eggs packaged in a snack bag sounded gross. I didn't know these were called iron eggs at the time (I just googled it and recognized the image.)
There's always next time - then you can also try pineapple cakes, those delicious little cakes (or maybe it's a cookie) made with mung beans or peanuts or black sesame seeds, the shaved ice with sweet beans and jelly, the joong-zi, spicy hotpot... oh, there's so much to eat, the food in Taiwan is great. Oh, and did you go to the mountains (in the hills of Taipei) to have tea?? It's beautiful there.
Packaged eggs do sound gross but iron eggs are delicious. Get the quail eggs, they're better than the chicken eggs.
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Chinese bacon, next to a lobster in a plastic bag (the lobster was still alive)
To the left of the lobster is a pack of dried roe - did you try any of that? If I remember correctly (it's been years since I was last in Taiwan) it was sliced and sauteed with celery, and on another occasion we ate it with toast or bread or something.
Oh, and did you try any iron eggs? I think they're unique to Taiwan.
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I think the food in Taiwan is amazing but it's very different from Cantonese food - it seems richer and more strongly flavoured. I don't know if I would say it's "better" than Chinese food anywhere because it's too hard to compare such different types of cuisine - it just depends on what you like. Even the joong-zi are different there. And I love the savoury hot soybean milk - I've never eaten that anywhere else (although I'm sure it exists)
My Taiwanese cousin-in-law thinks Cantonese food is too subtle
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Wow, I live in Hong Kong and go to Victoria quite frequently but I've never tried the fried brisket. I'm going there with my relatives on Sunday so will be sure to order that dish.
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omg, the horror! well it's not going to happen then. thanks all!
unfortunately there are still loads of these endangered beasts in the tanks as you can see. i want to try something i can't get at home, such as this bivalve mollusk. [most likely farmed in WA or BC]. curacha crab mutant is much better than horseshoe crab for sure. looks like a mutated cockroach but quite fleshy. and costs an arm and a leg.
blue blood!
i've just read it's closely related to spiders and ticks. yikes!
Oh, I'm sure you know that bivalve is geoduck. We usually order that at hotpot restaurants, where they'll serve it with little dishes of wasabi, to be eaten raw or dipped for just a few seconds in the broth. Then we ask the chef to cook the stomach salt-and-pepper style.
The edges of the thinly sliced, raw geoduck should be wavey (not straight) - which is an indication that it's very fresh (which is the only way to eat it).
The baby geoducks (about 5cm long) are usually steamed with garlic - very tender and sweet.
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I used to think copper was all hype until I started using it. One of the shops here was discontinuing their Bourgeat line so had it on sale; I bought a few pieces, used them and went back the next week to buy more. I love it, not just because it cooks so well but also for the pleasure of using something so beautiful. I don't polish it (well, I haven't yet - I will eventually) because I don't mind the look of the tarnish. It was still frightfully expensive, even at 25 per cent discount - in fact, my credit card company called me right after the second purchase to see if I had just been at the PanHandler shop.
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I make bo jai fan quite often but mine is never as good as the places here that specialise in it. It's pretty good, though. After bringing the water to the boil, I put the lid on the pot and turn the heat low enough so the water doesn't boil over the top. When most of the water is absorbed (so it's the same level with the rice) I turn up the heat. You can smell when the rice is starting to brown on the bottom of the pot.
One thing I've noticed about bo jai fan places is they soak the rice - they have a large vat of it soaking and ready to scoop into the pots. Then they add more water and the toppings. Soaking it presumably makes it cook more quickly. It still takes awhile, though.
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The Sweet Spot is by Pichet Ong, not Susur Lee, I just got it yesterday and there are some interesting recipes.
Oh sorry, you're right about that.
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What a funny but sweet gift to buy. how did he think of buying you pig stomach? I guess a homemade card is too ordinary?
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Oh, this is a good idea for a thread. I buy pastry books only if they use metric. I've found that British/European editions of books are more likely to have metric than the ones published for Americans. The pro books almost always have metric. Of the non-pro books, Rose Levy Beranbaum's books have cups/spoonfuls, oz/pounds and metric. The new Susur Lee book, The Sweet Spot, also gives the three measuring options. I'm interested in hearing of other books.
A few days in Taiwan
in China: Dining
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You know, you might be right. I've only seen them whole and then as juice (I drink it constantly when I'm in Vietnam). I've never seen it cut up.