aprilmei

You probably mean Lantau Island. Yeah, you can do that, take a hike and then go to the seafood restaurants. Weather is perfect right now for hiking and it's not too polluted. There are actually loads of places you can go for good seafood: Lei Yu Muen, Lamma, Chung Chau. Actually, you don't even have to travel to any of the islands for seafood; many restaurants have tanks with fresh seafood.

You're probably right - HK$800 is having a modest meal, not a big, blow-out extravaganza. And you're right about my obsession with the lobster jelly - it was so amazing; I want to go back and eat it again. Somemale, 10 per cent service charge is almost always added to bills here. sometimes it goes to the server, many times it does not. I usually add 10 per cent or less (and this is from someone who grew up tipping 15-20 per cent automatically in the States); it depends on the restaurant. At noodle shops you might leave the small change (about HK 50 cents). Tips are not automatically expected here but they're appreciated.

Depends on the size of your statistical sample, I think... ← My observation of the differences in size comes solely from what I've seen in paintings, of course.

Balls contain "liquid of some type" that can splatter. I wonder what that liquid could be? ← Dave, I didn't want to think about that too much. I think what surprised me most was the difference in size, although why should turkeys be any different from humans? Some were tiny - about 2cm and the largest were about 7cm.

If you order at Atelier a la carte, it will probably be between $600-$800 for a three-course meal. They have a foie gras and beef burger that I will try the next time I'm there. The uni with lobster jelly is also available a la carte. As with all the other Ateliers, the main menu is divided bewteen small plates, hot and cold appetisers and main courses. As mentioned before, the eight-course tasting is $1,450.

A few days after Thanksgiving I was wandering around one of the upmarket food shops in Hong Kong and something in the chilled meat section caught my eye: "turkey fries" (imported from the US). This isn't something I've ever seen before and to tell you the truth, it hadn't occured to me until that moment that turkeys actually have "fries" (not that I make a habit of contemplating male poultry anatomy) but now that I think about it I guess they would have to have balls or else there wouldn't be any baby turkeys. Anyway, they were fairly inexpensive (about US$2.50 for a pack) so I bought them and took them home. When I told my boyfriend he asked "WHY???" and I said it's because I've never tasted them before - not a point he understands. Tried to google how to cook them - but there's not much out there. I did learn that turkey testicles are internal and they're near the kidneys. From other recipes on more "common" types of ex-male animal parts I found they should be peeled - but it seemed impossible with these because the membrane is very thin, so I didn't. These turkey balls were wobbly - like jello, and there were many sizes in this packet. I cut them in half, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, dipped them in egg and panko, then fried them. I worried (from reading the other recipes) that they would splatter a lot as they fried because balls are supposed to be full of liquid of some type, but it wasn't bad. The result? Very mild flavour and very tender; you'd never guess what you were eating. When you bite into it, it looks like very finely minced meat but the texture is different. I read that these parts resemble kidneys in taste and texture but I think it's more like brains. They'd be good prepared in a similar way: fried and served with beurre noisette. Yes, I'd eat them again. But I wouldn't ever attempt to serve them to my boyfriend.

I kind of did complain about the muzak. I sent a very polite e-mail commenting that the music wasn't in keeping with the food, service and environment. But I wonder if the music is chosen by upper management (ie, the Ho family, who have the Hotel Lisboa [and therefore A Galera] and are somehow partnered with Robuchon on l'Atelier. At A Galera we also have noticed some annoying music at dinner. Haven't yet been to The Press Room (will go this week) but have heard good things about it. I know of the chef - he was at Bostonian at the Langham in TST and he also helped open El Taco Loco/Archie B's with his (now) ex-wife. I think he was constrained in his cuisine at those places and it seems Press Room will allow him to show what he can do: he used to work at Spago's in LA.

In Hong Kong it's done this way too, usually. It really depends on where the bride and groom are from and how "westernised" they are. For the most part, if they're Hong Kong born and bred, it's a cash gift - calculated on a rough guess of how much the wedding banquet costs: if it's at Maxim's or another restaurant, it's about HK$300-HK$500 (depending on how close you are to the couple); if it's in a five-star hotel, it's much much more - for instance, when one of my very good friends got married, we gave her a cash gift of $3,800 [because it's an auspicious amount] between me and my boyfriend - and that is in addition to paying for hotel and airfare because she got married in Singapore. But we went to a wedding last week by an extremely wealthy couple and instead of cash, we gave a present - equally expensive, but not as obvious as money.

Hi Frenchfoodie, welcome to e-gullet. I haven't tried Pierre yet although I tried his food about two years ago, when he did a guest chef stint at the Mandarin (at The Grill; I think that's when they started talks about him getting his own place at the hotel) and then again in Paris. Loved both those meals. I'm eating at Pierre in January - the earliest I could get a booking. I also went to l'Atelier - on opening night, actually. We also had the eight-course tasting menu. That sea urchin dish is beyond sublime. I like this version even better than the one made with caviar (which I think was from his menu at Jamin). What was your amuse? Ours was foie gras royale with port wine reduction and parmesan foam - absolutely delicious. The foie gras we had as the second course (served with spiced fruits) was also wonderful (although I liked the amuse foie better). I also didn't like the sea bass - very ordinary. The tasting menu is HK$1,450; with wine, it was just over $2,500 each. Mr Robuchon came out to talk with us - I had interviewed him the day before. The only bad note (literally) was the music: muzak versions of Barry Manilow and The Sound of Music - horrible. But have you been to Robuchon a Galera over in Macau? I've written about it before because I think it's just the best French restaurant in the region. They have a 16-course tasing menu for HK$1,600 and lunch menus at $288 for three courses, $388 for four and $488 for five. The wine list is astonishing - and compared to Hong Kong, it's inexpensive. I'm positive the restaurant is subsidised by the casino. Some of the dishes at the two Robuchon restaurants are similar: we had quail with the pommes puree (with white truffles) at l'Atelier and it's almost the same as the one on the tasting menu at A Galera; the crispy langoustine at Atelier is also served at A Galera; the sea urchin dish is made with black caviar at a Galera (it's served on the tasting menu but the full-size version is something like $850). At A Galera they have a wonderful petits four trolley - at least 20 types of sweets like pate de fruits, marshmallows, lollypops, caramels, chocolates... and you can have as much as you want, even at lunch. If I had to choose between the two (which I don't, fortunately) I'd rather eat at A Galera.

Uni is one of my favourite foods but I like it better raw than cooked. The only really delicious cooked uni dishes I had were uni chawanmushi at a Japanese restaurant, and Robuchon's sea urchin with fennel cream, served at Robuchon a Galera in Macau. At the new l'Atelier in Hong Kong there's uni with lobster jelly and cauliflower cream which is beyond sublime - but it's not cooked. another (raw) preparation I like is uni with soft beancurd. Yeah, I know there's no textural contrast but it's still delicious.

Can't you just sieve it?

for what it's worth, last year I sent my request on October 16 - and didn't get a positive reply (for my requested date in April) until mid-December. It was a looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggg wait - but worth it.

I sent my request on 16 October and just received my rejection. I expected that because I ate there this year.

I think 21 is known as milkfish. It has a really soft texture. It's delicious fried and it's also used in soup. The razor clams are usually known as bamboo clams here. I'm curious about #2 - I saw them in tanks in Korea - they fill with water and swim up to the top of the tank. they look like live condoms that are inflating then deflating.

I've seen it at 99 Ranch Market. I think it might have been in the Vietnamese section but not absolutely sure.

Gfron, what kind of cuisine does your restaurant serve? That would help clarify things. Because if it's a Vietnamese restaurant, for fried spring rolls you would ideally be using the very thin rice paper wrappers I described, but they might be difficult to find in the States. I've looked at places like 99 Ranch and they don't have them. I have to stress, they're NOT the type that need to be soaked - they're completely pliable straight out of the packet. When fried, they become almost transparent - you can see some of the ingredients inside the roll. And the texture is very delicately crisp. If your restaurant serves Chinese/Philippine food, then I think you would want to use the wheat wrappers described by Dejah. But then if your rolls taste good and you and your customers are happy with them, use what you want and maybe call it something else. btw, back in the days of my "yout" (anyone remember My Cousin Vinnie?) we used to call the Chinese version egg rolls, not spring rolls.

These papers are round and about 6-7" in diameter. I also saw the rectangular wrappers in the markets but didn't buy any. I believe that fried spring rolls have two different names depending on which part of Vietnam you live in.

Okay, I tried to take some pictures of the wrappers but as usual, they're awful (the pix, I mean). But now I'm confused because the packet - which of course is written in Vietnamese, has a drawing of a stalk of something but I can't tell if it's wheat or rice. Perhaps one of our Vietnamese-speaking members can help translate. In large letters it says "banh da nem". At the top of the pack it says "hang xuat khau - chat luong cao", at the bottom of the pack it says "Thanh Phan: bot gao, nuoc, muoi an nacl" (sorry I can't put the accent and other marks above the letters). Anyway, since I couldn't take a picture I'll have to describe how thin these wrappers are. A packet of 16 weighed only 32 grams; a packet of Thai rice paper wrappers - the same number but slightly smaller in diameter - weighed 98 grams. The Vietnamese wrappers are so pliable I was able to fold it right in half - it left a crease but the wrapper didn't break. I left them at room temperature for about 30 minutes and they were still pliable, unlike the Thai wrappers which became more brittle. The Vietnamese wrappers have a slightly oily feel; they're shiny on one side and matte on the other. I should also add that the Vietnamese wrappers are perfectly smooth, without any pattern; the Thai wrappers have a a criss-cross pattern (not sure how to describe it) - is that because they were dried on a basket?

Any chance of seeing a picture of these wrappers, aprilmei? ← I'm digital camera incompetent (I can only take very bad, fuzzy pictures) but I'll attempt it and ask my boyfriend to try to upload the pix. If we have any "regular" rice paper wrappers in the house I'll try to show the difference. And Sheetz, the fried spring rolls are not just Chinese, although the Vietnamese version may stem from the Chinese influence in Vietnam. But the Vietnamese spring rolls are completely different from the Chinese ones my grandmother used to make. The Chinese ones use a wheat wrapper; the Vietnamese spring rolls - at least the ones I've eaten in Vietnam - use rice paper.

In Vietnam, they sell extraordinarily thin rice paper wrappers for fried spring rolls. I've never found them outside Vietnam so I stock up on them whenever I go there (going there again in December - hooray!). I store them in the wine fridge (not sure why; it just seems they'd keep better for longer when cool. I still have some from my last trip - about 18 months ago - and they're still fine). They're very thin - and what's best, they're pliable, not brittle. You don't have to soak or dampen them in order to make them pliable; they just wrap without cracking/breaking. When fried, the wrapper is crisp and delicate.

Here in Hong Kong, the bo jai fan makers will start to set up counters outside established restaurants just after mid-Autumn (October 6). The smell draws customers to the restaurants - the best bo jai fan is cooked over coals or charcoal (not really feasible at home and it's becoming less common in Hong Kong too). I love the stuff and eat it quite often - at restaurants and home. The restaurant version is better but mine isn't bad. The cooks soak the rice for a long time so they don't need to add much water to the bo jai (sand pot/clay pot) - you know the way we usually measure water by putting our finger on the top of the rice and adding enough water so it comes up to the first joint of our forefinger? Which, if you add the ingredients on top of the rice (as with bo jai fan), means the ingredients are partially submerged in boiling water. Well, these cooks don't add that much water but the rice and ingredients get cooked through anyway. For home versions, wash the rice and add the water the usual way. Marinate your ingredients (can be chicken marinated with soy, rice wine, a touch of sugar, salt, white pepper and cornstarch, with or without salted fish or soaked dried mushrooms and some sliced ginger; fish fillets with a bit of salt, rice wine, cornstarch, sliced ginger and spring onions; minced or sliced beef with the same seasonings as the chicken, and maybe a raw egg added at the very end and then mixed in). Start cooking the rice in the pot and add the other ingredients when you think they need to be added: chicken and beef will take longer than fish. Cover the pot and let it cook over fairly high heat - you're trying to get a good slightly burnt crust on the bottom of the rice (that's the best part). Now the sauce: that's the part I haven't perfected. It looks like plain soy sauce but it's not because the sauce isn't really salty. It might be dark soy (not "regular" soy, but thick, dark soy - which isn't as salty as regular and light soys) diluted with water and with sugar, as hzrt8w says - that sounds right; I'll have to try it next time. You pour in the sauce at the very end and mix it all up. Anyway, it's not that difficult, if you can make rice and make steamed chicken (or pork or beef or fish) you can cook bo jai fan. The only difference is you cook them together. Oh, and I should add that if you're cooking for several people, the bo jai fan cooks most succesfully when made in several smaller pots that serve one or two - rather than one large pot that serves more. And don't make the "topping" too thick or the rice will be soggy.

In Beijing, there was recently an outbreak of meningitis - people were getting sick from eating raw snails, which were infected with a parasite.

There are two Victoria's - the first is in Sun Hung Kai, the other (newer) branch is in Citic (it says it's in Central but actually it's between Wan Chai and Admiralty). People who frequent each branch say theirs is best. I've only been to Sun Hung Kai. I can't remember if I said this before, but Victoria specialises in Shanghainese dishes. I've never had the har gau there or siu mai. I love the hairy crab xiao long bao, cheung fun with XO sauce, shark's fin dumplings...

The hawker centres in KL are great for delicious local food. Go early if you want bakuteh (pork rib soup with herbs; the Malaysian type is more herby and less peppery than the Singaporean bakuteh) - it's only served at breakfast or until they sell out. Street food is also very good. And KL has an excellent coffee culture - there are the big chains but local coffee is excellent and much cheaper.

Ken, how many times were you able to pull the strands before they broke?