Poon Choi

[Tepee]

I only recently heard of Poon Choy here and scroll down to the 3rd paragraph here. It sounds mighty fascinating - imagine uncovering the dish, layer by layer. I simply must find enough people/an excuse to make a date at Mdm Fong's kitchen. Will report here when I do.

I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Edited August 2, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[Yuki]

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.

[aprilmei]

Several years ago, I was invited to reunion dinner in Ping Shan villlage near Yuen Long. It's a lovely old village with a large ancestral hall. All the villagers were there and many people who had left Ping Shan came back specifically for the poon choi feast - this village organises these meals several times a year. The basin meal (poon choi) was okay - even my host said it's not the best tasting dish in the world. He said the whole point of it wasn't the food, but just a way of bringing people together.

Now a lot of restaurants make poon choi during the big festivals here (such as the Lunar New Year). They are available for eating in the restaurant but other places make them specifically for take-away. Last year, though, there were some cases of food poisoning because people didn't heat the poon choi thoroughly - it wouldn't be easy to do because there are so many ingredients.

[Ben Hong]

This Old F*rt can't get his head around such a dish. Wouldn't all the different layers get mixed and blended into one similar tasting blob? I really don't want to think of what the dish would look and taste like after 10-12 people have been rooting around it for a while.

It is intriguing though, as I have never heard of it. Please tell me more.

[Tepee]

Thank you, Aprilmei and Yuki. Your encounters with Poon Choi certainly opened up another dimension of PC for me. It makes much sense that its origins are village feast fare.

From my links, I gathered it was a superior dish from the price, and some of the ingredients mentioned. If it were a wet dish (flooded with stock), I would think that one would have trouble discerning each item, as Ben said. However, in the 2nd link, it was mentioned that the dish is somewhat dry, with some stock at the bottom. In the first link, they said it could take several days to cook the separate components, before layering them. Adding that together, I'm imagining each dish unfolding as the dinner progresses. Never did the thought of 'diggers' enter my mind! I must remember that, and assign someone to do the serving...usually, hubby, who's very adept in that department.

[aprilmei]

I looked back at my notes for the poon choi feast. My notes say that the cooks (all men) started preparing the dish the day before. The kitchen area in the village hall was vast - no lack of space there. All the ingredients were fully cooked and then piled in the basin. Each basin contained (from the bottom up) Chinese radish (loh bok), bok choi, pork skin, squid, bean curd, sea cucumber and fatty pork. We also had (not in the basin) fried shrimp, "white cut" chicken and fish balls.

The guy I was with said the poon choi feast has been going on for hundreds of years, in that village anyway (like everyone else from there, his ancestors - Tangs - helped found the village).

[aprilmei]

More details from my notes: the cooks made about 250 poon choi, each containing about five kilos of food. And they were cooking for about 2,000 people.

[hzrt8w]

I don't understand this dish. I have heard of the name before (in Chinese) but did not co-relate that's what it is. Of the 20-some years that I lived in Hong Kong, I have never witnessed or heard of this dish served in restaurants.

Is there any symbolic meaning? Why go through the extra efforts of putting everything in layers in a big basin, instead of serving each entree individually? Is it really practical, or hygienic, to have everybody's chopsticks digged deep in the big basin to fish out the meat?

I cannot imagine the blending of different entrees, each with a different sauce, in the same bowl for serving and call that special and delicious. What am I missing?

[Tepee]

Pros of this dish:

1. No waiting time between entrees.

2. Great conversation piece..."Hey, what do you think we'll unearth next?", and, etc...

3. Aesthetics...could work for or against, depending on the artistry of the assembler.

4. In the hands of a sifu, there would be pleasant, if not delicious, blending of flavors. I'm sure there should be a harmonious set-up.

5. We should ask Aprilmei if this dish is generally served during certain festivals, in which case, there would be a symbolic significance, probably made up of the like-sounding names of the ingredients.

6. The bigger the better???? Not if quality is compromised, though. But, in villages, where such a dish is a feast, it would look like the cup runneth over, if a big basin is served.

7. Less headache with dinnerware for the kitchen.

Cons of this dish:

1. Hygiene, if there is no server.

2. Aesthetic...if there's digging (ugh), I don't want to imagine the sight.

3. I'm having a problem with the 'basin' used. Is it made of clay, porcelain or aluminium?

You know what? I don't think the cons entered or featured in the minds of the people who created this dish.

Edited August 4, 2005 by Tepee (log)

[aprilmei]

It's not that delicious, even my host said that; he said they have these a way of bringing people together (can't have poon choi just for one!). It wasn't really that big outside the villages until recently; in fact, I only noticed restaurants serving it within the last couple of years. I suppose that's why the restaurants make it only during the big festivals when families and friends are getting together. If you buy it for take-away, it's a lot less work than making steamboat at home.

Looked back at my notes again: William (my host) said that basin meals started about 900 years ago when the Chinese were fleeing Mongolian invaders (not too good at Chinese history so this may be wrong). They didn't have enough bowls to serve the food in so they piled the ingredients together. Obviously this isn't the case anymore but they still do it for tradition.

I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it (and certainly wouldn't serve it to my friends) although if I were invited again to the feast Ping Shan village, I'd go because the atmosphere was really nice.

[Dejah]

Even tho' the pros outnumber the cons two to one, I think the "cons" won this round hands down!

It would be a good visiting concept, and may work if there were serving utensils?

[wesza]

"Poon Choi" I'm reasonably sure is attributable to the "Hakka" as my initial experience with it being served most often in Hong Kong was on special occasions in the Hakka community such as special birthdays or holiday festivities.

I first learned about it after being invited to "Topping Off Parties" at different high rise building under construction in Hong Kong after becoming associated with a major employee sub-contractor who provided Labor and Carpenters at most large projects.

A topping off party occurred when the highest point in the building was completed. In Hong Kong building the "Bamboo Scaffolding" was always done by Hakka woman, who wore the traditional straw hats and were capable of putting the scaffolding up very fast or taking it down even faster if a Typhoon was coming for safety. They were involved in every building built in Hong Kong and amazed Architects and Engineers with their ability.

For every party the Caterers would bring up balanced on Bamboo Poles carried on the shoulder two very large "Clay Pot's" of "Poon Choi" right off the fire on the ground floor of the building. "Rice Bowls and Rice" were prepared with Kerosene Burners in anticipation of the event on the top floor.

The "Poon Choi" was multi-layered and served into Large Rice bowls by servers who knew what they were doing, not dug into by individuals. There were large Pots of Rice for self serve and later large metal pots of broth were available for self service with the meal ending with "Long Life Noodles" that were brought upstairs in large clay pots to be served for good fortune.

The "Poon Choi" apparently required several days to prepare and often was quite expensive due to the ingredients being used and carefully layered with buffers to allow everything being cooked correctly. Since this banquet was paid for buy the builders with many VIP guests it had a amazing variety of ingredients that managed to taste delicious. It was a great way to serve several hundred guests effectively after topping off a building that cost many millions of dollars to build.

The real surprise to me was the amount of Beer, Wine and VSOP Cognac that was consumed at these parties in the open topped buildings.

I had never been served "Poon Choi" at any restaurant in Hong Kong only in Aberdeen for a "First Born" party in the Boating Community on a large Junk and in Kowloon City and for a 50th Anniversary celebration in a Hakka family.

Irwin

[aprilmei]

Irwin is right; it is Hakka.

[Tepee]

Even tho' the pros outnumber the cons two to one, I think the "cons" won this round  hands down! 

←

Heh...looking at the cons, I admit I was going to give PC a miss... until wesza's post. Well, I'm technically a Hakka, so for the sake of my roots, I'll give it a try.

[hzrt8w]

Irwin's explanations makes a lot of sense. Indeed there is a big Hakka population in Ping Shan/Yuen Long.

I wonder if the guests would help themselves to pick from the basin if the server is not around...

I use the term "basin" just to be trueful to the Chinese word "poon" -> basin. Yes the basin you use for wash-ups. Clay pots have different names. Bo [Cantonese] is "pot".

So it seems that this dish, or custom, was confined to the Ping Shan village until recent years. Now it is offered in certain restaurants.

[aprilmei]

There isn't a server. The poon choi is put in the middle of the table and everybody helps themselves. It's a very casual way of eating - not formal at all.

Nobody really poked into it with their chopsticks - that would be very bad manners. There was a serving spoon, if I remember correctly, and people scooped out what they wanted with that.

[Ben Hong]

Thanks Irwin for the excellent explanation.

Damn, those Hakka women are amazing! I remember walking around a hi-rise that was being built (Li Ka Shing's building on the site of the old HK Hilton) with a civil engineer friend of mine from Canada. He was completely and utterly dumbfounded and confounded at the speed that people worked in HK and most of all, at the bamboo scaffolding. If that were to occur in Canada, or any other place in the world, those advocating such methods would be weighted down with about a ton of regulatory manuals and throw into some body of water to sleep with the fishes.

[wesza]

Thanks Irwin for the excellent explanation.

Damn, those Hakka women are amazing! I remember walking around a hi-rise that was being built (Li Ka Shing's building on the site of the old HK Hilton) with a civil engineer friend of mine from Canada. He was completely and utterly dumbfounded and confounded at the speed that people worked in HK and most of all, at the bamboo scaffolding. If that were to occur in Canada, or any other place in the world, those advocating such methods would be weighted down with about a ton of regulatory manuals and throw into some body of water to sleep with the fishes.

←

Ben:

When the Hong Kong Hilton was built some of the Architects were imported, what was funny is that no one bothered to consult them about the scaffolding utilized in the construction. That was proved effective to the Architects when there was a "Typhoon", warning in Hong Kong and immediately several larger buildings arranged to remove the scaffolding due to the storm. This was completed before they realized it was being done when a Architect observed it was gone from a adjacent building.

The local Architects lead by "Eric Cumine OBE", then provided documentation, stress tests and comprehensive proof of the superiority of Bamboo Scaffolding compared to any other materials available. I'm not sure if it's still being used in Hong Kong or China but it appeared to be a monopoly belonging to the "Hakka Woman" who were always skilled in this craft traditionally.

The Construction often proceed fast finishing several floors daily on building sites done to high standards in the then crown colony with close government/private industry cooperation to assure quality. Most buildings built during that period are still structurally sound.

I do remember that the "Poon Choi" was served most often by the "Boat People", "New Territory Villages" and "Kowloon City" but could be pre-ordered at Hakka Restaurants where you were required to provide the "Clay Pot's" for each Table being served or catered to with the menu being arranged specifically for your occasion in advance.

I wonder if it's available in Vancouver, BC area ? I would enjoy sharing a "Poon Choi" with other eGulleters when we visit later in August since it's much more then two of us can deal with but it would be a trip down memory lane.

Irwin

[Yuki]

The local Architects lead by "Eric Cumine OBE",  then provided documentation, stress tests and comprehensive proof of the superiority of Bamboo Scaffolding compared to any other materials available. I'm not sure if it's still being used in Hong Kong or China but it appeared to be a monopoly belonging to the "Hakka Woman" who were always skilled in this craft traditionally.

The Construction often proceed fast  finishing several floors daily on building sites done to high standards in the then crown colony with close government/private industry cooperation to assure quality. Most buildings built during that period are still structurally sound.

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.