[Hong Kong] Metropole

[Kent Wang]

I went to Metropole for dim sum with my parents on the advice of the Shanghai and Hong Kong thread.

It is the largest single floor restaurant I've ever seen. I'm guessing 750-1000 seats. Although it was the Good Friday holiday it didn't seem too busy.

Bean curd sheet roll.

Fried taro ball.

Shrimp har gaw, phoenix claw.

Dumpling in broth, ground pork in tofu.

Pig ear, jellyfish. The pig ears were pressed together and braised for a long time to soften the cartilage. Difficult to chew cartilage has always been my complaint with pig ear dishes but this was much softer and a pleasure to eat.

Youtiao wrapped in rice flour sheets. Unique but strange-tasting.

The dessert case. Check out the whipped cream bunnies in the lower right.

Rice flour and tapioca dessert. The yellow dot is a single kernel of corn.

Unwrapped so you can see the green tapioca pearls.

I was rather disappointed with the meal. On the one hand it was definitely the best dim sum I've had in the past year -- each dish was perfected to a degree unparalleled in the U.S. -- but I was really expecting to be blown away with tons of original dishes that I've never seen before, and other than the pig ear all the dishes I saw were just the classics. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations but was I really so wrong to expect a lot from a highly recommended restaurant in Hong Kong, the dim sum capital of the world?

[muichoi]

Great pics. Does anyone have a recipe for that pigs' ear preparation?

[Ben Hong]

Great pics. Does anyone have a recipe for that pigs' ear preparation?

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Muinchoi, Loo for a long time.

Kent, if you really want to try the best, creative, edgy, new dimsum, you have to come to Toronto (Lai Wah Heen).

Edited May 2, 2006 by Ben Hong (log)

[hzrt8w]

Youtiao wrapped in rice flour sheets. Unique but strange-tasting.

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I think this may be uniquely a "Hong Kong" creation. I don't remember seeing these, which are called "Zha Leung" in Cantonese (Zha means Deep-Fried, Leung means Two), in the 60's. They became popular in the 70's. It took me a while to get used to this "strange" combination of crispy-chewy (fried dough) and soft (steamed rice noodle) texture in one. But later I grew to love it. Very popular for breakfast, along with a bowl of Jook (congee). I had the pleasure of watching the masters deep-fried the Youtiao, separated them, then passed it on to another master who did the steamed rice noodles to roll it up in front of my eyes. Chop, chop... a pair of scissors cut the long roll into smaller pieces, then a spoon of sweeten soy sauce was poured on top.

There are many dim sum restaurants in Hong Kong that are good, and only a few are exceptional. It used to be (not sure if it still is) Maxim for great dim sum. The pig ears in your pictures look really good.

BTW: This is my 2000th post! From 1000th to 2000th seems to be such a breeze. Before too long I can catch up with Pan!

[HKDave]

The Metropole is a traditional restaurant. People don't go there for new exciting dishes. You go there for well made, old-school, inexpensive dim sum.

The same is largely true for dim sum elsewhere in Hong Kong. Dim sum is about drinking tea with family and friends, it's not much of a culinary showcase. A lot of dim sum is now coming from off-site kitchens and the quality is declining. There are a few places that do very good dim sum (my usual is in a private club, and most of the 5-star hotels have a good quality, but limited selection, of dim sum) but the big famous places, like Maxims and SuperStar, don't do it for me any more. There is a small restaurant in Happy Valley called 'Dim Sum' that also does a good job.

But in general, dim sum is not an innovative meal in HK. If you want innovative dim sum, go to Vancouver - the real dim sum capital of the world.

[PCL]

I wholeheartedly agree with HKDave.

I don't think of dim sum as an arena for innovation and mind-blowing. It should do no more than the term suggests, touch you and provide some comfort. A good siu-mai and har-kau can make many bad things go away. A simple dish of cheung-fan brings a smile to my face. While living in London, through the dreariness and crap weather, Sunday dim sum took it all away and made me happy. Familiarity is always welcome, and when done well, it can be sensational.

Let's not forget conviviality as well. The bustle and chatter of a heaving dim sum restaurant with generations sitting at one table eating and drinking tea, not much else compares.

[sheetz]

I wholeheartedly agree with HKDave.

I don't think of dim sum as an arena for innovation and mind-blowing. It should do no more than the term suggests, touch you and provide some comfort.

I don't know about that. It might seem odd to some people, but there are lots of Cantonese who have dim sum almost every single day. I don't care who you are, if you're having dim sum 3-4 days per week, you're going to get bored with the traditional selections sooner or later.

Edited May 4, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[hzrt8w]

[...]

Let's not forget conviviality as well. The bustle and chatter of a heaving dim sum restaurant with generations sitting at one table eating and drinking tea, not much else compares.

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Yeah... and the whole family reading newspapers instead of conversing to each other while they are at it!

In Hong Kong, Yum Cha has become such a common affair that nobody gives a second thought about it. My father used to have dim sum everyday after he retired for over 20 years as a matter of habit. Always ordered one or two items after a morning walk exercise and before the lunch crowd. Many elderlies do the same in Hong Kong.

For most, new varieties may not be that well sought. Taste is what most people judge as most important on the familiar varieties, more than presentation. Yet they may not be willing to pay extra. So many eat average (good but not exceptional) dim sum regularly.

I am not sure about eating dim sum 3-4 times a week, even in Hong Kong. Then of course there are many other choices for a meal over there. I think once a week is probably the average for many people.

Edited May 4, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[HKDave]

I wholeheartedly agree with HKDave.

I don't think of dim sum as an arena for innovation and mind-blowing. It should do no more than the term suggests, touch you and provide some comfort.

I don't know about that. It might seem odd to some people, but there are lots of Cantonese who have dim sum almost every single day. I don't care who you are, if you're having dim sum 3-4 days per week, you're going to get bored with the traditional selections sooner or later.

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It doesn't seem odd to me. I go yum cha at least a couple of times a week, always at the same place. The place I go to has a far more limited selection than the Metropole. And it's usually packed with other regulars, so I suspect I'm not the only one in Hong Kong who likes their dim sum to be traditional.

Edit: spelling

Edited May 7, 2006 by HKDave (log)

[PCL]

From a philosophical viewpoint, it is important that concepts such as stability and consistency be manifest in various areas of life. For many, the weekly excursions for dim sum could represent that.

From a restaurant/dim sum place viewpoint, it could be that doing the same thing over and over again and doing it well provides stability and consistency.

From another viewpoint entirely, 'don't fuck with what ain't broke'. Some people can innovate and foam and mash and deconstruct and reconstruct and thematically theorise about presentation and food sculpture, but please, pretty please, leave my har-gau and siu-mai well the hell alone.

[jo-mel]

Just give me a couple of plates of fried taro and I'll be happy!

Inovated dim sum can be fun, but I'm one for traditional, too. Since I don't have it that often, I'm happy with whatever is served, usually.

Are shrimp patties deep-fried with a shredded taro coating considered traditional or new-wave?

There really is something to be said for the large bustling places with mixed groups at tables and the carts going by. The restaurants that have dim sum menus just don't do it for me, even if the quality is good.

Vancouver-----------someday! {{{{{{{sigh}}}}}}}

I have to confess that I was with a group of people this past week-end, in Newport, CT, and they wanted lunch at a Chinese buffet type of place. It was awful. The shao mai had a spicy filling that surprised me, as it tasted nice, but the rest was as expected. I plan to make up for it this coming week-end when I erase the memory with a visit to one of NJ's great restaurants!

[sheetz]

To continue playing devil's advicoate, isn't what's considered "traditional" dim sum slowly evolving? As Ah Leung mentioned earlier, "Zha Leung" is a pretty recent invention and is now considered a fairly standard item. Cookbook author Eileen Yin Fei Lo, who grew up in Guangdong Province, says the first time she ever ate baked "cha siu bao" was in Hong Kong. Prior to that she had only eaten steamed bao. Is that considered innovative? Or how about custard tarts, which were modeled after the Portuguese "pastéis-de-nata"?

Edited May 10, 2006 by sheetz (log)

[hzrt8w]

[...]

Are shrimp patties deep-fried with a shredded taro coating considered traditional or new-wave?

[...]

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Maybe this is a mix. I remember eating "woo gok" [Cantonese] (deep-fried taro crochette) since I was small. That would be about forty years ago. But the traditional filling has always been minced pork. I think using the whole shrimp with smashed taro as a wrapping and deep-frying it is a recent creation. Maybe 10-20 years?

Dim sum is forever evolving too. Yes we have the ultra traditional like Har Gaw and Siu Mai. Then there are variations such as "Dai Zhi Gaw" (using scallop instead of shrimp). And I heard some even use king crab? With Siu Mai, they have different add-ons and present them as new items.

I think the most successful restaurants are the ones who can keep the traditional items, make them really well, and constantly create just a few new items to entice the patrons.

[PCL]

Well paced considered evolution is a good thing for dim sum.

I agree with Leung-Koh.

[jo-mel]

I did my own little innovation with shao mai one time --- just for the fun of it. I had extra frozen ones that I was going to serve, but since I already had a steamed dish, I decided to treat them as a pot sticker. They were good! Since the filling was much different from my usual potsticker, the taste was interesting ---- and even different from the traditional steamed version.

[hzrt8w]

I did my own little innovation with shao mai one time --- just for the fun of it.  I had extra frozen ones that I was going to serve, but since I already had a steamed dish, I decided to treat them as a pot sticker.  They were good!

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That's what exactly a local Chinese restaurant offers here: Fried Siu Mai! I can taste it that the Siu Mai's were frozen ones. But slightly fry them at the bottom makes them taste better that what they would have been.

Edited May 11, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[PCL]

A high-end Cantonese restaurant in Malaysia once served up a dinner siu-mai, in a clear chicken broth with sui-kau. It was clever, but the longer you waited to eat, the more the broth coloured up.

I do like this idea of the fried siu-mai though!

[jo-mel]

Oh -- all those fried shao mai-ers are just catching up to me!!!!!!