Thursday, May 22, 2014

Sichuan Hot Pot Set for 2

Hot Pot meal is good for people who enjoy spending time around the dining table. It is relaxing and fun, however keeps you busy though in doing the cooking yourself.

Over the Easter holidays, I found a Sichuan restaurant with attractive holiday lunch sets.  So after the set lunch, we went to try out the hot pot set.  It was equally good.

The booth we had was very spacious and comfortable for two.  There was no real fire.  The hot pot was set on an electric stove.  We were offered a small side table to ensure that our main dining table won't be too messy.


As for soup base, we can choose between plain version and spicy.  Well, Sichuan spicy soup can be VERY spicy, so we went for the plain version.  In fact there were quite a lot of ingredients inside - tofu, mushrooms, turnip etc.  If you want to try both, you can pay an extra $10 for the dual soup style.


While the soup boils, we had to collect the soy sauce and any other seasoning of our choice.  There were a great many choices for us to pick.

Here's the menu


Suchuan Hot Pot Set for 2

Beef Chuck & Blade (8 pcs) 美國雪花肥牛
Iberian Pork or Sliced Lamb (4 pcs) 西班牙黑豚肉或羊肉片
Chicken (4 pcs) 鮮雞件
Grass Carp Belly or Sliced Grass Carp (4 pcs) 鮮鯇魚骨腩或鮮鯇魚
Beef Tripe (4 pcs) 白毛肚
Mushroom Ball + Fish Ball (4 each) 香菇貢丸, 潮州白魚丸
Enko Mushroom + Chinese Lettuce + Sweet Corn 金菇菜, 唐生菜, 甜粟米
Homemade Dumplings (4 pcs) 家鄉抄手
Sichuan Flat Noddles or Vermicelli or Instant Noodles 四川紹粉或龍口粉絲或公仔面

Complimentary Roseller Drink (2 glasses)
These cool drinks were just good to balance the heat from the hot pot.  I like it.  (See top photo - the tall glass next to the hot pot)

Sweet Potato Soup


To wrap up the meal, we had two desserts which were also free.  Quite an old fashion Hong Kong style dessert.  Just didn't expect to have this in a Sichuan restaurant.  After all, we were extremely full and happy.  I generally eat one meal a day, but my friend also gave up dinner!

Hot Pot Set for 2: HK$168
Cost of Tea: HK$12 per person
Service charge:  10%
Total:  HK$211.12 (US$27)

Sichuan Paradise
3/F One Capital Place
18 Luard Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel:  2205-0020

Hong Kong Food Blog - Sichuan Hot Pot

Monday, May 12, 2014

Classic Hong Kong Cantonese Noodle Snacks

If you've been in Hong Kong long enough, you may have come across many local Cantonese saying 'let's go do a bowl of wanton noodle'.  In fact, noodle is a very important part of Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine.  You can eat it as an afternoon treat or as a casual light meal.

There are many combinations.  Tonight I've opt for a Beef Tendon noodle.  This is quite a bit of a rare choice.  Why?  Chinese believe in 'eat something similar for the best of human benefit'.  Let me make it easier to understand.  If you want to eat something to benefit your brain, eat walnut; if you want to eat something good for your feet, eat chicken legs., etc.  OK?  So now you can guess why I choose beef tendon tonight.  Because I'm suffering from leg problem.

Cooking of tendon of any kind is very complicated at home.  But getting them from any noodle shop is extremely easy and cheap.  So here is my beef tendon noodle, only HK$30 (+$1 for take away).

Beef Tendon Noodle 牛筋面
My noodle looks a little pale, because I've asked to omit the green onions.  It will take hours of time and effort if I have to cook it at home.  Buying from a noodle shop is a short cut.  And it is extremely easy to find noodle shops in the city of Hong Kong.

Below I've collected some photos from the internet to give you an idea of the three most popular noodles in Hong Kong.  In fact there are many variations.  You can choose the noodle base to go with different meat toppings.

Wanton Noodle 雲吞面

Fish Ball Noodle 魚蛋面

Beef Belly Flat Noodle 牛腩河

The cost of a bowl of noodle varies, depending on the class and location of the shop.  Generally it costs from HK$25+.  The one I have tonight is HK$30 and I have to pay $1 extra for take-away.  In fact different shops have different philosophy.  Some charge less for take-away.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Cantonese Noodles