Pear Charlotte Healthy Birthday Cake

Pear Charlotte is something new for me.  We usually find mango, strawberries kind of fruits on cakes, but pear is quite rarely used.  May be it is time consuming to poach pears.  The cake shop manager recommended this to me as a healthy cake which is not too sweet, light and delicious.  Though my brothers’ blood sugar levels are at the border of diabetes and my cholesterol (HDL) is very high, we still feel comfortable having it. 

My two brothers and I were born in late June (22, 25, 27).  This year our birthdays happen around Dragon Boat Festival (23).  So we had a family gathering on 24 to celebrate all.

The restaurant served us Chinese style birthday buns free of charge.  But I had a cake coupon from Island Shangri-La (because I’m a member of their Health Club), so I also brought my own birthday cake.  Unlike wine opening, most restaurants in Hong Kong won’t charge cake cutting fee.  They even helped to arrange birthday songs while cutting and serving the cake.  Of course we paid a little more tips as appreciation.

Pear Charlotte

Poached Pear on top and inside ladies fingers

The June Birthday Trio of the Yuen Family - from left to right - 27-25-22

PS:  Enjoying a delicious dessert at the end of a great meal is one of life’s sweetest pleasures. 

But we often feel guilty for indulging in sweet treats. After all, most desserts are filled with sugar, refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, and they pack more calories than the meal itself!

The healthiest desserts are home-made.  There is a book called Guilt-Free Desserts which guides you through better baking.  It was written by Kelley Herring the Founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet, and also the Editor-in-Chief of a four-book series published by McGraw-Hill including: Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility.

It will change the way you think of desserts. Even if you don’t decide to buy the book, you should opt in to subscribe it’s free newsletter and get instant access to two free reports Eat Your Way Into Shape: Your Get Fit with Food Guide - including a fat-burning 7-day meal plan!

Hong Kong Food Blog - Healthy Dessert

How to Make Green Bean Syrup

Weather is turning cool and dry in Hong Kong. Per Chinese calendar, winter began Tuesday November 8 in 2011. 立冬, one of the 24 weather festives - time to enjoy some hot and sweet desserts. One of the most traditional and easy-to-make Hong Kong Cantonese desserts is Green Bean Syrup. Every dessert shop would have this on their menu, but home made is cheap and you can tailor to your own taste.

Home Made Green Bean Syrup 綠豆沙

Home-Made Old Hong Kong Cantonese Dessert –
Green Been Syrup with Seaweed and Herbs

Ingredients:
• green beans
• seaweeds
• herbs (optional) (臭草*)
• sugar

* The herb itself is very fragrant, but I don’t know why it is called the opposite – bad smell grass.

Directions
1. Soak the green beans for a few hours. Overnight if possible.
2. Soak the seaweeds until soft and cut into slices of your own preferred width.
3. Boil 8 bowls of water.
4. Add green beans, turn heat down after boiling.
5. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Then turn heat off.
6. Cover for 20 minutes.
7. Add seaweeds and herb.
8. Turn heat on and simmer for 20 minutes.
9. Add sugar and then turn heat off.
10. Cover for 20 minutes before serving.

NOTE: The alternation between simmering and covering is important to let the syrup become very silky and smooth.


Bar sugar is usually used in making green bean syrup. But I have some red sugar which has a flavour of ginger. I tried to use it and find that my green bean syrup taste extremely well. Did you notice that my green bean syrup has a tint of red?
Hong Kong Food Blog - Green Bean Syrup Dessert

Home Made Tofu Dessert

It’s now autumn in Hong Kong, weather is getting cool and dry - time to enjoy desserts. Yesterday we decided to make fun by playing mahjong and at the same time joined hands to cook desserts for tea time.

Tofu Sheet Syrup is one of our most favourite old Hong Kong desserts which we all loved since we were kids. Of course our mums made it for us, and now we make it for ourselves. In fact, it was the first time the four of us join together to make this dessert and it was fun.

Home-Made Old Hong Kong Dessert –

Tofu Sheet Syrup with Eggs
4 Servings (total cost: HK$25 / US$3.2)

Ingredients:

4 dry tofu sheets

4 boiled eggs

1 whisked egg

Ginkgo (pitted) – quantity as you wish

Crystal sugar

8 bowls of water

Tofu Sheet Syrup with Eggs

腐竹白果雞蛋糖水

Directions

1. Boil four eggs for 7 minutes. Remove shells.
   
2. Soak ginkgo, remove the center bit.
   
3. Boil 8 bowls of water.
   
4. Add tofu sheet until it is soften.
   
5. Turn to low heat, let it simmer for 20 minutes until the tofu sheets start to melt. You may want to simmer for 30 minutes if you want to have the tofu sheets dissolved completely.
   
6. Add the boiled eggs.
   
7. Add crystal sugar. Test until you find your loved level of sweetness.
   
8. Before dishing up, add whisked egg and stir gently.
   
9. Turn heat off. Cover for 5 minutes before eating.

NOTE: Crystal sugar is the perfect match for this particular dessert. DO NOT use any other kind of sugar.



As we all love the mini silky soft tofu sheets, so we simmered for 20 minutes only. It was so lovely and delicious. Rest of the day while playing majhong, we were still talking about how delicious our tofu dessert was.

Dry tofu sheets are available at the market

Hong Kong Food Blog - Home-made Tofu Dessert

More Cantonese Dim Sum and Dessert

Just realise that I haven't posted dim sum photos for some time. Here are some of my recent collections.

Traditional Cantonese Breakfast

Congee and Rice Roll 皮蛋瘦肉粥

Among which, congee with salty sliced pork and millenium egg + steamed rice roll is the classic duo. But today we chose the stir fried rice rolls.

Stir Fried Rice Rolls 炒腸粉
Chinese Pancake 煎薄餅

Deep Fried Dumplings 咸水角

Assorted Dim Sums 各式點心

Why we feel happy eating dim sum is that we enjoy

seeing the whole table full of delicious dishes of our own choice.

And everybody busy picking their own favourites.
一齊來多多點心, 大家都好開心

Fluid Egg Yolk Bun

Inside the Egg Yolk Bun 奶黃飽

Better eat it hot, or the fluid staffing will liquidate

Chinese Donut 蛋散

A very traditional Cantonese Dessert

I was eating this when I was a kid.

This should be one of the oldest

Hong Kong traditional dessert.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Assorted Dim Sum

Mango Mille Feuille

Do you love Mille Feuille? I love Mille Feuille and mango. The chef therefore decided to tailor-make one for us with lots of mango. I have a cake coupon from Island Shangri-La so I ordered this birthday cake for my sister-in-law free of charge. Very crunchy but not too sweet.

Mango Mille Feuille

Apart from the traditional layers of puff pastries, the chef offered us more mango inside! Wow, yummy! Thanks for the creativity.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Mille Feuille

Super Delicious Handmade Ice Cream

Found a wonderful dessert shop in Hunghom. My friend took me there. Out of my expectation, this shop is new, beautiful, clean and tidy with friendly waiters. Most important of all, VERY DELICIOUS and VERY CHEAP.

My friend lives in Hunghom and got a promotion leaflet and took us there to try. Of course, we were offered opening special price with that leaflet. But even without it, the prices are surprisely low and the desserts are so delicious.

Coconut, Mango, Pomelo Dessert

How much does it cost?

It comes in a duo, together with

the Green Tea handmade ice cream,

red bean syrup and sticky dumplings.
Only HK$35 (US$4.48)

How about my Grass Jelly Dessert Set?
Only HK$15 (US$1.9)

Some more promotions for the new shop.

I must say, even if you go here by taxi, it will still be a good deal.

They have 10 other shops, but all in Kowloon and New Territories. The one here in Hunghom is the first one with seats, the others serve only take-away.

手作りアイスクリーム

Dessert House

Japanese Tezukuri Ice Cream

13 Ming On Street, Hunghom, Kowloon

Hong Kong Food Blog - Super Dessert

German Buffet in Hong Kong

Lunch buffet date: April 4, 2010
12.00 to 4.30pm – only on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
Cost: HK$145 (US$18.6), plus 10% service charge, includes one free drink
Restaurant name: King Ludwig Beerhall, G/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong
Restaurant telephone: 852- 2861 0737

When I eat Chinese food overseas, I always sense a taste of west. Likewise when I eat western food in Hong Kong, I always sense a taste of Chinese. However at today’s Easter German buffet, I feel a 100% German taste.

Only my favourite Crisp Roast Pork Knuckle and the Sausages justified the whole fee. I must say this is the best pork knuckle I have ever tasted in Hong Kong – very crispy skin, very tender and delicious meat. There are not many types of sausages, but already good enough to please me.

Items that chefs make in front of guests include: toast with ham and cheese, stir fried spaghetti with your own choice of ingredients and waffles.

I am extremely happy with the wide range of desserts and ice creams – wow…extremely yummy. They kept refilling with variations, so if you have a big stomach, you can stay there and keep eating for four and a half hours. Finally our buffet finished with a cup of very nice coffee. Actually there were choices of beer, coffee, tea or soft drinks.

They will serve one dish of Crisp Roast Pork Knuckle to each table.

But you can collect additional portion from the buffet table.

Here is my additional knuckle.

Egg-shape Sausages and Ham

Onion Soup and my Easter Eggs Ham and Cheese Toast with Mushrooms

Very crispy and delicious

Plenty of Easter Eggs

Hot Desserts

More Desserts

Cold Desserts

King Ludwig Beerhall

Very German Feel

I like sitting at the bench facing the street.

King Ludwig has a branch at Murray House, Stanley, Hong Kong.

They serve buffet also on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

Lunch buffet: HK$168 (US$21.5) - 11am to 3pm

Tea buffet: HK$118 (US$15.1) - 3pm to 5pm

Hong Kong Food Blog - German Buffet

Unconventional Hong Kong Dessert - Crystal Jelly

I come across this new dessert recently and found it worth recommending. First I had it at Ashima Yunan Restaurant, and next at Tanyoto SiChuan Restaurant. But I never had such dessert when I was in Yunan or Sichuan. Thought it must be an invention of Hong Kong chefs. Anyway it is silky smooth and crystal clear. Its appearance and taste are really lovely. Secret is the soup base. Both restaurants used Cassia flower syrup which made it extremely fragrant. Try it out next time you find it on a menu.

Crystal Jelly - Cassia Flower Flavour 桂花水晶粉

Special price at Tanyoto: HK$9 (US$1.15)

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Crystal Jelly Dessert

Ice Cream Mooncake

Mid Autumn Festival is approaching. The cake shops in Hong Kong, either traditional Chinese or Western, are working hard to gain a market share of the giant mooncake business. Haagen Dazs is one among the competitors - see their ice cream mooncakes. My colleague gave me a coupon for a free box. I notice it worths HK$199 (US$25.5) for the four cakes.

Ice Cream Mooncake

HK$199 (US$25.5)/box of four

As for flavours, strawberry and vanilla only.

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Mooncake

The Magic of Ginger Tea and Glutinous Dumplings

Chinese do not use ginger only for cooking. Ginger tea, ginger soup, ginger milk, ginger milk tea…are very popular Chinese drinks. Apart from its medical function of warding off body cold and rheumatism, it also improves digestive system and relieving pains especially for soar throats.

I like the fragrance of ginger. Even at home, I add ginger juice to my milk tea and I really love it. Tonight the ginger dessert I have is really very delicious – Glutinous Dumplings in Ginger Tea – highly recommended.

薑茶湯丸, 甘香可口

Glutinous Dumplings in Ginger Tea

The dumplings has sesame paste stuffing

HK$24 (US$3)

My Shanghainese dinner also include this yummy

Stir Fried La Mian with Shedded Eel

蟮糊炒拉面 HK$56 (US$7.2)

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao 翡翠拉面小笼包
3/F Tai Yau Arcade, 181 Johnston Road, Hong Kong.
Telephone: 852-2573-8844
This restaurant charges HK$3/px for tea and 10% service charge

Hong Kong Food Blog - Ginger Tea with Glutinous Dumplings

Cotton Candy at Tea Buffet

Tea Buffet date: August 15, 2009
3.30pm to 5.30pm – only on Saturdays and Sundays
Cost: HK$218 (US$28) per person, plus 10% service charge
Restaurant name: Café Too, 7/F Island Shangri-La
Restaurant telephone: 852- 2877 3838

The old Hong Kong street side snack here reminds me of my childhood. In the past at least three decades, I haven’t seen this made-to-order cotton candy and yesterday I found it at the tea buffet at Island Shangri-La. Take a look at the follow video. Only a few seconds, a spoonful of white sugar was turned into a large lump of cotton candy.

The tea buffet here has a very wide selection of Cantonese dim sum as well as many delicious Chinese snacks, made-to-order noodles with ingredients of your choice. Japanese corner has sashimi, sushi and soba.

You must love the desserts here. The chef will do pancakes and cotton candies for you. Kids can create their own toppings on cakes. The wide selection of fruits and ice cream will certainly make dessert lovers excited.

懷舊綿花糖製作過程, 只需幾秒
Video - Cotton Candy Making

Chocolate Fountains Cookies Colourful Jellies My assorted desserts My sister's assorted desserts Woo, my Number One choice of today!
I give it a super distinction - Deep Fried Chicken WingsFlat Spring Rolls 付皮卷

Spring Rolls 春卷
Fish Fillets 炸魚柳
Potato Cakes with Mushrooms 薯餅 Hong Kong Food Blog - Tea Buffet