Caviar Lunch

I have recently spent quite a large amount of money medically and am quite depressed. I have therefore decided to spend my hard earned money to entertain myself rather than sending them the doctor's way.

Today I have treated myself a lovely caviar lunch in order to please myself. Here's the menu. My main course was Lobster with Risotto.

In fact Caviar House and Prunier has a retail shop at Pacific Place, but they have a small restaurant attached to it. They have only four 4-person tables, but I want the fifth one which is towards the entrance of the shop so I can see more products and people. The have also a coffee bar so you can simply go there and enjoy a cup of coffee. 

Seafood Chowder 海鮮周打蜆湯

For the entire lunch, presentation is perfect, service is friendly, I am fully satisfied. But for individual dishes, I still got some comments. 

As for the soup, there were different descriptions between English and Chinese. English says "Seafood Chowder" but Chinese says  "海鮮周打蜆湯". First, 50% of the soup was potato. I don't mind adding potato to chowder but not to that extent. Second, I could sense something from the sea but unable to tell what they were. Finally, the Chinese version says "蜆", but I didn't think there were any.

Prunier Caviar (10 gr.) served with Parmesan cheese new potato

法國普尼耶魚子醬(10克)伴芝士新薯

Caviar is the super star because I came here for it. I liked it and I enjoyed it, especially in a very nice fine dining restaurant. Potato was also fresh, soft and well done, no complaint at all. But what about cheese? I didn't see or smell any? Something wrong with me or with the dish? Well, I don't know!

Garlic Gratinated fresh Boston Lobster served with Risotto in shell fish sauce

蒜蓉牛油火炙波士頓龍蝦(半隻)意大利飯

Now, here comes the main course - my very favourite lobster and risotto. Making risotto and lobster at home is very time consuming and requires good cooking skills, so I'd rather eat them at restaurants. The risotto is cooked with lobster sauce, very very very well done and delicious! And of course the main super star - the lobster is very fresh, delicious and nicely presented. It's simply perfect!!

The lunch set was wrapped up with coffee of my choice (Latte) and served with a piece of chocolate. 

Perfect lunch! It made me much happier after spending such a big amount of medical expenses. My motto: always spend money to please yourself rather than spending money medically!!

Cost: HK$590 (US$75.6)

15% Early Bird discount (place order before 3pm)

10% service charge

I went early, so my bill was HK$560 (US$71.8 after discount)

Caviar House and Prunier

Level 3, Pacific Place II

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Food Blog - Caviar Lunch

Meat Lover Lunch

If you're a meat lover, then you would love my lunch today - Grilled Chicken Fillet, Bacon, Cumberland Sausage with rice and vegetables. The lunch set includes a coffee/tea/soft drink (free to refill). Soup is free, but only when supply is available.

Wanchai Stadium is a sports bar in Lockhart Road.  I live around this area, so it's easy for me to do lunch at the bars.  In fact most of the bars in Wanchai are just like any ordinary restaurants and serve lunch sets during lunch hour. As they are bars in the evening, the restaurants usually have bar tables and high chairs. For Wanchai Stadium, they have both sofa booths and bar tables, up to your choice.

Some bars in this area serves regular lunch menu. Some changes their menus daily. For Wanchai Stadium, they change only occasionally.  Recently they serve 9 sets of lunch ranging between HK$78 and HK$128, without service charge.

In terms of quality and quantity, I am totally satisfied. Waiters are also friendly. I have a big thick piece of grilled chicken fillet, two slices of bacon and a thick sausage, although I would appreciate to have more vegetables. Out of my expectation, the soup today is quite Chinese style, however delicious!  

Looking around, the two ladies next table had a big big bowl of chef salad, and the meatball spaghetti had 4 ping-pong size meat balls. My dish is exceptionally delicious as all these meats are my favourites. Although the dish size is relatively big, but it's fine for me as this is my breakfast, lunch and dinner as well.  If you are my blog follower, you should know that I eat one meal a day. So a relatively big portion is fine for me.

Grilled chicken fillet, bacon, Cumberland sausage with rice in onion sauce

Soup is free of charge; drink is refillable at no extra charge

Huge TV screens for sports lovers

Meat Lover Lunch Set - HK$98 (US$12.5)

no service 

Wanchai Stadium

72-86 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Food Blog - Meat Lover Lunch

My Grand Niece's 100-Day Dinner

I went to my grand niece's 100-day dinner last Saturday. Traditional Chinese usually hold celebration dinner when the baby is a month old.  Nowadays the younger generation fancy for 100-day or 2-month or 3-month dinner.  Well I like the 100-day idea as the baby will be strong enough to meet friends and relatives.

Red Eggs with Sour Ginger

This starter is unique for new born babies' celebration dinner. Chinese usually distribute red eggs to friends, relatives or even neighbors to announce the arrival of their new born family members.  But I don't know why sour ginger is always a companion to the red eggs.

The 11-course 100-day dinner was composed of very traditional or even old fashion Hong Kong cuisine.  Couple of the dishes were quite rarely seen nowadays.  

Smoked Pomfret with Salad Dressing

Banquet dinner usually serves steamed groupa.  Smoked Pomfret is quite a special choice and I missed it for long.  

Stir Fried Milk with Crab Meat

This is also quite a special dish unique to this particular restaurant.  Few chefs nowadays can produce this dish with good quality.

The 11-Course Dinner Menu

12-Day Ginger Vinegar with Pork Knuckles

In fact, when the baby girl was 12 days old, my nephew started to distribute ginger vinegar with pork knuckles.  I'm not quite sure if this tradition is valid across the entire China, but in Hong Kong and Guangdong, new mothers eat this to restore strength and health after giving birth to a baby.  These are also presented to friends and family to indicate the arrival of a new baby. The vinegar is sweet and pork knuckles has lots of collagen, together with ginger and eggs, many people love this yummy dish. They make it at home on regular days and some restaurants even have this on their menus.

What would be the cost of going to a new born baby's 100-day dinner?

In Hong Kong, when you receive an invitation for whatever reason, a gift check is almost mandated. But the value may depend on many factors, like the friendship between you and the host, is the host a very close relative and sometimes the dinner venue may counts. I was told that the standard gift check for one person is HK$800 which is rather a bottom price.  As for me, I paid far beyond the minimum because this is my nephew's first baby girl!

My Grand Niece's 100-Day Dinner

Yixin Restaurant

50 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Fried Rice

Fried rice could be one of the most popular Chinese/Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong, locals and expacts alike. The ingredients for fried rice could be very flexible and as creative as possible. Let me introduce a few of the most popular ones.

Yangzhou Fried Rice should be on top of the popular list. When we think of fried rice, Yangzhou Fried Rice comes to our minds. The main ingredients are prawns, char siu, eggs and most likely something green.  Price range could be below HK$50 up to over HK$100, depending on the kind of restaurant you go. If you go to Chinese restaurants within 5-star hotels, it may go beyond HK$200.

Below is the fried rice from my Lamma Island seafood lunch. Looks nice, right? I don't remember the price, but could be close to HK$100.

Yangzhou Fried Rice 楊洲炒飯 (南丫島)

Yangzhou Fried Rice 楊洲炒飯 (茶餐廳)

Now this is a Yangzhou Fried Rice from an economic restaurant at afternoon tea time. It is HK$38 including a drink.

Why is Yangzhou Fried Rice is called Yangzhou Fried Rice? 

I really don't know. In fact, Yangzhou is a city in China, somewhere nearby Shanghai. But if you are in Yangzhou and asked for a dish of Yangzhou Fried Rice, the waiter may not know what you want. I visited Yangzhou recently and had a dish of fried rice, below was the fried rice from Yangzhou. The ingredients are quite different from the Hong Kong version. 

Yangzhou Fried Rice from Yangzhou

楊洲炒飯 (楊洲)

Fried Rice with Salty Fish and Chicken

The salty fish is not quite visible, but when you eat, it is a very good partner of chicken when frying with rice. We all love the fragrance of salty fish. It is one of the most popular Cantonese fried rice in Hong Kong.

Fried Rice with Salty Fish and Chicken

咸魚雞粒炒飯

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ham

This is a Shanghai cuisine. The ham being used must be Kam Wah ham from Yunan. When I go to any Shanghai restaurant, this is one of my most favourite dishes. 

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ham (Jade)

雞火炒飯 (翡翠拉面)

There are tiny bits of ham, can you see them?

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ham (New Shanghai)

雞火炒飯 (新滬坊)

There are larger cubes of ham, can you see them? As ham is concerned, I personally love bigger cubes rather than tiny bits. The feeling inside the mouth is much better. 

Note: economic type of restaurants may have chicken skin being attached to the meat. This is not quite healthy! However this should not happen if the fried rice costs HK$70 or above.

Fujian Fried Rice 褔建炒飯

Although this is called Fujian Fried Rice, it is widely available in many Cantonese restaurants. Its appearance differ from traditional fried rice. In fact, the fried rice is served as a base, with a topping consisting mixed meat (mostly chicken and pork), vegetables and gravy. It is in fact a moist version of fried rice.

Tips for a Good Quality Fried Rice

What contribute to a good quality fried rice? Of course, rice is the most important. It is commonly known that we should not use freshly cooked rice, as they are rather moist and sticky, not ideal for stir frying. Dry and cool rice (even from overnight) could produce the best effect. Each and every single rice could be clearly identified.  

Visit this website if you want to learn to Cook Healthy Chinese Food

Hong Kong Food Blog - Hong Kong Fried Rice

Cantonese Siu Mei

Most Cantonese in Hong Kong love siu mei, I am just one of them. Siu mei is an important part of Cantonese cuisine. We have them at high profile banquets, mid range one-person sets, a la carte, down to casual restaurants, supermarkets and even take-away meal boxes. Siu mei shops are easily found in Hong Kong. The one below is a typical siu mei take-away shop. You can see a wide selection of poultry like chicken, goose, duck and pork, char siu and a lot many others. Price list is usually displayed at the entrance.

Among all siu mei, the BBQ whole piglet is the most expensive. If a banquet starts with it, then it must be a high flyer banquet. The one here came from my family year-end gathering dinner.

乳豬全體

We all love BBQ piglet, so we ordered one for our Christmas Party as well. We placed the order online and picked up at the shop. So we had to do the cutting ourselves. Of course we enjoyed doing it.

Less expensive banquets may not served a whole pig, but assorted siu mei, like the one here below. 

燒味拼盤

As for a la carte, pork belly is usually sold at a higher price than any other part of the pig. 

燒腩仔

For one-person sets, you may enjoy two big lumps of char siu.

义燒

For casual restaurants, they usually sell with rice or noodle. 

Char Siu Rice 义燒飯

Char Siu / Chicken Rice Set 义雞飯

Goose Noodle in Soup 燒鵝湯米

Where to Buy Good Quality Siu Mei?

This question seems easy, but is actually difficult. Although there are lots of siu mei shops in town, but good ones are not easy to find. And please note there is no logical ratio between price and quality. Let's take a look at the following two char siu rice that I bought recently from take-away shops. The $98 one looked good but upon eating, I gave it 1 out of 5. The $26 one looked less attractive but upon eating, I gave it 4 out of 5. 

HK$98 - char siu rice

HK$26 - char siu and BBQ pork rice

Do You Trust Food/Restaurant Reviews?

Nowadays many people like to read reviews when they are searching for restaurants. The largest platform in Hong Kong is called OpenRice. Interesting thing is, the $98 shop enjoys extremely high rating across the entire web, i.e., all reviews (except mine) says the char siu from this shop is the world's best. The $26 shop not even receiving any reviews. So be very careful when you read reviews. Personally I will read about the restaurant setting, location, decoration, environment etc. As for the quality of food, people could be subjective. And I also doubt if all reviews are from actual consumers, such as the $98 shop.

Where to Buy Good Quality Siu Mei?

Now back to the question "Where to Buy Good Quality Siu Mei?" There isn't a definite answer. First, test your luck. i.e. go buy from any shop. Remember the good ones only. But frankly, almost all siu mei shops around my home are being black-listed by me for all kinds of reasons such as poor quality, poor presentation, poor service and so on. Once you got a short list, stick to them.

Another way to find a good quality siu mei shop is by the queue outside the shop. The shop below in Wanchai always has a long queue. No matter what day and what time I pass by this shop, there are somewhat 30-100 people queuing outside. These are 'human reviews' rather than 'written reviews'. These are people who queue to pay for the food they want, no matter on a rainy day or sunny day. So give it a try if you can afford the waiting time. 

Hong Kong Food Blog - Where To Buy Good Quality Siu Mei

Chinese New Year Foods 2019

2019 Chinese New Year is just over. Today is the 10th of January in Chinese calendar. It's time to summarize my eating history over the festival.

On day 5 of CNY, nine of us went to cinema at Time Square and had dinner after. As I said in my last post, I love siu mei, so do many of us. So we had three in a row - roasted pork (char siu), goose and chicken. I must say siu mei is widely available in Hong Kong, but good quality ones are rare, especially char siu. The one here served on hot plate is one of the best among what I have ever had. 

Noodle and Rice are always our favorites.

This fried rice has used dry oyster (which means good business). It is a very popular ingredient during Chinese New Year.

Vegetables are musts as a matter of balance diet. At Chinese New Year, the chef has made use of the salty egg yolk to create a sense of gold and the color was very beautiful. In fact there were also millennium eggs in this dish.

Dinner Venue: Chung's Kitchen, 12/F Time Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Note: To my surprise, this restaurant does not charge any service fee!

* * * * *

On the New Year day, my brother took us out for dinner. This was the fish that I want to highlight. I live in Hong Kong, fish dishes are nothing new to me. But I must say this one was very unusual.  It's the tail of a giant grouper. 

Estimated from the size of the tail, I think the whole fish may be over 1 meter long and weighted 15 kg. It was slow cooked with some tofu sheets and roasted pork and served on hot pot. The waiting time was a bit long but we all thought it deserved. There were big lumps of meat which made us fully satisfied. Although there were bones, but they were big and easy to be identified. Even I don't really like fish bones, I love this giant grouper very much.

* * * * *

We eat a lot of puddings 糕 over Chinese New Year. 糕 sounds like 'growth' and it carries very good and positive meaning and that's why they are so popular during CNY.

Most puddings are sweet but turnip pudding is savory. We make them at home and very often make some extra for our relatives and friends. Below is the home-made turnip pudding gift from my friend. The basic ingredients are generally preserved sausages (lap cheung), preserved meat and dry shrimps. We can add others per our personal tastes. My friend knows that I love abalone, so you can see there was one in the middle, and there were slices of dry scallops as well.

There are different ways to re-heat turnip pudding, steam, pan fry, stir fry or micro wave. But I like none of them. I usually make them at home and eat fresh from the steamer. I must say this is the best way to eat turnip pudding. But this one was from a friend, so I had to re-heat by steaming which is rather environmental and healthy.

Cassian Flower Pudding 桂花糕

This is the sweet pudding which is somehow jelly like and generally served as cold cut. It was the dessert at my year-end family gathering dinner. 

* * * * *

We also eat a lot of sweet dumplings 湯丸 around Chinese New Year, either home-made or at restaurants. 湯丸 and 團圓 (gathering, everybody meets each other) sound very similar, and this is the reason why they are popular around new year time. 

Here are the two types of sweet dumplings that I had this year. 

擂沙湯丸 is always my favorite. They are served warm with very fine sugary coating. This was from my new-year-eve dinner at New Shanghai Restaurant at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

This is another type of sweet dumpling which I forgot the name. Sweet dumplings are sticky, with or without fillings. This one has some roasted ground peanuts as the coating, also served warm. They were made to order, so there was a little waiting time. This was from the new year evening dinner that my brother bought us.

After Binge Eating...

So what would you do after binge eating? My answer is 'fasting'. 

If you have ever read my post of "Why I Set Up This Food Blog", you will know that I generally eat one meal a day (OMAD). If you do an internet search of OMAD, you will know that it is a very popular eating pattern nowadays.

After the heavy eating days, I went on a 40-hour fast and have successfully completed. I finished dinner at Thursday (Feb 7) night, and resume eating on Saturday (Feb 9) lunch. That way I have had a full day of Friday to let my body and the digestive system a good rest.

Now I feel comfortable. I went on the scale and gained nothing. 

Hong Kong Food Blog - Chinese New Year 2019

My Top 10 Chinese Foods

Here are my top 10 Chinese foods. It is a difficult list. Because there are so many yummy Chinese foods that I love.  Let me introduce them one by one.

1. Fried Rice - Yeung Chow Style 揚州炒飯

This is not only my favorite. I am sure it is one of the top sellers among Hong Kong restaurants.  Interesting thing is, if you go to Yeung Chow and ask for a Yeung Chow Fried Rice, nobody knows about it. If you say fried rice with prawns and cha siu, then the waiters will know, but they call it Hong Kong Fried Rice. 

2. Fried Beef Noodle 乾炒牛河

Another top seller in Hong Kong. If you ask a restaurant owner how many dishes he sells in a day, I think the number is going to be in 100s. The ingredients are simple, only beef and flat noodle, with dark soy sauce. Some chefs add onion or bean sprout as accessories. The beauty of this dish is ‘wok heat’. Sometimes we can smell it from the next table. If you eat it in a small casual restaurant, the ‘wok heat’ is stronger. Because the time between it is done and get on to your table is a matter of seconds. It is so beautifully attractive and delicious. 

3. Noodle with Green Onion and Oil 葱油伴面

This is a Shanghai dish. There are many variations in Hong Kong. I found the most authentic one in Xiao Nan Guo. As its name, it is simply plain noodle mixed with some dark soy sauce, green onion and oil. I had this recently in Shanghai. They serve with toppings while Hong Kong generally serves the plain version.

4. Stir Fried Eggs with Prawns 滑蛋蝦仁

I love this dish. I must order it if it is on the menu. Again, very simple ingredients, simply stir fried the prawns with eggs. The trick is ‘quick’ to ensure the eggs are silky smooth and the prawns are al dente. I have learned to cook this dish. The prawns are par-boiled before mixing with the eggs.

5. Roast Meats collection – Siu Mei 燒味

These are typical Cantonese way of cooking a number of meats, pork, chicken, duck, piglet etc., mainly applying high heat or real fire, hence the name ‘siu’ (meaning ‘burn’). I love all of them, but Cha Siu in particular (see photo above). But does the name ‘siu mei’ look a bit odd? In fact, it is a direct translation of the pronunciation. It is widely used in Hong Kong. See the photo below showing a shop selling siu mei rice, they called themselves ‘siu mei fan’. ‘Fan’ is the translation of ‘rice’. Expacts who live in Hong Kong long enough may understand. For visitors, I doubt.

6. Smoked Duck 樟茶鴨

I came across this dish at Sichuan Restaurant in Beijing some 10 years ago and loved it since then. So I’m not quite sure if it is a Sichuan cuisine or Beijing Cuisine. In Hong Kong I think it is available in Shanghai or Beijing restaurants. Try it once, and I’m sure you’ll love the special fragrance and the juicy and tenderness of the duck. 

7. Mutton Hot Pot 羊腩煲

Hot pots are very popular in cold winter days. For me, mutton hot pot is the top choice. They are served on real fire in order to keep the heat. As mutton is somehow smelly in nature, therefore there are also water chestnuts, mushrooms, tofu sheets and bamboo shoots in the hot pot in order keep the smell away. Lettuce is usually served in a set. But some restaurants cut the price down by not serving the lettuce. So you would have to pay extra, if you want it. 

8. Seafood Abalone 鮑魚

Hong Kong is an island, so seafood is almost the favorite of everyone. I used to love seafood feast, i.e. the entire meal consists of seafood only. But I am really afraid of struggling with bones and shells which frequently hurt my mouth. So abalone has gradually become my top pick. Simply steamed and served with green onion, hot oil and soy sauce is very yummy. If you buy the dry ones, they are extremely expensive. Fresh ones are good and economic.

9. Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆付

This is my top choice Sichuan dish. If you love spicy food, then you must try it. Make sure to go to some authentic Sichuan restaurants or you won’t be able to get the real taste which will paralyze your tongue and make you cry!

10. Stir Fried Broccoli with Garlic 蒜蓉清炒西蘭花

As a Cantonese myself, stir fried any vegetable is the quickest and easiest way of cooking. Add some garlic will be perfect and healthy as well. Almost all restaurants serve stir fried vegetables of your choice. At home, stir fried broccoli always come to my mind when I want to cook a quick and simple meal.

Hong Kong Food Blog - My Top 10 Chinese Foods