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Thursday, February 2, 2012

CNY 2012: A Chinese New Year at home!

The moment of festivity is almost at its end for the Chinese!  Despite leaving home for almost a week now, the thoughts of how Chinese New Year used to be is not all that distant. From late night firecrackers to early morning prayers followed by a scrumptious all day vegetarian meal, its one childhood memory that will never be lost.  This year the celebration was a little smaller than it used to be, but mom did not hold back on her cooking for the reunion dinner! We had so much to eat that night, to start:

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Yee Sang! The prosperity toss!

 

Next came mom’s superb sharks fin soup!

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Unlike most places which would put less ingredients, there was no holding back from mom! Fresh crabs steamed and peeled, superior broth, dried scallops and pure sharks fin! Now, that is what I call a New Year delicacy!

 

After having all those appetizers we had the mains with rice:

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Mom’s fried pomfret with fried garlic and herb garnishing!  Something which is not available fresh in Perth! I wonder why? Pomfrets are so good!

 

Mom’s baked crabs because steam crabs are too mainstream :P!

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This was really yummy! It has been a long time since I have had this! Probably almost non-existent in Perth!

 

My contribution for the night:

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Salt Pepper Prawns hehe! Luckily it turned out ok even though the batter has already lost its crunchiness when the relatives arrived!

 

This was for the Sang Choi Bow!  Mom made a special meat mixture with carrots, chestnuts and spring onions to be wrapped in lettuce! YUMS!

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Arrow head with sliced pork and cilantro in fermented bean curd sauce!

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This is one of mom’s specialty which took me ages to like! Now its like omagawd every time she makes this! Probably one of the dishes I look forward to the most each festival!

 

After having all the yummy food we did not just stop there.  We continued with tea and all the lovely CNY cookies which mom got! Also present was the Mochi which I brought back from my trip to Taiwan!  So next up on my blog? Taiwan ;)!

 

Also, Happy CNY to all my readers :)!

 

WenY

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

HK Trip: L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

After many days of nice if not superb local food, the little darling and I opted for something a little bit classier and sophisticated.  Taking on the recommendation of a popular Singaporean blogger and fellow UWA mate Glenn, we visited the L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon located in Landmark, Central.   L’Atelier is one of the more casual restaurants by Robuchon who already owns a string of 3 star restaurants around the globe.  At the restaurant, we were given seats at the bar counter facing the group of chefs preparing our food and to  be honest, it was a splendid show we had seeing the busy kitchen coming together.  Especially when the chefs kept shouting words of acknowledgement to the captain!

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Staircase to great food! 

 

The Amuse Bouche that day was a chestnut soup served warm with drizzle of truffle oil and chestnut crisps.

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The Amuse Bouche was simplicity at its best and the way it was presented before us by a Frenchman with an equally French moustache! I’d have to say, it was quite a sight!  The Amuse Bouche was really good.  I started of with that top bit that felt somewhat ‘foam like’ followed by a warm liquid and crispy bits of chestnut.  The taste was no more than saltiness with the sweetness of chestnuts but it was good!

 

Bread Basket

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The bread basket at L’Atelier is one of insane choices.  Someone have probably mentioned it before that you would probably want to hold back on eating the bread but you know you cannot resist!  Between darling and I, we shared each of every pastry.  Out of the 8 or so choices, the mini croissant, sundried tomato twist and the fruit bun was the best.  Each were exceptionally tasty and  with the butter, it was even nicer!

 

For our appetizer, darling had the classic Landes Foie Gras:

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Unlike the warm Foie Gras she has had so far, this one was served cold as a sort of spread on toast rather than warm with caviar.  Rather unfortunate, the delicious Foie Gras did not quite turn out as delectable as it felt lacking in creaminess/richness.  Its taste without a doubt was class act, but still it felt somewhat unfulfilling.

 

For my appetizer, I had the fresh crab meat and citrus jelly with fennel cream, crispy crab meat waffle .

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The appetizer was quite a handful when it arrived.  Was I supposed to go from left to right or the other way around.  But being curious I had the toast first.  As classy as it looks, it taste and feels like I am eating one of those classic Chinese favourites, the prawn toast but with a slightly better flavouring of course.  Crab cake on the left was OK but was too little to enjoy.

 

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The fresh crab meat and citrus jelly with fennel cream was probably one of the tastiest things that afternoon.  Consisting crab meat and bits of citrus jelly, it really did not taste as weird as I expected it to.  The crab meat was sweet and all that acidity from the jelly helped the crab mix with the fennel cream giving it that really distinct yet delightful taste.

 

Next came the soup. The soup was way better than the one we had previously at a Japanese restaurant. It did not feel overly rich from the cheese despite having lots of it. The pepper was just spot on to give you that spicy taste that makes it all taste so yummy! Even for onion haters, the onion here is cook so well to the extent that it is no longer pungent but instead is sweet.

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Traditional French onion soup with Beaufort cheese gratin.  On its side is a tuile which is a thin piece of wafer topped with red onion paste and crispy white onions. This again was was another good initiative putting significant attention to details.

 

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Cheese?!

 

Once we were done with our soup, the waiter promptly asked us whether we were finished before removing the plates. Out came darling’s main the  pan fried Wagyu beef flap with shallots and crunchy green beans, black pepper sauce.

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Done in medium, it came out a little redder than expected. Fortunately, the meat was well rested and was still moist and juicy.  However, it is still a less fatty and slightly thin steak which means no bits of layers of tantalising fat as expected if you had a scotch fillet instead! Nevertheless it was still good although the little darling was a little put off by the redness of the meat!  It’s condiments once again used onions which was ok but at this stage was starting to get a little boring.  However, underneath those pieces of steak though is a caramelised balsamic onion which I though tasted quite special when eaten together with the beef.

 

My main was the deer stew.  With sprinkles of parsley and truffle bits along with some cone shaped puree on a thin piece of pastry, I found my main quite ambitious and artsy.  So many things for a simple dish really had me wondering what to expect.

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Artsy!!

 

My main was an absolute delight from the start till the end. Everything seems faultless.  If there is a fault with the main that day, it was that the little darling refused to try any perhaps because eating a deer seemed too cruel ahaha.

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Stew was tasty and moist without any stringy bits of meat that happens from time to time.  Also, the seasoning was lovely and there was not gamey smell at all. Mash was spot on and all the taste from the herbs and truffles along with the crisp bits made this whole dish an exceptional standout that day.  No wonder the waiter said “Excellent choice!” when I ordered.

 

Feeling a bit stuffed at this point, we were confronted with the appetizer course.  One which no level of fatness/fullness will resist!

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Le Paris Brest which was a praline crème mousse stuffed into pastries which resembled mini profiteroles served with poached pear and pear sorbet.  Every aspect of this dish screams joy!  From the well flavoured praline to the lightness of the airy profiteroles. WOW!  Having every individual profiteroles with a slice of poached pear and a spoonful of pear sorbet tasted exquisite! Even little darling who had second thoughts about ordering the dessert was praising the dessert for its taste and freshness.  Magic and .. gold!

 

Lastly we were served hot tea and ‘things’ to put our meal to rest.

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Consisting of lemon macaron, fruit jubes and crusted cocoa.  It was a sweet ending to both our meal and trip.  Jubes were jam packed in fruitiness that words cannot describe.  Darling was keen to buy a box but I am pretty sure they were not for sale.  Cocoa had subtle bitterness which calmed our heightened senses for sugar.  Macarons were sweet but lemon did its damage control!  At the end, we were so full we literally just let the escalator carry us down.  For $60 a head, it is not exactly what one would call great bargain.  But in comparison with general food prices in Perth, this was a steal!

 

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon really lives up to its hype and world recognition.  With heaps of other quality Robuchon restaurants around the world, one would not be too far from a food coma.  This meal easily comes in closely behind my trip to Jackson’s on my birthday!  Nevertheless, this restaurant had me leaving Hong Kong elated.  A good meal to start a good (hopefully) year! Hehe ;)

 

WenY

Monday, January 30, 2012

HK Trip: Central favourites!

After spending much time on Kowloon, we finally decided to cross over to Central to look around.  Typically, tourists would visit places like Lan Kwai Fong which is a drinking hole famous for people watching.  IMHO?  Overrated! Perhaps that its coming from a non-drinker, my argument is invalid :P! The other attraction would be the Peak which is a great place to catch the skyline at night:

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Been here a couple times now! Still captivated by it!  The only bad thing about this place is that its freezing and extremely windy.  Coming at night in winter is crazy! Add that to the long queue to take the tram down and @@!

 

After awhile we headed back down to the CBD to find some stuff to eat.  We started with two scrumptious egg tarts which were fresh from the oven! 

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I have to say, short crust pastry has never tasted better!  The Tai Cheong bakery one was so moist yet crumbly! Kick ass! As for the custard, it was good but not mind blowing!  Nevertheless, with a crust that is to die for, this was really good! Imagine a hot egg tarts and you are hungry on a cold night!  No wonder this bakery is often frequented by a men who once used to be the Premier of HK!

 

After having our egg tarts, we were looking to have noodles!  Instead of slurping down delicious serves of wanton noodles at the famous Mak’s place, we ate at a rival store just opposite the road as the former was closed. 

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Among the locals, Tsim Chai Kee is often preferred as the noodles here are cheaper and tastier.  According to my sister and friends, Mak’s place is 50% more expensive and is served in a bowl no bigger than the small Ikea soup bowls but its yummy! The serving size would not have been an issue because Kau Kee which served the “best braised beef noodles” is just down the road! But oh well!

 

Disappointed as anyone could be, this turned out very much to be a blessing in disguise as the wanton noodles here were kick ass no doubt! 

DSC_1444My first spoon full was pure satisfaction as the hot broth tasted very delicious.  It was slightly oily so as to complement the smoothness of the noodles which were good itself!  Springy and more importantly, it does not carry that raw flour flavour.  Wantons were great as well.  So definitely no complains from me! Satisfaction achieved!  But in all honesty so as to no discriminate, I find that all the top wanton noodles as voted by the locals always have good prawn wantons. It is good the people here do not take crap because that is the way it should be!

 

Darling who is allergic to prawns opted for the sliced beef and fresh minced fish ball noodles:

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Served with the exact same broth and noodles, the only difference here would be the condiments.  Seeing how tender those slices were, I really could not resist but pick bits and pieces of darling’s food!  It was good as well.  The tender beef slices could easily rival the king prawn wanton as the best condiment!  The fish ball too was good but little darling did not quite like the seasoning of the fish ball.  There was this sort of taste which I thought was fine but she disliked it.  So I willingly helped myself to both the fish balls :P!

 

I could not be happier after our meal.  With our stomachs filled, it was a great feeling compared to when we were starving up at the peak.  The meal as Tsim Chai Kee might be accidental but it was a great eat! Is this what the call serendipity? However, the next time I come, I will order the noodles with all three condiments! The wantons, the beef slices and the fish ball!  Why?  Because it is only 10 HKD more at most :)!

 

WenY