City Hall Maxim's Palace - Review

Intro
City Hall Maxim’s Palace - Recommended
City Hall Low Block, 2nd Floor
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Phone: 852-2521-1303

The wife’s cousin and girlfriend took us to a famous dim sum place where all the locals take out of towner’s. As soon as you walk in, I felt like I was at some old school British restaurant in the 1800’s. The place had a bunch of gleaming chandeliers and walls were all cream colored. The joint definitely looked a little up tight with starched white table cloths and chairs looking like they were out of the Met. In addition, there was a ton of silver everywhere – teapots and even the friggin chopsticks looked like it had silver on the end. What removed some of the stuffiness is seeing the old school pushcarts which I know that most places abandoned in Hong Kong.

I’ve always heard people say dim sum is so much better in Hong Kong and Vancouver, but after eating here, to me NYC does a pretty good job at replicating the experience. And, some of my favorite dim sum items I actually like better in NYC at Oriental Garden; though overall, the dishes were better here. Any who, I definitely enjoyed the food and had a fun time hanging with great company – thanks again to Michael and Jasmine.

Our Menu

Fung Zhao (chicken feet) **
These were out of the park good. Way more flavorful sauce than the ones in NYC and the skin is more tender as well.

Pai Gwat (pork ribs) **
I’ve noticed the Hong Kong people love their meats fatty as hell and this was no exception. Way more fatty than the ones in the states and it was pretty fun to eat. Just make sure you drink your Po Lei tea as this helps absorb some grease…at least that’s what the locals say.

Pee Dan Jook (Thousand year old egg Congee) ***
This was definitely my favorite dish from Maxim’s. I’ve had this loads of times growing up, but the texture and the flavor of this dish was out of sight. Usually congee is either too thick or thin, but this had the perfect porridge texture. And the flavor was amazing how they could jam so much into a rice porridge.

Cha Siu Bao (Bbq pork buns) ***
I haven’t had these in ages, but this was ridiculously good. The filling was perfect – a harmonious combo of sweet and rich porkiness. The dough was so friggin good as well…light and airy with a nice hint of sweetness kicking in.

Law Bat Go (Turnip Cake) **
Another go to dish and this was better than the ones in NY as well. The key here is the slightly sweet soy at the bottom of the dish that is amazing when you mix with the turnip cake. This was a mixture of completely blended turnips with some long pieces of turnip as well. Pretty solid stuff as I don’t remember this great a sauce accompanying the cake back home.

Har Gao (Shrimp dumplings)
Not a big fan of the ones here as this didn’t have much flavor. The skins were definitely more delicate and maybe you could say the shrimp was not masked by anything, but in NYC there’s much more flavor going on. Maybe due to the marinade or maybe they sometimes mix other ingredients in, but I definitely dig NYC’s version better.

Gow Choy Gao (Garlic Chive Dumplings) *
Similar to the Har Gao, I dig the NYC version more. This could be considered more pure as there was nothing but garlic chive as the filling. Usually in NYC, there’s sometimes shrimp, egg, and vermicelli noodles which makes up huge flavors. Here it’s more pure though I don’t like it as much. The skin is more delicate though.

Siu Mai (Pork and Shrimp Dumplings) *
Another one where I like the NYC versions better. These are still good, but the flavor wasn’t as intense as the ones in NYC.

Lau Mai Gai (Chicken Rice) ***
Another dim sum classic and these completely rocked. So friggin delicious as the rice was cooked perfectly (nice chew and perfect moistness) and absorbed the chicken and bamboo leaf flavors. Way better than the ones in the states.

Crispy Taro Balls ***
I usually don’t order these much in the states, but these were amazing here. Crispy and extremely satisfying texture – think mashed potatoes but with more flavor in the taro.

Duck Feet
I ordered these by accident and I’m not a big fan of these. It’s basically similar to the fung zhao in that you can only eat the skin as there is no meat, but the texture on these are pretty terrible – more rubbery whereas chicken feet have a softer texture. Also, the flavor is a little more gamey and there’s not any sauce covering these suckers.

Sesame Balls **
Crispy, airy, light and filled with the same filling as the egg tarts. These were awesome – nutty from the sesame seeds and slightly sweet with the egg custard filling. Some nice harmonious things going on here.

Pea Shoot Dumpling *
These were extremely similar to the garlic chive dumpling. More pure, but missing the intensity of flavor. The skin texture was great though.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Hong Kong

My first trip back to the motherland and wasn’t sure what to expect since I haven’t been back since I was 12 years old. My goal was to try as many things I grew up with to see how good those items can be. I was pretty shocked that NYC/Flushing/NJ Chinese food actually hold up pretty well. Granted in Hong Kong things are better, but not by a ridiculous margin. Again, if we ever come back, I’ll have to try the banquet food since that’s where Cantonese food is at it’s best.

The thought of going back is a little nauseating though since it’s insanely hot/humid, very loud and crowded, and there’s really not much to do as the whole island is basically a series of huge shopping malls. Kind of like Groundhog Day, where everyday you’re stuck in the same scene seeing the same damn stores in similar looking malls over and over again…

Blue Cheese... Literally

Italian farmers protest after 'blue mozzarella' imports

By Duncan Kennedy
BBC News, Rome The blue mozzarella scandal angered Italy's agriculture minister

Thousands of Italian farmers have taken part in a demonstration on the Austrian border to protest at the importation of food with Italian-sounding branding.

They say the imports are harming Italy's reputation for quality food.

The protest at the Brenner Pass was sparked by the seizure last month of a batch of mozzarella balls from Germany which turned blue when exposed to air.

The maker of the cheese, Milchwerk Jaeger, has said a harmless bacterium found in groundwater was responsible.

Mozzarella is Italy's favourite cheese, with 60% of people regularly eating it.

Protection

Tuesday's protest took place at the mouth of the Brenner Pass, which runs under the Alps. Italian border police inspected trucks bringing in milk, meat and other items.

The farmers say sub-standard versions of Italy's favourite foods are being imported and that consumers are being misled by the branding.

The row started after police seized of a tonne of Mozzarella balls from Germany which turned blue when taken out of its packaging.

Italy's agriculture minister and the country's main farm lobby, Coldiretti, said they were incensed at the contamination, which they said harmed the reputation of Italy as a quality food-maker.

Although the mozzarella was marked as made in Germany, Milchwerk Jaeger's brands have Italian-sounding names such as Fattorie Torresina, Lovilio and Monteverdi.

Italians have a history of jealously guarding the world-class status of many of their home-grown products.

The buffalo variety of Mozzarella is highly protected under Italian law and makers of Chianti Classico wine have teams of lawyers on the look out for copycats.

Pizzerias in Naples meanwhile recently celebrated a decision by the European Union to grant them a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) label in order to discourage imitations.

All these measures are designed to protect the exclusivity of products which, in turn, enable the makers to charge premium prices.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10532271.stm

Lu Bo Lang - Review

Intro
Lu Bo Lang – Recommended (if you’re in the area)
Yu Yuan Lu 115
Shanghai, China
Phone: 021-6328-0602

Final meal on the tour was this joint in the mad touristy Shanghai area Yu Yuan. Basically, a fake Epcot center looking pavilion that was built around this garden that existed before things got ripped apart during the cultural revolution. Yu Yuan is insanely loud and crowded, so definitely not my cup of tea. Food was pretty good at Lu Bo Lang, but not worth the trip to this madhouse.

Our Menu
Egg Rolls *
Standard egg roll you get at your local Chinese joint. These were good, but really shocking that they serve this same generic egg roll in China. Again, not sure if this is catering to the tourists or not.

Jelly Fish *
Decent texture with ok flavor.

Pickled Vegetable *
I think this is some sort of radish, but this was pretty tasty with the rice. Standard stuff you’d see in a Chinese restaurant in NYC, but this had much better texture as it probably wasn’t sitting in a jar for a year. Salty and slightly spicy with some good herbal flavors.

Water Chestnuts, Carrots, and Broad Beans ***
So, this is what real water chestnuts taste like. I’m used to the crap they serve in a can which basically have no flavor, but just add textural crunch. This had huge chestnut flavor with the same crunchiness that I was used to. Love the broad beans as this added an earthiness to the dish that was immediately satisfying. Definitely need to start playing with broad beans more since real water chestnuts will be tough to get back home.

Sauteed Celery and Hearts of Palm? **
Similar dish I saw in Suzhou with the celery sautéed and glazed with chicken stock. The hearts of palm had amazing flavor and texture – soft yet some resistance.

Chicken soup with egg whites *
Flavorful soup, but nothing really to it.

Pepper Beef **
This is another one of those – do they really serve this stuff here or is this for tourists? The pepper beef is similar to pepper beef back in the states although done much much better. The beef is incredibly tender and the pepper sauce is out of control good. Very pronounced pepper flavor with some sweetness going on with the green, red peppers and onions.

Fried Rice *
Not the kind I’m used to back in the states which are loaded with a ton of stuff. This was perfect as the rice was slightly coated with oil for some flavor and with some diced leafy greens thrown in the mix.

Xiao Long Bao *
Skin was relatively soft, soup base was decent, and the meat was nice, but I know there’s better out there.

Rating System

--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Hangzhou for my favorite dish

On the way to check out the tea gardens, we stopped in this random hotel for lunch. Wish I got the address, but we were as usual moving at a pretty fast paced clip. This place had tons of tourists so if you’re taking a tour of Suzhou and Hangzhou, you’re probably going to this joint.

Our Menu
Fried Noodles *
Good texture and decent flavor – basically soy with ginger.

Dong Po Rou ***
This was the dish I was most looking forward to and native to this region. The pork belly was so soft and flavorful and the sauce was just ridiculous. So complex with some sweetness, subtle hint of ginger, probably some variation of Chinese 5 spice powder, and some soy glazing. Add this to white rice and you are in heaven. I had two portions and wanted a third it was so good. My wife asked me if this was better than the one in Landis Hotel, Taipei…not sure, since the Landis Hotel version was pretty special. Either way I was incredibly happy.

Sauteed Celery **
The celery was sautéed in chicken stock, which was bright, crunchy and had great celery flavor. The brightness of this dish helped cut the richness of the dong po rou.

Fish in Soy, Vinegar Sauce ---
This was way too vinegary for my taste and totally masked the flavor of the fish. Usually this is done when the fish is of poor quality so that’s my guess here since this place had loads of tourists.

Sauteed Cabbage *
One of the simple styles of cooking veggies in China - this was simply just salt and garlic as opposed to the chicken stock thing. Pretty fun and nice and cleansing.

Seaweed Soup *
Nice subtle seaweed flavor with this weird gelatinous thing going on.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Hangzhou - Oriental at the Holiday Inn Hangzhou

Our next stop was Hangzhou where two of my favorite Chinese food items are from – Dragon Well Tea (Longjing) and Don Po Rou (Pork belly with sweet sauce). Hangzhou seems to be like many cities in China where it seems to be growing at an insanely rapid pace. A few minutes outside the center of the city you have people sitting on the highways selling fruits and veggies, but once you head into the city you see huge roads with loads of sky rise buildings everywhere. The skyline definitely rivals any American city not named NYC, LA, Chicago, and San Fran. Any who, the food is more of the same with some hella sweet stuff.

Our Menu – Oriental at the Holiday Inn Hangzhou

Rice Porridge using Rice Wine *
Unlike any dish I've had before - this was very thick and gelatinous since this was the same rice used to make Chinese Rice Wine. It had this slightly sweet (like sake) and a little bit of vinegar taste going on. Pretty fun stuff and a first for me.

Soup with a bunch of stuff ***
This was hella awesome and something I definitely want to make sometime. Basically the base was a chicken soup, but included the following – whole baby shrimp (like langoustine), egg, cabbage, tofu, wood ear mushroom, meatballs, and ham. I’ve never had this ham in Chinese cooking ever. It was so pungent that it reminded me of Serrano ham or prosciutto. Such intense complex flavors which added to this spectacular soup.

Kung Shing Chai *
Sauteed with loads of ginger and a bit of chicken stock. Pretty fun stuff.

Lotus Root ---
One of the rare misses at this restaurant , but we were told it’s a local specialty. Nice texture on the lotus root – kinda like a potato, but the sauce was cloylingly sweet. Pretty gross to me, but my wife liked it.

Bok Choy and Mushrooms *
Slightly sweet and slight vinegar thing going on.

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Stinky Tofu in Suzhou

Stinky tofu is basically tofu that is left to ferment which makes the tofu have these complex cheese like qualities and they do stink to high hell. The ones they serve at this small shop in the middle of Old Suzhou wasn’t that stinky and had a phenomenal texture unlike any I’ve ever had. The exterior was nice and light, but crisp and the interior was so soft and silky. Usually stinky tofu has this almost hard scrambled egg like texture – at least the ones I had in Taiwan and the States. Pretty awesome stuff.

Happy 4th Dude and Dudettes

Wishing everyone some happy eating celebrating the birth of our nation - hot dogs and burgers for all!

Lunch in Suzhou – Silk Factory

The one thing you notice when you go to tours in China is they always drop you off to places where they want you to buy stuff. This time we were watching how silk was made then they try to sell you a whole bunch of silk products. Based on this I didn’t expect much from the food, but the food here was actually killer. Again, apologies but I don’t have the exact address since we were just dropped off here.

Our Menu
Cold dishes of Seaweed and White Beans with Beef **
Never had white beans in a Chinese dish before, but this dish rocked with the floral chilis and the tender cold cuts of beef and fat. Kinda like the fuchee fay pyan beef where it’s more salty and a little light floral chili thing going on.


Shanghai Tips *
Love the veggies in this region as they seem to be cooked one of two ways. Either sautéed simply with salt and garlic or cooked with chicken stock as a sauce. This was just simply salt and garlic and incredibly delicious.

Scrambled Egg *
Perfectly cooked – nice and soft. Great with White Rice.

Gali Chai (Cabbage) **
This was cooked using the latter method – sautéed with chicken stock. The sweetness of the cabbage and the richness of the chicken stock made for a ridiculously delicious combo.

Diced Chicken and Peanuts (Jee Ding) **
This was sooo good, but again not sure if this was catering to the tourists as this reminded of Kung Pao chicken but the best I’ve ever had. Salty, a bit spicy, and nice floral flavors from the chili. Great with the roasted peanuts and insanely addicting with white rice.

Sliced Beef and Onions *
Beef was incredibly tender and the flavor was like black bean sauce. Similar to many a Cantonese dish I’ve had in NY’s Chinatown, but the sauce was much tastier. The peppers and onions made me think of Amercianized fajitas…

Noodles
These were a bit overcooked, but the broth was nice and flavorful.

Soup with Tofu Skin *
Basically chicken soup enhanced with the great flavor of tofu skin. Again, these had such a meaty and nice salt flavor which is much different from what we get back home

Rating System
--- What the F - in a bad way * Good ** Great *** What the F – in a good way

Breakfast in the China Hotels

Normally I would never eat breakfast in hotels, but the hotels on these tours were generally far away from any place to explore and it was paid for as part of the tours. Some places were better than others and it was quite comforting having things like Congee for breakfast in the morning. They also served Dim Sum, Fried Rice, Fried Noodles, Sushi, Pumpkin, and Vegetables as well as the standard American/English Breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sausage. What we learned is don’t treat this like a buffet in Vegas otherwise you’ll end up being stuffed for the rest of the day. Here's a collection of some of the breakfast throughout the trip...