The mac and cheese I’ve talked about before, but the steak sandwiches are new.

My co-worker Suzette, who hosted the barbecue, had just recently come back from a month in South America and had brought back lots of powders (not that kind) and spices. So using a combination of the paprika mix that Suzette brought back and some local herbs (not that kind), I made South American steak sandwiches. Starting with a baguette, we grilled the steak which I had rubbed with chili powder and sea salt, and then made a sandwich with goat cheese and roasted corn and pepper salsa topped with chimichurri.

What is chimichurri you ask? Its a parsley and garlic based sauce from Argentina – I made mine with a cup of parsley, 6 cloves of garlic, a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar, a quarter cup of olive oil, a spice mix of paprika, dried coriander, a couple leaves of fresh oregano, sea salt and the juice and zest of 1 lemon – all of which was dumped into a food processor and ground into a paste. The roasted corn and pepper salsa was made (strangely enough) of over roasted corn, onion, lime juice, salt and fire roasted red bell pepper.

Hope you have a good barbecue season!

First – here’s a list of (most) of the places Tony went when he was in Hong Kong – I decided I’d go out to Tai Po Market for Ping Kee and Yat Lok (although I saw the next day there was a Yat Lok in Central). Then I made plans to meet my former co-workers Monica and Jenny at Tung Po at the Java Road Cooked Food Center.

First, Tai Po Market is out in the New Territories, where I probably spent only 2% of my time in Hong Kong when I was living there. So after 40 minutes on the subway and train (I’m so dated I still think of it as the MTR and the KCR) I arrived at Tai Po Market.

Exiting out MTR exit A1, I walked straight for about 10 minutes, made a right turn and a little past the Cooked Food Center on the main town square was roast meat specialist Yat Lok. Famous for their roast goose and roast pork, I ordered a plate of each. Oh my goodness, do they do a really good roast pork. Seriously, I think its better than the stuff at West Vila and definitely better than the very expensive Yung Kee – both of which are excellent, but really Yat Lok was even better.

And the goose. I could only make stupid noises after eating the goose.

Roast Pork

Roast Goose

One of the best ways to distinguish a great Cantonese place – hanging meats in the front window.

If you saw the No Reservations episode, there’s probably one of the most beautiful sequences dealing with food ever filmed, where the noodle maker is rolling out the noodles by bamboo pole. While Josh wasn’t really accurate with saying there were only about 3 places left that made handmade noodles, the truth is they really aren’t that common.

Ping Kee was where Josh and Tony ate at (and where the handmade noodles were sold). Since I just had the big meal at Yat Lok, I only opted for the lo mien – dry noodles with lard. They were excellent, and really, the denseness of the noodles really came through. You don’t get noodles of this quality in Shanghai and only at a few places in Hong Kong.

The old guy from the No Reservations episode

Tai Po Market Cooked Food Center

After digesting and walking around for a while, I met up with my former colleagues Monica and Jenny for dinner at Tung Po. I had actually been to Tung Po many years ago with my cousin/roommate Patryk. Tung Po is basically a ‘dai pai dong’ – a big sign restaurant, or what traditionally were outdoor eateries – moved indoors. There’s still a few surviving dai pai dongs in Central/Sheung Wan, as well as Jordan/Yaumatei/Mongkok. I do think sometimes food tastes better when served by guys wearing Wellington boots.

Started with the daily soup. Here’s a good tip, when you’re at a Cantonese restaurant, order the daily soup. We do like our soups, and we make good ones. This is pork with carrots and winter melon.

Sometimes in crowded restaurants, especially if you have no reservations and a small party, you’ll be asked to share tables – dap toi. We shared with 2 other parties, but we were group A.

Spinach with conpoy/dried scallops

Pork Knuckles. Crispy on the outside, succulent and juicy in the middle. I’m sure these aren’t good for you.

Mantis Pods with garlic. Wow. These were amazing. Not cheap, but wow, I would eat another one right now. (In Cantonese these are called ‘pissing shrimp’)

Squid ink noodles. Garlicky. And really satisfying.

The surroundings at Tung Po.

Chef Robby

Final Damage for 3

Information on all three restaurants is readily available. I really love Tung Po, and the food at Ping Kee and Yat Lok is excellent. I probably wouldn’t travel all the way out to Tai Po Market again (especially since you can get handmade noodles at Wing Wah – upcoming post alert! and there’s a Yat Lok in Central) but if you’re ever out there. Mmmm.

Hong Kong style Bortscht

Black Pepper Steak on an Iron Plate

In the Mood for Love

Goldfinch

Reservations were made at Xinguang Jiu Jia.

It was pretty awesome. Every part of the crab. De-shelled. Served with asparagus, crab meat, various reproductive organs.

Jo:

Xinguang Jiu Jia
512 Tianjin Lu,
near Guangxi Bei Lu
Cost: Pretty expensive. Minimum charge is 400 RMB/person. If you like the crab though, you’re good.

Tomato sauce recipe:

Take a good 8-10 good sized tomatoes. Blanch quickly in boiling salted water to make the skins easy to peel off. Squeeze the tomatoes to get rid of a good amount of juice and seeds, then place into hot pot already seasoned with olive oil. Break up the tomatoes with a potato masher.

In another pot, 1 cup of olive oil, some crushed red pepper, and about 10 cloves of garlic, and a lot of fresh basil – heat up over very low heat. You’re making infused olive oil here.

After about 30 minutes of the tomatoes reducing, strain the olive oil infusion into the sauce, keep stirring and keep on simmer. If the tomato sauce becomes dry, strain some of the juice from the earlier squeezing into the pot.

Cook off about 3 ounces of pasta per person in heavily salted water. In a heavy bottomed saute pan, first grill sausages, then after slicing the sausage, add the tomato mixture in, then the dripping wet pasta. Include a couple of tablespoons of the starchy pasta water. Mix. Combine. Serve with fresh basil and fresh Parmesan.

Pre-Opening Apple Store IFC HK

Tasty Congee and Wantun in IFC


Mango Sago at Hui Lau Shan

Back of a HK Cab

Full Moon at Mid-Autumn Fesitval

Gorgeous Day in Stanley

and then Singapore!
ION Orchird

Dramatic Tropical Sky

Food Court Laksa

My hosts Nick and Venessa preparing the chicken rice

Nick and Venessa’s dog Didi

Lunch with two of my favorite people – Mylinh and Sandra

Ice Kachang!

You have to see the baby! Sandra and Andrew’s lovely daughter Tiana

Big Prawn Noodles!

More Tiana

Chili Crab at Jackson Seafood House

And the best chicken wings ever – with shrimp paste

What they come for is amazing Shanghainese home-cooked food. Excellent Red cooked pork. Great chicken soups. Sweet pork ribs. Vinegar fish. Each of these restaurants (Lan Xin Can Ting, and uh, the one owned by the sister and brother) are very good candidates for favorite Shanghainese restaurant.

But recently, Andrew went to the restaurant down the block, owned by another relative. Hai Jinzi Can Ting And while this place is very good for lots of Shanghainese food, they serve the single best thing I have eaten in Shanghai.

However, first things first. The wait. You have to wait to get in. A while. There’s a phone number (021-62550371) you can call to leave your phone number for a table, but I don’t think its really honored. Just go in and put your phone number at the front and wait. and wait.

Your companion(s) will try to leave. “Oh, Lan Xin is just down the street. So is Southern Barbarian” they’ll whine. Let them whine. Let them leave if they really have to, but you. . . you stay.

Because ahead of you – you have the single best dish I have ever eaten in Shanghai.

Say it with me: Xie Fen Dan (Stupid non-Chinese allowing blog)
That’s crab parts and egg. A simple description, but it won’t prepare you for the perfection of egg, sugar, vinegar and crab parts. Eaten alone or paired with rice, it is true Shanghainese cuisine perfection.

My friends Andrew, Colin and I have started a religion based solely on consumption of this dish. It is that good.

Hai Jinzi Restaurant
240 Jinxian road, near Shaanxi South Road
Luwan District
Shanghai
Per person – about 50 RMB for dinner

You wouldn’t expect a country in the middle of such culinary goodness to have such an aversion to spice. But there you are. It was like Thai food, except for the chef forgot to add any sort of flavoring. Lots of coconut based currys – the national dish was a steamed curry in banana leaves with different meats called ‘Amok’ – another common cuisine was a type of barbeque, similar to hot pot or Korean Barbeque . . .but less flavorful.

But the colors are pretty.

Amok Restaurant in Siem Reap

Amok sampler plate from Amok Restaurant

Amok plate from the Palm Restaurant

Cambodian Barbeque

Fresh Spring Rolls (these were actually pretty good)

Roast duck – this was not good. Especially being a cantonese person.

Fish soup – not too bad, but I’ve had much better in Southeast Asia – for example in the Philippines.

Conclusion – go to Cambodia for the sights, not the food.

Meeting down in Newport at the Bear Flag Fish Company, Bryan took charge of the ordering, making sure to get the poke. From wikipedia, poke is:

Modern poke typically consists of cubed ?ahi (yellowfin tuna) sashimi marinated with sea salt, a small amount of soy sauce, inamona (roasted crushed candlenut), sesame oil, limu seaweed, and chopped chili pepper.

It was friggin’ delicious. And everybody on Yelp! rightfully recommended it highly.

Bryan getting ready to enjoy the poke before the fish tacos arrived.

But the main event? The fish tacos? Absolutely fantastic. Fresh fresh fresh ingredients. Plentiful avocados, fresh tortillas, and enough of the freshest fish this side of tsukuji market.

Bear Flag Fish Company
407 31st St
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 673-3474
About $10 USD/person