Authentic Northern Vietnamese Dishes

Pho bo, featuring diced raw beef, meatballs and rice noodles

 

Today my colleague who is Vietnamese-Australian, took me to a small shop in Yau Ma Tei that serves northern Vietnamese food.

While he was not born in Vietnam, he has traveled there a few times. Here he is tired of the many Vietnamese restaurants that are more Hong Kong-style Vietnamese, and his girlfriend managed to find this place and he was pleasantly surprised. It is run by Vietnamese people.

Deep-fried spring rolls that are wrapped in lettuce

The place, called Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine has many devotees, and my colleague warned we had to get there early to get in line as the shop is quite small. If you don't get seated in the first round, it will be a while to wait for a table.

So we got there just before noon and were the first ones to line up -- a few minutes later there were a some people behind us. 

The woman behind us said she liked eating the broken rice dish, featuring pork with a slice of omelette and rice that are mixed together. It was her second time there.

On Google it says the shop opens at 12.30, but the sign on the door says 12pm to 3.30pm. Luckily we got there early and within a few minutes the server lifted the metal roll top gate and let us in, but not before giving us hand sanitizer and taking our temperatures. He also insisted we keep our masks on until our food arrived. Very strict, but understandable.

The menu is very short for lunch, 19 items. We ordered three items, and I had a passion fruit soda, and my colleague an iced Vietnamese coffee.

bun cha Hanoi, a sour soup with grilled pork

The deep-fried spring rolls (HK$65) arrived first, three of the rolls accompanied with strips of Romaine lettuce, basil and mint, and fish sauce. The spring rolls were piping hot and a delicious start, filled with pork, carrot and vermicelli. 

Next came bun cha Hanoi (HK$76), where there was a soup bowl with what looked like a soup, with strips of grilled pork, and thinly sliced carrot and turnip in a broth that was sour and savoury. Also with the dish was a bamboo basket of balls of rice vermicelli and herbs.

My colleague instructed me to put a ball of the cold vermicelli in my bowl and then spoon some of the broth along with some pork on top of it. This was delicious and meaty. I liked the sour taste and interesting together with the thin slices of grilled pork. I had never eaten anything like this before.

Finally our bowl of pho bo (HK$79) came, and it's a large bowl! In it is the wide rice noodles, along with beef meatballs that were halved, and bits of raw beef. We mixed the beef into the steaming hot broth that had lots of scallions and herbs in it. A side dish had a wedge of lime and fresh chillis.

The bun cha has cold rice vermicelli in bunches

A guest next to us had ordered the same thing and asked the waiter why there were no beansprouts. He explained this was northern Vietnamese style. There were no slices of onions either.

The bits of beef were very tender, not chewy or sinewy. Amazing. It was definitely a comforting bowl of noodles, but I don't think I could have eaten it all on my own!

As we ate, some tables turned twice. Another guest next to us ordered takeaway. The server asked why so many, and she sheepishly said it was for her children. "Oh are they still asleep?" he asked. She was surprised he was so smart. "They are all night owls," she said. Luckily to have a mom bring delicious food for them.

When we left the bill came to HK$302 and well sated. 

Hope to visit again, maybe for dinner? But good to know this legit place exists if I get there early enough...

Pho Viet Authentic Hanoi Cuisine

G/F, 99 Portland Street, Mongkok (Yau Ma Tei MTR Exit A1)

6884 8898

Quarantine Experience Revealed

One of the nicer rooms in a public housing flat in Fo Tan

Today was our first day back in the office for many of us, and it was strange to be suddenly back in the place we escaped from almost two months ago when there was a positive coronavirus case.

Everything was just as we had left it, as if we had been away for a long holiday and were now back.

Just before our office was shut down in mid-March, we had been wearing masks all day in the office, and now that rule was definitely in force, though many could not stand to wear literally all day (can you guess who?).

Here was the bathroom situation in the room

Colleagues who were "close contacts" of the infected person told us about their experiences of being in government quarantine. While the conditions didn't even make the three-star hotel grade, two of them said repeatedly the people who were looking after them, young volunteers, were so nice and helpful.

If my colleagues needed water, or more food, or something was wrong with their room, these volunteers working in shifts would respond relatively quickly on Whatsapp and give them what they needed.

One had a bed with literally a wooden mattress; she showed us a video of her knocking her hand on the mattress and it was rock hard. Thankfully our office administrator sent my colleague a soft mattress to put on top so she could actually have a relatively decent sleep.

They both said the cleanliness of the rooms was questionable, so the first thing they did upon entering the room was to wipe it down completely before even putting their bag down...

Friends and family could deliver things to the entrance of the quarantine centre, but they could not give them any cooked food, as the rooms had no refrigerator, and also they there was no way to treat you if you got sick.

Three meals a day kind of looked like this

One colleague's parents brought her lots of snacks to keep her occupied, and she even had time to prepare and had a bottle of chilli sauce to make her meals more palatable.

Another had a nice-looking room and even got to go outdoors periodically, but the wifi was very spotty so she couldn't watch Netflix and ended up sleeping a lot to pass the time.

When their quarantine time was done, they were so grateful for everything when they came back into civilization. A mundane trip to the supermarket was so exciting and being able to cook their own food was a revelation.

The experience has made them wary of the possibility of encountering someone positive again. One of them has even prepared a bag of necessities just in case she needs to go into quarantine again!

Guess you can never be prepared enough for a pandemic...

Northern Dishes in Macau

Guests can watch their food being prepared in Beijing Kitchen

Beijing Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt Macau is a consistent restaurant in terms of food quality, pity about the service being sporadic. Nevertheless we had a good lunch here sampling several dishes before I went back to Hong Kong.

Green bean noodle with shredded chicken and sesame sauce

Some highlights: The jellyfish with sliced cucumber, grated garlic and aged malt vinegar was crunchy and refreshing, and we quite liked the green bean noodle with shredded chicken, chilli and sesame sauce, or at least I liked it and finished the leftovers.

The main event, the Peking Duck was presented table side and the chef immediately launched into carving it. He first gave us a small plate of just the skin that you dip into sugar and boy does that melt in the mouth! Quite amazing to try, but one piece is enough.

Then came the duck slices, some with a bit of the skin with visible fat underneath, some just meat. The steamed pancakes were thin, but stuck together and required some dexterity with the chopsticks to be able to daintily extract them from the bamboo steamer without ripping them.

Deep-fried chicken with chillis and peanuts

Condiments included pureed garlic, thinly sliced scallions and cucumbers with the sweet plum sauce. But overall the verdict was the duck was "too ducky", a bit too gamey for some people's tastes. I felt it didn't have much taste and needed the condiments to perk it up.

I suggested we order the panfried pork dumplings with yellow chives and they arrived in a delicate formation, bottom up with a web-like connection holding them all together. The dumplings themselves were crispy on the outside, and very juicy inside. So good.

Pretty presentation of panfried dumplings with yellow chives

For a spicy kick, the deep-fried chicken with chilli and peanut hit the spot. This is not gong bao ji ding, but small pieces of chicken that are deep-fried and then stir-fried again with dried chillis and Sichuan peppercorns for that numbing feeling.

Another impressive-looking dish is the crispy mandarin fish in sweet and sour sauce. It was covered in small mango cubes that were a nice complement to the thick sauce. The fish was very meaty, but didn't have much flavour, hence the sweet and slightly tart sauce. We really did finish every part of the fish in the end.

The last time I ate here was a year ago for a quick lunch just before the announcement of who got stars in the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau. I just might do the same thing again in a few weeks' time. And having just eaten here, I already have in mind what I'd like to eat next time.

Peking duck, anyone?

Beijing Kitchen
1/F, Grand Hyatt Macau
City of Dreams
Estrada do Istmo, Cotai
Macau
(853) 8868 1930

Spicy Hot at Shisen Hanten

The signature stewed fish fillet in super spicy broth!

An ex-colleague I used to work with in Beijing has been working in Singapore for three years now and when I told him I was going to visit, he suggested we go to a restaurant he quite likes.

It's called Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro, a two-star Michelin restaurant -- that retained its two stars a few days ago -- featuring Sichuan cuisine cooked by a Japanese chef.

 

The dining room is rather quiet with many chandeliers

It's located on the top floor of Mandarin Orchard Singapore, a snazzy building along Orchard Road, the Rodeo Drive of the Lion City.

We were greeted on one floor, and then walk down the stairs into the dining area that's very large, dim and lit by large chandeliers.

The restaurant was started back in 1958 by Chen Kemin, who, according to the menu's introduction, is considered to be the "Father of Szechwan cuisine" in Japan.

The salted egg fish skin were crispy but quite oily

The reins were passed on to the eldest son, Chen Kenichi, who was best known as Iron Chef Chinese in the original TV show, Iron Chef. You may remember he was the one who wore a yellow Chinese jacket with black frog buttons on it.

Probably because of his fame, Chen Kenichi was able to expand the business outside of Japan. The branch in Singapore opened in 2014 with now the third generation, Chen Kentaro as executive chef. And since the Michelin guide has been in Singapore, the restaurant has retained its two stars for three years in a row.

To start our meal we had some salted egg fish skin. It's delicious, very crispy, but a tad oily. We munched on them throughout our meal. 

 

Something not spicy, vegetables with three eggs in broth

Next came the stewed fish fillet in super-spicy Szechwan pepper sauce (S$38 per portion). Indeed the black cast iron pot arrived covered in dried red chillis that signaled it would be a red hot dining experience.

One of the waitresses used a ladle to wade into the chillis to find the pieces of fish to put into our bowls. It came with bean sprouts and slices of cucumber. The fish was perfectly cooked, and surprisingly not too spicy, while the bean sprouts were too hot for me and I must have drank an entire tea pot of chrysanthemum tea in a pathetic attempt to cool down.

The fish was firm, not flaky and had the subtle mala taste, while the sprouts overwhelmed my taste buds.

 

The signature mapo tofu that was spicy with a mala numbness

To help me balance out the spiciness, we ordered stir-fried seasonal vegetable with trio of eggs in superior stock (S$22), which was basically potato leaves mixed with thousand year old egg, salty egg and egg whites in an orangey broth. Perhaps this dish wasn't quite finessed, but for me was a welcome respite from the spice.

Finally another signature dish, Chen's mapo doufu, featuring stir-fried tofu in hot Szechwan pepper-flavoured meat sauce (S$26 per portion). This was also fantastic, the silken tofu combined with the spicy meat sauce -- I mean really spicy meat sauce to have that mala taste that numbed the tongue.

In the end I managed to eat as much as I could without needing to call the fire brigade, and it made me wonder why the Japanese would be interested in mastering such a cuisine, when something technically difficult like Cantonese or dim sum might be more interesting for them.

Nevertheless, it was quite enjoyable, though the atmosphere seemed too quiet for a Sichuan restaurant where chillis inspire people to be hot-blooded, no? Oh wait we're in a Japanese restaurant...

Shisen Hanten

Orchard Wing Level 35

Mandarin Orchard Singapore

333 Orchard Road

Singapore 238867
(65) 6831 6262

www.shisenhanten.com.sg

Picture of the Day: Fresh Beef Hotpot

Cabbage, beef, potato, tendon and tripe ready to be put in the hotpot

A few days ago I was in Guangzhou for work and on our final day there, my colleague and I finished our work early and had lunch in a popular hot pot place called Shantou Bahelihaiji beef shop.

It apparently specializes in serving fresh beef from cows that have been culled only four hours earlier. I find that a bit hard to believe as it takes time for blood to be drained from the carcass, and how can fresh beef be distributed that quickly around to the various branches in Guangdong within that time frame?

Nevertheless we had to wait for about half an hour with a ticket in hand, so it must be pretty good. We were hungry watching diners walk in and getting their fill.

Our number was finally called and our table was on the second floor in a cramped space. But we were here! The menu is focused on all kinds of beef from various parts of the cow, to beef meatballs, tendon, tongue, brisket and so on.

To balance it out we also got some turnip, potato and cabbage. Strangely there was no tofu on the menu. A few steps away was a sauce station for diners to create their own sauce to dip the cooked food in. There was the usual array of fresh chilli peppers, minced garlic, coriander, spring onions, oil and soy sauce, but no sesame oil which seemed a bit strange.

The hotpot with clear broth was placed in an induction burner and it took a while to heat up, but finally when it was boiling we were in business. The beef balls were very bouncy -- unlike the frozen ones I've eaten so many times, making freshness the defining factor.

The menu also suggests how long each item should be cooked for, ranging from seconds to minutes. We followed the directions which made sure the meat was cooked just so, resulting in a very tender texture. My colleague was in meat heaven.

While the beef tendon looked shriveled up and dry, once they were cooked, they were fantastic, chewy and flavourful. Another was tripe that was cooked within 10 seconds and was very crunchy. What looked like an endless number of meat dishes, turned out to be just right, along with our vegetable dishes.

Did I mention my colleague mistakenly ordered a giant 1.5 litre bottle of juice, so I had to help him finish it -- well most of it. In the end the bill for our hotpot meal was 270 yuan for two!

The Last Meal

A colourful scallop tartare in a watermelon and cherry tomato consumme

Tonight my cousins and I went to TBLS, a private kitchen on Hollywood Road in Central.

The six-course tasting menu was fantastic, themed on Latin flavours.

Slightly spicy gazpacho soup with a hearty chorizo sandwich

We started with an amuse bouche presented in a small glass jar of deep-fried salted cod on mashed potato, followed by the first course called "soup and sandwich" -- the soup was a yellow gazpacho with ancho chilli panna cotta and Parmesan froth, accompanied by a homemade Mexican style chorizo sandwich with pickled watermelon skin.

The subtle spiciness in the soup was perfect and refreshing, the sandwich meaty and had complex flavours heightened by the watermelon. We were intrigued by what was to come next.

Again we were not disappointed, with slices of braised octopus on a bed of squid ink rice that also had a hint of spiciness from the fresh chillis.

Braised octopus on a bed of squid ink rice

The next dish pulled back from rich flavours to something more delicate. The scallop tartare was topped with a cilantro sorbet with two banana chips, sitting in a colourful watermelon and cherry tomato consumme. Very refreshing, savoury and sweet, crunchy and soft.

Berkshire bacon with guacamole (under the salad)

We were most impressed with the main of Berkshire bacon, a big square chunk that was braised and then the top was fried for a bit of crunchiness, topped with thin slices of pig ears, dressed with black bean puree and next to it a "salad" of guacamole. Perfect pairing and the bacon was delicious, fatty and meaty, practically melting in the mouth. The guacamole creamy from the avocado.

Just before our desserts we had a palate cleanser of sangria sorbet. Straight forward and yummy, which made us wonder why no one else had done this before...

Then our first dessert called chocolate bar -- chocolate mousse on a bed of cookie crust, topped with olive oil powder and surrounded by a creamy olive oil sauce. Very chocolately but not too sweet either, balanced with some sea salt.

The chocolate bar with olive oil sauce and powder on top

We also loved the second treat, a kind of macaron ice cream sandwich, made with salted dulce de leche ice cream and coconut cream.

Mmm mmm good.

But sadly this is the last menu the private kitchen is serving until the end of next month. It sounds like it's the same Hong Kong story of landlords being greedy and jacking up the rent.

Chef-owner Que Vinh Dang also says he wants to take a break and perhaps do some other food-related things instead.

Salted dulce de leche ice cream in between macaron shells

So we're sad to see TBLS close, but we are lucky to have finally tried it and the last menu. We hope to see chef Que out there again soon, creating new concepts for the Hong Kong food scene.

TBLS

7/F, 31 Hollywood Road
Central
2544 3433

info@tbls-kitchenstudio.com