Winter Solstice Wontons

Wontons wrapped "envelope" style that are ready to be boiled...

The shortest day of the year has come and gone with winter solstice.

It's also a day for families to gather for dinner.

I was inspired by a friend who posted pictures of wontons he had made a few weeks ago and I decided to do the same.

The end result is delicious wontons!

He used minced pork with watercress and mushrooms, but suggested I could make whatever filling I wanted.

Tonight I made one by combining minced pork, finely chopped cabbage, chives, mushrooms and shrimp. They were mixed with some salt, soy sauce, sesame oil and Shaoxing wine.

I didn't really know how to wrap wontons and did it the "envelope" style... but taste-wise they were delicious, the crunchiness of the cabbage and chives and the shrimp added more texture. They were light and not hard to eat a lot of them!

I've just Googled other ways to wrap the wontons and can't wait to try to wrap them again...

Old School Chiu Chow Cuisine

The decor in Lok Hau Fook hasn't changed in over six decades!

This evening my relatives and I headed to Kowloon City to eat at one of their favourite haunts, Lok Hau Fook, a Chiu Chow restaurant that dates back 65 years. The decor inside has hardly changed, one of the walls features a giant dragon and phoenix, with a double happiness sign in between them for weddings, though probably no one celebrates their nuptials here anymore.

I heard some Hong Kong films have used this restaurant as a setting for scenes involving triads -- who knew they liked to hang out in old school Chiu Chow restaurants?

In front deep-fried crab mousse and shrimp balls in rear

On a Friday night, the restaurant is almost full and we take our seat -- we get cold very fast from the air conditioning and the fans blowing the cold air.

There's a lot of dishes to choose from, and my uncle already has in mind what he'd like to eat. He hasn't been here for many years and reels off some of his favourites to the waiter.

Pretty soon the lo sui duck arrives with some vinegar and it looks overcooked by it's not -- very tender and juicy, and flavourful from the master sauce. Underneath the thin slices of marinated duck are pieces of tofu that are equally delicious.

We also order some seasonal vegetables and choose chun choi, a Chiu Chow vegetable that is a skinny version of choi sum that was cooked in a broth together with chunks of radish and pork rib bits and ginger for flavour.

Super plump baby oysters in a rice soup with pork

Then came some deep-fried items -- a ball that was a combination of shrimp mousse mixed with finely diced water chestnut, and the a rectangular package of crab meat mousse. Both were so lightly deep-fried that their texture was very soft inside, the hot oil obviously fresh.

Probably one of my favourites is the baby oyster congee. The plump oysters are practically poached in the rice soup along with chunks of minced pork, Chinese ham and mushroom. We each had seconds of this giant tureen.

Another interesting Chiu Chow specialty are dumplings where the wrapper is actually made of a very thin fried egg white, and inside the filling is diced chicken, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots, and tied  together by a thin piece of chive topped with shrimp roe. This is such an interesting dish especially in terms of execution; interestingly it tastes of butter, and the bamboo shoots inside are a nice textural highlight.

Dumpling wrappers made of fried egg white are impressive

We were almost full -- but not before we tried some desserts. First up was wok-fried taro covered in sugar -- this is very difficult to execute, as the taro needs to be constantly moving in the hot wok otherwise the sugar on top will burn. Here the slices of taro were practically white with some scallion bits.

Another was a soup of green beans with some translucent jelly cubes. Not a favourite, but a fantastic finish was a taro pudding, again constantly stirred in the wok which is challenging because the grounded taro is so sticky. The end result is a very smooth and sweet hot pudding that's practically screaming to be called comfort food. The small bowl looks deceiving, but really one or two spoonfuls are all you need to satisfy your sweet tooth.

In the end our bill came to just under HK$1,000 for four. We will surely be back again as my uncle already began thinking about what to order next time...

Stir-fried slices of taro covered in sugar is difficult to make

Lok Hau Fook
1-3 Hau Wong Road
Kowloon City
2382 7408

Decadent Dim Sum

Lung King Heen's famous baked barbecue pork buns

Last Saturday three friends and I went to Lung King Heen, the three-starred Michelin Chinese restaurant in the Four Seasons Hong Kong for dim sum. I had booked the table back in late November to ensure we got a table.

It's pretty impressive how this place continues to keep its consistency particularly in dim sum, as I have now eaten it here three times, and for dinner only once many years ago.

Steamed rice rolls with lobster and water chestnut

There were a few new dishes on the dim sum menu and we decided to try some of them as well as order our favourites.

A new one was steamed rice rolls with lobster and water chestnut in fermented bean sauce (HK$230). This was definitely indulgent, but have you had steamed rice rolls with lobster before? This was fantastic -- very meaty but also included chopped vegetables and crunchy water chestnuts too.

Another was steamed lobster dumplings with egg white and sweet corn (HK$120). These dumplings were so large that they were served in pairs per bamboo steamer. Take a bite and inside it was choc full of lobster along with sweet corn. It sounds strange with corn kernels, but works well, again for texture and added sweetness.

Perfectly executed steamed shrimp dumplings

The baked goose puffs with chestnut in XO chilli sauce (HK$99) were topped with bonito flakes, perhaps an ode to the goose's nest? The pastry shell was very flaky and buttery, while the goose was also quite rich too and perhaps needed some acidity to cut the richness, as bonito flakes wasn't going to do that.

As for staples, the steamed shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots (HK$99) was a star winner, so delicate, the skin translucent and the shrimp meat inside so delicious and filling.

We also thoroughly enjoyed the baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken (HK$84 per piece). The abalone is sliced up so that you aren't obligated to shove the whole thing into your mouth and enjoy it in at least two bites. The pastry here was also top notch.

Pan-fried rice rolls in XO chilli sauce (HK$200) is a small portion for what you get; it is spicy, though that day I was battling a cold and couldn't eat as much as I would have liked. It was a dish that was a struggle to finish.

Baked abalone puffs with diced chicken a winner

The same could be said for the plate of char siu (HK$350). By the time it arrived I was pretty full and could barely finish two slices. 

However, the signature baked barbecue pork buns with pine nuts (HK$99) continue to be one of the best items on this menu. The filling features diced char siu mixed with pine nuts and enveloped in a bun that holds it together topped with a pineapple but dome for a touch of crispiness.

A friend new to Lung King Heen was about to rip the bun in half but we stopped her in time to advise her to eat it in bites instead. She was glad we gave her that tip and savoured each bite.

For dessert we had complimentary bowls of mango pudding topped with pomelo sago pudding! What a combo. It was only when we dug our spoons in did we realize there was mango pudding underneath.

Osmanthus jellies and puff rice cakes for dessert

We also had some petit fours of steamed osmanthus jelly, and puff rice cakes.

I was so full afterwards, but in particular sated by the food and really enjoyed the company too.

Lung King Heen
4/F, Four Seasons Hong Kong
8 Finance Street, Central
3196 8880 

Hotpot Controversy

Chua Lam has said hotpot has no culinary significance in Chinese culture

Chua Lam (pronounced choi lam) was a film producer for Shaw Brothers Studio turned food critic turned restaurateur who has gotten into some hot water recently.

A highly respected food columnist, he has written a lot about food, and even taken his fans on foodie tours around Asia. He even wrote in his column that to ensure his groups had the best food, he would taste test several restaurants per day.

Chua opened a Vietnamese pho eatery last year

Last year he put his money where his mouth is and opened a Vietnamese noodle shop called Chua Lam's Pho on Wellington Street in Hong Kong's Central district. I have yet to go but hear the soup base is excellent. No doubt there are lines out the door.

However, the other day he was interviewed on a mainland Chinese talk show called Day Day Up.

The host asked him if there was any Chinese dish Chua would want to get rid of, and he replied hotpot.

"Because hotpot is a cooking method totally lacking in cultural significance. You just throw some ingredients into a pot. I don't get what's so delicious about it," he said. "If hotpot fandom continues to grow, you'll see fewer and fewer chefs in the years to come."

His comments immediately ignited indignation online, with many professing their love of hotpot and questioning why it should be removed.

While hotpot is a popular way for friends to get together over a meal and talk why they cook their food, from a culinary standpoint, there is no skill involved, nor is it about having the best ingredients as they will all be cooked in the same pot and can easily be overcooked if you're not watching.

There's a variety of ingredients to cook in the hotpot

What Chua says is true, that if there are more hotpot restaurants, that eliminates the need of hiring chefs and so culinary standards drop.

I enjoy the odd hotpot, but not very often. I like the socializing aspect of it and it makes a meal more drawn out than if you ordered dishes in another restaurant. However it is your cooking skills that are put to the test, especially when poaching shrimp and fish for example, as well as cuts of beef and lamb.

Other ingredients like mushrooms, tofu and corn can be left simmering for a long time.

In the end there's a lot of scum at the top of the "broth", and it can be very oily from the meats cooking in there. My other concern about eating hotpot is that you can easily order too much food and feel compelled to finish it all, and have to waddle home afterwards, feeling very uncomfortable trying to digest all that food.

Mainland Chinese hotpot complete with hot charcoal

Thank goodness places like Haidilao offer half portions (and a noodle dance!), but that's not really the issue...

While people criticizing Chua claim there is cultural significance in hotpots, can someone explain?

Just seems like good business sense to just prepare ingredients and have customers cook their own food...

Picture of the Day: Homemade Dumplings

Our homemade dumplings are ready to be boiled and eaten!

Every year when I come back for the holidays, I make a batch of dumplings. Last year we used leftover turkey as well as ground pork with excellent results and even had my cousins visiting from Australia helping me wrap them.

This year we bought some ground pork and used leftover cabbage and mushrooms in the mix. There was already enough pork that we didn't include turkey this time, but forgot to add shrimp we had in the fridge.

We ate most of these dumplings tonight

My brother is amazed that I don't really follow a recipe -- I just kind of eyeball it in terms of portions, and try to make sure there's a good amount of vegetables in them.

As with every year, my mom insisted on doing a test run of the dumplings and we boiled two to see how they tasted -- I usually just go for it and wrap them all and see how they turn out later!

But we were good to go with an extra sprinkling of salt and another dash of sesame oil.

We almost used up four packages of wrappers (which we'll use up tomorrow with turkey and shrimp!) and after we cooked the dumplings, they made for a delicious dinner.

The dumplings had a nice crunchy texture thanks to the cabbage, and there was a hint of ginger too.

We've got a tray of leftover dumplings that's in the freezer that'll be good for my parents to eat!

Michelin Three-Starred Dim Sum

Lung King Heen's prized baked barbecue pork buns with pine nuts

After making a reservation almost a month ago, my friend YTSL and I headed to Lung King Heen, the Michelin three-starred restaurant in the Four Seasons Hong Kong for dim sum. She had tried it and raved about it and so I was curious enough to want to sample it too.

An idea of what the interior of the restaurant is like!

We sat down to lunch at 12.30pm, a bit surprised the place wasn't full already -- but then again perhaps tai tais want to sleep in on a Saturday...

YTSL suggested we order all the signature dim sum dishes, particularly the baked barbecued pork buns with pine nuts. Since there were two of us, the waiter told us most dishes came in three pieces and would we like to have two, with a price adjustment? What a novel idea.

However, we did keep the barbecue pork bun order to three pieces and YTSL was in bun heaven.

Baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken

The bun is fluffy and light, and manages to hold the filling, which is choc full of char siu and some pine nuts for added texture. The end result is a delicious combination that isn't oily or too buttery, meaty and slightly crunchy.

Another delicious pastry is the baked whole abalone puff with diced chicken, the abalone is small, sliced for easy consumption, but very meaty.

Steamed rice rolls are only available on weekends, so we made sure we ordered one of them -- the signature one of lobster and water chestnut in fermented bean sauce. It was very decadent, with lots of fresh lobster meat, added crunch from the water chestnut and very flavourful.

This week's weekend dim sum special was steamed beef balls, and they were executed well, very tender, and moist. We also liked the vegetarian steamed assorted mushroom and zucchini dumpling that was packaged in a translucent wrapper, very delicate and delicious.

1/2 portion of scallops with pear, shrimp paste, Yunnan ham

The steamed shrimp dumplings with wild mushrooms were a minor fault in terms of flavour -- it goes to show that the classic pairing shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots is done for a reason and shouldn't be altered. We liked the shrimp -- very meaty and crunchy, but the mushrooms didn't seem to go with the shrimps in terms of texture and flavour.

Oh well. Not to fret over. But we did like the scallops with a bit of shrimp in it, on a piece of pear base and encased in a white pastry with shrimp paste and Yunnan ham. Absolutely exquisite how it was packaged and executed.

We got a few desserts to try on the house, including a black sesame and walnut mousse (topped with bits of gold foil), osmanthus jelly, almond cookies, coconut glutinous rice cakes shaped like diamonds, and little balls of mango encased in desicated coconut.

A delicate flower with warm custard inside was delicious!

In the end both of us shelled out HK$460 each and the restaurant still wasn't packed by the time we left around 2.45pm. We were quite surprised to see other people eat quickly and then leave -- they must come here so frequently that it's not something they savour...

Lung King Heen

4/F, Four Seasons Hong Kong

8 Finance Street

Central

3196 8880

fourseasons.com/hongkong/

Picture of the Day: Mak's Noodles in Vancouver

One of the bite-sized wontons in my wonton noodle soup in Richmond

Yesterday we picked up our relatives from the airport who are visiting North America for the first time and since they were hungry after their flight from San Francisco, we decided to take them for a bite to eat at Mak's Noodles -- in Richmond, a municipality next to Vancouver.

It's in one of several strip malls in the area, and by the time we arrived, just before 3pm on a Sunday, the place was packed.

While this Mak's Noodles is a branch of the original in Hong Kong, the portion sizes are different. Here they are decent-sized bowls. The wontons are quite similar, small and there is a greater proportion of shrimp to pork. The noodles are good too, but the alkaline taste is not as pronounced and not cooked al dente.

Nevertheless, for a bowl of wonton noodles here it's CAD$5.75 (around HK$34), slightly cheaper than the HK$39 in Hong Kong -- and almost twice the portion of noodles.

The menu in the Richmond branch has many other dishes too, like congee, spring rolls and deep-fried dace balls.

Mak's Noodle House

Alexandra Plaza, 190-8291 Alexandra Road

Richmond

(604) 231 8141