Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong)

Time truly flies, it is the season for hairy crab once again! Instead of cooking myself this year, I kicked off the hairy crab fest at Man Wah (Mandarin Oriental). Truly an indulgence I may add. I was invited along with a few other fellow bloggers to attend the advance tasting for the special offering from 15 to 23 October during which the Crab Palace Restaurant in Shanghai will be visiting Man Wah, bringing a series of famous dishes including its famed Shanghai hairy crab. One of the special highlights will be the technical display of de-shelling crab in front of diners in three minutes! I do wonder how long it took them to master such a skill!

Travel - Macau (Mar 2011)

Macau also known as Macao to many, has become more than just a post Portuguese colony since its handover to China in 1999. It is now known as the Asia's Las Vegas with gambling revenue surpassing the whole Vegas according to many sources. New mega casinos are being built if not already for the next few years and revenue + profits are only expected to increase. I have been to Macau quite a few times over the past year or so but mostly for day trip and solely for food or shows and never really for gambling. Small bets are fun but in Macau, there is no such thing as small bets apparently. Over the years, I have been seeing the minimum bets on a simple Black Jack table increase faster than your heart can handle.  Then again I am not into gambling so not really a concern to me but it is an interesting observation nonetheless. What I am trying to say is not how much the casino industry is booming, everyone knows, but what we have been ignoring is how the huge flood of tourists and development focus have made us forget about the great food scenes in Macau, at least what's left of it. Not to mention how the popularity of some famous eateries have benefited commercially but deteriorated in quality over the years. I was here in Macau over the weekend sometime in March 2011 for my friend's wedding and instead of the popular or upscale eateries (which are over-abundance by the way), I went for some rather down to earth neighborhood joints for my daily food intake.

Travel - Singapore (Feb 2011) - Part 3/3

It is really hard to get tired of Hainanese Chicken Rice and during my stay in Singapore, everywhere I go I tried to spot places with Chicken Rice because I just love it so much. I once talked about the various school of approaches to preparing Hainanese Chicken, the blander vs the richer chicken. After quite a few meals at various restaurants that serve chicken rice, I find many carry similar flavors while their rice are what distinguish them apart. After a short stop at the Singapore Flyer (sorta boring to be honest), we head to the Singapore Food Trails under the Singapore Flyer which offers a place full of 1960s-themed food stalks. Of course Hainan Chicken Rice was on top of my food list! I read from a magazine or something which recommended this Bugis Street Famous Hainanese Chicken Rice, so perfect timing.

Travel - Taishan 台山 (China) - Day 1 (Feb 2011)

8am on a Saturday morning, after a mere 4 hours of sleep nap, I was on my way to Taishan 台山 (China) on a not so comfortable coach! I take my word back because it turned out the road trip required a change of coach ride once we passed Hong Kong customs near the boarder and at that very point I  truly missed the not so comfortable coach. Why I was on this trip is not of great importance, the fact was that I was on my way to Taishan, a 3 hours or so bus ride west / southwest of Hong Kong. It was famed as the birthplace of Volleyball in China but I was not here for that purpose, I was here for a short weekend trip which involved visit to a local high school and the filming set of Let The Bullet Fly 讓子彈飛. Of course it involved tasting of some local dishes.

Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (Da Dong Beijing Roast Duck)

My experience at Da Dong Roast Duck in Beijing was rather disappointing. Presentation seemed to have been the priority over food quality at the outlet I visited. It wasn't cheap either in relative terms but just did not live up to the expectation or what I have been told. That was six months ago. Last Friday I was kindly invited by Mandarin Oriental along with fellow foodies Patricia from 素顏天使 (Sù Yán Tiān Shǐ), @EdenaLow, @yummymummyasia, @mochachocolata and Wilson from WOM to try the dishes of Da Dong once again. Mandarin Oriental has invited the Da Dong team from Beijing to host meals at the hotel's Man Wah Restaurant during the week of 11 - 17 April 2011. Was it better than my previous experience? Definitely but to be fair, the meal I had was somewhat tailored for us so do treat this as a preview of what's on the menu. I do hope the Da Dong team can proudly depart knowing that simple elegant presentation they did for their Mandarin Oriental visit trump extravagance back home by miles.

Beijing on the 1st October ...

Showing his love for the country? 

I know this is a long overdue post but I have been quite busy eating around Asia and been sick (from the sudden weather change and not from the food of course!) for a little while as well. I am now back and will be posting accordingly to my old schedule! Anyhow, on the 1st Oct 2010, I spent the long weekend in Beijing, the capital of China (PRC) in celebration of its National Day.  I wasn't out of my mind to visit Beijing on its National Day when I KNOW there were CROWDS everywhere, I knew before departure and I wanted to experience that as well. One of the key events was the Flag Rising Ceremony on Tiananmen Square on 1 October, the morning following the night of our arrival.

Fu 1088 / 福1088 (Shanghai)

Fu 1088 is not your typical Shanghainese restaurant in the metropolitan of Shanghai, it is located in a refurbished 1930's mansion / villa in the middle of town. The atmosphere was excellent with crackling staircases, wooden decor and beautifully tilted bathrooms. Guests can enjoy a peaceful meal in the individual private dining rooms located through the 3 floors restaurant. Oh wait, almost forgot the mention that there is a RMB 300 per person minimum charge at this atypical Shanghainese restaurant.

Jesse Restaurant 吉士酒家 (Shanghai)

Yet another famous local joint for its traditional Shanghainese dishes. When it comes to fame, the amount of tourists somehow gives you a big picture of its popularity to a certain extend. At this place, I can hear more Cantonese and English then Mandarin being exchanged. So what exactly is Shanghainese cuisine? A very good question because it is a product / combination of several nearby regional (coastal) cuisines and it gradually transformed into its own category over the years. This is one of the key reasons I enjoy Shanghainese cuisine, for its diversity as well as its ability to appreciate different regional cuisines to distinct itself through continuous refinement. (There is a so-called New Jesse vs this "old" Jesse and I have been informed that they are different establishment?)

Ding Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 @ Shanghai

So far I have been to 3 countries that have Ding Tai Fung, namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shanghai. Frankly speaking, they all tasted about the same except for Taiwan's one which is still my favorite among the 3 for its overall services. We tried to order similar items so to compare but the result was pretty much as expected, at least for my taste bud: Rather unexciting.

Sha Tin 18

So another Peking duck place, what's so special about it? What's with the buzz on this hotel restaurant located in the middle of ... hummm .... Sha Tin / Tai Wai right beside The Chinese University of Hong Kong? I was here to find out. We actually walked in without a booking at around 9pm and soon after we were seated we asked for the whole Peking duck for the three of us. We were kindly informed that since we did not book in advance, longer wait time was required to prepare the duck. How long? Well, they said 1 hour but we got our duck within 20 mins, so what a larger buffer time they imposed to manage diner's expectation!

Toronto - May 2010 - Day 8 (Lobster Attack!)

On Day 8, I have recovered from my jet lag but I leave in 2 days time, how wonderful! Wasn't really in the mood to think or do anything else for that matter so I let my parents decide where to eat for lunch. Somehow we ended up at a Korean Supermarket which I was not aware of. Apparently it was opened several years back and quite popular among the Korean (and Chinese) community living uptown. At the back of the supermarket is a section dedicated to food, food courts to be exact.

Toronto - May 2010 - Day 1

The first thing I wanted after a 15-hour flight wasn't something fancy but rather something sweet and simple, something I missed very much! First stop: Tim Hortons! I missed the Double Double Coffee! The Double (Cream) Double (Sugar) Coffee wasn't strong at all but it was the memories, the childhood / teenage memories that matter the most! Forget about espresso for the time being, I grew up with Timmys!

Taipei March 2010 - Day 4 (More Food and Cuties Spotted!)

On Day 1 I went to bed with a full stomach.
On Day 2 I went to bed thinking about the huge uni I had for during lunch
On Day 3 I went to bed realizing that I might have 3 (or perhaps 4) stomachs!
On Day 4 ... I ... I went to bed wishing I have 2 more stomachs!

Our flight back to Hong Kong was scheduled to depart around 8pm so we got a whole day ahead of us! More sightseeing? More food? Why not both! We headed for 九份 Jiufen, located in the 瑞芳鎮 Ruifang township 瑞芳鎮, used to be a major mining destination and was once a very prosperous community. Currently it is a very popular tourist attraction for the buildings' unique architectural designs, or so it claims. Many of the buildings are built along the mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. One thing for certain, the buildings seem to remain relatively unchanged for the past several decades and there is only one road that leads to this hillside community.

One of the major stopovers was the old street of 九份 Jiufen which was very similar to Hong Kong's Stanley market but with a lot more street food - and honestly more varieties than the night market. I prefer this historical destination than the night market

Within 20 steps from the entrance, I already spotted some food to eat! Deep Fried Shrimp Balls! Yum!

Food was all around me once again! Another 20 steps forward we found another place selling fish balls in soup! We walked in while I was still chewing on the Shrimp Balls!

It was a Monday morning and the place was already so packed with locals and tourists! We took the seats inside with the little stools.

Appetizer was smoked duck and it was better than I expected from a touristy street food vendor. It was rich in flavors and the thin fatty layer between the meat and skin gave it a wonderful texture!

The main item was the varying sizes of fish balls!!! Look at that HUGE fish balls? I think they were called Fuzhou Fish Balls. Did I mention they were FILLED???

Oh my, one has to be very careful when eating this, the fillings were pretty hot and liquid with strong meaty flavors. Yum! (Thanks to Andrew's info, I am learning new things everyday! The traditional kind of Fuzhou Fish Balls have fillings made of shark meats but I personally was not able to distinguish that on the spot because the flavor was rather strong. Then again, just another reason for me to return again to try it out and ask!)

Alright it was time to walk it off, been eating too fast too much in the last 15 minutes. Another 30 steps of walk should do it right? So many to see and wonderful aroma everywhere!

Actually 25 steps were all I took after the Fish Balls meal because I spotted this Ice Cream Peanut Wrap!

It looked like a normal wrap but when you take a bite you will be surprised. Not from the cold ice cream or the peanuts, but the that little green thing! They added Chinese parsley / Coriander in it. Interesting indeed and certainly gave it a very unique taste / flavor.

Before going onto more food sighting I would like you to pay attention to the next food stop which sells 油蔥棵 (Rice Cake in English I suppose)

Not only was it interesting looking, it tasted wonderful as well. The texture resemble that of Chinese turnip cake only softer. The sauce and the fried garlic on top gave it most of the flavors. I liked it very much!

Why did I take so many picture of this particular store? Because the girl selling it is pretty! Don't you agree with me?? (*wink wink* if you are reading this 'pretty girl from 郵局前油蔥棵, care to join me for dinner? Can you teach me how to make this Rice Cake? ... email me please! ^^)

Alright I better move along because otherwise I would have bought the WHOLE thing! This lady selling sausage was just too scary!

One huge sheet of peanut toffee!

I am still not sure what there are, looked interesting though. Like I said, more food varieties here compared with the night market!

Wow, HUGE mushroom! I ordered a cup right away!

O Yum! Less sauce would do just fine!

Cute doggy running around :)

Hello MR! What are you doing? Brushing Teeth???

After walking and eating for about an hour we got tired and we picked this tea house for a little break.

The place was nice with all wooden decor including the tables and chairs, but it was the view that topped everything else! Did I mention it was the Pacific Ocean we were looking at?

Drink some fruit tea overlooking the Pacific Ocean somewhere up the mountain was definitely the highlight of the day!

Our day did not stop here, we continued out journey further up the hills and even went pass a little hole in the ground which used to be an mining entrance.

I don't like stairs! After a short walk up and down, I felt hungry already so time for more food! It was time for some sweets! We stopped by this dessert place which sell 芋圓 which resemble and similar to Italian Gnocchi in terms of shape and texture. There were many flavors and were placed in sweet soup for consumption.

We also went to the nearby gold / mining museum (Gold Ecological Park) whereby a Japanese prince once stayed during the period when Taiwan was still a colony

The museum was closed on a Monday so we can only walk around the garden and the surroundings. Almost all buildings were built or reconstructed in Japanese style perhaps to fit the historical background of this location / region.

There were so many stairs! I think I had enough stairs for this day! Good that this was out last stop before the airport so I can really take a nap! But after all these exercise, I was getting a bit hungry again ... I guess my food venture must continue back in Hong Kong.

I will be back Taipei! Wait for me!

Day 1 >> Taipei March 2010 - Day 1 (Eat, Eat and ... Eat)
Day 2 >> Taipei March 2010 - Day 2 (More Food please ... )
Day 3 >> Taipei March 2010 - Day 3 (I have a 3rd Stomach!)
Day 4 >> Taipei March 2010 - Day 4 (More Food and Cuties Spotted!)

Day 1 + Day 2 + Day 3 + Day 4

- End of Day 4 -