Dimsum, Fish and Noodles

For a while I thought I would leave Hongkong without my dimsum fix. But with a little effort and loads of guts, a couple of lady friends and I found ourselves amidst Hongkong locals in a local Tsing Yi restaurant.

Never has a meal been this amusing.

Though this restaurant was set in a mall, the servers barely speak English which was quite an experience for us. Waiting for our number to be called, I was personally amazed at how this resto was kept full and the turnover was just amazing. It would be a chef's dream business!

It was a late lunch for us three ladies and starving that we were, we were ready for anything, especially dimsum.

This is not your typical Chinese restaurant. When we were called, we found ourselves sharing a 10 seater table with two couples - an elderly couple and the other, two ladies. We were handed 3 leaflets which we assumed was our menu, all in Chinese characters and luckily, one of these had photos. Mind you, there was no English translation at all.


After a few minutes of deliberating what to order, a server brings around 3 tea pots. We assumed it was tea, but no, we found it was just hot water. We stopped ourselves, waited and watched what our seatmates will do with it - they used this to rinse their chopsticks, rice bowls and tea cups. We followed suit.

A second batch of tea pots arrived. This time, it was jasmine tea. Sipping our tea helped ease our fears, I knew then that the meal was going to be fine.

Another server came by to check on what we wanted - all these in a myriad of hand gestures, sign language and a lot of nodding heads just to make a point. We focused our attention on the single flyer with the fotos and started making our choices - all which looked familiar we marked, those that looked peculiar we ignored.

Our server managed to offer and convince us of their special for the day - "fish and noodles" she said. We all nodded in agreement, but had to order one more item since our meal would not be complete without rice. So we mentioned "Yang Chow" and somehow, our wonderful server managed to link it to "Chao Fan". Happily hungry, we waited.

Oh, and have I mentioned how much we wanted to order bottled water? We ended up with Coke instead - it is after all, a universal beverage and the only one they could easily fathom.

So here's what we got:


Our Chao Fan was perfect. This plateful of goodness had a lot of crunchy shrimps, was deliciously fragrant and had a light smokey aroma coming from the infusion of some sesame oil and shallots. Their pork siomai was a biteful of goodness characterized by its perfect texture and flavor that you don't need any more seasonings for it. We were also able to order siao long bao, steamed mini parcels stuffed with pork broth and ground pork mixture.



Remember the "Fish and Noodle" special of the day - well, here's it is, in fried format. We were laughing when we saw this because we were expecting to have a sort of steamed grouper with leeks and soy sauce type of preparation (kind of like Steamed Lapu-Lapu) and instead got this humble fried "galunggong" version. Oh and the noodles did not come out as Pancit or "fried noodles". What we had was "noodle soup", quite similar to chicken noodle soup (see photo above).



For me, nothing beats hongkong style siopao. I absolutely love these sticky sweet and savory steamed buns. What we got were stuffed with chicken and chives.



Imagine molo balls served with light soy sauce and chilies. These pebbles were stuffed with ground pork and some shrimps.


We also got a few sweet items from the menu, particularly this mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste. They also offer an empanada format with fried flaky dough similar to our "kaliskis" empanadas which is stuffed with the same filling.




So you think we finished it all?

Unforgettable

I dare say this has been one of the best meals I have had in my lifetime.
Such strong words, I know, but, it is true.
Funny, but this one meal was totally unplanned.


Thanks to a very good friend, a visit to the famed Aubergine Restaurant and Patisserie at the Global City, Fort Bonifacio finally pushed through.
The menu, specially created for Robinsons Land was enough to make me a true fan.



First off, our palates were set with an Amouse Bouche of Salmon Roulade stuffed with Mascarpone cheese and trickles of capers. This tiny bit of an item set the tone for what the night had for us - simple, flavorful but definitely wonderful.



Our first course came loaded with several items. To be honest, looking at the Truffle flavored Carpaccio of Australian beef tenderloin served with brie cheese mousse, did not make me too excited. I am not much of a raw meat fan. What I am though, is an explorer, and so I dig into these very thin coins of fillet and smear it with the rosettes of brie. Now a convert, I am happy I tried. The tender beef meat is coupled with a burst of pungent aroma and the salty, even nutty character of the cheese - definitely the right way to go to disturb the beef's calmness.
The flavor of the sea is also found in the same plate, as the carpaccio comes with a mini cake of a crabmeat-basil salad in Cognac cream accompanied by a tower of mesclun greens in passion fruit dressing.


Taking a sensory break from the glorious first course, I scan the area and was truly impressed with Aubergine's huge open kitchen. Imressively clean, it is armed with quite a number of student and professional chefs. Watching the kitchen brigade was like watching a choreographed performance, but this time, the result was still to be further savored through the night.



The second course was soup - a Tarragon infused chicken essence with pesto royal and parmesan stick. This pretty plate kept me entertained as tiny balls of zuchinni and carrots floated around the clear broth and nuggets of pesto pudding called for attention.


What can I say - the third course was pan-seared duck Foie Gras on Madeira glazed artichoke salad and carrot-leek straw. With its melt in your mouth goodness, I really did not care much about what it is served with. The thick dark glaze worked well with this piece of meat - confirming that this course is a meal for the high heavens.


The peach-guava sherbet came next, served in little tea pots. The teapots stuffed with dry ice provided a smokey effect which I have seen at Lolo Dad's restaurant in Malate. This trick though, never fails to keep me tickled. The duet of peach and guava provided a sweet and refreshing readiness to our palates for the main agenda.


That night, the main course was a choice between seafood or lamb. Carnivore that I am, I chose the lamb. This lamb duo of Grilled Australian lamb chop and Pommery mustard crusted lamb loin was served with walnut gnocchi, sauteed haricot verts and blue cheese sauce. Perfectly cooked and beautifully arranged, we were all glad with our choice heaving sighs of relief and contentment.



Not quite ready to end the meal yet, our dessert came with a duo of shiny-shimmery Valrhona Manjari chocolate with a generous amount of Champagne sabayon and garnished with fragrant pink pepper tuille and marinated strawberry segments. With our freshly brewed coffee, us ladies all agreed that this meal is really one we will lways remember.

Arya Sure!

Arya Persian Restaurant located at the Podium Mall was where I found myself after a strong craving for Biryani rice and curries.

As always, I felt like a queen when there. Their service is impeccable and the food is consistent. I do not however, recommend going to this place alone - portions are good to share and for you to enjoy a variety, be sure to bring the entire family or barkada.

Here's sharing with you some of my favorite items at Arya;


The red meat kebab platter includes grilled beef and lamb items and a choice of roti or rice to go with it. If however, you want a leaner choice, there is the seafood kebab platter as well.


This roti served with tomato curry is a nice starter to the meal. Cut into quarters, dip each piece into the curry sauce for a nice tangy-chili burst of flavor.


The fatoush salad is actually tossed green salad complete with olives and vinaigrette and instead of the usual bread croutons, roti pieces were toasted to give it a distinct crunch.




My favorite - chicken biriani. Cooked in a variety of spices - cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, ginger, garlic, onions - it is absolutely delicious. It is simmered slowly thus giving it a melt in your mouth texture, with its meat literally falling off the bone. Perfect with rice!