DimSumDolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

2009 In Review

It's that time of the year again where it calls for reflections on the past year. Why is that time seems to pass at an exponential rate the older one becomes? Time is slipping by way too fast - there doesn't seem to be enough of it for me to chase the dreams I have in my head, to pursue those desires, to reach out to the stars that lie so far beyond.

I would say 2009 has been a memorable year marked by a big milestone - the relocation to Hong Kong. While it has had its ups and downs, it has been a good change nonetheless and something I need at this point in my life.

Other than that, the only other memorable thing for me this year was my trip to South Korea in May. Thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the country. Great food, lovely scenery, clean, safe and interesting culture.

Next April I have Fukuoka to look forward to. Can't wait to visit Japan again! Other than that, maybe I should resolve to date more, or rather just to find people to date. Right now I can't even say I've gone on a bad date! Ha!

Tonight I fly home to Singapore for a few days. When I wrote that on my Facebook status, that I was heading home, one of my friends commented, asking where exactly is home for me??? I guess Singapore will always be home home, know what I mean? But I'm a bit of a restless soul, so who knows where I'll find myself in time to come?

Anyhow, here's to more adventures in 2010!

Log 'N Roll

I REALLY think I should be given a VIP card by G.O.D. I've certainly gotta be their best customer 'cos once again, I've bought something. I went into G.O.D. yesterday with the intention of buying some gifts for some people (which I did do) but I also happened to see this extremely cute kitchen towel dispenser.

I DID walk away from it, telling myself that I didn't need it. But its cute factor was too hard to resist - I ended up backtracking and picking it up. So as the roll become smaller, the squirrel and the plant will go lower and lower. When you don't see them anymore, it's time to replace the roll. I know, it's a lame purchase, but what the heck!

I Want to Travel Forever ... Sigh ...

"Is there anything, apart from a really good chocolate cream pie and receiving a large unexpected check in the post, to beat finding yourself at large in a foreign city on a fair spring evening, loafing along unfamiliar streets in the long shadows of a lazy sunset, pausing to gaze in shop windows or at some church or lovely square or tranquil stretch of quayside, hesitating at street corners to decide whether that cheerful and homey restaurant you will remember fondly for years is likely to lie down this street or that one? I just love it. I could spend my life arriving each evening in a new city."

~ Bill Bryson

Tai Mo Shan 大帽山

After all that eating I've been doing, I had to get rid of some of the calories - though it's not quite enough to help me lose some weight. Right now I feel like a bear going into hibernation during winter. It's getting cold in HK and I'm eating more. My body also seems to be going into hibernation mode by storing layers and layers of fat, a large majority of which centres at my tummy. Gosh, I look like I have a baby bump. It's embarrassing ... a baby bump with no baby inside. Eeeks. But as long as I'm living in HK, this baby bump is unlikely to go away. I think the only way I'm ever going to be thin is if I lived in somewhere in Africa where good food is scarce.

Anyway, in my bid to expand some energy, I went hiking on Sunday. This time it was up Tai Mo Shan (大帽山) the highest peak in Hong Kong at 957m. Its name translates literally to 'Big Hat Mountain'.

This picture was taken on my way to the meet-up point at Tai Po Market MTR station. I'm quite pleased with this shot taken with the Colour Accent function in my camera. I got on at Yau Ma Tai, the first stop of the Kwun Tong line (green line on the MTR map) hence it was rather empty.

The hike of the day was to hike long Stage 8 of the Maclehose Trail which is the route for the Oxfam Trailwalker charity run that takes place in Hong Kong every November. The Trailwalker route is 100km long that runs across the New Territories from Sai Kung to Tsuen Wan. The charity run requires people to be in teams of four. You have a maximum of 48 hours to finish the run as a team. Most people do it overnight. The tough Gurkhas from Nepal hold the record for doing it in 11+ hours. If insanity does strike, I'll do it next year ... am kinda considering it.

Way down below is the hustle and bustle of the busy suburbs. It's so therapeutic for the soul to be up here with a nice view, fresh cool air and tranquility. I find that I need to get away from all the crowds and small spaces every weekend to recharge myself. It's the only way to stay sane in this city.

Once again, I'm awestruck by Hong Kong's natural beauty. While climbing up I'm mentally cursing myself for subjecting myself to such torture, but once up there, all that effort is rewarded by lovely views. The scene is made all that much sweeter 'cos of all that effort put into getting there.

My fellow hikers and I passed through Lead Mine Pass enroute to Tai Mo Shan and we ended up in some place called Tsuen Kam. While hiking, we came across numerous mounds of cow dung. Later, we spotted wild buffaloes grazing in the grassland.

The Hong Kong weather Observatory sits at the top of Tai Mo Shan, and is closed to the public. Hence there is no way going right to the summit. But anyway, we were close enough - probably just about 25m shy of the peak. It was hard work getting up as there were many steep slopes and stairs to climb. Do this every other day and you're guaranteed buns of steel!

Tai Cheong Bakery 泰昌餅家

Yes, yes, I know Tai Cheong Bakery has been written about millions of times in newspapers and many other blogs because it has the most famous egg tarts (蛋撻) in Hong Kong and possibly the world, thanks to former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten and all the brouhaha that was created when it was forced to close down its original outlet due to high rent back in 2005. Hey, I remember queuing up for 45 minutes with fellow food blogger Chaxiubao back in May 2005 in their last few days of operation at their original outlet.

Hong Kongers were so dismayed at the impending closure of their favourite egg tart store that they managed to find another shop space down the road from their original outlet for them to reopen. So thankfully Tai Cheong's egg tarts haven't disappeared from Hong Kong.

Anyhow, I figured I can't be in Hong Kong and not post an entry about this egg tart institution. After being made famous by Patten's affection for them, these tarts are now affectionately also known as 肥彭蛋撻, literally translated to 'Fat Patten's egg tarts'.

The bakery doesn't sell egg tarts only - you can also buy other traditional Cantonese pastries like 沙翁 (a form of puff that's deep fried and sprinkled with sugar), chicken pie, bread, egg rolls, sesame candy, osmanthus pudding, sesame pudding, wife's pastry, sponge cakes, etc. But really, the star is the egg tart.

I can never resist these yellow darlings especially when they're fresh out of the oven. What I love about Hong Kong is that I can get freshly baked egg tarts at almost every street corner where there's a Mom-and-Pop traditional bakery. On weekday mornings, I especially love the smell of freshly baked egg tarts in the morning when I walk past a bakery on my way to the bus stop where I catch a bus to work. Anyway, I like the shortcrust pastry egg tarts more than I like the flaky pastry (酥皮) ones. Tai Cheong egg tart's shortcrust pastry are so buttery and delicious.

I also found out that certain branches (yes, they have expanded!) sell it cheaper. The Wan Chai branch (Shop No. 2, G/F, 74-80 Johnston Road) sells one for HKD4.5 but the main branch and the one in Causeway Bay (Shop B Jardine Centre, 50 Jardine's Bazaar) sell it at HKD5 each. I suppose these places have higher rent.

Other branches can be found in Queensway, Mong Kok, Kowloon Bay, Diamond Hill and Sha Tin. The main shop is located at 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central.

Tastings Wine Bar

One of the most interesting things about Central is that there is a good mix of both fancy and modern versus old and traditional eateries. They somehow co-exist to form this vibrant and eclectic gastronomical scene in the pulsating heart of Hong Kong. In a nondescript lane an offshoot from Wellington Street sits Tastings Wine Bar. It's a nice place to go for pre- or post-dinner drinks. Happy Hour runs from 5-8pm.

Bottles of wine stored in sleek fridges for tastings. You slot a pre-paid card in and you choose whether you want a tasting portion, half-glass or full-glass. It'll also be able to record the wines you've tried so that you can keep track of the ones you've had.

The bar

My friend, R, and I ordered the Happy Hour appetiser platter that consisted of buschettas, mini beef slices and cherry tomatoes on a small slice of baguette, and bite-sized slices of pizza. I had a Riesling and he a Cabernet Sauvignon. Loved the beef slices with cherry tomatoes, but the other two tasted very ordinary.

The cellar

You can also their cheese platter. Take your pick of three cheeses that are on their menu. We had the roquefort, parmesan reggiano and brie de meaux. There's also blue cheese available for those who love them.

We left at about 7.45pm, having hung out there for close to 1.5 hours already. By that time, the place was filled with young, mobile professionals in Central who has just knocked off work. It's a pretty nice spot to hang out for wine lovers. I also like the idea of allowing people to buy tasting portions so that they don't have to burn a huge hole in their wallet in order to try a new wine.

Tastings Wine Bar, Basement
Yuen Yick Building, 27 & 29 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 2523 6282

Bo Innovation

My friend, R, the travel geek was in town for a few days and as is the usual case when we meet, we ate a lot. He flew off this morning and I feel a little sad that I have one less foodie friend to hang out with. Last night, we went to Bo Innovation and were impressed by Demon Chef Alvin Leung's (that's how he brands himself) creations that made use of scientific knowledge to bring out the best in the fusion of ingredients from various types of cuisines.

Our booking was made for 7.30pm but found that we were only the second table to be seated. As the night progressed, more people came and the inside seating area was filled by about 9pm - and this was a Monday night. The restaurant does only one seating per night so best to make reservations.

The chef's table seats only six people. If you want those spots, definitely make reservations.

I love the table setting. There are two menus for the night - the tasting menu (six courses for HKD680+) and the chef's menu (13 courses) that costs double the price. Our pockets weren't THAT deep so we went for the former. For wine, we chose a Cabernet from Napa Valley.

Raw oyster with snow pea shoots, ginger snow and some sauce that was both slightly sweet and citrus at the same time. Sorry, can't quite remember what it was. Think it was kumquat or something. Forgot to take notes. I loved the play of flavours in the mouth.

The second appetiser was this squid ink noodles topped with raw sea urchin and dried shrimp flakes. To eat it, you have to mix everything up first and then pick it up with a pair of chopsticks. That was the eating style as recommended by the waitress anyway. Each dish was explained to us in detail by the wait staff who served it. I loved the mix of Italian (the squid ink noodles), Japanese (raw sea urchin) and Chinese (the dried shrimp flakes) cuisines in this dish.

Seared scallop carpaccio with snow peas and honey miso sauce and a few pieces of guoba (锅巴) to add a crunchy texture. 锅巴 is a type of rice cracker that's commonly used in Sichuan cuisine.

The coolest dish on the menu had to be this molecular xiaolongbao (小笼包). And no, this is no egg yolk. This post-modern interpretation of the traditional dumpling has the xiaolongbao broth wrapped in a skinned made from gelatined broth and topped with a strip of red vinegar. It slids into your mouth and the broth squirts out with the slightest bite. Absolutely delightful and smart!

The last appetiser was this smoked trout topped with a vinegared bak choy and ginger jelly. The order in which to eat it is to have the smoked trout first, followed by the bak choy and then the ginger jelly. I loved the smokey flavour of the trout and the sourish bak choy followed by the tangy ginger jelly were wonderful palate cleansers. Those black specks are black bean powder.

My main course was a piece of smoked pomfret with a piece of foie gras topped with apple foam. The apple foam was a delightful pairing with the rich flavours coming from the smokey fish and the oh-so-sinful-but-pleasurable foie gras. My friend went for the wagyu beef (Grade M9+) that sat on top of some steamed rice rolls (肠粉) and laced with black truffle oil - another smart take on a traditional street food found on the streets of Hong Kong. For the wagyu beef as a main, you'd have to pay an extra HKD350 for a 4oz piece and HKD550 for an 8oz piece. That piece of beef was tender, juicy and robust in flavour. Enough said. It's wagyu - nothing else needs to be said.

Flyfish roe fried rice. One of the best fried rice I've ever had. The tiny flyfish roe gave the rice a crunchy texture and a beautiful orange sunset colour. It almost looks like Indian bryani rice!

The dessert was banana slow poached in Chinese wine served atop silky smooth chocolate ganache. The humble banana has never tasted so good. I'm beginning to think this Chinese wine paired with chocolate combination is my favourite food duo du jour.

To prepare your senses for the next course, a small bowl of petals is brought out and liquid nitrogen is poured over it. You're supposed to inhale the sweet floral smells and enjoy the visuals. I call this stage 'smelling the roses' cos life should be about that and eating and enjoying one's food should be a part of it.

The petit-fours were these sweet little morsels served in a cute little cage (they were stacked on top of one another and there was a cover). These petit-fours all had hawthorn (山楂) used in them. Bite into that sesame ball and a rush of hawthorn juice bursts into your mouth. I'm not a fan of macaroons because I usually find them too sweet. But this rose-pink one was so lovely in colour and tasted great with its light hawthorn flavour. The slightly pink cube is a hawthorn-flavoured marshmallow that melts in your mouth and the last nougat-tasting morsel had hazelnuts and hawthorn in it.

After finishing our petit-fours, we thought we had come to the end of our meal. We were stuffed really and I don't know how I would manage the chef's menu had I gone for it. But as luck would have it, my friend, R, bumped into a friend at the restaurant. His friend and his friend's date had gone for the chef's menu. The date couldn't stomach the main she ordered and his friend sent it over to us instead. So we had an extra course. Wahahaha.

Our bonus round: Wild pigeon with red rice topped with longan (龙眼) sauce. The pigeon didn't taste too gamey and was cooked to perfection. The longan sauce was also a great accompaniment to the rice and pigeon.

Similar to a night out at the theatre, Leung was like the director who put together this wonderful sensory experience with the help of his staff who were a fantastic cast. Service from the wait staff was impeccable and there's even a staff member waiting to hand you a hot towel when you step out of the washroom!

The restaurant deserves its two stars awarded by the Michelin guide, and even though it'll burn a huge hole in your pocket, it's worth every penny.

Bo Innovation
Shop 13, 2/F J Residence
60 Johnston Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
MTR station: Wan Chai (Exit A3)
Tel: +852 2850 8371

I Want a Little Strawberry

Because it's Friday, here's a bimbotic blog entry for my lovely readers who are out there. Many thanks to those of you who dropped me a note to say you're still reading! :)

So you're probably asking what's with the strawberry? Well, a month ago I was watching this Taiwanese idol drama series (偶像劇) online. The drama series was called 败犬女王 and its English title was My Queen. As with all idol dramas, it's always about a romance between pretty boy and pretty girl. My Queen is about the romance between a 25-year-old guy, who's still studying to become a heart surgeon, and a 33-year-old career woman who works as an editor of a tabloid magazine.

One thing to mention about the series title is that, if the Chinese title were literally translated, it would actually be 'The Queen of Failed Dogs'. The term 败犬 (Bai4 Quan3) literally translates to 'failed dog'. 女王 means 'queen'. In Taiwan, 败犬 is used to refer to a woman who's still single after the age of 30. The term was 'imported' from a Japanese novel published in 2003 that referred to a beautiful, capable yet single woman (and with no prospectors in sight) above 30 as a 败犬. Like a stray unwanted by families, a 败犬 is discriminated against by society.

Well, as far as derogatory terms referring to singlehood go, this one has to be one of the most demeaning of all! I was very indignant after I learnt about it. Hey, at least being called a 'bitch' carries a modicum of spunk in its connotations. 败犬 is like a dog walking away in defeat and shame with its tail hanging between its legs. Hmmmpfff!

Anyway, the drama series is about the romance between this younger man and older woman. It's a well-written drama and single women over 30 can definitely identify with the issues faced by the female protagonist played by Cheryl Yang (楊謹華). The male protagonist is played by the oh-so-cute Ethan Ruan (阮經天) who has an impish smile that can melt all female hearts. He's currently the king of idol dramas by the way. His oh-too-perfect character is so sweet and I think the writers are just out to give us single women over 30 some hope and tell us not to write off younger men.

After a series of events and the female protagonist fighting off her own - and society's - resistance to the older woman-younger man romance, the two of them eventually get together. She endearingly calls him her '小草莓' (Little Strawberry). For those of you who don't know, the Taiwanese call people born between 1980 and 1991 the Strawberry Generation (草莓族) - an allusion to strawberries being fragile and getting bruised easily. Hence it refers to the fact that people born in that time period having been overly protected by their parents, and having grown up in a time of economic prosperity, they have never known hardship. They are thus unable to withstand pressure or endure hard work. So basically they are the kind of people whom you'd want to say 'Please harden the f**k up.' to.

But hey, if little strawberries came in the form of Ethan Ruan, please send me a crateful of them, thank you very much!!!!

Christmas Cheer

Two Sundays ago I went to Flower Street (花墟街) , that's located in the absolutely crazy, but oh-so-Hong Kong district of Mong Kok (旺角), and came across this shop by the corner selling all sorts of Christmas decorations. One step into the shop and you couldn't help but be infected by all that Christmas cheer. It felt like Christmas Wonderland, and even the most cynical of souls would have forced out a smile. I was feeling miserable that day because of something, but stepping into that shop and spending an hour and a half in there with my friend, deciding what to decorations to buy, really cheered me up.

So here's what I've done to my little abode with the decorations I bought that day.

My tiny Christmas tree in the corner

My Christmas tree is a rather interesting and beady version of the actual one. I love it. :) It has green, red and silver beads at the end of each 'branch' which is bendable.

A snowman on the door knob that only cost me HKD16 which is approximately SGD3. A pretty good and cheap find!

A Christmas garland with fake red berries and small little pine corns (these are real) hangs by the entrance to my room. I had intended to hang it on my front grill but decided it added more cheer inside the flat where I could see it.

So even though I don't celebrate Christmas in a religious sense, I'm pretty happy with the little Christmas cheer I've brought into my tiny abode!