It's always dangerous to have friends and family vesting in Hong Kong. Not only there's the stress of showing them a good time, there is inevitably over-eating, given the amount of good food here in Hong Kong. Last weekend, I had a double threat, with my family and my friend visiting from the US.
On Sat, I went to Chung's Cuisine with my family for Cantonese food. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of canto food but this restaurant was delish. The barbeque meat (including goose) was simply delightful. Everything was cooked simply perfectly. The vegetables were very fresh. The fried rice did not try to entice the consumer through its greasiness, but through the quality of the rice and ingredients plus the perfectly timed degree of cooked for the rice. My favorite, however, had to be the baozi. It's similar to the shanghai xiaolongbao. The skin was so tender and soft with perfectly juiced filings. Overall, it was fabulous and definitely worth a visit. Especially since it's located in the food forum in Time Square in Causeway Bay, a major site to check out for any visitor.
On Sunday, I went to dim sum in City hall with my friend from the U.S. Cantonese Dim Sum is one of the best treat you can have. It rivals with brunch as my favorite eating activity. Carts after carts of deliciousness just come and come and you eat until you can eat no more. The mango sago and mango pudding for desert are key. For dinner, we went to Din tai fung, ( the famous Taiwanese restaurant in Kowloon. The greatest part of Taiwanese food that it is just all the best food in China combined into one. The Xiaolongbao (mentioned previously) are the best and 2 is really not enough for anyone. The vegetables were cooked to perfection as well. Deng tai fung can be found around the world in Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, and of course, Taipei. And the Hong Kong Branch has just been awarded a Michelin star in December.
Monday was Valentine's day so we wanted to make sure we had a table for our visitor from abroad. When I called Sijie, the Sichuan Private Kitchen in Wanchai, it took me five minutes to convince them that I wanted a reservation for 3 people, not 2 people. The guy even tried to convince me to put a table for 2 and a table for one. This is all in Chinese so I don't' believe it was a language barrier. Anyways, Sijie, located in someone's apartment, is the best Sichuan food I've had before. For 3 people, we can order 2 cold dishes and 4 hot dishes. The Sichuan cold noodles (dan dan mian) are simply to die for. I can just have that and be happy. The pork belly is of exquisite quality. Before the hot dishes even came, we were beginning to feel full. My favorite hot dishes are the Tomato soup with fish (so much fish meat that there were at least a couple of fishes in a huge bowl of food) and Drunken duck. I stuffed myself until I could move no more. The only time I have ever been so uncomfortably full was when I had the pasta tastings meal at Babbo in New York City. This might actually be better than that.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
A day in an ancient city
There are a few perks on going to the middle of nowhere in China. On the second day of the new year, I went on a day trip with my cousin to Pingyao, Shanxi. We took an early D-train to Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi. Before the ultraspeed trains, it would take over 7 hours on the train to get to Taiyuan from Shijiazhuang given the trains have to circle around the mountains in Shanxi (in Chinese, the province means West Mountains). However, on the D-train, it took 80 minutes, and it is relatively cheap, $168 RMB for a roundtrip ticket (~$25 -$30 bucks). The development of high-speed infrastructure is truly amazing in China.
From Taiyuan, my aunt and uncle picked us up for a day trip to Pingyao. Only 100 km, Pingyao is the best preserved ancient Chinese walled city in the country. Made onto the list for NY Times' top places to visit in 2011, Pingyao offers a traditional feel of China in a holistic and complete manner. Two of the best sites of Pingyao is the first bank/exchange house of China (Rishenchang) and the County Government Office (Yamen). One of the most profound things after visiting those two places have been that things really have been the same since the Qing dynasty. According to our tour guide, the head of the government of Pingyao, equivalent of a mayor or chief justice, gets paid 45 liang (Chinese currency then) for a year of service and lives at Yamen, this grand collection of courts, living rooms, waiting rooms, and back gardens complete with its own temple. A highly-skilled worker at the exchange house, responsible for writing the letters in code to communicate across branches, would be paid 200 liang a year. I guess it pays to go into finance back in the old days too. Even back then, to work for an exchange house, one has to have passed several levels of national exams and be extremely qualified academically for the jobs are highly desirable (but in our case not so much after a few years).
From Taiyuan, my aunt and uncle picked us up for a day trip to Pingyao. Only 100 km, Pingyao is the best preserved ancient Chinese walled city in the country. Made onto the list for NY Times' top places to visit in 2011, Pingyao offers a traditional feel of China in a holistic and complete manner. Two of the best sites of Pingyao is the first bank/exchange house of China (Rishenchang) and the County Government Office (Yamen). One of the most profound things after visiting those two places have been that things really have been the same since the Qing dynasty. According to our tour guide, the head of the government of Pingyao, equivalent of a mayor or chief justice, gets paid 45 liang (Chinese currency then) for a year of service and lives at Yamen, this grand collection of courts, living rooms, waiting rooms, and back gardens complete with its own temple. A highly-skilled worker at the exchange house, responsible for writing the letters in code to communicate across branches, would be paid 200 liang a year. I guess it pays to go into finance back in the old days too. Even back then, to work for an exchange house, one has to have passed several levels of national exams and be extremely qualified academically for the jobs are highly desirable (but in our case not so much after a few years).
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Flying Shenzhen Airlines
Air travel in Hong Kong is the most reasonable and pleasant (or as pleasant as air travel can be) air travel I have been. Shenzhen airlines through Shenzhen, less than 100 km away, is a whole new story.
To begin, it flies to remote cities like Shijiazhuang (I was there for Chinese New Year, hence the need to return). The airport there is pretty ghetto for a city of over 4 million people. There were only 10 gates plus the bathroom is more foul than most restuarants I have been to. Un-befitting of an airport where people pay quite a bit of money to travel.
On the airplane, the shows were a combination of chinese and english shows, which made sense given the growing internationalization of the country and its people. However, Kunfu Panda was only 30 minutes in when the airplane tv shutted down... you would think they can time the shows properly for a 2 hour flight. However, the most exciting thing happened after the TV shutted down.
The flight attendants led the passangers on exercises of neck, shoulder, and various other joints to help the passengers relax and feel better about the long flight. Seriously! It was like the warm ups people did together in gym classes in high school. Except over 75% of the grown adults on the planes were following the flight attendants on the silly rituals!
After landing, it was fairly easy to locate the counter for buses to Hong Kong, a hot pink bus that carried the passengers to Kwoloon station. While very easy and straight forward, going through customs in Shenzhen to Hong Kong was a total nightmare. There were at least over 1000 people in line and took well over an hour. However, I was told by many it was not the norm and it was probably due to Chinese New Year. Still, I felt like I was literally going to drown in the sea of people as people sprinted toward customs through the metal gates. Over 50 police officers were present to keep the order.
To begin, it flies to remote cities like Shijiazhuang (I was there for Chinese New Year, hence the need to return). The airport there is pretty ghetto for a city of over 4 million people. There were only 10 gates plus the bathroom is more foul than most restuarants I have been to. Un-befitting of an airport where people pay quite a bit of money to travel.
On the airplane, the shows were a combination of chinese and english shows, which made sense given the growing internationalization of the country and its people. However, Kunfu Panda was only 30 minutes in when the airplane tv shutted down... you would think they can time the shows properly for a 2 hour flight. However, the most exciting thing happened after the TV shutted down.
The flight attendants led the passangers on exercises of neck, shoulder, and various other joints to help the passengers relax and feel better about the long flight. Seriously! It was like the warm ups people did together in gym classes in high school. Except over 75% of the grown adults on the planes were following the flight attendants on the silly rituals!
After landing, it was fairly easy to locate the counter for buses to Hong Kong, a hot pink bus that carried the passengers to Kwoloon station. While very easy and straight forward, going through customs in Shenzhen to Hong Kong was a total nightmare. There were at least over 1000 people in line and took well over an hour. However, I was told by many it was not the norm and it was probably due to Chinese New Year. Still, I felt like I was literally going to drown in the sea of people as people sprinted toward customs through the metal gates. Over 50 police officers were present to keep the order.
Monday, February 7, 2011
A real dose of Chinese New Year after 16 years
After 16 years, I have finally arrived back at Shijiazhuang for a Chinese New Year celebration with my grandmother and the rest of my extended family. To be honest, I was really nervous. I haven't been back for so long that I barely remember what traditions are relevant for Chinese New Year, especially since all the changes China has undergone in the past 2 decades since I have been away. When I left China, it was quite poor and still firmly fell into the developing country catagory; now, China is an economic superpower and a symbol of new wealth for the rest of the world. Of course, all the traditions would have changed as well.
When I arrived the night before, it was so exciting. Everyone as chatting; remembering their old days. Arranging the menu for the lunch the eve of was a big deal. The number of dishes must be even, but can't be 14 because it's unlucky. Everyone decide don 16 because it's even and it's a lucky number. There must be the right amount of fish, meat, cold dishes, warm dishes, types of dishes.
After that, I checked out the automatic shuffling Mah-Jong machine that my uncle bought. I managed to play with my three uncles and even won a few hundred RMB. Beginner's luck I'm sure and I'm probably going to lose it back the next evening. However, it is definitely much more interesting than cards. Just the table itself is amazing.
When we woke up, the first thing was my family went to my grandfather's tomb to burn paper and pay our respects. Only the sons were allowed to go. The daughters and sons-in-law were expected to stay home and cook the 16 dishes that was ordered the night before. Then, lunch was an intense affair with too much food. Everyone was chatty and excited that we came back for the holidays. After the the afternoon nap, everyone gathered around to make dumplings from scratch. Actually, everyone was delightfully surprised on how good I was at making dumplings (my parents and I did it almost every new year to celebrate by ourselves). Dumplings from scratch are the most delicious dumplings you'll ever had. We had leek and pork dumplings and lamb and cabbage dumplings. This is why I am so skeptic of dumpings in restaurants. Really no restuarant can compare with the Guo family dumpling enterprise.
Evening activities involved setting off all sorts of firecrackers. All my uncles (40 and 50 year old men) seemed like teenagers setting off firecracker and firecracker. Throughout the evening, there was alwasy firecrackers and fireworks in the background. Not a minute goes by without something going off in the neighborhood. Then, promptly at 8PM, the Chinese New Year Eve Celebration Broadcast comes on live on every channel in China and the entire family gather around for the 5 hour telecast. It's a mix of songs, dances, and stand-up comedies. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the new celebraties are and what the cultural jokes meant so it was actually a quite boring event for me. The obvious comedies I get, but the skillful ones, especially the ones that uses cultural references and word tricks are quite over my head.
On Chinese New Year, there's nothing really to do given everything is pretty much closed or closed early. With nothing to do, my entire family would gather around to talk about the old village stories. Really lots of interesting stories from the country-side in China. First of all, it seems that none of my father's sibiling knew that they had a half-sibling still in the countryside. Today was the first time my father told them after knowing for 20 years. My aunt and uncle were dumbfounded.
Then, I was told that in the village days, lots of domestic violence happened. If a guy beats the wife, it's told that the wife's brothers have the right to go make the husband's life total hell, including beating him up. (This is instead of police presence I guess?). Also, I was told that if the son does not perform the proper filial piety for his parents, the uncles have the right to beat him up too. However, the wife does belong to the husband's family and is expected to serve the husband and his parents dutifully.
In the village days, for Chinese New Year Eve and day, the sons would return with his family while the daughters would be with her husband's family. On the Second day of the New Year, the daughters would return to the family to pay her respects. Red packets are expected on the Chinese New Year for those younger than college-age. Even I have to give packets now that my cousin has a son. My first time giving red packets. Man, I feel old now.
When I arrived the night before, it was so exciting. Everyone as chatting; remembering their old days. Arranging the menu for the lunch the eve of was a big deal. The number of dishes must be even, but can't be 14 because it's unlucky. Everyone decide don 16 because it's even and it's a lucky number. There must be the right amount of fish, meat, cold dishes, warm dishes, types of dishes.
After that, I checked out the automatic shuffling Mah-Jong machine that my uncle bought. I managed to play with my three uncles and even won a few hundred RMB. Beginner's luck I'm sure and I'm probably going to lose it back the next evening. However, it is definitely much more interesting than cards. Just the table itself is amazing.
When we woke up, the first thing was my family went to my grandfather's tomb to burn paper and pay our respects. Only the sons were allowed to go. The daughters and sons-in-law were expected to stay home and cook the 16 dishes that was ordered the night before. Then, lunch was an intense affair with too much food. Everyone was chatty and excited that we came back for the holidays. After the the afternoon nap, everyone gathered around to make dumplings from scratch. Actually, everyone was delightfully surprised on how good I was at making dumplings (my parents and I did it almost every new year to celebrate by ourselves). Dumplings from scratch are the most delicious dumplings you'll ever had. We had leek and pork dumplings and lamb and cabbage dumplings. This is why I am so skeptic of dumpings in restaurants. Really no restuarant can compare with the Guo family dumpling enterprise.
Evening activities involved setting off all sorts of firecrackers. All my uncles (40 and 50 year old men) seemed like teenagers setting off firecracker and firecracker. Throughout the evening, there was alwasy firecrackers and fireworks in the background. Not a minute goes by without something going off in the neighborhood. Then, promptly at 8PM, the Chinese New Year Eve Celebration Broadcast comes on live on every channel in China and the entire family gather around for the 5 hour telecast. It's a mix of songs, dances, and stand-up comedies. Unfortunately, I have no idea who the new celebraties are and what the cultural jokes meant so it was actually a quite boring event for me. The obvious comedies I get, but the skillful ones, especially the ones that uses cultural references and word tricks are quite over my head.
On Chinese New Year, there's nothing really to do given everything is pretty much closed or closed early. With nothing to do, my entire family would gather around to talk about the old village stories. Really lots of interesting stories from the country-side in China. First of all, it seems that none of my father's sibiling knew that they had a half-sibling still in the countryside. Today was the first time my father told them after knowing for 20 years. My aunt and uncle were dumbfounded.
Then, I was told that in the village days, lots of domestic violence happened. If a guy beats the wife, it's told that the wife's brothers have the right to go make the husband's life total hell, including beating him up. (This is instead of police presence I guess?). Also, I was told that if the son does not perform the proper filial piety for his parents, the uncles have the right to beat him up too. However, the wife does belong to the husband's family and is expected to serve the husband and his parents dutifully.
In the village days, for Chinese New Year Eve and day, the sons would return with his family while the daughters would be with her husband's family. On the Second day of the New Year, the daughters would return to the family to pay her respects. Red packets are expected on the Chinese New Year for those younger than college-age. Even I have to give packets now that my cousin has a son. My first time giving red packets. Man, I feel old now.
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