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2010-08-26
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Where do tourists eat, you asked?It tells you something, about an establishment like Yung Kee, among others with routine occurences in guidebooks in different languages. It didn't exist all these years for nothing, but then it's equally contradictory to many places with mediocre food -- if the residents of the city don't go, they can rip off the tourists. That's another matter.A dear friend decided to throw a promising dinner, and I was lucky enough to be on that very same dinner. It's nothing m
It tells you something, about an establishment like Yung Kee, among others with routine occurences in guidebooks in different languages. It didn't exist all these years for nothing, but then it's equally contradictory to many places with mediocre food -- if the residents of the city don't go, they can rip off the tourists. That's another matter.
A dear friend decided to throw a promising dinner, and I was lucky enough to be on that very same dinner. It's nothing more than a bunch of food buddies. Entering the glorious restaurant of Yung Kee allows one to feel what may be red-carpet glamour of Chinese dining, or at least they'd like you to think so. If only one can get past the half-scowling faces of the hostess who dismissed my request to look for my table. But that need not matter, I thought, sometimes places with reputation may develop some sort of demeaning attitude from the staff, like a by product and it's inevitable.
The tables squeezing into each other on our floor, but dinner was well-planned, with a written menu for everyone to consider, course by course. 皮蛋酸薑 arrived with halves of 皮蛋, each with its serving of glistening molten yolk, glistening with the jellied egg white the colour of coffee turned grey. The fluorescent slices of pickled ginger seemed thicker than anticipated. The preserved eggs, meltingly soft act against the tart and crunchy ginger -- the classic combination reinvented here, it's truly too bad that the thickness of the ginger gave away some big points, but the eggs alone were great. 懷舊扎蹄 came next -- triangular jellied pork slices, fanned out decorated with delicately cut jellyfish at the centre. Each bite into these jellyfish pieces bring up delightful crunches, while the pork slices were soft and flavorful. 崧子雲霧肉 resembled what may be a reddish brown chocolate bar, glazed with a smoky aroma and resting on a bed of glazed granules of pine nuts. The pork itself, through complex preparations, was tender at the meat, and gooey soft in the layers of fat, and a gelatinous, slightly chewy skin, accentuating on extra smoky tea flavour as well.
金牌叉燒 was next -- a mounting pile of barbecued pork on the leaner side, arrived totally glazed. It was nowhere near as good as a fattier cut, but the flavour was satisfactory. The signature 金牌燒鵝, presented like a phoenix taking off in its flight, made quite an impression at the table. Neatly presented, the thin roasted skin had the texture of pork crackling, almost, but the meat was slightly tougher even though the flavour was extra-delicate with the slightest hints of five spice. It didn't require further dip of the plum sauce or anything, as the bird itself was good on its own. Looking over to the next table of American tourists, they made their way through convrsations with sweet and sour pork and a gigantic roasted goose, and their eyes widened with wonder much the same way as a roasted turkey arriving on Thanksgiving. We looked on, wondered how they felt about a Chinese roasted goose...
牛爽腩 was next -- a simple shallow plate holding in the lightest sandy brown of broths, clear with just floating blots of oil across the top with well-arranged beef briskets in one single layer. Semi-translucent strips of briskets attaching to tendons and membranes, gelatinous with a beefy flavour that's almost as good as stewed beef briskets elsewhere (but still not as good as Wah Sze's in Tin Hau, I think) 五秀素炒 is a stir-fry dish with mixed vegetables. The jade green sugar snap peas were crunchy from pods to peas within -- honey sweet and fresh. Shimeji mushrooms made a special appearance and certainly a more surprising ingredient used. 紅燒斑尾 has a thick glaze upon deep-fried tail of garoupa. The fish itself is meaty with minimal seasoning, but the glaze did the job adding flavours. If only the sauce could be slightly thinner than now, although it clings on the fish pieces just fine.
Before the last round of courses, the group of us were quickly sharing dining tips, and recent rare finds. It's amazing how many people out there are in search of good food and are willing to eat anything at any time of the night, despite at work during the day. It's equally inspiring to find that more attention is paid to food, as individuals go the distance to try different things, some newer than others. We looked over to the entrance, a couple with guidebook in hand, gesturing at the waiter on what they wanted to order -- they made a bird-like gesture, the waiter guessed goose; they made other gestures, the waiter made several blind guesses and eventually gave up -- the menu, even with English, couldn't help. Pictures, however, would've helped. Moments later, when a plate of sweet and sour pork arrived at the table, the couple's faces beamed with joy. Turned out dining out in a place where the language is a challenge, isn't so hard afterall.
荷葉飯 -- a stunning bright green round parcel of rice arrived, steaming with fragrant lotus leaf flavour with moist rice granules within. Bits of chicken, salted egg yolk and shiitaki mushrooms filled the cavity of the leaf parcel. 銀絲細蓉 came in individual servings. Small bowls containing wontons resembling tiny goldfish, with hanging wonton wrappers like their tails, swinging in the calmest of waters -- a broth flavoured with floating bits of chives. The noodles were golden strands with strong taste of egg, fine and soft and needed no vinegar or chili sauce to enrich its simplicity. The next table over, a family speaking an unfamiliar European language observed us, as we made out way through our rice and noodles, gestured the waiter over inquiring about the rice (she pointed on...)It wasn't easy explaining the procedures, but as locals we were, we couldn't help but o explain to them what really went on inside "the green parcel". She smiled at our explanations, and it wasn't her intention to order the same thing, but more like having her curiosity fulfilled. Our explanations did the job, and just like that, they went back to their European conversation and us in our Chinese ones, laughing on.
A nut-filled 馬拉糕 arrived, with a candle on top, as our group celebrated the birthday of one of us. With some applause and some laughs later, the birthday boy showed a sincere chuckle, as he blew the candle and the cake shared among us -- Pillowy soft brown sugar cake rose and steamed until light and fluffy. Only slightly sweet, but with a caramel flavour on its own. It's the lightest of textures indeed. At this point we looked on, across the dining room, tables after tables of foreign faces pointing and gesturing describing what they were eating and what others ate. Some nodded in approval, some frowned at different expectations they had. I imagined they would tell others about their experiences -- on paper or online, someone will read their comments and decide on themselves on their next trip to the city, most known for culinary adventures everywhere.
Dining in places we've never been can be quite an experience. It required some understanding on more than the restaurant, or the cuisine served. Some meets our expectations, some don't. Looking over as citizens of the world ate their way through Yung Kee and other local restaurants over the years, helping form the establishment's reputation today. One couldn't help but wonder if these standards can be kept consistently across the years, for many years ahead -- for locals and for foreigners?
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