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 谭荣辉(Ken Hom)评点北京美食 |
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谭荣辉(Ken Hom)评点北京美食 -- 夜归人 - (2565 Byte) 2006-7-10 周一, 21:40 (2675 reads) |
piggy
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作者：piggy 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
Capital is now a true taste of China
By Ken Hom
Published: June 24 2006 03:00 | Last updated: June 24 2006 03:00
For me, every aspect of life in Beijing has changed amazingly since 1989 - the year of Tiananmen Square and the last time I was in the city - and that includes its food and restaurants. I had always thought the capital was rather provincial and lagged behind other regions in China for quality cooking. But that was 17 years ago and reports from Chinese friends of the momentous changes there intrigued me enough to return for a few days.
Chinese friends in Hong Kong had long raved about Tianjin Bai Jiao Yuan, a well known, local and inexpensive place that specialises in jiaozi dumplings. This typical northern dish is usually made of minced pork and cabbage, salt, ginger, spring onions, all inside a thin wrapper of wheat dough. After plunging them in boiling water, they are eaten with great relish with an array of dipping sauces.
I knew I was in for a special treat when I walked into the restaurant and was immediately confronted by an open glassed-in kitchen where chefs were making fresh dumplings. Ignore the kitschy red and gold decor dining room and ask for the English menu (full of mis-spellings) from the sleepy staff in their pink pyjamas.
We chose the classic pork and Chinese cabbage, which was savoury and delicious. The shrimp meat with bean curd was delicate and light while both the curry beef and hot & spicy beef lived up to their description with a real jolt of spices. However, the best was the crab roe jiaozi in which rich roe was combined with pork to create a sensational dish. This was worth the journey alone. I also liked the way you make your own dipping sauce from plastic containers which had red rice vinegar with pickled garlic, freshly chopped garlic, chopped fresh coriander and chilli oil.
The trend in Beijing seems to be Sichuan food and everyone there was raving about a chain of restaurants called South Beauty. I went to the nearest one I could find to see what the fuss was about. Unlike restaurants 17 years ago, this one had beautiful decor that could easily have been in Hong Kong - modern, yet with Chinese traditional touches. Ask for a booth, which I found more convivial for dining. From the illustrated menu to the Peking opera mask that seems to be their logo, it was certainly a departure from any restaurant I had ever seen in China.
I tried their classic Sichuan tofu dish, fried bean curd with beef and chili sauce. Here bits of soft cubes of tofu float in a fiery sauce redolent of Sichuan peppercorns and chili. It was as good as any I had had in Chengdu, the centre of the Sichuan cooking region. The smoked duck was tender and full of flavour. Although we found the steamed greens' shoots with soup rather bland, we were told it was to cool the palate.
A strangely titled dish called updated sliced tender beef in hot oil and stone, was delicious. Here sliced marinated beef was first cooked in boiling oil with onions and coriander and then drained off on a hot stone. Surprisingly it was not greasy and very tasty. We finished off with spicy noodles with hot sauce, in which slender noodles are tossed in an aromatic sauce of chili oil and minced pork. We were transported to Sichuan that evening.
Nostalgia seems to be part of the dining scene in the Chinese capital these days as restaurateurs try to sell comfort dishes in a setting that recalls old Beijing. Fu Jia Lou's menu has xiang su he ye ya (a crispy lotus duck stuffed with meats) and dou zhi (sour bean curd milk) which you can drink with your meal. Don't miss the classic zha jiang mian (thick noodles that you mix yourself at the table with bean paste, cold cucumber slices, soy beans and various greens) and be sure to ask for la yu (chili oil) to spice up the whole affair. It is worth a visit for a fun delectable lunch.
An old friend from Hong Kong who is obsessed with food, and who has lived in Beijing for over a decade insisted on being our guide next day. For lunch we went to Noodle Loft, a restaurant which features the food of Shanxi province, renowned for its fantastic noodle dishes. It was filled with a hip, trendy crowd of young business people. In the centre of the restaurant is an open kitchen where the chefs show off their skills of noodle making - pulling, cutting and tossing noodles from one end of the kitchen to the other. But there is more to this restaurant than mere noodles.
My friend ordered a number of other delectable dishes. We began with salted mutton slice that was delicate and surprisingly mild. The crispy kidney was crunchy in texture in a tasty sauce and crispy peanuts with cucumbers was an unusual but good combination. Fried mutton was balanced with a touch of black vinegar. Fresh walnuts with lily buds was certainly a new one on me. We were told that sturgeon boiled in millet congee (a kind of porridge) was a typical Shanxi dish. But Wutaishan mushrooms cooked with chives simply were the best.
We finished with the house speciality: shaved oatmeal noodles accompanied by a choice of three unusual dressings: one with fried egg and tomatoes that was tart and rich, one with vinegar dressing, which was both refreshing and bracing, and finally a clear braised soup that was simple but hit the spot.
One of the best meals I had in Beijing was at Huang Ting. It is a recreation of the great tradition of hutong or Beijing courtyard houses. Alas, hutongs are being torn down throughout the city to make way for progress and the forthcoming Olympics, so nostalgia is the name of the game.
We enjoyed great food there that was as good as any in Hong Kong. Our sautéed prawns with Sichuan chili sauce could not have been more perfect. The giant prawns were succulent, tender and moist in a well-balanced spicy sauce. Next we had wok fried chicken with chilli and peanuts: a modern, less greasy version of gung bao chicken. We followed this with a full-flavoured double-boiled black chicken soup with tea tree mushrooms. The braised crispy golden bean curd with shiitake was delicate: light fluffy bean curd stuffed inside a whole mushroom, battered and fried. It was a wonderful contrast of textures and taste. A final dish of sautéed minced pork with green beans and pickled acorns was a great finish to a really superb meal.
On our last evening, we went to Made in China, a modern-looking restaurant that could easily have been in Singapore, Hong Kong or New York, with its dining areas divided into small rooms. We began with an array of shao shi (appetisers): spinach leaves tossed with sesame sauce and Chinese rice vinegar. It was followed by braised pork knuckle served with pickled cucumber which was more like a cold tasty pâté. Duck gizzards with spicy peanuts was Sichuan-inspired. It was very spicy and surprisingly addictive. My favourite was shredded pig's ear with jelly fish, white cabbage, yellow mustard and coriander oil.
I loved the contrast in texture and taste. Sizzling king prawns came next, cooked impeccably and succulent. Finally, I could not leave Beijing without having Peking duck. The crispy skin came with the rich moist meat and we wrapped it in thin pancakes doused with salty sweet bean sauce with shredded leek whites and cucumber. It was bliss.
In the culinary world at least, Beijing seems to have been re-born.
Ken Hom is the author of 'A Taste of China: The Definitive Guide to Regional Cooking' (Pavilion, £9.99)
作者：piggy 在 海归茶馆 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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 谭荣辉(Ken Hom)评点北京美食 -- 夜归人 - (2565 Byte) 2006-7-10 周一, 21:40 (2675 reads) - original article in English -- piggy - (7503 Byte) 2006-7-11 周二, 02:06 (452 reads)
- 馋死我了。 -- 伊冉儿 - (17 Byte) 2006-7-11 周二, 01:12 (438 reads)
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