I was having lunch at Jin Yue Xuan 金悦轩 dim sum restaurant in Futian (Shenzhen) recently when I noticed something unusual out of the corner of my eye; all the chefs were women. The world of professional cooking is traditionally dominated by men, you only have to look at the celebrity chefs on TV to see the unequal proportions, and in China even more so.
On my first night in Seoul during my previous visit I went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Gangnam that I’d seen recommended on Seoul Eats. Strangely enough I’d never eaten Mexican food before so was keen to try it out. Even more strange that my first time to eat it would be in South Korea…
If you’ve never tried Korean food than you’re missing out big time. While kimchi may not be everyone’s dish-of-fermented-cabbage there’s oh so much more to try and among my favourite dishes is Bibimbap – literally meaning “mixed rice”. It just so happens that bibimbap originates from Jeonju so while I was there I tried the original…
On my final evening in Taipei we headed out from the hotel in search of dinner and quite by accident stumbled across a wonderful little restaurant called “Diary” on Dongfeng street in Da-an district (台北市東豐街53號). Attracted by its striking interior of exposed concrete walls and roof beams, softened by wooden tables and subtle lighting, we ventured inside…
I’ve had some pretty good food in my time but rarely do my exploits extend to multi-course fine dining. Whilst I was in Taiwan I had the pleasure of experiencing some excellent haute cuisine curtsey of some very generous friends. One place in particular which stood out was Louis XIV, located in Taipei’s Da-an district, which serves exceptional French provencal cuisine. Here’s some pics to whet your appetite.
As any long-term readers will know I absolutely love dim sum. It’s the food of Chinese gods and southern China is the best place to sample it. On Sunday morning our hosts for the weekend took us to the famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant located in Aberdeen Harbor.
Someone commented the other day that my life in China sometimes appears to be one big culinary extravaganza and unsurprisingly I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with them! Chinese food is undoubtedly amongst the best in the world but what makes it even more special is that you don’t have to go to a posh restaurant to enjoy it (although this post is going to be somewhat of a contradiction!). After a very long week at work I ventured to the district of Futian to a Sichuanese restaurant called Ba Shu Feng Ju (巴蜀风居 - near Coco Park). It was getting a bit late so wasn’t very busy and if the interior was anything to go by the food was certainly going to be special. I’d describe…
For lunch today I was guided to one of Shenzhen’s secret underground restaurants. “What is a secret restaurant?” you might ask. Basically it’s an unlicensed establishment inside someone’s “home” and is only underground in so much as there are no signs to point you there and only a few locals will know about it. More chillies than you could comfortably eat in one afternoon. After giving the secret code word and exchanging a secret handshake we were hustled into a dimly lit room with dark wooden furniture which the proprietor claimed was over 100 years old (OK, I made the first bit up). In these restaurants there is no menu and no advertised prices. You simply get what they decide to cook that day…
If Dim Sum is your thing then Hong Kong is the right place to go. On my last visit I went to Maxim’s Palace, reputably one of the best restaurants to sample this delicious delicacy, strangely located in the City Hall. As it’s so popular be prepared for a wait when you arrive – you’ll be given a ticket with a number on which will invariably only make you more hungry as you soak up the sights and smells from the enormous dining hall with a great view over Victoria Harbour. “Traditional dim sum includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baau, dumplings and rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options… Dim sum can be cooked by steaming…
Yesterday for lunch I went to a restaurant called “6000 Flavours” which certainly lived up to it’s name judging by the voluminous menu. We had some special pork bone & sweetcorn soup along with fried eel and some curious vegetable balls containing a kind of mustard. The bones were cut in half and a straw provided so you could suck out the bone marrow which on the face of it is a bit disgusting but I gave it a go! The fun bit came when we ordered fresh noodles – a waiter came over with a strip of some kind of dough and proceed to make them in front of us but swinging it vigorously around in circles. Even the locals enjoyed the performance…