Food in BKK – 4 Garçons

Posted on 3 May 2010 by christao408

Krungthep is awash in restaurants started by youngish members of high society who have a fair amount of cash, lots of ego, and little to no experience running restaurants. Heck, many of them wouldn’t even qualify as foodies. So a few weekends ago I was a bit apprehensive when trying out a new French restaurant in the Thong Lor neighborhood called 4 Garçons.

Located on Soi Thong Lor 13 in the warren of small alleys that lead to Samitivej Hospital, 4 Garçons occupies a generous space on the ground floor of the recently-opened Oakwood service apartments. The four young men referred to in the restaurant’s name are four yuppie friends (guppies, too?) who decided their interests in food and wine should be expressed through the opening of a restaurant.

It turns out that one of the partners, the one who seems to be managing the front of the house, is the friend of a friend of our dining companions for the night, Ben and Jason. And the partner who is overseeing the kitchen is a doctor that Ben knows from Brumrumgrad Hospital. As Jason observed, it is odd to see your doctor in a chef’s outfit working in the kitchen.

In talking with the manager, he explained that the doctor loves to cook as a hobby and throw dinner parties frequently, which was their point of inspiration to go into business together. Somewhere (maybe in Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential?) I recall reading that being good at hosting dinner parties is not the same as being a chef.

Nonetheless, 4 Garçons manages to effectively avoid the curse of most of these hi-so hobby restaurants: lackluster food. The food at 4 Garçons was well-prepared and tasty, if somewhat lacking in distinctiveness.

Let’s take a look:

The interior of the space isn’t its strong suit. Another of the friends – maybe he’s an architect? – did the interior design.

The space feels too open to be a nice brasserie and too cold to be a comfortable bistro. Some furniture (shelves? counters? plant stands?) could have broken up the space more effectively, avoiding the long row of tables seen in the first picture and the large open areas that feel conspicuous. Maybe this has to do with the “see and be seen” desire of Bangkok hi-so diners, for whom a more closed, intimate space would have minimized face time. Thinking of other local restaurants like Extra Virgin, though, I think the interior could be improved by breaking it up a bit. Tawn wasn’t keen on the murals, either.

It seems that an order of fries is brought out as an amuse bouche. Steak cut fries seem oddly un-French to me but they were really nice, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, not greasy at all. Maybe it is a break from the shoestrings frites one expects at a French restaurant, but it is a welcome break.

Jason, Tawn, and I ordered some appetizers to kill the hour or so before Ben was able to join us from work. We ordered this house-made pate, which was really tasty. I keep asking myself why I don’t make pate at home. The answer is probably because I don’t have a food processor. But it isn’t that difficult to make and it reminds me of my days as a young child eating Triscuit crackers and Oscar-Meyer liverwurst for lunch with my paternal grandparents.

A goat cheese tart with mixed greens was another nice appetizer. Lots of onions and very tasty.

I assume the bread was not baked at the restaurant although it was pretty good quality and it was generously provided.

And if you have bread, you need melted butter and garlic to sop up, so we had escargots. These were really tasty and are a good illustration of the principle that anything tastes wonderful if you put enough clarified butter and garlic on it!

Service is friendly and attentive, if a bit uninformed. Basic questions like “What’s the soup of the day?” required a pop into the kitchen by the order-taker to answer. It seems like the first lesson from Waitering 101 that you would know that type of information before approaching a table.

After Ben arrived we placed our orders. The menu covers all the usual suspects of French cooking without any specific regional focus or stylistic emphasis.

One interesting thing was the availability of duck confit two ways: one prepared in duck fat for 6 hours, the other for 12 (if I have my numbers right). The second one, which Tawn ordered, was saltier than normal and had a “gamey” flavor. It was quite good with a moist interior and crunchy exterior and was worth coming back for.

Ben had the beef stew, which was flavorful and very tender.

I had the lamb shoulder, which was also tender and flavorful although it had sort of a “one note” nature to it and could have used something – a few olives, maybe? – to distinguish it.

The lamb came with a side of potatoes au gratin, which were tasty but a tad undercooked.

Jason settled for the not-very-French choice of pasta with a meat sauce, which he seemed to enjoy.

Getting pretty full, we managed to find room for a little bit of dessert, just so there would be pictures to post on my blog. (The things we do for you… ha!)

Tarte au citron – lemon tart. The lemon curd was lumpy and uber-sweet without any hint of tartness that makes for a great tarte au citron. A little over-sauced, too. We couldn’t bring ourselves to finish this, one of the rare occasions when I leave a dessert unfinished.

A fresh fig tart was was a pleasant find on the menu, something you don’t see often. The figs were lovely but the base of the tart didn’t add anything to them. The amount of saucing was appropriate, though.

The best dessert was the tarte Tatin. The apple was really lovely and had this luscious caramel flavor. I’d go back just to order this dessert, despite it being lost in a sea of vanilla cream. I wonder if a few grains of coarse sea salt sprinkled on top would have added anything to it?

Upon reflection, I realize what marks a major difference between “fine dining” restaurants here versus in the US (and, I suspect, many western countries). The restaurants here seem to have little definable chef’s vision and the dishes come across pretty much as textbook examples of whatever cuisine they purport to represent. It is as if the owner lays out a bunch of recipes and hires some cooks to prepare them – which is what happens at any restaurant – but in this case it seems that the owner either doesn’t put a unique signature on the dishes or else doesn’t ensure that the cooks understand more than just the technical steps for preparing the dishes. In other words, there’s no passion behind the cooking.

For what it is worth, 4 Garçons serves up food that is well-prepared and tasty, even if the entrees do manage to arrive one at a time in Thai style instead of all at once as you would expect in a French restaurant. If any of these dishes had been served to me at a dinner party (or had I served them at my own home) they would be very impressive. Put into the context of a restaurant they are still good but fall a little shy of where they need to be in order to make a stand-out impression on diners.

For the price – about 500-700 baht (US$15-22) per entree – the food is a fair value for Bangkok fine dining. When I factor in the ambience, which isn’t the restaurant’s strength, and the quality of the food, I would say that 4 Garçons is a “worth visiting” but not a “must visit” restaurant. I’d like to make a return and see how things shake out as they get into their second month of operations, if for no other reason than to eat the tarte Tatin again!

Ginger Macadamia Cranberry White Chocolate ANZAC Biscuits

Posted on 1 May 2010 by christao408

April 25th was ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration of the important role played by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp in World War II, especially in the bloody campaign in Gallipoli, Turkey. To be perfectly honest, none of this would have been at the forefront of my consciousness, had Jacquie not sent Michael a box of ANZAC biscuits, an eggless cookie popularized by the wives and girlfriends of ANZAC soldiers. These oat cookies had a long shelf life and could withstand the rigors of being shipped halway around the world to their loved ones on the front lines.

Jacquie’s version differed from the ubiquitous one on the internet by the addition of ginger powder and toasted macadamia nuts. They looked scrumptious and since Tawn and I were going to have guests over for dinner last weekend, I decided to bake a batch. Along the way, I spontaneously decided to add some left-over white chocolate that was in the fridge as well as a handful of dried cranberries.

This is the recipe Jacquie provided with only minor modifications by me. An original recipe without nuts and ginger is located here.

Ginger Macadamia ANZAC Biscuits
1/2 c unstalted raw macadamia nuts
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t powdered ginger
1 1/2 c rolled oats
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c dried shredded coconut
2 T boiling water
1 1/4 T golden syrup (or corn syrup)
1 t baking soda
4 oz butter

First step is to preheat the oven to 180 C / 375 F and, once warm, toast the nuts for a few minutes, stirring them to ensure even toasting. Remove when golden brown and aromatic and let cool in the pan. Then chop the nuts with a knife making the pieces not too large (they’ll fall too easily out of the cookie dough) but not so small that you lose the nice crunch of the nut.

Next step is to mix all the dry ingredients – except for the baking soda! – together. You may get the impression that there isn’t enough flour, but have faith that it will come together in the end.

Melt the butter on the stovetop. In a separate bowl, add the boiling water, golden syrup (which is a sugar cane based syrup – you can substitute corn syrup), and baking soda. Whisk briefly to set the soda bubbling then stir in the butter. Set aside for five minutes to allow it to cool slightly.

Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, stirring throughly to combine. At this point, I decided to add a few more items: a handful of dried cranberries and about a 1/3 cup of coarsely chopped white chocolate. These were wonderful additions although by no means necessary.

You can then wrap the dough tightly and place in the refrigterator for fifteen minutes to firm it up slightly, making it easier to handle. If your kitchen is nice and cool and you aren’t having that problem, no need to refrigerate!

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper then portion the dough onto the sheets. A heaping teaspoon full of dough should be enough, although you may want to experiment with sizes should you prefer a larger cookie. Bear in mind that these cookies will spread so don’t crowd them together. If you put the trays back into the refrigerator until baking, it will slow the spread.

Bake one sheet at a time in the oven for about 12 minutes or until golden brown, turning halfway through the baking to ensure even cooking. Cooking for a little longer will make for a crispier cookie. After taking the tray out of the oven, let the cookies rest on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Let cool and enjoy!

As for the rest of our dinner, I prepared some nice crostini as an appetizer:

Balsamic-vinegar roasted sweet peppers on basil pesto.

Black olive and caper tapenade.

A fresh salad with feta, candied pecans, and cherry tomatoes.

A ham, black olive, and fresh mozzarella pizza.

And the real winner of the day, a white pizza with a simple white cream sauce, thinly sliced rosemary potatoes, a scattering of mozzarella cheese, and red onions. Divine!

Food in HK – Tea at the Intercontinental Hotel

Posted on 26 April 2010 by christao408

As our trip to Hong Kong came to its conclusion, Tawn and I went to the Intercontinental Hotel on the Kowloon waterfront for afternoon tea. With its panoramic view of the harbor, the Intercon offers a relaxing and refined way to spend your afternoon. You end up feeling mighty sophisticated just because of the setting.

Located right along the Avenue of the Stars, a pedestrian walkway along the East Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront dedicated to the stars of Hong Kong cinema, the Intercon is a short walk from the MTR and Kowloon Railway stations.

In the background to the left is the venerable Peninsula Hotel and, next to it, the Sheraton. The Peninsula is famed for its afternoon tea but, I’ve been told, is both pricey and filled with tourists. The Intercon offers both the option of either a simple tea service or an extravagant one while offering a view the Peninsula doesn’t. And maybe slightly fewer tourists, although I can’t tell for certain.

The view from just outside the Intercon, showing the Avenue of the Stars walkway. This being a reasonably clear day, you can see Victoria Peak back behind the IFC Tower.

The lobby of the Intercon is spacious and bright although the carpet could use a refresh. Service is very attentive and friendly, though, and I felt very at home.

There was a full tea service that offered sandwiches, pastries, and other snacks. Since we had eaten only a few hours before and had a large dinner planned, we went for the simple scone and tea option. The teas are from Mariage Frères, a venerable Parisian company that has been producing fine teas for over 150 years. It is also the “house tea” at our Bangkok condo. (Yeah, I know that sounds horribly pretentious!) In fact, it is the brand of tea Tawn served when he had the opportunity to meet Martha Stewart a few months ago at a friend’s shop.

The silver tea service is heavy and functional, not at all dainty and elegant. The scones are tasty and the clotted cream and jelly are generously served. An extra pot of hot water sits on the table and the server stops by every so often to top off your cup.

Certainly a very relaxing and refined way to spend an hour in the afternoon and a nice way to complete our trip to Hong Kong. I think I should take tea in hotels more often. And isn’t Tawn adorable in this picture? As we say in Thai, na-rak jang leuy!

That evening, we had dinner at Aqua, the Japanese Italian fusion restaurant that overlooks the Hong Kong harbor from the top floor of One Peking Road. I didn’t provide a write-up on the restaurant for two reasons: first, it was a little too dark for food pictures even with my camera; second, our hosts were the brother and brother-in-law of the owner. We received some special considerations so I’m not sure I could objectively evaluate the restaurant. I will say that the view is spectacular and the food is very good so if you’re looking for a high end destination restaurant, it is worth considering.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the series on the Hong Kong eats. In the next few days I’ll put them all on a Google map and share that with you, in case you want to reference them on a future visit to Hong Kong. Thanks for all your comments and feedback on the entries.

Food in HK – Sift Patisserie

Posted on 25 April 2010 by christao408

On our to-do list was a visit to the Hong Kong designer outlets. Located in Ap Lei Chau, a little island on the south side of Hong Kong Island, most of the outlets are in a tall, nondescript building that for all purposes looks like an office building from the outside. On each floor, though, are a handful of outlets for various name brands.

While Tawn did his shopping, I discovered the Sift Patisserie on the 22nd floor. Quite coincidentally, after I started writing entries about this Hong Kong trip, Jack in Taiwan (now Toronto) suggested that I should go to Sift – a place I had already stumbled upon!

Location in the Horizon Plaza outlet building in Ap Lei Chau.

Location in Wan Chai on Queen’s Road East. There is also a dessert bar in Soho on Graham Street with a more extensive menu and wine, too.

We were there just about opening time and I walked in to find a very cute but very empty space. In fact, I waited for several minutes for someone to come out from the kitchen in back. While waiting, I sat on a sofa and read a magazine, eliciting a surprised gasp when an employee finally came out of the kitchen and found me there.

Cupcakes are all in trend right now, aren’t they? It seems like they are, at least. Generally, I am not a huge fan of cupcakes or cake in general because they are usually kind of dry even if they look pretty on the outside.

I was pleasantly surprised to try their red velvet cupcake which was very moist and tasty and had a really nice dollop of cream cheese frosting. While I’m always a little suspicious of red velvet – there is a LOT of red food coloring in there, after all, and I sense that artificial coloring probably isn’t that good for you – this was still a very enjoyable snack to accompany my latte.

To that end, Joanne over at “Week of Menus” created a “Not Red Velvet Cupcake” recipe that I’ve been meaning to try. Entry here.

Speaking of things artificial, I noticed that Sift’s tag line on their website is “everything sifted, everything refined”. While I get what meaning of “refined” they probably intended, my whole foods perspective made me cringe a bit at the word. Refined foods are the ones we’re meant to avoid, right? Anyhow, I’m sure they meant “fancy and luxurious” instead.

I can tell that some thought went into their packaging design as the bags and boxes are very cute. The rest of the sitting space wasn’t so interesting – white sofa and ottoman covered in fabric (bad choice when people will eat cupcakes on them!) and the walls were pretty scuffed up. I get the impression that this location may be more of a production facility for them than an area focused on the retail side of operations.

Food in HK – West Villa

Posted on 25 April 2010 by christao408

The day after joining Chris and Tehlin and their children for a proper Cantonese dinner at Tsui Hang Village, Tawn and I met up with Tehlin and her son Sam for dim sum at West Villa, another Curry Puffy recommended restaurant.

Located in the Lee Gardens Two building in Causeway Bay just a few minutes away from the Times Square shopping center, West Villa is a nicer quality dim sum restaurant. What was interesting about it is that the food, while tasty, isn’t necessarily all that different (or better than) the cheap yet decadent dim sum at Tim Ho Wan. Let’s take a look at the dishes we enjoyed.

Chinese “donuts” wrapped in rice noodle skin. These are unsweetened sticks of dough fried just like donuts. They are often served (unwrapped) with rice porridge called jok.

Chao fun – Rice noodles with shrimp inside with a sweetened soy sauce. Similar in quality to what we had at Tim Ho Wan although I think the noodles were thicker and less delicate here. Compare here.

Deep fried spring rolls. This dish and the next one illustrate the risks when eating dim sum of choosing dishes that leave you feeling heavy and full.

Fried taro paste puffs. Better than it sounds.

The signature West Villa dish – char shu – barbecue pork. These was really meaty and tender. Great flavor.

Tehlin and Sam. Oh, wait! What’s that outside the window? Where did Tawn disappear to?! Ha ha…

Braised veggies, kind of like lettuce. Very tasty. The clay pot lends a wonderful smoky, slightly charred flavor.

Steamed glutinous rice with pork and shitake mushroom in a lotus leaf. Compare this to the version with large slices of pork served at Tim Ho Wan.

Fried fish with a slightly salty and spicy batter. Very light and not at all oily.

Beef “meatballs” sometimes called Chinese hamburgers.

Siu Mai– pork and shrimp dumplings.

Fried pork spareribs with a sprinkling of a salt and white pepper.

Overall review: good quality dim sum with the barbecue pork and spareribs being the highlights. Service was good although there was a fifteen-minute wait even though we had reservations. This wasn’t necessarily the best food we had in Hong Kong but if you are in the area and are looking for good dim sum, West Villa would be a good choice.

Food in HK – Tsui Wah Restaurant

Posted on 22 April 2010 by christao408

While Lan Fong Yuen claims to be the original Hong Kong milk tea, it certainly isn’t the only one serving this local treat. We decided to try another stop on the Curry Puffy Culinary Crawl and breakfast (twice, in fact) at Tsui Wah Restaurant. This chain might be compared to a Denny’s in the United States, but without intending the unspoken insult that lies in the comparison. Tsui Wah serves basic Hong Kong comfort food at all hours of the day from a number of clean, efficient locations.

We decided to visit the one in Lan Kwai Fong, just above Central and a stone’s throw from Lan Fong Yuen. The first visit was in the early morning, when only the limited breakfast menu was being served. The second visit the next day was later in the morning, when more lunch-like items were available.

As you walk up D’aguilar Street from Queens Road it should be easy enough to find Tsui Wah. Just follow the large green sign and make a right turn onto Wellington Road as it indicates.

It was a drizzly morning when we first arrived and being damp, we were looking for something warm and comforting.

The dining room (multiple stories at this location) is bright and a bit madcap in its interior design. The menus are under the table glass with helpful pictures and English translations (which aren’t always super-clear but you’ll figure it out).

The milk tea arrived in this cup and saucer, branded with a local evaporated milk brand. I have to say that between the two milk teas, I found Tsui Wah’s a bit more bitter and spicy. I preferred Lan Fong Yuen for its gentler flavor.

Breakfast was, in a way, not very Hong Kongese. Yes, that is a bowl of oatmeal. And after four days of not having my daily bowl of oats for breakfast, I was sorely missing it. The rolls are a toasted “pineapple” bun (nothing pineapple about it that I could discern) that has butter and condensed milk on top. Very chewy texture, like a Kaiser roll. Not a fancy breakfast but cheap and tasty. Tawn felt the buns were better here than at Lan Fong Yuen.

The second day I ordered a breakfast set that came (to my surprise) with a side of two scrambled eggs and a toasted roll. Simple food, right? But really, really tasty eggs.

The second part of my set, what I actually was focused on, was a beef stew over instant noodles with soup.

Tawn had braised pork cartilage over instant noodles with greens.

The conclusion for the second meal was the same: simple and satisfying.

Immediately across the street from this location of Tsui Wah is the world-famous Yung Kee Restaurant, which specializes in roast geese. While I didn’t eat there this trip, I have several times before and can also recommend it. Bring a group, though, as a little roast goose goes a long way.

Two other sites from Hong Kong: Aqua Luna, the junk that you can sail on for a harbour cruise with cocktails. One of these years I’m going to book one of their just after sunset cruises and enjoy a bottle of bubbly while the lights come on along one of the most magnificent skylines in the world.

On the Kowloon side at the Science Museum a bride and groom posed for their wedding pictures, probably a few weeks in advance of their actual wedding day. Here’s to the happy couple!

Regarding the rest of the Hong Kong trip, Tawn and I have been back in Bangkok since Saturday. I’ll continue updating on food in Hong Kong as I have two or three more meals that need to be documented. Then we’ll return to the regular programming.

Food in HK – Tsui Hang Village

Posted on 21 April 2010 by christao408

With the exception of Agnès b. le pain grillé, our eating so far had been pretty low-key and casual even while the food was very good. One evening we met my university friend Tehlin, her husband Chris, and their two children for dinner at a nice Cantonese restaurant in Central called Tsui Hang Village.

Tehlin and Chris recently returned to Hong Kong from Melbourne and while we’re sorry we didn’t get to see them in Melbourne, we’ll have many more opportunities to see them in Hong Kong. They are one of these 21st Century couples – he an Australian who is fluent in Mandarin and works with emerging Chinese companies, she with Chinese roots in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the SF Bay Area. They are really nice people and have two cute kids with a third on the way.

One of the cute kids, Isabel, wasn’t in the best mood as dinner started, so she pouted a little while working on her coloring book!

Tsui Hang Village is named for the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and specializes both in traditional Cantonese cooking as well as some original Cantonese creations. There is also a location in the Miramar Shopping Centre on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The interior looks pretty much like every other high end Chinese restaurant – clean, bright, and a little like a hotel banquet room. Service is prompt and attentive, though, and the real focus is the food. Cantonese food, which sometimes has a reputation for being a little oily, is well done here with clean, bright, and fresh flavors with little use of heavy seasoning, herbs or spices – the very best of what Cantonese food is supposed to be about.

Braised pork spare ribs baked in a clay pot casserole “Zhengjiang” style.

Stewed “fungus” (mushrooms) in tofu wrapper in pumpkin, with pumpkin seed garnish.

Wok-seared seabass with light soy sauce with green beans.

Crispy roast chicken with green onions.

Chinese broccoli – Hai Shean

Shrimp wontons in broth.

Pan fried egg noodles with shredded pork and bean sprouts.

We really enjoyed the meal, which was a nice complement to our visit with Tehlin, Chris, and their children. What more of a reason do we need for a return trip to Hong Kong than good friends and good food?

Uncle Tawn with an enthusiastic Samuel and a still somewhat undecided Isabel. Sam’s a big transportation buff, so he and I always have plenty to talk about!

Food in HK – Agnès b. le pain grillé

Posted on 20 April 2010 by christao408

After all the wonderful Chinese food, we decided one afternoon to take a change of pace and visit the Agnès b. le pain grillé at the IFC mall.

Gary had recommended this and when we arrived, we faced some confusion. It turns out there is both a café as well as a restaurant and in our confusion we wound up in the restaurant. The slightly more expensive than the café restaurant.

Nonetheless, it was lunch, the food and atmosphere were wonderful, so it worked out as a nice treat. Note to anyone who goes to Hong Kong and decides to stop by Agnès b. le pain grillé: the café is the one outside the doors.

Lovely interior reminds me a bit of our home, except with a nicer bar. I like to wood flooring.

Attempting to not feel out of place after we looked at the prices! Nah, I’m kidding, it wasn’t that bad. The three-course fixed price menu was HK$288, about US$38. Pricier than my normal lunch but not the most expensive lunch I’ve ever had.

Elegant place settings.

Iced lemon tea.

Truly amazing bread. Oh, I wish Bangkok had good bread. I wish I had an oven that could produce bread like this.

Penne pasta with a seven-hour slow-cooked lamb. It was really tasty.

Tawn had a seared tuna salad. It was really tasty, too. So all in all, while it was a little pricey it was a really enjoyable, elegant lunch.

Cute little “garden” outside the restaurant. I really like the tile.

At a gallery in Central: Watanabe Ryoko’s painting Marathon Man.

Food in HK – Lan Fong Yuen

Posted on 18 April 2010 by christao408

Continuing the Curry Puffy Cuisine Crawl, Tawn and I headed out to Central one morning to retrace Gary’s secondary school breakfast steps, on the hunt for Hong Kong milk tea. Our destination this morning was Lan Fong Yuen, ostensibly (but unverifiably) the place where milk tea was first created.

Located on the north side of Hong Kong Island, Central is the business district. Immediately to the south of it is the 1800-foot Victoria Peak. The rapid elevation gain combined with the population density creates an interesting warren of narrow streets that are great for exploring. The Central Escalator, a public conveyance system that combines moving sidewalks and escalators, makes it easier for pedestrians to go from Central to the Mid-Levels, a popular residential and, increasingly, commercial area part way up the mountain.

The Central Escalator bisects Gage Street right where it meets Wellington and right below it sits Lan Fong Yuen. The original shop (there’s a second one a few doors down) still has a pair of wooden stools out front on which you can sit and enjoy your milk tea and a light meal. The picture above shows the Central Escalator in the top left of the picture. The red taxi is on Wellington Street.

Looking down Gage Street from Wellington, you can hardly resist the urge to go explore. It is a lively street with vibrant sights, well worth a post-tea stroll. But before strolling, it is time for tea.

The interior is clean but dingy, looking just like a hundred other similar restaurants that have been around for ages. The staff is friendly and a picture menu makes it easy for those who don’t speak Chinese to order. Tawn, being part Chinese, gets spoken to in Cantonese everywhere we go in Hong Kong. He’s much too polite, of course, to tell them that he doesn’t understand, so just smiles and nods, occasionally responding in Thai or English.

This is the milk tea. Not much to look at, right? This is the essence of simplicity. It is a very strong black tea cut with evaporated milk. The flavor of it is almost coffee-like, in terms of the richness of the tea. It isn’t your grandmother’s Lipton.

The tea is made using pantyhose – the leaves steep inside a pantyhose strainer set in a metal pot. The pantyhose is attached to a wire handle and it is lifted up and the tea is allowed to drain into the cup. Worth noting, this is the exact same technique used by street vendors in Thailand for making Thai coffee and Thai tea. (Note to self – that’s a future entry needing to be written.)

Lan Fong Yuen is an all-day operations offering the tea along with a dozen snacky type dishes to satisfy your hunger.

The fried pork sandwich, a single piece of fried pork loin put on a hamburger bun with a slice of tomato and a slather of sauce. Incredibly simple, but very tasty. While at first glance you might think it is tremendously unhealthy, consider that the alternatives offered at fast food restaurants have been heavily processed with added fillers, salts, etc. This is just a slab of pork with some salt and pepper, fried up and placed on the bun. Relatively speaking, better for you than a filet-o-fish.

Probably a little less healthy for you is the French toast.

Two pieces of white bread stuffed with jam inside, battered with egg and then fried in lots of oil. I couldn’t identify whether it was butter or margarine on top and was tempted to think it was the latter. This was tasty but after two bites was a bit overwhelming. Probably best when trying to mop up a hangover.

Tawn ordered one of his childhood favorites – this is what qualifies as Chinese comfort food, it seems. A plate of noodles with some veggies and fried chicken on top. I looked at the noodles and remarked how much they looked like instant ramen. Which was the point at which I learned that they are instant ramen.

So what’s the verdict? Pretty tasty tea and the chicken and pork were both good. There were several other menu items we wanted to try but we had lunch plans just two hours later and needed some room for that. The French toast was fine but was pretty oily, all things considered. For a quick breakfast or a spot of afternoon tea, though, Lan Fong Yuen is definitely on the list!

Food in HK – Shang Shang

Posted on 16 April 2010 by christao408

Our friend Big Michael is a yoga instructor for Pure Yoga, a Hong Kong based chain. He’s been teaching for several years, primarily at the Langham Place location in Mongkok, Kowloon. As Tawn is an active yoga practitioner and has even considered becoming an instructor, he wanted to attend numerous classes during our vacation. Michael arranged for Tawn to have a guest pass and so Langham Place became a frequent destination during our trip.

Mongkok used to be the heart of the dark underbelly (mixed biological metaphors) of Hong Kong, home to the red light district, gambling dens, and the base of the Triads’ operations. In Hong Kong popular culture, movies such as Portland Street Blues immortalized the nefarious underworld of Mongkok, where the allegiance of gang members and police officers was always suspect and subject to double- and triple-switches.

These days, however, Mongkok is much cleaned up. The building of Langham Place, a large office, mall, and hotel complex, has transformed the neighborhood into a seemingly respectable district with bright lights, clean sidewalks, and plenty of legitimate business. Of course, “cleaned up” is as much a cosmetic matter as a systemic one. Walking back to Langham Place from Yau Ma Tei just before dinnertime one evening, Michael and I were accosted by a number of touts trying to sell us women from a range of nationalities: Thai, Filipina, Indonesian, Chinese… I will say, though, that these activities were much more subtle than, say, Soi Cowboy in Bangkok, even if we were just a block away from the mall.

After Tawn completed yoga one evening, Big Michael suggested we try Shang Shang, a Shanghai Cuisine located on the fourth floor of Langham Place. There is actually a very decent food court there, both with sit-down restaurants as well as the typical food court take-away places. Shang Shang is a bright and modern restaurant with attentive waiters and a reasonable price. Oh, and tasty food, too!

Fried prawns with spicy sauce. Delicious and not as spicy as you might expect.

Braised string beans with minced pork – always a favorite of mine!

Fried rice

“La Mian” noodle in spicy and sour soup.

Sauteed chicken in spicy sauce with cashew nuts.

Shanghai style steamed pork dumplings – the Xiao Long Bau that we enjoyed so much in Taipei.

Wontons in hot chili sauce. Again, similar to a dish we had at Din Tai Fung in Taipei while there with Andy and Sugi last November.

For dessert, a feather-light bun filled with black bean paste. Almost felt like meringue, the dough was so light.

A gelatine dessert made from an aromatic flower similar to chrysanthemum. I didn’t catch the name. This is made with rock sugar and agar agar (which is made from seaweed).

Above, Michael serves the noodles to Tawn. All in all, this was a really tasty restaurant. Total price for three persons was HK$400 – about US$51. Worth a visit.

We’re concluding our holiday today, taking the ferry back to Macau and connecting to our flight back to Krungthep. I’ll continue posting HK meals over the next few days as there are at least four more I need to cover. I’ll also get these listed on a Google Map so you can reference them in the future if you so desire. Remember, these suggestions primarily came from Gary, a foodie who really should blog more frequently. (Hint, hint…)

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Tag Archives: food