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Chan Tsun Fun
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : text by Ethan Zhou, photos by Woody Lai
Nov 5, 2008
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Chan Tsun Fun
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One of the elements of Cantonese morning tea looks is a rice-based
dish that looks somewhat like Cheung Fun(肠粉 rice noodle roll),
but has no stuffing, but is instead steamed with a lotus leaf, translucent
and elastic. It smells like rice, but after you add just a drop of soy
sauce, you can see it is the perfect dish for absorbing other flavors. Chan
Tsun Fun (陈村粉 rice noodle from Chan village) is only available in the
PRD.
History
In 1927, in a little village called Chan in Shunde, Guangdong, a resident
created a kind of rice noodle with a thin, fresh, and smooth texture. As its
fame spread far and wide, outsiders began calling it Chan Tsun Fun, or-
Chan village rice noodle. Its complicated and delicate preparation process
meant Chan Tsun Fun couldn't be produced in large quantities, making it
an expensive item. The process of preparing Chan Tsun Fun involves more
than 10 steps, for example the rice (ingredient) had to be stored for at least
half ... ... |
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Bak Chit Gai
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Kelly Wang
Oct 29, 2008
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Bak Chit Gai
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If the fear of salmonella does not raise a red flag, then
the concern of avian flu will probably stop you from enjoying
Bak Chit Gai (Bai Qie Ji in mandarin), or poached
chicken that is just cooked and still carries slight traces of
blood in the bones. Yet, in the true spirit of adventurous gourmets,
the Cantonese will stop at nothing for good food. That's
why Bak Chit Gai remained a popular dish in Guangzhou
during the SARS outbreaks and continues to stand out as a
significant, if not the most important, and absolutely loved
dish for upscale banquets, casual dinners or simply day-today
family meals.
When it comes to making chicken, the Cantonese definitely
win hands down with a great variety of styles. Cooking
techniques such as steamed, boiled, stewed, braised, baked,
fried, barbequed, combining various chicken breeds make
for a never boring consumption of this rather not-so-versatile
choice of meat. So what makes Bak Chit Gai so special?
Bak C ... ... |
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Husband and Wife Cake
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Woody Lai
Sep 1, 2008
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In Guangdong, you'll find no multi-tiered white wedding
cakes celebrating the loving union between a husband and
wife. No tiny figurines of a bride and groom, either. Here,
such a sweet union exists without such exigencies, in the form of
simple pastries inspired by stories of love's triumphs.
Wife Cake (or Sweetheart Cake 老婆饼: Lao Po Bing) and
Husband Cake (老公饼: Lao Gong Bing) are among the most
popular traditional Chinese pastries in Guangdong. Don't be surprised
if you find several variations on the traditional recipe
Wife Cake
What's in it: Winter Melon, Coconut, Butter, Sugar
Legend: The origins of the Wife Cake involves the tale of a couple
living in a small village in imperial China. And while they lacked
material wealth, they had no shortage of love for each other. Then
tragedy struck, with the outbreak of a mysterious disease causing the
husband's father to become fatally ill. The couple spent all of their
money on treatm ... ... |
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Desperately seeking Juk Sing Meen
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Kelly Wang
Jun 5, 2008
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Cantonese food
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| It's an interesting scene: a man sits on one end of a gigantic bamboo and bounces up and down in a repetitive, tedious fashion, while at the other end sits some plain looking dough being pressed over and over again. When all this is finished, the perfected dough is cut into thin threads of noodles in order to make a superb treat. Welcome to Juk Sing Meen.
Elastic, great in consistency, and aromatic of duck eggs - such are the characteristics of Juk Sing Meen (or "Zhu Sheng Mian" in Mandarin). It's a traditional delicacy, and also, a dying art.
When it comes to a bowl of noodles, the Cantonese have very different tastes from the rest of the country. "Tsong Hao Dan A" (or Shuang Kou Dan Ya) is the main criteria, which is the Chinese equivalent to "Al Dante". Since noodles are usually served in soup and can thus lose their elasticity when soaked too long, texture is very important and a clean "mouth feel" is crucial. That's why Juk Sing Meen h ... ... |
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Dororo Japanese Restaurant
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Kelly Wang
Jun 4, 2008
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Japanes food
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| Crystal chandeliers, a long and very sleek bar, French-themed furniture . . . but it's a Japanese restaurant! Yes, Dororo is the newest Japanese fusion restaurant in town, but there's definitely no confusion with the food. Although adoptingWestern presentations, the food here speaks in a clear Japanese tone. The Dororo Signature Sushi Platter (238RMB) consists of four well-matched seafood sushis (Tuna Belly with rock salt, Botan Shrimp with cuttlefish dressing, Hokkaido Scallop with black truffleessence, and Sea Eel with Wasabi cheese), and two Crispy Duck Rolls which are wrapped in crunchy black sesame seeds. Another signature dish, Steamed Egg with Chicken (28RMB), has even received international acclaim and was once presented at the Queen's table. However, the gold star goes to the Tofu with Crab Sauce (38RMB), which is a perfect example of the newly
rising fifth taste sensation: Umami. The silky tofu has a complete rich taste from the sauce made of dashi (Japane ... ... |
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Dare to eat Bird's Nest Soup?
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Ethan Zhou
May 7, 2008
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bird's nest
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| Creme de Canton
Dare to eat Bird's Nest Soup?
Yes, you're slurping swift's saliva...
It's often mentioned that Chinese people can eat anything, and especially the Cantonese, who are considered the most ?carnivorous foodies in the entire country. We all know the old joke—they'll eat anything that flies in the sky except a plane, anything that lives in the ocean except a boat, and so on. But bird's nests?
In reality, Bird's Nest is a rather luxurious delicacy from Southeast Asia and widespread (and extremely popular) around the Canton region. As long as something is nutritional or healthy, you can trust the Cantonese to cultivate and create it, even if that means collecting . . . bird's saliva.
Nest history
The Chinese name for Bird's Nest Soup, "yan wo(燕窝)", translates literally as a "swift's nest" (yan = swiftlet, wo = nest). A few species of the rare swift, for instance the cave swift, are renowned for buildi ... ... |
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Canton soup for the soul
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Kelly Wang, photos by Joe Chen
Apr 1, 2008
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| In praise of the regionís most beloved broth.
Whether it is a formal banquet, a quick lunch or just a ?family dinner, a bowl of soup will always find its way onto a Cantonese table.
Soup is the quintessential symbol of Cantonese cuisine, which embodies long-lived Cantonese traditions and reflects the earthy ?philosophy of guangdong ren. So why do the Cantonese love soup with such a passion?
The main reason is that the weather in the Canton region is largely humid and sultry, so the people tend to consume lighter food and lots of fluids. Soup, often cooked with meat, bones and vegetables, becomes the perfect dining solution. Cantonese people also believe that the essence of ingredients makes the soup highly nutritious. Most soup is usually made three ways in Guangdong - by quick boil, by long boil or by steam.
Chef Chen Kang Guo , from Four Seasons China Hotel, shared his extensive knowledge of soup with us. . .
Qu ... ... |
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Nor Mai Gai
Food+Drink (Guangzhou) / Creme de Canton
Written by : Ethan Zhou
Mar 11, 2008
Tags :
zongzi
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| A whistlestop guide to those tasty snacks with sticky rice and lotus leaves . . .
A brief history
Nor Mai Gai, or sticky rice with chicken wrapped and steamed in lotus leaf, is one of Cantonese's favorite breakfast dishes and dim sum. Yet, it also comes from Guangzhou as a late night snack but not a breakfast. Before China's Liberation, in 1949, late night snacks were already very popular in the city. People steamed bowls of sticky rice with chicken then sold them on the streets. It was not convenient for selling Nor Mai Gai in the bowls by carrying them on shoulder baskets, so the local barrowmen used lotus leaves instead of bowls to wrap the rice and chicken. These they steamed to keep tasty and fresh. It became an instant favorite with the working people. However, back in those days, the Nor Mai Gai was triple the size than nowadays and could be considered an entire lunch on its own. From the 1980s on, Cantonese restaurants promoted smaller-sized Nor Mai Gai, (which is a ... ... |
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