Peking Garden

Sorry for the week off... I just got a new PC and actually built it myself. It's pretty awesome. I got a Shuttle small form factor case, which is really cool. Anyway, here is Peking Garden in the Star House complex in Tsim Sha Tsui. This was a multiple birthday big family meal type of thing. I'm almost done with Hong Kong now.


noodle guy hand-pulling our noodles in front of us noodle guy hand-pulling our noodles in front of us That's cool isn't it? The guy came out right after we ordered to pull the noodles we would be eating later, right in front of our table.


veggie rolls veggie rolls


steamed (?) chicken with soy sauce steamed (?) chicken with soy sauce


cold sliced pork with chili sauce cold sliced pork with chili sauce


deep-fried shrimp with sweet chili sauce deep-fried shrimp with sweet chili sauce


scallion pancakes scallion pancakes Good stuff all around. The veggie stuff was surprisingly tasty. Chicken was nice and tender. Dave would love the shrimp dish; it's almost like General Gao's shrimp!!! Haha. The scallion pancakes were superb. Cakey, fluffy, crisp, and delicious.


peking duck peking duck


sea cucumber with vegetables sea cucumber with vegetables


egg white with chicken egg white with chicken


minced pork filling with pastry buns minced pork filling with pastry buns


chinese veggie chinese veggie Mains were good. The Peking duck was the more meaty variety, which I also like. Sea cucumber is something I don't like very much, but hey it's supposed to be good for you. The sauce is always great though. Egg white with chicken was yummy, as is anything with egg whites (usually crab I guess). Goes wonderfully with rice. The minced pork + who knows what was also great; then again I'll like almost anything wrapped in those pastry buns.


steamed veggie dumplings steamed veggie dumplings


pork dumplings pork dumplings


fried hand-pulled noodles fried hand-pulled noodles


mango cake from Cova mango cake from Cova The starchy stuff was definitely a strong suit here. The steamed veggie dumplings are some of the best veggie dumplings I've ever had, and as you might imagine I'm not a big fan of veggie dumplings. The skin was a perfect texture, and the filling was pleasant. Pork dumplings were also great but not as outstanding. Noodles were delicious - you can tell it's freshly pulled when the width of each noodle is different than the last. There was a ton though, and we were all really full, so we didn't even come close to finishing. The birthday cake was from the Cova bakery in Harbour City, and it was just right... Not too sweet, which is so often the case here in the US.
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Spring Moon - 嘉麟楼

Here is some dim sum at 嘉麟楼 (Spring Moon), the Chinese restaurant inside the Peninsula Hong Kong, with me, Geoff, and my dad. The place is famous for inventing XO sauce, which I admit was very good. I technically wasn't supposed to take pictures of stuff in here, so consider these deep cover arthur hungry SPY PICS. That's right, I put my life on the line for you guys.


deep-fried stuffed taro ball deep-fried stuffed taro ball


jellyfish, roast pork, steamed chicken jellyfish, roast pork, steamed chicken


baked roast pork pastry baked roast pork pastry


steamed shrimp dumplings steamed shrimp dumplings


duck with couscous wrapped in some big leaf duck with couscous wrapped in some big leaf This meal was great. The taro ball is one of my favorite dim sum items, and they made it great here... crisp and flaky. The roast pork was, I believe, the best roast pork I've ever had. Deliciously fat and tasty. Odd to say that about an item as common as roast pork, but I really think so. Roast pork pastry is another of my favorites and as you can guess thanks to the roast pork was really good here. Shrimp dumplings were standard (which means really good in HK). The duck dish was very interesting... dunno how to describe the stuff other than couscous. A little salty but the mix of textures was good.


mango pudding mango pudding


fried milk yellow bun fried milk yellow bun


steamed milk yellow bun steamed milk yellow bun People that know me have heard me hype this up forever: there is a good chance that this place has the best mango pudding in the world. No exaggeration. You can also get the mango pudding in the lobby lounge, or get it room service if you're staying at the hotel. I remember the first time I tried it, I was staying there, and we got mango pudding like every day. It's just so damn good, I can't even describe it. The texture is moist, not too rubbery, perfect mango flavor... it's just awesome. If you're EVER in Hong Kong, you must at least go to the Peninsula lobby and try this out. You won't be dissappointed. The buns were also very good. Apparently, this place also invented these buns which are now a fairly known/common item. Translated literally they are "milk yellow buns" which doesn't describe them too well. They're just buns that have a sweet egg-yolky center. These are the best ones I've had. Texture of the buns was great, and the filling is absolutely delicious. Really, if you get a chance, you should go eat a meal at this place so you can try the roast pork, mango pudding, and the buns. But at the very least TRY THE MANGO PUDDING.
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Ye Shanghai - 夜上海

Sorry about the delay again... had a midterm on Friday and a paper due Monday. And this is a long post. This is an interesting place called 夜上海 (Ye Shanghai), also in the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. It's a pretty swanky Shanghainese place, with one catch: they have a Western-style pastry chef. You'll see the results...


cucumber with (lots of) garlic cucumber with (lots of) garlic


mushroom in tofu skin mushroom in tofu skin


seafood soup seafood soup


plain stir fried baby shrimp plain stir fried baby shrimp Gonna take this one step at a time... there's a lot of pics. We had most of the standard Shanghainese cold apps; I didn't bother posting them all. The cucumber was really really garlicky (ie. good). The tofu skin with mushroom is a very typical dish that's well-executed here. Hot and crisp tofu. The seafood soup was like a Chinese bouillabaisse. Crab, fish, clams, shrimp, and a very tasty broth. Just add rouille! The shrimp as you can see were tiny and very good.


peking duck peking duck


crab stuffing with sesame pastry buns crab stuffing with sesame pastry buns


fried fish with scallions and soy sauce fried fish with scallions and soy sauce


stemed pork dumplings steamed pork dumplings Peking duck was of the skin-only variety and delicious. Very crispy with well-made pancakes. The crab stuffing was also great... usually those buns are served with Chinese donut. Fried fish was so so. Xiao long bao was great, but still couldn't match up to Crystal Jade.


sugar buns sugar buns


ginger panna cotta ginger panna cotta


tofu skin pastry with mango tofu skin pastry with mango


rice pudding custard rice pudding custard


sago semifreddo with berries sago semifreddo with berries


sesame creme brulee sesame creme brulee


tofu cheesecake tofu cheesecake So as you can probably guess by now, the theme is Western desserts using Chinese ingredients. VERY unique. Some were hits and some were misses... Buns were good but nothing special. Ginger panna cotta had a little too much bite for me, but I don't really like the taste of ginger in desserts. The mango thing was delicious - very interesting use of tofu skin as a sort of phyllo/millefeuille pastyr. The custard was sort of like a creme caramel - very solid. The semifreddo (dunno what to call it) was also delicious. Creamy and fulfilling. Sesame creme brulee was so so, but a lot of other people loved it. Again, I don't like sesame all that much. Tofu cheesecake was alright - very light, but not as good as some other normal cheesecakes I've had. I don't know if you'll be able to find this kind of stuff anywhere else. It's definitely an interesting concept.
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Aka Sushi

Arthur Hungry is now officially a year old. Didn't really get to celebrate or anything though. Who'd have thought I would still have this site going after a year... Next up is another Japanese meal in Hong Kong at Aka Sushi. My dad had a reunion type thing with some of his college dorm buddies from Hong Kong U and I just tagged along.


negitoro temaki negitoro temaki


sashimi - hirame (flounder), geoduck clam, amaebi, kajiki (swordfish), saba (in the middle), and i think kazunoko (herring roe - the yellow stuff) sashimi - hirame (flounder), geoduck clam, amaebi, kajiki (swordfish), saba (in the middle), and i think kazunoko (herring roe - the yellow stuff)


usuzukuri - thinly sliced halibut usuzukuri - thinly sliced halibut


hamachi and akagai (ark shell) nigiri hamachi and akagai (ark shell) nigiri


some roll i can't remember, uni some roll i can't remember, uni As you can see some pretty exotic stuff (I didn't do the ordering). All of it was very fresh. Negitoro was nice - crisp nori and generous contents. The sashimi was definitely stuff I wouldn't order on my own. Geoduck clams I weren't too fond of... leaves too much of a fishy taste in my opinion. Saba, which I don't usually like because it too often tastes fishy, was actually very nice here. I don't usually like amaebi either but this one was good. Very sweet and not too fishy. The swordfish is a first for me - very meaty like one would expect; in my opinion too lean of a fish to make for good sushi. Hirame was chewy and delicious. The herring roe was the most interesting of the bunch. Another first for me - I didn't like it too much but I don't generally like roe-y stuff. Well worth trying though. The usuzukuri was awesome... refreshing with yummy ponzu sauce. Akagai, their namesake, was HUGE and tasty. One of the better clam sushi I've had. Hamachi was above average and very fresh. The uni was sweet, but not as good as the one we had at Unkai. I can't for the life of me remember what was in the roll... I'm tempted to say it was some kind of eel. Not too memorable though.


deep-fried pumpkin deep-fried pumpkin


spicy ramen spicy ramen


noodles in white fish broth noodles in white fish broth The pumpkin thing was a surprise. I don't like pumpkin too much but as you might expect deep frying it made it awesome. Hot (temperature), sweet, and tender on the inside. The noodles were both just okay... The spicy ramen wasn't spicy enough, and the fish broth was a little bland. We also had a few yakitori dishes that I don't have pictures of which were quite nice. Overall a good meal. The place has a much more neighborhood-y feel than Unkai. A few more meals left in Hong Kong, and don't worry, they're Chinese.
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Cova

I had one Italian meal in Hong Kong (again inside Harbour City). This is a lunch at Cova, an Italian restaurant and bakery.


carpaccio carpaccio


fried calamari and zucchini fried calamari and zucchini


scampi with capellini scampi with capelinni


tiramisu tiramisu


mango mousse cake mango mousse cake My dad had tried stuff from the bakery before so we decided to try the restaurant for lunch. Carpaccio was pretty standard (hard to find an exciting carpaccio after eating at Harry's Bar). Calamari was good - I liked the zucchini. I've had them together once or twice before and I think it's a good combination. The scampi was described on the menu as a tagliarini, so I was pretty dissappointed to discover it was the much thinner capellini... I dislike capellini and angel hair a lot. They don't seem able to absorb any flavor from whatever they are cooked with. The desserts were good. Tiramisu was pretty average, but the mango mousse cake was delicious. Light, fluffy, and not too sweet. Good meal overall, but I wish my pasta was actually tagliarini...
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E.C. Eatery - 小城知味

Another great find in Harbour City is 小城知味 (E.C. Eatery). We actually spent almost all of our time in Kowloon (not Hong Kong side), and a large part of it was in Harbour City. This is a cafe type of place that serves a variety of different stuff... rice, noodles, and everything in between. Pretty cheap too.


hainanese chicken rice hainanese chicken rice


potstickers potstickers


braised short ribs with rice noodle in xo sauce braised short ribs with rice noodle in xo sauce Hainanese chicken rice is one of the signature dishes here, and it was great. Very tender and juicy. The rice was fragrant and tasty... could probably eat it plain. The potstickers were very good. Meaty and juicy on the inside. They also used Chinese chives (I think that's what it is in English) for the filling, which is pretty unusual for a potsticker (though common for dumplings) but turned out pretty tasty. The rice noodles were okay. I didn't find them too interesting but I think my dad liked them more than I did. On a side note, the Arthur Hungry 1 Year Anniversary is coming this Wednesday, Oct. 6th. I'll be doing nothing! Woo hoo.
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Unkai

Japanese food in Hong Kong is good but expensive. Here is an excellent (and pricey) meal at Unkai, the Japanese place inside the Sheraton Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui.


negitoro maki and temaki negitoro maki and temaki


kanpachi, uni, grilled toro kanpachi, uni, grilled toro


tai, aji, tamago, unagi tai, aji, tamago, unagi


toro toro The sushi all around was excellent. Barely a step off Japan. Let me first of all say that they had fresh wasabi. In America we almost always get either the paste or powdered wasabi. Those of you that know me know how I always point out the difference... Real wasabi is actually a type of root, and you grate it into the thing you mix with soy sauce. Real wasabi is actually not very spicy. The idea that good wasabi is extremely hot is a myth - real wasabi tastes a lot fresher, but not really hot, and consequently you can actually use more of it. Anyway, we had 3 kinds of toro. Well 4 if you count the 2 kinds of negitoro. A negitoro hand roll currently reigns as my single favorite food item, and this one did not dissappoint. Toro sushi was also excellent... Very fatty and buttery. They also had something called "grilled toro" on the menu, and we had to try it. They literally quick sear a piece of toro and put it on sushi. The fattiness of the tuna makes for a pretty unique and different taste and texture compared to normal toro. Very hard to describe, but definitely worth trying if you get the chance. The rest of the sushi was also great. Uni was extremely sweet and creamy. Kanpachi in my opinion tastes better than hamachi... I like the chewier texture. Tai and aji were good, but not spectacular... Which isn't fair considering the amazing aji I had at Sushi Zen in Sapporo. They didn't have anago that night and the unagi was alright. Tamago was also alright, but nothing special. The toro was as usual the highlight, and the grilled toro was definitely something new.


teppanyaki steak - australian wagyu sirloin teppanyaki steak - australian wagyu sirloin


teppanyaki foie gras teppanyaki foie gras


teppanyaki fried rice teppanyaki fried rice We finished off with some teppanyaki. Wagyu steak (which just means beef grown Kobe-style, but not actually from Japan) is popping up everywhere now. Hong Kong seems to be getting a lot of Australian Wagyu. This stuff was definitely good, but still isn't the real thing. When you bite into it, you can taste about half of it as the superbuttery melt in your mouth fatty beef, while the other half is a little bit leaner (as compared to full blown melt in your mouth butteriness in Japan). Still excellent, and superior to the Wagyu/Kobe steaks I've tried in both SF and Boston. Interestingly, they had teppanyaki foie gras on the menu. These were huge servings of blocks of foie gras, and as you can imagine turned out very good. Just look at all the fat/oil. Really delicious - surprised I haven't had it before... it's such an obvious combination. The fried rice was good as teppanyaki fried rice always is, but they cooked the leftover fatty pieces from the steak a little too long. Overall though this was an absolutely excellent meal.
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Victoria City - 海都海鲜酒家

We didn't leave Harbour City very much during our trip to Hong Kong. There's a lot of places to eat in there... Here is some dim sum from 海都海鲜酒家 (Victoria City Seafood Restaurant).


crispy pork crispy pork


roast roast goose


fried chicken knees fried chicken knees


thousand year egg thousand year egg


steamed shrimp dumplings steamed shrimp dumplings


pan fried rice noodles with xo sauce pan fried rice noodles with xo sauce We ended up eating not just dim sum dishes I guess. The meats were good... crispy pork was the usual. Roasted goose was as always superior to roast duck. We actually cut it pretty close - this was I think our last chance to eat goose because there were again goose importing troubles. Later in the week, there was no goose to be found anywhere. The chicken knees probably scare a lot of people. They're crunchy, cartilage-y, and very tasty (hey, it's fried after all). Even more scary to many people is the thousand year egg. These are preserved duck eggs, and I guess people consider them an acquired taste. I love them. I probably haven't had a good thousand year egg for like a year, so I welcomed these with great pleasure. You can see the gooeyness in the picture... Simply delicious. The shrimp dumplings were of expected HK dim sum quality - big, plump, juicy shrimp, and nicely textured wrapping. Fried rice noodles with XO sauce is one of my favorite dim sum dishes, and this one was great. Soft, silky, and not stuck together.


steamed pork dumplings with crab roe steamed pork dumplings with crab roe


congee with crabmeat and roe congee with crabmeat and roe It was crab season so they had a lot of different crab specials available. We went for the crab roe xiao long bao, which were delicious. They were much more rich than your typical xiao long bao. The roe adds a creamy clog-your-arteries deliciousness. That said, the dumplings themselves weren't quite as well done as at Crystal Jade. The congee was HUGE... They gave us a giant bowl (you know, like when you get soup for a table of 10+ at a Chinese meal) to split among just 4 people (me, Dad, Geoff, Tiff). This was subdivided into 4 also huge bowls (pictured - they're bigger than the picture shows). Congee was great but we were all pretty full and unable to finish even half. Except for my dad.
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Crystal Jade - 翡翠拉麵小籠包

This is gonna be another Monster Post... this time from 翡翠拉麵小籠包 (Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao) in the Harbour City mall. Surprising how many good places there are to eat inside Harbour City. I also went to this place twice during my stay in Hong Kong. It was just so good Geoff and I had to go back. "La mian" means pulled noodles, and "xiao long bao" is a steamed pork dumpling, also known to some as a soup dumpling. As you might guess, this place specializes in these two items.


ginger and scallion noodles ginger and scallion noodles


soup noodles with fried short ribs soup noodles with fried short ribs


za zeung noodles - noodles with a chinese meat sauce za zeung noodles - noodles with a chinese meat sauce


noodles with beef in chili oil noodles with beef in chili oil I guess I'll talk about the noodles first. Noodles are a serious business in China. My dad's side of the family originates from Shandong province, an area in northeastern China. You may recognize it as the cause of the May 4th movement in 1919, when Chinese students demanded the Chinese government reject the treaty of Versailles because it left Shandong under Japanese control despite Woodrow Wilson's proclamation of national self-determination for everyone. It was also the home of Yuan Shikai, a Qing dynasty military man who switched sides and became the first president of the Republic of China after the fall of the last emperor. Historians often blame him for slowing down China's need for development at the time. See Mom, Dad, I actually do learn stuff at school. History aside now. It also happens that Shandong people know their noodles. Legend has it that my grandfather would reject noodles that were mere hours old, demanding freshly pulled ones instead. Apparently he could really tell the difference. Anyway, it was comforting to be able to see inside the Crystal Jade kitchen where there was a noodle guy pulling fresh noodles full-time. The noodles are simply awesome. I'd have to say the best was the ginger-scallion - simple and delicious. But each one was great (and there were many other variations). The chili one had just a kick of heat. The ribs were crisp and tasty. The freshly pulled noodles are just incredible. Perfect texture and taste... Don't know how else to describe it. Anyway, on to the rest.


xiao long bao - steamed pork dumplings xiao long bao - steamed pork dumplings


baked turnip bun baked turnip bun


scallion scallion "big" pancake


red oil wontons red oil wontons


pan fried pork buns pan fried pork buns


fried red bean cake fried red bean cake The xiao long bao were EXCELLENT. Probably the best I've ever had. Soupy and delicious on the inside, perfectly textured thing wrapping on the outside. I could eat these all day. The turnip bun was also great - flaky and starchy. The scallion pancake was literally called "big" so we had to try it. It was damn filling, but a good twist on the average scallion pancake - much more bready and little grease. The wontons were in the same chili oil as the beef; again, the wontons were excellent just like every form of bun at this place. The pan fried pork buns were crispy on the bottom... they could seriously challenge the ones I had in Beijing. As for the dessert, I'm normally not a big fan of red bean but this thing is one of the better Chinese desserts. Gooey, crispy, delicious. If you're in Hong Kong, go to this place. Harbour City mall.
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Wing Yuen

Here is an excellent meal at Wing Yuen, a little noodle/congee shop across the street from the Harbour City shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui. We actually went twice during the trip... Chinese breakfast food is something you have to take advantage of while in Hong Kong.


beef congee beef congee


fried fish skin fried fish skin


chinese donut chinese donut


za leung - chinese donut wrapped in rice noodle za leung - chinese donut wrapped in rice noodle Delicious... this is the type of stuff you can't get on this side of the Pacific. Great congee, amazing Chinese donut. The fish skin probably grosses some of you out but it's yummy. Za leung is one of my favorite food items, and you can't seem to find any good ones in North America anymore (or Chinese donut in general). Not to mention it's all dirt cheap...
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Eastern Palace Chiu Chow Restaurant - 东銮阁潮洲酒家

Sorry about the delays. Still sorta getting settled with the school schedule. Anyway, here is the first of many Hong Kong posts. This is 东銮阁潮洲酒家 (Eastern Palace Chiu Chow Restaurant) in the Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel. My descriptions suck, since I don't really know/remember what the stuff is... Maybe my dad will be able to comment (in other words correct) me on what everything is.


shark's fin soup shark's fin soup


stir fried fish stir fried fish


egg pancake with salty vegetables egg pancake with salty vegetables


some kinda veggie in clay pot some kinda veggie in clay pot


prawns with egg whites prawns with egg whites


sliced goose sliced goose The shark's fin soup was good (and huge). Lots of shark's fin in it, but the broth wasn't as tasty as the one I had in Beijing. The fish was so-so I thought. I can't remember what that stuff is that it's cooked with. The pancake was good... usually they have oysters but we didn't get it for some reason (I think I may have voted against it). Veggie was blah. The prawns were good but nothing special (my cousin Tim wanted it). The goose was really good, as goose always seems to be. To be honest though there are a lot of more superb meals to come.
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Southern Beauty - 俏江南

My last post from Beijing is at a Szechuan place called 俏江南 (Southern Beauty). Thanks again to my Uncle John for taking us out.


spicy pork with veggies spicy pork with veggies


veggies wrapped in sliced pork veggies wrapped in sliced pork


fish in chili oil fish in chili oil


dan dan noodles dan dan noodles


potstickers potstickers The spicy pork thing came out like that, but they served it with all the ingredients mixed together, making it some sliced pork in that chili sauce. This was probably the spiciest dish and very tasty. The pork rolls weren't spicy but very refreshing and delicious. The fish in oil LOOKS the spiciest, but actually wasn't. It was really good, but as usual I'm very lazy when it comes to picking out fish bones. Still very addictive though. Dan dan noodles were awesome. Good noodles, nice spicy/nutty kick. Potstickers were excellent. I've come to conclude you can't find a bad bun (or anything wrapped really) in all of Beijing. Next up is Hong Kong...
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Alameda

The only Western meal I had in Beijing was at Alameda Brazilian restaurant.


fried fettuccine, capers, black olives, tomato sauce fried fettuccine, capers, black olives, tomato sauce


escallopes of mignon, roasted aubergine, yellow courgettes escallopes of mignon, roasted aubergine, yellow courgettes The place definitely seemed to be an Italian restaurant rather than a Brazilian. The pasta I had was listed as a fettuccine but was in fact linguini. The food was quite good though. The pasta was a tad salty for my taste... too much sauce compared to pasta. The steak was great, and the veggies were surprisingly tasty. The two came as a set lunch for 60 RMB (um, like less than 8 bucks). Amazing.
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Vics

Here is some food from Vics, a club near the Workers' Stadium. Yep... real food in a club.


cheese pizza cheese pizza


indonesian fried rice indonesian fried rice Pretty good, all things considered. I wasn't expecting food in a club, let alone decent food. The pizza was pretty nice. Indo fried rice wasn't Nud Pob elvel but it wasn't bad.
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Zhang Sheng Ji - 张生记

Time for a Beijing monster update! This is another meal with Mike and his family at 张生记 (Zhang Sheng Ji), a Shanghainese restaurant.


smoked duck smoked duck


some veggie I don't know how to translate some veggie I don't know how to translate


pig ear, flavored pork, roasted duck pig ear, flavored pork, roasted duck


pan fried pork bun pan fried pork bun


duck & ham soup duck & ham soup


beef with green peppers beef with green peppers


plain stir fried baby shrimp plain stir fried baby shrimp


stir fried rice cake (nian gao) stir fried rice cake (nian gao)


red pepper fish head red pepper fish head


stinky STINKY tofu stinky STINKY tofu Excellent meal all around. I dunno what the veggie is called but it was great. The pan fried pork buns were delicious... the best sheng jian bao I think i've had. Crisp on the bottom, good filling. The duck soup is supposedly the signature of the place and was also excellent... Tons of flavor to the broth. The shrimp were awesome. Very light a refreshing. Nian gao was one of the best I've had as well - the texture was perfect; no mushiness at all. Now, to the stinky tofu. I just don't get it. It's so stinky. It doesn't taste particularly good. Why not just eat non-stinky tofu that can be just as good or better? Ah, whatever.
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Hatsune

Sorry bout the brief delay - I just moved back to Boston. School is starting this week. Anyway, back to Beijing. I had one Japanese meal in Beijing at Hatsune. Mike knows the owner.


shrimp and vegetable tempura shrimp and vegetable tempura


grilled black cod grilled black cod


119 roll - basically spicy tuna 119 roll - basically spicy tuna


assorted sushi assorted sushi Definitely good stuff. The tempura was alright. Sushi was good all around though. We kinda laughed that there was a piece of sushi with just avocado... seen avocado rolls, but not avocado nigiri before. The 119 roll was really good. Like I said it was basically their version of a spicy tuna roll, but it was excellent. The sauce was wonderful. This meal was pretty expensive compared to all the other Chinese food you can get in Beijing, but still cheaper than what I'm used to for sushi.
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Be There or Be Square Cafe - 不见不散

Here is another middle of the night meal in Beijing, at 不见不散 (Be There or Be Square Cafe). The funny thing about this place is that it's inside a little mall, and everything else in the mall is closed... but the mall stays open because this restaurant is open.


fried chicken with vanilla sauce fried chicken with vanilla sauce To be honest, I had no idea what the menu meant by "vanilla sauce" and Mike couldn't figure it out either. So I was intrigued. After eating it, if I had to guess, I'd say that somewhere in the translation "black pepper" became "vanilla", cuz that's what this tasted like. Not a bad thing; it was good. Especially for the 20 or so RMB it cost.
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Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant - 大董烤鸭店

My dose of Peking duck in Beijing came at 大董烤鸭店 (Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant). Thanks to my Uncle John (who lives in Beijing) for taking us out.


peking duck peking duck


peking duck garnishes peking duck garnishes The duck was very good. The style was a little bit different than I'm used to... The duck itself is less fat than I've seen before, but the skin was extremely well done. Crispy and caramelizing. Another interesting thing was the variety of garnishes. The usual sauce and spring onions were there, but there were also cucumbers, sugar, and those other sauces that I don't even know how to identify. Very interesting stuff. I still prefer the straight up normal sauce with some scallions though.
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Gino Bakery - 大成家

In Beijing you can eat at any time of the day. This is an odd morning hour meal at 大成家 (Gino Bakery), which is both a bakery and a restaurant that has noodles, snacks, and a variety of other things.


beef noodle soup - 13 RMB beef noodle soup - 13 RMB 13 RMB means less than 2 dollars. LESS THAN 2 DOLLARS! The noodles were just awesome. Good soup, good noodles, good beef, good veggies. It was a fairly good sized portion too, though you can't see all of the noodles and beef under the veggies. For freakin less than 2 bucks.
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