Sunday 20 April 2014

Lunch at Valore in Biei 美瑛, a Beautiful Village in Hokkaido, Japan




It was early April and already the weather was warm enough for Mr. A to wear tee-shirts.   But only a week earlier, he was shivering in frigid weather in Biei, a small town in central Hokkaido of northern Japan, despite wearing a down jacket, long john and a lined cap with ear flaps.  How his environment had changed in just a few days!

The word "Biei" means beautiful crystal sparkles.  Tourists flock there in summer for its flower fields, tree groves and blue ponds.  But in winter, with everything covered in snow, there is hardly anyone around.  

During their 90-minute scenic drive, Mr. & Mrs. A came across only two other cars with their occupants stayed inside.  Amazingly two fearless cyclists were resting on top of a small hill, braving the wind and the sub-zero temperature.  Their driver dutifully stopped at every scenic spot and stepped out of the car to show them the best vantage point for picture taking, despite Mrs. A’s plea for him to stay warm inside the vehicle.  

The scenery was at times a bright snowscape under a blue sky, but mostly a minimalist sketch in infinite shades of gray.  Mrs. A remarked that it reminded her of scenes in the epic movie “Doctor Zhivago”.  Mr. A thought the famous groups of trees, with fanciful names like “Ken and Mary”, “Christmas Tree” and “Parents and Child”, made famous by television episodes and commercials, looked beautiful in close-up snapshots but somewhat of a letdown when viewed in person as they appeared so insignificant in the open field.

“Parents and child”:  note the two large trees with a small one in between them
  
Anyway, Mr. A did not go to Biei in late winter for snow and trees.  He went there with Mrs. A for lunch at an 18-seat Italian restaurant, Antica Osteria del Valore.  He read about this place on the internet and had the urge to eat there.  His reasoning was simple: if a small Italian restaurant in the middle of nowhere had survived for years, it must be pretty good, right?!  

They took an one and a half hour train ride from Sapporo to Asahikawa and transferred to a local train for Biei.  At the Biei Station, they hired a taxi to go out of town, went down the highway, turned into a side road somewhere and eventually arrived at Valore.  It was a small house surrounded by trees.  Except for the road, parking lot and a path, everywhere was a thick blanket of pristine snow.  Across the open fields, snow capped mountain ranges adorned the horizon far away.
    
 
The door at Valore opened promptly at 11:30.  Mr. & Mrs. A received a warm welcome and were led into the narrow dining room.  There was just one row of wood tables and chairs along the front wall.  The setting  was simple and rustic so as not to distract the diners from the colorful plating of the dishes and the flavors of the ingredients from local farms and purveyors.  

Their seven–course lunch lasted almost three hours.  It started with a potage of Japanese turnip, dressed with foie gras flan, a turnip slice, leaf, and foam of turnip greens.  The lovely light green and pink over the white symbolized the end of winter and the arrival of spring.  The smoothness of foie gras flan played well with the creamy potage, and its mild savory flavor complemented the earthiness and slight sweetness of turnip.

 
It was followed by a light salad of kani (crab) in aspic, with raw sayori fish on top, and framed by radish slices, cherry tomatoes and herbs.  The brilliant colors of the radishes formed a striking composition.  Raw saroyi  was one of Mr. A’s favorite fish.
 
House-made egg pasta was served with a botan-ebi (the large Hokkaido prawn), sakura-ebi (the tiny shrimps, most likely from Shizuoka), and tempura of local shiitake mushroom.  A rich mushroom broth was poured into the bowl at tableside.  The broth was pale in color but intense in flavor.  In the process of eating the dish, the stock was dyed by the head of the botan-ebi and took on a deep color.



A leaf of purple endive at the same time concealed and highlighted a piece of seared hakkaku (a delicious winter fish unique to the Hokkaido waters) and grilled takenoko (son-of-bamboo, a.k.a. bamboo shoot).  Takenoko was at its best in winter.  Mr. A appreciated its preparation -- the chef quartered a young shoot lengthwise, grilled and served it with the husk.  The tender tip, which was the edible part, was not quite two inches long.  Its texture was superb -- juicy, crunchy, tender.  The subtle and mild flavor, with an elegant fragrance of nature, invoked a sense of “Zen” that was beyond words. 

 
Mr. A was brought back to earth with the meat course and a glass of red wine.  The meat was “misugi” of local Biei beef.  On the same plate were various greens, including asparagus, broccoli, brocollini, Brussels sprout, cauliflower, okra, baby lettuce leaves, and fava bean puree.  

(Note: “Misuji” is known in the U.S. as “Market Steak”, a relatively inexpensive but very tender and flavorful cut.  It can be found at meat shops that butcher their own cattle carcass.  Availability is very limited as there are only a few hundred grams of it, about four small steaks, in each carcass.)

Dessert was a sakura (cherry blossom) and vanilla mousse cake and sakura gelato.  Just like traditional tea shops all over Japan serving green tea and sakura mochi, the pink rice cake wrapped around with a pickled leaf, in March and April, the chef at Valore offered his take to celebrate the coming of spring.

After tea and coffee were served, a second dessert arrived at the table. It was a cannoli filled with lime cream, resting on a lime marshmallow, and a spoon of ume (plum) ice.  Their light tartness provided a very refreshing finish to the meal. 

Mr. & Mrs. A were glad that they had made the trip to Biei.  The food and service at Valore were good.  While the meal was not luxurious (luxury was never an important factor to them), it succeeded in its celebration of the soon-be-gone winter and the soon-be-here spring with proper ingredients, using their colors, texture and flavor meticulously.  It showed the chef’s love of Biei, nature and cooking.  The travel to Biei took special effort, but train rides in Japan were relaxing and enjoyable; and the quiet beautiful scenery along the way was soothing.  Mr. & Mrs. A enjoyed the day tremendously.


Wednesday 16 April 2014

First meal in Vietnam

Our first meal in Vietnam was hosted by the tour company and it was a cozy dinner in a nice restaurant for the four of us (there were only four of us in the "small group tour").  It was likely the most genteel restaurant we ate at in the twelve days that we were in Vietnam, other than the meals on board ship at Halong Bay.   The rest of the time, we tried to eat the kind of foods that local Vietnamese ate in the cities that we visited.

The meal was served by uniformed waiters and was nicely presented.  Although it wasn't heavy on local flavour, we enjoyed it as a first culinary experience in the country and we were in good company.  

The first dish was a combination plate of (clockwise from top right) prawn and pork rolled in mustard leaves, pan-fried "young" tofu, Hanoi fried spring rolls, rice pancake with shrimp and bean sprouts filling (dish in the centre) and a wild rice chicken salad.   We were hungry and everything tasted good!  Incidentally, the name of the restaurant is "Wild Rice" (La Lua), likely why we got the wild rice salad.



Pan-fried duck with pate and green pepper sauce - tasty!

Spicy shrimps with pineapple in spicy chilli and pepper sauce - a little ambiguous about this one


Braised eggplant with pork, vegetables and spices



Fruit for dessert - dragon fruit, pineapple and water melon - nice presentation!

Sunday 13 April 2014

East coast seafood, Singapore, that is

The most memorable meal we had in Singapore was at the Red House Seafood Restaurant at the East Coast Seafood Centre.  We didn't get to the centre till dark so really didn't get much of the waterfront flavour which we gathered was why this group of restaurants was created.  For us, it was a long haul from Clarke Quay but since the food was very good, it was worth the trip.  Singapore was also our first "seafood" stop on this trip so we were "hungry" for real seafood.  It did make me wonder though if a good restaurant in Chinatown proper might be able to serve the same seafood at a more convenient location and more palatable price.  


We are the tastiest razor clams - I would rate this as the best dish

The shrimp was good too 

Scallops steamed with vermicelli - not very big but quite tasty


Singapore is famous for the chilli crab, and for the people who can't eat hot foods, there is the black pepper crab, which we had.  While it tasted good, I still find the strong spice took away the original flavour of the crab rather than enhance it.  I can imagine even less original flavour with the chilli suace.



The restaurants at the East Coast Seafood Centre are quite basic looking but pricey.  


Friday 4 April 2014

Cambodian dinner with Apsara show

We went to an Apsara show at the Angkor Apsara Theatre when we were in Siem Reap. Apsaras were the mythical dancing females widely depicted in the Angkor temple reliefs. Here we saw some apsara dancers that, while not quite mythical, were still quite good. Cambodian dinner was served with the show - we each got a tray which rather reminded me of a Japanese Bento box, only more elegant.  

First courses were spring rolls and samosas, mushroom soup - Chinese and Indian influences.  The green papaya salad showed Vietnamese influence, as did the fish in banana leaf.  What may be truly Cambodian was the "Saraman" pork (top left corner).   Saraman is like a Cambodian curry and typically made with beef, so this "saraman" pork is a little unusual but very tasty.  It is supposed to be made with curry, shrimp paste and fish sauce and I think I can taste them all in the pork, in fact, I think the flavour went very well with the pork, perhaps even more so than it would with beef.  

Dessert was caramelized pumpkin with coconut cream - exquisitely prepared.   Overall, a very satisfying dinner, which while it may not be truly authentic khmer cuisine, did give us a flavour of it.



Dinner tray


Fish steamed in banana leaf


Caramelized pumpkin with coconut cream

I love the lotus flower!


Tuesday 1 April 2014

Cambodian or Chinese?

When we took a lunch break from Angkor Wat sightseeing, our guide took us to a local restaurant that was a little further away from the main tourist drag, although it was still a tourist restaurant.  We were surprised by the selection on the menu.  There were all kinds of stir fries that reminded me of Chinese food and we were wondering if it was to cater to the extensive number of Chinese tourists in the area.  We learned afterwards that the owners are Chinese, in fact, a lot of businesses in Cambodia have Chinese owners.

We had a kale stir fry - again a surprise to find kale here although it doesn't taste anything like the kale we had at home.  The stuffed melon is very clearly Chinese - we still remember these from when we were kids.

Kale chicken stir fry - delicious "kale"!


Stuffed melon in soup

Of course  it's Chinese!


Wednesday 12 February 2014

Cambodian BBQ

The first order of business upon arrival in Siem Reap was to check out the food.  We visited the "night" market in the afternoon and checked out the restaurants on the famous "Pub street".  I've heard about the Cambodian barbeque but it was hard to imagine eating that in the heat.  But when we went back in the evening, when it was cooler, it seemed doable.  The place was packed but it was quite big and we found a table.  

There were two BBQ menus, one with seven kinds of meat and the other with twelve.  We figured seven was all we could manage - chicken, beef, pork, espanado (fish), shrimp, squid AND crocodile!  The crocodile tasted a bit like chewy chicken - it's quite good.

Veggies and noodles came with the meat - we asked for and got extra greens.  The meat was placed on a domed grill - the little fat there was dripped through the grill while the meat sauce dripped into the soup, we got the tastiest free soup ever - what a deal!  Most of the meats were lightly marinated but all tasted great.  And since one of us had an upset stomach just before the trip - this is clearly the safest option...



Each of the meats was labelled!


 
Veggies, rice and noodles came with the meat.

The square piece at the top of the domed grill was a piece of pork fat that they used to grease the grill - clever!  and yet while the juice from the meat dripped into the soup, there was no grease in the soup.





Saturday 1 February 2014

Chinese New Year dish 蠔士髮菜 or 好事發財

The signature Chinese New Year dish is named after two of its ingredients: oysters and dried seaweed,  in Chinese 蠔士髮菜 (pronounced "ho see fat choi") and in fact, it's just the sound of the dish that made it "lucky" for Chinese New Year, where a good name is everything.  The oyster and sea weed sounds like "good things and prosperity" 好事發財 ("ho see fat choi") making it the key dish in any Chinese New Year dinner (for the Cantonese speaking at least).

Traditionally at my home, my mom would make this dish for Chinese New Year's eve, serve half of it and have the other half for the second day of the new year, when we have the first real dinner to mark the beginning of the year.  While the two key ingredients gave the dish its name, it is in fact made with quite a few more things, all of which have their own significance.  I emphasized "at my home" because every family has its own interpretation of tradition and I'm sure if we were to ask 10 Chinese families what they put in their Chinese New Year dish, you'll get 10 different answers.

Dried oysters (as opposed to fresh) are the best for this dish.  These need to be soaked for a few hours or overnight in just enough water to cover.  The seaweed is not just any seaweed.   It has to be "fat choi".   See picture below - and for origin, check out this wikipedia article, it may come up in Chinese, just click translate.  It is black and looks like human hair, hence its name translates as "hair veggie".  It is quite expensive and there are fakes around.  I've never bought it in Toronto.  The supply I had was given to me more than 10 years ago.  It's dried, it will last forever in the fridge but it won't last long on the table.  Alas, this is the last of my supply - I will have to start looking for it, maybe in Hong Kong...

Dried seaweed or "fat choi"
dried oysters

Other ingredients:  quail's eggs (birth, new life), dried mushrooms, bamboo shoots (spring, new life), lotus root (for meeting the right companion), dried scallops, enoki, dried bean curd can all be included.
Sometimes pig's tongue is also added for more luck (tongue in Chinese is "lei", sounds like luck).
Quail's eggs

dried mushrooms


Lotus root, bamboo shoot

Enoki mushrooms


All ingredients are stir fried in a bit of oil and ginger, garlic, starting with the oysters and mushrooms. Add some stock and simmer for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients, leaving the seaweed last because they soak up the sauce.  I usually leave them in one lump as they tend to split up otherwise and would be hard to find.  The boiled and peeled quail's eggs are best browned in a separate pan so they don't break up as easily.   Add these after everything else is cooked.



發財好事




Sunday 26 January 2014

Is the ambiance worth paying for?

One of the most expensive Chinese restaurants in Toronto is Lai Wah Heen (麗華軒) - with rave reviews in Gourmet and the New York Times.  It has been around for many years but we have never been - possibly because it's downtown, also because someone had said eating there was like eating money and we didn't find eating money particularly appealing.  Last week, we ventured in as part of a birthday celebration - a good excuse, especially when someone else was footing the bill.  The food was excellent indeed.  I was pleasantly surprised by the taste of money and I really enjoyed the lunch in a quiet, almost elegant atmosphere with attentive service, multiple plate changes and in general, being engulfed in a sense of luxury and wellbeing - who wouldn't love it!

This week, we went to a simple dim sum restaurant in Scarborough, Full House at Midland and Finch, priding itself as a restaurant serving rural Chinese food, where dim sum was about a third of what it costs at Lai Wah Heen (in some instances, a fifth of the price for some ultra expensive dishes).  Obviously it didn't have the same ambiance - encased in dirty fogged up glass windows and a thread bare carpet cushioned with ancient crumbs.  We were clearly among members of the proletariat.  But we thought the food was good, the wrap for the dumplings just as perfectly done as those at Lai Wah Heen as were the ingredients for some of the dishes.  The only thing lacking was the aesthetics.

One steamed dish, enoki and king mushrooms wrapped in bean curd, tasted very similar at both places. At Lai Wah Heen, it was a special with a truffle, at $5 a piece - a piece being half of a bean curd roll, only enough for one person (see photo below).  At Full House, it's $2.15 for 3 rolls, enough for six.  Unbelievable price difference given that both tasted equally good - granted, the truffle was special.  We got good service as the staff knew us.  When we considered this intellectually, we realized that we were paying mainly for the ambiance (which included the presentation) the week before.  The debate then becomes, are we willing to pay megabucks for the ambiance, the aesthetics?   For the very occasional treat, on very special occasions AND if the person who pays can afford it - yes.  Otherwise, it would be an indulgence - and I would feel guilty...


Steamed bean curd roll of mushrooms and truffle - it is very good, one of the best I've tasted with subtle contrasts in textures and tastes, the truffle is a treat - thumbs up! 

Steamed dumplilng of lobster & shrimp in garlic butter - disappointingly bland in both taste and texture, couldn't taste the lobster at all - thumbs down!

Deep-fried tofu brick with Dungeness crabmeat and shrimp - very good - an 8

Deep-fried prawns and scallop wrapped in bacon - another 8

Wok-fried diced turnip cake with soy sauce - not as good as the regular turnip cake - a 4

Crispy fried pastry of foie gras, shrimp & minced pork - if there were real foie gras in there, it was wasted - a 5

Baked pastry filled with cured ham & shrimp - a 5

Chilled chicken wing marinated in wine sauce - outstanding!  One of the most memorable dishes in the meal!  The chicken wing was deboned, cold and firm, could use a tat more wine in the marinate but otherwise, it's perfect.  With added points for the work involved in deboning and the relatively reasonable price, I would give this a nine and a half.
Maitake mushroom & vegetables in rice roll - great texture and taste - an 8


This was an ordering mistake - I thought I had ordered braised pork belly, but it turned out to be ordinary roast pork belly.  It was very good nevertheless but nothing special although they did give us a good cut - a 6

The perfect ending - gorgeous layered pastry encasing papaya in milk custard - unbelievably good - a 10!

To be quite fair, Lai Wah Heen did offer some unusual dishes not often seen in other restaurants.  For that, it's probably worth an occasional visit.  I'll be thinking about the chicken wings and the papaya pastry for a while...