GOODBYE and come visit us at the new site

Well I can't say it has been fun, but Blogger just about sufficed. 

However, out of a love for food and photography we have moved to TomEatsJenCooks.com

Please come and visit and let us know what works or doesn't.

Tom and Jen

Why sashimi and Japanese mayo are really the only two things you need in life.

As I continue to feel my way through Hong Kong supermarkets and recipe ideas that actually make sense in this city, I keep coming back to two things -sashimi grade fish and Japanese mayo. Ok, ok. Sure it's expat-y and not quite embracing what the locals have to offer, but at least I'm getting warmer. And I can make Tom happy with things like this salmon sashimi with pomegranate seeds and a prawn and tobiko salad.

There's a couple reasons why sushi works so well living in this city. It's fast, light, and you don't have to heat up your kitchen to make it. But the main reason I keep finding myself in the fish section these days is because it's actually pretty good value. The other day I purchased what I would describe as a "slab" of salmon for $90 HDK. From that slab, I sliced what would probably equal six orders in a restaurant. And with that much just for two of us, we stuffed ourselves silly.

In Hong Kong, the selection of sushi grade fish in the supermarkets also goes way beyond the standard tuna and salmon. There's plenty of opportunities to be creative with fresh scallops, squid, octopus, yellowtail, or tobiko. And the quality is as good as, if not better than, the local Japanese restaurants. Partner your slab of fish with some local veg, nori, and rice and you can be in business for under $200 HKD for two. Considering that just one, good quality chicken breast can cost anywhere from $50-$90 HKD, it's clear which menu choice makes the most sense.

Now, the second must have ingredient in my pantry is Japanese mayo. It does contains MSG, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. You don't need much for it to do wonders, so if you're really concerned, rest assured your consumption can be kept to a minimum.  But if you're like me, I've been putting it on everything. I toss it in simple salads dressed with sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy. I even squeeze it on my burgers and dogs alongside the ketchup and mustard.

The recipe below is another simple and easy sushi supper. For the sashimi, slice the salmon, sprinkle with a few pomegranate seeds, and a bit of lime zest. Drizzle with soy and sesame oil and you're done. For the salad, I love the colour and texture that tobiko, aka flying fish roe, adds to a dish, and you can purchase a healthy portion for around $45 HKD. This container lasted through several meals for me.



For this salad, I bought 200 g of prawns which doesn't seem like much, but once steamed and chopped is enough to serve four. I prefer steaming to boiling as it retains the natural flavour of the sea.



Mix the prawns with a generous spoonful of tobiko and a squeeze of Japanese mayo. Serve on a bed of shredded cabbage and crack open the sake.

Restaurant Review: Ning Po Residents' Association in Central

I may not look it but I am, according to my membership card, a ex-resident of Ning Po in the Zheijiang province of China who now lives in Hong Kong. Or, alternatively, I thought it would be fun to take a guest to the Ning Po Residents' Association when he visited Hong Kong.

Getting a membership of Ning Po is apparently not that hard these days. It mainly involved me asking my secretary to ring up and haggle in Cantonese and me paying a bit of money when I got there.  And then it began.  There is an English menu with "literal" translations of what the dishes where.  This was little more evocative than "meat" + "something" so we were slightly clueless.

A desperate effort at ordering ensued involving (i) waiter recommendations (ii) menu roulette and (iii) pointing at other tables.  This was so unstructured I do not feel I can properly "review" this restaurant beyond commenting on the experience.  The food we did get was, well, a mixed bag and of a homely quality but that is likely due to our ordering more than anything.

The highlight was a shoulder of pork which was luscious, tender and interesting.  The lowlights were some vegetables which tasted like boil in the bag frozen things you could get from 7/11.  In between we got a host of other experiments in ordering which included whole sweet and sour deep fried fish and a chicken with sauce.

As you can tell I failed again by not doing some proper research on OpenRice.com.  All in all it is the kind of place I would visit again but I feel that even with spot on ordering that it is not where you go for fine, sensitive Shanghainese cusine.  This is where you go for memories of home.  Our guest loved it though.

Price - 300hkd with some over ordering to cover the lack of preparation.
2-18 D'Aguilar Street, Central

Restaurant Review: Gutlee Sushi in Kennedy Town

As I am caught thinking about Japanese food I wanted to write about the best Japanese restaurant I have been to in a very long time. This includes London, Europe, the US and splodges of Asia.

However, before turning to the food I want to relate a little anecdote that is truly wonderful. I hadn't been to Gutlee Sushi for about 2 months as I had moved out of my temporary flat way out in Kennedy Town and now live centrally. However, my old flat was right by Gutlee Sushi so I used to go a lot and always mentioned to the waitress that I wanted to take Jen there when she arrived in Hong Kong.

Then two months later we finally managed to make it out to Kennedy Town. The owner beamed with happiness and sat us down. She then gave me a biro. I looked bemused. She said (correctly) that I had left it there last time. Wow. Japanese service in Hong Kong.

As for the food, I got a bit nervous as I had raved about Gutlee to Jen and she is more judgmental than anyone else I know on Japanese food. I've always casually gone with omakase (or chefs choice) when I had previously visited as the menu is in Chinese and I like surprises. So we did the same again. As it is all very fresh, the food takes a while to come to your table so I started sipping tea nervously. Then it started flowing out.

Straight away, as soon as Jen tried the very first nibble of sashimi, I knew I had won from her face. Its texture, its freshness, its just... luxuriant impeccability. You knew you were in a special restaurant as it rolled around your mouth. Jen started muttering about this being better than her favourite place in San Francisco. Because it is.

This time, there being two of us, the chef really got to hit his stride. The one problem is that the pictures can't reflect the glory of the fish, the bounce and the softness of the sashimi rice or the pacing, presentation and happiness it gave us. Also, the plates they used slightly hid the pictures of the sashimi from us as they were a touch too much. But don't worry, I'll go back, there will be a pictorial.

Price - 300 to 600hkd a head (£25 to 50)
G/F, No.24 Wing Shing Building, Davis Street, Kennedy Town

Restaurant Review: Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood in Causeway Bay

The weird thing about Hong Kong is that isn't really about Chinese food. Hong Kong isn't Chinese. It's well... a bit of everything. A bit of a reinterpreted mess.

English tea is evolved and has become black tea and evaporated milk with an emphasis on smoothness. And Hong Kong's national food? Well Japanese food must come a close second and it is held in as high esteem here as we in England adore curry.

This is obviously no bad thing as we all love Japanese food and it is here in Hong Kong in resplendent quality. Tonkichi Tonkatsu Seafood is renowned as the place in Hong Kong to go for tonkatsu or breaded and deep fried pork cutlets (and tonkatsu... Oysters).

We went and it was all a bit too much for me. The portions would make an American kowtow (Japanese) / ketou (Chinese). The bread might have been crispy and the pork was tender but there were just too many fried breadcrumbs to fight your way through. The moderation, the balancing of portions, and aesthetics behind Japanese food seemed to be absent. Compared to the less lauded Sapporo Japanese Restaurant in Central it falls short.  Though I have to admit tonkatsu is one of those dishes where I think a lot turns on what you grew up eating... Perhaps this is just too much for me.

That said, I did love the deep fried oysters which were impossibly fresh as they nestled within the batter. If I went back I'ld stick to the seafood.

Price - 300hkd ish for a set meal (£26)

A seared tuna salad that makes even the laziest person seem like a cook.

I am a terrible girlfriend. Tom has been asking me to make a salad since I arrived. I have been here almost two months now, and my first ever Hong Kong salad appeared last Thursday evening.

I admit my kitchen hasn't seen much action lately, and for some reason, moving countries again has seriously disrupted my cooking mojo. If I don't heat up a pan soon this blog may become TomEatsJenEatsAndLazesAbout.

So in an effort to get back on the horse, I'm posting my recipe for this seared tuna salad created on the fly while perusing the aisles of City Super at 8pm.  I hate sounding cliche, but it really is as simple as it looks below.

Taiwanese mango sliced and mixed with black sesame seeds

Daikon radish sliced on the mandolin and splashed with vinegar then sprinkled with salt and smoked paprika.

Thai asparagus steamed and tossed with Japanese mayo, salt and pepper.

Sushi grade tuna marinated for 15 minutes in equal amounts of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar.

Sear the tuna on a smoking hot pan for a few seconds on all sides. Slice. Place some rocket in a bowl, add a little bit of marinade and toss. Add the asparagus and gently toss. Do the same for the mango. I say gently because otherwise your salad will look like a big mess. Plate the salad mixture and place the daikon randomly about. Top with tuna slices.

Stall Review: Meat Ball noodles in Haiphong Road Temporary Market

When I first arrived in Hong Kong I was bemused. I expected it to be just like Blade Runner but it wasn't. I am not saying it is a clean or pristine city but the street food and hawking scene which I thought would be omnipresent is not really there.

Apparently the reason for this is that the Hong Kong government has put a concerted effort into clearing away street food and dai pai dong over the years and dumping them in places which are called "Cooked Food Centres". If you haven't been to Hong Kong you won't be familiar with what they are but think communist, think concrete, think 60s. Generally several floors are dedicated to produce and the smell of raw meat and fish and one floor is dedicated to street stalls who now live in 1960's civic centre-esque surroundings.

So I thought I would go and find something authentic, something without a/c or floor tiles and I ended up in Haiphong Road Temporary Market in Kowloon. Apparently its been temporary for about 20+ years. Out the front is a halal meat market which you walk through to get to the food section. The speciality is meat ball noodles (the bovine equivalent to Hong Kong's fish version) and there are tens of stalls strewn out under tin roofs selling them.

I picked a stall which looked less squalid than the others and pointed at my neighbour's bowl. What I got was something wonderful. Something with a dark meaty broth and cuts of flank and reprocessed meat balls that was thrillingly good. A touch of sauce then made them spicy, so spicy that I could have melted ice flows. I am a convert but does anyone know where to get them closer to home in Sheung Wan or Central?

Price - 25hkd or £2.20
By the leftover piece of land next to Kowloon Park Drive

PS to my eternal shame the one food picture I took was out of focus as I was dying from the spice and didn't check properly.

Cafe Review: Barista Jam in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

When I first got to Hong Kong I promised myself that I would eat only Chinese food.  I soon broke that.  I also promised myself to break the coffee habit that developed in London.  But soon after arriving I got desperate and started hunting around for proper coffee.

Then I started getting nervous.  All I could see were Starbucks and Pacific Coffees (think Starbucks).  The one place I followed a Time Out HK recommendation to - Fuel Espresso IFC - was distinctly average and something like 50hkd (£4.50) for a coffee.  And then... I was walking home in Sheung Wan and smelt a familar smell.  And there it was, Barista Jam (though they cheated on making me love them by having a guest appearance of Square Mile beans that day).

Barista Jam is perfect.  Knowledgable staff.  Good coffee.  Cool space to relax and drink.  Nice design.  Good prices.  All those things you want from a coffee shop.  Just where the cast of Friends would now be hanging if they were hipsters and in Hong Kong.

And more excitingly I have realised that the coffee scene here is growing.   I've had good coffee in 18 Grams, Cafe Corridor, Holly Brown, Oscars (on occasion).  Hong Kong seems to be going through a flourish and growth and I'm excited to see it.

Price - 24hkd (I think but its cheap regardless)
126-128 Jervois Street, Sheung Wan

PS if you like coffee tech you can go upstairs at Barista Jam and invest in some cutting edge stuff as they have a shop

Restaurant Review: City Hall Maxim's Palace, Central, Hong Kong

This is my final post ending a week of dim sim and it is time for the place you will probably go if you visit Hong Kong or will have definitely been if you live here - Maxim's Palace in City Hall.

The reason you will go or have been is that it is has dim sum trolleys.  Simple.  It also has all of those other things which somehow mean character when you apply them to dim sum restaurants - putrid carpet, epic chandeliers and the appearance of entrenched chaos. Maxim's has all of them in spades.

I want to mention two things in this review.  The first, given that you normally go to dim sum on a weekend relatively early after an inappropriate amount of alcohol is particularly important.  The coke they served is the best I have had for ages.  Cold, in nice bulbous crystal glasses.  Fresh and fizzy.  Not the normal cheap made it Turkey in 1923 stuff you sometimes find.

Second, despite the fact that some of the trolleys have TVs in them (seriously) it is an above par experience.  It is even, on occassion good. But most of all it is fun.  It is like that dim sum experience you loved as a child where you delve in trolleys not knowing what you might find.  Lids lift up, steam escapes.  People fetch and bustle.  You glimpse around the room trying to catch the trolley containing your favourites before it escapes.

There were also a couple of very good dishes.  Neither of which I have pictures of so I am left trying to explain them.  One was a type of octopus jerky where there was chewy octopus, cold, which you slowly munched on.  The other was a baked BBQ pork bun with custard inside.  Sounds terrible.  Was delicious.

Whenever a friend comes to visit in future I'll take them to Maxim's as it is a little microcosm of Hong Kong where you can just sit back and enjoy the chaos.

Price - 300hkd (£26) if you are very hungover. 200hkd (£17) if you are less so.
1/F, City Hall, 5-7 Edinburgh Place, Central

PS make sure you get there early as when we left at 11:30am the queue must have been over an hour

Restaurant Review: Lung King Heen and dim sum in the Four Seasons, Central, Hong Kong

Much has been said about the fact that Hong Kong has the cheapest 1* Michelin star in the world in Tim Ho Wan.

However, for me, the most remarkable thing about the Michelin star "scene" in Hong Kong (apart from how Yung Kee got 1*) is that you can go to the only 3* Chinese restaurant in the world - Lung King Heen (LKH) in the Four Seasons - and spend less than 300hkd (£28) for an epic dim sum lunch.

The one caveat on this is that I am not using "epic" in its fullest sense. LKH is very good and we did leave epically full. However, the food did not instil me with the kind of awe or revelation that I have come to expect from a 3* level restaurant.

This is, of course, a caveat of the highest order. I am being picky beyond belief. If LKH was 5 minutes walk from where you live in any other city you would cry with joy. However, for a restaurant which is meant to be the apogee of high end Chinese food in Asia's "world city" it wasn't quite there (this visit).

Let's start with what was astoundingly good - the baked BBQ pork buns. As one of the people I was at the table with said, "that is the best single dish I have had in Hong Kong". I wouldn't go quite that far but everyone was discussing getting some to take home even after ordering two rounds at lunch.

I will probably go back just for those and to take a picture which is worthy of their genius as I was too distracted on eating them to snap something which encompasses their wonder (bad effort two pictures above).

The rest of the meal was much as you would expect from a high level dim sum place. Compare it to Maxim's at City Hall, Luk Yu or more traditional places and LKH thrashes them up and down the street. However, in comparison to Man Wah and Tim Ho Wan it didn't excite me as much and basics like the steamed dumplings or sui mai weren't utter perfection.

In all other areas LKH is exceptional. The presentation is beautiful (just look at the baked turnip puffs a couple of pictures above), the room is efficient and showy in a hotel dining room kind of way, your napkin migrates on and off your lap as it would in a French restaurant, the waiters hover just out of eyeline but... the flair in the food which I expected was only 90% there.

Still if you want good, near exceptional dim sum with ease and elegance I would wholeheartedly recommend it. If you can face queuing in 90% humidity Tim Ho Wan. If your pockets are a touch deeper Man Wah.

Price - 550hkd for 2 or about £50
Podium 4, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central

PS next on the dim sum eating list are Fu Sing, a revisit to Tim Ho Wan and Cuisine Cuisine