Chinese Hot Pot was one of my favorite ways to eat Chinese food. I was never 100% sure what I was eating, but friends always would assure me that I would like it when trying something new or unrecognizable, and most of the time they were right.
Many of the Chinese people value the the freshness of their food being brought to them when they go to a restaurant. The Chinese Hot Pot allows the patrons of the restaurant to cook their own food at the table, so it is as fresh as it could possibly be. The Hot Pot restaurants had large round tables with seating for about 8-10 per table with a hot plate in the middle of the table. A large pot of water was placed on the hot plate and was brought to a boil. You could then order your uncooked food and have it delivered to the table. Most of the food choices were cuts of meat, vegetables and many various dumplings. The very best meat was the unfrozen meat, because it would have been the freshest available. You would place the uncooked food in the water and let it come to a boil until it was finally cooked. As more various different types of food were placed in the water it made an interesting type broth which made the food taste even better.
As always, I tried to perform the proper table etiquette whenever I was eating with friends. I liked learning the new etiquette that should be observed with chopsticks, but one of the new things I learned about Hot Pots wasn't an etiquette ideal, it was more or less of a health concern. I had to always remember to place my chopsticks in the hot boiling water after I had put raw meat in the water because the ends of my chopsticks must then be sterilized after touching the raw meat. I know I forgot to do this a few times and fortunately never got sick, but it was a new eating style habit I had to learn.
Just like all the other eating places in Hong Kong, this restaurant was very noisy, full of the sounds of hot boiling water, plates clinking and loud chatter from all the guests. I really enjoyed the couple of times I had a Hot Pot. It was a lot of fun to choose and cook my own food while trying new and interesting things and I always met new friends while out with my own friends.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Dim Sum - Get Some!
Dim Sum is a very unusual type of food, well at least it was unusual to me. The Chinese people sometimes referred to Dim Sum as "going to tea" which made sense as tea was served with the meal. I really enjoyed the tea, but I can't say the same for all the food though.
My first experience with Dim Sum was one weekend morning when my neighbor asked me if I wanted to go out to eat with them. I agreed and we got on a bus and went downtown to a pretty large restaurant. The restaurant was two stories tall and decorated very elaborately inside. What struck me the most at first was the number of people in the seating area. It was packed full and very noisy, but as I continued to visit other restaurants around, I realized that it was not so uncommon to have very little personal space in a restaurant.
As normal, I had to let my neighbor order because the entire menu was in Chinese, but he did a very good job at ordering a vast variety of food so I could try different kinds and potentially find one that I really liked. After the order was placed, we sat and enjoyed some hot tea. I believe it was Jasmine tea and I really liked it. After a very short while our food was brought out and served in these small bamboo dishes. The portions were very small, usually only about 4 pieces per serving of each type of food that we ordered. Most of the food was a mix of some sort of meat, vegetables and spices rolled into a ball and wrapped in a dough to make a dumpling. There were also a few gelatin type deserts too that we tried.
I don't consider myself a very picky eater and if I had to say what food I don't like I could easily say salmon and tomato soup. When it came to eating Dim Sum though, I think what turned me off was the texture of the food. It was very unlike anything I had had before and it was a huge change from what I was used to. Some of the food had a very good taste but such a strange, unusual texture that it made it hard for me to enjoy.
Dim Sum was a great tasting adventure for me and I don't believe you should visit Hong Kong and not try Dim Sum. I'm really glad I had a local person to take me there and order for me as it was quite an experience to try all the different flavors and textures. I do like trying new things, and I also have to know that I might not necessarily like everything that I try. At least it was a new experience for me, and another local tradition that I was able to take part in.
For some more information about Dim Sum, click here or simply Google in "Dim Sum" and there are many other sources out there with great information about it.
My first experience with Dim Sum was one weekend morning when my neighbor asked me if I wanted to go out to eat with them. I agreed and we got on a bus and went downtown to a pretty large restaurant. The restaurant was two stories tall and decorated very elaborately inside. What struck me the most at first was the number of people in the seating area. It was packed full and very noisy, but as I continued to visit other restaurants around, I realized that it was not so uncommon to have very little personal space in a restaurant.
As normal, I had to let my neighbor order because the entire menu was in Chinese, but he did a very good job at ordering a vast variety of food so I could try different kinds and potentially find one that I really liked. After the order was placed, we sat and enjoyed some hot tea. I believe it was Jasmine tea and I really liked it. After a very short while our food was brought out and served in these small bamboo dishes. The portions were very small, usually only about 4 pieces per serving of each type of food that we ordered. Most of the food was a mix of some sort of meat, vegetables and spices rolled into a ball and wrapped in a dough to make a dumpling. There were also a few gelatin type deserts too that we tried.
I don't consider myself a very picky eater and if I had to say what food I don't like I could easily say salmon and tomato soup. When it came to eating Dim Sum though, I think what turned me off was the texture of the food. It was very unlike anything I had had before and it was a huge change from what I was used to. Some of the food had a very good taste but such a strange, unusual texture that it made it hard for me to enjoy.
Dim Sum was a great tasting adventure for me and I don't believe you should visit Hong Kong and not try Dim Sum. I'm really glad I had a local person to take me there and order for me as it was quite an experience to try all the different flavors and textures. I do like trying new things, and I also have to know that I might not necessarily like everything that I try. At least it was a new experience for me, and another local tradition that I was able to take part in.
For some more information about Dim Sum, click here or simply Google in "Dim Sum" and there are many other sources out there with great information about it.
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