Hou Wei Xiang La Guan (Sichuan restaurant) & Qi Pu Road markets, Shanghai

Sichuan (or Szechuan) cuisine has become a trendy and very popular type of food to have in Shanghai and probably all around China. This is especially so amongst young people as some of them are constantly trying to find an even chillier restaurant to challenge their taste bud limits. Sichuan is a province located on the southwest side of China and is famous for its spicy dishes that use many types of chillies and is also where Szechuan peppercorns originated.

Near where I live in Shanghai, there is a restaurant called Hou Wei Xiang La Guan (厚味香辣馆打浦店) in the Da Pu area in Lu Wan Qu. I don't believe they have an English name though but it is a franchise with numerous locations around Shanghai. The interior was spacious and for the three of us (my cousins and I) we got to sit at one of the couched areas so were nice and comfortable during the meal.

We ordered a set menu which gives you 4 dishes for $69Yuan plus a few extra dishes. I couldn't quite remember if the jug of sour plum juice came with the set or whether it was ordered separately, but nevertheless, sour plum juice is a good drink to have when your tongue is feeling numb from the chillies. Another good drink is milk or soy milk but those are not as regularly ordered at a restaurant.

My favourite dish of the day was the cold noodles. The topping was a light peanut butter, sesame and soy sauce with mince pork, shiitake mushrooms, peanuts, bean shoots, celery and some sort of pickled bok choy and just a tiny bit chilli. It was very refreshing, tasty and just the right saltiness. We managed to finish it instantly. 

Next was daikon and beef brisket claypot. I didn't particularly like this dish that much, partly because it tasted like any other claypot dish I've had back in Melbourne and partly because the beef wasn't cooked all that well. By all means it wasn't a bad dish but I've had better.

Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant, Wantirna

Mei Jing Chinese Restaurant is situated off the corner of Boronia Rd and Mountain Hwy in Wantirna. It was formerly known as 'Superstars' Chinese Restaurant which has now changed management and is still known as Superstars on most websites including Urbanspoon - it's obviously time for me to update its details ;). If it wasn't for my family friend finding it in the Chinese newspapers, we would never have dined at this restaurant as it really was in the middle of nowhere.

The decorations of the place was that of a typical Chinese restaurant, nothing too special, apart from the very golden ceiling reflected by the awfully bright lights just above our table. I tried to take a photo of it but the shine hurt my eyes so didn't end up working out too well. :P The table where we enjoyed the meal was right next to air-conditioning vents and made us all shiver with coldness, as it was reasonably warm outside and most of us only wore a thin layer of clothing. The waiter was very nice and quickly turned down the air-conditioning for us. I've had many experiences like this in Chinese restaurants and most of the time I get rejected by phrases such as 'but the other customers might be warm' or the likes of 'sorry all the air-conditioning vents are connected so I can't turn off just this one, please put up with it'. I was pleasantly surprised at the good service here.

Whenever we go out with these family friends, it's always occasion to open a bottle of red wine. This time it was Bowen Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 made in the Coonawarra region. This wine's actually quite popular with everyone I know who've had it. I'm not a big wine drinker so I can't really comment but I do find it easier to drink than others because it's not as dry and is a bit sweeter.

We ordered the usual mixed cold platter entree with jellyfish and realised that Mei Jing's is actually fairly different. It's usually individual portions of jellyfish and other things such as marinated pork, chicken/duck feet, duck tongue or some other variation but Mei Jing's is actually marinated duck strips with peanuts, carrots and other veggies. I liked it! We finished off every little bit of it, even all the peanuts.

We also ordered a mixed roast dish, including roast pork, roast duck and cha siu. I personally didn't like any of them, the duck itself was too fatty and wasn't that tasty anyway. The cha siu was WAY overcooked and totally dry and tough I didn't even want a second piece. The worst was the roast pork which was salty and the skin wasn't crispy! I hate un-crispy pork skin. :( Although it wasn't a very good start to the evening, it quickly got better as our main dishes came on.

Mabrown, Balwyn

Mabrown is a Malaysian/Chinese/Thai restaurant near the corner of Belmore Rd and Balwyn Rd in Balwyn. My friend Winwin suggested to dine at this restaurant for our 'double date' and although it was a fantastic get together and the quail was irresistible, the service was just terrible. I don't usually expect anything from Chinese restaurants since it's probably not in their nature to have great service and so we didn't really complain. I didn't see smiles on the waitresses' faces all night and when we asked one of them where our rice was, she just said in an uncaring voice to wait and then never came back! We had to ask, I believe, the owner of the restaurant for the rice again. Nevertheless, the spicy quail was to die for and was the only thing that saved the night.

It's not a surprise that Mabrown's signature dish is the spicy deep fried quail. Not being a big fan of quails normally, I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was. The skin was crispy but not too oily, the meat was perfectly flavoured (I can tell it's been cooked well when all the flavour of the sauce has gone inside) and was just the right spiciness. It sure was a lot of finger-licking goodness! We ordered 8 quail pieces between the 4 of us but I felt I could have eaten more than 2. :P

It is so popular with the patrons that quails can be seen on nearly every table and we were suggested to call up and pre-order them!

The beef rendang was a slight let down after tasting the wonderful quails. The beef was a bit dry and the sauce was really average as well. None of us liked it much and left it till the end to eat.

Hu Tong Dumpling Bar (lunch), Melbourne CBD

Yuye and I went to Hu Tong for lunch the other day after dropping off our passports at the Chinese Consulate for visa applications. It was almost 2:30pm when we called to make the booking and we were told no bookings after 2pm and 3pm is when the kitchen closed. After hearing that, I drove like a maniac into the CBD (hoping there were no police around…) and just made it into the restaurant at 2:45pm. While we were gawking at the lunch menu, a number of customers walked in and were politely refused entry, this is when I laughed silently to myself thinking "lucky I made it" :D I am so evil.

The lunch menu consisted mainly of yumcha style dumplings and noodles. As we were both soooo hungry, we ended up ordering 3 sets of dumplings, xiao long bao and a noodle dish. I thought it would be too much food but it was just right. There is also a fishbowl like kitchen (just like China Red, also part of the Hu Tong empire as well as Din Tai Fung in Sydney) where patrons can watch the great chefs at work while they wait for their food.

We tried their money bag (石榴包 shi liu bao) at $6.80 for 3, and I must say, the first impression I had was 'gosh they're small'. Maybe because it was 3pm and these were steamed a long time ago but they looked shrunk, small and sad. Nevertheless, we ate them and they tasted good. The ingredients inside were diced snow peas, carrot, ham, mushroom and minced prawns. There were too many flavours inside that my tastebuds didn't quite know which one to focus on.

Din Tai Fung, Sydney

Everything I did during my Sydney trip seemed to be in pairs. Now that I think about it, I went to Makoto twice, Masuya twice and even, Din Tai Fung…twice. That just shows how good these restaurants really are right? After dining at Din Tai Fung in Sydney, I really thought the dumplings I had in China were nothing in comparison. That is, I haven't been to the Din Tai Fung in Shanghai so I can't comment on that, but I know, the xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung Sydney beats anything I've had on the streets and even, most restaurants in Shanghai, my second home (or my first rather since I was born there). As you can see, Din Tai Fung is immensely popular so if you don't want to wait outside for half an hour or more, it's recommended that you go early. We knew this was going to happen during our second visit (mistakes are well learnt here) so went there at about 11:15am, just after they opened for the day.

I really like their internal decorations with the large and small bamboo steamers on the walls and assorted bowls and spoons arranged in a pattern. These provide amusement for patrons while they wait for their food and is an interesting and fitting decor for this restaurant.

You can also watch the chefs at work in the fishbowl like kitchen. They make the dumplings in a very orderly and efficient manner.

First visit

Xiao long bao, for those of you who don't know, are made by hand by kneading flour into a very thin skin and then placing ground meat together with a blob of congealed meat broth inside and wrapping it up in an artistic twirly way. The frozen broth when cooked, gives the lovely soupy broth that oozes out when you bite into them and this is also the best part of xiao long bao. The best way to eat them is to pick it up with your chopsticks, take a very small bite on the side and then sucking out all the broth (or if you're lazy like me, pour the broth into a spoon and then drink it). Then the rest of the dumpling is dipped in vinegar and ginger and then eaten. Below are a few simple tips when eating:

1. Watch out that the hot broth doesn't burn your mouth when you're sucking it out
2. When you pick it up from the steamer, be careful to not break it because the skin is mostly quite fragile and can often stick to the steamer. The last thing you want is delicious soup going to waste.
3. Don't wait too long when you're eating xiao long bao because as they cool down, the broth will return to a congealed form and thus giving you less enjoyment.
4. Do not use a fork to eat this - piercing the skin will surely make an unhappy eater.
5. Eat as many as you can before others get a chance, because they are just so good!!

Anyway, enough of tips. On both occasions, we ate Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao (8 pieces for $10.80) which, I must say, was superb. The skin is very thin and taut so doesn't seem like it will break easily. The broth is meaty and flavoursome and there's LOTS of it! I can eat them all day. Sometimes the broth is too oily in badly made xiao long bao and makes me feel a little sickly afterwards. But Din Tai Fung's is not. I think I'm in love. Ahhh…

Simon's Peiking Duck, Box Hill South

Simon Lay, the 'duck nazi' from Old Kingdom has returned to the restaurant arena with a bang. His newly opened restaurant, Simon's Peiking Duck, is situated on a small shopping strip in suburban Box Hill South and has been welcoming locals and Melbourne foodies for over a month now. I'm so glad I live close by. :D

China Red, Bourke St Melbourne

Dining at China Red requires plenty of patience, as we found out at our first visit to the newest addition to the Hu Tong empire. This is probably the major take away I gained from this arduous but delicious meal.

It is situated inside a busy Chinatown arcade where the old Village Cinemas used to be and the arcade now houses many young and hip Asian fashion/accessories stores. The restaurant showcases its dumpling making skills to passersby with a glassed-off kitchen outside, something that can often be seen at dumpling joints across China and which seems to be creeping into fashion here.