新年快乐! Happy Chinese New Year!

   Happy Chinese New Year everyone! Yesterday, I went to the mall to buy food for dinner. As usual I went to Lugang Cafe at SM North Edsa, The Block. This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurant because they have this special vegetarian dumplings. The exact name is Vegetarian dumplings in truffle oil. I also bought nian gao or sticky rice cake at another Chinese restaurant (King Chef). There's also a bazaar at The Block activity center. I bought a local noodles called 'habhab'. We ate the noodles today. Its a vegetarian noodle dish served with red cane vinegar on the side. Usually we use Philippine lemon, but for this particular noodle dish vinegar is recommended. Aside from the dumplings we also had shrimp and pork siumai. Plus, our two favorite fish dish (cream dory). Sweet and sour fish fillet, and Fish and Tofu hotpot (this one is spicy, but I asked the server to lessen the spiciness). I also bought suman, a Filipino delicacy. Sticky green rice called 'pinipig' with shredded coconut.

I also had the chance to see lion dancers, and a feng-shui shop owner having a show at the mall. She owns a feng-shui shop, and various lucky charms are for sale. FYI, they are all very expensive. Key chain lucky charms that I saw were priced at 600 Philippine Pesos up. Today is a holiday. We all needed that break from work. I'm glad that the Chinese New Year is considered a holiday in my country. Again, wishing everyone a Happy and abundant year. Also to all my Chinese, and Filipino Chinese friends, mentor, and teachers, I greet you 新年快乐!

新年快乐 Happy New Year!

To all the readers and visitors of this blog of mine, 新年快乐! Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy Chinese New Year to everyone! Last night I bought some food for my personal celebration of the Chinese New Year. I bought small oranges called kiat-kiat, peanuts, took out the sticky rice cake from our refrigerator. I also bought dumplings and siumai from one my favorite Chinese restaurant Lugang Cafe. The food mentioned aboved are believed to be auspicious, brings good fortune, and luck by the Chinese people. For example the vegetarian dumplings looks like a purse with money inside. The peanuts which are served unshelled symbolizes vitality, and longevity.  The sticky rice cake symbolizes the close-knitness of relationships, especially in the family since its sticky. The kiat-kiat or small oranges symbolizes wealth and fullness, according to what I've read they are often rolled inside the house for attracting good fortune. Other food served during Chinese New Year which are believed to be lucky by the Chinese people is serving whole fish including the head, sticky rice cake (zongzi/machang) which is usually served during the Dragon Boat Festival), and sweets/candies. Here's to a more good year for all of us this 2017! Cheers!

A Chinese Food Journey

“As Ancient as the Great Wall and as enduring.  The story of China is the story of food.” – Anthony Bourdain

I enjoy dining at Chinese restaurants. I thank God for the provision, and for the chance to dine in these wonderful food establishments such as Din Tai Fung in Singapore, famous for their soup dumpling. I have also tried dining in a not so well-known restaurant in Hong Kong 16 yrs. ago, at Fat Nam in front of B.P International hotel where my aunt and I ate a bowl of noodles. I believe that I have acquired a taste for Chinese cuisine because when I was still a kid, my aunt and mom loves to dine at Chinese restaurants. I remember this simple and small Chinese restaurant in Greenhills (where you need to go down the stairs to enter the restaurant) that serves large siomai’s (not the usual small ones). I can still recall those bamboo steamers. We also love to eat in this simple hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Cubao (if I’m not mistaken), and the name is Shantung. I love their stir-fried bittergourd (ampalaya) with beef. I never liked bittergourd but I really like it if it’s cooked this way especially when paired with a hot cup of steaming rice.  If Chowking is a popular Chinese fast-food nowadays, back then (when I was still a kid) I know it was Ling-Nam, their specialty is noodles.

When tsinoy.com (Filipino-Chinese website brainchild of Mr.Dux Raymond Sy, the website features articles regarding Filipino-Chinese, as well as Chinese culture, tradition and Cuisine, and it also includes a forum) was still existing, Since I love to write, I volunteered to write articles from time to time, and I was able to contribute in the Cuisine section, a Chinese recipe called ‘Hunan Stuffed Cucumbers’. Ms. Blessy Feliciano was the editor at that time.

My favorite local Chinese restaurant is Mann Hann. I love their Yang Chow fried rice, and their tasty chicken feet. We usually order the green sea-food soup, and the fish and tofu hotpot. I’m also just fine with Lo Tofu similar with the hotpot taste but it has no fish. Savory restaurant is also a favorite of mine when it comes to Chinese fried chicken. I just love the tender and flavourful chicken. Popular restaurants like Lugang Cafe, I really like their veggie dumplings, and their Kung Pao Tofu. I have also tried dining at Tim Ho Wan, and I’ve tasted their popular bbq pineapple glazed bun, it was just okay for me. What I really like in their menu is their steamed egg cake. It really tastes like a local steamed rice cake.

I guess I have talked a lot about my favorite Chinese restaurants. It’s obvious that this is another favorite topic of mine to talk about. I have watched various documentaries regarding Chinese food, I suggest you watch the comprehensive documentary about Chinese food, ‘A Bite of China’ produced by CCTV (China Central Television). Another is by a famous American tv host, chef and author, Anthony Bourdain, entitled, ‘China Food Journey’.  This documentary not only focuses on the vast and rich geography of China, and its struggles to feed its people. But also, it tackles on how modernization can greatly affect the people, their health and lifestyle. For example, in the province of Anhui, factories that were established there has poisoned the water, and even endangers the lives and health of the people living in the area.  Ah! The price of modernization!  It is similar also to what’s happening in the Philippines.

Chinese cuisine has a wide range of cooking styles. I have read that their cooking style is also influenced by the climate. For example, in Sichuan where it is normally warm and humid climate, eating spicy food such as chillies, has a cooling effect on the body.

Chinese cuisine can be divided into four regional categories. In my research it is also considered that China has 8 recognized culinary styles (notice that the number 8 has an auspicious meaning in Chinese). They are as follows,  Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.

I would like to focus more on the regional categories, North, South, East and West. North includes Beijing and Shandong, Southern, the Cantonese and Chaozhou, the East,  Shanghai, Jiangsu and Sichuan.

In Beijing and Shandong (Northern) rice is not a staple here but rather noodles and bread. The popular Peking duck originated here. While Cantonese cooking is the most popular among all the other regional cuisines. It involves, boiling, steaming and stir-frying and uses minimal amount of oil. So if you’re a health conscious person, you will love the Cantonese style of cooking. Quoting from a popular chef and tv host, Chef Johnson Wong said, “Anything that flies on the sky and walks on the ground, as long as its back is facing the sky you can eat it.”

Dimsum is also a popular Chinese food. It is simply a snack. If Westerners have chips and cookies for snacks, dumplings is to the Chinese. In the Philippines, these are popularly known as siomai (meat and veggies, or shrimp wrapped in wonton wrappers and then steamed or fried), siopao (bread bun with fillings such as meat and veggies), another is called cuapao ‘hokkien or fookien dialect’ (it means steamed bread alone, no filling). Popular Chinese ‘Michelin’ awarded restaurant, Tim Ho Wan has a famous bun, it is baked and not steamed, it is called BBQ (barbeque) pork pineapple glazed bun. Other unusual food items or what we call delicacies also originated in Cantonese cuisine, like the century or hundred year old egg, turtle or snake soup, dog stew, nido soup (Chinese bird’s nest soup), and many more.

Eastern part (Shanghai), the dishes here are commonly stir-fried, and what I noticed is some of their dishes like their noodles are a bit oily. I have tried the stir-fried noodles in Lugang Café, while the noodles are tasty, the oiliness was also evident. Sugar is an important ingredient in Shanghai cuisine. They also use soy sauce and rice wine. Sichuan cuisine are known for their spicy or fiery dishes. They use what we call flower pepper (Chinese/Sichuan peppercorn) in Mandarin it is called huajiao. Mapo Dofu is a popular dish consisting of tofu (bean curd), minced pork and chopped spring onions in chilli sauce.

So that ends my ‘short’ post and experience with regards to Chinese food, and a bit of its history. I have discovered that Chinese food is really diverse and indeed delicious!  好吃 ( hăochī ) So until my next food adventure.

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Sources:

China Food Journey (a documentary – Anthony Bourdain)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cuisine

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/eight-cuisine.htm

sallybernstein.com/food/cuisines/china/b.htm

Lonely Planet: China (6^th ed. 1998)

Photos: (I own them)

From my food blog:

pilgrimsfare.blogspot.com