Hong Kong: Big Binding Crab/ Big hairy crab 大閘蟹

I know I was raving about this last year here, but after my Big Binding Crab 大閘蟹 this year, I think I might take a break next season.

This year, I had the opportunity to try the full set meal consisting of 7 courses from one of the more famous Big binding crab restaurants in Hong Kong, East Ocean. This set came to $260 HKD per person (before gratuity), which is a steal, as buying just the raw crab and taking it home to cook would cost around $200 HKD per person.

The first course was a Chinese soup with Shark's Fin (魚翅佛跳牆). You name it, it basically had everything in it, from veggies, to dried scallops, mushrooms, pork, chicken leg (eeks), bamboo shoots and even a decent sized piece of shark's fin (Shark's fin is a fine delicacy to the Chinese, it's pretty much flavourless but with a good soup base, it turns it to gold).

Second course was the Crab miso soup dumplings (2 pieces per person) (蟹粉小龍包). A little bland in flavour, the flavour of the crab miso was taken over by the pork.

The third course that came was a little fusion; French garlic toast served with crab miso dip. I was quite happy with this. The dip had a very strong aroma and taste, unlike the crab soup dumplings, however as heavy as the crab miso already was, there was a thick layer of oil on top.After carefully scooping the oil out, I piled on the crab miso dip on my toast and was on my way to ecstasy. Yuummm...

The crabs came next, two per person. There was an abundance in crab miso; strong in flavour, served very hot, tasted especially yummy with our chinese wine pairing.  The restaurant provided a special sweet vinegar that essentuated the flavours, it worked, we polished our first crab inside out and onto the next.

Veggies came next. Just blanched veggies, needed something to wash my system out after this feast!

Dried shrimp udon came after. I swear, this was a neverending set dinner. I had a bite and gave it up. The hand-made udon was made extremely well; the soup base was sflavourful yet not heavy.

Finally, a dessert drink was served. It is a ginger tea with multi-colored sweet dumplings, supposedly this is  to make you feel better after the huge heavy crab set. This was a bit too sweet, not enough ginger and I think I need about 8 more cups of this to even be close to cleaning out my system (ulgh so heavy). The soup dumplings were multi-colored starch balls.. I just took it all out and drank the soup alone. Colored starch balls aren't my thing.

I fell sick for a week after this meal.  Although this is expected to happen when you have too much crab miso (which I did); and not enough ginger tea (which is also true), I can only bare with feeling like crap once a year. 

Overall, East Ocean has executed this ingredient quite well, I admire how they tried to add a little bit of variation with most these dishes and incorporating a mixture of light and heavy flavours.

East Ocean Seafood Restaurant

http://www.eastocean.com.hk/

HONG KONG: BO Innovations

Steamed foie gras, sticky lotus leaf, "yun nam" ham: This is the first time I've had foie gras in this form, Chinese style, the foie gras, as it usually does, melts in your mouth, the flavor is trapped in between the sticky lotus leaf, giving it a fresher aroma

Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus

BO Innovations is one of my favorite restaurants in the world. They charge quite a bit for their chef's menu but very much worth it(EVERY bite of it). It's the only thing you should order there as a la carte ordering just isn't as satisfying. With the demon chef, Alvin Leung supervising every item on the chef's menu, you can be sure that everything served is to the highest of standards. BO Innovations is a fusion restaurant, mixing the east and the west in a very peculiar way.

"Famous in Hong Kong for combining Chinese cuisine with molecular gastronomy, Chef Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation shares his unique cooking philosophy with Lifestyle HK. " Lifestyle Asia

Alvin's dishes are known to be unpredictable, just like the demon; mischievous and breaking all the culinary rules. Who would imagine, dishes such as STEAMED Foie Gras, Aruvga Caviar with smoked quail egg on taro crust, etc... honest to God, if I heard of these dishes prior to trying this restaurant, I'd probably be grossed out, but I was fortunate enough to not see the description of the dishes before going the first time. I just kept going back for more afterwards and have recommended it to many of my friends, now recommending this fabulous restaurant to anyone who is in for an adventure.

Lobster, preserved duck egg with English mustard: Preserved egg is not necessarily good for you but once in a while, bite-size pieces won't hurt, besides, it tastes good.

Duet of Oysters: Salmon roe, oyster and ponzu sauce; ground up oyster mixed with tofu

For $880 hkd (Approx. $126usd), this is what you get:

• Duet of Oysters
• Smoked quail egg, crispy taro crust, avruga caviar
• "bo" sashimi platter"
• Shot of Waldorf salad
• Spinach ice cream
  
• Steamed foie gras, sticky lotus leaf, "yun nam" ham
• Lobster, preserved duck egg with English mustard
• Ox-tail shitake soup dumpling with lobster essence
• Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus
• Australian m-9 plus wagyu striploin, black truffle rice noodle roll
• "bo" dan dan noodles
• Almond foam, cognac chinese red date sauce
• Crispy chocolate cake, salty kumquat butterscotch ice cream

"bo" Sashimi platter

Note: Pictures consists of previous dining at BO Innovation as well

Shot of Waldorf salad: Interesting way of your daily greens

Smoked quail egg, crispy taro crust, avruga caviar: The taro crust is like the stuff you have at dim sum(i love this stuff), and quail egg + caviar that melts in your mouth, can never go wrong

Ox-tail shitake soup dumpling with lobster essence: Freshness of lobster, ox-tail giving the soup dumping a very tender texture

Slow cooked pork lasagna in chinese vinegar, braised lotus root in beet root osthamus: Fatty pork, boy, this is soooo bad for me but I managed to finish it. The Chinese vinegar was made perfectly, not too sweet and not too sour.

Australian m-9 plus wagyu striploin, black truffle rice noodle roll: Striploin was okay, the truffle rice noodle roll on the other hand was superb. The sauce was made out of black truffle, you can smell the aroma from the kitchen!

"bo" Dan dan noodles

Crispy chocolate cake, salty kumquat butterscotch ice cream

The whole restaurant is truly a piece of art. Every single item on the menu are things that I've had in the past but never ever in the served combinations. I highly recommend this restaurant for those who like to try something extraordinary, something unexpected. You will not be disappointed.

NEW YORK: The French Laundry

No, I haven't been yet, but this world renowned restaurant has been one that I've been longing to go to since I've known of it. Operated and owned by Chef Thomas Keller, The French Laundry has been known for its "serious food" yet fun and memorable.

Critics have been raving on and on about their 9 course chef menu, without a single repeated ingredient. With their ever impressive presentation of their food, eating is not longer just stuffing food into one's mouth but an art that is never duplicated.

Enjoy, pictures from their website: