nanamoose Musings

Hong Kong Finds: Mirth

If I were to own a shop, it would probably look like Mirth. Rustic whimsical chic - that's how I would describe its look. Think whitewashed walls interspersed by a single panel of bright green or blue, ceiling fans, tables made of unfinished wood, turquoise coloured walls, antique cabinets, children’s clothing, MT masking tape, the oh so French Bensimon tennis shoes, and splashes of bright, jeweled colours. The only adjustment I would make is probably to move it from Aberdeen to somewhere a tad more convenient.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

我要開店的話，它大概會長得跟香港仔的 Mirth 差不多。我會稱呼它的那種 fu為 modern vintage + whimsical chic，裡頭有白色的牆、中間夾著一面是彩綠色的，吊扇，古董櫃，童裝， MT masking tape， 充滿法國風情的 Bensimon 網球鞋；整間店都洋溢著寶石般的亮麗色彩。我唯一會做的小改動就是把它從那個鳥不生蛋的工廠區搬到一處稍微方便一點的地方吧。

Mirth is at MEZZANINE FLOOR, 23 YIP KAN ST, WONG CHUK HANG, HONG KONG
Mirth 在 香港黃竹坑業勤街23號
tel: +852 25539811

Opening hours: 10am to 6pm daily

Bejewelled by Roselle...

I fell in love with roselle flowers earlier this year making roselle scones for sale at Taipei’s Simple Market. I have always had the flower in dried form from Thailand from which it is then made into a chilled, syrupy, sour tea reminiscent to Ribena. However, little did I know that its preserved form works wonders when incorporated into various foods. My roselle scones were a big hit, the roselle imbuing a tinge of its beautiful, bright red colour to the flaky crumbs.

I was pleasantly surprised to find fresh roselle available in the markets in Hong Kong lately. Turns out that roselle is only in season at this time of the year, for a short 3 months, from October to December. Originally grown in India and subtropical climates in Southeast Asia, roselle is a perennial woody-based shrub which flowers blossom from around July to October. As the fruit matures and when the flower wilts, the stout calyx would enlarge to become thick, fleshy and bright red in colour, a version of roselle we’ve come to know the flower as. These matured calyces have antihypertensive properties and are known to improve digestion and to regulate menstrual cycles.

I bought three catties of fresh organic roselle from the farmer’s market at Star Ferry Central the other day and immediately got down to work. I’m going to make preserved roselle to be used in making scones and roselle jam for spreading.

First, to clean the petals we need to get rid of the seed.

1. Cut open the bottom part of the calyx.
2. Push out the seed from the bottom with a chopstick.
3. Clean the outer and inner surface of the roselle with a toothbrush.

Roselle Jam

Ingredients

500g Roselle
250ml Water
500g Natural Cane Sugar

Method

1. Cut roselle into small pieces
2. Cook the cut-up roselle in non-stick frying pan over low heat, stirring continuously to make sure that it does not burn. When roselle start to ooze out a jelly-like substance, add water until roselle turns into a paste. This will take a bit of work, so be patient.
3. Add sugar and cook till completely melted.
4. Transfer into jam jar. The jam will keep in a refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Preserved Roselle

Ingredients

500g Roselle
6-8 tbsp Natural Cane Sugar

Method

1. Dry up the roselle with a kitchen towel.
2. Mix roselle with two tablespoons sugar in big mixing bowl so that petals are covered in sugar.
3. Layer bottom of clean jar with sugar, then alternate layers with roselle and sugar until the jar is filled. The top layer should be sprinkled with slightly more sugar.
4. Close tightly and let preserve for 3 days.

See you in three days with the results ☺

The Emperor’s New Clothes (aka Tapas 24 and Etxebarri)

Long long time ago, there lived a vain Emperor who was excessively fond of new clothes. One day two imposter weavers came to him and promised the Emperor a new suit of clothes that were invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. They pretended to work at their empty looms day and night, all the while pocketing the finest silks and most delicate silk threads. When the day finally came for the to Emperor to parade before his subjects in his new clothes, everyone pretended to gasp in admiration until a child on the streets cried out, "Look! The king is not wearing anything at all!"

Thus was the feeling I got when I finished my meals at Tapas 24, Etxebarri and Mugartiz in Spain. I know I am writing this risking my reputation in the foodie world. However, I can no longer ignore the big white elephant in the room. I’ll just have to say it: Look! Doesn’t this just suck?

OK. Let’s start with Tapas 24. What was Carles Abellan thinking? How did he end up with food that tasted like something my newly employed domestic helper just made reading from some random Spanish cookbook? Everything about this restaurant was off. The décor, the staff, and the food. In a spartan, fluorescent-lighted room that suggests the dissection of frogs rather than the fragrant frying of squid, busy waiters flow with stern, sad faces and air as stiff as a board. There was no Spanish or Catalan to be heard anywhere in the room. 80% of the guests were American, and our waiter looked at us with the words “I hate my job and I hate these stupid tourists” written across his forehead. He was impatient, dismissive, and very simply rude. At the end of our unsatisfactory meal, we decided to give Tapas 24 one last chance and asked for the dessert menu. Our waiter, knowing we do not speak a word of Spanish, threw down the menu, pointed at the words “Postre”, and walked off.

Etxebarri. As some of you may know, San Sebastian is a small city in the northern edge of Spain roughly the size of Hong Kong Island with a 10th of its population. Etxebarri was never given a star by Michelin, yet critics rave about this highly personalised cuisine - chef Victor Arguinzoniz, part chef and part blacksmith, grills every single one of his dishes. He even makes his own charcoal, and invented his own oven and grilling contraptions to take it to a whole other level – and the restaurant has been ranked top 50 in the world for a good many years. Some foodies claim it to be "impossible perfection".

Etxebarri was our first gourmet meal upon arrival in San Sebastian and naturally, expectations were high. This name Etxebarri, which simply means ‘new house’ in Basque, was the very definition of the phrase ‘middle of nowhere’. When a thirty-minute drive as indicated on Google Map and GPS turns out to be an hour and counting and you find yourself stuck in an unpaved road the width of your car, you know that you are literally “in the middle of nowhere”. This path took us past rugged mountain terrain so majestic yet so close I felt like I could brush the rocks off its undulating slopes with my fingers (and the pictures don’t do much justice here). And when we finally arrived in the little village of Axpe, where Etxebarri was, I thought that was surely the most beautiful place I had ever seen. With a handful of beautifully constructed stone houses dotted randomly against a dramatic mountain backdrop, skies so clear I thought I might blow away the clouds in a single puff, and everything else a lush, vivid green, the village seem to have walked out of the Sound of Music, and even prettier (because I have been to Salzburg and wasn’t too impressed).

TBC....

If you must, Tapas 24 is at 269 C/ Diputació, Barcelona, Spain
tel: 934 88 09 77

Benu: "Fusion" Reinvented

In the modern English speaking metropolises, about 80% of the population would know how to hold a chopstick, every other baby born is of mixed heritage (usually involving an Asian wife and Caucasian husband, but there are other mixes too), and one in every five person speaks a language that involves the words “qi”, “zen”, “kimchi” and “green tea”. More and more people encounter difficulty explaining where they come from and often end up with a longwinded answer that spans several different continents. The world as we know it is getting smaller.

The interesting thing is, while Eurasian babies might be seen as “exotic” in the past, they are now being treated as just any other ordinary person around us. Chinese food is no longer relegated to the culinary realm of cheap takeouts, but something that can be an integral part of people’s lives.

There is no better place to experience this phenomenon than at Benu. Ex-chef de cuisine at French Laundry and James Beard Award winner Corey Lee opened Benu last year in SOMA San Francisco as a place to showcase “what he likes to cook”. Corey prefers not to label it any specific kind of cuisine. There are no boundaries, and hence imagination runs wild. He named it “Benu” after the Egyptian mythical bird that is the correspondence to the phoenix, a bird born out of fire, as a symbol of rebirth for his team into a new and unchartered territory. The name also bears little reference for most to any specific culture, which is what Corey is trying to achieve here – a cuisine that bears no reference to any - a oneness that is at once all encompassing yet dependant on none.

The food we had here at Benu showcased exactly that. Abalone and sea cucumber appear alongside foie gras steamed in sake, while wood ear mushrooms and black beans add an edge to your usual pork ribs and duck confit. There's even oysters wrapped in a kimchi infused jelly skin that reminded me very much of a grown up version of Fruit Rollups.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

At a mere 28, Corey Lee is damn impressive.

If food were all that mattered, this would have been my favourite restaurant in the world. Unfortunately I’m also the person whose taste buds are closely associated with other forms of sensory receptors, so mood, temperature, visual and audio accompaniments all add on to or subtract from my experience. Benu misses that perfect ranking due to the stiffness of its setting, adopted through what was perhaps a failed attempt at a minimalist design. Hits from the 70s blasting through the speaker heralded an effort to liven things up, yet only called attention to the otherwise hushed, worshipful air of the place. However, to be honest, this only caused my heart to dip a little when I first stepped in. Impeccable service coupled with my first two amuse bouches and I was already walking on clouds.

So, please ignore what I just said. Benu is worth shutting those alternative receptors off, if just for one day.

BENU is at 22 Hawthorne Street San Francisco CA 94105. For reservations call +1 415. 685-4860

`

Lazy Bear Kicks Up a Storm in San Francisco

It was early 2009, right after the financial crisis hit America. David Barzelay was 25 and had just graduated from Georgetown Law School. It was 8 months into his new job at Fenwick and West as litigation associate when he received news that he was being laid off. As a lawyer and occasional chef, what does he do?

What about chef and occasional lawyer? So instead of bumming around waiting for a job offer, David started hosting dinners at home. He’s always loved to cook and experiment with new ingredients and ideas, so why not make use good use of his off time, he thought? As the story goes, a dinner with a few friends turned out to be 10, 20, and now a 30-person affair. David now hosts dinners at a few rented locations in the Mission District roughly twice every 2-3 weeks, and his menu an ever evolving and changing one where every single ingredient is homemade, from the blinis down to the hoisin sauce (and yes, David’s food draws inspiration from all over the world, so expect to see kimchi and kaffir lime on the menu). Having been voted best underground restaurant in San Francisco recently David’s given up on his legal career and realigned his goals – to open his own "above-ground" restaurant.

If I have the money, I'd happily be his investor.

Fried green tomato topped with a fried egg

Caviars: paddlefish and salmon with manila clam chowder, champagne grapes, puffed blini and dill

Roast Sweet Peppers: marinated summer squash, cucumber, chevre, ash, fried parsley, croutons



Seared Ling Cod: sweet corn, kimchi puree, summer beans, little gem lettuce, kaffir lime

Peach-glazed Duck Breast: Grits, pickled peach, deep-fried duck confit, radishes, sesame seeds

Sungold Tomatoes: sun-dried and sauteed, with beef sirloin, padron peppers, Thai basil, aioli (NOTE here how the emphasis is on the tomatoes and not the beef sirloin - it was truly the most amazing tomatoes I have ever had in my life it makes me salivate just thinking about them now... at once juicy, succulent and bursting with flavours)

Black Mission Figs: Caramelized white chocolate profiteroles, aged balsamic vinegar, toasted pistachios

So what's the underground restaurant called? Barzelay's namesake, Lazy Bear!

Please visit Lazy Bear's website to check for latest dinner openings.

Whoa, What a Deli!

In an article about visiting Mono Lake, The New York Times commented, "When the desire that is the cause of all human suffering returned in the form of appetite, our editors were relieved the find the Whoa Nellie Deli, a shockingly gourmet oasis located at the local Tioga Gas Mart."

We felt exactly that. Coming back to civilization from a 5-day trek in the beautiful wilderness of Yosemite eating nothing but bagels, cheese, fruits, polenta, and various forms of nuts and grains, the idea of a gourmet oasis juxtaposed inside a gas station and dishing out pan-seared ahi salad clung to me as steadfastly as does the worst of any desire. It just wouldn’t let go. It had all the right reasons not to though, because the reward that awaited us there, by the ethereal blue hues of Mono Lake and in the Mobil gas station, was a meal to remember.

So the story goes like this. Invited by his friend to open an eatery inside his gas station near the Tioga Pass, Chef Matt Toomey, who enjoyed spending half his time chilling at Club Med in the Caribbean’s, decided to take this opportunity very seriously. He would create the restaurant of his dreams there, serving high quality food for the hikers of Yosemite and drawing inspiration from the Caribbean. For the first few months he suffered severely. His friends teased him for serving gourmet hot dogs with hollandaise sauce in the culinary wasteland that was Yosemite Valley. And one day, after another quiet night at the gas station and a couple of beers, Matt and his friend started joking about a proper name for the restaurant, which had until then been referred to simply as Tioga Toomey’s, after its location. It was then when a car skidded dangerously past another down the road towards Mono Lake.

“Whoa Nellie!” Matt exclaimed. And Whoa Nellie Deli was born.

But it was not just the name that was born. It was the crowds and the media attention and the rave reviews. Not too long after this, anyone with a fair knowledge of Yosemite knew about Matt and his crazy delicious gas station cuisine and was raving about it.

Dressed in a white chef's jacket and baseball cap, Matt is one of those manic figures whose charisma and sense of humor are reflected in his cooking, and his endless energy reflected in the amazing speed at which food is turned out from the kitchen. The apricot and wild berry glazed pork loin was cooked to a tender perfection and coated in the perfect sweet sour sauce. The seared ahi, despite its rather chunky appearance and slightly soggy sushi rice, was comparable to something you would find at Nobu. The lobster taquitos, notwithstanding the fact that we could not find any lobster, were some one of the best we’ve tasted. And if you’re still hungry after this, you’ll be able to find the likes of osso bucco sitting on the menu alongside pizzas and coke.

If you want to catch a glimpse of Chef Toomey, come during the summer. In the winters he is now often busy catering for the likes Andy Garcia and Sean White. Just so you know.

"To have one of the better meals of your life in a gas station is bizarre. It leaves you staring at your plate for a moment or two in disbelief.” The Los Angeles Times

Whoa Nellie Deli is at 22 Vista Point Road, Lee Vining, CA. 93541
Tel: + 1 760-647-1088

Taipei Finds: VVG Something

A couple of months ago, my friend Faye and her team decided to add a café to her bookstore/lifestyle concept store VVG Something in a little alley off Zhongxiao East Road, a decision I welcome with open arms and legs.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

A cute little addition to the VVG empire that occupies one end of Alley 40 on Lane 181, VVG Something sells beautifully bound, imported hardbacks on gastronomy, along with random household knickknacks like old typewriters, ice-shavers, copper teapots from India, enameled brassware from Poland, and handmade stationary from Japan. If this doesn't already send you pacing out the door to go find it, add bright red French doors, white brick walls a big fat lamps with a black shade, and an oh-so-cute coffee counter that reminds you of an old ticketing booth.

The coffee here comes in gargantuan sizes, so pack up a good book, or simply flip through the ones available here, and while away a rainy afternoon in the company of Some Very Very Good Things.

VVG Something is at 13, Alley 40, Lane 181, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei
台北市忠孝東路四段181巷40弄13號
Tel: (02) 2773 1358

星期六的小確幸

之前 P 和我提過，台灣最近提倡所謂「小確幸」， 即說生活中「微小但確切的幸福」。最近我才碰巧在香港某報章中看到，發現原來這「小確幸」是出自村上春樹Murakami Haruki 的手筆。《小確幸》摘於村上春樹《蘭格漢斯島的午後》一書， 在文章中，村上說他自己選購內褲，把洗滌過的潔淨內褲捲摺好然後整齊的放在抽屜中，就是一種微小而真確的幸福。 P 說他的小確幸是忙碌工作完一整天後的小酌，而我呢？其實也差不多，是我的奶茶。

奶茶今天對我來說早就超越了一杯飲料的境界。它確確實實地就是生活中的一種小小的幸福，是一種有能力在一個陰天的下午裡帶給我一種溫暖的氣息的東西。在外面狂風暴雨的時候，泡一杯奶茶，吃個小點心，獨自坐在窗邊看書，是何其幸福的事啊！

今天我和大家分享我的小確幸的祕密－紅棗蜂蜜奶茶的炮製方法。

Honey and Red Date Milk Tea

To make red date and honey preserve:

150g Dried Red Dates
50g Rock Sugar
250ml honey
350ml Water

Instructions:
1. Wash the red dates, cut in half and remove pits. Boil with water and rock sugar in a small saucepan for about 30 minutes until the water almost fully evaporates.
2. Crush the red dates gently, making sure that they aren’t mashed too much.
3. Boil gently again on low heat so as to fully reduce the moisture.
4. Add honey and mix. Transfer into an air-tight container. This will keep for months.

To make milk tea:

Keemun black tea (or any other type of strong back tea)
100ml water
100ml milk

Instructions:
1. Take about two teaspoons of Keemun black tea and cook in 100ml water until boiling. Add 100ml fresh milk and continue to cook on low heat until just about to boil.
2. Make sure to let the mixture cool lightly before adding the red date-honey mix. Otherwise, the benefits of honey are extinguished in boiling liquid.
3. Add about two teaspoons of the red date honey mixture to the milk tea.

希望大家找到自己生命中的「小確幸」。其實甚麼事物都可以，只是你用心去體會。

Hong Kong Finds: Sheung Wan 第二部

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

從荷里活道一直忘西邊走，在文武廟旁轉上樓梯街吧。有看過60年代 The World of Suzie Wong 的朋友們會記得 Robery Lomax 追著載著 Suzie 的人力車那一幕吧；Robert 站在樓梯街前茫然地徘徊找尋美麗的 Suzie。今天，繞著樓梯街往西走過去，你會看到的卻是截然不同的景致。樓梯街後是四方街。這裡有一家性格Showroom, 不定時的開門， 展示設計師老闆 David Ericsson 和 Alexis Holm 的自家鞋履及皮革品牌。

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

四方街結束之後是太平山街，是香港我最愛的街道之一。第一家出現在左手邊的廣記食店，專營涼茶車仔麵， 古怪的擺設讓這家店經常成為拍攝對象。老闆笑說，他從來也只會煲涼茶，於是一做便做了47年。

接下來的太平山街，現在擠滿了藝廊與小boutiques，最據特色的，可能還是Sin Sin。 Sin Sin 早在2006年就獨具慧眼地把她位於安蘭街的 boutique 搬到這裡的西街，展示她富有東方色彩的自家設計還有從世界各地收集回來的藝術品。

逛完西街逛隔壁的東街吧。這裡有可愛的瓷器小店 Loveramics。女主人 Grace 的夫家是做瓷器生意的，年輕一輩的便決定利用這個機會創立自己的品牌，和多位設計師crossover 合作，為 Loveramics 設計了多套富有性格又可愛的瓷器系列。

Loveramics 的斜對面是新開沒多久的特色花店 Ellerman，由久居香港的德國人開設。Ms Ellerman 有感香港無法找到價錢合理又高品質的花束，於是開了 Ellerman， 賣花之餘還有販賣各類和花卉可以相互搭配的飾品，如可愛的茶杯、擺飾等。

最後，由東街往上走向太平山街，視覺會不自覺地被街角那個大黃色的門框給吸引。這個叫做Konzepp 的 concept store, 開幕的時候叫做 Hatch, 後來雖然因為知識產權糾紛改名 Konzepp，但在他們的網站還是可以清楚看到“Hatch” 背後的意義－為了醞釀出一個可以讓香港各界創意人士分享並激發新想法的地方：

The Konzepp Space was born out of the desire to hatch a place in Hong Kong where the artistic and creative community could come together, share and hatch ideas and products, cross-pollinating like-minded inspirations. Every few months, Konzepp shifts merchandise themes, focusing on interesting products with a design focus. Customers will be able to shop, meet up, listen to music, read design, lifestyle, & fashion magazines all whilst sipping various green tea concoctions.

Konzepp aims to bring back the discovery and excitement of a shopping experience and to develop design collaborations within the local Hong Kong creative community and abroad, encouraging multicultural creative dialogs.

Konzepp 不定期每幾個月便更換產品主題，希望可以製造一種另類的購物樂趣。

廣記食店
上環太平山街4號
tel: 2549 7028

Sin Sin
上環西街52號
tel: 2521 0308

Loveramics
上環東街37號
tel: 2915 8018

Ellerman
上環東街36號
tel: 2291 0388

Konzepp
上環東街50號

最有 feel 的香港茶餐廳

在台北待了一陣子，開始有人問我，想念香港嗎？

我想了想，發現除了家人朋友，最想念的，還是香港的茶餐廳。曾幾何時，我也和我初到香港旅遊的不丹朋友P 一樣，覺得這是甚麼不三不四的通粉，公仔麵，咖啡奶茶，簡直就有點騙人嘛，家裡現成的東西怎麼拿了出來賣呢？

可是，不消多時，我被香港的同胞們感化了。我開始發現茶餐廳文化的可愛。它帶給我的是一種難以用言語來形容的滿足感，而這種滿足感，是必須親歷其境才能夠感受的。它像是在東京魚市場看鮮魚拍賣，或是在印度德里趕火車，有一種殘缺的，近乎浪漫的刺激感。這種刺激感，充滿夾擊力卻又平易近人。在茶餐廳， 你隨時可以看到挽著LV手袋的闊太太與地盤工人並肩同桌，津津有味地吃著餐蛋麵，或是電視明星和穿著校服的中學生們“搭台”喝奶茶啃多士；茶餐廳的可愛，也正是勝在它夠親民。社會裡的階級與隔閡，似乎在喝一杯奶茶的時間裡消失。

茶餐廳文化，是英國殖民時代遺留下來的產品。當時生活拮據的港人為了一嘗所謂西餐的滋味，自創了一套融合本港食才和西方烹飪方式的菜式，形成較為高價位的港式西餐廳如位於白沙道的太平館，和較為廉價的茶餐廳，如蘭芳園。在香港，我最愛的茶餐廳有下列幾家：

金鳳

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

最愛它的雞派凍奶茶 （凍奶茶是之前就沖好冰起來的，所以不另外加冰，這樣奶茶就不會越喝越淡），還有夥計們齜牙咧嘴的那幅恨勁。可別被他們嚇壞了，其實這裡個個人都非常好的！

灣仔春園街41號春園大廈地下
tel: 2572 0526

海安

說穿了，其實海安沒有甚麼特別好吃的，就是它那份懷舊勁兒討喜，紅色高椅背的卡位配上高挑的屋頂還有那隻在樑上徘徊的貓，光是這幅情景就值得來捧場了吧。

上環干諾道西17號地下
tel: 2540 6340

蘭芳園

由1952 年經營到到今天坐擁尖沙嘴、信德中心和中環三家店，蘭芳園在香港受歡迎的程度可見一斑。 雖說是絲襪奶茶的始祖，我還是最愛它的蔥油雞扒撈丁，脆皮的雞扒灑上蔥末再淋上熱油，和公仔麵搭配著吃，真是人生一大樂事啊。

中環結志街2號
tel: 2544 3895 / 2854 0731

華星冰室

有人愛澳洲牛奶公司，有人愛Hokkaido Milk，我就最愛華星。澳奶有點兒遠，Hokkaido Milk服務態度差勁，還是華星，炒蛋永遠香味撲鼻，夥計永遠活力奔放效率十足。

灣仔克街6號廣生行大廈地下B1號舖
tel: 2666 7766

翠華

永遠不會令人失望的香港金招牌。這裡沒有最好喝的奶茶，也沒有最好吃的菠蘿包，可是說也奇怪，我往往在國外最想念的卻是它。可能是它那隨時隨地也可以滿足你的慾望的能力吧。無論是咖哩飯，肉醬義大利麵，魚蛋粉或是豬仔包，每一樣都做得很是像樣。山頂上海或香港幾場，我每聽到翠華開新分店我都可以興奮半天。最愛它的冬陰公豬軟骨片頭米線。

中環威靈頓街15-19號地下至2樓
tel: 2525 6338

在较大的地图中查看nanamoose's Hong Kong Cha Chaan Tang Finds