Showing posts with label Szechuan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Szechuan. Show all posts

Friday, February 23, 2018

[1935] Sichuan Food with Romanticism

I love Sichuan food and found out about this place because one of my foodie friends AL was at 1935.
It is located in Central where I always hang out.
When you get there, you are greeted with decor looking like a train which somehow reminds me Chung King express and 2046 hence not your usual Sichuan decor.

This setting isn't a scene from of a movie but a real life story because the name 1935 is in remembrance of the owner's grandmother who sadly passed away before this place opened.
A lot of their time together was spent travelling on the train hence the decor.

Looking at the menu, the dish names are wonderfully named in Chinese but you can't really express it the same way in English so the English menu is down to earth and tells you whats in it.
There is a story behind every dish and beverage and the wintermelon is about White Jade which I got confused in Chinese as it sounded like bak yuk which I thought was Shanghai style sliced white meat but it actually meant white jade.

Started with the cocktails which were fun and different.
The [Yomeishu] was appetizing and presented in a Chinese tea cup.
[Tanger Peels Infused Gin, Goji Berry/ Lemon/apple/Egg White/Osmanthus Flower]
+++
The [Carnation Says] was fresh and graceful with a pink carnation floating on top.
[Gin/Umeshu/YuZu/Sake/Lime/Ginger Beer]
For appetizers, here was what we had:
+++
Chilled Free Range Chicken, Truffle, Coriander:
The chicken was lean, soft and moreish because they use chilled free range chicken infused with a mushroomy truffle and crispy garlic pieces complemented by the Coriander and Chinese celery.

+++
Crispy okra, Yam, Salted Egg Yolk:
Okra and Yam are healthy but they made it evilicious by coating them with thick salted egg yolk and frying it.
I thought it was really smart to pair these vegetables together because both okra and yam are viscous hence it is like eating salted semi raw yolk in your mouth because of the viscous texture and salted egg yolk coming together.

+++
Next was the braised winter melon with conpoy, double boiled chicken stock.
I was really looking forward to this because it looks like a bunch of grapes.
Each piece of wintermelon was a perfect sphere and it was soft and mushy in delicious light chicken stock gravy.

+++
Poached King Prawns, Celtuce, Sichuan Peppercorn broth:
This dish was heavenly and recommended for people who like the tingling sensation feeling without the heat.
It was guilt free eating this dish because there isn't any MSG while the gravy and springy prawns really go down well with rice especially that light gravy.

+++
Poached Giant Garoupa Fillet, Sichuan Chili Fish Broth:
The poached fish can be eaten in two ways because the broth is pure fish soup that you can drink.

+++
Wok Fried Australian M4 Wagyu Cube, Ginger, Sichuan Pepper, Honey:
For beef lovers, this is a great dish in a sweet and gingery sauce with a spicy punch!
The cubes of beef are not well done, hence it is locked with juice and lots of myoglobin which I used to think was blood!

+++
The last dish we had was this cute pot of Dan Dan Noodles!
The broth was rich and each strand hung the broth well however I found it a little sweet though.

+++
Before ordering the desserts, the 1935Beer is a sweet soothing drink to finish with and the cream on the top is the best!
[1935Beer-Vanilla/Caramel/Cream/Ginger Beer]

+++
The colourless jelly is always a must at the end of any Sichuan meal.
As it is tasteless, it is often flavoured with syrup but here they have sweetened it with lemongrass and citrus.

+++
To summarize, the location is great because it is in Central and I like the decor.
In terms of food, this is the first Sichuan dinner that I didn't feel overloaded and bogged down by sodium, MSG and oil and the food is almost like home cooked dishes with restaurant quality.

The lunch is also worth recommending because you can also order those dishes.

[1935 - 壹玖叁伍]
M88, 27/F 2-8 Wellington Street
Tel: 2156 1935

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Second visit at 川味皇

This time I requested for the non spicy broth and it was quite nice because the broth just tastes sour.
I also paid extra for the stewed beef but it wasn't that good because it was the odds and ends that were fat and stringy.
Without the spiciness, it lacks that flare so next time I will have the spicy basic noodle.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

This Sichuan joint has potential

The photos here looked promising so decided to try it out.

After browsing the menu there were quite a few items I wanted to order and the prices were reasonable because of it's location.

Ordered the bean noodles in chili oil and the Chengdu dan dan noodles.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]bean noodles in chili oil:[/b]

These bean noodles (Liangfen) were slightly off-white in colour, translucent and thick made with mung bean starch which have a jelly like texture.
They were in quite a lot of spicy hot chili hot oil which had vinegar in it to make it more appetizing.
Unfortunately, I found them too spicy but they were as good as the ones I had at the Mandarin Oriental.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
[b]Chengdu dan dan noodles:[/b]
The noodles were flat and white which are better than those soft round ones.
I was told to mix the noodles and sauce quickly.
The dan dan sauce was different because there were no peanuts in the sauce but there were some black bits which were quite salty and gave it a nice flavour but again too spicy. 


The noodles had an interesting bean taste which reminded me of Wei Lih jah jan mien instant noodles that have a sachet of chili and black bean paste found in UK's Oriental supermarkets in UK.
http://www.theramenrater.com/2012/11/11/re-review-wei-lih-jah-jan-mien-instant-noodles-with-fried-soybean-paste/
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
[b]The bill:[/b] $80
[b]Service:[/b] OK
[b]Yummy factor:[/b] good
[b]Spiciness levels:[/b] HOT
[b]Napkins provided:[/b] yes
[b]English Menu:[/b] Yes
[b]Air Conditioning:[/b] Yes
◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Sichuan Cuisine 蜀香
8 Kwong Wa Street Mong Kok

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Sensational modern Sichuan food

Previously tried King's Taste which is under the same group as Sichuan House and I really enjoyed the food so I knew the food was going to be great here.

When you sit down, they will give you Eight treasure tea which has eight nourishing ingredients such as wolfberries, dried longan, dates, Chrysanthemum flowers and more.
The tea is seasonal so it changes to suit the season.

The tea is Jasmine based and there is a sweet aftertaste with a hint of Chrysanthemum to soothe your palate after eating spicy food.

There were various of appetizers such a spicy cashew nuts and broad beans to start your hunger.

Here was what we had.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
奇味粒粒酥* $98:
Crispy pork jowls

These were cubes of pork neck meat which were leaner than I anticipated.
They had a sweet bite followed by fragrant Sichuan peppercorn which slowly came through.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
蒜泥白肉卷香蔬* $108:
pork belly in crushed garlic and coriander herb

I don't normally eat Sichuan style pork belly slices because they are fat but here they were paired with a special coriander from Sichuan that does not have such a strong aroma.
This light coriander aroma was great for balancing the fatty pork.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
川莊口水雞*$138:
mouth watering chicken

The chicken was great because it was boneless and each piece was on a cocktail stick which made them easy to eat!!
They were tender with a fragrant spicy taste that did not linger.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
老四川燈影牛肉 * $108:
old Sichuan translucent beef slices


These were sweet crispy beef slices which had a spicy aftertaste.
The beef was frozen and sliced by the Chef which shows their fines skills.
Although nowadays you can buy laboratory microtomes to thinly slice things.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
冰鎮鮮天麻 $118:
Chilled fresh gastrodia elata slices


Gastrodia elata is a herb normally found in soups in dried form.
Here they serve them like sashimi and I recommend ordering it because they are hard to come by.
There were a choice of two sauces but I liked trying them without sauces to see what they taste like natrually.
Without the sauce, the smell was similar to bamboo shoots and the texture and taste were like water chestnuts with a slight bitterness.



★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
茶香雞鴨戀 $158:
tea flavoured duck with chicken filling


This was duck stuffed with chicken which reminds me of Turducken.
Turducken is a deboned chicken stuffed into a deboned duck, which is in turn stuffed into a deboned turkey.
The one here was just chicken and duck hence it can be called a Ducken!!!!!!!
The duck part was crispy and delicious with tasty chicken pattie adhered to it.
On the side, there were fried iron buddha tea leaves which were crispy and sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
成都水煮桂花魚 **** $288:
fish fillets in hot chili oil

The spiciness is not as spicy as it looks and the fish fillets were silky and smooth with a strong fish taste that you can still taste even though it is drenched in chili oil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
郫縣紅油豆瓣魚 ** $248:
pi county fish in douban sauce

The fish was chunky with tasty bean sauce that was not cloyingly sweet.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
內江乾燒京遼參 * $288香辣
Neijiang Fried Sea Cucumber


The sea cucumber was soft and delicious complemented by stirfried garlic and mince.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
巴蜀香辣爆蝦球 *** $220:
Bashu spicy prawn


When it came, you could see a dish of glowing fiery red prawns in chili powder and I could feel my face radiate. I did not try it because I know I will be in trouble the next day.
The other people tried it and said it was extremely hot!! Phew!!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
紫蘇蒜香牛肉飯$128
Fried Rice with Beef and Perilla Leaves

Didn't try this because I was leaving some room for dessert.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
滋潤香菓潤喉露 $48:
Malva nut sweet soup


It was my first time trying the Malva nut which was grounded and served as a dessert with orange peel in it.
The texture of the Malva nut was like agar and bird's nest jelly and the taste was exactly like marmalade in a thin watery dessert form.
I found it interesting as well as delicious because I have not had anything like this before so I would recommend this dish to people who like marmalade and it would be great if they had other flavours like apple.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
拔絲香蕉 $88:
Candied banana fritters

This is basically a China town dessert with fruit covered in batter and deep fried coated with caramelized sugar.
The Oriental version in Hong Kong involves pulling caramel silk which is why in Chinese it is called butsee meaning pulling silk!
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Sichuan House
Wellington Place,
2-8 Wellington St
Tel:2521 6699

Monday, August 25, 2014

Funky dandan noodle bar‏

Dandan caught my attention because of the manga style logo, bilingual menu and the whole place was just inviting.




Upon arrival I was greeted by Jerome who was dressed up like a Martial arts dude, a French expat who owns this place with his wife.


The decor definitely made the experience more enjoyable because it was modern and comfortable.

I ended up trying the dan dan la mian and the minced pork and zucchini dumplings.
Also on the menu were brownies and the disclaimer explaining it was not Sichuan was cute.


This place is going to be popular with expats who find local joints daunting.

Within a flash, my food arrived.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
dan dan la mian:

When it came, there was a lovely Sichuan pepper fragrance.
I started on the noodles which had a lovely al-dente texture, the strands were round and ribbed which hung the soup nicely.

The meat sauce on top was differerent to the ones I have tried in Hong Kong because the Sichuan pepper was more prominent than chili.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
minced pork and zucchini dumplings:

The dumplings were big and there were eight in a portion.
Each dumpling was plump and juicy and it came with a delicious dipping sauce made of chili, Sichuan pepper, spring onions and soy sauce which added more kick to it.


For improvements, I would like the skin to be thinner and possibly smaller dumplings because I found it hard to pick them up with my limited chopstick skills.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Lemon tea:

To finish off I had lemon tea which was nice and refreshing.
As well as lemon tea, there are other drinks as well.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Previously, this shop used to be Hero's, but now the Hero has gone, let's see how well these kick ass noodles do!

◎ⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓢⓤⓟⓔⓡⓖⓘⓡⓛ◎
Dandan
Shop 101A, Grand Millennium Plaza, 181 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...