Spices for your tastebuds at Spicy House

Spicy House is located near the Wong Tai Sin MTR.

Went there to try some Sichuan dishes which were great and creative.

Here was what we had.

Some dishes do not have English names hence the Chinese name.
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毛血旺

This was a huge bowl with porks blood, luncheon ham, cow's stomach tripe and instestines.
A typical Sichuan dish which was very aromatic because of the Sichuan peppercorns leaving your mouth feeling extremely numb afterwards.
My favourite were the porks blood and luncheon meat.
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川烤BB豬
Sichuan roast suckling pig

This is an adaption where they have used Roast sucking pig instead of other meats.
It was really enjoyable because the skin was crispy just like pork crackling and the sauce was like rich Western gravy spiked with Sichuan spices perfect with rice, potatoes or noodles.
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冰鎮鮮鮑魚同
Fresh chilled abalone

The photograph does not show, but when it was brought to the table, there was cold smoke coming from it and the abalone was sweet and fresh with a light soy sauce taste.
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桑拿田雞
Frog sauna style


The inspiration behind this dish is hot steam saunas which is why there are hot pebbles in the sauna style wooden tub so that when the frogmeat is poured into the bowl, it will sizzle and let off steam.
The frog meat was spicy and springy and it was just like eating chicken.
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豆花黃魚
Fish with beancurd

Last but not least, this was my favourite because the fish was extremely silky paired with appetizing pickled vegetables and smooth beancurd which the fish even more silky.
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To watch this episode of  玩轉18區 at 麻醉館 hosted by 周中師傅, Miki and Supersupergirl and other shows by Aplus YUS, please visit the link below.

Da Rong He debuts at the Mandarin Oriental

Da Rong He, an award winning Sichuan restaurant in China will be showcasing their dishes from 19th to 27th September 2014. Chef Wang Zheng Jing, co-founder and general manager of Da Rong He and his team of six chefs will be presenting a series of signature dishes.

During this period, there will be more than 25 different signature dishes on the à la carte menu and two special set menus.

Set menus are priced at HKD698* per person for the eight-course lunch menu and HKD1,480* per person for the ten-course dinner menu.

Recommended dishes are "Tea Smoked Duck", "Pickled Bamboo Shoot, Baby Ginger, Kale, Walnut", "Steamed Fish Head with Red Chilli" and "Wok Fried Fresh Abalone and Bean Sprout".

When I arrived at Man Wah, I was greeted with a beautiful oriental setting overlooking the harbour.





There is an exquisite octagonal room too for more privacy.



Here was what we tried:
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金牌海蜇頭:
Jellyfish head, black vinegar, chilli oil



The jellyfish head was scrumptious, each piece was crisp with a sweet taste complemented by the chili oil.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
蜀南竹毛肚:
Bamboo pith, Sichuan peppercorn



The bamboo piths which are normally pale in colour were green because there were lots of finely diced peppers mixed into it but the taste was not as spicy as it looked.
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夫妻肺片:
Beef, offal, peppercorn and chilli oil



Did not try this.
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老壇泡山珍:
Pickled bamboo shoot, baby ginger, asparagus lettuce, Morel mushroom, fox nuts, whelks, walnut.



This was a nice medley of vegetables and whelks which did not look spicy but it was quite spicy.
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川北涼粉鹵肉鍋盔:
Glass noodle, braised pork, peppercorn and chilli oil



Each strand of noodle was perfectly rectangular and translucent, and it was packed with aromas and spices from the Sichuan pepper.
A definite must order if you can handle spicy food but be prepared for a strong tingling sensation after you eat it.



It also came with bread pockets because some people like to put the glass noodles in it.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
沸騰魚 :
Chinese perch, peppercorn, chilli, hot oil



The bowl of chili looks deceiving, after removing the chilis, there are chunks of perch fish in the bowl.



The fish is silky and soft with a strong taste of peppercorn but the spiciness was surprisingly palatable.
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自發豆芽爆炒鮮鮑:
Wok fried fresh abalone, bean sprout



This was stir fried bean tips from the beansprouts with fresh abalones.



There was a lovely charred soy sauce taste on the abalone and on the beans which had a lovely crunch and chew to it.
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*大蓉和樟茶鴨 :
Tea smoked duck



A beautifully smoked duck with soft pink coloured meat and crispy crackling skin.
The taste was amazing and full of tea aroma.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
開門紅 :
Steamed fish head, red capsicum, red chilli



The dish was stunning, covered with red capsicums contrasted by the green spring onions with the steamed fish buried beneath it.
Unfortunately, I found this too spicy, but there was a side of finely chopped greens to go with.



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官燕四川雞豆花:
Steamed chicken pudding, bird’s nest



The texture of the pudding was just like tofu with finely grounded chicken mixed into it and theh broth was clear and oiless.
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*金湯養身鍋:
Rice congee, shrimps and chicken broth, sea cucumber, minced fish, taro



The congee came a in a beautiful Oriental ceramic dark blue pot.





The congee was divine and the best congee because it was golden orange infused with a strong prawn broth taste with pieces of fresh shrimp and pork in it refreshed by the taro pieces.
I loved the taro pieces because it did not have a starchy texture but a crisp and viscous texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Man Wah:
25/F, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, 5 Connaught Road Central, Central

Lovely crispy tofu @ 川婆婆

Tried this place because no one was dining there.

They have noodles or snacks and for more filling food, there are main dishes.


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Typhoon shelter style tofu:


The tofu was perfectly done, the outside was perfectly crisp while the inside was like liquid tofu.
However it lacked taste which should make it suitable for people on a low sodium diet.
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Shredded chicken and bean sheets:

I did not like this because it was too syrupy sweet and spicy.

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I think I made the wrong choice because their main dishes looked better.

Modern Sichuan food with style

Yun Yan (Causeway Bay)

This was my first time having high end Sichuan food.
The ones I normally go to are casual and the seating is less comfortable.

Here, the restaurant is really modern with an open dining area.
There is an open kitchen bar for COLD & SHAKE where Sichuan starters and noodles are shaken in cocktail shakers mimicking popular Sichuan snacks served on the streets which are shaken in bags with sauces and spices similar to the Hong Kong bag noodles that used to be popular a while ago.

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Translucent beef:
Although there is no picture here, it is definitely worth trying because it is thinly sliced beef similar to beef jerky with a lovely sichuan peppercorn taste with sweetness.
In chinese it is called lantern beef because each slice is so thin that it lets light through almost like a paper lantern.
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Beef tongue in wild mushroom oil:


This was not spicy and I loved the chunky cubes of beef tongue complimented by the fragrant wild mushroom oil and crispy black and white sesame seeds.
For a stronger and intense taste you can add more mushroom oil which is on the table too.
The beef tongue was tenders and soft.
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Chilled noodles with garlic pork belly:


There were a choice of sichuan white flour noodles, cornflour noodles or buckwheat noodles.
We had the cornflour noodles.
The noodles were refreshingly cool tossed in Sichuan vinaigrette with lots of garlic.
A good option for females wanting a light lunch.
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Eight flavour tofu:


This was just fun!
There was a huge slab of tofu accompanied by a choice of condiments ranging from:
pepper powder, chili powder, chili sauce, sichuan style preserved cabbage, scallion, chili oil, garlic puree, sesame oil, black vinegar.


Basically you choose the condiments you like and slap it on the tofu!
The Sichuan peppercorns are not grounded so you have fun grinding it in the bowl and once its done you can really smell and taste how fragrant they are.
Before I tried the condiments with the tofu, I tried the tofu on its own and the soybean taste is really strong.
As well as the fancy condiments, they also had pink Himalayan salt which also tasted good with it.
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hot and sour crab meat soup:



The soup had generous pieces of crabmeat in it as you can see.
Unfortunately the soup was too spicy for me, but I loved the Vinegar jelly cubes that you put in the soup which contribute to the sourness of the hot and sour soup.
It is recommended to put 1-2 cubes of vinegar jelly in the soup.
I tried one of the jelly cubes on its own and it was basically vinegar in jelly form.
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sauteed prawns in chili garlic sauce:


These prawns were huge and the edges were nice and crispy.
The sauce was rich with lots of finely chopped garlic and chili in it perfect with the meaty springy prawns.
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steamed fish head with chili:


Although this looked really spicy but it turned out to be my favourite because the size of the fish head was huge yet the fish was tender and there was lots of collagen in it.
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Sichuan house smoked cherry duckling:


This was smoked duck similar to peking duck which came with these super cute scallop shaped buns.
The buns were easily opened in the middle just like scallops were you put the duck in between and sauce.
It was really satisfying having the piping hot bun with smoked duck complemented with the sweet smokey barbecue sauce.
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Poached rib eye beef in chili broth:


I have never ordered this before because it looks scarily hot with red chilis floating on top.
Surprisingly it is not as spicy as it looks and rib eye was perfect for this because the texture is really tender with a smooth oily touch to it.
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strawberry tofu milkshake :


I loved this tofu milkshake because it was blended with fresh strawberries, the sweetness was just right with the occasional strawberry tartness.
There was a strong soy bean taste too and the tofu that was blended into it contributes to that thickness just like a milkshake.
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Panfried glutinous walnut cake:


These glutinous walnut cakes are green because it is made with grounded spinach.
I loved the chewy warm texture and the crunch of walnuts without being too sweet.
It reminded me of the Sticky and heavy Chinese new year cake but tasting much much better!
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For icecreams, they even had green bell pepper icecream, Sichuan pepper icecream which were really cool!
I don't mind coming back again and if it wasn't for this tasting I would just assume that all dishes were spicy!

Sichuan food on cloud 9

Thanks to Chuan Xi Restaurant for inviting me to try their wonderful food.

Before I went, they gave me a really good impression because they sent me their menu and it had English as well.
When I got there, they had an electronic menu which was even better because if it were not for those pictures I would not have ordered those items.


The two dishes that I ordered because of the pictures were the mushrooms and the dessert, so a picture means a thousand words.

The restaurant was quite cosy and I liked the clouds on the ceiling.




I was quite surprised that they served fresh seafood because there were tanks at the corner with live seafood, so when you order them, they get it from there.


Here was what I tried:
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Chilled yam with blueberry:

A simple but delicious appetizer because they used fresh yam with blueberry jam.
The yam and the sweetness of the blueberry was cooling and soothing while the yam had a lovely crisp texture.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Marinated Numbing Mushroom:

I am so glad I saw the picture for this or I would have missed out on this great dish!
Thinly sliced mushrooms tossed in their secret numbing sauce with lots of finely chopped coriander stalks mixed into it.
A very innocent but flavourful dish.
[I would be very happy just eating this with plain rice if I was alone!]
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beef tripe with sichuan pepper sauce:

Compared to the other two appetizers this was slightly stronger, drenched in fragrant sichuan pepper sauce.
The beef tripe was meaty but soft, a great appetizer to go with beer.
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Spinach and cuttlefish soup:

The soup was an interesting combination of leafy spinach and cuttlefish, you could really taste the cuttlefish in this light clear soup.
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Sauteed mutton and onion with cumin:

Thinly sliced tender mutton pieces cooked with lots of onion and cumin.
This was great with rice.
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Le Shan Sweet Skin Duck:

The duck was a surprise, the skin was literally caramelized with syrup. The duck's skin surface just tasted like caramelized caramel with a hint of sichuan peppercorns.
A must try because I found it really unique.
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Spicy Mantis Shrimp, Chengdu Style:

Lastly this dish is another must try! Huge mantis shrimps in a shallow pot with goodies such as sliced lotus roots, chili, leeks, Chinese celery and green peppercorns.
[The lotus roots taste good with rice]
I liked it the way it was cooked because the mantis shrimp was moist and extremely tender and springy.
The meat is protected by the shell so it won't be that spicy yet it still has flavour. For extra kick, dip the mantis meat in the sauce which gives it the spicy flavour in full force!
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Crystal jelly in Strawberry sauce:

On the menu, it was supposed to be yuzu sauce but they sold out of yuzu sauce and replaced it with strawberry which was even better because I love strawberry!!
It was nice and soothing after some spicy food.
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If I wasn't full I would have tried the Stir fried flat noodles with beef and cumin!!
A jazzed up version of the normal stir fried beef with flat noodles.

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For vegetarians, you won't feel left out!!
You can order the items below with rice!
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Marinated auberjines
Spicy cucumber
Chilled yam with blueberry
Spicy Vegetarian Pot
Marinated Numbing Mushroom
Crystal jelly in Strawberry sauce
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Can't wait to dine here again!!
Mantis shrimps are a must!