Binge - Fireworks and HK Lunar New Year Feasts

What’s being served on gourmet tables in Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year and how does it differ from what you see in Singapore? For one, the Chefs in Hong Kong are definitely ultra creative and have a penchant for exotic ingredients or lets just say dishes with a slight twist. Couple that with a breathtaking view of the fireworks over the Victoria harbour which most of the restaurants below have.. eating out here in Hong Kong will definitely mean that your year will get off to a crackling start..

What’s different, you ask? Well, how would you like to try a Lamb Lo Hei? The award-winning Hutong(28F, One Peking, 1 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui T:+852 3428 8342) well known for its spicy Northern Chinese fare, has given this traditional dish a twist and you can try their Shangahinese style Lamb as the main ingredient tossed with fresh and dried seafood, diced cucumber and carrot drizzled with a sesame dressing. Serves 4 to 6 persons at HK$788. For the New Year from 4 Feb, also try their 11 course banquet that features signatures such as their Crispy de-boned lamb ribs served with Chinese pancakes, Scallops tossed with pomelo segments and a lovelyMandarin sorbet with crispy apple rolls for dessert.

Then there is Ostrich Meat with Chestnut, Goose Web in Oyster Sauce or Baked Crab Shell stuffed with Bird’s Nest and  you can savour these atKwan Cheuk Heen (+852 21212691) on the 5th floor of the Harbour Grand Hong Kong Hotel where an 8 course menu starts at HK$688 per person.

For Barbecued Suckling Pig, Baked Stuffed Crab shell, Fried Lobster with Black Bean and Chilli, Traditional Baked Chicken in Rock Salt and Braised Fresh Crabmeat Soup with Velvet Winter Melon, we recommend Guo Fu Lou (31st Floor at iSqaure, 64 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, T:+852 2487 3788). A feast for 12 here starts at HK$10,800 and comes complete with a special pairing of Champagne, a magnum of “Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 1998” Champagne, one of the most esteemed names in Champagne that has impressed even the toughest of critics.

If you like your Chinese cuisine with some Japanese inspiration stirred in, then maybe a main course of Hokkaido King Crab Leg with seaweed and Inaniwa Udon will be the thing served alongside Braised Conpoy with Turnip, Wok-seared Sun-dried Oyster, Double-boiled Superior Shark’s Fin Soup with Bamboo Piths and Fungus, Braised Whole Fresh Abalone and Garoupa Fillet with Oyster Jus, Wagyu Beef in Spicy Salt and Diced Shrimp served in a Golden Wheat Flour Basket. Steamed Chicken with Yunnan Ham and Morel Mushrooms and Sweetened Rice Dumplings in Walnut Cream and a Crispy Sesame Dumpling with Red Bean Paste for dessert . The pice tag? HK$1,588 per person at the Intercontinental Hong Kong Hotel’s Yan Toh Heen. There are also several other set menus available such as the “Fat Choy” menu  at HK$988 per person from 3 to 19 Feb and two Auspicious Spring Menus at HK$10,888 and HK$13,888 available from 1 to 28 February respectively.

The thing that I find in Hong Kong but hardly in Singapore are the sublime Puddings which I find rather hard to resist.  Head to T’ang Court at The Langham Hotel, Hong Kong(T:852 23751133 ext 2250) from now till 2 February where there are three delicious homemade puddings for 2011: the New Year Pudding, Turnip Pudding and Taro Puddingat HK$138 per box.

The Ming Court at Langham Place Hotel in Mongkok T: +852 3552 3300 also serves up Chinese New Year puddings with ingredients like pork, cheese and truffles. Try the stir-fried Golden pudding with diced wagyu beef in chocolate sauce at HK$288 and the baked Shanghainese pudding with pumpkin, cheese and black truffle at HK$168.

Learn to make your own Pudding? Yes you can! Master Chef Lau Yiu Fai and his team at Yan Toh Heen will show you how to make a Savoury Kagoshima Daikon Pudding and Peanut and Sesame Dumplings on Sunday, 30 January from 10.30am to 1pm at the Yan Toh Heen Private Dining Room at HK$688 per person. Take home gifts include a Savoury Kagoshima Daikon Pudding, traditional Peanut and Sesame Dumplings, Yan Toh Heen Homemade X.O. Chili Sauce and a Yan Toh Heen apron. Call the Hot Line at  Tel: +852 2313 2323

How about having bubbly with everything?

The Chefs at One Harbour Road (8/F Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Hong Kong. T: +852 2584 7722) are serving up three premium Krug champagnes all through January including the Krug Grande Cuvee N.V, Krug Vintage 1998 and Krug Rose with a specially paired Chinese menu of Steamed Egg White with Crab Meat and Wolfberry Seeds, Simmered Fillet of Garoupa with Superior Fish Soup, Wok-fried King Prawns with Black Fungus, Stir-fried Diced Pigeon with Bamboo Shoots, Preserved Vegetables and Pine Nuts and Stewed Northern Rice with Baby Abalone in Stone Nest. Dessert is a Flambe of Pear with Red dates and Cointreau Butter served with Almond Sherbet at HK$900 per person.

If you are on the Kowloon end watching the Fireworks, then book a table at Loong Toh Yuen (The Hullet House, T: +852 3988 0107). They are serving a glass of champagne with their Fireworks 8 Course set dinner menu at HK$1,188 per person (on 4 Feb) that  includes Steamed Fresh Garoupa with Chinese Wine “Fa Dew”, Braised Whole Abalone and Duck Feet with seasonal vegetables, Crispy Chicken with Black Truffle, to name a few.  Seasonal and Lunar New Year specialties are available from 1 to 28 February.