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2009-11-05
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tonight’s dinner venue was tim’s kitchen (桃花源), a cantonese restaurant that proudly won one michelin star in hong kong and two in macau in the latest michelin guide. it was founded in 2000 by chef tim lai (黎有甜), who had worked at hang seng private executive dining room for 33 years and was its executive chef when retired. cuisine cuisine’s chef also worked at the hang seng executive dining room, and one could note certain similarities between cuisine cuisine and tim’s kitchen – traditional food
crab claws in egg white: the alaskan king crab claws were frozen overnight before deshelled and simmered. for the one in egg white, the bowl was filled with stock with a thick layer of steamed egg white at the bottom. the crab actually tasted a bit bland, but the egg white was very smooth and, surprisingly, matched perfectly with the crab. yummy.
fried crab claw in peppercorn salt: it was deep fried at low oil temperature and inside was still very juicy. there was not as much salt&pepper and chili than the deep fried peppercorn salt dishes in other restaurants; pro – it was healthier; con – the taste was lighter.
crab claws with winter melon: this was the best out of all 3 claws. the crab meat was filled with winter melon fragrance and the soup was a sweet thick broth.
king prawn: it was a very beautiful dish; the fist-size king prawn was soaked in oil at low temperature, and served on the side was a slice of chinese ham and shrimp paste. the prawn was very crisp and carried a light ocean taste. admittedly it tasted a bit weak, but shrimp paste saved the grace.
sauteed pork stomach, pickled vegetables, bamboo shoots, pinenuts: what a delicous dish! it used only the tip of the pork stomach near esophagus, where the tissue was firmest and crispiest. pickled vegetables were treated nicely so they were more sweet than sour, and pine nuts matched the pork stomach perfectly. it was a sublime dish.
braised pomelo skin with shrimp roes: it was one of those dishes that take forever to prepare. the pomelo skin was peeled before soaked in fish stock, then strained and steamed. the whole process kept repeating for a day until the skin became soft and absorbent before simmered in carp fish stock for 3 hours. it was very different from the “fake” braised pomelo skin at most dim sum restaurants; the one at tim’s kitchen was soft but not mushy, and each pore oozed thick delicous shrimp roes/fish soup.
satay beef and rice noodles: this was an exceedingly tasty dish; the rice noodles were steamed but not sticky (thanks in part to the thick oil coat). and i could use the spiciness after having quite a few light healthy dishes.
crispy chicken: actually this dish turned out to be weakest link for the night. the crispy chicken here paled significantly compared to 6 years ago, or the ones at some other high-end chinese restaurants in town. it was already lukewarm when served, and the meat tasted quite bland. skin was still thin and crispy, but the fat layer was too thick and very uneven.
it was a sublime meal with most delightful company. a word on service: i have read some really bad reviews on the service here but our experience was, on the contrary, very pleasant and efficient. there were 3 waiters at the front (including the son of chef lai), 2 of whom we interacted with. they were friendly and attentive, and jumped at every chance we asked for explanation of the dishes. i do understand why some other customers had been poorly received before, but let’s just say we were lucky to have the right waiters *wink*.
original post with pictures: http://randomnomad.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/tims-kitchen/
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