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2009-06-15
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When I was invited by 师兄 to have dinner at 凤城酒家, I was more than ecstatic! Of course I was extremely honored to be invited. Then there was the fact that there are literally no 顺德菜 in New York. With my lack of knowledge in traditional old fashioned Chinese dishes (传统菜), I was eager to learn and sample traditional 顺德菜 at this reputable restaurant.The feast was filled with nostalgic dishes, many of which were signature items at 凤城. For instance, the starting soup, 生鱼片皮蛋茶瓜芫荽汤, was a variation of
When I was invited by 师兄 to have dinner at 凤城酒家, I was more than ecstatic! Of course I was extremely honored to be invited. Then there was the fact that there are literally no 顺德菜 in New York. With my lack of knowledge in traditional old fashioned Chinese dishes (传统菜), I was eager to learn and sample traditional 顺德菜 at this reputable restaurant.
The feast was filled with nostalgic dishes, many of which were signature items at 凤城. For instance, the starting soup, 生鱼片皮蛋茶瓜芫荽汤, was a variation of our normal Cantonese 皮蛋芫荽鱼片汤, but the addition of sweet pickled cucumber 茶瓜 transformed it into something more complex and soothing. The classic 凤肝金钱鸡 was well-executed with pork fat, char siu, and chicken liver layered into a thin bun. It would have been a perfect dish if the char siu and chicken liver were a bit more moist and juicy, but the whole combo was still a fine enjoyment.
I haven’t had (or even heard of) 紫姜彭公鹅 before, and learnt from the dinner that it was a famous and classic 顺德菜. I did some researches after and have posted a reference of this dish (the version at 凤城) below in the footnote*. Each table got a whole goose, which was GIGANTIC in size, and with that all the luscious goodness (and delicious fat!) of the goose was encapsulated in a single plate – none of the essence was lost. The goose itself had an unmistakable “gamey” flavor which I adored, and the vinegar based sauce helped to neutralize the fattiness of the goose. I found the pickled gingers 子姜 to be the star - pungent, zesty, and complex as they had absorbed all the meat juice and vinegar. I probably had more pickled gingers than the goose because they were extremely appetizing (开胃) and provided a nice kick to my palate.
香煎酿鲮鱼 and 家乡煎藕饼 were another two classic dishes in 顺德 cuisine, and 凤城 was true to the traditional rustic approach. In the former dish, the fish meat was extracted, minced, and then stuffed back to the fish skin and pan-fried to crispiness. The minced dice fish (鲮鱼胶) was soft and slightly bouncy with the dice fish still maintaining its strong distinctive flavor. The sauce was a bit weak in my opinion, but the mix of mushroom and dried shrimps in the fish was a nice touch. Although not as complex as the 香煎酿鲮鱼 in preparation, 家乡煎藕饼 was even more impressive to me in taste and texture. The dish was served very hot and each bite was a mix of fatty pork fat, crunchy lotus roots, and coarsely chopped soft pork meat. How could it be not good?
味蛋蒸肉饼 was a straightforward homey dish yet didn’t fail to provide simple pleasure, like what your mom cooked for you. 野鸡卷拼炒鲜奶, on the other hand, wouldn’t be easy to be prepared by home cook. From what I gathered, 野鸡卷 a fine artisan creation from the past (and I posted a reference in the footnote**). The version that we had at 凤城 appeared to be quite authentic, with the pork fat rolled into little “cute-looking” circles and fried to a crispy and crunchy finish. Biting into the rolls, the fat “juice” immediately burst into my mouth, yet it didn’t feel like biting into nauseous oily fat. How amazing! I had almost forgotten the accompanied 炒鲜奶 which was a bit disappointing as the milk wasn’t smooth and a bit corn-starchy.
By that time I was almost full but there were still several dishes to come. 脆皮糯米鸭 reminded me of the Luk Yu’s stuffed chicken (陆羽糯米鸡) but this time it a young ducking was used instead. The dish was also deep fried rather than cooked by repeated oil-blanching/pouring. The skin was crispy with the duck meat still attached, and the rice was filled with egg yolk and lotus seeds. Overall a complex dish executed quite well.
锅贴大明虾, a signature dish at 凤城, had been discussed multiple times, and the combination of juicy shrimp and deep fried toast never failed to satisfy. 生炒鲜露笋 and 生菜鹌鹑崧, while both adequately cooked, became rather ordinary when came at the end of the feast, but they were actually simple and light and would have been appreciated if we weren’t so full.
Our savory courses ended with yet another classic of 凤城 - 家乡煎粉果. Although the skin was a bit thick, a brief “dunk” in the broth softened the dumpling skin to give it a chewy mouthfeel, and the filling was fresh and tasty in my opinion. My 莲蓉西米布甸 was a little gluey, but still worked fine to complete the feast in a sweet note.
This was my second dinner feast since my return to Hong Kong, and I want to thank everyone, particularly 师兄 for inviting me and for organizing the whole meal. I was expecting to have great meal, but little did I anticipate to learn so much about traditional dishes in this dinner. It was educational and allowed me to appreciate all the efforts and wisdoms that went into the preparation. Of course, knowing more friends was just as rewarding as the dinner itself, and I am truly grateful to be a participant in this well-designed feast!
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Footnote:
*紫姜彭公鹅 (from Eat and Travel Weekly)
这是顺德勒流的家乡菜，由一位姓彭的知县所创。在香港有供应此菜的绝无仅有，凤城酒家是例外。
别以为用甜醋煮鹅很简单。有煲过姜醋都知，甜醋要不断翻煲，醋味才醇厚。凤城就长期备有反覆煲了半个月左右的甜醋，每次有柯打，师傅便取三斤半的黑鬃鹅，贪它肥瘦适中，一起和甜醋烹调，另外还加入少许白醋和桂花醋，使酸香更复杂多变。由于用的醋全部是八珍出品，所以醋香特醇，没有劣质醋的刺鼻感。
鹅用甜醋煮过，鹅肉味浓，没有半点肥腻，尽是香酸，很醒胃；浸在醋中的子姜片，索尽醋味，口感嫩爽，入口无渣，一醒口味，收烘云托月之效。而醋汁经过多次翻煮，香醇不刺鼻，酸中有甜，用来捞饭吃，开胃非常
**野鸡卷 (from 唯灵)
「大良野鸡卷」的口感应该甘美酥脆但决不是蘸脆浆来炸。正统之法是：一大片猪脊肥肉薄片，一块脄头肉薄片相叠，卷成圆筒，以蛋浆生粉调成糊黏合收口，上笼蒸熟，摊冻后切棋子形，下油镬炸至香酥，上碟。其后衍生出「有心野鸡卷」，即以火腿或腊肠为心，流行过一阵，但后来又反朴归真，仍以正统的版本占优势。「大良野鸡卷」卖相讲究亮丽明净，色如黄金，切忌过火色老，故腌料无糖与酱油，登筵亮相一刹观感一差，虽然香与味有可取，印象也大打折扣… 据康海说而今制作野鸡卷难在猪脊肥难求，制一客席头野鸡卷须用脊肥肉片十二両，脄头肉片十二両，要许多斤猪脊肥肉才能取够需用之材，因为只取贴近猪皮带毛管眼的一层硬脂，一落镬油炸脂肪便从毛孔流溢，故入口香酥而不油腻，如非贴皮那层脂肪无法宣泄，尽管可以炸至香脆但难免有油腻的感觉了。据说「野鸡卷」是大良宜春园在上世纪二十年代首创，三十年代传入广州，瞬即成为红透半边天的名菜。始创时原来还有「大良鸡卷」，那是以脊肥卷鸡肉，用猪肉以假乱真者才叫「野鸡卷」，以其价廉味美送饭佐酒俱宜瞬即大行其道，「真鸡卷」反而不彰
张贴
