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2009-01-06
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When I asked the "Operice Big Boy" where to have Sichuan Cuisine. He spitted out the name with such ease like he already knew I was going to ask. I turned to "Openrice Bad Boy" and asked the same question...He did with the same ease that I began to wonder whether YunYan is the prerequisite of the gateway towards Sichuan cuisine appreciation in this city. I have paid visits to Wong Tai Sin's 咏藜园, but the Boys were right, upon my initial visit, I realized a whole new perspective of a chili-dominat
Located at a dowdy 4th floor of an arcade. The mall was uninspiring, somehow mismatched with the location in the middle of TST, and by the Kowloon Park helped of nothing either. It took some efforts to get to 4th floor, walked across the footbridge to get to the main entrance. The welcoming fluorescent redness attracted and repelled me somehow. The sign was catchy enough, but it was the same catchiness that resembled one of those joints that tricked foreigners to eat there only to realize half the menu was sweet and sour chicken (in different forms) and the other half filled with mythical dishes like monkey brains and Feet of their beloved Teddies. Don't be misguided, the decor of YunYan may be simple -- giving off a whiff of originality unlike anywhere that offers fine dining. The lighting's a white glow and the table linens the colour of faded custard. A sign on the front entrance said "8 treasure tea", with a metal kettle with a long neck...placed on a wooden cart. Did I mention the tricking foreigners part already?!
Looks are deceiving here at YunYan, the menu was the real deal. For lunch we promptly ordered two cold dishes -- the signature "Mouth Watering Chicken" (口水鸡, $88 ) and "Light-shade Beef Slices" (灯影牛肉, $48）, a rare find among many eateries, Beef Slices in Fiery Broth (水煮牛肉, $98), followed by Ma Po Tofu. We moved on to a traditional Sichuan TanTan noodles ($30) and Scallion Pastries. The First dish to arrive was the chicken. Enrobed by a chunky mixture of dry roasted peanuts, scallions and a blend of toasted Sichuan Peppercorns, Red chilies and garlic, the dish of cold chicken was a mystery to be revealed. We noticed something different about this chicken from the others. We explored with a chopsticks, located, and pulled out a chunk. It was clearly not an ordinary chicken, it's one of those Silkies, also known as "black chicken". Silkies tend to be a lot leaner and when cooked, yield a more stringy meat texture. It's a common ingredient for double boiled soup, but for this mouth-watering dish YunYan certainly knew how to treat a chicken right! The meat here was soft and moist, if you close your eyes you may mistaken it as an ordinary chicken with richer buttery and a slightly gamey taste to it. The accompanying sauce was more like a chunky salsa that offered different textures from nuttiness in the peanuts to sharp heat in the dry-and-wet chili mixture.
The Tofu was a forgettable one, not because it's not good. It looked as if the dish was pulled off of a culinary textbook -- tiny diced-tofu among chunky red chili sauce with plenty of minced pork. It tasted fine, with a good sprinkle of Sichuan peppercorns at the end really did the magic, The Beef in Fiery Broth was next. It was hardly a broth, in fact, it's thick slices of beef resting atop mung bean sprouts in a 'broth' made primarily of a red hot chili oil. There was a sharp tang from garlic in the mix as well. The beef were rather soft due to the use of baking soda to soften it up, but it was the bean sprouts that absorbed all the essential flavours, on top of its crisp freshness, that made this dish so wonderful. Famous for its numbing sensation, this dish was lighter on the heat but more prominent on the numbing, as opposed the Fish in Fiery Broth was presented in a larger bowl, or a shallow soup tureen, with floating chilies on the top covering the entire surface.
Tan Tan Noodles were no comparison with the one at 咏藜园, at least from the broth. The noodles were fine and YunYan's famous for its fine noodle making as well. The strands were of a light yellow and chewy with a bite to it. The broth accompanying the noodles were thinner and tasted more peanuts and sesame seeds. The nutty taste fainted upon swallowing, but the noodles were wonderful. Scallion Pastries were a surprising hit. A simple dough of flour and water was made and rolled out, sprinkled with scallions, then rolled, cut, and roll again. The dough was then deep fried to yield multi-layers of pastry with intertwining layers of green scallions blended throughout. The scallions' lightness penetrated through the pastries and lightened the palate, before your tastebuds took on the pastries again.
"Light-Shade Beef Slices" -- A dish that required precision and dedication indeed. A beef shin was used in this dish, sliced to the thinnest possible, pretty much the same as making Capaccio. The key to yielding 'dry, translucent' slices of beef and not deep fried tough-cardboard pieces is the temperature of the oil. The oil couldn't be too hot, and as the beef slowly bubbled and turned harder and more dry. The hot slices of beef are quickly tossed in a mixture of sugar, and the smallest pinch of ground Sichuan Peppercorns. This yield a plate of translucent beef slices, piled up like shards of broken glass in deep almost plum red colour. When I picked up a thin slice, I could see a faint glow on the other side -- from where the light source was. The texture resembled nothing I've ever tasted -- sweet with a light crunch but not quite as hard as jerky either. I wouldn't have guessed I was eating beef either. It's got a fantastic texture and certainly, something I would have again.
For desserts we ordered Toffee Bananas ($70). Bananas were first cut into thick batons, then dipped into a batter and fried until crispy and golden brown. The now golden morsels were served on a little cart, on it placed a hot pan of simmering caramel. The waiter carefully placed the fried banans into the caramel, as he swirled the pan to coat. Then the bananas, now sugar coated, were quickly dipped into icy waters to cool. The sudden drop of temperature allowed the caramel to cool down and become a crispy crust. I especially like the crispy toffee against the warm banana filling in the middle, both tasted sweet, but in their own ways, as the banana offered a fruity component in the flavour.
YunYan certainly knows how to impress on the plate, despite rather understated decor and location. It never failed to offer the 'wow' factor for those who consider Sichuan cuisine to be 'food covered in chilies and served with more chilies." It really was an eye-opener to experience the craft of an otherwise misunderstood cuisine. Educational and Pleasurable indeed!
张贴
