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2007-01-05
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01 JAN 2007To celebrate the New Year, I took my family with the dreaded in-laws forming a party of 11, to a restaurant called the Gateway (港潮樓) situated on the second floor of the Harbour Crystal Centre, in East Tsim Sha Tsui. The place was recommended to me with by a fellow golfer.We arrived at 6:30PM and to my amazement, we were the first party there. The main dinning area was not particularly large, with about 20 tables of various sizes spaciously apart. In addition, there were 10 function
To celebrate the New Year, I took my family with the dreaded in-laws forming a party of 11, to a restaurant called the Gateway (港潮樓) situated on the second floor of the Harbour Crystal Centre, in East Tsim Sha Tsui. The place was recommended to me with by a fellow golfer.
We arrived at 6:30PM and to my amazement, we were the first party there. The main dinning area was not particularly large, with about 20 tables of various sizes spaciously apart. In addition, there were 10 function rooms at the back. The d嶰or was what I would call modern Chinese with a warm maroon colour scheme. The wall next to our table could do with some touch-ups as there were a number of unsightly smudges.
The order was taken by a waiter who was fairly responsive and well informed of the day’s specials. My son decided to order of the signature dish of crab in glutinous rice but he would like ordinary fragrant rice fried in egg white in stead of the glutinous version. The man froze. Possibly, he could not spell the word flexibility or else my son spoke in an alien language. After a suitable period of defrosting, he said he would consult the chef whereupon I lost my patience and asked to speak to the man himself. Seconds later, an affable, slightly rotund and smiling man appeared in a spit and span white tunic complete with a chef’s tall hat. I always regard a chef who takes pride in his turnout would do likewise with his food. His impressive appearance injected much confidence in me. The chef introduced himself as Ah Ming and took the order, with a ready response of no problem to each and evry whim of my son. He then returned to attend to his duties in the kitchen. My subsequent nosy enquiry revealed that the chef has more than 25 years of experience in preparing Chiu Chow cuisine.
After the initial hiccup, the rest of the evening went like a dream. The first course was sliced goose meat in Chiu Chow marinated sauce. The meat was tender but more importantly the marinated sauce was mature and full of flavours. The omelet with pearl oysters and melon was true to the rustic and traditional Chiu Chow style of cooking. The novelty came with the diced curry chicken with chupatti. The meat was well mixed with sweet corns which went very well with the warm Indian coarse bread. The beef brisket in consommwas, comparatively speaking, less impressive than other dishes. The saving grace was the consommwhich was peppery and tasty. The steamed garupa was as fresh as it was delicious. The piece de resistance was of course the steamed crab with rice which was worth waiting for. The full splendour of the crustacean, enhanced by a sumptuous application of garlic, was absorbed by the rice through the steaming process. To complete the meal, I ordered congee with pearl oysters and minced pork. To finish the meal, I ordered six huge buns of lotus seeds and sesame fillings. Then to our surprise, an additional course of dessert in the form of sago pudding arrived with compliments from the chef.
The damage to my wallet was only $2,500 including a princely tip, a megre sum for a satisfying dinner for 11. By the time we left at about 8:30PM the place was 90% full. It should have been 100% full with a long line in waiting, judging from the standard of food, price and service during the meal. I could see myself like the dying prima donna of Verdi’s opera Aida, re-appearing in this restaurant again and again with monotonous regularity, hopefully without the in-laws!
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