Beijing: Big Hairy Crabs at Jing Ding Xuan

I had this sudden desire to eat hairy crabs (大閘蟹) while in Beijing. The concierge must have thought it to be a strange request. I suppose it's Shanghai not Beijing that's famous for these yummy crustacean delicacies. Anyway they recommended a restaurant called Jing Ding Xuan.

The restaurant itself was extremely large and busy but we were seated quickly:


Jing Ding Xuan serves a variety of food but since we were there on a weekend the dim sum option seemed to be very popular. We decided to get the dim sum as well as a crab for me. The dim sum was very cheap, approximately US$1 an item! Now where else can you get such a deal. The quality however was reflective of the price. I didn't enjoy it much.

We got chicken feet, shiu mai, har gau, spicy noodles, veggie buns (these were actually quite good):



Now for the HIGHLIGHT of my meal. The hairy crab! Ahh satisfaction:



The best part of the crab is the roe. Rich creamy and I love how it tastes with the vinegar it's served with. The crab itself doesn't have much meat but the sweet flesh dipped in vinegar (yes the vinegar is crucial) makes picking at it all worth while hehe

Chomp Meter:
I wouldn't recommend this restaurant. There are much better restaurants in Beijing. However, if you are hard pressed to find hairy crabs then this place will do :)

Jing Ding Xuan 金鼎轩酒楼
He Ping Li West Street No 77
On the south gate of Ditan.
Phone: 010 6429 6888
Open 24hrs

Directions for the cabbie:
南三环路
丰台区方庄蒲芳路16号 (家乐福对面)

Peking Duck in Peking - Liqun Roast Duck

I decided to head to Li Qun for peking duck after doing some research on Chowhound and seeing it on No Reservations. There are several popular duck restaurants (Dadong, Quanjude, Duck de Chine) in Beijing but Li Qun had a more rustic appeal, at least from what I read.

One of the hub's local colleagues kindly offered to show us around. When I mentioned wanting to go to Li Qun, he had this blank look on his face. OK not a good sign given that this guy grew up in Beijing and has no idea where Li Qun is. But I pressed on. I mean this place looked all authentic from what I'd seen and I made him take us anyway haha.

Li Qun is really hard to find! It's hidden in a hutong (old street). We drove past it several time before finally finding it. I'm thinking it's even harder for non locals to locate.

See how quaint it is?


As soon as we entered the restaurant, I realized that everyone there was a tourist. HRMMMM. The look on the colleague's face was also priceless. I'm thinking he's thinking this is a tourist trap and I'm the clueless foreigner.

Spot any tourists inside? Hehe


Anyway the colleague helps us order. We get a peking duck and some other dishes. I loved the duck feet in a horse radish kind of mustard sauce. It was sooo yum! There also a stir fry of assorted duck parts in a white wine sauce. My 2nd favorite dish hehe.



The duck was good but wasn't great, not really fine cuisine. The skin wasn't as crisp as the peking duck I've had in HK/Singapore and the slices had more fat and meat. Different style?



Here's the duck sliced:



Chomp Meter:
The duck at Li Qun Restaurant was ok. It's more of a homey preparation. I'm not sure I'll recommend it if you're looking for the BEST duck. There were some good dishes (like the feet hehe) but the main attraction was lack luster. The location however definitely has a very authentic feel though according to the locals the prices are not :P I'm sure they're raking in a huge profit.

When the local Beijing colleague was asked where the best duck was, he said Da Dong. So I'm thinking I will try it next time. It's in a somewhat fancy restaurant setting but I guess I'm over rustic for now!

Finally, if you want to head there, get the Hotel Concierge to call ahead and make reservations. They are very busy!

Li Qun Roast Duck Restaurant (Li Qun Kao Ya Dian) 利群烤鴨店
地址：前門東大街正義路南口北翔鳳衚同11號
Phone：6705 5578

Traveling Chomps: Singapore Food Wrap Up

OK y'all must be tired of my Singapore posts by now. Here's the last installment. Photos of what else we ate and what to try if you're headed that way:

Kaya Toast (L) Half Boiled Eggs (R) Kaya is an egg/coconut jam found only in S.E. Asia


Sea Coconut Ice (L) Ice Kachang (R) Both are desserts you can find in any hawker center.


Roti Prata from Causarina Prata (L) Duck from Dian Xiao Er(R)


Braised Sea Cucumber from Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine at Takashimaya S.C. (L) Roast Duck Noodles from Hawker Stall(R)


Pepper Lunch (L) Mos Burger - Rice Burger (R)

I love Pepper Lunch, a Japanese fast food restaurant that serves meals on a hot plate. It's fun because every thing is thrown on a sizzling plate. Marketed as DIY steak! Mos Burger is always yummy especially their rice burgers! Fast food with a Japanese twist.

Traveling Chomps: Going back in time ...

Where: Singapore (Kranji Reservoir)
Specialty: Seafood

Kranji Farm Resort in Singapore must be one of the strangest places I've been. The idea behind this resort is the farm life for city folk. Not particularly appealing to me given Singapore's humidity. Anyway, the in-laws insisted on checking out this place (thankfully at night).

The resort is buried deep in the jungles of Singapore (didn't know this existed!) and gives off a tacky 80s vibe. Also the restrooms were gross, like we were in a rural town! They really didn't need to be that authentic :P

The main attraction for us though was the seafood restaurant, Atlantis. Thankfully, despite the location, the food was actually amazing!

Do you doubt that the seafood is fresh? Hrmmm check out the tanks and tanks of sea creatures I've never seen before:



Based on the owners recommendations we ordered several dishes.

Clam Vermicelli (L): This was absolutely delicious! Spicy with a rich clam broth and full of clams. I couldn't get enough of this. Fresh Steamed Prawns (R)



The weirdest dish of the evening though was the shark. I've never actually had shark before but it was strangely delicious, perhaps because of the unique preparation. The shark was first prepared asam style which is a spicy, sourish curry often cooked with fish. It was then cooked in a more traditional Cantonese sauce. I'm not sure what cut of the fish this was but it had lots of gelatinous parts (as you can see in the photo) which was really yummy!

Assam Style (L) Cantonese Soy Sauce Style (R)


Chomp Meter:
Minus 1 star for the strange location. The food though was excellent. Ask the server for the night's specials and stick to the seafood of course!

Atlantis Seafood
10 Neo Tiew Lane 2
Singapore 718813

Zoe's Chinese Restaurant Review - Somerville, MA

Zoe's Chinese Restaurant is an authentic Sichuan restaurant in Somerville. In case you're wondering about the name, (gee, Zoe's doesn't sound Chinese?) it is actually named for the owner's daughter, Zoe. The restaurant is a little run down on the outside but the food is excellent.

The waiting area:


A local haunt for Chinese students in Cambridge (we were brought here by a friend from Sichuan), Zoe's is on par with the other Sichuan restaurants in the area like Sichuan Garden and Sichuan Gourmet.

My favorite dish at Zoe's is the tea smoked mushrooms with pork (cha shu gu?). I haven't seen the latter dish at any other Sichuan restaurant in town. The tea mushrooms are really long, a little crunchy, and stir fried with shredded pork. I love the texture hehe though I don't know if it's for everyone. I can't seem to find the name of the dish online but I think it's near the bottom of the page on the menu in the pork section.

Some other dishes we usually get are the double cooked pork, hot and sour sliced potatoes with chili peppers, fish fillet in chili sauce (water cooked?), and the tea smoked duck.

Here's what we had when we were there recently. There's the tea smoked mushrooms on the right, the beefy looking dish is tripes, and the last dish is the braised fish Sichuan Style.


Chomp Meter:
Oh Yum! Bring on the spicy stuff. Where Zoe shines is of course the more authentic dishes. Try what I've recommended above, or ask the servers for recommendations. Be adventurous!

Zoe's Gourmet Chinese Restaurant
289 Beacon St
Somerville, MA 02143
(617) 864-6265

Color Restaurant Review - Korean Food and Fun Decor

Colors Restaurant in Allston is a perfect place to stop by for a quick casual dinner on a week night. The food served is home cooked and the prices are relatively cheap for Korean food.

The decor here appeals to my inner tackiness *cough* with lots of cutesy colors. Look how nice the different shades turn out in the photos! You have to admit the colors are bound to cheer you up, unless you have a migraine hehe:




While I haven't been to Korea, I always feel like I'm in the country when eating at Color. You know, Korean pop music playing, eating steaming soups from stone pots etc. Hey all the Korean movies I've watched make me a good judge OK :)

I ordered a seafood tofu chigae and P got a beef bulgogi. The restaurant also serves complimentary iced tea (corn?) and Dum Dums instead of mints. Seriously, who can resist Dum Dums?



Chomp Meter:
3.5 Chomps! A great place for a casual homey Korean meal. Definitely try their special chicken wing appetizer too. It is fried and smothered in chilli sauce. Don't make the mistake we made however, the portion is large so have at least 3 or 4 people to share. The first piece was delicious, second piece ok, third ....

Color Restaurant - Korean
166 Harvard Ave
(between Brighton Ave & Glenville Ave)
Allston, MA 02134
(617) 787-5656