Beijing: Dong Hua Men Night Market

Dong Hua Men night market was featured on a couple travel shows including Samantha Brown and Bizarre foods so naturally I had to make a trip to see what all the fuss is about. I'm not sure how I planned to get there since I had no clue where it was and I am clueless when it comes to directions :P

Luckily for me we stumbled upon the market while exploring off Wang Fu Jing (the main shopping street). So if you're planning a trip to Beijing bear that in mind! I have to report though that I was very unadventurous. We didn't end up trying anything except for dessert because we'd consumed a whole lot of duck at Li Qun. Then greedily stuffed our faces with some Beard Papa cream puffs.

I do bring photos of the weird and bizzare however.

Innard Kebabs?


Sea Urchin and Crabs?


And don't forget the insects. GULP:


The Beijing colleague reminised about eating "Tang Hu Lu" as a child, so that was the lame snack we got at Dong Hua Men. It's a kind of candied fruit on a stick? If you've ever had "Haw Flakes" from Chinatown, the fruit tastes just like that, but sickly sweet since it's dipped in a hard sugar coating. This is one dessert I didn't like.

Sticks and sticks of Tang Hu Lu:


Chomp Meter:
I can't really rate this since I didn't eat much there but it's definitely worth a stroll around so you can scare yourself with the weird foods available haha. Just a disclaimer too that the market is geared towards tourists. It felt kinda staged to me :p

Dong Hua Men Avenue
West of Wang Fu Jing Avenue
Beijing 100005
China

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: 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

Traveling Chomps: Sweet Endings at Canele

Where: Singapore (Paragon Shopping Center - Orchard Road)
Specialty: Dessert, Chocolate, Cake, Macarons

I discovered Canelé Pâtisserie Chocolaterie at Paragon Shopping Center (basement) on my last trip. I love their variety of cake, macarons and such. Being centrally located on Orchard Road, it's easy to stop by after shopping. We headed here after dinner at Tatsuya which is right across the street. Yes, the fruit was insufficient to satisfy my sweet tooth :P

The shop is small but there are several tables where you can sit and enjoy some coffee and cake.



Feeling rather guilty, P and I shared a Green Tea Mousse:


Chomp Meter:
One of the better dessert cafes in Singapore. Canele stands out because the desserts are aesthetically appealing in addition to delivering on taste and packaging.


Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie
290 Orchard Road,
#B1-25 Paragon,
Singapore 238859
Telephone: (65) 6733-8893

There are also Canele outlets at Raffles City Shopping Center, Shaw Center, and Robertson Walk.

Traveling Chomps: The Singapore Ritual - Katong Laksa

I'm in Singapore for a couple days and this is the ONE dish I absolutely have to eat every time I'm in town: Katong Laksa!



You may have seen it on the menus of some Southeast Asian restaurants in the Boston area. More recently Lisa from Top Chef also attempted to make laksa and failed miserably (*snigger*). But IMO, none of them get it right.

Singapore is where you need to have this dish. Laksa originates from South East Asia, more specifically Singapore and Malaysia. It grew out of local Malay cooking mixed with Chinese elements brought by the influx of merchants in the 1800s and the intertwining of cultures.

Now back to the food. Laksa is most easily described as a curry noodle dish, but it is so much more than that. The broth is rich, coconut-y, sweet yet savory, and served with rice noodles, bean sprouts, shrimp and fish cake.

I may be biased, but the best Laksa is from 328 Katong Laksa. A quirk is that the dish is served only with a spoon and no chopsticks. You see, the cook wants you to taste the broth with every bite. Something chopsticks will not allow!

Mmmmmm divine! Careful though, it's spicy ...



Chomp Meter:
Five Chomps of course. How could I give any less? This hawker stall is a quick 20 minute cab ride from the city center but if you want authentic, this is absolutely worth the journey. Hawker food in Singapore is cheap too. A bowl of laksa will set you back only US$2.50. Oh and did I mention being a Katong home girl ;)

Bookmark this store for your next South East Asian vacation!


328 Famous Katong Laksa
216 East Coast Rd., Singapore
9732 8163
9 a.m.-9 p.m.

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