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2009-06-15
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When I was invited by 師兄 to have dinner at 鳳城酒家, I was more than ecstatic! Of course I was extremely honored to be invited. Then there was the fact that there are literally no 順德菜 in New York. With my lack of knowledge in traditional old fashioned Chinese dishes (傳統菜), I was eager to learn and sample traditional 順德菜 at this reputable restaurant.The feast was filled with nostalgic dishes, many of which were signature items at 鳳城. For instance, the starting soup, 生魚片皮蛋茶瓜芫荽湯, was a variation of
When I was invited by 師兄 to have dinner at 鳳城酒家, I was more than ecstatic! Of course I was extremely honored to be invited. Then there was the fact that there are literally no 順德菜 in New York. With my lack of knowledge in traditional old fashioned Chinese dishes (傳統菜), I was eager to learn and sample traditional 順德菜 at this reputable restaurant.
The feast was filled with nostalgic dishes, many of which were signature items at 鳳城. For instance, the starting soup, 生魚片皮蛋茶瓜芫荽湯, was a variation of our normal Cantonese 皮蛋芫荽魚片湯, but the addition of sweet pickled cucumber 茶瓜 transformed it into something more complex and soothing. The classic 鳳肝金錢雞 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) 紫薑彭公鵝 before, and learnt from the dinner that it was a famous and classic 順德菜. I did some researches after and have posted a reference of this dish (the version at 鳳城) 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 子薑 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 (開胃) and provided a nice kick to my palate.
香煎釀鯪魚 and 家鄉煎藕餅 were another two classic dishes in 順德 cuisine, and 鳳城 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 (鯪魚膠) 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 香煎釀鯪魚 in preparation, 家鄉煎藕餅 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?
味蛋蒸肉餅 was a straightforward homey dish yet didn’t fail to provide simple pleasure, like what your mom cooked for you. 野雞卷拼炒鮮奶, on the other hand, wouldn’t be easy to be prepared by home cook. From what I gathered, 野雞卷 a fine artisan creation from the past (and I posted a reference in the footnote**). The version that we had at 鳳城 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 炒鮮奶 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. 脆皮糯米鴨 reminded me of the Luk Yu’s stuffed chicken (陸羽糯米雞) 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.
鍋貼大明蝦, a signature dish at 鳳城, had been discussed multiple times, and the combination of juicy shrimp and deep fried toast never failed to satisfy. 生炒鮮露筍 and 生菜鵪鶉崧, 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 鳳城 - 家鄉煎粉果. 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 蓮蓉西米布甸 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 師兄 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:
*紫薑彭公鵝 (from Eat and Travel Weekly)
這是順德勒流的家鄉菜，由一位姓彭的知縣所創。在香港有供應此菜的絕無僅有，鳳城酒家是例外。
別以為用甜醋煮鵝很簡單。有煲過薑醋都知，甜醋要不斷翻煲，醋味才醇厚。鳳城就長期備有反覆煲了半個月左右的甜醋，每次有柯打，師傅便取三斤半的黑鬃鵝，貪它肥瘦適中，一起和甜醋烹調，另外還加入少許白醋和桂花醋，使酸香更複雜多變。由於用的醋全部是八珍出品，所以醋香特醇，沒有劣質醋的刺鼻感。
鵝用甜醋煮過，鵝肉味濃，沒有半點肥膩，盡是香酸，很醒胃；浸在醋中的子薑片，索盡醋味，口感嫩爽，入口無渣，一醒口味，收烘雲托月之效。而醋汁經過多次翻煮，香醇不刺鼻，酸中有甜，用來撈飯吃，開胃非常
**野雞卷 (from 唯靈)
「大良野雞卷」的口感應該甘美酥脆但決不是蘸脆漿來炸。正統之法是：一大片豬脊肥肉薄片，一塊脄頭肉薄片相疊，捲成圓筒，以蛋漿生粉調成糊黏合收口，上籠蒸熟，攤凍後切棋子形，下油鑊炸至香酥，上碟。其後衍生出「有心野雞卷」，即以火腿或臘腸為心，流行過一陣，但後來又反樸歸真，仍以正統的版本佔優勢。「大良野雞卷」賣相講究亮麗明淨，色如黃金，切忌過火色老，故醃料無糖與醬油，登筵亮相一剎觀感一差，雖然香與味有可取，印象也大打折扣… 據康海說而今製作野雞卷難在豬脊肥難求，製一客席頭野雞卷須用脊肥肉片十二両，脄頭肉片十二両，要許多斤豬脊肥肉才能取夠需用之材，因為只取貼近豬皮帶毛管眼的一層硬脂，一落鑊油炸脂肪便從毛孔流溢，故入口香酥而不油膩，如非貼皮那層脂肪無法宣洩，儘管可以炸至香脆但難免有油膩的感覺了。據說「野雞卷」是大良宜春園在上世紀二十年代首創，三十年代傳入廣州，瞬即成為紅透半邊天的名菜。始創時原來還有「大良雞卷」，那是以脊肥捲雞肉，用豬肉以假亂真者才叫「野雞卷」，以其價廉味美送飯佐酒俱宜瞬即大行其道，「真雞卷」反而不彰
張貼
