Dim Sum in Hong Kong

As someone who had grown up in New York City and frequenting Cantonese dim sum restaurants my entire life, travelling to Hong Kong for an extended period for the first time was a dream come true for me. It was as if I was going to the mecca of dim sum, if you will, the motherland of dim sum. Having stayed for about a week, I came away with strong and positive impressions on the dim sum landscape in New York City vis-a-vis Hong Kong.

The first thing that you will notice about Hong Kong dim sum restaurants is that most are located inside buildings that are shopping centers or office buildings. Almost none are on the ground floor.  I spent a great deal of time in Hong Kong, looking up at signs to see if I was missing anything interesting. Secondly, when you are seated at a dim sum restaurant, you will be given a paper menu listing all the dim sum and a pencil. You would check off or indicate the number of dishes of each dim sum you want. Most restaurants have an English version of the checklist menu, however, I noticed that the Chinese versions tend to be longer.  Also, I went to restaurants located in the TST area, which is a tourist area, so the availability of English language menus may be more predominant.  After handing over your paper menu, you are given an electronic ticket listing everything you ordered. As each dish comes out, the waiter checks off the item until you're done. 

The next thing I noticed about Hong Kong dim sum restaurants is that these establishments tend to be very well appointed.  I think because of the SARS scare back in 2003 had caused many restaurants to offer hand sanitizing gel, toilet cleanser, and anything that will improve the hygiene in the restaurants.  Restaurants also tend to feel much more clean and luxurious than New York dim sum restaurants.

However, this comes at a cost and the biggest surprise is that the prices for dim sum in Hong Kong is the same, if not higher than those in New York.  On the low end, you can find dim sum for $14HKD ($1.80 USD). However, I found most dim sum ranged from $18 to $35 HKD, $2.30 to $4.50, not exactly a cheap meal if you are looking for variety. In New York City, you can find places that sell dim sum at a $2 flat rate.

Now about the dim sum, I found what I suspected to be true, which was that dim sum in Hong Kong, is really, really good. I did not find a single bad dish. The best thing about enjoying dim sum in Hong Kong is the presentation. Most dim sum are well presented, with thin skins, perfectly brown frying, and fillings that are not overbearing and in reasonable amounts.  Without going into any specific dish, let's say that everything was good.  I did notice one innovation at a dim sum restaurant in Mongkok.  We went to one that served dim sum on traditional trolleys. The innovation was that in front of each cart was a small flat screen tv showing what was on the steaming trolley.  This served to prevent the trolley ladies from using up time to open up each steamer dish. A nice touch, but what actually helped more were the bilingual signs in front of the cart.

After experiencing dim sum in Hong Kong, I've come to the conclusion that we have a pretty good deal in New York.  Price-wise, it is better to have dim sum in New York.  Variety-wise, Hong Kong wins.  Quality-wise, Hong Kong wins, but not by a large margin. Whatever New York has, Hong Kong tends to do better, but not much more, which was the surprising part.

In another part of this post, I would like to talk a bit about specialization of dim sum.  In Hong Kong, since dim sum is so diverse, you will find stores that specialize in one type of dim sum. I found stores that sold only baked buns, egg tarts, congee and fried crullers, and chive dumplings.  There were so many more, and I learned that a common practice in Hong Kong is for workers to stop by these stalls in the morning and get a foam dish serving one dim sum item.  Popular ones seem to be har gow (shrimp dumplings) and siu mai (pork dumplings).  As you can see, dim sum is not only a brunch or lunch item but can be enjoyed throughout the day. That is something that is lacking in New York as breakfast items in Chinatown tend to gravitate towards baked goods.

In conclusion, I would like to add one beef that I had with these stalls and that is the prevalence of chewy, rubbery fish siu mai.  I had ordered these on two occasions, thinking that they were pork. Once they were served on a dish and the other time on a skewer.  Both times, I had a few and then threw the rest out. I don't know why people order these things, which real pork siu mai is available, but maybe someone can enlighten me on that.  I would love to hear everyone else's experience with Hong Kong dim sum or dim sum in general.

New York Sushi Restaurants: Traditional Japanese vs. Chinese Style

From my earliest days of sushi comsumption, which goes back to the late 1980's, New York City sushi restaurants have always been polarized between traditional Japanese sushi purists and the value sushi contingent.  Although I love everything about having a traditional sushi meal, my cheap roots have me standing firmly in the corner of the value sushi corner.

In New York City, as with many places I've been to, value sushi usually means Chinese-made sushi and Chinese-owned sushi restaurants.  Why has there been such a huge influx of Chinese sushi restaurants?  The reason behind this influx is the general business environment of the the Chinese restaurant business.  Chinese restaurants can be found in all corners of the United States and their number makes it a highly competitive business.  Even Asian food markets have made inroads in formerly sleepy suburbs, which have indirectly cut into the profits of Chinese restaurant operators.  Thus, Chinese-American owners and new Chinese immigrants have decided to diversify and have opened, Japanese, Thai, and even Mexican restaurants right here in Manhattan. 

It is quite easy to see why the operation of Chinese restaurants is an expensive proposition.  Customers have been conditioned through the years to expect huge portions of greasy food from these operators. More food equals fewer profits.  As for Japanese food, small portions equals big profits. 

Qualitatively, the entrance of Chinese operators into the Japanese restaurant market have created a dual, polarized choice among sushi consumers.  For the Cheap Guy (that is me), I have found that cheapness dictates that I go more often to Chinese-run sushi establishments.

Let's see what I get for my money for going to a Chinese-run sushi restaurant:

1. A soup and/or salad with an entree.
2. Potentially a free appetizer, edamame or seaweed salad.
3. Large maki rolls. (i.e. cut-up and hand rolls)
4. Large sushi and sashimi pieces
5. Large tempura
6. American style rolls, such as California Rolls and Spicy Tuna, etc.
7. Value prices, usually $2 to $3 less per roll, $5 to $10 less per entree.

Now, let's see what we get for going to a Traditional Japanese sushi eatery:

1. Impeccable quality in rice, preparation and presentation.
2. A greater variety in fish, including imported Japanese varieties not on the menu.
3. Greater interaction between the customer and sushi chef. Generally good service.

Now for the downsides of dining in a Chinese-run Japanese restaurant:

1. Potentially hurried and rushed service because of a need to turn over tables quickly due to their lower margins than their Japanese-run counterparts.
2. Less than fresh fish.  Sourcing and storage practices may be questionable depending on a restaurant's experience and staff.

Here are the downsides of dining in a Japanese-run sushi restaurant:

1. Confusion in ordering. Diners may need to know terms like "omakase", "isakaya", etc. 
2. American diners may need to know that Japanese restaurants don't offer American-style maki rolls.
3. Higher prices across the board. (But keep in mind that quality-mindedness reigns supreme at most Japanese-run restaurants.

So there you have it, a generalized summary of the two largest segments of New York sushi restaurants.  I firmly believe that sushi eaters in New York fall into one of the two camps.  To me, there is nothing wrong with either, but wouldn't it be a sushi lover's paradise if we could mix the upsides of both? and have value Japanese style sushi? I would love to live in that world!

Impressions of Boston

I have been here over a month in Boston on a work assignment. It seems like eons ago since my last blog entry. So without any hesitation, I want to share my thoughts about my stay in Boston, some related to food and some not. Please read and keep in mind that the writer sees most things from a New York perspective!

After having tried several Boston-area restaurants, I've come to the conclusion that places with decent ethnic food tend to reflect heavy immigration, which is truly the case in New York City. There are pockets of immigrant populations around the country where one group is well-represented, but there is nowhere in the United States where immigration is so diverse and from all corners of the globe as it is in New York City. This translates into "authentic" food. In my view, authenticity can mean anything. Food is not static and trends in ethnic food tends to reflect the size and age of a population and tradition, including local tradition. This fact weighs heavily on the Boston food scene.

From my observations, Boston's population is diverse. Picking out restaurants to reflect this tends to be difficult due to the fact that this diversity is spread out and immigrant populations do not dominate whole neighborhoods as they do in New York. Therefore, you really would need to be a real Bostonian to know where to go to find these gems. I can say for sure that you can find almost every type of cuisine in Boston, but you need a good guide or find restaurants online on your own. Here are a few generalizations and observations I can make about Boston:

1. Boston is a walking city, but you need to walk farther between restaurants.
2. Some Boston restaurants do not have obvious storefronts, since many are located in older buildings. You may have to step down into a building or go up a flight of stairs to get to a restaurant.
3. Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts do not all have restrooms and when they do, you can count on finding the homeless inside freshening up.
4. Boston's downtown and the waterfront are very quiet on the weekends: nary a soul to be found, nor an open restaurant.
5. Boston's cuisine reflects immigration their contribution to the evolution of their cuisine. For example, Boston's Italian neighborhoods, reflect the fact that immigration has really slowed down from Italy and their restaurants follow the traditional Italian-American style of cuisine handed down for four generations. Not much has changed, whereas in Chinatown, the moderate Chinese immigration has yet to change the 1980's to 1990's style of Chinese cuisine in Boston's Chinatown. New York, in comparison, has made great leaps forward in terms of Chinese regional cuisine and the evolution of Cantonese cuisine, helped in large measure by heavy Chinese immigration into New York. In a side note, I've read that the total Chinese-American population in Massachusetts is about 100,000, whereas in New York City alone, the population is about 350,000. This explains the difference in cuisine.
6. Bostonians resent tourist trap restaurants.
7. There are many transients in Boston, most notably students. I've never been in a city with so many colleges and universities concentrated in one area.
8. Having so many students hasn't translated into tons of student-budgeted restaurants. I admit that I haven't visited Cambridge yet, so I may be wrong.
9. Boston food is not cheap due to lack of competition.
10. Boston's mass transit is a-ok.
11. There are tons of aggressive panhandlers in Boston. In New York, the homeless are just mingling amongst themselves or splayed on the sidewalk.
12. Something about New England make people there very quiet and reserved. The only animation and joie de vivre were in the college kids.
13. Hostility towards the Yankees is real! I can attest to that!
14. You must accept that while in Boston, your lunch will cost $9 and above.
15. You can get twin lobsters for $15.75! Yay!
16. In New York's Chinatown, the waiters are bi-lingual. In Boston's Chinatown, most aren't.
17. To live here, you must get used to not being in a crowd.
18. In Boston, they do the eye-contact avoiding thing, just as well as we do here in New York.
19. Bostonians who use the T are not as nimble as New Yorkers in making room for others. They also have the same bad habit as New Yorkers in not moving to the center of the car and blocking exits.
20. Bostonians do not want Johnny Damon back on their team.

So there you have it, my short but sweet stay in Boston. I will be returning to the Big Apple tomorrow. I want to thank Boston for welcoming me with open arms and providing me with many memories. So long for now!

Hong Kong Supermarket

I took a trip to Chinatown yesterday and took a look at the remains of the oldest Hong Kong Supermarket in New York City. Hong Kong Supermarket is an Asian supermarket chain which has several stores located on the East Coast. As I recall, Hong Kong Supermarket on Pike Street and East Broadway, opened in Manhattan's Chinatown during the late 1980's. This, I believe, was the first Hong Kong Supermarket in the Tri-State region and started when the original landlord in the location had originally intended to open an Asian-type mall, with sectioned off stalls. Somehow, that never happened and the owners of HK Supermarket leased the entire lot. It was there for so many years until a huge fire, several weeks ago, destroyed the supermarket, in addition to an adjacent building.

Hong Kong Supermarket was always a landmark to me because it was the first time a bonafide supermarket selling Asian items was opened, other than the conventional mom and pop type stores in Chinatown. As the Asian community grew, branches were opened in Brooklyn, Queens and in New Jersey. Other Asian supermarkets followed and now the "Asian supermarket" is seen as institutions in their neighborhoods and communities. It always amused me how the Fire Department always flashed their lights and double-parked their firetrucks in front of HK Supermarket while making their food runs. Somehow, the fire department saw HK Supermarket to be on par with Pathmark, the local giant in the surrounding neighborhood.

As of now, the status of HK Supermarket is unknown. I'm sure those of us who are fans of Asian supermarkets and their low prices, are eager to see it return, hopefully bigger and better. The original was always tight and it would be nice to see a two or even a three-story supermarket take its place. For the record, my last ever purchase at this HK Supermarket was frozen green onion pie, the kind that is savory and speckled with scallions and onions. I hope I can shop there again!