Get a taste of Hong Kong life without leaving Beijing
From MTR Mong Kok Station to the sign of the star ferry, from barber shop to post office, all of the decoration at the newly opened Tai Loong Fat Kee restaurant in Beijing whisks diners away on a trip to Hong Kong.
The space — more than 1,000square meters — is decorated in such a way that once they step into the restaurant, visitors will immediately be transported to a regular street in Hong Kong, lined with vegetable stalls and dry seafood stores.
Yip Hung-tul, 54-year-old chef and Hong Kong native, was invited to move to Beijing to be the executive chef of Tai Loong Fat Kee. He grew up near the Western District public cargo working area — colloquially known as “Instagram pier” for its unadulterated, photogenic views of Victoria Harbour — on the waterfront of Sai Wan on Hong Kong island.
With four decades’ experience in the kitchen, Yip has brought to the capital some traditional Hong Kong flavors as well as his memories of “Instagram pier”.
Roasted pork with tofu and preserved shrimp paste sauce, a dish that used to be popular with the cargo workers, is one example.
“After their heavy work each day, the workers would gather at the food stall, and the dish would always be one of the most popular choices, as it is both delicious and can quickly replenish energy,” Yip explains.
The pork and tofu are cooked in a casserole, which is Yip’s specialty.
The classic braised fish head in special sauce casserole is his signature. The fish head is pan-fried and put aside, then the casserole is heated before a layer of garlic, onion and ginger is added. The fish is then placed in the pot with a special sauce and boiled for 20 minutes.
“The pot cover can’t be lifted to check the fish during the cooking, because once you do, the condensed water on the inside of the lid will fall into the casserole and affect the flavor of the fish,” Yip says.
He thinks the key to cooking the dish is timing. If the boiling time is too short, the flavor of the garlic and onions won’t infuse into the fish, and if the time is too long, the garlic and onions will be burned.
His braised lettuce with preserved shrimp paste sauce in casserole is also highly recommended. The waiter will remove the cover at the table and the sizzling dish, together with the smell of the shrimp paste, will awaken the appetite.
The lettuce is cooked to the point where it’s neither too soft nor too raw but still crisp.
“That dish is actually the product of teamwork. One chef needs to heat the casserole to around 200 C and at the same time, the other chef is preparing the lettuce to 80 percent cooked. The lettuce is then added to the hot casserole and covered,” Yip explains.
Seafood is very representative in Hong Kong flavor, especially the two classic cooking methods — fried, Hong Kong style with garlic, or with spiced salt.
At Tai Loong Fat Kee, a variety of seafood is available that’s flown directly from Hong Kong, including 1.5-kilogram blue king crabs and 30-centimeter-long mantis shrimp, and diners can choose to have each piece of seafood cooked by different methods.
The Hong Kong-style fried crab with garlic is made with fermented soy beans, pepper and spices, but the key thing is to fry the garlic to just the right golden color.
From stewed pork ribs with corn and green and red radishes, to chicken feet soup with peanut, black-eyed pea, papaya and corn, Yip offers seven different soups — one for each day of the week. Each day the first task of his team of chefs is to prepare the soup, which is usually boiled for more than four hours.
Other traditional Hong Kong snacks are also served up at the restaurant, including marinated pork tripe, boiled pig’s blood and skin with Chinese chives and deep-fried crispy pig’s intestine.