China's south on Hong Kong menu

China's south on Hong Kong menu

Gregor Garbassen, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Hong Kong

Looking for a Chinese meal in Hong Kong presents problems that
few Europeans may have encountered on their usual trips to
Chinese restaurants in their home countries.

Here there is no such thing as Chinese cuisine, rather a wide
variety from different regions, each with its distinctive
characteristics.

There is Cantonese from the south, the cuisine of the royals
from Beijing in the north, differing tastes from east and west
and the really hot dishes from Sichuan province.

Hong Kong is better placed than anywhere else to try out all
of these different cooking styles and tastes in a culinary
melting pot.

Millions of immigrants from all over the mainland have made
their home in this former British colony, bringing with them
their own eating traditions.

Restaurants and eating houses have opened all over this city,
whether in the shopping malls or in the small alleyways -- more
than in any other Chinese city.

While the locals all eat with chopsticks, Western tourists
often have knives and forks placed in front of them as a matter
of course, but on another style point the Chinese stick to their
traditions.

All the dishes are placed in the middle of the table so that
everyone can taste them, irrespective of who actually ordered the
dish. This is the traditional way that things are done throughout
China.

Amid this diversity, the cuisine from China's south
predominates in Hong Kong -- Cantonese. What sets it apart from
other Chinese cuisines is that most of the dishes are steamed or
quickly fried in a wok.

Fish and seafood play a major role in Hong Kong's cuisine, as
it is surrounded by the sea. Lei Yue Mun, once a fishing village
to the southeast of Kowloon, is now one of the largest fish
markets in the city.

Dozens of stands offer all kinds of fish, mussels and crabs,
many of the wares still alive, swimming in containers and
aquariums -- enjoying a short life on land until a buyer comes
along.

Hong Kong is also where dim sum, China's version of fast food,
originates. It is often eaten as breakfast in Hong Kong: rolls,
dumplings and tidbits made of wheat or rice flour leavened with
yeast.

Dim sum dishes can be steamed, baked or fried and are stuffed
with every kind of meat or vegetable.

One of the best places to experience the diversity of dim sum
is the Luk Yu Tea House in the central part of the city on
Stanley Street.

The Luk Yu has been there for 70 years and the decor is still
Art Deco. From 7 a.m. hundreds of different varieties of dim sum
are on offer, from minced beef to a pastry of black beans filled
with garlic chicken. It is up to the diner to take their pick of
whatever takes their fancy.

The moderate prices and excellent quality ensure that the Luk
Yu is always full.

The Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon offers a more exclusive
ambience.

Its Spring Moon restaurant cooks up Cantonese cuisine of the
highest quality at corresponding prices. Here more than 6,000 of
dim sum tidbits are prepared daily, and would-be chefs can take a
short course in the art as well.

There is a Cantonese proverb that one can eat everything that
flies, except for aircraft, and everything on four legs, other
than tables and chairs, and there is some truth in the way the
Hong Kong Chinese tuck into a meal.

A tour of Hong Kong's many food markets reveals a bewildering
array of consumables found in few other places around the world,
from dried sea cucumber and duck salami to swallows' nests and
ground up deer antlers.

Among the most expensive dishes is abalone, a prized culinary
indulgence which is only served in Hong Kong to mark festive
occasions. The reason is simple: Half a kilogram costs close to
US$1,500.