Current Article ∙ Archive ∙ Back to Island Voices
Feng Shui in Cuisine
Oh yes…
If Feng Shui principles apply to earthly placement to attract prosperity, good fortune, happiness and health, don’t you think food attracts those same principles?
Hong Kong House is situated to showcase sophisticated cuisine, specializing in Szechwan and Cantonese styles. The owners Karl and Sam Yu are brothers, who bring more than 40 years experience with them, Karl’s wife, Melissa works in the dining room.
They came by way of Canton and Hong Kong, working in some of the best hotels. Then in Vancouver, Karl worked at Ming’s on Pender, one of the venerable favourite haunts (one I remember from my childhood, growing up in Vancouver).
The grand opening was a frenetic hustle and bustle of what would be in Chinese term, “an auspicious day”. Madame Yu orchestrating the customer and staff flow as if they were the cast in an epic from the Peking Opera.
Billowing clouds of steam, with the hiss and sizzle of the giant woks, like Imperial dragons venting, issued forth from their kitchen lair.
To start we were served Suan La Tang, a hot and sour tofu soup Szechwan style, steaming and teaming with bean sprouts, bok choy, bamboo shoots, Chinese mushroom and tofu and green onion. It had the right balance of sweet, sour, salty, and heat, just a bit of a grip, radiating pleasantly through the mouth.
Next came a round of extremely delicate and crispy vegetarian spring rolls (chun juanr) with the requisite plum sauce for dipping. Along with shredded spicy jelly fish spring rolls, a contrast of texture and taste.
Classic Peking duck was served in three courses; first the skin, crisp and fragrant; then the meat juicy and tender; then the soup, rich and sweet with cabbage. Peking duck, this famous star of Chinese cuisine has become a small branch of Chinese gastronomy in itself.
Shanghai noodles followed. A platter of wheat flour noodles, stir fried in baby bok choy, mushrooms, soya, oyster sauce, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. With the noodles was a platter of Szechwan style peppery vegetables, a sweet, hot, salty alchemy of ginger, garlic, soya, hot chili peppers, all thickened with potato starch, (which renders the mixture clearer and not as thick as arrowroot or corn starch).
A further vegetarian course of zucchini, celery, red and green pepper, all diced, with ginger was in Cantonese in style, all very tasty and harmonious.
In rapid succession came Singapore noodles, chicken with ginger and green onion, and finally prawns in black bean sauce.
Singapore noodles are my acid test of skill in the kitchen. The vermicelli noodles were all dente, with a fine julienne of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and crisp bean sprouts. The barbecue pork, chicken and shrimp and thinly sliced egg crepe were all in good supply. The curry flavour (particular to this Malaysian/Chinese style) of both hot and full flavoured spice, married with the salty flavours from the fish sauce and soya, were again, balanced and harmonious.
Another caveat of Oriental cooking is presentation, along with taste. All manner of beautiful and intricately carved vegetable garnishes, grace the platter. Care and attention to detail are ancient wisdoms. You are given so much that, indeed, you do feel prosperous and happy and healthy.