 |
 |
 |
|
||||||
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hong Kong Harbor by Paul Frysh If you are looking for an entertaining alternative to weekend brunch, consider dim sum at Hong Kong Harbor. If you’ve never had it, dim sum is a Chinese culinary tradition typically served during brunch hours, where a series of small appetizer-like dishes rolls past your table in a more or less constant stream. Each little dish looks different than the next and when you see something that you like, just point and it’s yours. It’s great for instant gratification, which is part of the reason why most Americans (including me) generally love it. There is a wonderful open buzz at Hong Kong Harbor as a culinary parade of exotic dishes travels past your table. Pan fried, deep-fried or steamed dumplings (my favorite) stuffed with any number of different fillings; fantastic sticky rice noodles stuffed with a shrimp or meat and special sauce, small plates of salt and pepper shrimp, pork ribs, roast duck, stuffed eggplant, stuffed cabbage, sautéed pea greens, fried tofu stuffed with shrimp, spare ribs, fried sesame balls, rice soup, beef tripe (I passed), chicken feet (yep, three long little toes), and a hundred other dishes that you’ve probably never heard of. If you’re squeamish, there is usually someone available to explain the dishes in detail, but it’s more fun just to point and eat and ask questions later. Don’t miss the barbecue pork buns with their weird uncooked-dough texture and delicious savory filling and the pretty “sticky rice” dish wrapped up in greens and tied in a bow like a Christmas present. With an endless quantity and variety of food available for instant consumption, talking and eating become the immediate business at hand and I guarantee that everyone leaves satisfied and smiling. Ordering off the extensive menu at Hong Kong Harbor can bring mixed results, but much of it is very good. The soups are excellent, my favorite being the crisp, clean spinach and bean curd soup. There is usually a whole fish special, often grouper, and it is always a good bet. Pot stickers are great as are the Hong Kong “hot pot” dishes, which are elegantly served in little clay pots. The pea greens are my absolute favorite greens dish in the city. If you go during the week for lunch, you can get many of your favorite dim-sum dishes made individually to order. I’m generally not crazy about the chicken dishes here but that tends to be the case with most Chinese restaurants for some reason. Curry chicken at lunch last week was uncharacteristically oily and grisly. And no offense, but for dessert, you’d be better off stopping at the Chevron on the way home. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
