Lufthansa LSG Sky Chef - Culinary Excellence in the Air: Behind the Scenes

Many of us had our fair share of rants on plane food, no matter what class you are travelling in. Common complaints are often related to the lack of flavours, the level of moisture of your rice or perhaps how tough your beef is. True that in some cases, the quality of the food varies a lot depending on the airlines and their respective catering services, however, I often feel that many passengers forget the fact that they are having their meals at 35,000 feet, inside a pressurized environment with humidity close to 10% or even lower. To prepare food at this high altitude is no easy task and more challenging than many would expect. I always know how the boiling point would reduce to around 80C at that altitude which affects the temperature of the food being consumed after the reheating process. However, my recent visits to one of the world's largest airline catering service providers Lufthansa's LSG Sky Chef facilities in Hong Kong turned out to be quite fruitful in learning more on the limitations as well as regulations of how food must be prepared for safe consumption at 35,000 feet.

"For Chang" Hot Pot 火井火鍋海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

The sudden drop of the temperature recently not only increased my appetite for something hearty, it made me crave for something more! Right now all I can think of in my head at this hour is a bowl of instant noodles with a few slices of spam and one fried egg sunny side up. But the lazy side of me took over because it would take too much effort to make those at this late hour. The next thing that appeared in my mind is hot pot because all we need is a pot of boiling water or stock to be exact and some fresh raw ingredients. A good soup base is very important indeed for such a cuisine and recently I discovered a new personal favourite here at "For Chang" Hot Pot tucked somewhere inside the Western district.

Flavours Asia (iPad App) - Wine Pairing made Easy

Wine pairing was never my thing but I have been learning, trying to pair different wines with different sort of food whenever possible. No, it is not an excuse to drink but part of a learning process. I think many would agree that Chinese food / wine pairing is difficult likely because of the wide range of flavors one would experience in one single meal. In many cases, quite a number of different types wines would be selected in one single Chinese meal to match the many individual dishes. Not an easy task for any sommelier in my opinion, not to mention for an average diner like myself with limited knowledge of wine.  A new iPad app named Flavors Asia may be able to assist those trying to enjoy matching wines while having a Chinese or even other Southeast Asian cuisines. This newly launched iPad app developed by Estates and Wines, the Moët Hennessy Wine Division, attempts to provide a solution for wine lovers when having difficulties in pairing wines with Asian food. It is this very app that interested me in attending the event. Without making a fuzz about it, I am sure it is quite obvious that the suggested wines in the app are all from their own unique collection such as Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle and Chandon.

Cantopop 港土茶記 (Hong Kong)

 

Cantopop has been opened for quite some time and it got quite some attention in the media at the beginning thanks to its sustainable dining concept carried throughout its chain of restaurants such as Linguini Fini and Posto Pubblico. It is not until recently that I finally got a chance to visit Cantopop. It was by invitation (which nowadays seems to be a very popular thing amongst restaurants but I do have something to express on this point on a later post, so stay tuned) but my experience at Cantopop was a pleasant one with a few misses of course. I will explain why a bit later but one thing I have to say is that I admire and support their sustainable dining concept by sourcing locally and minimize food wastage by using all animal parts if possible, but the question is where to draw the line at times. I am spending quite some time to writeup this post because I think there is a need to, a need to express my opinion in all perspectives which may or may not be different from the general public or even fellow foodies.

Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong)

Time truly flies, it is the season for hairy crab once again! Instead of cooking myself this year, I kicked off the hairy crab fest at Man Wah (Mandarin Oriental). Truly an indulgence I may add. I was invited along with a few other fellow bloggers to attend the advance tasting for the special offering from 15 to 23 October during which the Crab Palace Restaurant in Shanghai will be visiting Man Wah, bringing a series of famous dishes including its famed Shanghai hairy crab. One of the special highlights will be the technical display of de-shelling crab in front of diners in three minutes! I do wonder how long it took them to master such a skill!

Travel - Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

The trip to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was an interesting one in many perspectives. First of all, during my 4 days stay in the month of May, I somehow took very few pictures, a total of less than 200 before filtering of course. What happened? Nothing to be honest but I would consider myself struggling on a point / issue raised by a friend shortly before my trip. I was asked whether I travel to experience my journeys with my eyes and mind or via the viewfinder of a camera. It did bother me for quite some time and I repeated ask myself that question hoping to find an answer or a justification against that. I take pictures to capture the moment, to construct each of my images within a fixed frame to tell a story, to express a massage via the image. I have to agree that at times I snap more than I should without really thinking what I want to express, that includes pictures of food and general snapshots. I think it is a habit I must grow out of in order to focus on what I really want, to bring some meaning to the pictures I take. It is not so much about the quality of the pictures, I am still an infant in the art and science of photography, but it is the attitude behind the act that matters more.

Travel - Macau (Mar 2011)

Macau also known as Macao to many, has become more than just a post Portuguese colony since its handover to China in 1999. It is now known as the Asia's Las Vegas with gambling revenue surpassing the whole Vegas according to many sources. New mega casinos are being built if not already for the next few years and revenue + profits are only expected to increase. I have been to Macau quite a few times over the past year or so but mostly for day trip and solely for food or shows and never really for gambling. Small bets are fun but in Macau, there is no such thing as small bets apparently. Over the years, I have been seeing the minimum bets on a simple Black Jack table increase faster than your heart can handle.  Then again I am not into gambling so not really a concern to me but it is an interesting observation nonetheless. What I am trying to say is not how much the casino industry is booming, everyone knows, but what we have been ignoring is how the huge flood of tourists and development focus have made us forget about the great food scenes in Macau, at least what's left of it. Not to mention how the popularity of some famous eateries have benefited commercially but deteriorated in quality over the years. I was here in Macau over the weekend sometime in March 2011 for my friend's wedding and instead of the popular or upscale eateries (which are over-abundance by the way), I went for some rather down to earth neighborhood joints for my daily food intake.

Liber Pater Winery

It is no news that I am not an expert in wine hence the lack of wine coverage in most of my food-related posts, however as a dedicated foodie or more appropriately, a food lover, it is no doubt that wine knowledge or more accurately the appreciation of it plays an important role in many culinary cultures. I have decided recently to be more proactive in learning about wine, one small step at a time. By chance this evening, Uncle KK invited me for dinner at Fortune Room at the Hong Kong Jockey Club to try some new wines he got. It turned out we were trying the different collection of wines from Liber Pater, a boutique winery in Grave, Bordeaux. Did I mention the owner of the winery, Mr. Loïc Pasquet, was here as well. It was hard not to take this rare opportunity and harassed bombard him with questions I have regarding wine making.

Travel - Taishan 台山 (China) - Day 1 (Feb 2011)

8am on a Saturday morning, after a mere 4 hours of sleep nap, I was on my way to Taishan 台山 (China) on a not so comfortable coach! I take my word back because it turned out the road trip required a change of coach ride once we passed Hong Kong customs near the boarder and at that very point I  truly missed the not so comfortable coach. Why I was on this trip is not of great importance, the fact was that I was on my way to Taishan, a 3 hours or so bus ride west / southwest of Hong Kong. It was famed as the birthplace of Volleyball in China but I was not here for that purpose, I was here for a short weekend trip which involved visit to a local high school and the filming set of Let The Bullet Fly 讓子彈飛. Of course it involved tasting of some local dishes.

Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (Da Dong Beijing Roast Duck)

My experience at Da Dong Roast Duck in Beijing was rather disappointing. Presentation seemed to have been the priority over food quality at the outlet I visited. It wasn't cheap either in relative terms but just did not live up to the expectation or what I have been told. That was six months ago. Last Friday I was kindly invited by Mandarin Oriental along with fellow foodies Patricia from 素顏天使 (Sù Yán Tiān Shǐ), @EdenaLow, @yummymummyasia, @mochachocolata and Wilson from WOM to try the dishes of Da Dong once again. Mandarin Oriental has invited the Da Dong team from Beijing to host meals at the hotel's Man Wah Restaurant during the week of 11 - 17 April 2011. Was it better than my previous experience? Definitely but to be fair, the meal I had was somewhat tailored for us so do treat this as a preview of what's on the menu. I do hope the Da Dong team can proudly depart knowing that simple elegant presentation they did for their Mandarin Oriental visit trump extravagance back home by miles.

Kwong Wah Convenience Store 光華士多 (Hong Kong)

One word: Awesome! Thanks for the introduction and organization by @g4gary ! While it is named as a convenience store in Chinese, this little store front is a truly a wonderful neighborhood eatery solely operated by a single woman whom she likes to be called "Fat Mama." She cooks every single dish, take all your orders and act as the faithful cashier on your way out even when she is busy cooking. Diners grab their own soup, get their own rice and make themselves home by getting beer right from the fridge whenever you feel like. Frequent diners even help out by serving other patrons. That is one charming characteristic of this joint I truly love. Yes you will be seated plastic or even wooden stools, floor may be slightly wet, but you get air conditioning as well as TV while you enjoy the food. You can even bring your own wine (and glasses as well in our case, thanks @g4gary!)

Beijing Kitchen 滿堂彩 (Macau)

After my recent visit to Beijing Kitchen (滿堂彩) at Grand Hyatt Macau, it marked the end of my Hyatt's Peking Duck journey at three distinct locations across the Greater China region, namely, Sha Tin 18 (沙田18) at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong as well as Made in China (长安壹号) at Grand Hyatt Beijing. All 3 restaurants specializes in what we commonly known as Beijing cuisine 京菜 which is heavily influenced by Shandong cuisine 魯菜, the technically correct reference as to one of the Chinese Four or even Eight Regional Cuisines. I will leave this topic to a future post, for the time being I will focus on Peking duck. So in addition to the same cuisine specialization, all the 3 restaurants of different geographic locations have almost the SAME decor, same utensils and the identical semi-open kitchen design. Talk about uniformity and consistency ... except on the services aspects which I will shamelessly write about in details because I had two cups of coffee at 9pm and I am pretty awake now at 3:10am!

New Tsiu Wah Bistro 新翠華小廚 (Hong Kong)

The dinner gathering was fun and full of laughters, and I got to meet many new friends as well ... yet that was key parts I recalled, at least the pleasant enough parts worth my memory slot. It was known for its hot claypot rice items with over 90% of the items served in hot claypots. If you are looking for an alternative, a more comfortable setting to have your hot claypot rice, this maybe your choice because there a many other dodge places which may or may not have great offerings. Located right next to the famous Tung Po inside the cooked food center above North Point Wet Market, do expect a fairly ventilated space but please be careful of wet floors, wait staff charging back and forth with arm's length of dishes yelling their way through the narrow spacing between tables and staff with attitude a little too friendly on first encounter. Then again, that's the charming aspect of such restaurants right? You be your own judge ...

Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant 天寶閣中餐廳 (Hong Kong)

After my recent quest for suckling pig at the Kimberley Hotel, not only did I dream about it in a delicious way, I kept on thinking of returning soon. We named the little pig "Pepe the Piggy" for those interested to know and we were all looking forward to name another piggy asap! Some of my friends returned soon after and met "Kimmy the Piggy". While I am still planning for a return visit, I had the honor the meet "Cici the stuffed Piggy" at Celestial Court. It was a short encounter but a much needed one for me to realize how much I miss Pepe the Piggy.

Island Tang 港島廳 (Hong Kong)

This has to be one of the rather low profile Chinese restaurants in town, situated in  the middle of the Central district, hiding in one of the corners of a commercial building. It's logo with a cartoon character looks more like a fast food joint than a fine dining scene in my opinion.  I have heard good reviews about it and it was time for me to pay a visit, particularly for its Char Siu (BBQ Pork). One thing worth noting, I am known to over order 95% of the time but at this restaurant on this very night, I was told I ordered too few dishes and must continue ordering for a party of 8. So what happened? While most of the dishes we ordered were beyond expectation in terms of quality, their sizes were undoubtedly way to small, freaking small to be honest! I was once told that a food trend in 2011 is how portion of food is to be even more delicate in sizes, most items would be of sampling sizes perhaps? Let's wait and see shall we ... ...

Leong’s Legends Continues (London)

Quite a number of foodies (both visitors and local London foodies) have visited this little joint within Chinatown London. I think it is unfair to compared this place with those I had in Shanghai or even Hong Kong because there are simply not that many to compare with in London that serve similar Chinese regional cuisines. So here at Leong’s Legends Continues (London), you can find plenty options of noodles, Xiao Long Bao (XLB) as well as other popular Taiwanese dishes. It is likely a shop opened by Taiwanese if you ask me. The decor is very nice! I mean wooden tables and chairs with a touch of ... class in a sense. Nothing overly fancy of course just that it really made me feel I was a warrior sitting in one of those huts back in the Tang Dynasty waiting for my meal before heading off to fight the bad guys. Alright, enough day dreaming ....

Fu 1088 / 福1088 (Shanghai)

Fu 1088 is not your typical Shanghainese restaurant in the metropolitan of Shanghai, it is located in a refurbished 1930's mansion / villa in the middle of town. The atmosphere was excellent with crackling staircases, wooden decor and beautifully tilted bathrooms. Guests can enjoy a peaceful meal in the individual private dining rooms located through the 3 floors restaurant. Oh wait, almost forgot the mention that there is a RMB 300 per person minimum charge at this atypical Shanghainese restaurant.

Jesse Restaurant 吉士酒家 (Shanghai)

Yet another famous local joint for its traditional Shanghainese dishes. When it comes to fame, the amount of tourists somehow gives you a big picture of its popularity to a certain extend. At this place, I can hear more Cantonese and English then Mandarin being exchanged. So what exactly is Shanghainese cuisine? A very good question because it is a product / combination of several nearby regional (coastal) cuisines and it gradually transformed into its own category over the years. This is one of the key reasons I enjoy Shanghainese cuisine, for its diversity as well as its ability to appreciate different regional cuisines to distinct itself through continuous refinement. (There is a so-called New Jesse vs this "old" Jesse and I have been informed that they are different establishment?)

Ding Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 @ Shanghai

So far I have been to 3 countries that have Ding Tai Fung, namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shanghai. Frankly speaking, they all tasted about the same except for Taiwan's one which is still my favorite among the 3 for its overall services. We tried to order similar items so to compare but the result was pretty much as expected, at least for my taste bud: Rather unexciting.

Nanxiang Steamed Bun 南翔饅頭店

I am really not a fan of queueing, really hated it. When you see my in a line waiting, most likely it involves food! It was no difference this time. We lined up for over 40 minutes for its famous Xiao Long Bao (XLB) or what also known as Xiao Long Mantou 小籠饅頭 (mini buns). I think they are called mini buns / mantou for a reason because the XLBs being served have really thick dough / skin like tiny steamed mini buns.