Beijing

Arriving beijing early afternoon we are met by Eileen Wen Mooney, Foodie and author of Beijing Eats, who will be our guide for the next two and half days, After a quick check in at the hotel, its off to the first of our many planned stops in this vibrant city.

Our Itinery has been carefully put together to cover some of the best of the regions cuisine that the city has to offer, the list is extensive so i have decided to give a breif overview and highlights of each one, more like a restaurant guide.

We start at Zhanjing noodle,

On the menu.

• mung bean puree with preserved vegetable and chilli oil Beijing fries -, mung bean flour made with water and formed into sheets, cut into diamonds and deep fried, who needs Mcdonalds, these are better than french fries.
  Deep fried sausage [ Zha guanchang] with garlic lemon dipping sauce- this is sausage made from starch and pan fried.
• Fried pork meatballs served with szechuan salt
• Noodles with sweetbean paste and garlic pickle

This is the first of many reastaurants we will try and what a way to start, the highlight for me was the Beijing fries and the mung bean puree, what great addition to any chinese meal.

Next up,we visit April, gourmet an expat grocery store, then onto Lohoe city organic supermarket, which both are based near the embassy quarter.

After filling the the trolley with a good selection of noodles and other interesting products, another stop Eileen has for us is the trends lounge in the CBD, a great bookstore with sleak curves and spirals, in fresh whites and greens, we visit the store and get to see the kitchen operation, which we are told that it is extremley busy during the lunchtime rush.
With one more visit before dinner ,we head off to Ole, one of Beijings main grocery stores, a very upmarket operation again in the CBD.
Dinner is booked at South silk road, a Yunnan restaurant, comtemporary in design with a distinctive cuisine.


• Wild root, yunnan style.
• Special wind tree and slower wind tree bark with tip of evispy pine branches

• Sauteed trichdoma matsutake with coriander and garlic.
• Siancity mushroom with Pur er tea C
• Crossing the bridge noodles (guò qiáo mĭxiàn) is an elaborate chicken noodle soup which hails from the southern province of Yunnan. There are many stories of how the dish originated, but the most common describes a scholar who once isolated himself on an island to prepare for an important examination. His wife would bring him rice noodles and other morsels in a rich chicken broth, with a layer of fat on top to keep the soup warm until she reached him.
• Sliced chicken and cool rice noodle with sweet juice
• Barbecued perch with vanilla
• Stir fried vegetable with ham
• Sauteed pork cheek with pur er tea and syrup

This again was a total contrast to the food we have tried in shanghai and the traditional beijing lunch we had earlier.

I have to say that trying tree bark is not something you do everyday, but it is a must try dish if your passing by this restaurant.

Day 2 starts of with a visit to the IFW[ the international food wharehouse in the basement of the plush Park Hyatt, contempory in design this is an amazing food court with open kitchens, wok frying & patisserie with coffe shop, salad and deli areas.

We decide to head for a coffee and cakes, seems the best way to start the day. The selection on offer is fairly extensive, so we decide to try

• Savoury meat pie
• Green tea bun
• Custard bun- a cross between brioche and a hot cross bun with custard filling, what a great product.
• Apricot tart
• Lychee and lime Jelly
• Green tea tiramisu
• Chocolate tart-well one always has to try this if on offer, and we were not disapointed.

After a an hour here, we head off to a reasturant that i have been waiting to see.

The Noodle Loft [ shanxi cuisine]

This is a open noodle bar which has theatre every minuite you are here, all noodles are made by hand from start to finish, i will be covering this in the next blog when Chung Yin goes back for a lesson with chef Zukai.

After lunch we head of to Dung Jiao market, where you can buy anything from a turtle to an apartment, this market is the centre for some of the cities restaurants to buy their produce, from spices, fish, meat and vegetables. Every stall has its own speciality for the various regional cuisines. This market is not for the feint hearted.

Afternoon tea

After another store trawl we are at an exclusive mall in the centre of town which has the best patisserie and coffee shop i have seen, Fauchon paris,has sister site here in Beijing and is well worth a visit.

Again the selection here needs to be fully tested as each cake and dessert are perfectly made and designed

We decide to try the

• Chocolate tart
• Lemon tart
• Chestnut cake
• Happiness cake
• Apple tart
• Selection of macaroons

Each one has been carefully hand made and the flavours well balanced, highlights - chestnut cake and the lemon tart.

This amazing foodie day will conclude with a visit to 1949 apparently the best peking duck restaurant in beijing, run by Chef patron Peter Lam, who originates from Hong Kong and runs this establishment with his son. Both come out to greet us and offer to select the menu for us.

This is an amazing complex of bars and restaurants that Chef Peter had built up.

Menu for this evening

Peking duck with hoisin, garlic and peanut addition

The peking duck oven, where the wood used is selected by age and is at least 60-80 years old.

• Pumpkin and sour plum pickle
• Welks with with courgette and sesame
• Peaking duck burger- made from the duck above with the addition of homemade sesame bun
• Garden vegetables with 5 nuts
• Fois gras terrine made from the peking duck
• Almond and tea Gluten rice



All this is all followed up by a of sweet bean paste duck petit four, and Maccau custard tart with spun sugar, These are truly a delight, The duck is far better than i have tasted before, unlike anything i would get back home. The addition of the peanut and garlic to the light Hoisin is a nice twist.

As our last day arrives we are heading off to an new restaurant, Karaiya, Hunanese cuisine, owned by the succesful restauranteur Alan Wong, this restaurant offers traditional Hunan cuisine presented in a very modern way. Our selection

• Signature fish- steamed Mandarin fish with 2 types of Hunan Peppers
• Rib Bridge- topped with spices and peanuts
• Chilled tofu with diced peppers
• Spicy diced Bullfrog and vegtables atop a flaming wok
  
spicy pepper diced ribeye


• Hunan fragrant tofu special fried[ otherwise known as stinky tofu] this dish is a must try
• Fois gras and soy fried rice


Every dish in this restaurant was perfectly executed with all the flavour and spice as you would find in this regions cuisine. This is probably the best restaurant of the tour for me.
We have only been in this city for two days but our guide Eileen has shown us some of the best that Beijing has to offer and we now feel we have that we have some good insight into the regions varied but exciting cuisines.


China is so undiscovered in terms of styles of cuisine and the flavours that this extrodinary country can create that 2 weeks just scratches the surface, and leaves me wanting to discover more.

Hotpot shanghai style

Just thought i would write on the lunch we have just had, stopped at the food mall just outside Carrefour in the finance district on our last trawl of the day. Decided that we would try one of the small chain of restaurants that you will find in malls such as this.
We are quickly presented with a set menu which consists of chicken, beef or pork as your protein, a selection of chines vegetables, dipping sauces and tofu and Gluten.


Once we had made our selection a hotplate was switched on in the middle of the table and promptly a large steaming pan is brought to your table with your protein choice[ we went for the pork] you are ushered to start eating this as soon as you can as then the vegetables arrive in readiness to make up your hotpot. This you can do at your own pace changing the various flavours according to the order the ingredients are added, all while the hotplate keeps the stock/sauce simmering and improving the flavour





we start to add the tofu, coriander, pak choi, quails eggs, then take some thin slithers of beef on the chopsticks to dip and hold in sauce to cook.

Each ingredient that you take can be dipped into a rich soy, bean curd or fish dipping sauce. It becomes a mass of bubbling rich stew. Hard to think that it is 38 degrees outside and we are eating this wholesome dish.


As you make your way down this pot of amazing ingredients, the chef then tops up the pan with some hot chicken stock and once again changing the flavours when more additions are provided.


It never seems to go down and we seem to be here for ages trying to finish it off. You certainly need and appetite before venturing into this food arena.

Another one to highlight in the notes. Would be great to get this back home.

Next stop Beijing.

Hangzhou

We have travelled south of Shanghai today to visit Hangzhou and the famous West lake in search of more of streetfood that this city has to offer. The journey is pretty effortless as the D train takes you swiftly from one city to the other reaching speeds of around 200 Kmh.

We start our tour on Henfeng street where our first stop is with one of the many candy makers, watching this small store produce a hand beaten Peanut candy & Dragons Beard which can only be described as a hard chewy candyfloss. This delicate product is hand pulled and formed with each sweet that is created is exactly the same.

After purchasing some of each we tuck in, the peanut candy is perfect, good crunchy texture and just the right amount of sugar, The dragons beard on the other hand is a acquired taste, very sweet.
Moving on we come across what can only be described as a deli for dried and cured meats, on entering the store the aroma was not for the faint hearted, Legs of dried pork, hanging and thrown into a display in the window, none of which looked like it had moved for months., whole and portioned duck and other meats is all that it could be described as, moving along the counter and after seeing the preparation area decided to move swiftly along.
We then head of round to Baochu road where we find a small shop selling some small bread type products, we decide to try, first up was a what can only be described as bread omelet with ham. We decide this is not enough and without wasting any more time Chung Yin is in the kitchen asking to make some of the other products.

Happily they agree to have a new member of staff and he gets to work, he starts with the Shou Zhua Bing, which translates to use your hands, this starts off as a dough ball and is rolled out and filled with potato, easier than it looks as chung Yin finds out, difficulty being that the dough is very thin. After a couple of attempts they are happy to put his effort on the griddle. We then decide to try the Yong Kang Mai Bing, this is very similar to an Indian Paratha bread but has vegetables running through the base dough. Easier to make ,this is on the griddle in a few moments with both Chung Yin and the girl looking very happy with themselves, she comments that she is pleased he is a fast learner. We wait a few moments before both items are ready, time for the tasting, the Shou Zhua Bing, is fantastic, crispy outside and soft cooked string potato is a great combination. The Yong Kang again would make a great accompaniment to any Chinese dish as does the naan bread to a curry.

All washed down with a sweet canned herbal tea.

We move on further down this street that is a mass of restaurants and streetfood vendors, which having just finished the snacks and lunch decide to visit West lake to walk of some of the few pounds consumed. Dinner at some of the West lake restaurants are supposed to be some of the best in the area, with some regional specialities, which we decide to go for.

Restaurant - Zhiew Guan Wei Zhuang

Menu,

Jin Jiang Xaio Jin Gua - small cucumber with sweet bean sauce
Zhen Jiang Xaio ron -spiced pork terrine
Xi Liu Nui ron geng -west lake beef soup
Xi Lu Cu Yu - west lake vinegar fish
Huo Mi xuan Ya-smoked duck with glutenous rice
San Xian mao Er duo- Cat ear shaped pasta boiled with three delicacies
Li Li Cheng Xiang Xiao Jing Long- large river prawns with specific sauce- chillies, peppers, spring onions, sesame seeds, minced pork & soy

Each dish was the best food we have had since we have been here but the highlights for both of us were the river prawns especially the sauce, and the west lake vinegar fish.
After a day which started out with a candy and finished with River Prawns it was time to catch the train back to Shanghai. Hangzhou is a place that offers some of the tastiest cuisine to date on this trip and a must see for any visitor to Shanghai

Shanghai - dumplings for breakfast

Shanghai, after arriving here on Tuesday late afternoon and the worst cab ride in the world, today is the first real chance we are able to look at what this city has to offer in the way of food. We are up early after shaking off the jet lag and ready for breakfast, we are met by our tour guide and translator Min Min.

We head off downtown looking for the famous Jia Jia Tang Bao to try their xiaolongbao [ soup dumplings]. The store opens at 6am ready for the morning rush for this traditional Shanghai speciality. Most would argue that these are the best soup dumplings that you can get, so we decide to try the menu, but not before Chung Yin joins the kitchen to make our dumplings, which seems to go down well, although I'm not sure if he would get the job.

The speed in which they turn out these small parcels is incredible, the dough is made just from flour and water the days batch is made at 5am every day, which i am told they will have sold out by mid afternoon.

After 5 minutes we are ushered to sit at one of the tables where are order is being laid out, we have a total of 5 types of dumpling which include pork, pork and salty duck egg and pork with river crab.
So time to tuck in, we start with the pork dumpling that is dipped into a light vinegar, as you bite into the dumpling you have to be careful not to get covered in hot soup, the flavour is good. It is when you try the pork and crab that you really know what these little parcels are all about. this is all washed down with a soup of chicken and ducks blood.

After our fill of these wonderful dumplings we decide to cross the road to try Yangs fried dumpling shop, another speciality within Shanghai, we take a few photos and purchase some of these larger style dumpling for our journey across town to Tesco, my first store visit in Asia.

We arrive at the Changning store one of the medium size operations within the city, as you enter it is much like any other in the empire, but on closer inspection it is a totally different. Catering very much to the Asian market, from wide selection of tofu fresh and ambient, Asian pickles, ducks tongue, & chicken feet to name a few, walking along the fresh counters you will find steamed dumplings, noodle/ salad bar & a fish counter that includes live fish, eels and Frogs.

As we progress around the grocery Asles we manage to find some good examples of noodle ready meals, sauces and marinades, stir fry additions, cake and desserts.

Only one problem with shopping here the trolley is to small, most Shanghainese shop daily so the trolley has been down sized.

Next up will be lunch at Baulou in the french concession Quarter

On the menu

Braised shredded eel

stir fry shrimp and ginger

Crab with tofu Noodles

Salted chicken

Hot and sour soup

We finish off our day with Dinner joined By April and Dan at another french concession restaurant the Victorian Home ,a traditional Shanghai Restaurant

Next up on schedule is Hangzhou and West Lake.

Shopping in Milan

No not what your thinking, Gucci, Prada or Armani

My kind of shopping was going to be Coop Italia, Carrefour, Auchan, designer McDonald's and Peck all finished off with a pistachio, rum and raisin Gillato.

Each store was a totally different shopping experience and a foodie lovers heaven, from an Eco friendly store 2 floors below ground that include a play area & park on top, to Peck which makes Harrods and Selfridges foodhalls look like any general food store

When i set out a few days ago i started thinking about what i may find different on each trip. You expect to find the layout of store pretty much the same as the previous country especially in Europe, the type of groceries you would not think vary that much, and eating habits would be the almost the same,
Well at this stage of my travels and the further into Europe i go it becomes apparent that it really is only us Brits & the Americans that are into convenience foods / ready meals as we know them. Here in Italy as previously mentioned these do not exist,

The risotto here is King, if you want a quick meal, and rightly so as this needs some degree of skill & time to produce consistently, and the risottos that i have found here in Milan in pouch format are as good as any chef could make.

Still with risotto in mind, if you do want to make yourself, they now provide par cooked Arborio rice and jars of vegetable ingredients that are simply stirred into the risotto whilst preparing, which could be used for many different cuisine applications .

Moving slightly away from risotto but a dish with the same skill level required is Polenta, This is now also making an appearance on the shelves both at the trade shows & stores, Again these come with all the seasonings blended and the consumer just adds water, and in 12 minutes you have a gourmet Polenta for supper.

Also being promoted is a white Polenta that is from the Venice Region,

In the cooking sauces arena ragu and Passata are the two key sauces predominately being used as a base, sauces for one are starting to be featured within this category

Another area that seems to be taking off here is the kit.

Like the UK so far there has only been the El Paso products on sale, but slowly others are beginning to creep in, for example Barilla have launched a pizza kit, along with Carrefour own label and Star. Chinese cuisine here is a very small market but Suzi wan kits are being promoted with own label having a presence. Japanese is the more popular cuisine with sushi kits featuring. Italy is also into cake and desserts in a fairly big way, with Kinder being the biggest player in all stores, Balconi i only found in one store and fairly low key within the fixture. Cake slices and bars seem to be the best sellers followed by whole cake and tortes with fresh patisserie tarts from the in store bakeries. Finally with a fresh batch of products in hand it was now time to check out Milan's finest grocery store Peck.

This well healed store has been serving Milan's elite since 1883 and is something that every foodie should put on their travel map, [unfortunately no pictures allowed]. It has the most impressive array of hams, cheeses, vintage balsamic, pressed oils [which included a fig olive oil] and gourmet ready meals of a quality that you would find in some of the best restaurants around the world.

http://www.peck.it/lingua-EN/sid-1264995080/

And to top it all just around the corner at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele where you will find the major fashion houses and not to be outdone, Designer McDonald's, only in Milan could this happen.

Next stop, China- beginning 24Th June

From Truflles To Parma Ham

From Truffles to Parma ham and Pasta to Parmesan, this food show has it all, and what better place to showcase food than in one of Europe's most fashionable cities, Milan. On arriving early at the show i am immediately impressed with the amount of exhibitors on display, after recently visiting similar show in London it is hard to believe that we are in a recession, as this is a food show at its best.

It is just after 10am and the show is all ready busy, i cant help but trip over the wild mushrooms, truffles and olive oil, but that is not all this show has to offer.

The tastings have begun, bruschetta and crostinis, risotto's in various formats and flavours, vintage balsamic . Each hall has its own speciality, meals and ingredients, dairy, patisserie, cured meats and finally pasta in every shape size and colour.

A show of this size takes a while to cover and an amount of back tracking and zig zaggiing the aisles is required to cover each and every stand.

No money seems to have been spared with each stand trying to out do the next, some even with restaurants above with teams of chefs demonstrating and displaying the vast array of products. After some considerable time, a few miles covered with some interesting products found it is time to visit the town of Rho, just a short distance from the convention centre to trawl the first two on my list of Italian retailers.

Esselunga and Fin Iper.

Esselunga, on entering the store you are met with well spaced aisles,large produce department and coffee shop, on closer inspection the store is similar to others previously visited in Europe, grocery and produce only taking up half the store with the fixture merchandising in no particular order. I decide to head back towards Milan to visit Fin Iper. The store is in a suburb called Portello, and is situated in a new shopping mall.

Immediately you enter the store it has that American Wholefoods/Central market feel, all the produce is well merchandised [ more wild mushrooms] with market stall blackboards for pricing, Grocery aisles are well stocked but cover a relatively small area due to the style of store

As it is early evening the hot deli is doing a roaring trade with Fresh Paella, seafood spaghetti and rotisserie chickens. It also boasts an amazing cold deli, fish counter, bakery and even wine bar in the beers wines and spirits aisle to try before you buy,

So far ready meals are non existent, the only convenience food i can find is Risotto, every shopper here is buying fresh items for the scratch cook. With products purchased and aisles photographed i head outside for one more shot of the store, before heading back to the hotel.