My friends know that I love to cook, and have been reading many cookbooks over the years. One of my favourite cookbooks has many details on how to prepare the proper marinade to make traditional Cantonese cuisines, written by Chef Philip Chan. Knowing that he is working for Heyday Cuisine Group now, we come today to their branch on 3/F JD Mall at Jordan to try it out.
The restaurant is of a decent size, and apart from the main dining area there are a number of private rooms on both sides. The décor is decent, with a more contemporary design, but there is still a large fish tank at one corner displaying many lively lobster, garoupa, and other seafood. After settling down at our table, we go through the menu to see what is on offer.
There are many choices, but we come here to try Chef Chan’s specialty, so one of the picks obviously is the char siu. Interestingly, there are two on the menu. After checking with the staff, we go for the leaner 蜜餞一字叉燒 ($168), along with two other dishes 招牌脆趣有米蝦兵蟹將 ($528) and 蟲草花雲耳蒸龍躉球 ($198). The steamed giant garoupa comes first, with the fish fillet seasoned well, and the soy sauce not too salty. Quite good.
When we finish ordering, the manager has shown us the live crab before taking it to the kitchen to prepare the signature deep-fried prawn and crab in crispy rice. The crab is very meaty, with the chef thoughtfully crushed the pincers and legs to make it easy to eat. The crispy rice has absorbed the crab flavours so it is also good in taste. Customers also can determine the number of prawns included ($20 each). Not to be missed for crab lover.
The final one to arrive is the char siu, which is a surprise as generally this will come pretty early. But knowing then that they are freshly roasted, already raised my expectation to another level, and it certainly delivers also. The pork meat is tender and has a small amount of fat, not completely lean, with the honey glaze on the surface a glistering temptation. The taste is so delicious, thanks to the different components of the marinade. One of the best char siu I have for a while.
The staff here are friendly and helpful in answering my questions, offering us the complimentary sweet potato soup for dessert as well. The bill on the night is $1,082. I heard that Chef Chan will make the roasted duck himself and perhaps with a bigger group next time we should try that also, to once again enjoy the magic he weaves in marinating and preparing roasted meat.
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