Thursday, October 02, 2008

dimsum down under

One of the highlights of any holiday trip, for me at least, is the food.

We all know that there's no such thing as Australian food. Mention Japanese food and sushi comes to mind. Mention Indian food and curry comes to mind. Mention Australian food and (perhaps) fish & chips come to mind. And still, that is not authentically Australian. Originating from the UK, it has found its way to countries once colonised by the British such as Australia and New Zealand and has remained popular there.


So when my friends were hosting me, one common question they would ask is what kind of food I would like to try. I only had one request : Anything good, as long as it's not Japanese!

I have never had a good Chinese meal in Japan. If someone out there can recommend me a good and authentic Chinese restaurant, I will mention it here and share it with you all. As common as Chinese food is over here, I'm disappointed they have had to modify the taste to suit the Japanese taste bud. Suffice to say, I have given up on ever finding a palatable one in Japan.


So I was telling this to Esther & Joseph whom I managed to catch up after the Hillsongs service, and they offered to bring me to Zilver Seafood Restaurant. They served dimsum for lunch. And there was a waiting list outside the restaurant. The last time I had really good dimsum was at Maxim's, Hong Kong, more than a year ago.



Eating at a dimsum restaurant allows you try a little of everything. If you've ordered the har gau and you don't like it, it's ok, there's just 3 of them. If you realised that siew mai is not your thing, not a problem, there are 2 other people on the table who will eat it for you. That is probably why I also like to go for buffets. Just take in a little of everything and you'll be sure to find something you like.


I would like to think I'm quite adventurous when it comes to food. So when Esther suggested chicken feet, I had to give it a try. If I was eating with my Mama, I would gladly pass her mine. But since I was on a mission to eat, I took some and tried to imagine I would get some collagen benefits by eating those rubbery skin.


However, my biggest craving was for the chee cheong fun. I missed the curry version that comes with yong tau foo, but I also liked the Hong Kong version which is soaked in soy sauce and sometimes topped with sweet chilli paste. Dimsum is not complete without the rice noodle roll stuffed with shrimp or pork.


And of course, egg tarts!


Must balance the meal with some vege as well. Look at those succulent choy sum! Anyone with a dislike for greens will want to dip these into the soy sauce and eat them all up.


And to finish off with dessert, the humble tau foo fah. With all the soy-based products they eat everyday in almost every meal, I don't know why they don't have it in Japan! Such a waste.


Thanks to Esther & Joseph, my cravings were satisfied. Nevermind that dimsum is usually associated with Hong Kong food, but since the island transferred back to mainland China, dimsum is Chinese food!

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