The Golden Noodle Awards 2010-11

Eat Noodles Love Noodles is two today! And to celebrate, it's hosting the awards ceremony that nobody is talking about: The Golden Noodle Awards.

The Golden Noodle – awarded to the best noodles in the world

Winner: No.1 Special Noodles (特製らー麺) by Kudan Ikaruga (九段 斑鳩)

Well OK, not necessarily the best noodles in the world, but the best I've tasted. I've decided to go global this year to encompass the amazing noodles that I've come across on my travels.

I mean it would be criminal to exclude places like Kuala Lumpur's Soo Kee where I had shan har mein, a dish of giant river prawns atop crispy noodles. And noodle joints like Mak's Noodle and Tsim Chai Kee in Hong Kong, where you can pick up a bowl of wonton noodles for less than the equivalent of £2. But as good as these places are, they fall just outside the medal positions.

Taking the bronze medal is the very posh Steamed Fresh Flower Crab with Aged Shaoxing Wine, Fragrant Chicken Oil & Flat Rice Noodles at The Chairman. This Hong Kong restaurant's signature dish has a rich Shaoxing wine based sauce that is soaked up by some very special rice noodles (chenchun fun 陳村粉). By the way, the flower crab was pretty tasty too!

We stay in Hong Kong for the silver medallist, the prawn roe noodles w/cuttlefish balls and shui jiao dumplings at Lau Sum Kee. These noodles are made the traditional way with a bamboo log and come with a prawn roe topping that is ever so addictive. In any other year, this dish would've been a certain winner.

As much as I enjoyed the noodles from Hong Kong, they're eclipsed by Tokyo's finest: No.1 Special Noodles (特製らー麺) from Kudan Ikaruga (九段 斑鳩). What's not to love about this dish? Springy ramen noodles, chashu pork, menma, nori and a perfectly boiled egg were all superb but what really made these noodles special was the amazing broth – a blend of tonkotsu (pork bone) and gyoku (fish).

The Golden Restaurant – awarded to the best London restaurant new to me

Winner: Launceston Place

I'm not what you call a dedicated follower of fashion, which is why the likes of Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Pollen Street Social and Spuntino are absent from the shortlist. Judging by my past track record, I might end up checking these places out sometime in 2013, assuming they're still around then.

What I have been doing is sampling dim sum in unlikely corners of London. It'd be fair to say that Teddington, Earl's Court and Mayfair aren't exactly the kind of places that you'd expect to find dumplings of a higher order. But find them I did at Imperial China, Dragon Palace and Princess Garden of Mayfair respectively. Of this trio, the latter is a cut above and takes the bronze.

The trend for regional Chinese cuisine in London shows no sign of abating. In addition to the increasingly familiar flavours of Sichuan, I've checked out London restaurants specialising in the food of Beijing, Fuzhou, Hunan, and Shanghai. Of these I'm a big fan of New Aroma, whose Fuzhou offerings came close to getting a medal. However, it's the Hunan menu at Soho's Ba Shan, which deservedly picks up the silver medal in this category.

Years after every single other London blogger, I finally got round to visiting Launceston Place. To me, this classy yet understated establishment epitomises the best of British with dishes like duck egg on toast with Somerset truffle (as pictured). Quite how this superior restaurant hasn't got a Michelin star is beyond me. But you know what? Loads of places can get a Michelin star but there's only one winner of The Golden Restaurant. Take a bow, Tristan Welch!

The Golden Dish – awarded to my favourite (non-noodle) dish of the year

Winner: Fish-skin dumplings (魚皮餃) by 花好悦园酒家

To be eligible for this award, the dish has to be one that I've eaten for the first time. So for example, the typhoon shelter crab from Hong Kong's Under Bridge Spicy Crab and the chilli crab from Singapore's No Signboard Seafood are both ineligible, as I first sampled these dishes years ago.

However, one crab dish that does qualify is fried crab with sambal belachan. Now one might think that this is a dish indigenous to Malaysia, but in fact it was created in Hendon at a Malaysian Chinese restaurant by the name of Gourmet Garden. Belachan, a fermented shrimp paste, is an acquired taste but I defy anyone not to be knocked out by the fiery shrimpy flavours that makes this dish a worthy bronze medallist.

I visited Japan for the first time this year and I ate like a king. Rather surprisingly, one of my favourite dishes was kara-age aka Japanese fried chicken served with mayo and a squeeze of lime. Now I've eaten kara-age before, but to all intents and purposes, the fried chicken at Tokyo's Charari Charari might as well have been a different dish. I know I'm bending my rules, but they're my rules to be bent, so it's silver for the kara-age.

Guangzhou's 花好悦园酒家 is, in my humble opinion, one of the best restaurants that I've ever been to. Any number of dishes that I sampled there would've been a worthy winner of this award, but for the fact that I've eaten many of them before. However, there is one dish that I fell in love with: fish-skin dumplings (魚皮餃), made with a fish-skin wrapper and filled with pounded fish meat. Served in a broth with vegetables, this dish encapsulates the soul of Cantonese cuisine.

The Red Card – awarded to who or what I want to send off the field of food

Winner: 'Laksa' by The Providores & Tapa Room

I always try to be positive on my blog, but every now and then I get the hump. In particular, I got angry at Marks & Spencer's third-rate attempt at dim sum. And San Pellegrino's World's Best 50 Restaurants sent me apoplectic with rage - whilst there are some excellent restaurants on there, much of it reads like a list of where Russian oligarchs like to hang out with their arm candy.

However, the winner of The Red Card award, by a country mile, is the 'laksa' served at The Providores & Tapa Room. Or to give it its full name: smoked coconut, tamarind and liquorice laksa with a chicken lime leaf dumpling, green tea noodles, crispy shallots and coriander.

It's this kind of crap that gives fusion a bad name. Notwithstanding the incompatibility of subtle green tea noodles with a flavoursome aromatic broth, it was also poorly executed – the noodles were overcooked and the dumpling virtually had no filling.

Perhaps if I was richer and had the appetite of a quail then I wouldn't have been so pissed off at the high price tag and miniscule portion size. But for me, the laksa from The Providores & Tapa Room should be sent-off now!

Song of the Year – awarded to my favourite song of the last year

Winner: Blackout by Anna Calvi

I'll just let the music do the talking. Suffice to say, if there were any justice in the world then Anna Calvi would be a global superstar.

If you want to check out last year's Golden Noodle Awards then please click here.

Hong Kong & Guangzhou Scrapbook

This is the last post in The Cantonese Season and to sign off, here are some images of two of the most beguiling foodie cities in the world.

It's often said that the Kowloon side of Hong Kong is earthier than the Island side. That's certainly true of Temple Street night market, which attracts both locals and tourists with its mix of counterfeit goods, special interest adult DVDs, and tasty street food.

As well as the seafood and hotpot restaurants with outdoor seating, there are also loads of little stalls selling stuff like meatballs, sausages, and fish balls on skewers. Despite having dinner plans, I couldn't resist a skewer or two.

Guangdong province is home not only to Cantonese cuisine, but also Chiuchow or Teochew cuisine (潮州菜). This style of food is hugely popular in Hong Kong where dishes like poached goose in master stock (滷水鵝) have become local favourites.

Sadly, other than the goose and a few snacks, I didn't get to really sample much of this cuisine, as we went to Chiuchow Garden for dim sum. However, we did get to finish our meal in the traditional Chiuchow way, with some kung-fu tea (工夫茶).

HK-style western food is a law unto itself, and these lunch specials at Tsui Wah had me scratching my head. Does anyone know what Cream of Queen soup is? How about Chicken Macmillan?

As we had a bit of time to kill before dinner at The Chairman, Tom took me to Cantopop. Without sounding too pretentious, this is a 21st century cha chaan teng (茶餐廳). We just had beer and snacks, but looking back I wish we had ordered some sous-vide cha siu.

Despite building an extensive underground metro, carving out express bus lanes, and banning motorbikes, Guangzhou's traffic is still terrible. Perhaps this bike-share scheme is the answer.

I kid you not, but my first port of call in Guangzhou was the fish market. The Huangsha Aquatic Products Market (黄沙水产交易市场) is one of the busiest in China, if not the world.

The market is open for wholesale and retail, and there's lots of weird and wonderful stuff to see. I was especially drawn to the geoduck or elephant clams (象拔蚌).

There are quite a few seafood restaurants in the market complex, and we pitched up at one for a spot of lunch. We kicked off with some whelks and other highlights included scallops, steamed fish and abalone.

Are you reading this, Matthew Norman? I ate loads of greens on this trip. I particularly enjoyed the vegetables in Guangzhou although I couldn't remember what many of them were called.

Sweet & sour is often seen as cheap and nasty but these posh sweet & sour spare ribs (生炒排骨) are a far cry from the No.27 at the local take-away. Not only were they served in a rice vermicelli nest but also there wasn't a single pineapple chunk in sight!

Alas, this is the end of The Cantonese Season. If you want to catch up on earlier posts, click here and scroll to the end for links. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank family, friends and colleagues for their invaluable input.

Some Other Sites
If you're planning a trip to Hong Kong then there's loads of stuff out there on the interweb. Some HK-based blogs I found useful include:

e*ting the world
Food of Hong Kong & Macau
Life as a Bon Vivant
Tom Eats Jen Cooks

Of the mainstream media, the following are worth checking out:

CNN Go (surprisingly good)
Open Rice (bilingual HK version of Urbanspoon)
Time Out Hong Kong

Many London-based bloggers have also been to Hong Kong in the last year or so. If you're just stopping over for a couple of days then An American In London's succinct 48 hours of Eating in Hong Kong is a great guide. For those of you spending more time in Hong Kong, Hollow Legs and Pig Pig's Corner cover a lot of ground between them. As does CheChe's Blog on her recent series of posts.

A Few Words
Unless you look Chinese, people in Guangzhou or Hong Kong won't expect you to speak Cantonese. Nevertheless, it's useful to know some basic phrases such as:

zou san = Good morning
nei hou = Hello (lit. how are you)
m goi = Please/Excuse me/Thank you (for service, say in a shop)
do ze = Thank you (for a gift, or something tangible)
zoi gin = Goodbye (lit. see you again)
zou tau = Good night

By the way, the English words: 'hello' (haa lo) and 'bye bye' (baai baai), have both entered into the Cantonese vernacular. Indeed, there are many English loanwords in Cantonese. For those of you that can speak a bit of Mandarin, this will be of more use in Guangzhou than Hong Kong.

The Rustic Delights of Big Rock 大石

This is the penultimate post of The Cantonese Season, and it features my favourite meal of the whole trip. Sorry Hong Kong, but the honour goes to a very special restaurant on the outskirts of Guangzhou!

Fish market

Back in the day, Dashi (大石), which means 'Big Rock' in English, was a small village located between the cities of Guangzhou and Panyu. Nowadays, it's been swallowed up by the urban sprawl but there remain a few signs of its rustic past such as 花好悦园酒家 (there's no English name but the translation is something like 'Delightful Garden of Good Flowers Restaurant').

Upon arriving at this restaurant, you could be mistaken that you've strolled into a market, as there are displays of vegetables and seafood, as well as rows of fish tanks. Walk further in, and there are open kitchen stations each devoted to their own speciality such as the steamed bun station.

Steamed bun station

Ordering is also done differently. You literally walk around the market area with your server, and select fish, seafood, and vegetables to be cooked in the style of your choosing. For other dishes, you can visit the various kitchen stations to see if you like the look of the food. For example, from the rotisserie station, we ordered this juicy and succulent roast goose (燒鵝). It saddens me that this dish is seemingly impossible to find in the UK.

Roast goose (燒鵝)

Roast chicken (燒雞)

The Cantonese love chicken, and popular styles of cooking include white-cut chicken (白切雞), soy sauce chicken (豉油雞), and crispy fried chicken (炸子雞). But one style that isn't as common is roast chicken (燒雞); this particular one was honey-basted and I loved the crispy skin. The rotisserie station get top marks!

Covered outdoor seating

In addition to the market area and the open kitchen stations, the restaurant proper consists of a normal indoor dining room and a covered 'outdoor' area (monsoons are not uncommon in this part of the world). We bagged a table in the outdoor area, right by the lily pond.

Steamed dace (清蒸土鯪魚)

Steamed fish is always a popular choice to take centre stage in a Cantonese meal. In this case, it was steamed dace (清蒸土鯪魚) aka Chinese mud carp. I'd never eaten fresh dace before, and it was a revelation. It helped that it was just cooked.

Fish-skin dumplings (魚皮餃)

Of all the dishes that I ate on this trip, the fish-skin dumplings (魚皮餃) stood out as my favourite. These are essentially wontons with a fish-skin wrapper and a filling of pounded fish meat. I also liked the broth (non-fishy) and the vegetable that it was served with. Apologies, but I've forgotten the name of this veg that bears some similarities to water spinach or morning glory (蕹菜 ong choi).

Stuffed tofu (酿豆腐)

I had a feeling that this stuffed tofu (酿豆腐) dish was special when I saw a whole kitchen station devoted to making it. I'm not a tofu man but everybody else was raving about it.

Braised goose with taro (芋頭燜鵝)

I still have dreams about the braised goose with taro (芋頭燜鵝) and the amazing light citrusy gravy that it was served with. This was a perfect combination especially with the taro soaking up the gravy. Of the two goose dishes, I preferred this one.

Green aubergine (青茄子)

We had lots of vegetables at the table, and my Mum, revealing her inner-blogger, insisted that I take a photo of the green aubergine (青茄子). As she rightly pointed out, these are seldom seen outside of Asia.

Sweet potato cakes (番薯餅)

These mashed sweet potato cakes (番薯餅) were fluffy inside yet crispy on the outside. I forgot how much I liked these until I saw the photo again. Sweet potato is very common in southern Chinese cooking and is eaten in addition to the more usual accompaniments of rice and noodles.

Mini filled 'bolo' bao (菠蘿包仔)

Never let it be said that the Chinese don't do desserts. Pineapple buns or bolo bao (菠蘿包) don't normally contain any pineapple (the name comes from the cookie-like topping that resembles the outside of a pineapple). These did though, with a delicious pineapple jam filling. The other dessert was a hand-made black sesame paste (芝麻糊) – also tasty.

Cantonese cuisine has many faces, not all of them pretty. Take, for example the use of unethical ingredients, MSG and mass produced additive-laden sauces. That's why it's important to champion the simple rustic approach of restaurants like this one (and The Chairman in Hong Kong). However, worthy principles count for little if the end product doesn't deliver. This does, and from start to finish, it was a meal to remember. It goes without saying that you should visit this restaurant if you can.

There isn't really an address for this restaurant, as it's in the middle of nowhere. The easiest way to get there is by taking the Guangzhou Metro (Line 3) to Dashi (大石). Leave the station using Exit C then walk for about 5 minutes with the exit of the metro station behind you. Eventually, you should spot a couple of restaurants on your left. The one you want is 花好悦园酒家, as in the photo below:

Alternatively, I can forward a pdf copy of their business card with a map and directions in Chinese if you contact me by e-mail.

Cantonese Classics Part 2 @ Belly God 食为天

Chinese food is all about balance – yin yang (陰陽) if you like – that's why a big Cantonese meal consists of both rich dishes like suckling pig and healthier fare such as steamed fish. The dinner that I had with relatives at Belly God (食为天) in Guangzhou is a fine example of this principle at work. Here are the highlights:

Often incorrectly described as pigeon in English-language menus, crispy squab (燒乳鴿) is a classic that is, in my opinion, done better in Guangzhou compared to Hong Kong. Sadly, this dish is rarely seen on the menus of Cantonese restaurants in the UK.

An example of a simpler dish that balances out some of the richer fare in a Cantonese feast is marrow topped with pork balls in broth. I particularly enjoyed the salted fish topping on the pork balls and the moreish broth.

The Cantonese are masters when it comes to roasting meats. Take for example, roast suckling pig (燒乳豬) with its juicy tender meat and brittle crispy crackling – a worthy centrepiece for this, or any, meal.

I have no idea what this freshwater fish (淡水魚) is called except that it was still swimming around in a tank shortly before it was put in a steamer.

The eel (sin 鱔) was braised with soy sauce and other stuff, but I can't remember exactly what. It was bloody tasty though, with the eel soaking up loads of flavour.

I'm not sure if Belly God serves dim sum, but if these pan-fried fish cakes (煎魚餅) are anything to go by then I'm sure they'd be damn good at it. As is often the way with this style of 'cake' or beng (餅), chopped water chestnuts are added to provide a crunchy contrast in texture.

Steamed prawns is one of those simple dishes that seem to be more popular in Guangzhou compared to Hong Kong.

And as you should've worked out by now, e-fu noodles (伊麵) are the noodles of choice for a big blow out Cantonese meal.

Belly God is definitely somewhere you should check out if you want a classier Cantonese experience in Guangzhou. In terms of the food, I struggle to think of any shortcomings, and it was only due to poor photography skills that more dishes aren't featured in this post. I can't recall how much it all cost, but I do remember that it was a bargain from a western or even a Hong Kong perspective.

For those of you without Chinese language skills, I'm afraid the menu is only in Chinese, although it did have loads of photos. That said, this restaurant strikes me as the kind of place that might have an English-language menu.

In common with 海雲軒, where I had dim sum, Belly God is located on Tianhe Bei Lu (天河北路), a well-known street in Guangzhou. The best way to get there is to hail a taxi and show the driver the address in Chinese:

食为天 Belly God
广州市天河北路614号金海花园首层
1/F Jinhai Garden, 614 Tianhe Bei Lu, Guangzhou, China

Dim Sum in Guangzhou @ 海雲軒

Sunday mornings in Guangzhou are very different to those in the UK in that the city is well and truly awake at a very early hour. This is clearly evident by the fact that the city's many dim sum restaurants are usually full to bursting by 10am. So it was no surprise that when we arrived at my uncle's local dim sum joint, we had to wait for a table, and even after we were seated, it seemed like ages before the food arrived. It's just as well that it was worth the wait.

I can't remember the name of the dumplings in the above photo but they were filled with a mix of peanut paste, sesame, water chestnuts, and spring onion, with some lard to enhance flavour. A true dim sum master created these little beauties, as the wrappers were gossamer thin and the dumplings perfectly steamed. Although the filling sounds a bit weird, it works really well, as there's a salty-sweet contrast in flavour.

Whilst 'man-sized' baked cha siu bao (叉燒餐包) are commonly seen in Chinatown bakeries around the world, I've only ever seen the miniature dim sum version in Asia. I really enjoyed these freshly baked soft buns with their honey glaze and tasty roast pork filling.

More familar dishes such as siu mai (燒賣), steamed spare ribs w/chilli (蒸排骨), and steamed beef balls (牛肉球) were also well rendered. The latter was particularly excellent, as there was a decent amount of dried citrus peel (果皮 guo pi) in the beef ball mixture. Also worthy of mention is the excellent congee (粥 juk).

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is life-changing dim sum (for that try The Garden Hotel) or that you should especially visit this restaurant. Mind you, the quality of the dim sum is streets ahead of most of what you'll find in the UK and better than the couple of yum cha places I visited in Hong Kong. So if you do happen to be in the Tianhe area of Guangzhou then 海雲軒 is definitely worth a visit for breakfast, brunch or lunch.

By the way, despite this place having an English name on its business card, Ocean World Restaurant, only the Chinese name, 海雲軒, is seen on its signage. The dim sum order sheet is also only in Chinese, and I'm not sure if they have an English language menu or English speaking staff.

The easiest way to get to this restaurant is to hail a taxi and show the driver the address in Chinese:

海雲軒 Ocean World Restaurant
广州市天河北路550-556号帝景苑商业中心二楼
550-556 Tianhe Bei Lu, Guangzhou, China

However, the entrance is actually on 龙口西路 (Longkou Xi Lu), which runs perpendicular to 天河北路 (Tianhe Bei Lu).

Guangzhou

It's been hard work trying to finish off a couple of posts I've got on the go (OK - I ended up watching both Everton v Liverpool and Arsenal v Chelsea yesterday). Hopefully the blog-block is temporary and I'll get my mojo back soon. In the meantime here's one I made earlier - I've always wanted to use that line!.

My standby post takes me back to a trip to Guangzhou earlier this year. This dirty old town - better known as Canton - is home to one of the great cuisines of the world. Treats like dim sum and bbq roast meats are rightly famous but Cantonese cuisine comes into its own with its way with seafood. The Cantonese love their seafood fresh and it doesn't get fresher than the fish market.

These photos remind me of one of the best meals I've had this year as next to the market is the Jingang Haixin Jiujia which means 'Golden Harbour Seafood Restaurant' in English. It's a BYO restaurant but you're expected to bring the catch of the day rather than Chardonnay!

I wasn't blogging then and for some reason I was more interested in taking photos of the market rather than the fish. But I do remember the Golden Harbour converting our carrier bags of live seafood into a veritable feast of steamed crabs, chilli salt prawns, eel hotpot, steamed fish and braised crocodile amongst other delights.

Guangzhou is a great foodie city but not even its proudest citizens would big it up as a tourist destination. You also really need to be able to read Chinese as there are few bilingual menus here (I was in the capable hands of relatives). But if you're holidaying in Hong Kong, it's worth popping over to Guangzhou for a day or two – there are direct train services that take less than 2 hours.

The food is arguably better than Hong Kong (and cheaper) and once there, you could do worse than kick off with a dim sum brunch at the Garden Hotel; snack on wonton noodles whilst walking through the old city streets before rounding off the day with a seafood banquet.