[Hong Kong Cuisine] Tao Li – Nostalgic 1970s Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong – Featured on Metro Radio’s ‘Look Back at Today’ programme. Hong Kong dining guide

Hong Kong is developing rapidly; with limited land and a large population, rents for small shops are skyrocketing. Although I’m not a business owner myself, this affects even someone like me—who loves good food but can’t be bothered to cook—as many long-established eateries have been forced to close due to the high rents, and I’ve always cherished a fond nostalgia for the home-cooked dishes of the 1970s.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve sampled several flavourful, nostalgic Hong Kong Cantonese dishes, with Chef Su—a Chinese cuisine head chef with over 40 years’ experience—preparing a series of classic dishes involving intricate cooking techniques for diners. There were many dishes on the menu that evening, including Phoenix Fish Maw Soup, Stir-fried Pork Tripe with Black Bean and Chilli, Noodles in Lard, Golden Coin Chicken and Honey-glazed Pheasant Liver. Each dish evoked those nostalgic flavours of my childhood. Allow me to highlight a few must-try dishes for you to sample…

‘Phoenix Fish and Cloud Soup’This is the soup that Master Su highly recommends; it was my first time trying it. Despite being a keen foodie for many years, I’d never even heard of it before—I must admit I’m rather embarrassed. Perhaps I’m still a bit too young, but this was certainly a rare treat!
The cooking process is also intricate: first, the fish head is steamed together with slices of ginger until cooked, then deboned to extract the tender, smooth fish maw from within the head; this is then prepared with dried tangerine peel, winter bamboo shoots, dried shiitake mushrooms, diced roasted chicken liver, diced char siu and premium stock. This ‘Phoenix Fish Maw Soup’ is meticulously prepared, with a rich and savoury flavour and a tender, smooth texture.

‘Stir-fried pork tripe tips with fermented soya beans and chillies’Made with premium ingredients and involving a complex preparation process, this dish is a rare treat to be found in local eateries. A single portion requires three pieces of pork tripe tip—a cut that accounts for just a quarter of the entire pork tripe. Consequently, the daily supply of stir-fried pork tripe tip here is limited, so it is advisable to book a portion in advance if you wish to try it. The pork tripe tips are crisp and springy, with a substantial texture; stir-fried with black bean and chilli, they are truly mouth-watering,

Fragrant Roasted ChickenIt is a famous Cantonese roast meat dish; although the preparation process is far from simple, there are still a few long-established establishments in Hong Kong that make it. The ‘Golden Coin Chicken’ consists of five layers. Apart from the top and bottom layers of starch-based wrappers, the first layer is ‘ice pork’—fatty pork that has first been marinated in rose wine and white sugar, then pressed to remove excess fat. The second layer consists of crispy, savoury lean char siu, whilst the third layer features sweet and fragrant roasted chicken liver. Finally, the layers are assembled and skewered together, then returned to the oven to be roasted suspended from a hook. The resulting dish is a Golden Coin Chicken that is sweet and rich, with a fragrant, melt-in-the-mouth texture and distinct layers of flavour.

The signature Osmanthus Honey Black Pig Char Siu has long been renowned both at home and abroad, and is a speciality of the hotel’s Chinese restaurant. For this nostalgic Cantonese cuisine series, we have specially prepared a sinfully delicious version of it‘Chashu with Lard Cracklings and Thick Noodles’…This could be described as the very essence of nostalgia on the entire menu. What’s more, Tao Li thoughtfully serves the lard and soy sauce separately, allowing diners to drizzle as much lard as they like over the thick Cantonese noodles to their personal taste, before sprinkling on some crispy lard cracklings – if you fancy a bit of that indulgent indulgence!

The Nostalgic Cantonese Cuisine series at Taoli also features a range of other dishes, including the rich and fragrant‘The Money Chicken’, with slices of taro at the bottom to soak up all the essence of the goose stock‘Plum-glazed pot-roasted goose’,Deep-fried until golden brown, these nostalgic treats are crispy on the outside and not at all greasy.‘Prawn Toast’, with the rich aroma of fat wafting through the air‘Fragrant Roasted Pipa Duck’、‘Honey-glazed chicken livers served with braised spare ribs’、‘Baked Fish Maw with Egg’及‘Soup with Shredded Duck, Chinese Chives, Dried Tangerine Peel and Fish Maw’…Hold on a moment—if you want to relive the flavours of your childhood, give us a call to book a table.

Last Friday evening (7.45 pm), I appeared on Metro Radio’s programme *Looking Back at Today*. I also talked about *Peach Blossom Land*; to listen to the replay, click on the player below.

‘Tao Li’ – Cantonese Cuisine (Formerly known as: Taoli)

Address: 2nd Floor, Millennium New World Hong Kong Hotel, 72 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2313 4225
Business Hours:
Monday to Saturday: 12:00–15:00, 18:00–23:00
Sundays and public holidays: 10:00–15:00, 18:00–23:00

Note: The ‘Nostalgic Homestyle Dishes’ series is available for a limited time only, from today until2015年9月30日