Tempting Chinese Delicacy

Very large abalone and fish maw surrounding sea cucumbers

The first time I ate the classic dish Buddha jumps over the wall was back in the late 1990s in Hong Kong in Shang Palace in the Kowloon Shangri-la.

Still relatively new in journalism but keen to try new things, I did a story about Buddha jumps over the wall, interviewing the chef at the restaurant about the ingredients and how the soup got its name.

The broth (top left), with shark's fin (top right)

As the story goes, the smells from kitchen near a Buddhist monastery tempted a monk to "jump over the wall" to eat the dish, which contains meat.

And it's understandable why someone would find it hard to resist with such premium ingredients as sea cucumber, shark's fin, abalone, conpoy, fish maw, chicken, Jinhua ham, ginseng and mushrooms. Some varieties include taro and quail eggs.

The version I tried had thin slices of deer penis in it, geared towards boosting mens' testosterone... The hotel public relations woman and I giggled at the thought of having this ingredient in our soup and we thoroughly enjoyed the dish.

However that evening I find it practically impossible to sleep. I was tossing and turning for hours and by morning was a sleep-deprived wreck.

I called the public relations woman to tell her about my sleepless night and she immediately exclaimed, "Me too!" We had a good laugh.

Conpoy with slices of Jinhua ham

We still have fond memories of this experience decades later.

Fast forward to a few days ago and I got a chance to eat the same dish again in Vancouver, well Burnaby. At Grand Crystal Seafood Restaurant in Crystal Mall, the chef there makes Buddha jumps over the wall that is not presented in individual pots, but in a giant soup tureen and the ingredients carefully arranged and presented on platters.

There were large abalone and fish maw too, but thin sea cucumber, and tiny scraps of shark's fin -- I was surprised to even see that there. We were given two rounds of the soup, one with conpoy and Jinhua ham, the other with a very large, meaty mushroom.

Next came the abalone, fish maw and sea cucumber presented with abalone sauce. 

Needless to say after two bowls of soup and this dish, we were half full already.

Sea cucumber, fish maw and abalone

As Coca-Cola was available I got a glass and was glad I did -- there was quite a bit of MSG in the dishes, and the Coke helped counteract feeling thirsty.

I can say despite the caffeinated Coke I slept quite well that night...