King Crab Cooked in Creative Ways

King crab with fried rice and truffle, topped with pine nuts

This evening we were treated to a gourmet dinner at the Michelin Bib Gourmand Seaport City Seafood Restaurant in Vancouver where the highlight was a 13lb king crab! 

They are the largest of the commercially harvested crabs and are highly prized for their high yields in meat that tastes sweet. They also have very hard shells and the body and legs are covered in spines. 

Crab legs with a wasabi-mayonnaise sauce

We had the classic preparation of the meaty legs sliced lengthwise and steamed with lots of minced garlic and scallions, and then another plate of legs smothered in a slightly scorched but bright lime green sauce that turned out to be wasabi-mayonnaise.

That was slightly nasal intensive, clearing out the sinuses!

There was yet another preparation that was bright yellow in colour -- the leg joints were served with finely chopped yellow peppers on a large platter with steamed rice rolls. But bite into the crab and it had a spicy chilli kick!

Finally, the shell of the head was served with fried rice that combined white and wild rice, with prawns, crab meat, hint of truffle, and pine nuts. 

Crab joints with rice rolls and minced peppers

Some creative ways to cook the crab, though we still prefer the traditional way, with the sauce soaked up with egg noodles...

Five HK Food Inspectors Charged with Theft

ICAC has charged five food inspectors for theft of food samples

Five Hong Kong health inspectors have been charged with the theft of food samples, from canned abalone to white truffle sauce and crab bisque they had purchased using public money for radiation testing.

The three women and two men aged 28 to 37, have been suspended by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. They did not have to enter a plea at West Kowloon Court on Thursday, but Magistrate Li Chi-ho has adjourned the hearing until mid-August for the inspectors to consider their legal options.

They have been charged with a conspiracy to steal, an offence punishable by up to two years in prison when it is the only charge tried at the magistrates' court.

On Wednesday, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said the five inspectors allegedly conspired between May 2022 and March last year to steal food samples bought by the centre for testing.

As part of their job the inspectors were instructed to buy randomly selected food samples at fair and reasonable prices. The ideal food sample size is typically around 1kg, according to the ICAC.

The centre bars inspectors from ordering too much food samples or misappropriating any untested items, and any unused goods to be accounted for and properly disposed of.

In this case, the five inspectors allegedly used public money to buy more than HK$88,000 (US$11,270) from five importers for two radiation tests.

But the centre told ICAC that after testing, the five inspectors took the remaining goods home, instead of keeping records of their disposal.

When investigators when to the inspectors' homes, they found more than 80 unused food samples, including canned abalone, white truffle sauce, crab bisque, Japanese rice and various types of pasta.

What could one do with all those delicious ingredients? 

All Hail the Best Restaurant in Asia

This modern French place the top restaurant in Asia

Last night was the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards held in Seoul and it was so great to see chef Daniel Calvert's restaurant Sezanne clinch the top spot this year.

He is a young British chef from Surrey, southeast England, who knew from the age of 13 he wanted to cook. And he's a damn fine cook. He has the talent, skills and finesse, and being in Tokyo suits him perfectly, where precision artistry is appreciated. 

In 2016 Calvert came to Hong Kong to help chef James Henry open a French bistro called Belon for Black Sheep Restaurants.

Calvert (second from left) with his team last night

He thought he'd only be there for six months, but in that time he fell in love with the city and became head chef the following year. However, the initial excitement of Belon had dissipated by then.

"When I took over Belon, it was not doing well. It was very hard to get people to change their minds and eat here again. So I would say going from this restaurant, which was empty, to turning it into what it is today, that's probably my biggest achievement," he said in August 2020 when he was leaving the city.

People were not used to the expensive items on the menu, like three pieces of asparagus and dots of caviar at HK$900 (US$115), and chicken wing stuffed with matsutake mushroom and foie gras at HK$348.

Instead of lowering prices or doing gimmicky dishes, Calvert persisted and in 2017 that year Belon earned a Michelin star. 

His attention to detail and taste are impeccable

After he moved to Tokyo, the Covid-19 pandemic postponed the opening for about a year in 2021. But Calvert was ready to show off his culinary talent. Six months after Sezanne opened, he earned the restaurant's first Michelin star, and its second in 2022.

Some dishes that diners have raved about are duck foie gras slow poached with chicken leg and soy sauce, Shanghai hairy crab marinated in yellow wine with rice, and mille crepes with Australian black truffles. 

When he was in Hong Kong he was curious to learn more about Chinese ingredients and condiments, and incorporated them into his dishes; same goes for what he has discovered in Japan.

Meanwhile on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, Sezanne ranked second last March, and last night climbed to number one.

Now in his mid-30s, Calvert claims to have no secrets to his success. "I'm not the greatest chef in the world -- I can't attest to that. But I do think I work harder than most people. I think that was the key."

We're so pleased to see him do so well. Hard work rewarded in spades.

Independent Restaurants in HK are Shuttering

This fine dining restaurant offered intricate dishes with stories

A few days ago I saw a social media post from a young chef's girlfriend that he was closing his restaurant in Hong Kong's Mid-Levels in a few days and told people to eat there one more time.

There were a few comments asking what was happening but she didn't reply.

It was a small fine dining restaurant with 22 seats, most of them by the bar where everyone had a front-row seat at the open kitchen to watch the chefs prepare food and have it served personally by the chef-owner. Every few months he created a new eight-course menu with new dishes, each with its own story.

Here diners had a front-row seat of the kitchen

Then today I saw the chef's social media posts saying kitchen equipment was for sale along with all the tableware, dishes, glasses, furniture... 

I messaged him, asking what was next.

He later replied saying he wasn't sure. He explained that he quickly made the decision to close because business was terrible in 2023, from March to November and could not see how 2024 would be significantly better. 

"We see no light at the end of the tunnel of 2024 either. The market is going to crash," he texted.

Crash?!

Rent wasn't an issue in his case the landlord was his partner's uncle. Even though the restaurant had low overhead costs, they could barely make enough profit compared to a restaurant with comparable overheads.

"I even injected capital two times," he added, to pay for food and staff salaries. 

The restaurant closed abruptly a few days ago

Hong Kong has become very expensive to dine in, which has resulted in many escaping to Shenzhen on the weekends for cheap splurges. It also doesn't help that a big chunk of the middle class and upper middle class, as well as expats have left the city too.

Independent restaurants are having a tough time surviving financially, and he observes those who will make it through are the ones within restaurant groups that have deep pockets, or those who have adapted to cater to mainland diners' tastes.

"I can't afford the first, and cannot sleep doing the second," he texted.

One can probably surmise the latter means lots of seafood like oysters, lobsters and sea urchin, truffles and caviar on every dish. 

From a wealthy family, this chef can afford to take a break and not even work, but only in his early 30s he needs to find something to do.

What do you do after you've opened your own restaurant for two years -- during the Covid-19 pandemic no less? Would he be willing to work under someone else again? 

Then a friend just told me that Maxim's, which has a giant chain of bakeries and restaurants is not looking to expand further in Hong Kong or the mainland, but in Southeast Asia instead. 

Even though Maxim's owner is pro-Beijing, it is looking elsewhere to expand. Even correct political leanings won't help you make an extra buck in China...