Hong Kong Roast Goose

 Roast Goose in North Point

 Roast Goose in Fairwood

 The Best - Fairwood

 Showing my admiration for "mi amore" - Fairwood Roast Goose

North Point Roast Goose Take Out

 High End Roast Goose from Yun Kee at Central

My trips in Hong Kong usually only has two objectives. Shop and eat Roast Goose.  For anyone who has tried Roast Goose, it's one of the culinary treasures oft the world!! The crispy lacquered skin , soft flavorful flesh,  and the rice topped with the drippings is orgasmic!!

Roast Goose is different from Roast Duck and Peking Duck. Roast Goose is bigger. It's a totally different specie. It's also cheaper. Historically, roast goose is more commonly seen in Hong Kong and Guangdong or in western terms Cantonese cuisine. This is the cuisine that we commonly associate with Chinese food. Roast Goose is also cooked similarly to Peking Duck but roast goose only has a spice rub in the cavity. The cavity is not sewn and sealed. Then it is chopped into pieces when served. Placed on top of rice with a "kaylan 'then the drippings of the duck is poured over. The best rice topping meal in history!!

Roast Duck or Peking Duck is a Beijing or Northern Chinese specialty. It is roasted the same as a Roast Goose but the preparation is different. The Peking Duck is more tediously prepared. The cavity is inserted with a mix of different herbs and spices and sewn up. The skin is "blown"...or a tube is inserted beneath the skin so that air is blown and the skin separates from the meat.  Then the Peking Duck is air dried. This results in a crispier skin. Then is served sliced with pancakes, hoi shin and leeks.

I can never imagine a trip to Hong Kong without eating roast goose. A couple of years ago when they had the SARS scare and the Bird Flu scare they banned the sale of poultry or anything edible that had feathers. I used to go to Hong Kong with my family almost every year. During the poultry ban not once did me and my family consider going to Hong Kong. A trip to Hong Kong without Roast Goose is a trip not worth taking. No Roast Goose...No way!!!

Recently, the ban has been lifted and going back to Hong Kong is now desirable. On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I swore to make it a Roast Goose food expedition. To find the best Roast Goose!! In a four day stay in Hong Kong I had Roast Goose eight times. Thats eight meals in a 12 meal period. The only time I didn't have goose was during breakfast.

Here are the ones worth mentioning:

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/hongkong/guangdong_barbecue_restaurant/

Firstly, I tried the Guangdong Roast Goose Restaurant near Hankow Street at the Tsim Sha Tsui area. It's usually the first Roast goose restaurant that tourists go to when they arrive in the area. It's good. It's a good first roast goose restaurant to wet you roast goose appetite. It's great but not really the best. The quality is better than the other street side roast duck or BBQ restaurants you find all over Tsim Sha Tsui up to the Mong Kok area.

Second, there's  a roast goose haven in North Point in the Hong Kong area. it's in the middle of causeway Bay and Central. Once you get up the MTR exit, you'll see the rows and rows of the BBQ stand. They dont usually serve it with rice. Great with take out and bringing home as pasalubongs. I don't really recommend it bringing home   Roast Goose to Manila. I just really feel the Roast Goose is best eaten with the hot rice and the drippings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairwood_%28restaurant%29

Thirdly, there's Fairwood. Fairwood is my personal favorite Roast Goose restaurant. I've eaten there several times and I've always been extremely happy with my "BBQ Roast Goose Breast Part please..." meal. Fairwood is a fast food chain in Hong Kong but I usually frequent the one in Central. The Roast Goose is usually new, the skin is cripsy and the meat very tender and tasty. The rice is also very good. The rice in itself is a meal. Great texture and really good taste. Something about Hong Kong rice that we Filipinos can't imitate. Fairwood Roast Goose is great value for money and surprisingly very good quality. 

http://www.yungkee.com.hk/history/history-e.html

Finally, there's Yun Kee Roast Goose Restaurant. It's the Michelin Star Roast Goose restaurant that's famous all over the world. Their specialty is Roast Goose for 80 years now. It's a high end chinese restaurant that also commands high prices. Very costly but the Roast Goose is hmmm....ok. For such a high price, you can get better or at par Roast Goose for a fraction of the price. I also don't like the fatty liquid that they pour over the Roast goose. It softens the skin and makes it "umay" or very rich.

Personally, I love the Fairwood Roast Goose best. The give better value at such a high quality. The generous portions, the nice cripy skin and also the great texture of the meat is really exceptional. Plus, they have a branch at the airport for a "spend the last traces of the HKG $" before going home meal!! Best despidida for yourself!!

Sanda

 Sanda Restaurant - Roponngi Hills, Tokyo

Sanda beef is another one of the world famous wagyu beef from Japan. They are one of the more famous beef brands/breeds that supply the great teppanyaki/gyuniku/sukiyaki restaurants of Tokyo. They are of the highest quality and also command a great price.

In Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Japan there is a restaurant of the same namesake as the famous beef brand. Sanda Restuarant serves only Sanda beef breed. There's a catch though. This restaurant only serves beef innards and beef offals. Common high end cuts like prime rib, sirloin, tenderloin, rib eye and striploin are not served here. They only served beef offals or beef innards. Beef offals are is a culinary term used to refer to the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of organs, but includes most internal organs other than muscles or bones.

Beef offals and innards used to be disposed of and not sold in retail markets. They have particular properties and characteristics that can be very challenging to a chef. Offals and innards usually have a very strong aroma that can be seen as offensive and unappetizing. Innards like tripe, tendons, stomach and the intestines are usually  tough and it takes a long cooking period to cook properly.

Sanda has taken the challenge and have done the impossible. They have garnered a michelin star rating by serving innards as a main ingredient. They are also critically and commercially a success because they are booked weeks in advance.

I love innards and offals. Filipinos are known to be offal lovers. Our famous dishes like kare-kare (ox tail and ox tripe stew) , diniguan (blood stew with pig intestines), Chicharon bulaklak (deep fried cripy pork chiterlings) and papaitan (goat entrails cooked in bile) are all composed of innards and entrails.

To others this kind of Japanese cuisine may be daunting. But to me, I guess this restaurant lacked the "fear factor" aspect of it.This was normal and everyday fare for me in the Philippines. It was still very very good. Never has livers and tripe been so sophisticated.

They an assortment of grilled offals and pickled offals. They were all good. Served simple and straight to the point. You sensed that the chef wasn't really after the "dare to be different" or "to be different for differents sake". All the dishes made sense. It had logic.

Noteworthy courses were the: sweet breads! My first time. I only read about the sweetbreads in culinary books and classic french cookbooks. They were grilled and they were really good. Am looking forward in trying sweetbreads in the future.

FYI: Sweet bread are only available in veal or young cows. They disappear when they get older.

Sanda was way over what I expected. Better than your average meat restaurant,. Unique. Original. Unforgettable.

Tsukiji

Tsukiji Fish Market is the source for all the seafood needs of japanese chefs. The epicenter of the best seafood in the world. It is a seafood auction place in which all the best seafood in Japan and all of the world is sold here.

They have ...a widest array of seafood being sold in the world. ANything you can imagine is available here.

One thing to take note is that this also the cleanest Seafood Market in the world!! No fishy smell. Np vegetables or fruit peels in the floor.

We didn't attend the Tsukiji Tuna Auction since we read that this time is usually off limits to tourists. We didn't wanna get in the way. We just loitered around the outer markets sampling all the delicious food being sold.

Tsukiji Market is a great place for chefs and foodies. Truly amazing.

Kakizashi Sushi

 Kakizaki San. Sushi Expert Chef. Formerly of Hyatt. Opened several Japanese restaurant for Hyatt Hotel in Asia.

The treasure chest. His inventory for the night. Just good enough for 8 to 10 people.

 The Otoro - (Bluefin Tuna belly) the most prized of all tuna. This batch was never frozen.

 Fresh creamy "uni" or sea urchin roe. Not runny, not smelly and not at all fishy. Heavenly!!

 The other "uni". I prefer this one. It has a slightly more pronounced urchin taste. I will grab any opportunity to get another taste of this delicacy. It was my highlight for the night.

This is it!! The best meal I ever had in my whole life!!  Sushi at it's best is the pinnacle of all meals!!!  Especially done by a "master" sushi chef. Not just any chef who knows how to ball rice, puts a green paste and places a raw fish on top.

This so unlike the sushi that we've grown accustomed to. This was no Dynamite, Rock and Roll, Spider fucking sushi. No fucking mayo and mango allowed. Take that shit away please.

This is what it's all about. Sushi in its most basic and simplest form.

A great sushi chef starts with his ingredients. The freshest and the best ingredients of that day. He knows the season when a particular seafood is at its best. He knows the the best time and place in which a certain ingredients is at its finest. He establishes a relationship with the supplier to give him the best. That intimate chef-fishmonger relationship takes time. It takes a lot of time to gain the trust of the purveyor for him to give you the best. The purveyor should be assured that you know what your doing and will be skilled enough to do the best for his goods.

Each ingredient (pardon my cliche) tastes like the sea. Every bite is like an explosion of flavors reminiscent of the sea.  Each particular ingredient has their own unique taste and flavor but one thing that is consistent is the fresh "sea" taste. I honestly cant put in words. It's just that fresh raw seafood is amazing.

His attention to detail starts from his ingredients, the type of rice, the doneness of the rice, which vinegar is best, the kind of soy sauce and finally the use of fresh as in grated wasabi. 

Our host, Marc Handl, Hotel Manager for Tokyo Peninsula, is a sushi expert. Having lived in Tokyo almost all his life, he knows his sushi. He knows the most passionate sushi chefs. He taught me that a great sushi chef pays attention to every aspect of the sushi. The ingredients and the season in which the seafood is at its best. The rice, how its cooked and its doneness. The vinegar used. The vinegar they use for the rice is sometimes even more expensive than wine. Same with the soy sauce and the nori. Attention to detail and an eye for quality should be a sushi chef trait. 

I learned that great sushi is so unlike what we have here in Manila or probably anywhere else. Uncomparable. 

Food Truths:
1. Seafood used for that meal should never have been frozen. It should be served hours after it has been caught or harvested. Expert food handling is a must.
2. Sushi rice is kept at room temperature.
3.It should be bite sized and fit in ones mouth easily. 
4. Soy sauce should only be a hint. It shouldn't mask the great flavor of the sushi. 
5.Fresh grated wasabi is still the standard. It's not even in the same planet as the powder and paste variety we get.

Sushi might be simple but when done by a master sushi chef it becomes an amazing sometimes surreal food experience.

Unforgettable, awesome and amazing!!!