Over China’s vast territory, Chinese New Year is celebrated in many different ways. Each of these regions has its own “lucky” foods to be eaten during this important festival. In Hong Kong, Chinese New Year puddings—which come in sweet, savoury, traditional and creative flavours—take centre stage in these times of celebration. With only two weeks until Lunar New Year, get started on your preparations (if you haven’t already!) and take a look at the selection of Chinese New Year puddings on offer from some of the MICHELIN-starred Chinese restaurants and hotel dining establishments in Hong Kong.
T’ang Court: Traditional Turnip Cake
This year, T’ang Court is bringing back three of its most popular classics, which include Chinese New Year sweet pudding, turnip cake and taro cake. Made with plenty of Chinese cured meat, the turnip cake is crafted in the traditional way with hand-cut turnip strands to retain the turnip’s original crunchy texture. Great as a gift or for your own indulgence.
Tin Lung Heen: Red Dates and Bird's Nest Coconut Pudding
At the helm of Tin Lung Heen, the highest Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, veteran chef Paul Lau often adds prized ingredients to his dishes to elevate their textures and flavours. Among the restaurant’s Chinese New Year pudding offerings, the red dates and bird's nest coconut pudding stands out with the use of nourishing bird’s nest; the refreshing and pleasant sweetness of red dates balances beautifully with aromatic coconut juice. For extra opulence, the pudding is adorned with the word “dragon” in Chinese calligraphy script.
Spring Moon: Taro Pudding
With strict standards when it comes to ingredient selection, the experienced Chef Lam Yuk-ming of Spring Moon strives to strike a balance between tradition and innovation, and pass on the knowledge of Cantonese cuisine to the next generation. The perfect accompaniment to turnip cake and a huge hit with diners, Spring Moon’s signature XO sauce has a piquant flavour that lends an exquisite richness to savoury puddings. The XO sauce also pairs well with the restaurant’s taro pudding. The pudding has been crafted with a traditional recipe and pleases the palate with homely flavours, where the sweet, umami-packed Chinese cured meat teases out the enticing natural aroma of taro.
Summer Palace: Chinese New Year Pudding with 80-year Dried Tangerine Peel Duo Gift Box
The Chinese New Year puddings at Summer Palace blend tradition with creativity and prized, traditional ingredients. The precious 80-year-old tangerine peel, known to have medicinal properties and health benefits, has been added to two styles of sweet pudding: one with Tokachi red beans, and the other with aged pu’er tea. Delectable, fragrant and sweet without being overwhelmingly so, these two sweet puddings are available as a gift box.
Lung King Heen: Water Chestnut Pudding with Lotus Roots and Snow Dates
A long-time three-MICHELIN-star winner, Lung King Heen is offering four types of Chinese New Year puddings to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Apart from the traditional Lunar New Year pudding with coconut milk, abalone and turnip pudding with conpoy, and taro pudding with black truffle and Chinese cured meat, newly added to the line-up this year is the water chestnut pudding with lotus roots and snow dates. This sweet pudding is made from Pan Tang water chestnut flour—a product known for its superior quality—as well as carefully selected, non-soaked snow dates. During cooking, the chef must closely monitor the temperature to ensure a springy texture. Water chestnuts and lotus roots are then stirred in for a light, sweet flavour and the perfect texture.
The Chairman x Dashijie: Mala Sakura Shrimp Turnip Cake
It is rather rare for The Chairman, which recently moved to its new address, to release Chinese New Year puddings, but this year, the restaurant has partnered up with local brand Dashijie to launch the mala sakura shrimp turnip cake. Often used in The Chairman’s dishes, sakura shrimp and mala flavour have been added to its turnip cake. The numbing spiciness comes from its house-made mala sauce, specially selected Sichuan chillies and mala Chinese sausage. Complemented with the rich, luscious flavours of sakura shrimp, the result is a spicy, aromatic turnip cake that is moreish to say the least.RELATED: The Chairman's Owner Danny Yip On His Favourite MICHELIN Restaurants
Hero image provided by Tin Lung Heen. Text by 潘小熊, translated by Iris Wong. Read original article here.
