5.204 Stir-Fried Spotted Garoupa with Vegetables

5.204

28 (Mon) July 2014

Stir-Fried Spotted Garoupa with Vegetables

3.5

at Maxim’s Jade Garden

(Hong Kong International Airport)

-Hong Kong, China-

solo

Mission to Spain + Holiday (Day 9 of 9)

In transit. Layover in Hong Kong, on my way to the Philippines. From Monday to Friday last week, I attended a 5-day workshop food law in Getxo. With W and DJ tagging along, we stayed an extra couple days for fun in Barcelona. Now heading home (W and DJ took a separate itinerary to Korea).

Located on the mezzanine level overlooking the main terminal.

Jade Garden is a Chinese restaurant. Part of the Maxim’s restaurant empire, founded in 1956 as a single restaurant, now owning or operating over 1,000 outlets of various types, restaurants and bars and coffee shops and bakeries, Chinese and Japanese and Thai and Vietnamese and European and American, in Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, and Viet Nam. Jade Garden is one of the company’s flagship operations, high profile location, leaving a final impression of Cantonese cuisine for those leaving the city. Specializes in traditional/mainstream fare, including various dim sum options, roast meats, and seafood dishes.

Any day of the week and twice on Sundays, I would rather pay to eat here than eat for free at business class lounge inside (see 5.182 Steamed Shrimp Dumplings).

11/9/5

Over the course of 11 days, through a combination of personal and professional travels, I will be in 9 localities across 5 countries, eating and documenting at least 1 meal in each of them.

Today is Day 10 / Locality 8 / Country 4.

Although I did have enough time to go out into the city for dinner, as I’d done the last time flying through Hong Kong (see 5.182 Steamed Shrimp Dumplings), I decided to stay put. First, I was tired. Second, I hadn’t done any research on potential dining locations, so I didn’t have anywhere in particular to go. Finally, I wanted to try Maxim’s again (see previously 3.142 Roasted Goose) – albeit at a different location – to confirm whether the memories of my prior experience were accurate.

(For additional posts, see 11/9/5.)

While Tsingtao has developed an export version – packaged in green, presumably formulated to suit a wider global consumer base – the original white local version remains far superior, in my opinion.

Roasted Duck (3.5): best duck that I’ve had in years, juicy and tender and savory.

Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup (1.5): noodles had a floury aftertaste, broth was salty, wontons okay.

Lobster Dumpling (2.5): pretty much a giant har gao.

Big chunks of shrimp bound together with what may have been minced lobster paste.

The food was excellent. Initially, I’d made the mistake of ordering too many similar kinds of dumplings. Full but unsatisfied, I ordered another dish, which turned out to be the best of the bunch: fresh garoupa (grouper) and gailan (Chinese broccoli), delicately stir-fried, lightly seasoned, perfectly balanced flavors, classically Cantonese. In the end, I was very happy.