御膳 Imperial:會起舞的炒飯 Another bowl of fried rice, please!

10:17 5 Emptyplates , Chinese , Private Kitchen 0 Comments

|頭盤 Appetizers|

【蒜蓉辣椒雞翼尖+麻辣豬紅+桂花糖番茄】
桂花糖番茄有微量的蜜糖甜味，但是嘗不出一絲桂花香。麻辣豬紅的味道調得很不錯，不會過鹹而且花椒味和辣味都不重，豬紅的質感很好，很嫩滑。連極端不能吃辣的Lyoe都說味道不錯，是可以接受的麻辣味。雞翼尖的雪藏味很重，蒜蓉辣椒汁醃製的時間不長，所以既不入味也蓋不住那股不新鮮的味道。

【Garlic Chili Chicken Wing Tips, Spicy Pig’s Blood, Osmanthus Honey Tomatoes】



One bite and the frozen aftertaste of the chicken wing tips showed how they did not come from a fresh chicken, unfortunately, the garlic chili sauce did not successfully bury that frozen aftertaste away.
Sichuan peppercorn with a subtle hint of celeriac spicy kick was well-marinated to the Pig’s blood, quite a flavorful appetizing snack in a spicy way, even Lyoe who could barely tolerate spiciness was able to enjoy a decent piece of appetizers before the feast started. Huge chunks of tomatoes with Osmanthus honey dripped all over, the flowery sweetness or aroma was nowhere to be found.



【麻辣大腸+麻辣金錢肚+雞絲青瓜】
麻辣大腸和金錢肚用的是同種醬汁，麻辣鹵水汁醃得非常入味，但是煮的時間過長，大腸和金錢肚的咬口幾乎都喪失了，這個讓人有點意外，畢竟是很多食友嘗試後的推薦菜式。雞絲青瓜調味應該是加了麻油和淮鹽，和本幫菜的雞絲粉皮不同，這道雞絲是連著雞皮的，口感和味道都還可以。其實麻辣是川菜的特色，而這裡是以海鮮為主的，頭盤還是用稍微清淡微甜的會好一些，比如燒蜜鱔段、涼拌雜菌木耳或香麻海蜇頭等等之類的。



【Spicy chilled Pig’s Intestines, Spicy Beef Tripe, Shredded Chicken with Cucumbers】
By the time the second appetizer arrived, Gobay noticed that the chef here was very fond of using Sichuan spices for its appetizers and is considered rather non-traditional for Cantonese cuisine to include heavy tasting food that might numb off your senses on the palate. As Imperial focuses on seafood, it might be better to offer appetizers in light savory flavors such as sesame oil on jelly fish, chilled mix of fungus, or honey roasted eel. Some of the pig intestines gave off a slightly nasty aftertaste even though the spices were relatively mild and flavorsome. Everyone liked the beef tripe for its flavor yet it lacked structure and firmness. Tripe being the highest qualified reticulum of a cow; resembles the exterior of the honey comb, chewy on to the top and soft on the bottom, one of Carly’s favorite Cantonese appetizing snack. Shredded chicken was evidently frozen and marinated in the chili sauce for too long as the cucumbers were not crispy zesty fresh by the time we had them either.





【大魚頭豆腐湯】
大頭魚的魚頭稍嫌不夠新鮮，又或者去腥的姜下得不夠重，吃起來有股輕微的怪味。豆腐用的是水豆腐，所以非常滑，但這種豆腐沒有什麼豆味，一般純以口感取勝。湯過鹹了，吃得出較重的味精感，我們每人嘗了一小碗就沒再喝，所以剩下一大鍋，看著好心疼，但真心鹹…



【Fish Tofu Soup】
Fish head lacked the marine seafood freshness as the fish taste was nowhere to be found in the cilantro and salt overdosed soup. Chunks of soft tofu were silky soft, as expected. Everyone only had a small bowl and gave up on the overly salty fish soup.



【白胡椒炒南非鮮鮑】
擺碟非常靚麗，用了價值不菲的沙律菜做伴碟，中間還有鮑魚殼作裝飾。鮑魚是南非6頭鮮鮑 (一斤有6隻)，肉質爽口彈牙，沒有辜負南非鮑魚的好名聲，而且個頭很大，6頭鮑就是不一樣！廚師特意用了十字切 (或稱花刀)將鮑魚切成菊花狀，這樣能使鮑魚更加入味，加上用的是牛油去煮而非植物油，牛油產生的高溫可以讓鮑魚在短時間內收縮，口感更好。可惜白胡椒的量放多了——本來白胡椒就是比黑胡椒的勁度更足，更嗆喉，加上十字切使得胡椒味充分地滲入鮑魚肉，因此鮑魚的鮮被完全覆蓋。Gobay當時一邊吃一邊心有戚戚：『多好的鮑魚，浪費了…』其實我們猜測廚師的初衷是想把新加坡名菜“黑胡椒生炒蟹”套用到這個炒鮑魚上，可惜不合適。首先，蟹有硬殼，把黑胡椒的一部分濃味擋住，剝殼吃肉的時候如果不夠味，食客可以酌量蘸汁，非常靈活。再有，黑胡椒的勁度和辣味比白胡椒弱一個等級，不會太霸道。所以當鮑魚直接接觸白胡椒汁時(加上十字切過於入味)，很容易太鹹太辣，使得菜的主角頓時變成了白胡椒而不是鮑魚。現在還有粵菜餐廳提供「堂灼螺片」這種做法，就是把響螺切成一片片，即場在客人面前放進精製高湯裡灼熟，直接就可以吃了。這樣是為了帶出螺肉的鮮甜肉味。鮑魚味道的濃度和響螺差不多，即使用白胡椒炒做法創新，但奪走了食材本身的特色，令人感嘆。

【Sautéed South African Fresh Abalones in White Peppercorn sauce】
Untraditional seafood dish, exhilarating pepper spice, yet omitted the crucial fact of whole spotlight was supposedly – the Abalone not the Peppercorn. Creative but did not quite nailed it. Gobay guessed that the chef was trying to replicate the success of Singapore’s renowned Black Pepper Chili Grab, however, considering the fact that crabs have shells to cling onto the spicy and thick sauce without overwhelming the natural crab meat flavor. Abalones are not quite the same as their seafood taste is rather subtle, the chef specifically cut the bottom of the abalones in crossed patterns to make the sauce easily absorbed into the seafood meat. South African fresh abalones were considered rather wasted, some may very much like the robust sharp white peppercorn heat that lingers around, we also appreciated the fancy garnished dish of high grade salad mix leaves and abalone shells, yet it did not live up to our expectations of enjoying delicacy of superior seafood in which the cooking method should have elevated its peak of freshness.

【黃金蝦】
香港的黃金蝦一般都是用鹹蛋黃做成醬汁，去炒炸蝦。這裡的做法比較特別，直接用鹹蛋黃末加入炸漿，去炸整隻連殼的中蝦。老實說，上桌的那一刻這碟菜很奪目，因為色澤金黃香味撲鼻，感覺炸得很完美，炸漿很薄，可以透視到蝦身。然而吃進嘴裡，鹹蛋黃的鹹鮮不足，可能因為想脆漿薄一點但又無法兼顧味的濃度，所以即使用了“鹹蛋之王”的湖北鹹蛋，鹹鮮味依然很淺。蝦肉不爽口，有點不新鮮的“霉”口感，但十隻蝦當中還是有人吃到較新鮮的。Carly的父親提醒了我們：不新鮮的蝦，蝦腸是比較容易看見的，因為它會跟蝦的肉身脫離。我們沒有留意到這方面的問題，只能說蝦頭味道和蝦身的肉質給我們的感覺是較直觀的不新鮮。但餐廳有專門養海鮮的水池，所以我們也是挺驚訝的。聽說師傅專門研究了很多次這道菜的做法，比如是整隻炸還是去頭炸，比如用普通的醬汁做法還是創新做法等。挑戰傳統雖然勇氣可嘉，但作為名菜，它原本的做法肯定有其傳世之處，黃金醬以汁的方式均勻附著在蝦身上，那種濕潤熱辣而又濃稠又有顆粒感的口感是很複雜的，不是一般的炸漿可以取代。



【Golden Fried Prawns】
Imperial’s own twist of such a time-honored, accustomed Cantonese dish, indicated room for improvement though. Golden - salty duck egg, thick, vivid tangy colored golden sauce just hanging onto deep fried crispy prawns. Disappointedly, prawns were not fresh as the head and body were easily separated, a bit mushy on the prawn meat. Instead of a dripping condensed sauce cooked with the prawns, the salty eggs were mixed into a flour mix and then lightly battered. Thin crust of salty egg aroma hits your senses as soon as the dish was served hot onto the table. Imperial stated that they have their own fish tank for seafood, interestingly, the prawns we had did not taste like they were fresh from the water. Noteworthy for the chef to have challenged this classic dish, yet the golden sauce liked the thick moist and complex palate textural experience with bits and pieces of heavenly savory salty eggs well-marinated with the prawns. Sometimes, the best way of doing these, is the old traditional way and there is often a reason why.



【金銀蒜粉絲蒸蟶子】
這道菜是整個晚餐中兼具創新和好味道的菜式。金銀蒜，顧名思義，即是焗蒜或炸蒜粒(金色)和普通蒜粒(白色)，將其放置在蟶子上，粉絲則是和汁一起放在蟶子下。這種做法非常好，保證粉絲不會變硬，而且充分吸收了海鮮汁和醬油的鮮味，金銀蒜更是增加了香味。蟶子沒有在蒸好的那一刻馬上上桌，所以邊角的地方有些乾硬，非常可惜！當然，中間沒有變乾的部分還是很好吃，蟶子很新鮮，口感爽脆，咬的時候可以透過口腔聽到那種“索索”的聲音。這種做法也很方便食客：拿起蟶子時不怕粉絲太多，糾纏在一起而弄得很凌亂，又不用另外再把醬汁淋在上面——這種蒸法只要拿起蟶子，然後夾一箸吸滿了汁的粉絲連著蟶子一起送進嘴裡，既方便又滿足。



【Golden Silver Garlic Steamed Razor Shells】
Dish of the night! Innovative and flavorsome piping steamed razor shells with golden silver garlic vermicelli. Fresh-from-the-water razor shells had the optimal bouncy chewy texture, the seasoning of silver (raw chopped) and golden (deep fried chopped) garlic were scrumptious and sensational, enhancing the savory taste to the seafood without additional salt. The essence of seafood was entirely absorbed into thevermicelli that was placed at the bottom of the plate, instead of the regular cooking way of placing the vermicelli on top, separating the seafood and vermicelli did have its own way. Also considered convenient for diners as the vermicelli will not be tangled with the razor shells, and you can solely taste the seafood broth in its simplest form.



【芙蓉蛋白蒸老虎斑】
兩斤重的老虎斑，大小份量是很符合八個人的。老虎斑很新鮮，肉質結實。但Gobay吃了一塊比較 “柴”的面頰肉，而魚身部分的肉卻很嫩滑。同時蛋白蒸得也不均勻，Lorling和Dvd分別都嘗到了像豆腐花一樣的滑蛋白和像煮雞蛋般的實蛋白——芙蓉蛋白的做法在香港已經開始式微，其中便是因為火候很難控制得好。關於石斑，《食經》中有提及石斑是香港海鮮酒家的“常備海鮮”，因為出海水後的石斑比其他魚類更易養在缸裡，就算 “過世了”它的鮮味也能保持數天。我們不太能理解這道菜的亮點，生猛的老虎斑直接清蒸或是油浸，最簡單傳統的做法其實就已經很好吃了，芙蓉蛋白(清湯加蛋白拿去蒸)有點讓人疑惑它在裡面充當的角色。這讓Gobay想起在太子有一間很小的賣游水海鮮的餐館裡吃的油浸筍殼，沒什麼花巧，但很好吃。



【Egg White Steamed Tiger Grouper】
1.2kg of steamed tiger grouper was served sizzling hot to the table. Grouper being sliced in relatively huge blocks of velvety and firm fish meat, bones were removed in flavor of lazy diners (Carly liked this idea as fish bones often turns her off). Everyone was feeling puzzled about the steamed egg white – clear broth and egg white steamed till it turns silky smooth, preserving the runny egg consistency. Gobay’s spoon of egg white was overcooked, even wrinkled a bit. Lorling and DVD’s spoon were cooked just right. Another demonstration of how this dish requires profound techniques in controlling the timing of heat for steamed dishes, uneven cooking surface affects how well the dish is cooked. Gobay stated that steamed groupers are good as it is – steamed with spring onions and bit of soy sauce, having smooth egg white at the bottom is another presentation but you better ensure that it is cooked thoroughly and evenly to make this a decent dish.



【士多啤梨骨】
草莓醬煮一字排。按Lorling的評價，熱吃的時候酸酸甜甜的醬和肥瘦均勻的一字排很和，味道不錯，肉旁邊連著一些筋脂，增加了口感之餘又不會很油膩。對這道菜的評價我們成兩極意見，一部分人覺得好吃，另一部分人覺得煮熟的草莓做成醬汁，像甜品的味道加在了肉排裡，有點不適應。肉排的味道仔細咀嚼之下有一種奇怪的肉味，不是新鮮的甜肉味。這也算是甜酸排骨的變種創新菜吧。



【Pork Ribs in Strawberry Sweet Sauce】
Nicely balanced fruity sweetness and zesty sourness are explicitly demonstrated on the pack of pork ribs. Another modification of Sweet and Sour Pork from Imperial, considerably successful compared to other rather innovative dishes. The supple tendon and meat clinging near the area of the ribs were soft and some others did not comment quite the same. Nonetheless, the sauce was decent to go with rice as it was thick enough to wrap around the ribs yet the pork itself did give off a subtly strange smell as you take more bites, indicating that the meat might not be freshly processed.



【金銀蒜子上湯豆苗】
秋冬季節豆苗當造，以清湯烹調最能突顯豆苗的甜脆。但這裡的豆苗口感有點顯老，湯汁放的油有點多，而且偏鹹了一些。整體而言，中規中矩吧。

【Baby Pea Shoots cooked in Broth】
There is this saying in Chinese that we should only eat what is seasonal during that time, proven facts shows that having food during their seasons promotes more nutrients& flavors, and healthier cycle for the nature to recover. Gobay thought that the pea shoots were a bit over-ripe, broth being slightly too oily and salty. I guess you couldn't really expect too much for an ordinary vegetable dish served in clear broth these days.



【金華玉樹雞】
這是傳統粵菜，只是現在脆皮雞、白切雞和炸子雞當道，越來越少的粵菜餐廳會保留這個菜式了。金華火腿，師傅用蜜餞水浸泡過，以降低鹹度，但也許先用水浸泡然後再用蜜糖才能達到效果。如今蜜餞的甜味被高濃度的鹹阻隔，鹹味沒有如期地被降低。雞肉在這道菜式裡必須連皮，意在保持滑潤的口感。由於在香港本土很難吃到新鮮雞，所以雞味可以說完全沒有，芡汁又打得太多太厚，沒什麼特別可取之處。

【Sliced chicken and Ham with Greens】
Another long-established, yet eventually fading away kind of Cantonese cooking, slices of boneless chicken (skin attached) and Jinhua ham (cured in salt, sundried, repeating steps all over again) alternating in layers, two types of meat in one bite under that clear thickened sauce. Jinhau ham has this condensed pork salty savory aroma to it, being slightly coarse for chewing due to the nature of salt cured. The chef did use candied fruit water to soak the ham, aimed to tone down overall saltiness; unfortunately, the balance of natural sweetness and savory was not exhibited on the ham, still considered too salty. Slices of chicken were soft enough yet lacked the chicken flavor and moist. It is difficult to find freshly slaughtered chickens in Hong Kong to begin with;Gobay recommended that Imperial can replace this dish with another style of cooking for chicken – such as Golden Crispy Chicken or Salt Baked Chicken, which will demonstrate the chef’s culinary skills nonetheless and be more delectable for diners.



【大蜆燉蛋】
大蜆，可以當作大隻花蛤，價錢不貴，而且對肝有益處，因此一向是粵菜的最受歡迎食材之一。這個菜式是經典粵菜之一，冀大蜆的鮮汁流入燉蛋中，所以燉蛋和蜆同樣是這道菜的主角。蜆肉並沒有浸入燉蛋之中，所以蛋裡無甚蜆肉的鮮味——貌合神離的感覺。本來這道燉蛋用作撈白飯應該是一絕，光這麼吃燉蛋的口感有點奇怪，但大蜆還是新鮮的，而且沒有沙，處理得尚算嚴謹。

【Steamed Egg with Fresh Big Clams】
Big Clams were fresh, firm in texture, no sand was found on any of the clams yet the combination to go with a “crème brûlée” style of steamed eggs did throw us off the table a bit. Steamed eggs cooked thoroughly, very creamy almost too thick and creamy. It was like thick egg custard without the egg or milk flavor. Gobay found it strange to modify such an egg custard to a savory version with soy sauce on top, Carly seconded that thought. If only the texture of the steamed eggs were the usual runny, light home-style of cooking, this dish would have made the perfect combo to go with a bowl of piping Jasmine rice. Big clams and steamed egg? Probably not.



【招牌御膳炒飯】
侍應介紹說這是用日本珍珠米炒的，但具體是日本哪裡的米他則答不上來。飯粒形態圓潤，粒粒飽滿，入口很有意粉的 “Al dente”的口感，台灣人則會稱其為「Q彈」。炒飯加入了鮑魚粒，蝦粒，菜粒，牛肉粒，增加了炒飯的香味和咀嚼感，非常不錯。這個米飯的口感其實很接近完美的意大利risotto，耐人尋味。

【Imperial Signature Fried Rice】
Rice imported from Japan was nicely wok-fried – making this another highlight of the private dining night. Diced scallops, beef, shrimp, abalone and choi sum stems were added to the fried rice to enhance the textural complexity. Interestingly, it is uncommon to use Japanese rice for wok frying as they are short grain and turns relatively moist and sticky – not the most ideal type of rice for fried rice. Mastery fried rice skills of the chef has been prominently revealed – minimum oil left on the plate, soy sauce wrapped evenly on every grain of rice, flavor being just right with the amount of soy sauce and combinations of ingredients for texture-wise. Gobay described the rice resembling risotto cooked just right to its perfect state, bouncy rice – flavorsome and moist, round, chewy to be exact. By the time everyone buried their heads into that bowl of rice, Carly realized that this might have been one of the few dishes worth acclaiming for the first ever private kitchen dining experience.


整體而言，性價比不高。雖然有魚有肉有鮮飽有石斑，但俗話說 “治大國如烹小鮮”, 煮海鮮是可以與治國等大事媲美的，因為它需要的技術含量，經驗功夫難以形容。有心創新還不夠，必須要經過長時間的不斷鑽研嘗試才能得到好味道。

All in all, HKD400 per person, a large variety of seafood were offered at the table– abalone, razor shells, calms, and shrimp. Chicken, ham, soup, rice and last but not least, a glamorous, colorful, well-decorated fruit platter to end off the meal. You might have a lot of choices around in Hong Kong for Cantonese cuisine, point taken that Imperial offers high level of self-customization for menu selection, free corkage fee and a bowl of fried rice in delicacy. We appreciated the creativity and originality of the chef aiming high, yet it is often equally crucial to mastery the foundations of classic Cantonese culinary dishes, then you can take your exploration from there and excel.


Gobay話你知：雜談中國的火腿
之前談到西班牙的國寶級黑毛豬火腿，今次就談談我們自己的火腿。香港人最熟悉的當屬浙江金華的火腿(南火腿)，與其齊名的還有雲南的宣威(雲腿)和江蘇的如皋(北腿)。而在2012年紀錄片《舌尖上的中國》推出後，世人又再得知諾鄧火腿(雲腿之一)。粵菜中有一道「火瞳燉鮑翅」，火朣指的是金華火腿中把「上方」和「中方」(大腿處最結實多肉的部分)，切了之後，小腿之前有連骨連肉的幾片，就是火朣。中環上海總會有很地道的「火瞳燉雞」，但要提前預訂。江浙菜也有「蜜汁火方」的傳統名菜，直接烹煮金華火腿而不是拿來燉湯。世人形容金華火腿「肌紅脂白，香氣濃郁」，是中國最出名的火腿。諾鄧火腿之所以出名，因為諾鄧的鹽仍是山裡人手工製的，再加上那裡的氣候可以培養一種霉菌，促進火腿的鮮香。


Gobay’s food knowledge corner: Chinese Ham
Previously we introduced Spanish’s celebrated IbéricoHam, now let’s talk about ham from our own motherland – China. Hong Kongers have long heard the name of Zhejiang Jinhau ham from the West, followed by Xuanwei Ham from Yunnan in Southwest, and Jinhau ham from the North of Jiangsu. Since the documentary back in 2012 《A Bite of China》, people started to knew about the name of Nuodeng ham (one kind of Xuanwei Ham). There is this classic Cantonese dish – Jinhau ham double steamed with Abalone and Shark Fin, the way of gradual simmering braising the meat essence into the seafood. Fiery ham （火朣）refers to the upper and middle part of the thigh – most firm and meaty portion - slices of ham cut from the meat connected near the bones. Shanghai Fraternity Association in Central of Hong Kong offers really authentic dish of “Braised shark fin with Jinhau ham”, pre-order is required. Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine takes Jinhai ham and directly cook it as a main dish rather than having it braised and cooked as a substance in soup. “Fiery red, snowy white; celestial aroma , burst of rich delicacy.” Nuodeng ham is still hand-rubbed in salt, produced in upper mountains where weather is perfect for curing meat, enhancing the heavenly savory taste of Jinhau ham.



Imperial 御膳
Flat F, 12/F, King Win Factory Building, 65-67 King Yip Street, Kwun Tong
觀塘敬業街65-67號敬運工業大廈12樓F室
3575 9567 / 9029 1530
*素食者可自訂餐單 Vegetarians can make special request for menu
*BYOB免收開瓶費 BYOB no extra bottle opening fee

Follow us on Instagram! @emptyplatesgang and Facebook!