Surprise!

As a final ta da of the spring 2013 eating season, we decided to go out with a bang and make it an over-nighter.

Our husbands are wonderful, supportive, loving and, well, extremely busy.  Even though they have been kept in the loop about what it is we are doing with STARA food, the response has been….mild. Fair enough, but this was actually to our advantage when planning our weekend surprise.

One of the most unique Beijing restaurants, and a definite must visit, is Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard. Brian McKenna himself is hailed as one of the most talented chefs of his generation. At the mere age of 21 he worked as head chef at a Michelin awarded restaurant in Europe while at the same time travelling extensively to learn new techniques and flavors.  Arriving in Beijing in 2007, he began his successful career at Blu Lobster and later opened ROOM at the prestigious Park Hyatt Hotel.   Chef McKenna combines traditional and modern cooking techniques and for those (like us) interested in new ways to appreciate food, a visit is an extraordinary and memorable adventure.

The Courtyard is actually an old Beijing establishment, having first opened in the late 90’s and is located just east of the Forbidden City overlooking the moat. The reflection of the old gates on the water is magical.  After extensive renovations, Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard opened for a private party on December 31, 2012.

On this particular Friday the instructions were simple to husband no.1: “Dress nicely, you will be picked up at 6.30.” A tempting cooler waited in the car but was not to be touched until husband no.2 had been picked up at his office. The driver followed our instructions flawlessly at this point and everything went smoothly. The gin and tonics hidden in the cooler were appreciated and they arrived safely at the restaurant.  The boys had no idea what was in store!! 

We had other plans!  A few hours earlier, after fighting the Friday Beijing traffic and checking into the hotel,  we enjoyed relaxing massages at the spa. The food and beverage credit had been used for lovely bubbles and we were taking our sweet time beautifying ourselves and reliving our younger years, getting ready while playing with our iPods and make-up kits.

Time management didn’t quite work out for us though and our men arrived before us to the restaurant but then again; should ladies be kept waiting?  We were quickly showed to our table, beautifully overlooking the moat but with a surprisingly bare table setting. Actually, there was none, we guessed that the food was supposed to take center stage.

At Brian McKenna @ The Courtyard there is only a tasting menu - one with an optional wine pairing and one without; No need to guess our choice!!  The amuse bouche arrived - feather light green pea soup with a coconut foam served in a test tube, rich, locally produced, foie gras on a caramel rice cake and mini oysters tucked inside halved kafir limes with a shaved ice and pop rock topping. Yum!!  The flavors and textures were literally popping in our mouths.

A whole loaf of warm, house made sourdough bread came next with a trio of toppings. Luckily we all liked different ones and didn't have to fight each other off and, though we tried to put a hold on ourselves, it was difficult!!

The piece de la resistance appeared next - the garden salad. Doesn’t sound like much does it? Well, if we had to pick one dish of all that were served this night, this is what we would eat all night long. A glass cube filled with edible dirt (made out of over 50 ingredients!) in which baby vegetables are planted. Using a mini garden rake and spade, the salad is topping for a light frisee salad topped with an egg poached to perfect perfection at 60 degrees. The creaminess of the egg created a beautiful dressing for the salad.  It was impossible not to add more and more “dirt” with a texture and flavor impossible to describe. It was nutty, chewy and crispy at the same time with so many complex layers of flavors.  Phenomenal!

With that out of the way we continued on with warm smoked salmon, its texture so light and smell so fragrant of juniper and smokish delight. The presentation stunned us again; a tagine like cloche over a plate that oozed with sweet smelling smoke.  When the cloche was lifted, the pinkish orangyness of the salmon appeared and melted in our mouths.

Though the rest of the meal was amazing (to say the least) the remaining courses did not wow us the same as the start.  There was a lobster bolognaise with a homemade linguini to die for (it is really hard to make linguini that thin yet al dente) and though the sauce was good, it was basically lobster in tomato sauce.  There were the scallops, cooked two ways to perfection of course, and beautifully presented but with so many components that it became a bit confusing and overwhelming.

Maybe, ok probably…most likely…in all honesty; at this point in the dinner we were a little bit, ok we were somewhat…aum…we were pretty happy after the generous pourings of the wine pairings (which were all excellent by the way) and even though the lamb course and the inside out raspberry cheesecake were excellent, we were done.

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and we will definitely return. The food was simply astonishing and the service the best we have experienced in Beijing; it was positively a night to remember and reminisce about. The beauty of it all, the execution, the techniques used and the produce! And supposedly local at that! We are still waiting for the information about the local foie gras by the way; a reminder is in order…

But it had been a long week and we were ready to move on to the next step of the surprise; the new “bar” we had heard of on the 13^th floor of the Grand Hyatt….And no, we aren't telling!!

Running (eating) up to summer

We are so very lucky. In the months leading up to summer, we were fortunate to eat at some of Beijing’s best restaurants. We experienced culinary wonders and cultural differences; there were meals when the total bill equaled the price of a plane ticket to Europe and others where the total wouldn’t even be enough to pay for public transportation in, for example, Stockholm.

There was the surprise birthday party at Capital M where the art deco décor blew us away; the cocktails sublime but the menu confusing and the service deteriorating as the evening went on. We mused about how it seems to be enough to have a name, a location and in this case amazing décor and a reputation from another city (M on the bund in Shanghai) for people to come.

Then we took a visitor to a new favorite local hangout (more on this in a future post). Always busy, always crowded. We stumbled upon the eatery after wanting to return to the restaurant next door but discovered it had been renovated and turned into a hot pot place, not what we were looking for this sweltering day in May. We ordered old favorites: duck fajitas (minced spiced duck served with little holed out buns), cold spinach and peanuts in a light sesame dressing, eggplant, always eggplant – the Chinese cook is so well. The rest we can’t remember, we were slightly distracted watching the grandparents at the next table letting their toddler pee in a plastic bottle – at the table! We’ve seen a lot but this was a first for both of us.

After an arduous move, that threatened to send both one of us and her mother who kindly flew over to help, into an early grave, we treated ourselves to the best restaurant in Beijing: Maison Boulud, one of Chef Daniel Boulud’s eateries around the world. The room was sublime, the menu extensive and the service superb. We opted for the tasting menu with wine pairing and were in for a real treat. Everything from the amuse bouche to the complimentary macaroons and marshmallows were flawless. We enjoyed one delicacy cooked to perfection after another.  Then, as we were winding down, one server passed us with their homemade terrine and asked if we didn’t want to try a little bit, on the house? A restaurant to rave about and to return.  Now if only we had had a fat expense account to charge it to …

A few days later, after a little bit of shopping at a newly discovered “store” two blocks south of Hong Qiao market, turn right and into the apartment building, two floors down in to the basement, through the bomb shelter and then the 5^th door on the left (this is China!), we searched for an alternative to the very touristy eating place across the street and stumbled upon a quaint restaurant with tables outside, nicely shaded by trees. What a find!  The best cold tofu with century eggs we have had so far, eggplant (again) to die for, a couple of more dishes and all washed down with cold Yanying beer – all under 100rmb (about USD15).

Beijing is wonderful like that; the contrasts - the experiences, the meetings, the challenges and the pleasures. We are both taking a break from it all but will report from around the world throughout summer. Happy eating!  Over and out.

A Salute to Salt

SALT has been an institution in Beijing since 2007 when restaurateur Gaby Alves decided to go on her own after having successfully led Alameda to be a trustworthy worth-going-back-to restaurant in the Sanlitun area of Beijing. Her empire has now grown to include Terra Cevicheria and Rum Bar and Zest Coffee Shop. While her restaurants (like almost all restaurants in Beijing) suffer from the inability to always provide good service, good food and a great menu; SALT is reliable. It is affordable, clean, very customer friendly and is constantly coming up with new ideas and events to attract and keep customers.

As our loyal followers should have read in our earlier post, Decisions, decisions ..., we dragged (i.e., invited) our friends to join us for a tasting at SALT.  Their extremely difficult task was to help us try almost everything on the menu (so that we don't actually have to spend more time in the gym!).  Luckily for us, inspiration came fast and furious in the form of lemongrass and chili.

The party started with our Thai Martinis.  These fabulous concoctions immediately took us away to a  tropical beach.  You could almost imagine relaxing in a hammock while the world went on without you.  To keep us from staying on that beach, we enjoyed cheddar-wrapped olives (you really can't eat just one, or two, or five) and lemongrass and chili spiced nuts.  The perfect nibbles to get the evening started right.  

The smooth deliciousness of the pumpkin and lemongrass soup begged to be reinvented.  We served our version chilled with swirled yogurt and crowned with crushed peanuts.  After our duck disaster we were short of an accompaniment to the soup. Initially we wanted to put the smooth duck on toasted brioche and serve it with a mango salsa. Well, while the mango salsa tasted great, there was absolutely no way we could serve the massacred duck to any living being. Luckily we are extremely creative and confident home cooks (and a little stubborn – we just couldn´t let the duck go!) and decided to serve seared duck breast instead – and boy did it work! The saltiness of the duck, crispy skin and all, complimented the slightly spicy sweetness of the mango perfectly. The appetizer was a success.

As a main, we had all fallen in love with the fish dish –sole with fennel crushed baby potatoes, coconut ginger foam, roast yellow pepper cream, farofa and bok choy. We quickly eliminated the greens and the banana stuffing (farofa) but began to search for an alternate fish.  Good, fresh sole was just becoming too difficult to find.  After a multiple visit to the fish monger and a few test drives, we decided to go for cod. The crushed potatoes were a piece of cake but the real winner was the sauce. The only problem was that there wasn’t enough! To put some color on our plate and to add another texture, we quickly wilted some spinach for that touch of green.

For a grand finale, we decided to continue with the lemongrass theme and made silky, creamy lemongrass crème brulees. The crèmes were a piece of cake, to brulee them however proved a little difficult. As it turns out, our trusty kitchen torch didn’t fill up with gas as easily as it used to. We filled it up, and filled it up and then, filled it up again but still – it wouldn’t produce a flame! What to do? Well, at that point of the evening we simply did the most irresponsible thing you can do (don’t try this at home kids!) – we lit it up with a match. Nothing exploded and the dessert could finally be enjoyed – and it was delicious!

Appetizer and main course was enjoyed with a beautiful MOMO Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and dessert with a Serasin Gewurtztraminer.  YUM!

Though we were happy with our choices, we now think that we could have made the main dish even better by choosing another kind of side dish. Perhaps a sweet potato and parsnip puree instead of the crushed baby potatoes? And perhaps another kind of fish (we had big problems trying to explain what we wanted from our market lady) as in the end we spent quite some time getting bones out of the supposedly boneless fillets. So much for our fabulous Chinese skills!  The sauce (again, the sauce!) did not need any work and the greens were oxygen filled healthiness on the plate (and very colorful).

Thanks again Xiu for being such a great help before, during and after dinner and thanks to our guests who will remain nameless.

Duck! There is a Problem...

Duck! There is a problem.

So while working on the menu for our last STARA Beijing dinner; trying out recipes, perfecting the flavors and textures, gathering information, learning new skills, we encountered a slight problem. We loved the silkiness of the duck confit starter we had at SALT and, silly us, thought we were up to the challenge.  Having read and researched all about how to make duck confit; the traditional way, the quick way and the new way, it was time to get into the kitchen.  Thankfully duck is cheap in China!

Duck is mainly eaten in France and in China, where the most famous dish of all is Peking Duck. The bird is slowly roasted until the skin becomes crispy and the fat is almost completely melted into the meaty bits. These birds are pretty skinny and the fat layer is much thinner than that of the ducks eaten in France. The skin is considered a delicacy and is served as an appetizer. You dip the thin slivers of duck skin in sugar or, as in one restaurant we discovered, pop rocks, which actually was quite wonderful.

Peking Duck - even better with pop rocks - trust us!

In France duck is cooked many ways; some of the most famous recipes, duck confit excluded, is Duck a l’Orange (duck in orange sauce) and of course foie gras, duck (or most often goose) liver. French ducks are fatter and the fat is where the taste really is. When you cook a duck breast for example you score the skin side in a crisscross pattern and sear it in a very hot pan, then finish the cooking in the oven and most importantly – let it rest well before cutting! Duck is just like steak; if it isn’t allowed to rest there will be juices all over the place. The skin/fat should be crispy and the inside nice and pink and yes, you do eat the skin.

Duck a l'Orange

Here in Beijing, it is for obvious reasons difficult to find the French kind of duck and, as we quickly discovered, impossible to find duck fat (rendered (the clean kind) that is!). After searching the Internet we learned that neutral flavored olive oil can be used as a substitute and we decided to try it.  Now, we consider ourselves decent home cooks, cooks that love a challenge in the kitchen, but who knew that a duck would be the death of us!

We cured the stupid leg according to recipe books and Internet searches, cookbooks were consulted and famous chefs’ advice was taken. Oven temperatures were carefully monitored and the limb was treated as a newborn baby cocooning in a lukewarm bath in a sauna.

The sad duck curing away.

So, we tried it again, first in the slow cooker but that didn´t work because the slow cooker bought in China turned out to be a fast and hot cooker. Thus the second duck leg went in to the oven again. Do we need to tell you the result? Disaster. We admitted defeat, finally, and aborted the mission.  It was back to square one having to figure out what to cook for our SALT salutation starter.

After HOURS in the oven.  Doesn't look much different, does it?!? 

Finally, just for kicks, we thought we would share this photo we found of a Chinese duck born with three legs and four feet.  And you wonder why we worry about food safety????

Thai Martinis

These martinis came about while we were planning our Salute to SALT menu.  Lemongrass was the predominant flavor - infusing both the soup and the dessert.  It is a lovely herb that takes us away to tropical beaches, spicy food and lazy afternoons.  So how to combine all of that inspiration into a cocktail??  Time to play at the bar!!

Let's just say that after several rounds of trial and error (or was that error and trial??), it was a surprise ingredient that pulled it together and made it zing - Sriracha!   This fabulous chili sauce (from the Thai coastal town of Si Racha) is a traditional dipping sauce that isn't for the faint of heart.  We hope you like it!

THAI MARTINIS

1 part freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 part lemongrass-infused simple syrup

2 parts lemongrass infused vodka

4 drops Sriracha

To make the simple syrup, combine 1 cup (250 ml) each water and granulated sugar.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved.  This will get you a standard simple syrup that you can use to sweeten any cold drink - from ice tea to lemonade - we prefer cocktails!!

Once the dry ends and outer layers are removed,
the lemongrass should be smooth and fragrant

To make the syrup really special, cut the dry ends and bottom from a stalk of lemongrass.  Remove the tough outer layers.

Press the knife down gently to bruise the stalk, not crush it,
to release to release the oils.  

Lightly bruise with the flat side of a knife and add to the simple syrup (along with a few strips of lime peel and slices of fresh ginger if you really want it to zing!).













Let steep at least 15 minutes or longer if you prefer a stronger flavor.  Strain the solids and you are ready to go!  The syrup can be made a month ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

To infuse the vodka, prepare two or three lemongrass stalks as you did for the simple syrup.  Pour a 750ml bottle of good quality vodka into a clean container, add the lemongrass, seal and allow to infuse away for at least twenty-four hours.  Strain into another container (or back into its original bottle).

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and fill at least half way with ice.  Shake well while listening to your favorite island music.  Strain into two chilled martini glasses and enjoy with whomever you like while planning your next holiday to Thailand!!

Warning, these are addictive!

Yields two cocktails