Dickson Noodle - The Hong Kong Noodle Place Reborn

Is there anything better than when small businesses (that you like and support) grow and thrive?

The other day we were on our way for a quick lunch of Hong Kong noodles at our local dive (see Bike Throughs and Dive Ins post) and discovered, to our horror, that it was closed.  Among the myriad of workers outside we found the owner and learned that they were not closing, just moving to a new location.  Better place, he assured us, and the whole menu would be in English.

Last week was the grand opening and the perfect opportunity to check out the new digs. Conveniently located in Pinnacle Plaza, by Momo’s, our favored butcher and green grocer, in the space previously occupied by our not so favorite Central American restaurant.

The space had been completely renovated with grey concrete walls, light wood paneling and charming bird cages hanging from the roof as decoration. The kitchen is open and airy, the tables have clever little drawers holding the utensils and very important: a clean, western bathroom for patrons to use!

The atmosphere was slightly chaotic on this opening day; the waiting staff seemed a little bit confused but that is to expect on the first day of business.

The room was full of busy eaters eager to chow down on steaming bowls of noodles, bbq pork and as we discovered now that we could read the whole menu – curries.

We happened to sit down next to a friend who had ordered a vegetable curry, and liked it, so we decided to go absolutely crazy and order something different for a change.  We went for the chicken curry that came with a bowl of rice, galangal chicken, marinated cucumbers and a few soy chicken wings for good measure.

It was all good, not a new favorite, but that is mainly because of the way the chicken was cut. Even after all these years in Asia, neither of us are used to the way they butcher the meat, as if they take the whole bird and chop it up, not considering the bones and amount of meat on each and every piece. Maybe we are lazy, but it’s just too much work. The curry sauce was creamy and had good flavor but the wings could have been roasted harder and carried a bit of spice, but that is just our opinion. The cucumbers were as always perfect. Crisp, cold and with a generous dose of garlic – yum.

Dickson Noodle (yup, the place has a name!) will remain a favorite but I think we will stick to our noodles in the future, and the cucumbers…and the century eggs….and the celery and tofu salad…and the fungus in chili sauce….and oh, we have to go back and try the bbq pork….

STARAcooking welcomes its inaugural class

STARAcooking welcomed five fabulous students to our inaugural cooking class last week.  Our hungry test subjects were hands on for a Creative Cocktail Party experience.

Over the next few hours, they learned how to concoct martinis that will knock you flat and those that will just make you happy - perfect for a party!  We made a variety of appetizers and hors d’oeuvres – from spicy, cheddar-wrapped olives (watch out for the jalapenos!) and flakey feta and fresh herb stuffed parcels to Mediterranean hummus and a spin on tapenade.

All of the recipes provide a starting point for interpretation and creativity.  Tapenade on fish or in eggs – sure!  Add some spinach or chicken to the parcels – why not!  You never know until you try!

Classes are held regularly and we would love to inspire you to try new things in your kitchen!  Visit the the STARAcooking page for more details.

STARAcooking launches in Shunyi

 STARAcooking launches in Shunyi - Funding our hobby and educating the masses -- or how to share our love of food and cooking with new and old friends.

At STARAfood Beijing, we have been having so much fun writing about our cooking and eating exploits that we wanted to share our adventures with everyone.

While we continue to eat our way through Beijing and thoroughly enjoying it, we have discovered a gap in the cooking class market here in the capital. There are more cooking schools than you can count on your fingers and toes that teach mainly Chinese cooking, from all regions. You slice and dice the ginger and garlic and proceed to make a decent gong bao ji ding (kung pao chicken) or spicy green beans. It is fun, now and then, with the right group of friends to make your own dumplings all the while enjoying being in a quaint traditional si he yuan (courtyard house) down a hutong (alley) but for us; that is just what it is, a nice way to spend a day hanging out with friends.

But, we have discovered that out in the bushland of Shunyi there is nothing – nada – and there is also a want and need for what is for us traditional cooking - both techniques and recipes.  So who are we:

Sara (on the right) was born and raised in Sweden with soon to be 17 years abroad under her belt. She finds inspiration everywhere and loves to visit food stores while travelling. She started cooking early and is completely unable to follow recipes and always put her spin on things.  A blessing and a curse!

Stacey (the tall one) is a California girl with vast international experience through travelling and living abroad (over 10 years already).  A whizz in the kitchen without fear of trying new things and with an immaculate palate (so says Sara!).  

Introducing STARAcooking:  Our mission is to help our students not take cooking too seriously.  Show them that they can trust their instincts and that food is fun! Between the two of us, we have years of experience eating and cooking around the globe.  Having been expats and avid travellers for years, we have developed different approaches to food and recipes but share a love of enjoying it with our families and friends. And though we do not always agree on techniques and technicalities, we respect and value each other’s opinion, learn from them and find a middle way.

With a motto of “High Impact, Low Effort,” we specialize in making our students feel confident in the kitchen, creating fabulous meals in little time.  Focusing on fresh, quality ingredients with a broad range of flavors, even the most novice chef can feel like an expert. With key ingredients always on hand, a culinary highlight can be created in a snap!

We hope to welcome you to our kitchen soon and help you find your own inspiration!

Check the STARAcooking page on our blog for regular class updates or email us at starafood@gmail.com for more information! 

Happy cooking!

Bike Throughs and Dive Ins

As much as we thoroughly love going to fancy restaurants all dressed up and fabulous, there are so many good things to say about the simplest places and in some cases, real dives. The kind of places where you wouldn’t even consider peeking into the kitchen (or using the rest room for that matter) can, at times, serve the most glorious food!

One problem while living in a country where you cannot partake of all information due to the inability to READ is: 1. Learning about new places and 2. Reading the menu. We are forever grateful to our drivers, Mr. Jeff and Mr. Zhang, who patiently take us around the city when we are hungry for something new. Without worries about loosing face should we not like the place (like that would happen), they indulge us patiently in helping us discover hidden gems.

Many times we don’t have to travel far to find old and new favorites.  One restaurant we go back to over and over again is the, as we call it, “Hong Kong Noodle Place”.  For sure, it has a real name, we just haven’t figured it out yet and since we know the owner is from Hong Kong and they serve Hong Kong staples such as wonton and fish ball noodle soup, we will just continue with our name for it.

For those of us in the vast restaurant wasteland of Shunyi, the HKNP is conveniently located a short bicycle ride away near Pinnacle Plaza – close to Jenny Wang’s and next to Miso Japanese Restaurant (another STARA favorite).  Plan to arrive before noon so you won’t have to wait for a table.  The restaurant seats maybe 30 patrons with an open (relatively clean!) kitchen where you can see the magic happen. The menu is simple; noodles, rice dishes, vegetables and snacks – all very reasonably priced and delicious. There are specials advertised on the walls but sadly only in Chinese and, while the owner speaks perfect English, the serving staff doesn’t and we have yet to see it translated.

We usually go for our own personal favorites; prawn wonton noodle soup for Stacey and fish ball noodle soup for Sara, cucumbers with peanuts and garlic and bok choy with oyster sauce on the side.  The barbeque pork is also a must-try – not fatty or full of gristle, as is often the case – but with a lovely red sheen from all of the spices.  Steamy bowls of noodle soup arrive and with a generous scoop of the chili paste we are ready to slurp it all up.  

Yummy Fish Ball Soup

Simple, cheap and delicious!

Comfort food – China style.

Are We Really in Beijing?

One of the things we love most about Beijing is that this city is not always what you see.  Look one direction it is all shiny modern and look another, down a hutong alley, and you are transported back hundreds of years.  It is a city full of surprises; you just have to look!

Living in the suburbs of Shunyi, our restaurant offerings are slim.  Not only for expensive or formal; just someplace that serves good food.  It doesn’t take long to try all of the options and work our way through the menus so it was such a nice surprise to discover, after three years here, Roma Lake (Luoma Hu). 

Roma Lake

We took advantage of a rare, blue-sky day to bike to Roma Lake.  What a great surprise to find a lovely tree-lined road by a (relatively) clean lake with enticing restaurants on the bank and with plenty of outdoor seating and enticing terraces.  And so many options! Something for every taste: Malaysian, hot pot, Japanese, pizza and almost every flavor of Chinese cuisine.

Restaurants of every flavor along the tree-lined street.

Our new favorite hot pot (and crayfish) restaurant!

Having heard about Laker’s Pizza, we decided to give it a try only to be uninspired by the menu and absence of patrons. The hot pot restaurant next door, however,  looked enticing so we ambled over and found a table on the terrace.  Swedish Sara was sold when the waitress walked by holding a pan of steaming, meaty crayfish.  There must be something in her DNA as she was instantly salivating!  Needless to say, we ordered a dozen immediately but the rest of the menu wasn’t so easy!

Now, customer service leaves a lot to be desired in China.  Today, however, was the exception.  The menu here is a one-page checkbox all in Chinese.  While we can talk our way though a restaurant, we can’t read a thing!  We asked for an English menu and what arrived but the manager carrying a laptop displaying an Excel spreadsheet with English translations!  We actually didn’t want hotpot with our crayfish so she suggested house specialties – pork noodles, wood ear fungus and spinach with garlic. 

What a pleasant surprise!  The fungus and spinach, common on every Chinese menu, were the best we have had in China.  Crispy cucumber balanced the spice and sourness of the fungus.  Crunchy garlic and vinegar perfectly matched the sweetness of the spinach.  And the noodles – what looked like a bland bowl of brown hid meaty, milky broth with some of the tastiest pork around – no fat or gristle anywhere. 

But the star of the show was the crayfish.  We asked for spicy and spicy they were!  These hot little numbers were meaty, perfectly cooked and bathed in chili peppers.  The waitress kindly provided plastic gloves and aprons to keep us spotless as we quickly devoured our feast. 

Chilis anyone?

What a find!  We can’t wait to go back and see what other surprises await us.  Now we just need another blue-sky day!

To find Roma Lake - Keep going west on TianBeiLu past the Anhua Road intersection and straight through the big roundabout.  Take the first left onto the little road by the lake.  The restaurants and shops are a little ways down the road on your left.