Shui Wah - S&P Squid

So, there I was in the Chinatown Mall, staring blanky at the darkened windows of Wing Chan BBQ while the strains of a boom box thumped and breakdancers busked, wondering where should I go, what should I do?

K and I had thought to try out the Wing Chan duck and see if they might be more willing to deliver 18 bbq ducks to hyde park than Sun Wah, but were thwarted when they were closed.

Instead, we hit SHui Wah, everyone's favorite chiu-chow chinese restaurant. I always feel bad when I eat at Shui Wah, because it's always so good that I can't remember why I haven't eaten there in so long. Kerensa and I split a plate of "chiu-style" clams in black bean sauce, presented artistically in a shell of ice berg lettuce, with big hunks of garlic and ginger strewn among the molluscs, killer spicy salt squid, and a dish of chive shoots and dried tofu. I love the deep-fried items at Shui Wah - the squid came straight from the oil to our table, crispy, a little greasy, with red dried chilis and garlic clinging to the squiddy creases as if by magic. The chives were less appealing - the rendition I had with clam meat at Silver Seafood a couple of weeks ago was better: fresher tangier and less oily. But the meal was still a success, and the menu is like a new to-do list. For next time: egg-style tofu, pork belly with mustard greens, thin-fried noodle chiu style, incredible looking vegetarian duck, and maybe one of their interesting hotpots with olives (!).

Also on the list - egg foo yung! Their menu touts it as a chiu-chow invention, and the guys I saw eating it at the next table devoured it in seconds, so i think it may be time to cross the egg-foo-yung line. If you can believe it, i've never eaten it, assuming it was always a sop to the less sophisticated palates, but at sui wah, i'll take a chance.

Several pages, including this link below, mention an oyster egg "pancake" - maybe that's the progenitor of eggfooyoung---
http://www.marimari.com/content/hong_ko ... /main.html

Seth,

Have you tried the version of salt and pepper squid on Shui Wah's dim sum menu? It sounds completely different from what you experienced. There aren't any chilies, garlic, onion or anything else, and it's a "batonnet" cut rather than the more usually found cross hatched pieces. It comes to the table ever so slightly greasy, but seasoned with a cinnamony (5 spice?) salt mixture. In my book, it's one of the best in town.

I read somewhere, maybe here or perhaps on the old board, that Shui Wah's dim sum and dinner shifts are run by different operators. (?)

By the wey, LTH does a great egg foo yung.

I have had their dim sum squid and it is totally different - exactly as you say, cut into batons and tossed with seasoned salt. the dinnertime dish is larger wedges cut in a cross hatch with a slightly thicker batter.

Excellent! I had salt squid in New York and have been craving it since. Good looking out.

Oh dear god do I love their dim sum version of the s&p squid. Hmm perhaps Friday I can schedule some jobs on the S side so I can hit Shui Wah on the way home.

you guys should totally try their chicken feet (scrumptious!), rice pastry wrapped prawns (delectable!) and sticky rice wrapped in some kind of leaf (sinful!), then wash it all down with fresh fruit bubble tea from Joy Yee's right across Shui Wah. Now THAT is food heaven.

Well, I don't mean to be a hater, but I've got to say that my experience at Shui Wah was not good.

The S&P squid was okay, but the batter was pretty heavy and there wasn't much flavor. I might have enjoyed the dim sum version more.

The real kicker, though, was when our waiter couldn't/wouldn't recommend ANY egg foo young. He said that none of them were very popular. We asked him for a duck recommendation, and he offered "soy sauce duck," which we got and immediately regretted. As far as I can tell, the duck had been boiled in soy sauce, sliced, left in a fridge for some time, reheated (possibly microwaved), sliced, and served on a bed of bitter, soggy peanuts. The meat was incredibly fatty and I felt sick upon leaving.

Had my first Shui Wah experience today, and wow is that salt and pepper squid good. Actually, all of the fried items we had were outstanding, served fresh from the frier. Dumplings were all very good too.

I liked Shui Wah much better than Phoenix for dim sum. I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice the cache of carts for fresh and delicious dim sum.

jesteinf wrote:I liked Shui Wah much better than Phoenix for dim sum. I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice the cache of carts for fresh and delicious dim sum.

Josh,

I am a Phoenix fan, in particular on Sundays, love the hustle and bustle of the carts and crowds, love the sunlight streaming in through the picture windows and the dim sum seems fresher and brighter. That said, I'm a fan of Shui Wah as well, perfectly willing to trade circus for bread and on Sunday last Shui Wah's bread was spot-on.

11am Sunday provided a scant 10-minute wait, though we opted to share a larger table with a pleasant young, and very hip Chinese couple.* Light translucent dumplings, steamers of baby bone and chicken feet with black bean sauce, shrimp paste wrapped in nori and deep fried, light airy Chiu Chow tofu and aromatic sticky rice steamed in lotus leaves were highlights.

After lunch we stopped at Saint Ann to pick up red bean sesame balls and I tried a Steve Z approved in season Honey Dew Melon smoothie with taro balls, freshly pureed melon providing flavor bounce caned juice simply can not match.

Shui Wah Chicken feet in black bean sauce



Enjoy,
Gary

*Their conversation stemmed around upscale bars and clubs, including the Violet Hour, which sounded hip to my not so hip self

Made my first visit to Shui Wah for dimsum, and although there were quite a few tasty items, I was left with an overall ho-hum impression. Minced pork dumplings were absolutely delicious, with a light and crispy exterior giving way to chewy rice flour, then an almost hollow interior with very flavorful meat. I loved the textural contrast in the dish. Sticky rice in lotus leaf was another favorite, but I thought most of our dishes had serious seasoning problems. Congee was good but needed salt, or something. Barbecue pork, which I know skews intentionally sweet in most Chinese restaurants, was served at Shui Wah in a bun that tasted like a pure sugar ball with ricey texture. Just way, way, way to sweet. I'll take their word that the Beef siu mai really did have beef, though to me it could have been any unseasoned, rubbery ball of stuff.

Shui Wah was hopping, with about a 45 minute wait for a table at 11AM today. We ate more than 20 dishes, so I'm fairly confident that I tasted a good cross-section of the dimsum offerings. I wouldn't object to going back, but I wouldn't be excited about it either.

Kennyz wrote:Congee was good but needed salt, or something.

I usually make congee at home, thus it is served salted to my taste. The few times I have ordered it in a restaurant, it lacked in salt. Just curious, have you ever found restaurant Congee that didn't need salt? I'm wondering if you have been luckier than I.

Regards,

Congee is bland, but that's why there are bottles of soy sauce on the tables.

cilantro wrote:Congee is bland, but that's why there are bottles of soy sauce on the tables.

I agree, though maybe Kenny had another experience. I dress congee at home with soy sauce, sesame oil plus slivers of ginger and chopped cilantro to taste. In a restaurant, I often have to ask for the sesame oil, ginger and cilantro.

Regards,

It's entirely possible that the bland congee was exactly how it's supposed to be, as I must admit to a lack of significant congee experience. Though it was bland, I did enjoy it, as there was enough subtle pork and sesame undertone to provide some interest, and the texture was pleasant. The soy sauce addition suggested above and by one of my dining companions is probably a good one- too bad both suggestions came a little too late. Next time.

My $0.02 - restaurant congee is most typically and intentionally bland. That's why it is often eaten w/ condiments (ie: assorted pickles both salty, sweet, spicey, sour and stinky) as well as meat minces, fried dough sticks, Chinese BBQ, thousand-year-old eggs, dim sum items and/or entrees. It's like having grits or oatmeal (in a sense...).

The only time I've had really significantly salted/flavored congee is when my Mum used to make 3-egg porridge (salted duck egg, regular chicken eggs and thousand-year-old egg) or congee from home-made concentrated chicken stock.

Kennyz wrote:It's entirely possible that the bland congee was exactly how it's supposed to be

You actually hit the nail on its head IMO. I'm no scholar of any sorts on Congee, but Congee traditionally in Asia has been served bland. IMO, it was meant to be a way to either serve rice (main starch to the Asian cuisine) to the sick and weak (easier to swallow and consume) or to the poor (a way to volumize limited supply of rice in the old days). Only until recent decades that the abundance of meat/fish (and other "fancier" ingredients) supply have made it into a dish on its own, to the point where a whole genre of restaurants in the US (west coast mostly) and parts of Asia has been established to accommodate this trend. Congee and its sub-varieties are also much appreciated in the Cantonese cuisine, which I suspect draws from the Canton region's hot temperature and humidity, where liquid Congee helps its consumers not only able to ingest the food easier, but also its liquid (to hydrate against the humidity). Incidentally, most Congee I consumed in the summer were generally mostly cold and served w/ refreshing Chinese pickles while Congee I consumed in the winter were always hot and pickles were also a popular condiment, but not always. Sorry to be off topic, but I love congee, thus had to put in my thoughts there a bit.

Kennyz wrote:Minced pork dumplings were absolutely delicious, with a light and crispy exterior giving way to chewy rice flour, then an almost hollow interior with very flavorful meat. I loved the textural contrast in the dish.

I would have to agree with Kenny on this one - they were fantastic. There was a bit of sweetness to them which, while unexpected, really made them work in my opinion. I'd be curious to know what these egg-shaped hollow dumplings look like before they hit the grease. The crispy/chewy skin, which Kenny refers to, was what I imagine a shell of deep-fried mochi would be like.

I also really liked the rib bits with black beans (looks like the same preparation as the chicken feet upthread). There was one other dish, which perhaps Kenny can help me remember the name, that I really liked - it was akin to a meat-filled crepe where the crepe skin was made of taro perhaps? While greasy, the meat filling had a pleasant cinnamon-scented flavor.

I'd happily go back, but I think that I'd probably make the rounds to some other board favorites before doing a repeat.

-Dan

dansch wrote:

Kennyz wrote:a meat-filled crepe where the crepe skin was made of taro perhaps? While greasy, the meat filling had a pleasant cinnamon-scented flavor.

That would be the stuffed bean curd skin.

Sorry, according to the menu the actual name is the steamed bean curd roll.

What Dan is referring to is called "taro bean curd skin roll" on the dim sum order form.

My bad. They're kind of similar in nature. Try the one I mentioned next time though, I like it a lot.

Had a very nice brunch at Shui Wah today; our server was smiling and helpful, and we were 10/12 on excellent plates. The two misses were the beef balls [snicker] which were too funky and also too eggy, and the regular old pot stickers, which were too doughy and overdone inside. Everything else was exemplary, particularly the Chinese broccoli with hoisin, the salt and pepper squid, and the bbq pork filled crepes (a home run). The fried dough with condensed milk was the best version I've ever had.

A story: two men of significant carriage sat down next to us and politely asked how to use the menu. After they placed their order, the waitress came around with the off-menu vegetable (Chinese broccoli), which she was offering to every table for a few bucks. She put the dish right down in front of them, and said "Chinese broccoli, house special vegetable?" They responded that they had not ordered it and did not want it. "But it's good for you! Good health!" No thank you, they declined graciously. "Really? I think you need it." At this point, they were a bit upset, and I waved the waitress off from behind them, and she gave me a shrug, like we were both doing that table harm by leaving them un-broccolied. A little pushy. But it was good broccoli, after all.