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00:02This season I'm so excited to share my journey through one of the most exciting
00:08food cities in the world, Hong Kong. Oh my goodness. Here East meets West,
00:15traditional meets modern and every meal tells a story. From steaming baskets of
00:21dim sum, look at that aren't they beautiful, to sizzling walks on street
00:26corners. Smells amazing. I'm diving into centuries of
00:30culinary tradition. Yum cha is not complete without some teeth. But I'm not
00:36just here to eat, I'm here to cook. On a hot summer's night in Hong Kong, this is the
00:42dish to have. So join me on a journey through culture and taste in this
00:47incredible city. This is Hong Kong right here. I love it.
01:02In a city packed with great airies, this little shop has carved out a name for
01:07itself with their Shanghai style pan fried buns. They're a little different from your
01:12typical dumpling, golden and crispy on the bottom, soft and pillowy on top and filled
01:18with a juicy savory broth that burst with every bite. It's no surprise they've caught
01:23the attention of the Michelin Guide. Well this is where all the magic happens.
01:29It's a busy little kitchen. Geoffrey, tell me how you make the buns here. What have you got here?
01:33This is the pork mixture? Yeah, yeah. I make some jelly. So if there's jelly in here,
01:39so a little bit like salong bao? Yeah, yeah. Hotter than salong bao. Hotter? Yeah. You're going to burn your
01:44tongue.
01:44Over, over 90 degrees. Whoa, okay. And how many different varieties of the pan fried buns do you have here?
01:52Oh, truffle, shrimp, cap roll and the original. And the original, okay. And so the dough is very much
02:00like a bread dough. So at the moment it looks like a bit of a duckling dough but it's not
02:03at all.
02:04As it cooks, it's going to fluff up and become quite puffy like delicious bread, if you like.
02:09So first the truffle goes on. This is the truffle variety that they're making now. And then a nice big
02:14amount of that pork mixture with the jelly. And what type of jelly is it? What's it made from, the
02:20jelly?
02:21Oh, pigskin. Pigskin. That's the best quality, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So she grabs and pulls, grabs and
02:26pulls and in a circular motion completely tucks in all of that meat into a little parcel. Very hard, this
02:35tradition.
02:36It's very hard to do. Yeah. Let's go and have a look how they're fried. I'm very interested in that.
02:41Okay.
02:44So Jeffrey, can you tell me how the buns are cooked? They will put some oil in the middle of
02:49the bun
02:50and then close it. And then the lid goes on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. About six minutes,
02:54they will put some water inside. After six minutes, water and then it steams. So you've got those two
03:00textures, fluffy on the top, crispy on the bottom. Yeah. Sounds very nice. It's so busy here,
03:06the orders just keep coming and coming. How many orders do you do a day, do you think? About
03:095,000 to 6,000. 5,000 to 6,000? Yeah. A day? A day. It's a lot of buns.
03:15You really know what you're
03:16doing. It's good. Yeah, yeah, I know. He has a good product. And that's the thing,
03:19with these restaurants, if you do one thing really, really well, customers will always come back.
03:24All right, well, I'm going to get out of the way because it's so busy here, but I do want
03:26to try
03:27some of your pan-fried buns. Which ones should I try? Oh, I think original is better. Original? I was
03:33hoping you'd say that.
03:34Why are they better? Because the original inside the soup is more than others. Okay, more soup.
03:40Yeah. I like the sound of that. I'll taste the bun. Okay.
03:48Ooh, thank you. It's original. Jeffrey, amazing. Yeah, you can add a little vinegar as you like. A
03:55bit of vinegar. Yeah. Okay, I will try. Thank you so much. Thanks. The first thing I notice is this
04:00little sign here that says, the soup inside the bun is scalding hot. You may burn your mouth. So beware.
04:06In fact, when you come here, there's these cute little videos on how to eat them and how not to
04:12eat them. So you don't want to bite into them straight away. He also recommends adding a little
04:16bit of vinegar to your spoon because it goes so well with the soup inside and the pork. I'm just
04:23going to
04:23have a little bite on the side. And then have a sip of the soup inside of this.
04:32Yep, it is piping hot. But it is so delicious. It's savoury, the most beautiful broth you've ever
04:39tasted. Look, I'll even pour some into this spoon. And what I love is just to mix it with that
04:44vinegar.
04:45Mmm, it's so good. And of course, the best thing about this pan-fried bun is the two textures.
04:52You've got crispy on the bottom and then fluffy and soft on the top. Similar to a gyoza if you
04:59like.
04:59I'm going to have a bite into it to really taste that pork too.
05:06It's so good. I've made a mess. That was always going to happen.
05:10But the pork is just so juicy. No wonder why this place is so popular. They make the best pan
05:17-fried
05:18buns ever. Yum. You've got to come here. Very good.
05:30Sham Shui Po is one of Hong Kong's most vibrant and authentic neighbourhoods. This isn't the glossy
05:35skyline or the high-end walls. This is the real heartbeat of the city. Here, food isn't about
05:42luxury. It's about legacy. Recipes passed down through generations served from tiny shops with
05:49decades of stories behind them. I've just stumbled across this gorgeous tofu shop. It looks like a
05:57cheese shop to me, but you can see there's beautiful fresh tofu here. And at the back, they make it
06:02fresh
06:03every single day. Now, there's many different varieties of tofu for different types of dishes.
06:08So you've got firm tofu here. You've got silken tofu here. You've also got all the gorgeous drinks.
06:14You've got a soybean milk here that you can just sip on. This one's supposed to be really,
06:19really good for you. It's soybean with black sesame seed throughout it. You can also eat in and get some
06:25fried tofu. Or, as you can see over on the counter there, they've got set sweet puddings, which would be
06:30absolutely delicious. I love tofu, so I'm going to get some silken tofu. I've got a wonderful dish that
06:37I can do with it.
06:40Tofu has played an important part in Cantonese cuisine for over 2,000 years, offering people a vital
06:47source of protein and other nutrients. And here at the Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory, they've been making
06:53fresh bean curds since 1896. Wow, this is incredible. I'm very lucky. The owner said I can come and have
07:01a
07:01quick look. And I've never seen anything like this. There are some big vats at the back there with soy
07:06milk. You can see that it's just been churned, if you like, and made into tofu. And you can see
07:12this is
07:12the tofu that's just set. It is piping hot. It's in muslin pot. And also just on some wooden flanks.
07:19And one after the other, he's just flipping them over. And they're ready to be sold. This is as fresh
07:26as it gets. It's going to be so tasty. And most importantly, the texture is going to be like nothing
07:38else.
07:54It's not often you walk past a shop that's making fresh tofu and nothing compares to it. The texture
08:01is just so silky and creamy. Have a look at that. And those that were actually eating in the store
08:07were eating fresh tofu with a little sugar syrup and some crunchy raw sugar. Now I'm going to take
08:12that concept and make it a little extra special by making a caramel. This is 100% vegan because I'm
08:19going to be using some coconut milk in my caramel as opposed to cream and butter. So let's get onto
08:25the
08:26caramel first before we start to steam this gorgeous silken tofu. So in a pan, I'll add my
08:31coconut milk. You'll need about one cup of coconut milk. And to that, I'm going to add some coconut
08:37sugar. That's about three quarters of a cup of sugar. And that's all you need to make a caramel
08:43sauce that's dairy free. So I'm going to turn the heat on, allow that to come to the boil. Keep
08:49an eye
08:49on it. You just want it to become thick and glossy.
09:01This smells fantastic. And it's the perfect consistency. See how it's coating my wooden spoon?
09:07That's what we're after. Now, what's caramel without a little bit of salt? So a pinch of really good quality
09:13salt flakes, they can go in and just stir that throughout our caramel. And I may add a little
09:22more after the tofu is cooked. So that can go straight into a bowl. And then we need to cool
09:27it
09:27down completely.
09:30Okay, time to cook our silken tofu. This only takes a few minutes to steam. The more I know about
09:37silken
09:37tofu, the more I love it. It is so versatile. You can use it in dressings, you can blend it
09:43up,
09:43it makes fantastic mousse, you can stir fry it. Mapo tofu, one of the most famous dishes.
09:49And it's also fantastic for desserts just like this. So into a steamer basket.
09:55And you can see that I've just placed it into a little dish. That's just going to make it so
09:59much
09:59easier to get out. Lid goes on. And then that goes into a wok. And I've just placed a little
10:04bit of water
10:05underneath it. And we just want to steam that for a few minutes until it's piping hot. In the meantime,
10:11I'm just going to prepare some gorgeous strawberries. Look at these plant strawberries.
10:17Smells like summer.
10:27All right, let's have a look at the tofu. Oh, yes. And look at that jiggle. It's just the best.
10:33So I'll grab a spatula and I'm going to present it in this little bowl. So I'm just going to
10:39cut
10:40a lovely chunk of this fresh tofu off. In it goes. And don't be afraid to break it up slightly.
10:49Place that down. And then you can just smother it in delicious caramel. My vegan friends
10:58are going to love this dessert. It's right up there, Ali. And even if you're not vegan,
11:04this is such an easy dessert to prepare. And it's got loads of flavour and that texture that we
11:10constantly talk about here in Hong Kong, how important it is, not just for savoury dishes,
11:15but for sweet dishes just like this. I'm going to garnish it with these fresh strawberries,
11:20a big pile over the top, and a little hint of salt, just extra salt on that caramel. All right,
11:28I have to have a taste of this. A bit of strawberry.
11:36Oh, it's so good. And that touch of salt goes so well. And because the tofu is so neutral,
11:42all of those flavours just work so well together. This dessert is done in 20 minutes,
11:48and you can see why tofu is such a favourite dessert here in Hong Kong.
12:06In the heart of Hong Kong, Amber is one of the city's most celebrated dining experiences.
12:12Elegant, inventive, and unlike anything else around. Led by Chef Richard Ekbis, the menu takes a modern
12:20approach to French cuisine. It's completely dairy-free, built on clean, pure flavours,
12:26and the finest seasonal ingredients sustainably sourced from around the world. Proof that luxury
12:32and responsibility can go hand in hand. Richard, it's an honour to be in your restaurant. As you know,
12:39French food is my absolute favourite. And to be having it here in Hong Kong is quite special.
12:44Tell me a little bit about the philosophy behind your restaurant, because it's not just French food,
12:51is it? When we started this restaurant, our cooking was very French. But then with me travelling much
12:57more through Asia, appreciating the incredible Cantonese cuisine, I started to integrate certain
13:05influences without it being fusion. For example, we started to put a lot of emphasis on mouthfeel,
13:10which is also a very Chinese interpretation of food, so texture. We started to have a better
13:16understanding of the fifth taste, umami, and how to integrate that within our food. And yeah,
13:21that sort of shaped our cuisine. But I think 10 years ago, there was a big sort of shift where
13:25I sort of
13:25had an experience myself in Europe, had an indulgent meal and felt very overindulged and very heavy.
13:31And that's where I sort of started to think, how can we create an indulgent experience without feeling
13:36terrible after the end of the meal, having the food baby sort of feeling. So that's where we started
13:41to take away some of the elements that are sort of expected in French food, such as butter,
13:46such as refined sugars, such as refined flours. For a European restaurant, that seems impossible to
13:52do. Yeah, it was quite a big challenge. But at the same time, we also realised that 70% of
13:58Asian
13:58people are lactose intolerant. So we were poisoning people for 10 years, so to speak. So we felt that it
14:04was really an important stride to sort of eliminate dairy. So what are some of the substitute ingredients
14:09that you're using? So plant-based fats or extra virgin oils, fats, which is coconut fat, we use nuts,
14:16seeds, the fats in those. The best way to experience sort of our philosophy is by tasting some of our
14:22dishes. And particularly, you know, to start with the, you know, most emblematic dish of the restaurant,
14:28which is the sea urchin. And that was probably one of the dishes that was most difficult for us to
14:33create. Because this was a dairy heavy dish. And it was the dish that everybody wanted in the restaurant.
14:39And it had heavy cream, it had milk, it had butter. And we basically found a technique called enriching soy.
14:45So basically, it's about a way of condensing soy milk, so it becomes much richer, almost like a yogurt.
14:50And then we whip that up like a cream. And then we have many different layers. So in the bottom,
14:54you have the akka uni, then you have the cauliflower with the soy, then you have more uni, blue lobster
14:59jello,
14:59and then you have the caviar, the gold leaf, because we are after all in Hong Kong, you know,
15:03it's the city of Bling. Opulence.
15:05So, you know, opulence. And on the side, you have the crackers of the seaweed. So it's a tapioca
15:10cracker, very Asian as well, you know, the prawn cracker. So we made it with seaweed instead of prawn.
15:16Oh, fantastic. Well, I better have a taste.
15:18Yes.
15:20I want to be able to get all of those layers that you've just described.
15:24Oh, there's the jelly. Oh, look at those layers. Fantastic.
15:33Do you know what? The first thing I think of is the texture. It is like velvet. It is so
15:39smooth
15:40on the palate. And you can really taste the caviar, the lobster there.
15:44Yeah, the lobster jello.
15:46The jello, you really taste that there. And to know how much effort has gone into
15:50each layer here makes it extra special too. This is serious artwork right here. It just tastes
15:57just incredible. Delicious. I'm not sharing. No, no, you're not.
16:19You're next course. It's scallop, but it's a hand-dived scallop. Scallops are very sustainable seafood,
16:24but the catching method is not because the dredging is very destructive. So for us, it's very important to
16:29use only hand-dived scallops. So it's a scallop that is basically collected one by one. So we have
16:35cooked this scallop in a way we call lute, which is a very French way. Normally, you cook a chicken
16:40like this in a pot and you put a salt dough around it. So we said, let's do that with
16:44a scallop and see
16:45how that sort of works. In the scallop, we have made an incision. And in the incision, there's a slice
16:50of truffle, but there's also celeriac. And this is a lacto-fermented butter. It's a toasted hazelnut butter.
16:57I can smell the hazelnuts from here. Hazelnuts and scallops. I mean, what a fantastic combination.
17:02Yeah, it's very, because there's that nutty taste in scallops. So that's sort of that link for us.
17:06We also use that same butter in the sauce. We made a dashi from seaweed. And then we make this,
17:12which is our Asian wisdom, so to speak. So it's a garum made of the beard. So the beard that
17:17is
17:17inside of the scallop, we recuperate them all. And then we make a fish sauce, you know,
17:21and you can smell. It has incredible smell. So it has fish sauce made of scallop.
17:27That's serious, clever cooking right here. And also using everything, you know, not having waste.
17:33You know, it's an incredible protein. Then because we have celeriac inside that has been
17:38confit, we add a little bit more celeriac as a puree on top. And then because we have truffle
17:43inside, so we do that normally a day before. So really, the truffle flavor goes already in the
17:47scalp. But we add a little bit of fresh truffle on top. And chef, where are you getting your truffles
17:52from at this time of year? They are coming from Perigord, France at the moment.
17:57Thank you. There you go. Wow. So it looks very simple, but you know, a lot of time
18:02in developing the sauce and making the sauce. It's six months fermentation to make this sauce.
18:07And I guess the idea is to just have everything together and have a taste of that hazelnut butter.
18:20That is exquisite. It really is. It's remarkable how you've taken all of these simple ingredients
18:26and just turn them into magic. And everything works so nicely together. Nothing's overpowering.
18:32It's just subtle and delicious. You just cannot wait for the next bite. I think what I love most
18:39about this restaurant is the sustainability side of it. And nothing goes to waste. And you really care
18:44about where your products are coming from. Well, I'll just have to come back for the eight courses.
18:48And I know I'll walk away feeling light and refreshed, not heavy. Forget about all that cream and butter.
18:54Not for today, anyway.
19:10A lot of fish dishes that I've had here in Hong Kong have been steamed. And it's a really great
19:14way to
19:15prepare fish. Now, the dishes that I have had have been whole fish like coral trout or sea perch. But
19:22I'm going to show you my version using some fillets. Now, I've got my hand on some black cod. It's
19:27a
19:27fantastic fish to steam. It's buttery. It's firm. But once it's steamed, it becomes really flaky. A very
19:34traditional sauce that you'd put with it is fried spring onions and ginger. So I'm going to take that
19:39concept and give it a bit of a twist. So in a bowl, I'll add some spring onions that I'm
19:44just going
19:45to finely chop. About two tablespoons worth.
19:51You want it to be quite fine because you want the hot oil to cook those spring onions all the
19:56way
19:57through. And then the classics for this sauce, which is ginger that's been finely chopped along
20:03with some garlic. Lots of that. And this is where it gets a little bit interesting. I'm going to add
20:11some chili flakes. Once that gets heated up with the oil, it really, really gives it a lovely aromatic
20:18flavour. To this, I'm going to add some sesame seeds. I've already toasted these. That's going to give
20:25it a nutty flavour. And now for the oil. Now this oil is piping hot. We're just going to slowly
20:31pour
20:31this oil all over those ingredients. So what that does is cook all of the raw garlic and the ginger.
20:41It's like perfume. All of those flavours really come to life as that oil hits it. And you can see
20:47that
20:47it thickens up slightly. And that is the base of the sauce. Now I'm going to take this even further
20:52with a few other flavours. So a hint of oyster sauce. And you want to add this after you add
20:58the oil.
20:59Just a small amount. We need to season it. So a little more salt with some soy. Tiny splash. And
21:06some
21:06pepper. And then like all great Cantonese cooking, we need to balance it. And that means some sugar.
21:14And that sugar is going to dissolve in there as it mixes in with that hot oil. And now ideally,
21:20you want to allow this to sit for about 10 minutes for all those flavours to mingle
21:24before we start cooking the fish.
21:30I've just been admiring the view from the 14th floor of the Region Hotel. This is one of the best
21:36views in Hong Kong. You can see Hong Kong Island and then behind the skyscrapers, the mountains. It is
21:42truly magnificent to be right here. I've just been heating up my steamer basket in a wok,
21:48a little bit of water on the bottom. I've also placed my plate in there. So I'm going to be
21:53serving the fish on this plate. In with the cod. And you don't need too much liquid in here because
22:00the steam is going to cook it nice and gently. I will add just a small amount of Showsing wine
22:07though.
22:07It's going to give it a lovely flavour. Lid goes on. And because we're steaming
22:12and it's fish, it's very delicate. It's only going to take about two to three minutes at most.
22:24All right, let's check and see if the fish is cooked. What I like to do to check that the
22:28fish
22:28is cooked is just pierce through the centre, hold your knife there for a moment and then take it out.
22:33If that's piping hot, you know that it's cooked all the way through. It's extremely hot. So take good care
22:41when you're taking the plate out of the basket. And I'm not going to get rid of any of those
22:47juices.
22:47There's lovely flavour there. If you don't like the skin, of course, you can take it off. Look at this
22:52beautiful fish. It's so fresh.
22:57Next, our sauce. Look at the lovely colour of it. And you can be quite generous over the top of
23:03the fish.
23:04And I love how that flavoursome oil just mixes in with the juices of the fish and that Showsing wine.
23:12And it does need a little bit of a garnish, but I also like a garnish for the crunch too.
23:17I have a
23:17combination of spring onions. I've just finely chopped them along with some coriander and then
23:25just mix it up. So it's like a little salad. And then that goes on top in the centre.
23:31Well, that is a wonderful way to prepare fish. Really easy too. Steamed with that fragrant,
23:39delicious sauce. Don't forget to give it that twist with the oyster sauce and the addition of the
23:43sesame seeds, it really takes it up a notch. The egg waffle is a street-side classic across Hong Kong.
24:00Born in the 1950s when real eggs were scarce, inventive street vendors created a clever batter
24:06and cooked it in custom iron moulds, giving rise to its signature puff shape.
24:11Today, you'll find both the original and creative new twists on this timeless treat.
24:21Thank you. Thank you.
24:27Now, I got mine from Mummy. These are super delicious. And they actually call them egg puff.
24:33They also go by the name eggettes. So these are the cheese ones. And what you do is just take
24:39them out,
24:39to pull the little egg puffs off and have a taste. Oh, look at that. It's all really puffy inside.
24:47Essentially, it's a pancake batter and it's cooked in a waffle-like machine.
24:54The cheese is really good. Crunchy, caramelised on the outside, a little bit soft in the centre, salty.
25:01So good. But if you're a bit of a sweet tooth, I'd highly recommend their very popular choc chip egg
25:08puffs.
25:11Mmm. So good. Look at that. Chocolate in the centre. I mean, there's choc chips everywhere.
25:18This is the perfect snack to grab when you just want to do a bit of sightseeing, walking around, eating
25:24these. Heaven.
25:25I'll see you again.
25:26Music
25:30Music
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