Michael Taylor left Hong Kong Saturday afternoonn (30 July 2011), arriving at his hotel, the Crowne Plaza Guangzhou City Centre, by early evening.
Award winning executive chef Martin Mo heads the kitchen at Baiyuelou Chinese Restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Guangzhou City Centre, where I enjoyed a lavish dinner last night (30 July 2011).
When asked if I had any favourites from the menu, I kept gravitating toward the Peking Duck (98 yuan). But this was a Cantonese restaurant so why would I order Peking Duck?
In the end, I settled on Peking Duck along with several other rather innovative sounding dishes: double-boiled mushroom with baby bamboo shoot soup (78 yuan), pan-fried beef spareribs with mustard and mint and pepper (128 yuan), and braised codfish with pumpkin and Parmesan.
Chef Martin, meanwhile, suggested that I try the following: marinated sour and spicy turnip (28 yuan) for the starter along with congee with baby oysters and pork meat, stewed fish tofu with mulberry leaves in chicken soup (68 yuan), steamed turbot, a kind of fish, and baked eggs with goose liver and fish roe.
What a spread!
The dishes were innovative, incorporating hearty traditional peasant fare with stylish western ingredients. You simply don’t get this kind of Cantonese cuisine in Hong Kong.
Everything was so yummy, that it’s hard to pick a favourite, but two dishes particularly stood out.
Peking duck is generally served in two stages: the first, in which the meatiest parts are served along thin pancakes, spring onions, and plum sauce. The second, in which another dish is made from the scraps from the Peking Duck.
In this case, the second dish was a concoction of minced Peking Duck, and chopped chestnuts and mushrooms. This was served with lettuce, and diners create their own little “sandwiches” at the table.
I took one bite, and I was hooked.
To Be Continued
Hi Michael,
WE are currently composing a list of a range of dining options in Gunagzhou and broader Guandong Province, do you have any recommendations?