Missing the steamboat in Hong Kong

June Carvalho fantasises about dunking marinated fillets of chicken, beef, fish, shrimp and squid in a simmering broth, but is forced to take a reality check

Missing the steamboat in Hong Kong

June Carvalho fantasises about dunking marinated fillets of chicken, beef, fish, shrimp and squid in a simmering broth, but is forced to take a reality check

Two items figured high on my list of foods to enjoy during a recent trip to Hong Kong: dim sum and the steamboat.

Having heard that some of the best Chinese chefs were whipping up some magic there, it was but natural to have high, if uncertain, gastronomic expectations of the place.

With a plethora of fine restaurants dishing out an impressive array of world cuisines, it is not for nothing that Asia's "world city" is also reputed to be its culinary capital. Indigenous fast food outlets serving Chinese, Japanese, Thai and other Asian fare, including fusion food, are highly popular and do brisk business. Hobnobbing with them in the swish malls are multinational fast food chains such as KFC, Burger King and McDonald's.

Foodie paradise

It took just a turn of my head to notice that dining out is a favourite preoccupation among the local people. Small-time eateries, food courts and fine dining restaurants were always abuzz with diners, eating and drinking merrily and exuding a kind of raucousness that was at once evocative of wholesale fish and vegetable markets minus those smells. Loud yawning was also heard at times, while 'Mind Your Coughing Manners' posters were seen all over as part of the swine flu awareness campaign.

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All of which left me wondering whether the people of Hong Kong, besides looking fit and fab for the amount of eating out that they do, ever cook in their homes at all! I got the impression that they don't. Given their standard matchbox-sized dwellings inside which a tiny nook and sink might pass muster for a kitchen, it looked like dining out was the obvious choice for many. I surmised that besides for sheer affordability and variety, it was also a time and trouble saving option, dispensing as it did, with the need for shopping and storage of ingredients.

Yours for the taking: Fresh water tanks with lobsters, eels, whelks and other sea creatures

Space saving? You bet!

With space at a premium, a typical middle class household in Hong Kong can ill-afford the luxury of a spacious flat, 400 to 600 sq ft being the norm. Within these tiny abodes that often use curtains in lieu of walls for partitions, cooking be damned, but what about privacy? Could that perhaps explain the concept ofu00a0 "hourly rental" hotels?

The cost of living is, of course, high in Hong Kong, but be warned that the cost of dying is no less. At the Catholic cemetery, for instance, it costs HKD 20,000 (1 HKD = 6 INR) to be buried and you cannot even rest in peace forever after that. The "lease" is for a period of six years only, after which your bonesu00a0... oh well, but once you're dead and gone, it ain't not your problem, right?u00a0

Show and slurp
Meanwhile, the dim sums were excellent and were served with a pot of jasmine tea. Transferring them to our cavernous mouths with chopsticks was a smaller challenge than placing the order, a problem we encountered often. The staff of this rather upscokale restaurant in Wan Chai, as in most other places, spoke less than a smattering of English while we could not summon a single word of Cantonese to save our lives. Language was no impediment in the shopping areas though, where what we saw was what we got.

How can you visit Hong Kong and come away without the steamboat experience? Some know-alls and done-it-alls said it was as much of a must-do thing as rolling the dice in Macau or going to Ocean Park. The tune of a party medley number, 'Railroad, steamboat, river and canal', kept resonating in my head. Spelling apart, the steamboat of those lyrics bears no similarity whatsoever to the simmering broth into which are dunked marinated fillets of chicken, beef, fish and other seafood like shrimp, squid, eel, as well as leafy vegetables, mushrooms and other edibles bearing strange names. Like black ear fungus. After being allowed to spend some sizzling moments in the hot pot, the cooked morsels are hauled up with chopsticks and eaten with great gusto along with dipping sauces and condiments. By this time the broth gets infused with an exotic mix of flavours and slightly thick. Too good to be wasted, the wholesome broth is poured over a bowlful of noodles to be slurped heartily without guilt of breaching table etiquette.u00a0

Letting off steam

Truth be told, it was a case of missing the steamboat in Hong Kong. A case of so near yet so far. It was past 9 pm when we stumbled upon this nice but crowded "steamboat" restaurant after a tiring day out.

Ushered in by a pretty hostess in a red Chinese outfit, we settled down at the only vacant round table, which had the burner inset right in the middle. And enthusiastic but unable to comprehend the menu, blatantly cast our gaze on neighbouring tables for inspiration.

A steady stream of regulars kept the waiters on their toes to care for newbies like us. One young woman,
keenly observing our plight, ditched her plate and partner to come to our aid. Sweet of her. Grabbing a pencil, kept with menu sheets on every table, she underscored some items printed in aesthetic Chinese characters, making a valiant attempt to explain what it all was. We thanked her profusely. I kept my mind open, but with patience wearing thin with the rest of the family, we stomped out of that place with stomachs growling and faces scowling...u00a0

Now that Hong Kong is ticked off from my 1000 places to see before I die wishlist, a repeat trip to "catch" the steamboat is unlikely. But I can possibly get it simmering right away within the cosy confines of my own home.

All I need to do is combine some tips from Kylie Kwong and the Internet, add a dash of ingenuity, a generous sprinkling of family and friends and voila! I will have recreated, not just the steamboat, but also the raucous atmosphere of a Hong Kong restaurant!

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