Chinese regional cuisine: the secrets of Chiu Chow dishes from the south, and where to eat them in Hong Kong
Soy goose, braised goose, chilled crab, oyster congee – owners of three restaurants, one of them newly listed by Michelin, explain what goes into making the hearty dishes migrants brought with them from Guangdong
“I remember that day – someday in May – two persons walked in and ordered our signature dishes. They looked just like usual customers and we entertained them just like we normally did,” recalls Eddy Lee, the owner of Chiu Chow Delicacies.
They turned out to be Michelin inspectors who rate restaurants and compile the annual Michelin Guide to Hong Kong and Macau.
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“They handed their business cards to my colleague when paying the bill. They requested to talk further with me. I was shocked and excited,” Lee says with a grin.
Chiu Chow Delicacies, a small restaurant at North Point, is a newcomer to the Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau for 2018. News of its place in the Bib Gourmand section of the guide – for restaurants offering good food at reasonable prices – quickly generated buzz and business increased, leading to long queues outside the shop.
Impatient foodies not willing to wait for seats would order a box of daa laang to take away. Daa laang refers to cooked and marinated meats.
This style of cooking – primarily using goose meat, but also pork, eggs and tofu – originated in Chaozhou (Chiu Chow, as it’s called in Cantonese), in the eastern part of Guangdong province, southern China, and reached Hong Kong via migrants who arrived in the 1950s. It is one of the cuisine’s most recognisable features.
