Award winning flavors

Hong Kong is a world-renowned destination for gourmets in search of exemplary Chinese cuisine. As a food-loving people, many Filipinos have visited the Chinese territory to sample the culinary delights, particularly the variety of dim sum choices, as well as a wide array of tempting Cantonese dishes.

Walk along the crowded streets of Tsim Sha Tsui or Causeway Bay, or navigate through the hordes of bargain shoppers in Mong Kok and you’re faced with a plethora of Chinese restaurants, each touting its own specialty, or boasting of authenticity. The Super Star Seafood Restaurant, however, stands on an honored pedestal above its competition.

The Super Star group has a total of 13 outlets in Hong Kong, with numerous trophies displayed on their shelves. It has earned enviable plaudits, including repeated wins in the Hong Kong Food Festival since the restaurant first opened in 1989. Among its other awards are: Hong Kong Top Brands Awards in 2007; PRC Consumers Most Favored Hong Kong Brands, from 2005 to 2009; the World Association of Chinese Cuisines Awards in 2006l and voted Most Favored Restaurant in 2008 by a lifestyle magazine.

But, as the gourmand’s saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. With their cuisine, it’s certainly no surprise that they have reached such a commanding place in the Hong Kong culinary scene. You start your meal with small plate of Crispy Whitebait, their take on our local dilis – a crunchy, salty/ herby/ spicy, highly addictive appetizer. You’re tempted to ask for more, but you keep in mind that it’s merely a tantalizing teaser of the meal to come.

“Try our signature dish, stonefish prepared two ways!” our server suggests. It’s the restaurant’s specialty, and it’s also a fish that only certain expert hands can handle and prepare. Being the adventurous diners that we are, we gamely try it. And we are not disappointed –the fish is both fatty and milky, its flavor is light but stands out among the ingredients.

Other items in the menu include Deep-fried Garoupa in Chrysanthemum Cut, Steamed Garoupa Fillet Roll, Lobster Salad with Pomelo, Crispy Tiger Prawn set on Fresh Tomato; Wok-fried Vermicelli with Dried Scallop and Bean Sprouts, to name but a delicious few.

The dim sum is quite intriguing too – the eel is a sweet, herby concoction; a deep-fried spring roll is shaped into a squid. Of note are their desserts, almost too pretty to eat: marshmallow dipped in coconut is shaped like bunnies. Their Triple Penguin Treat is a sweet, glutinous treat stuffed with custard and yes, shaped like cartoonish penguins.

One need not fly to Hong Kong, however, to experience the Super Star Seafood Restaurant’s award-winning cuisine. Mandarin Oriental has flown in three award-winning chefs to lord it over its Tin Hau kitchen from May 24 to 30, for a week-long promotion of Cantonese cuisine.

The exemplary guest chefs who are in town for this special gastronomic event have an impressive list of culinary awards won in various culinary competitions and food shows. They are: Chung Man Poi, head chef at Super Star’s Tsim Sha Tsui outlet; Ho Po Lung, head chef of the Wan Chai outlet, and Choi San Lung, dim sum head chef at the Mong Kok restaurant. The chefs will also preside over a hands-on dim sum cooking class on May 29 at 9 a.m.

Surely, this is one food event that should not be missed by food lovers, especially those partial to the savory flavors of Cantonese cuisine.