Saturday, June 11, 2011

On the hunt for more piggy ...



The result of having great food is that you have a benchmark and you are constantly measuring everything else against it searching for something of equal greatness.

So ever since the roast pig at Kimberly, I’ve developed a slight obsession with finding the good roast pig in Hong Kong. Josh or the dude better known as Char Xiu Bao, recommended the Celestial Court roast pig, and so that rose to the top of the eat list for my next trip to Hong Kong.

A great part of making an occasion of eat a roast pig is idea of community and feasting. It is mandated that you gather more than four, unless you have a great appetite for pig because the law of diminishing marginal returns kicks rapidly after the second sliced roll and some restaurants demand it.



So we are gathered here today at Celestial Court to celebrate the life of another pig. This pig stuffing - pearl barley, black truffles, glutinous rice and wild mushrooms – is delicious. The mushroom and (China) truffles lend fragrance and the barley mixed in with the glutinous rice give it texture – together, it was a good contrast to the crispy skin.

The pig vs. pig – in terms of crisp skin, Kimberly wins but Celestial Court wins it with their stuffing.



Another highlight from Celestial Court was the fortune chicken – a deboned chicken stuffed with ham and mushrooms, wrapped in lotus leaves and then baked in a dough crust to seal in all the flavours and moisture. As the staff break through the crust and peel away the layers of lotus leaves to reveal the succulent chicken treasure below, the aromas that burst out of the parcel is exceptionally delectable. It was fork tender and extremely tasty but unfortunately it was a tad on the salty end.

We ate through a few other dishes on the menu but for me was that pig. It was not too complicated or “truffled” for the sake of it – although the mushrooms rather than the truffles really gave it that edge - and importantly, the execution was good. Good piggy.

Celestial Court
2/F Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
+852 2369 1111

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