(Hong Kong, 15 May 2019) – Northern Chinese restaurant Hutong at One Peking has created six “Yong Zhu” dishes, celebrating bamboo, long-used in Chinese cooking and loved for its refined, elegant flavour with a sweet note.
Hutong’s chefs have sourced the freshest and most succulent parts of the bamboo - the young green shoots, spring roots and soft pith – and use traditional cooking techniques of steaming and smoking to bring out the elegant flavour in the “Yong Zhu” dishes. Bamboo has not only been used in Chinese cuisine for over 3000 years, but is also deeply rooted in China’s culture, art and poetry. The name “Yong Zhu” 詠竹 is a poetic phrase meaning to sing in praise of bamboo.
The hero dish in the “Yong Zhu” line-up is the aromatic Pu-erh tea smoked cod fillet steamed in bamboo leaves ($488) prepared with young bamboo leaves sourced from Sichuan, home of the Shunan Forest, the oldest and largest bamboo forest in China. The leaves are soaked in water for ten hours, wrapped around the delicate cod fish and together steamed with pu-erh tea. Served in four delicate parcels, the cod fish melts in the mouth leaving an amazing smoked flavour.
Hutong’s signature tongue-numbing Bamboo shoots, giant bamboo root tips, wagyu tenderloin in Sichuan chilli broth ($468) features Oldhamii bamboo shoots. The prized inner core is highly sought-after as it is crunchy with a mild, yet distinctive flavour. This is paired with giant bamboo root tips from Sichuan, cooked with premium Australian M7 grade wagyu beef in a spicy chilli broth and served in a long bamboo vessel, perfect for sharing.
The rich and spicy Steamed tiger prawns with chilli, black garlic & crisp bamboo shoots ($378) is served to the table in a steaming bamboo stalk. The tiger prawns are marinated in an exotic blend of Shaoxing wine, ginger and Chu Yeh Ching Chiew – a type of Baiju brewed with over a dozen Chinese herbs including bamboo leaves. The shoots and large prawns are gently wok-fried before being infused with the flavours of Hutong’s home-made black garlic – which takes over four weeks of aging – and topped with crisp, shredded bamboo shoots.
Next on the menu is a refreshing salad, Giant bamboo root, bamboo crisp, abalone, black fungus & noodles ($238); featuring two types of seasonal bamboo delicacy. Potassium-packed shoots from giant bamboo known for its fresh, elegant flavour is combined with deep-fried shoots from Zhejiang which can be harvested year-round; those from spring or early summer are coveted for their crunch and sweet taste. The ingredients are hand-tossed at the table with Australian abalone, black fungus, green noodles and presented with a peanut and pepper sauce.
The Green asparagus & prawn with bamboo fungus ($288) uses the abundant mushroom that grows on the root of the bamboo as a sheath in which to wrap and steam the prawns and asparagus. Each wrap is topped with a classic Chinese egg white sauce seasoned with salt and pepper to finish the dish.
For the sweet tooth, Sticky rice & red bean steamed in bamboo culms ($110) infuses the scent of bamboo stalks into the classic rice and red bean dessert, which is served in a long shaft of bamboo.
There’s an Ode to Bamboo cocktail to round off the collection - a delicious gin-based concoction using Tanqueray No. 10 infused with sencha and oolong tea for ten hours and strained in a muslin cloth. A few drops of home-made citrus syrup are then added which is painstakingly prepared by infusing citrus rinds with refined sugar for 48 hours. The blend is then combined with freshly extracted bamboo juice which is gently carbonated in-house for a bittersweet taste.
To mark the launch of this new menu, guests can also gaze upon an upside-down bamboo forest which decorates the ceiling as you enter the restaurant. This “Yong Zhu” menu is available at Hutong now until 16th August, served every day for lunch and dinner.
Hutong
28/F, One Peking, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
T 3428 8342 | www.hutong.com.hk | FB @hutonghk | IG @hutonghk
About Hutong
Reminiscent of an ancient family courtyard in one of Peking's fast disappearing hutongs (courtyard houses set between narrow lanes); Hutong’s interiors are set against the most breathtaking skylines of Hong Kong. The sense of adventure and sheer avant-garde creativity continues in the innovative cuisine inspired by the culinary Lu School from Shandong province. Originally born in Hong Kong nine years ago, Hutong opened in London in 2013. Hutong is part of Aqua Restaurant Group.
About Aqua Restaurant Group
In 2000, former lawyer David Yeo, launched aqua restaurant with a vision to bring some of the chic restaurant buzz of New York, Tokyo and London to Hong Kong. It proved such a phenomenal success that today Aqua Restaurant Group has grown to a formidable culinary empire of 19 ground-breaking outlets in Hong Kong, London and Beijing. A remarkable portfolio which embraces Hong Kong’s most innovative destination restaurants including aqua, Hutong, tivo, Shiro, Dim Sum Library. A traditional authentic Chinese junk experience – aqua luna and aqua luna II and most recently two new restaurants in Tai Kwun; The Chinese Library, Statement as well as a bar - The Dispensary.
Throughout the years, Aqua Restaurant Group’s fundamental philosophy has remained unchanged; to prepare exquisite food using the freshest, highest quality produce and to prepare it in a way where the true flavours shine. This is coupled with service that is approachable and unobtrusive, and always in a jaw-dropping stylish environment that features the very best of innovative Asian-inspired contemporary design, right down to the last small details, which has become the hallmark of the Aqua Restaurant Group.
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-ENDS-
Issued by GHC Asia on behalf of Aqua Restaurant Group
For media enquiries, please contact GHC Asia:
Karen Chong |2810 0532| [email protected]
Images:
Pu-erh tea smoked cod fillet
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Bamboo shoots, giant bamboo root tips, wagyu tenderloin in Sichuan chilli broth |
Bamboo shoots, giant bamboo root tips, wagyu tenderloin in Sichuan chilli broth
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Steamed tiger prawns with chilli, |
Giant bamboo root, bamboo crisp, |
Ode to Bamboo cocktail |
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