The Terrace

The next dish won the gold award in Hong Kong's 2010 Best of the Best Culinary Awards. The "deep-fried chicken skin stuffed shrimp paste with interlude asparagus and honey ham stick chicken wing" has a very long and descriptive name, but in simple terms, it could be called stuffed boneless chicken wings.

Whatever you call it, this dish was tasty. Crispy chicken skin is a favorite of mine, so I am biased. But the stuffing of pureed shrimp, ham and asparagus has a slight crunch and contrasted well with the rich and crispy outer shell.

Though I am no longer a big consumer of preserved meat, I rarely go without eating some during the cooler season in Hong Kong. The Chinese kale we were served was sauteed with preserved meats and ginger juice that is a classic combination that has the flavors of the crunchy green kale, salty meats, and spicy and fragrant ginger blended together. For vegetarians, this dish is also delicious without the preserved meats.

To finish the main part of the meal, we were served fried rice with crab roe and crab meat. Dry without being dried out, the rice hit the spot. The Terrace is known for its abalone rice, but it would have been a bit too rich to have that with this meal. Something for another visit.

The meal was served with small dishes of the signature XO sauce on the table. One of my fellow diners put this on everything he ate.

The sauce is in fact so popular that the restaurant charges for the small dishes of sauce. Sum adds dried shrimp roe to this signature sauce and there is even a YouTube video showing how the sauce is made. Needless to say, a lot of chopping is involved in the process. Worth picking up a bottle to take with you. At home, I put it on fried rice and noodles, and stir-fry vegetables with it.

Dessert was a homemade walnut cream that was creamy and not overly sweet. A very soothing dessert that I'm told will nourish the brain.