CUISINE CUISINE @ IFC

While it was sheer joy learning French culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney, I did miss the food in Hong Kong, especially the high end of Cantonese fare. When the invitation came from Jackie & Kai for dinner at Cuisine Cuisine my prayer was answered. This upmarket eatery at the IFC belongs to the Miramar Group and has developed a following. We are not
regulars as their dishes are not exactly meant for daily consumption. That said, we were treated to a fantastic menu of banquet specials, as shown here. While I am against the indiscriminate killing of sharks and the necessary boycott of shark's fin on menus, my moral position was weakened when the 'high-soup', along with a perfectly cooked crab claw, were presented. Unashamedly and greedily I gratified my taste buds, leaving my morals in the back seat. This has to be the ultimate of Cantonese cuisine, I told myself, until the next dish appears. Classic brasied abalone! Dora used to prepare this at home, with high approval rating from our dinner guests. Organizing the soup base in which the dried abalones are braised is already a huge challenge which involves a maze of ingredients, and hours of slow cooking. The end product is divine, the texture is unique, the flavor unmatched, the sauce can out-bid competition from any cuisine, it is simply that good. The Cuisine Cuisine version was first class ie top quality abalone, excellent flavor & fashionably presented ... I loved it!

BTW Dora promised me she will cook again when she retires, but conveniently neglected to say when! We should look forward to having Braised Abalone at Chez Tang, one day, by then the recipe might have to be changed ie doubling if not tripling the cooking time to ensure our teeth are in sync with the abalone. If you wait patiently enough, I am sure that day will come.