The Shop, Phnom Penh

Our first choice for brunch in the capital, The Shop serves good sandwiches and coffees to a hungry expat clientele.


The Shop Bakery. 39, 240 street, Phnom Penh
tel: 023 88 60 12/023 986 964

Lunch in Chiang Rai

Today for lunch we had Lahp Gai, minced chicken fried with herbs and topped with crispy deep-fried shallots and garlic. It was a nice change from curry and Yum soups as it was dry and crunchy.
We had it with steamed rice at Loong It, a shack on Th Phranorn in Chiang Rai.

Duck de Chine, Beijing

Duck de Chine. Our complements to the chef at this fabulous upscale Beijing duck establishment. Everything was perfect from top to bottom. We entered without reservations and were politely ushered to the bar to wait over drinks. When our table was ready we were escorted by a waitress with a headset (very efficient) to the dining area which was nicely designed in intimate bourdeau colors.

The Beijing Roasted Duck was perfect. Carved in front of our table it was lean, crisp and delicious. Beijing duck is served with an accompaniment of cucumbers, spring onions and plum sauce. These ingredients are rolled inside the thin steamed flour pancakes and eaten.

The restaurant serves its plum sauce with a swirl of sesame sauce, peanut sauce and ground peanuts, which enriches the whole experience.

We also ordered a side dish of green herb salad with cashews and candied walnuts which we liked very much.

Duck de Chine. Courtyard 4, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District.

http://www.elite-concepts.com/Promotions/1949/DuckDeChine.htm

Longcheng Tang and Ba Guo Bu Yi, Beijing

Longcheng Tang. We loved this tiny Guangxi grub restaurant with a courtyard setting. We enjoyed a stir fry dish of smoked ham, bamboo shoots and vegetables with a side order of steamed long grain rice.


Our favorite though, was the deep-fried eggplant circles. The eggplants were covered in a thin coat of batter and served on a banana leaf. A dip of mixed dry salt, cumin and chili added a flair.


Ba Guo Bu Yi serves Sichan fare in a second floor venue complete with a dinner performance (avoid sitting in the center of the room as the Chinese like their entertainment loud and cheesy). When the dishes were served they seemed so tame, little did we know they would burn so.

The dried tofu with celery dressed in chili oil was delicious. The strong taste of the chili complemented the crisp celery and the thinly sliced tofu had a smoky flavour.


We were naive when we ordered the Sichuan staple chicken covered in dried chili. The dish came to the table, a mound of shiny red and we anticipated the first bite. A second look revealed the ratio between the chili/peppercorns and the pea-sized chicken bits (about 10:1). We had a few mouthfuls while shedding tears and losing sensation in our mouths and throats. We were brave enough to put it aside and order something milder, an omelet (can't go wrong there).


Longcheng Tang. 28, Huangchenggen Beijie, Dongcheng District.
Ba Guo Bu Yi. 2F Nanhang Hotel, 10 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Guomao, Chaoyang District. and other locations around Beijing.

Liu Zhai Shifu Restaurant, Beijing

Liu Zhai Shifu is a small courtyard venue tucked in a hutong. We loved its cosy atmosphere reminicent of old Beijijng with good lighting and friendly local diners. We ordered the roast duck, which takes an hour to make and nibbled some starters and beer while we waited.


The cold asparagus salad with sesame sauce and chili was refreshing and precise. The whole soaked walnuts complemented the sesame flavour and were a nice touch.


We also liked the cornflour "tortilla" covered with a thick layer of stir fried egg and finely chopped chives.

The roast duck was a good value, but a bit too fatty for our refined taste.

Liu Zhai Shifu. 8, Meishuguan Dongjia, Dongcheng District.

Do It Yourself, Xian

The Royals and C. went out for a night market dinner in the Muslim quarter. After a long indecisive stroll through the many eateries we sat ourselves down to a hot-pan table, not knowing what the future of dinner would bring. Lucky for us, all we had to do was point at our neighbors' table and the waiter began to bring our cooking ingredients. This is how it works. The restaurant provides you with raw products to your liking (various meat, seafood, tofu, mushrooms, onions, bok choy etc.) accompanied by cooking fat, sesame sauce, cumin and chili. The waiter turns on the gas and the rest is up to you.

Toss your ingredients, season to taste and dip in the sesame sauce.

Places to Eat... Kashgar

In Kashgar, the best way to go is local. The bustling night market is filled with busy stalls and restaurants serving Central Asian specialties with Chinese twists. The lachman may also be served on steamed rice with chopsticks and you can taste the local speciality, a stew of roasted chicken, egg and chickpea.

Alternatively, you can dine Western style at the Xinjiang cafe chain, Eversun Coffee. This place serves quality and pricey tea and coffee with a western menu. After two months in Central Asia, we were delighted to have a piece of cheesecake.