My time in Hong Kong this summer centred around The Hubby’s childhood memories and traditions. One thing he always does when in Hong Kong is pop over the border to Luoho Commercial City in Shenzhen for custom tailored suits. I tagged along to help pick out fabrics, get a foot massage and grab dim sum.

We took a train from Mong Kok to the border, passed through customs and was greeted by a the giant 5 storey shopping centre filled with small shops (think Pacific Mall) from clothing to accessories, shoes and electronics. There were no brand name stores and many offered wholesale pricing and quantities. We headed straight to the “tailor” section of the building, which was filled with small shops and packed with samples. The Hubby’s family has been visiting the same tailor for as long as he could remember. We flipped through a magazine of suit styles and settled on one before moving on to thick books of fabric swatches. Throughout all this, I assumed his aunts agreed to pricing and bargained it out in Cantonese while we focused on just shopping. The Hubby ended up ordering three suits, which his aunts helped pick up and ship to Canada.

After our main goal for the trip was done, we were rewarded with dim sum at Laurel Restaurant, located on the 5th floor of Luoho Commercial City. The large restaurant was very busy and hectic with every table filled and a line outside. We ordered a table full of dishes and none disappointed, I especially enjoyed the hot clay pot dishes and flakey bbq pork roll. I found the skin on the shrimp dumplings a little thick, but the chicken feet were tender and juicy. Of all the meals in Hong Kong, this one was the closest in style and flavour to Cantonese restaurants in Toronto. Service was efficient and professional.

During my Asia trip this summer I had planned 24 hours in Shanghai, in transit from Suzhou to Hong Kong. My top priority for this day trip was eating the best authentic xiao long bao (soup dumplings) possible. After a lot of research, I narrowed my choice down to Jia Jia Xiao Long Bao, located near People’s Square.

The Hubby and I arrived in Shanghai with his parents and brother just after breakfast. High speed trains between Suzhou and Shanghai has cut the transit down to just 30 minutes, making day trips to the city very easy. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and set off for our xiao long bao adventure.

We arrived at Jia Jia Xiao Long Bao just after the lunch rush. The restaurant was small, with 20-30 wooden and plastic stools surrounding communal tables. Our group of 5 had to wait longer in order to sit together. This was a no frills hole-in-wall shop, filled with locals and tourists alike. Signs posted on each wall in English and Chinese warned customers of the slippery floors. With the kitchen constantly pumping out xiao long bao, the shop was steamy. Part of the kitchen was open and we could see 4 women making the xiao long baos to order. The finesse and speed with which each worker did their task to make the baos was mesmerizing.

Like many small Chinese restaurants, the menu was a placard system behind the cash and changed based on the day’s availability and as items sell out. We placed our order at the cash before sitting. An English menu was available. I could not believe how low the prices were, 20rmb for 12 pork baos, 27rmb for 12 pork and crab baos. The most expensive filling for 6 pure crab meat and roe for 99 rmb, still a steal really. Sliced ginger and vinegar was an additional 1 rmb charge per person.

For the 5 of us, we ordered two bowls of pork blood and egg soup (3 rmb), two steamers each of pork, pork and crab and one steamer of pure crab. To start, the texture of the wrapper was phenomenal, chewy and springy but delicately thin. With a mostly liquid filling, the baos transformed from spheres to blobs in the steamers and sagged precariously when picked up. Biting a small hole into the bao released the delicious aroma of the savoury filling inside and there was plenty of soup to be slurped up. So good and so satisfying. My favourite xiao long baos in Toronto are good, but these ones had a stronger flavour.

My favourite xiao long baos were pure crab ones. The filling consisted of crab roe, crab meat and were very rich. When mixed with pork, the crab complimented the filling but the texture was still like a soft meatball. With all crab, the filing was more liquid, oil and way creamier. As delicious as they were, it would be hard to eat a full steamer by myself.

I would highly recommend visiting Jia Jia Xiao Long Bao for breakfast (they open at 8:30am) for an incredible start to a day in Shanghai at a very affordable price. The Hubby and I enjoyed our meal at Jia Jia so much, we actually went back the next morning before our flight. I wanted those xiao long baos to be the last bite I had of Shanghai.

Taihu Lake is a large freshwater lake located in Jiangsu province. Three major cities are situated close by; Suzhou, Wuxi and Huzhou. Most tourists stop by Wuxi to take in the beautiful scenery of Taihu, home to many national parks, gardens and historic sights. While Wuxi is right on the lake, Suzhou is inland, about an hour drive from city centre to lakeside. During my visit home this summer, my aunts and uncles organized a day trip to Taihu Lake that included fishing and a lunch filled with local delicacies.

From the region, the famous ingredients are referred to as the “Taihu Lake Three Whites” or “Three Treasure of Taihu Lake”. These are white fish, whitebait and white shrimp.

Lunch began with a selection of cold dishes, including a pickled Chinese mustard greens that were crunchy, sweet and sour. The first treasure I got to try was white shrimp, boiled whole and lightly seasoned. Each tiny shrimp had a delicate, mild flavour. Even though they were difficult to eat (having to peel each one), mp chopsticks kept reaching for more. Every so often, I’d hit jackpot and find a female shrimp brimming with roe.

The second delicacy was Taihu whitebait, immature fry of fish, with scrambled eggs. So early in development, the whitefish added only a light fish flavour to the eggs. A full-grown white fish was served steamed with ginger, garlic and green onions. Being right next to the lake, the fish doesn’t get much fresher.

Other dishes that rounded out the meal included braised tofu, freshwater snail (another finicky dish that was worth the effort), bamboo sprouts with pickled cabbage, stir fried cucumber slices, deep fried freshwater sunfish, garlic chives with clams and a pot of chicken soup. All of the dishes used fresh local ingredients and were incredibly fragrant. The little sunfish were fried to a perfect crisp, to be eaten bones and all, and seasoned with salt and pepper. I loved biting the heads and tasting the burst of flavour. We ended up getting seconds of this dish. Another highlight was the free-range chicken soup, which was a deep golden yellow. I’ve always found chicken in China to have a stronger, natural chicken taste. The Hubby ladled up bowl after bowl of the fragrant broth until the last drop.

If you’re in the area, there are many local restaurants along Taihu Lake that offer these specialty dishes. The home style cooking was comforting, delicious and extremely satisfying.

Song He Lou is one of Suzhou’s oldest restaurants with over 200 years of history including multiple visits from Qing dynasty emperor, QianLong. Located near the heart of Guan Qian shopping district, the restaurant has continued to serve traditional Suzhou dishes under the glow of neon signs.

A dinner at Song He Lou was my request during this trip home. In 2012, one of my dad’s old friends from university brought us and I fell in love with their squirrel fish. Nothing I had eaten before or since even came close to Song He Lou’s. This year, I went with my parents, aunts, uncles, The Hubby and his family who were visiting Suzhou for the first time. I couldn’t think of a better way to show off my hometown’s cuisine.

In China, most mid-upscale restaurants have an open dining area and floors of private rooms. Reservations will be for a private room and rooms are booked for the entire evening. Often, parties consist of large family gatherings and can easily have over 20 people. The rooms allow diners to enjoy themselves, often boisterously, and comfortably. Most restaurants also allow BYOB.

Dinner began with a selection of cold dishes, BBQ pork, pork terrine, drunken chicken, pickled baby cucumbers and my favourite, duck tongue simmered in rice wine. Cold dishes are served at the beginning of a meal and meant to drum up appetites. The BBQ pork, pork terrine and drunken chicken were all delicate in flavour and lightly seasoned. Duck tongue may not be for everyone, but they’re actually similar in taste to chicken wings. The organ is covered in fatty skin that surrounds crunchy cartilage. We also had a platter of offal, which included braised tripe and tongue.

Our first hot dish was Dongpo Pork, a variation of red braised pork from Hangzhou, Suzhou’s southern neighbour. The pork belly was sweet, creamy and melted apart. Next up was a beautifully sculpted squirrel fish, drenched in a sweet and sour sauce. The fish is filleted into sections and then deep fried creating the “fluffy” result. Each tender morsel of fish was encased in a crispy shell, a perfect balance of textures.

Another traditional Suzhou dish was Guoba (锅巴), the burnt rice that forms at the bottom of a pot when steaming rice. The rice becomes crispy (almost like puffed rice) and takes on a toasted flavour. Once the guoba arrived, a sweet and sour sauce was poured on just before serving. Next was Cracking Eel Paste, a dish made from rice field eels stir fried and served in hot oil. The eel was freshly butchered, and the meat incredibly soft. The soup we tried that night was scrambled egg whites with whitebait fish and a plant local to Lake Tai (太湖莼菜).

One of the highlights of eating in China was the fresh ingredients. Menus changed with the seasons and local produce was delivered straight from farmers daily. Song He Lou’s delicate and precise cooking techniques showcased these ingredients in the brightest light and I would highly recommend a visit. Prices are on the high end for a restaurant in Suzhou (>100 rmb per person) but the experience and food match those of many fine dining restaurants in North America. Reservations are recommended.

Nearly 6 months ago, I got married. After our wedding in Toronto, The Hubby and I set off for a 5 week adventure throughout China and Southeast Asia. Our trip began with stops in Suzhou, China (my home town) and Hong Kong (his home town) for two more wedding receptions with our extended families. During this first leg of our wedding tour, both our parents travelled with us along with some cousins and siblings. Eating with family in China means lots of great local dishes, often with unknown ingredients at an unknown cost. I rarely get to see a bill when visiting relatives. This means some of my posts for China and Hong Kong may be vague and I apologize now for it.

Suzhou, located in Jiangsu province about an hour away from Shanghai is often referred to as the Venice of China. The city is filled with canals and stone bridges. My grandmother lives right one of these canals and I’ve always loved walking through old Suzhou along the stone walkways. While in the city, The Hubby and I spent a day getting dolled up and taking photos with a local studio. My favourite shots were taken along Pingjiang Road, a historic street where the traditional architecture of Suzhou has been preserved. The road was filled with food vendors, tea houses, cafes (Starbucks included and many cat cafes), book shops, craft shops and restaurants. Since the district is a tourist attraction, the restaurants can be pricier.

After our photo shoot, The Hubby and I met up with two of my cousins to enjoy dinner at One Fish (一条鱼), one of the many restaurants offering classic Suzhou dishes on Pingjiang Rd. The restaurant was unfortunately not English friendly. However, like most restaurants in China, the menu was filled with pictures making ordering easier. Also like most seafood restaurants, all of the live offerings were displayed in tanks in the restaurant lobby. To order, we picked the types of seafood we wanted and then chose how each ingredient would be cooked. There were also samples of the restaurant’s popular dishes displayed.

We ended up starting dinner with Peking duck. There wasn’t much meat but the skin was crispy and the wrappers thin and freshly steamed. Next was sautéed water lily bulbs, which were crunchy and sweet, with celery. Next was a spicy and sour soup with udon and lamb slices. Our first seafood dish was steamed scallops with vermicelli, fresh and tender.

Often when I’m travelling, I have trouble getting enough vegetables in my diet while constantly eating out. This wasn’t the case in Suzhou and my relatives made sure we always enjoyed vegetables that were in season. At One Fish we had napa cabbage cooked with pickled mustard greens and a spicy cabbage hotpot. Served over a heating element, the cabbage became more flavourful and spicier over time. Such a simple dish but made with fresh ingredients and strong seasoning left a lasting memory on my taste buds.

The other seafood dish we had was a spicy and sour fish soup (酸菜魚). Straight from the tank to the wok, the fish was fresh, tender and finished cooking at our table. The broth was savoury and full-bodied. The sourness from the preserved vegetables complimented the natural fish flavour. We also had freshwater eel sautéed in a ginger and garlic sauce, another popular Jiangsu dish.

With some hand signs and pointing, placing an order at One Fish would be possible for non-Mandarin speakers. The seafood restaurant was a great spot for dinner after an afternoon enjoying the sights of Pingjiang Road.