The seafood branch of Tang Palace in Beijing offers a combination of classic Cantonese with inspirations from other culinary traditions－plus Canadian lobsters. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Until July 31, a Canadian lobster under 1 kilogram costs 98 yuan ($15.80) per 500 grams. Bigger ones are 138 yuan per 500 grams.
Chefs in Tang Palace cook Canadian lobsters in many different ways, such as braising the lobster with black pepper or black truffle, steaming it with crushed garlic and rice vermicelli, and boiling it first to serve on ice with a dipping sauce.
I liked the cold lobster best. It's an innovation on cold lobster salad in Western cuisine that still feels very Chinese with the sauce－a secret recipe with a mixed kick of sweet, sour and mildly spicy.
Chief chef Huang Jianjun tells us the lobsters have firm texture because they swim in the North Atlantic's deep, cold water. They're low in fat and carbohydrates, and rich in protein and unsaturated fatty acids, he says.
Another cold dish we had, the cold pig knuckle with dried ginger, was awe-inspiring.
In Guangdong province, there grows a special kind of ginger called shajiang, or "sand ginger", which has a more pungent aroma than other gingers. It's a Guangdong tradition to use it to cook pigs' feet－or, more precisely, pork knuckles－served to guests because shajiang is said to have warming properties and help digestion.
The dish looked like ordinary marinated pigs' feet but lighter in color. One bite makes a diner eager for more.
The feet had a crunchy outside layer and tender inside, as well as some crunchy, meaty tendons. The flavor comes from the combination of ginger, oil, shallots, star anise, soy sauce and cooking wine. The meat tasted a little sour overall－but delicious.
Spicy scallops with garlic, chilies and rice vermicelli was another appealing dish. It was spicy and flavorful, and wafted an inviting aroma without a trace of fishy smell.
The dim sum are also must-tries.
My favorites are the durian cakes and mushroom steamed buns. The durian cakes had very crispy skins filled with milky durian paste. The steamed buns were very cute. They were shaped to look like mushrooms.
If you go
10 am-22 pm, 4/F, Full Link Plaza Building B, 18 Chaoyangmen Wai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing. 010-688-9388, 010-65883266.
