2011-03-16 Dinner @ Crystal Mall

Buddha Boy and I decided to grab some quick dinner from Crystal since we had to run some errands right after.  On a weekday night, the parking at Crystal Mall was not bad at all...thank goodness!!!  This mall, along with Aberdeen, Parker Place, Yaohan, and Richmond Public Market are, IMPO, the worst weekend places.  LOL!!!

KINGSPARK GOOD FOOD  京士柏中西美食

604-438-3348

With so many selection, Buddha Boy went to Kingspark and ordered a noodle...carbs, carbs, carbs...BAD!!!

Shredded Chicken Chow Mein (雞絲炒麵)...Buddha Boy thought this tasted so-so...not much meat and noodles weren't too crispy...overall, as a HK Cafe food-court stall, the noodle dishes @ Sun Century was much better.

99 BBQ HOUSE  久久鴨燒烤吧

778-899-1899

The BBQ bar has been on Buddha Boy's radar for quite some time.  I have previously tried some items from here (see post 2010-11-17 Quick Visits @ 99 BBQ House, Lulu Veggie, and T&T Supermarket), while the flavor was nice, but it's not something that wow'd me.

Chicken Skewers (雞肉串) - good flavors, texture ok...overall nice.  Pork Skewers (豬肉串) - a bit over-cooked but acceptable.  Chicken Wings (雞翅) -juicy, tender and tasty...our favorite (out of the five).  China-Style Sausage (中國烤腸) - no "crunch" texture...meat was way too grounded, flavor ok.  Taiwanese Sausage (台灣烤腸) - this was good, had a good "crunch" and that chewy Q texture...Buddha Boy thought this was better than our secret supplier's, and perhaps better than many places in Taiwan.

Just when I was about to pay for the skewers, I noticed this combo on the wall.  North-Eastern Sour Napa Cabbage & Pork Belly Pot (東北酸白菜鍋)...oooh...I just had to try it!!!  Many place nowadays would pickle this veggie in water and salt...THIS IS WRONG.  The napa cabbage should be cleaned and dried naturally for one to two days (preferably under the sun, to dry up the moisture), then be put in a clay urn with salt sprinkled and a clean, flat rock in between each layer.  The urn is then closed tightly and wrapped to ensure no air leaking in or out.  During the fermenting process (usually takes one to two months, depending on the weather), the lid is never opened.  Back then. this sour veggie was considered a palace food because it's often a favorite of an emperor, an empress (or concubine), or someone within the royalty.  You see, many people thought that the finished product has to be more sour the better...this is not true.  The perfect sour napa cabbage (酸白菜) is crunchy and fragrant, with a light taste of sourness.  An over-done (pickled for too long) batch of sour napa cabbage would be too sour and would lost its fragrance.  A close resemblance of north-eastern sour napa cabbage (東北酸白菜) would be the Korean pickled napa cabbage served as wrappers in Jokbal dishes. 

The sour veggie here was ok.  The cabbage was over-cooked in the soup so it did not have the "crunch" texture.  I did taste a light hint of fragrance and it was not overly sour, but it tasted "commercial"...like out of a package.  The pork broth was nice, but very little pork belly slices.  The combo came with white rice and kimchi (huh???).  Would I order this again?  Probably not.

Buddha Boy wanted to try the Pork Wrap (豬肉捲餅)...it's simply braised pork with green onions wrapped in a Chinese pancake.  Not much meat, wrap was a bit doughy, tasted ok...not something we would order again.  I would say, overall, for this place, just stick with the BBQ.