LumDimSum Discovery: Punjabi’s Ginger Garlic Soup

Punjabi’s Manchu Shorba – Ginger Garlic Manchow Soup (RMB 28)

WARNING my fellow Beijingers: This Thursday, Beijing’s weather forecast predicts temperatures to drop to -11 degrees Celsius.

That is scary cold, but with enough layers/puffer jackets together with enough hours of sleep and an appropriate diet, you should be able to prepare your body for the dramatic drop in temperature.

What’s a proper diet for cold weather?  Probably lay off the ice cream and other cold treats and stick to foods that will warm you up like hot pot and soups.

I recently discovered Punjabi’s Manchu Shorba, ie Ginger Garlic Manchow Soup (RMB 28) last week when I went to meet owner Gireesh Chowdhury with his recent order of candy&caviar’s webstore exclusives.  I was exhausted from lack of sleep, stress and all the things that come from a busy work week and it was clearly written all over my face because as soon as I walked into his restaurant, Gireesh ordered this soup for me straight away and I’ve got to hand it to him as it immediately warmed me up inside out and that night, I slept like a baby.

Thanks to this amazing Garlic Ginger Soup, I was able to get through the rest of the week and make sure everything was in order for my BICCO and Kagen Christmas Charity dinner last Saturday night (which was a HUGE success! – stay tuned for event pics and summary)

Packed with heavy doses of garlic, ginger, and vegetables, this chunky soup is packed with germ-fighting ingredients to boost your immunity system and get you through Beijing’s cold winter months.

“Of all the soups on my menu, this is the one that’s best for winter. It’s got ginger, garlic, veggies, black pepper and a dash of mint – a perfect cure for winter blues.” – Gireesh Chowdhury, owner of Punjabi Restaurant

Finally, medicine that actually tastes good! Well, it’s not technically medicine and as it’s not actually something doctors will prescribe to their patients with colds, but maybe they should!  Anyway, it really did work for me so I figured it would be beneficial to share this dish with my LDS readers and hopefully it will cure your winter blues too!

If you happen to be a vampire/someone who can’t handle garlic, then my second choice on Punjabi’s soup menu is their Tamatar Ka Shorba, ie Tomato Soup (RMB 28). It’s different from your typical rich and creamy American-style tomato soup because it’s a lot lighter with less cream.

“Punjabi’s tomato soup has no cornflour, no additives, just pure, fresh tomatoes with a dash of white pepper and cream.” – Gireesh on his tomato soup

Punjabi’s Tamatar Ka Shorba, ie Tomato Soup (RMB 28)

Next time you are dining in Punjabi, you must also try my all-time favorite Indian dish – Punjabi’s Baingan Bharta Dish, made from mashed chargrilled whole eggplant with fresh tomatoes and zero oil.

*LumDimSum Discovery Explanation: Whenever I try a dish worth sharing, I will post this find as a LumDimSum Discovery.  Just search tagged “LumDimSum Discovery” articles for more recommendations.

Punjabi Indian Restaurant Contact Details:

• Address: Located on Lucky Street, opposite 21st Century Hotel, 朝阳公园路C-8号二层

• Tel: 5867-0221/23

• Email:  punjabibj@gmail.com

• Website: www.punjabichina.com

LDS Discovery: GungHo!’s Turkey Hot Pot Tradition

Annual Turkey Hot Pot Tradition

It really should be no surprise that GungHo! Legends John and Jade are the masterminds behind my newest LumDimSum Discovery: Turkey Hot Pot.

LDS Discoveries are normally reserved for finds I uncover in various dining establishments around Beijing (click here for previous posts), but I couldn’t pass up writing about this discovery because this could easily be imitated and replicated in the comfort of anyone’s home! Yes, you can try this at home too!

Always scheming up new adventures, new recipes and new concoctions to share, this happens to be a relatively new tradition (second year running) and John & Jade were kind enough to introduce me to their world of turkey hot pot.

Turkey Chainsaw Massacre

Taking a giant, frozen turkey and slicing the meat into thin slivers and prepping a ton of veggies – pumpkin, sweet potato, brussel sprouts, baby carrots, potato slices and asparagus, we shared three massive pots of boiling turkey broth between 16 of us.  If you can close your eyes and just imagine, the turkey meat is even more juicy and moist in hot pot broth than out of the over! And the boiled vegetables were super healthy and carefully selected to follow in their theme of a classic turkey dinner’s veggie sides, but in Chinese hot-pot dinner style.

And not only did each person get their own sesame dipping sauce, we had cranberry sauce as well -an unexpectedly delish compliment to the savory turkey meat!

Pure Genius: Turkey Hot Pot

Flying Chopsticks Fighting For More Turkey Hot Pot!

As this weekend was Beijing’s first snowfall of the year, a hike on the Great Wall was in order. Needless to say, it was cold, but the sky was bright blue and winds were mild. So in spite of the lack of snow on the wall, it was an invigorating hike with gorgeous views of the mountain side and valleys all around.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Hiking on the Great Wall at the First Sign of Snow:

Susu’s Soothing New Vietnamese Hot Pot

Susu’s recently gone through some changes and from the looks of it, they’ve had the foresight to prepare Beijingers for the long winter ahead with a newly released menu inclusive of new soups, stews and the best winter blues cure of all – Hot Pot!

I used to only think of hot pot as a Chinese specialty (first thing that comes to mind is a super Sichuan “mala” broth 麻辣汤), but that was before I got addicted to Kagen’s Japanese Sukiyaki Hot Pot (heaven on earth) and most recently, I fell in love with Susu’s Classic Vietnamese Hot Pot (RMB 68).  The broth is so delicious, a basic chicken brew loaded with lemongrass, onions and fermented rice, I would be happy just sipping on the soup of the hot pot!  Throw in a basket of assorted mushrooms, fresh shrimp, greens and snakefish fillet and I was beyond content with the spread in front of me.

Susu offers two different Vietnamese hot pot options: their Classic Susu Hot Pot (RMB 68) and their Seafood Hot Pot (RMB 88), which is Chef Quyen’s secret formula with coconut milk and shrimp paste. I tried both hot pot broths and although I liked them both, the classic broth was lighter in flavor and more fragrant with soothing lemongrass and ginger whereas the seafood hot pot was a bit too rich for my taste as there is both shrimp paste and coconut milk making the broth both thicker and more savory.

Susu Head Chef Quyen’s Secret Seafood Hot Pot (RMB 88)

Susu’s Classic Vietnamese Hot Pot packed with fragrant lemongrass (RMB 68)

Susu’s Hot Pot Fixings:

Beef Tenderloin (RMB 48), Shrimp (RMB 62)

Ceylon Spinach (RMB 18) / Mixed Mushrooms (RMB 42)

Snake Fish Fillet (RMB 58)

Susu Vietnamese Hot Pot Feasting:

Hot pot aside, Susu’s other menu additions include Chef Quyen’s Salmon Cucumber Salad (RMB 58), Shaking Beef (RMB 98) and Lemongrass Chili Chicken (RMB 78), new homemade Fish Cakes (RMB 58) and Charcuterie Plate (RMB 52), Steamed Ginger Sea Bass (RMB 108), Peasant Duck (RMB 98) and Galangal Pork Stew (RMB 88).  For dessert, Susu’s also added a new Lemongrass Panna Cotta (RMB 22).

I was so stuffed after trying both of Susu’s new hot pot meals, but I’m definitely keen to try their Shaking Beef, Steamed Ginger Sea Bass and Lemongrass Panna Cotta next time I SuSu (yes, I did just verb-ify Susu)!

Previous LDS Reviews on Susu:

• LumDimSum Discovery: Susu’s Banana & Prawn Spring Roll
• Just Can’t Get Enough: Susu Revisited
• Susu is Superb: A LumDimSum Discovery

Check out other Susu Restaurant Reviews here:

• China Daily Review
• Beijing Today Review
• Time Out Beijing Review
• CityWeekend Review

If you are planning to visit Susu for the first time, be sure to take note of their address and this map below:

Susu Contact Details:

• Address: Qianliang Hutong, West Alley No. 10, 钱粮胡同西巷10号
• Directions: Just northeast of National Art Museum and Sanlian Bookstorn on Qianliang hutong
• Tel: 8400-2699

*Note that Susu is closed on Mondays, I recommend calling ahead to book your next reservation

Best Hot Pot Deal in Beijing

Hot Pot is one of the only good things about Beijing’s unbearably cold winter season.

Hai Di Lao is an old Beijing favorite with its popular do-it-yourself sauce station and genuinely friendly service, but I find the long wait-time a drag and the super packed-out venue can just leave you feeling overwhelmed and even claustrophobic. While Hai Di Lao Hot Pot remains as one of my all-time favorite hot pot spot, I have recently discovered a hot pot deal so good that not only will it serve as a suitable alternative when Hai Di Lao is too busy, but may even be my new choice hot pot destination.

Introduced to me by my dear friend and fellow foodie, Xixi Cheng, Eight Birds Hokkaido Shabu Shabu (that is the entire name) offers an unbeatable “secret” set menu of only RMB 258 (can be shared between a group of 3-4) that includes everything from Kobe beef, abalone, fresh oysters, New Zealand imported meat…the whole sha-bang!

Here’s the breakdown for this ridiculously good meal deal (only RMB 258 for all the following):

Choice of drink:

Ice Lemon Tea, Milk Tea, Red or Green tea

Trio Combo Dipping Sauces with 1 raw quail egg:

Appetizers:

• Vegetable Salad
• Cold Tofu
• Secret Heart Sugar Egg

I have no idea what their secret is, but this Secret Heart Egg is off the hook good

Dumplings & Vegetable Platter:

Choice of 2 meats:

• Kobe Beef
• Matsusaka Pork
• New Zealand Sheep
• New Zealand Lamb cubes
• Diced fatty beef
• US Cephalomappa (Beef)

We ordered the New Zealand Sheep and Kobe Beef

Choice of 2 Seafood:

• Salmon Head
• Fresh Shrimp
• Small Abalone
• Fresh Oyster
• Clams
• Live Crab
• Shellfish

Noodles & Rice mixed with leftover hotpot soup:

Dessert:

Red Bean Ice Dessert, Fruit Panna Cotta Trio & Fruit

LumDimSum Snapshots of Eight Birds:

Review of Eight Birds Hokkaido Shabu Shabu: 5/F, South Place, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶南街5楼, Tel: 6587 1470

Best Part:

• RMB 258 Set Hot Pot Meal and get Kobe Beef, Abalone, Fresh Oysters, etc. (Group of 8 of us all paid about RMB 90 each)

• Super friendly service
• Loads of private rooms (if that’s our thing) and open dining space for main seating

Comments:

• Instead of a do-it-yourself sauce buffet l (similar to Haidilao), we still got three sauces that we all found quite different and tasty.
• Location was a bit strange – top floor of the back side of The Place where all these children’s play areas are located.
• Restaurant was very busy, but staff was all incredibly kind and helpful.

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 6
• Service: 8
• Overall Experience: 7

Eight Friends at Eight Birds (Total Coincidence)

Heat Up with Hot Pot @ Punk

An ongoing sensation, the next Hot Pot Party with DJ Wordy & DJ Lomang is this Friday, June 30 @ PUNK.

Mixing it up from Best Electro, Hip Hop, Dubstep, Bass music, Old School, The most exclusive in Remixs, and all the newest club-bangers. “hotpot” is already Beijing’s no.1 world-class party for music lovers’ with world-class booty, jiggling to exclusive tracks from New York to London, Paris to Berlin. … No filler, just good vibes, great people, and a night dedicated to good music.

hotpot Vol.29@PUNK Event Details:

• Date: Friday, July 30th 2010
• Time: 10PM – late
• Location: Punk (The Opposite House)
• No Cover

HAIL to Hai Di Lao Hot Pot

The wait was long and after tough negotiations, we argued our way down from 30 minutes to a sincere promise of 20 minutes.

We were given complimentary snacks – raisins, kumquats, shrimp chips, and sweet lemon water while we sat on stools in a little waiting area, inclusive of games and the first floor even has an area to get your nails did…but we did not (against my will).

20 minutes, on the dot, we were led to our table and given red aprons to wear (SO clutch when you eat hot pot) and piping hot towels to wipe our hands as soon as we sat down.

The self-serve sauce station was superb with an extensive variety of chili sauces, onion, garlic, Thai chili, Korean hot pepper paste, seafood and meat sauces and they even include spicy fen, congee and sweet potato. Back at our table, we were served more complimentary appetizers and unlimited amounts of chrysanthemum tea, sweet lemon water, etc. The service was quick and the staff were all surprisingly, genuinely friendly and helpful.

And the best part?  The food. The delightful combination of fresh, quality products to create your own hot pot goodness.

Portions were generous with options to order half dishes (allowing you to order more of a variety), quality of meat was good, shrimp paste was absolutely excellent (squeezed into hot pot from conveniently pre-packaged tubes), and they even have kung-fu hand-pulled noodles (it’s quite an entertaining show).

I have found my new favorite hot pot destination: Hai Di Lao.

Review of Hai Di Lao: 3 locations (Sanlitun, Haidian, Xidan):  Sanlitun address – A2 Baijiazhuang Lu, Sanlitun. West of Beijing No.80 Middle School  白家庄路甲二号 第80中学西侧    Tel: 6595-0079, 6595-2982

Best Part:

• All the complimentary treats you are given from the minute you walk in, makes you feel valued and happy
• Service is genuinely friendly and helpful despite it being a busy, crowded restaurant with line of people waiting to be seated. This is a rare find in Beijing
• You are given the option of ordering half-portioned dishes to try more of a variety
• The red aprons and hot towels were a nice touch
• Do-it-Yourself sauce station offers a superb selection of different sauces and snacks
• Food is fresh and decent quality for hot pot standards

Comments:

• I honestly have nothing but good things to say about Hai Di Lao. When you walk in to a packed out local Chinese restaurant, you generally do not expect such attention to detail and customer satisfaction combined together with genuinely friendly service.  The only time I feel this looked after is at places where you should expect it: Maison Boulud, Bei, Capital M, Hatsune, & SALT.
• Only thing is that it really was packed (crowded on all three stories) and I have a thing about space when I’m dining.  But there is good reason why the place was so packed even on a Tuesday night.  Definitely book ahead if you don’t want to wait 30 minutes (20 minutes if you are a skilled and fierce negotiator).

Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best)

• Food: 8
• Atmosphere: 5
• Service: 9
• Overall Experience: 9

If You Like It Hot

With Beijing’s sudden drop in temperature, what’s better than a spicy meal to warm your winter blues?

If you’re like me and you crave meals filled with flavor and spice, here’s a breakdown of some of my top picks for different styles of cuisine, known to make you sweat:

1. Best Sichuan – known for its liberal use of garlic, chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns which produces a “tingly-numbing (Ma La)” sensation, unique to Sichuan cuisine.

• Chuan Ban
• Yu Xin
• The Sichuan Restaurant in Solana by Tsingtao Brewery (forgot name)
• Black Sesame Kitchen
  

  Karaiya's Spicy Pepper Diced Rib Eye

2. Best Hunan – As spicy as Sichuan, but without the numbing sensation. Hunan’s spice is much more flavorful

• Karaiya Spice House

4. Best Hot Pot – An interactive, dining experience- you get to cook raw food in a boiling stew (opt for the spicy one)

• Hai Di Lao
• Hot Pot on Gui Jie
• Xiabu Xiabu – a reliable chain of hot pot restaurants

5. Best Yunan – Spices are not as dominant or as intense as Sichuan or Hunan, but many dishes are quite spicy and diverse.

• Middle 8th 中8楼 – nice decor and good food with low prices.  I’m quite addicted to their rice wine, and I love that it comes in a big bamboo container.   Always a good option for guests or a casual lunch with friends.

6. Best Indian – One of the most popular cuisines around the globe, known for its abundance use of spices and herbs, with signature curry dishes.

• Mughal’s (Indian/Pakistani)
• Ganges
• Punjabi
• Hazara (in Face Bar)

7. Best Thai – Known for being spicy and hot, the heat is also combined with flavors that are sour, sweet or bitter.  I particularly like the combination of coconut milk in Thai soups and curries.

• Aroy-D (Shuangjing/Fulicheng Area) – where I was first introduced to Thai cuisine
• Purple Haze
• Lantung Thai Bar & Bistro
• Very Siam