20 lifefood • weekend SATURDAY, AUGUST 11, 2012 CHINA DAILY

So French, SMALL BITES Libertine Seafood and roasts By DONNA MAH Th e brand new Camilla Chinese in Hong Kong Cuisine at the Northern East Th ird [email protected] Ring Road is a high-end eatery off ering Chaozhou cuisine. Th e cooking is typically sea- hen a new food inspired, with light stir-fries, restaurant braised meats, such as goose, and opens in all washed down with kung fu tea, Hong Kong, deep-brewed infusions that cleanse W the palates. Th e duck is equally one of the fi rst questions good, and there is a mixed platter people ask is, “What kind that includes boned goose, tasty of food do they serve?” duck heads and duck webs. Anoth- It’s a question that refl ects er winner is the slow-cooked bitter the plethora of dining melon with pork (pictured below), a summer specialty. options in Hong Kong. So Th ere are big private rooms, a when new French bistro marble fl oor, carpets, and chande- Libertine opened recently, liers on the ceiling and paintings on I wondered: “Why French the wall. food and not some other 3/F, SOHO Nexus Center, A 19, Northern East Th ird Ring Road, cuisine?” Foie gras and brioche are a fi ne example of David Pooley’s culinary art. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010- Located in the Central 5967-0567. district on the steep and — YE JUN relatively quiet Aberdeen Street south of Hollywood Road, Libertine is not exactly in the heart of all Pooley’s poetry on plates the action, but it’s near enough. With a rustic interior that features a big dark wood bar area with high There is a new Australian in town, and he’s giving the food at Aria some wonderful ceilings, they are trying Fancy a scorpion? to transport the diner new notes. Ye Jun talks to David Pooley and fi nds out how he looks at food. to a sleepy French town Variety is the spice of life, but those folks at the Quanjude Qian- bistro. Th e atmosphere is ustralian chef David Pooley men branch are full of surprises. pleasant and welcoming, says being a chef is 50 per- Th ey’re serving scorpions with but felt a little too slick, cent cooking and 50 percent duck breast. Th e dish is apparently even with rounds of dark bringing ideas together. All a hot favorite and a signature dish A — “whole scorpion with sesame country bread lining the he needs is the right ingredients to start duck squares”, which translates to a shelves. Th e entire front of with, and aft er he fi gures out the proper square of duck meat accompanied the restaurant is a row of details and structure, everything falls The food is our way of by a cracker, topped with a nice, glass doors that open out into place. crispy scorpion. onto the terrace, which Just two months aft er he has arrived in communicating.” According to the restaurant, makes it a good place for Beijing, the new chef de cuisine of Aria scorpions eliminate harmful toxins DAVID POOLEY in the body and dispel heat, espe- drinks aft er work and Restaurant at the China World Hotel has ‘CHEF‘ DE CUISINE OF ARIA RESTAURANT cially in summer. And this dish has weekend brunch. fi nished refreshing the lunch and dinner AT THE CHINA WORLD HOTEL been a summer favorite for the last As for dinner, the menus, and is working on a degustation 10 years. dishes that made the menu of seven courses. Try it, for novelty and for health, biggest impression were Pooley’s food has been described as along with the other signature dishes that the roast duck icon is the appetizers — pate de poetry on a plate, and according to Bei- known for. Expect to pay about 200 campagne and rillettes jing food columnist Zhao Ziyun, his use yuan ($31) per person. and warm fi g and goat’s of ingredients is like a poet’s use of words. 30 Qianmen Dajie, Dongcheng cheese salad. Th e pate Pooley has developed his own distinctive district, Beijing. 010-6511-2418. and rillettes were served style — which is what differentiates a — YE JUN with grilled country bread master from a mere chef. freshly baked daily in A good example of his art comes from Jazz and brunch house. Pooley’s presentation of foie gras, three Th e cicadas are calling from the It’s a good hearty starter ways on the same plate, as terrine, pate old plane tree in the courtyard and and would also be good as and torchon, served with brioche. Th at competing for attention with the three-man band spinning out all a snack with drinks. is followed by a lobster with chamomile the jazz classics. As you tap your Th e goat’s cheese and consomme served in a tea pot and a feet along to Dave Brubeck’s Take fi gs were both warm and main of Blackmore Wagyu with olive Five, the fi rst course arrives — a were good complements. ash. Dessert was a lychee pavlova. generous seafood platter that puts Th e salad of mixed greens Th e 28-year-old Australian chef start- you in the Sunday mood. Th is is brunch at Yi House Res- had a bit too much dress- ed in the kitchen at 14. Although there taurant at the Grace Beijing. For ing on them, so if you were no chefs in the family, the young less than 300 yuan ($47), the Sun- order this, ask for less man told his parents at 10 years old that from the foundations, and success starts IF YOU GO ingredient. He also found some farmers day Brunch here is excellent value dressing or have it served he wanted to be a professional cook. with the small things, like how you slice from Beijing off ering good organic food for money. on the side. Fourteen years later, the chef has an onion. ARIA such as potatoes. Apart from the seafood platter, 2/F China World Hotel, 1 Jianguom- you can choose any four dishes Th e main dish of grilled already worked at two restaurants in Aus- His next move was to Claude’s as sous Pooley, with the help of his team of from the listed appetizers, mains, tralia with three chefs hats, the equivalent chef under Chui Lee Luk, the Chinese- enwai Dajie, Chaoyang district, Chinese chefs, has changed almost all sea bass with pesto and Beijing. 010-6505-3318. Asian dishes and desserts. You need crushed new potatoes of three Michelin stars. Both Quay and Australian chef known for her classic items on the menu at Aria. He says he to go back for a week of Sundays Average cost per head: 500 yuan to try every one, but the starters was a bit overcooked, but Claude’s are epicurean icons in Sydney. French cooking. ($79) wants to give people what they want, but the green pesto was fresh Pooley considers himself lucky to get a Pooley says this was probably his best also pique their interest. and desserts have some must-try Recommended: Foie gras, lobster charmers — including baked escar- and went well with the chance to work in Quay as an apprentice. cooking experience. While Quay has a and Blackmore Wagyu “Right now I’m off ering the best we got, an organic ham platter, eggs fi sh. Th e half pan-roasted Th e restaurant is ranked among the top 50 fl otilla of 16 to 17 chefs, Claude’s has four, have to off er,” he says. Th e restaurant is Monday-Friday: 11:45 am-2:30 pm, Benedict and a molten chocolate chicken with potatoes, restaurants in the world, and is probably and a 40-seater dining room. 6-10 pm. Saturday and Sunday: investing a lot on quality beef, including cake. And homemade macaroons. 2 Hao Yuan, 798 Arts Zone, Jiux- onion, and bacon was the best restaurant in Australia. Pooley Pooley also says Chui was “the kindest Dinner only Blackmore beef, Australian Wagyu, and tender and well seasoned. started at the bottom, making salads, cook- but toughest lady” he had ever worked Black Angus. ianqiao Lu, Beijing. 010-6436-1818. Th ese dishes were recom- ing fi sh, and getting grounded in the basics. with. Pooley’s tasting menu will start soon, — PAULINE D. LOH mended, but I think next “It was fast, hard and mean,” he says. “While Peter showed me respect says. It is a style that comes from the at 600 yuan ($94) a person, featuring time I will try one of my “But you can see all the hard work in for food, and texture of ingredients, I infl uences in his life, from his mentors top grade Wagyu, foie gras and pigeon, French favorites — steak the dish.” learned how to use ingredients from to the neighborhood cafe his grandpar- ending with a deconstructed cheesecake, frites with Bearnaise He describes Quay’s celebrity chef Chui,” he says. ents bought aft er they retired, and even which he had kept from the old menu. sauce. Peter Gilmore as a “kind and exceptional Another important thing Chui told Australia’s climate. “Th e food is our way of communicat- As to why Libertine man”, whom young chefs can look up to. him was not to look too far into food, It is a style that he describes as “always ing,” he says. “If people walk away feel- is a French and not, say, “He is a very genuine man, which is but take it as it is, and avoid the mistakes fl owing, always organic, always relaxed, ing the meal is diff erent, interesting and Italian, it seems that the refl ected in his food. I learned from him most new chefs commit. and natural”. stimulating, then we are happy. Because French are fl ocking to how to respect food and bring the best Although he gratefully acknowledges He is also looking at food at source. He they’ve understood us.” Hong Kong and therefore ingredients together.” his mentors, Pooley is on his own culinary compared the white asparagus he found there is a need to provide Pooley compares creating a dish to journey. in Beijing with the imported variety, and Contact the writer at them with a taste of home. building a house — you have to start “I think I’ve found my own style,” he found that Beijing produces the better [email protected]. According to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the French pop- ulation has swelled by 60 percent since 2008, mak- What’s it all about, Alfi e? ing it the biggest in Asia.

By LI XINZHU in Shanghai IF YOU GO [email protected] Yes ma’am ALFIE’S BY KEE We fi rst went to Madam Sixty Unit 111A, Alfred Dunhill, Plaza 66, Google “British food” and you get a dis- Ate (pictured above) for drinks and 1266 Nanjing Xilu, Jing’an district, were immediately impressed by its tracting list that includes haggis, pork pie Shanghai. 021-6288-3822. and black pudding. But apart from sheep’s quirky, lounge-like vibe. Th e wine Average cost per head: 150 yuan list includes a good selection of reds intestine stuff ed with meat and vegetables, ($24) and whites, such as Paul Jaboulet a pie with chopped pork and pork juice Alfi e’s by KEE is ideal to Aine’s Rhone Valley Syrah. And Recommended: Alfi e’s fi sh and sample British favorites. jelly sealed in a hot water crust pastry and chips, Toff ee Banoffi , Mango Panna any restaurant that serves Hungar- a thick sausage made with blood and fat, Cotta ian Tokaji is a winner. Th e dining room boasts a sunny you also get fi sh and chips. Open: 10 am-10 pm In London, the Olympic hordes are store under the eagle-eyed gaze of shop partners try on the clothes,” says Karen terrace overlooking Wanchai. An open kitchen lets us see what the probably enjoying fi sh and chips around assistants, but persevere and you will soon Yang, marketing director of KEE. chefs were up to, and though more every corner. For less than a fi ver ($7.80), thoroughly British department store, fi nd the restaurant and bar downstairs. It It is a nice intimate place where you restrained than the lounge, the Warm fi g with goat’s you can go away with a heaped portion of which off ers fi sh and chips served with is an elegant and well-designed space for can sample British favorites like fi sh and decor included plenty of surreal cheese served in Libertine. beer battered fi sh and wedges of potatoes green peas. a spot of lunch or high tea. chips, with a menu designed by Neil art. We loved the wordy menu with accompanied by tartar sauce in a white Go a little more up market, and you get Alfi e’s was opened in May 2009 and Tomes, the celebrated head chef of Alfi e’s its whimsical descriptions and the IF YOU GO Alice in Wonderland feeling was take-away box. a restaurant run by Alfred Dunhill, those managed and operated by KEE, a high- by KEE in the Hong Kong Home of further reinforced as every dish LIBERTINE In Shanghai nowadays, fi sh and chips posh retailers who have decided to branch end private members club. Alfred Dunhill. off ers wine pairings. Dishes were well balanced in 24-26 Aberdeen Street, is nothing new, although it may still be into a bit of posh nosh. Unlike an ordinary restaurant, Alfi e’s What sort of food will go well with the fl avors and textures, though use of Soho, Central, Hong less popular than the favorite tummy- Alfie’s by KEE is hidden inside the sofas and tables are in various sizes and decor? You can expect excellent fi sh and filler of a rice pancake rolled up with Dunhill fl agship store at Plaza 66, a com- colors, and seem more like a VIP room chips, and the wives and girlfriends will foam was a tad too enthusiastic. Kong. 852- 2858-2022. Shop 8, 1/F Th e Podium, J Senses, Average cost per head: fried dough sticks. mercial and offi ce complex in downtown for guests to take a break from shopping. defi nitely appreciate the toff ee banoffi 60 Johnston Road, Wanchai, Hong HK$400 ($13) More and more British-style restau- Shanghai, where top fashion brands from And indeed, it was planned as such. and apple crumble and vanilla ice cream. Kong. 852-2527-2558. Open: 8 am-1 am rants and bars have appeared, starting around the world rub shoulders. “It’s good for wives and girlfriends We are told they are perfect matches with with the cafe at Marks and Spencer, the It takes some courage to walk into the to sit here and have a drink while their the Earl Grey tea. — REBECCA LO