Water Chestnut Pudding 馬蹄糕

Happy Thanksgiving Day to all my American friends. Have a safe and happy holiday!

I am certainly looking forward to Christmas. I have even started shopping early and so far, I've already got my turkey and foie gras. I've even bought myself a chocolate fondue for a touch of elegance. Besides, nothing wrong with DIY dessert!

However, let's not also forget that it is "only" 2 months to Chinese New Year. So for those of you who are aspiring cooks, let me put out some recipes early for you to practise. This way, you can decide whether you want to order or make them for coming Chinese New Year.

Lets start with the iconic Cantonese/Hong Kong staple, water chestnut pudding. Making water chestnut pudding is very easy. You can either make it plain or with chopped up fresh water chestnut for added crunch. Here's the recipe. (Please note that I have another version of this recipe here.)

Ingredients

500 g water chestnut powder
750 g rock sugar
8 water chestnuts
3 litres water

Method

1. Peel water chestnuts and chop into little bits.
2. Boil 1.5 litres of water and the rock sugar in a large stock pot. Add in the chopped water chestnuts.
3. Place the water chestnut powder in a large mixing bowl. Add 1.5 litres of water and mix thoroughly. Make sure that the batter is absolutely smooth with no lumps of water chestnut powder.
4. When the rock sugar is dissolved, add in one cup of the water chestnut batter. Stir immediately. The sugar solution should thicken slightly and the mixture is clear. Bring to boil again.
5. Turn heat off and stir in the rest of the water chestnut batter. The mixture is now opaque. Keep stirring the bottom of the pot to ensure that the mixture does not stick.
6. Divide the mixture into 3 deep 8 inch dishes.
7. Place a steaming rack in a wok and fill with water to slightly above the top of the rack. Use high heat. When the water is boiling, place a tray of the batter on the rack and steam with the lid on the wok for about 20 minutes. When cooked, the pudding will be honey coloured and clear. When necessary, top up the water in the wok with hot water.

Leave the cooked pudding in the dishes to cool. Whilst still warm, cut into slices and serve.

Leftover pudding can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week. To reheat, fry slices with a little oil.

Times Square Barbie Christmas display is a hazard

The public space in front of Times Square in Causeway Bay has now got a colorful Barbie themed Christmas display. This was launched with some fanfare and there was a write up in the South China Morning Post. As with all such festive displays in Hong Kong, it is a photo oppotunity for many, locals and tourists alike - a great thing! However, I would like to share my concerns with you. Aside from the fact that one wonders what the relevance of Barbie is to Christmas, I believe that the display is an accident waiting to happen.

Here's why:

First, the floor is treacherously slippery when wet. I happened to walk through that area last week when it was raining and had to watch every step to make sure I did not slip. Mind you, I was wearing a pair of sensible flat, leather shoes. Imagine what it was like for ladies in high heels or toddlers who are unsteady at the best of times! One of the security guards had a lot of initiative and made productive use of the time minding the installation by asking pedestrians to watch out as the floor is very slippery. The other one nearby preferred to watch the clouds drift past.


I went back there today to check it out. It has been dry for several days. Well, there are several signs warning the public that the floor is uneven and it's slippery. Is that really all Times Square's management think is necessary to fix the problem? Really?

Second, the installtion itself is not ideal for a potentially very crowded area with a lot of through traffic. For example, take a closer look at this "cubby house". The roofline is about adult head height so that you have to duck to get in. Look at the shingles - metal, protruding and "in your face". I was there on a Thursday afternoon a month before Christmas and people had to step away to avoid knocking into the sharp metal. Imagine what it would be like during the weekend and closer to Christmas?










Enjoy....cautiously. Have a great day!

Macao Dragon Groupon Refund

On 15th September I wrote about how the short lived ferry service to Macau by Macao Dragon had gone bankrupt. I had bought 8 vouchers from the internet based company called Groupon and I still had 6 left for trips which I had not taken. Well, I am happy to report that I have just received my refund from Groupon.

Well done, Groupon!

Minute breaks in Central

I am discovering a few pretty spots in our urban jungle. Hong Kong Park remains my favourite "city oasis" at the moment.







I will be the first to admit though that it does have its limitations - you do have to just linger and be taken in by your immediate surroundings; ignore the signs that indicate you are in a man made park in the middle of the city. For example, look at this next photograph of the same waterfall:


Enjoy the beautiful flora and ignore the pots:

However, if you do not like to leave the air conditioned comfort of indoors for too long, you could try out the rooftop of IFC Mall. Its a public space, so you are welcome to bring your lunch to enjoy the outdoors without having to put up with the toxic fumes of traffic pollution at ground level.

Or if you are truly truly too pressed for time for anything else, you could at least linger a while enjoy the art work or other displays in the lobby of large buildings in Central such as this sculpture in the lobby of Jardine House: