Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hot, Hotter, Hottest! Chill Out with Lychee Jelly & Foie Gras Sushi


Hong Kong's summer heat is taking its toll on everyone & everything. While Hong Kong's 36C is probably nothing compared to Middle Eastern 50C summer, but...
- People are dropping like flies from the heat wave
- Senior citizens (that shall include me) had to be rescued and relocated to shelters
- Pandas are taking over the streets of Hong Kong as black eyeliners and mascaras melted
- Body fragrances evaporated the moment they were sprayed, immediately replaced by nasty BO (yikes)
- People's temper gets heated up in such a way, a reply to a friendly "good morning" is now "good morning, MY ASS! @#$$@#!$#!!!" (with the finger, and I can assure you it ain't no thumb :p)
- The hottest accessory now is colorful portable fan. Soon enough, LV will have to produce monogrammed ones
- My T-zone produces enough oil to deep fry my next batch of banana spring rolls
- I could pickle cucumbers just by placing them under armpits
- My living room AC is leaking from three different places (let me photograph the line of 3 buckets on my floor)
- The temperature of my kitchen is so hot, it got my face dripping with sweat, appliances got kicked around and my poor sous chef got yelled at for no reason (I'm so so so SORRY, SC)

Excuse my lame excuse, but this starts to feel like it is a bad time to get busy in the kitchen. Most Hong Kong kitchens aren't air conditioned...and with all the heat from the stove and the oven...whoa! But I am determined not to stop. I shall think of dishes which involve less heat (mind you, we aren't the type who can eat cold salads and sandwiches daily) and I'll probably have to start cooking buck naked, with a portable fan cellotaped around my head, while sucking on ice cubes.

Today, to cool myself down, I'm posting this...
Lychee Jelly
Recipe
- 1 packet konyaku jelly powder (or plain), which you can buy online from Asian Supermarket 365
- 1 can of lychee in syrup, you can buy online here
- 1/3 cup sugar
- water

Separate lychee meat from the syrup, keep both. Place lychee meat into jelly cups or you can use shot glasses/martini glasses/etc - be creative. Mix konyaku jelly powder with lychee syrup, add sugar, heat up on stovetop until the sugar is completely dissolved, add water to reach the required amount as stated in konyaku jelly powder's packet, mix well, pour into jelly cups, let cool, refrigerate.

You may also like Longan Jelly, and don't stay there, so many things can be done with konyaku jelly, think rose or lavender, no no, not bacon, at least not yet ^_^

...and...I am sharing this wonderful sushi I tried the other day at Mi-Ne Sushi...
Foie Gras Sushi

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! How brill! It is as heavenly, decadent, rich, creamy, and tasty as I imagined! It is totally worth the HK$35 (US$4.5) a pop price tag! I couldn't get enough of this...

Gosh, is it just the heat or am I in love?

Those who are in Hong Kong, visit Mi-Ne Sushi:
Shop A, G/F Chong Hing Square
No601 Nathan Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852)3586 9515
Business hours: 11:30~0:00 Last order 23:30

No, they don't take reservations and it is best to visit them before 12:00 noon or just around 18:00 if you don't want to queue for hours....

In this weather, you're bound to beat each other up or maybe even murder the hostess.

PS. Check out the chef in charge of Mong Kok outlet, boy, Chef Taku is HOT. Sorry again, sous chef ^_^'

20 comments:

Elsye said...

Ritaa...lychee bener2 kesukaan aku deh..:P...btw itu rasa sushinya emang kayak apa sih Rit, :D..enak banget yak

Jagungmanis said...

hiiii
bentuke lucu....

Peter M said...

I love these lychee treats, can eat them by the jar!

Next time I wanna see you make the foie gras sushi..c'mon, you can do it!

Sharon said...

My Mom used to make my lychee jellies when I was a kid though I doubt she used shot glasses :)

Mama Mia said...

ohhh! Ive never had foie gras sushi before! Now i am dying to try it!!!

dewi ayin said...

omg-- loooovvvveeeee it! beautiful dish! that foie gras looks like it's gonna melt in your mouth...

Little Corner of Mine said...

Oh I love the refreshing lychee jelly! And man, the presentation on the foie gras sushi, simply gorgeous!

Venus ~ Vi said...

I miss HK! It is a gourmet's heaven!

Anonymous said...

That looks amazing! Yum!

Foni said...

rit, itu sushi apaan isinya ya? bentuknya sih bikin ngiler tuh.
gue dah lama banget kg makan leci..jg pingin beli leci kalengan ...

test it comm said...

Lychee is something that I have been wanting to try for a while now. That sushi looks good.

tigerfish said...

My kitchen in Taiwan was under the attack of heat wave too! I wanted to spend minimal time in there for sure :) LUcky I have moved out.

Cakelaw said...

The lychee jellies look delish, and the sushi - works of art.

daphne said...

Looks like u seriously need the lychee jelly!!

Hope the weather gets cooler soon!

Camemberu said...

lol you are so funny in your posts! :D

love the lychee jelly~! and the foie gras sushi is a mouthful of heaven!

A.G said...

hmmm leci pilihan yg tepat disaat panas ;)

glamah16 said...

Oh youhave just inspired me. I have some fresh lychees, and other stuff and am temppted to make gelatin dessrt.

Anonymous said...

Foie gras sushi...AHHH GOSH that sounds good!! Sorry.. just had a little foodgasm.. :-P

Jescel said...

lychee jelly...yum.. i don't know about the foig gras sushi though..i haven't tried that before,i'm sure it's delish.. it's just me, i can't seem to swallow something that's an organ of an animal..

KC said...

Your descriptions of the heatwave are wonderful! Lychee jelly looks so cool!