Diner’s Diary | Root-to-petal dining: Hong Kong chef uses every bit of lotus plant for autumn menu
Golden Bauhinia Cantonese restaurant in Wan Chai presents lotus petals, root, seeds, stems and leaves in combination with crustaceans, fish and chicken in a tempting seasonal menu
With autumn just about here, Golden Bauhinia in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre has come up with some delicious dishes for the season.
Eating lotus root is popular at this time of year because it is regarded as a “cooling” food to restore balance in the body. The restaurant’s head chef, So Chi-fai, has used his creativity to incorporate every part of the lotus – the petals, seeds, roots and even stems and leaves – in dishes available until the end of October.
Intrigued, we were invited to try some.
We started off with the double-boiled soup with ground lotus seed and bamboo pith (HK$88 per bowl) which is very hearty, and includes prawns and coriander.
Sautéed lobster with lotus seed and lotus root (HK$468) is a colourful dish that features purple lotus petals, spring onions and yellow capsicums together with lobster meat, lotus roots and seeds.
So shows off his knife skills with the deep-fried yellow croaker with sweet-and-sour sauce sweet and sour