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By buying directly from Canada, a Beijing restaurant makes a bargain out of lobster meals that don't pinch the pocket. Ye Jun tucks in a bib for a tasting.
Lobsters are a delicious but expensive delicacy. But people can eat them at a much more affordable price now in Beijing. The Cantonese restaurant group Tang Palace announced on Dec 12 its Beijing restaurants would serve Canadian lobster at a promotional price for the winter season. At all its seafood eateries, lobsters weighing around 600 grams cost 98 yuan ($16) each. At the high-end Tang Palace No 1, half a lobster costs 78 yuan per head. In the past a Canadian lobster cost more than 200 yuan per 500 grams at Tang Palace. That is still the price in other restaurants. The price cut was made possible after the restaurant group started to purchase lobsters directly from Canada.
According to He Jianmei, the chain's general manager of Beijing area, a delegation from Tang Palace visited Canada in 2012, where they got in touch with Atlantic Canada Resources, a Canadian company. They decided to cooperate to provide Canadian lobster directly to the restaurant.
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Braised Canadian lobster with Chinese green peppers and white wine is Chinese fusion cuisine at its best. Provided to China Daily |
On Dec 12, Tang Palace held a press conference to announce the start of a Canadian lobster festival, along with representatives from the Canadian embassy.
Murray Gwyer, agriculture and agri-food counselor with the embassy, says Canada has exported seafood to China for many years.
In the past two or three years, lobster shipping has increased dramatically. "China is an increasingly important market," he says.
In 2012 the country exported $30 million worth of lobster to China. China is now Canada's second-largest market for lobster exports, just after the United States.
Canada exports the same variety of lobster produced in the US northeastern regions. It is Homarus americanus - known in the US as "Boston lobster".
These crustaceans are dark greenish in color and have big claws.
Australian lobster, another popular lobster in Chinese restaurants here, doesn't have such big claws.
"Because these lobsters are grown in cold water, they are firm, sweet and they have a lot of flavor," says Andrew Maharaj, trade commissioner with the Canadian embassy.
Maharaj says the lobster is grown naturally in cold water, so it is the kind of safe food product Chinese people are looking for.
Embassy chef Ethan Robinson says boiling is the most common way to cook the crustacean. Then it is served with a cracker, a fork, lemon and melted butter. He usually boils a lobster for 10 minutes. "I usually boil it whole in the shell, because the shell has a lot of flavor," he says.
Lobster can also be taken apart and prepared into pate or terrine. It is also often made into a bisque.
"Even in Canada, it is a luxury," the Canadian chef says. "Depending on where you get it and the time of the year, it costs from 10 to 30 Canadian dollars (about $9 to $26) a kilo."
Chinese chefs make lobster in many different ways, according to Ye Yunhui, executive chef with Tang Palace. Unlike Western cuisine, in which chefs often put lobster in a cold salad, Chinese usually prefer eating it hot.
One way to serve lobster cold is to boil it and serve it on ice, with sauce. It can also be braised with black pepper, or black truffle. Or, it can also be split in two and steamed with mashed garlic.
Ye also likes to split a lobster in two and deep-fry it. Lobster meat can be fried with green or red bell peppers. The big claw can be sauteed and served alone. The shell and claws can be boiled in congee.
In many Cantonese restaurants, expensive lobster used to be prepared in three ways. An Australian lobster can be prepared into sashimi. The shell with some meat on it can be deep-fried. Other parts of the shell can be used in congee.
A popular lobster dish at Tang Palace, Ye says, is lobster soup with crispy white rice.
With a recent government crackdown on waste and spending of public funds, China's high-end restaurants are looking to cut their prices and cater to a wider range of customers.
He Jianmei, general manager of Beijing area, insists Tang Palace has always offered affordable lobsters. But she admits the move is consistent with the trend to be more affordable. She says the restaurant hopes more people will notice it offers plenty of reasonably priced, high-quality foods.
Tang Palace makes Beijing's best roast pigeon. It serves a lot of other seafood and a tasty array of dim sum.
Contact the writer at yejun@chinadaily.com.cn.
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Canadian lobsters have big claws. Ye Jun / China Daily |
