Meal #21 - China (Part 1: Northern China)

For our first trip to China we ventured to Bokchoy Tang, Melbourne's self-proclaimed “centre of contemporary Northern Chinese cuisine [that] features home-style dishes of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.”

Bokchoy Tang
Contemporary Chinese Cuisine
Federation Square
Corner Flinders St and Swanston Sts, Melbourne City
9650 8666

Located in Melbourne’s centerpiece, Federation Square, Bokchoy Tang sports a typically modern décor while being heavily influenced by traditional Chinese elements, fitting with the restaurant’s aim of “introducing Melbourne to contemporary Chinese cuisine.” A large central open plan kitchen, which Bokchoy Tang boasts as the first in a Melbourne Chinese restaurant, allows diners to watch, listen and smell their meals being prepared. There are many seating options, varying from modern tables for small groups, to massive, Chinese-style, circular tables with lazy-Susans for large groups (>20). There is a fully serviced bar, and completing the ambiance is a grand piano which provided the night’s modern classical background music.

This week’s intrepid crew included Marty, Dom, Sai, Caroline, Rami, Paul and Deb, who all lunged into this Northern Chinese meal with the same enthusiasm (BEWARE: possible inappropriate joke ahead) as tanks rolling into Tiananmen Square…

Entrée:

Winter melon prawn soup – Finely sliced winter melon, prawn & ginger in a light chicken stock garnished w. fresh coriander

Jiao Zi (dumplings) & salad – Pan-fried Jiao Zi (pork, prawns & garlic chives) served w. a salad of julienne potato & red vinegar dipping sauce on-the-side (Available vegetarian)

Beijing duck pancakes – Pancakes filled w crispy duck, spring onions, cucumber strips & hoi-sin sauce


Mains:

North-western China style cummin lamb – Strips of Victorian lamb leg medallions marinated w. cummin powder & Chinese wine then wok-fried w. coriander and fresh chilli

Eggplant chilli chicken pot – Fresh eggplant, chilli, dices chicken, spring onion, ginger, whole garlic, light soy sauce cooking in hot pot

Spicy Szechwan chicken – Free-range chicken tossed w. chilli, pepper, ginger, garlic & spring onions. Served w. a vinegar & Chinese rice wine sauce

Mongolian style beef fillet – Medium rare medallions of beef fillet tossed w. Chinese mushrooms, eggplant, Himalayan bamboo shoots & served w. chilli & black bean sauce

Buddha vegetables – A delicately flavoured traditional vegetarian dish with bamboo shoots, sliced carrots, black fungi, bean curd, greens, Chinese black mushrooms, dried lily flowers & light soy sauce

Beverages:

Tsingtao beer

Entrée:

The Beijing duck was fantastic; the meat was tender and the hoi-sin sauce contrasted well with the crisp flavour of the cucumber. The pancake was your typical crepe, and made the dish easy to eat with our hands. Nevertheless, according to diners that have visited Beijing, Bokchoy Tangs take on this dish doesn’t even come close to the authentic Beijing (Peking) duck which uses a special breed of duck and is cooked over wood fire made from local plum tree wood.


We ordered both the pork/prawn and vegetable versions of the Jiao Zi dumplings, however a mix up in ordering meant that the vegetarian option did not arrive – resulting in non-meat and non-pork/prawn eaters biting into the wrong dumplings. Ironically enough, when the mistake was rectified and the vegetarian version delivered, it was widely agree that this version was far more flavoursome than the blander meat version of the dish.


Mains:


The North-western China style cummin lamb was served in thin crispy strips and with an irresistibly strong aroma of cumin. The texture of this dish, along with the complementary flavours of cumin and chilli, which was quite spicy, made this dish the highlight of this meal.


The eggplant chilli chicken hot pot was a lovely dish, whose sweetness was balanced by the chilli. The stir fried Buddha vegetables was a variation on the typical stir fried Chinese vegetable dish. The delicious and unusual slices of ginger, and actual fresh baby corn, made this dish a winner.


Although the spicy Szechwan chicken and Mongolian style beef fillet dishes were both tastes of cuisines to come, both shared the tendency to be sweet and spicy at the same time, however the meats in both dishes were nice and tender. Chilli was the predominant spice in the chicken dish, so much so that after everything else was finished, the plate was still covered in a thick layer of uneatable red chillis.


Overall:

Bokchoy Tang attempts to straddle the boundary between traditional Chinese dishes with that of a more modern and contemporary cuisine. As such, the food, although well prepared and very tasty, loses a lot of its traditional charm. Bokchoy Tang is obviously aimed at the business lunch and the art-centre attending diner, and this is observed in the décor and price. Even though individual dishes are expensive, by sharing entrees and mains (and the servings are ample enough) we all managed to have meals ranging from $20-30. The wait staff was friendly and generally courteous; however the waitress who mixed up the order for the vegetarian dumplings should remember the age-old axiom that the customer is always right. Overall, Bokchoy Tang offers a lovely dining experience and is well worth the extra few dollars.