JWM - Volume 2, Issue 4 - (Page 56)

E city flavor. Da Ping Huo’s sauteed sliced pork loin with peppers and black beans, below left. Below right, Mrs. Wong and her assistants. at right, a table at Da Ping Huo. ven though we were on one of Central Hong Kong’s busiest—and most well-marked—streets, the restaurant was impossible to find. I circled the corner several times, peering into windows and scanning the walls for a name, a number, anything. And then I saw it—a door adorned with simple calligraphy behind a green magazine stand. my traveling companions and i had been told about Da Ping Huo, a husband-and-wife-run private kitchen, by a shop owner nearby who said the food is only part of the experience—there’s also the after-dinner show. His smile told us this was something not to miss. as promised, the food was spectacular—a menu of authentic Sichuan dishes like stewed beef brisket in spicy gravy, sliced pork loin with peppers and black beans, and seriously spicy ma po tofu (cubes of tofu with minced beef in hot chili sauce), all served in a small, art-filled dining room that could have doubled as a gallery. then, midway through dessert, a petite woman wearing an apron emerged from the kitchen. and, clearing her throat, she began to sing. the tune—a chinese opera classic with impossibly high notes that strained the muscles in her neck—had a sadness to it that brought tears to my eyes (though it could also have been the peppers, quite honestly). it was only after dinner that i realized the woman, wong Siu King, was also the co-owner and chef who had made every single one of our dishes. on the surface, Hong Kong doesn’t seem like it would offer up such culinary surprises. the city is brash and loud—restaurants aggressively compete for your attention with ever-bigger and more precarious neon signs over the streets; they don’t typically hide behind secret doors. But the longer i spent in Hong Kong, the more i relished the idea of seeking out the charming, local food spots that exist J WM MAGAZINE 56 j w m a r r i o t t. c o m

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JWM - Volume 2, Issue 4

JWM - Volume 2, Issue 4
Table of Contents
Contributors
JW Experts
Editor’s Letter
Distinctive Products, People, Ideas & Style
A Quiet Place
The Food Trap
Start With the Wine
Hidden Treasures
The Portal
Hidden Hong Kong
Grains of Truth
Game Theory
Mumbai Dreams
JW Experience
My Passion

JWM - Volume 2, Issue 4