Archive for February, 2010

FOOD: Eating Peking Duck Down to the Bones

Peking Duck

Did you ever finish a meal, then found yourself running your fingers around the rim of the plate to pick up the last remaining “juices” of your meal? This was my experience after Scott and I dined on Peking Duck.

Liu Ye, our Hotel concierge suggested the best restaurant for Peking Duck, and it was a worth while 20 minute walk away in the cold. Located in a glitzy mall on the fifth floor, this hyper-stylized restaurant was much like those I frequent in NYC. The three or four women hostesses gave us the once over, then politely escorted us into the dining area to a table in view of the raised gazebos glass shaped kitchen. Inside, about 10 chefs were busily prepping the ducks, and more leathery Peking ducks were hanging from overhead hooks. I counted four wooden stoves. Other utensils included long carving knives, and sharpening stones, in addition to the hanging poles. At one point I got closer to the glass kitchen to take photos of the cooking technique used.  I noticed that each chef wore a surgical mask as they worked. I later learned that this was a common practice throughout China of chefs who worked closely with food preparation. The setting looked like a stage for some ritualistic practice.

We could not stop looking. One chef took a duck out of the oven, then broke off its beak, then sanded the skin to remove any excess hair and ashes. Our curiosity prompted us to take turns grilling the waitress about the preparation.

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21

02 2010

KULTURE: Nothing Like Some Good Home Cooking

KianLam Kho

Chinese New Years Banquet

While traveling through China I noticed how eager everyone was to prepare for the Chinese New Year holiday celebration. It seemed like everywhere I went, red and golden trinkets were sold in outdoor street markets, major department stores and even supermarkets. It’s obvious that these decorations will quickly erase any remnants of Christmas. Besides celebrating at my Daotist center, I usually gather, with friends and family for a traditional Chinese Banquet in Chinatown.

All of this has changed in recent years, thanks to my friend Kian Lam Kho. He loves to cook and his food is far superior to that of any place’s I’ve eaten in Chinatown in New York City. Instead of having his friends flying off to China, Kian invites a select group of his foodie friends, chefs, and restaurant folks to share a tasty meal in the intimate setting of his home.

Kian is from Singapore, he grew-up eating what he defines as authentic Chinese home cooking, with bold flavors that might be considered too harsh for the American palate. Hanging out with these foodies allows me an entry into the world of “tasting” at some of New York City’s major new restaurants. (I’m always fascinated by the way chefs and restaurant professionals easily critique a dish, the restaurant decor, the service, wine list and more, in one setting.) But this time we’re eating at the home of one the best Chinese Chef’s in New York City.

Redcook/KianLam

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14

02 2010

Beijing embraces lunar New Year after overnight firework spree

BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — The first thing Qiwen did when she woke up Sunday on the first morning of the Year of Tiger was to run towards the windows. As she found trees and houses standing tall, safe and sound, the four-year-old cracked a smile.

In her first outdoor venture on a Chinese New Year Eve at Saturday night, the little girl huddled up against her mother in attempt to cushion earsplitting firecrackers while taking safe peeks at the lightened up sky.

14

02 2010

Chinese New Year 2010: Year of the Tiger

THE CHINESE Year of the Tiger begins on Feb 14, 2010 and will end on 2 February 2011. The Tiger is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The year of the tiger is believed to bring with it mythical heroic powers.

14

02 2010

SPIRITUALITY: Chinese New Years Celebrations

cforms photo

Chinese New Years Lion Dance

This is 4707, the year of the tiger, if you celebrate Chinese New Years. My Tai Chi teacher, Sat Hon whom I’ve practiced with over the past 10 years at the Daotist Center in Manhattan calls this holiday the Asian New Year. His reasoning is that every Asian cultural has some form of celebration to usher in the year.

I love celebrating festive occasions that have a celebratory feeling, so for me Chinese New Years is one of those joyous moments. Sat Hon’s students gather for a communal festive celebration, with music, Chinese poetry, meditation, eating and a performance of the lion dance. Suited up, his two daughters and one male student performs a gyrating dance with a figurative style Chinese lion head costume. The long sinuous body looks like a giant caterpillar its curving body snakes above the floor.  The lion costumes head, bobs up and down, or suddenly twists from side to side its eyes fluttering in sync with the music’s drumbeats. Despite the lion’s grotesque features and menacing fangs the sinewy body slows down to reveal itself as a soft focus Chinese shadow puppet. Then the drumming beats picks up speed and beats faster and faster the body shakes, shimmies and then the head drops.

A loud applause erupts, his daughters and the other student emerge from under the costume. Sat hugs his daughters.

We all shout Kung Hei Fat Choi (best wishes for Health, Happiness & Prosperity to all.)

Now its time to get down to eating and mingling with friends.

14

02 2010

LANGUAGE: Why it’s good to know a little Mandarin

Beijing

Finding people beyond your hotel or at major restaurants and tourist venues that speak fluent English is not easy. While the majority of the signage throughout the Beijing is in Chinese and English, I would highly recommend that visitors and businesspeople take a quick course in Mandarin. Scott bartered Spanish lessons with a colleague fluent in speaking and writing Mandarin who taught him the language and cultural nuances. I learned a few phrases myself, including typical greetings, and Thank you,” and “I do not eat meat.” This was the most important phrase since I do not eat anything with more than two legs, and pork is a main ingredient in a lot of their dishes.

Otherwise navigating the city might prove to be difficult. Even the simplest task of catching a cab requires that you keep your hotel’s business card with the name written in Chinese to hand to the cab driver. I would highly recommend the China Institute in Manhattan as a great place to take classes, and it’s a wonderful resource for information on Chinese culture.

08

02 2010

Zhang Huan: Neither Coming Nor Going

Zhang Huan’s second solo show at PaceWildenstein, features Rulai, a monumental Buddha and recent large-scale works on paper based on the 7thcentury Chinese prophecy book Tui Bei Tu. The exhibition follows the debut of his newly conceived Handel opera, now scheduled to tour China in 2010, as well as the publication of a new Phaidon monograph.

NEW YORK, November 24, 2009—Following the critically-acclaimed September premiere of Semele, a new production of George Frideric Handel’s opera directed and designed by Zhang Huan and presented to audiences at The National Opera of Belgium in Brussels (scheduled to tour China in 2010), the artist will be the subject of his second solo exhibition at PaceWildenstein.

Neither Coming Nor Going will be on view at 545 West 22nd Street, New York City, from December 11, 2009 through January 30, 2010. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, December 10th from 6-8 p.m. Representing the artist’s continuing investigation of humanity through tradition, historical associations, and personal experiences, Neither Coming Nor Going will feature a monumental ash Buddha, Rulai (2008-2009), measuring 18′ 1/2″ x 14′ 10″ x 10′ 11-1/2″,as well as a series of unique large-scale works on paper made in 2006-2008.

The compacted ash surface of Rulai, supported by an internal metal frame, is heavily embedded with miniature porcelain Buddha relics, copper offering dishes, miniature skulls and unburned joss sticks. The strikingly beautiful grisaille palette of the sculpture is sharply contrasted with blood red paper wrappers, clustered around the crown and face of the deity. Burning incense pours out from Buddha’s head, activating a traditionally static art form with performative aspects, one of the artist’s hallmarks.

Zhang Huan video of  burning Buddha’s

Using ink, paper handmade from the bark of Mulberry trees, and in some works feathers to build up the surface, Zhang Huan depicts animals and landscapes in the series of unique works on paper included in this exhibition. He references the celebrated 17th-century Chinese painter and calligrapher Bada Shanren as well as Tui Bei Tu, a seventh-century Tang Dynasty prophecy book which reappeared in second-hand book stores in China in the 1990s after being banned by the Communist party. Tui Bei Tu offered an alternative to traditional Eastern and Western systems and presented insight into China’s future, utilizing drawings and poems to prophesize a sequence of sixty events.

The art of Tui Bei Tu

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08

02 2010

On Point: 2010 is 4707 in the Chinese Calendar

The Year of Tiger which is also known by its
formal name of Geng Yin

Chinese New Year Film Series
MOCA
presents a series of Lunar New Year Films from Hong Kong and mainland China that celebrate the New Year. New Year Films originated in Hong Kong in the early 1980s with the success of Security Limited (1981) directed by Michael Hui. The movie became exemplary in the genre called “he sui pian,” or New Year celebration movies, which typically have two main features: the stories have something to do with the Chinese New Year and the films are crowd pleasers with comic entertainment.

Renowned Chinese actors and directors such as Maggie Cheung, Jackie Chan, Tony Leung, Stephen Chow, Chow Yun Fat, and Won Kar Wai have all participated in “he sui pian” in their early careers. With their slapstick quality and specificity to the New Year, these films are often overlooked by the mainstream. MOCA invites the community to revisit some of the iconic films of this genre.

08

02 2010