Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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SOY SAUCE WESTERN
'Soy sauce Western'
(si yau sai chaan)
features Western-style dishes prepared with a large
dollop of wisdom from the Chinese kitchen. It's said to have emerged in the 1940s when the
ingenious chef of Tai Ping Koon decided to 'improve' on Western cooking by tweaking re-
cipes, such as replacing dairy products with local seasoning - lactose intolerance is common
among East Asians - and putting rice on the menu.
His invention met its soul mate when White Russians, who had fled to Shànghǎi after the
Bolshevik Revolution, sought refuge in Hong Kong in 1949; they soon cooked up what's
known as Shanghainese-Russian food.
The two schools of Western-inspired cuisine offered affordable and 'exotic' dining to loc-
als at a time when authentic Western eateries catered almost exclusively to expatriates.
Eventually the two styles mingled, spawning soy sauce Western as we know it today. Popu-
lar dishes include Russian borscht, baked pork chop over fried rice and beef stroganoff with
rice.
CHA CHAAN TANG
Tea cafes (,
cha chaan tang
) are cheap and cheery neighbourhood eateries that appeared in
the 1940s serving Western-style snacks and drinks to those who couldn't afford Earl Grey
and cucumber sandwiches. Their menus have since grown to include more substantial
Chinese and soy sauce Western dishes.
Some tea cafes have bakeries creating European pastries with Chinese characteristics,
such as pineapple buns (,
bo law bao
), which don't contain a trace of the said fruit; and
cocktail buns, which have coconut stuffing (,
gai may bao
).
See also
Click here
.
