Poached English beef brisket with organic tofu, glass noodles and red miso broth (Jing Ying – City of Dreams)
Beef may be considered a very common ingredient. But if the cattle are raised in the right conditions, it can result in an excellent quality of beef ideal for a variety of dishes.
Collaborating with 13 restaurants in Macau and Hong Kong, EBLEX, the English beef and lamb industry association, will be organizing a month-long English beef promotion between January 12 and February 12.
“English beef has made a comeback and is now featured in some of the finest establishments in Hong Kong and Macau. We’re encouraged by the response we’ve received and especially pleased that the two restaurants in Macau are now part of our efforts,” said Jean Pierre Garnier, head of export services at EBLEX.
Besides delicious meals, the promotion includes a “Shoot-Check-Win” feature. Restaurant guests are encouraged to take photos of the promotional dishes, upload them to a specially created Facebook page (www.facebook.com/Englishbeef) and invite their friends to like them. The pictures with the most likes will be in the running to win restaurant vouchers of up to HK$4,000.
The Times has talked to Chef Calvin Soh, the director of culinary operation, food and beverage of Melco Crown Entertainment. He said that the difference between English beef and other beef available on the market is its flavor. “You can really taste the beef’s flavor. Some beef [is good for their] texture and tenderness” he said.
Chef Soh said the beef’s texture can be softened using a variety of techniques. “But the taste, you can never create a beef taste”, he said. “So, for English beef, it is the taste and flavor that I like the most.”
The Jin Ying in the City of Dreams Macau, alongside the Ying in Altira Macau, are the two restaurants that will participate in this promotion. Chef Soh has introduced to the Times the dish “poached English beef with organic tofu, glass noodles and red miso broth” from Jin Ying. He said that due to the excellent quality of English beef, they have decided to poach the beef slowly at a low temperature. “It’s a little bit like the Vietnam boiled beef”, the chef said. “So you can really taste the softness of the meat”.
Currently, there are three English beef brands in Hong Kong – Ashdale, C&K Meats and Stapleton Park. All are from cattle raised entirely on grass and kept outdoors most of the year. They are from the English part of the UK – from Cornwall in the southwest to Kent in the southeast all the way up to Northumberland and Cumbria in the north – bordering on Scotland in the north and Wales in the west.
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