Tech away restaurants

By Ye Jun (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-09 09:25

Smoke made of green tea rises from the smoked salmon and avocado roll. Shark fin in saffron soup comes in a transparent capsule. Rosy beads in bird's nest soup look like fish roe but turn out to be made of jam. These culinary stunts are the latest creations at one of Beijing's most popular Peking roast duck restaurants, Da Dong, which has introduced molecular gastronomy, providing pleasant surprises and new tasting sensations.

Molecular gastronomy is the latest fashion and much talked about in Beijing's dining scene. Brian McKenna, British chef at Shangri-La Beijing's Blu Lobster restaurant, was the first to apply the technology here. One dish, watermelon bisque, is actually served in test tubes. The cooking method is also available at several restaurants in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

A salmon dish takes on a new look under the magic hand of Sun Xianhou at Dadong Restaurant.

Molecular cooking has been popular in recent years at restaurants like El Bulli in Spain, The Fat Duck in the UK, and Peirre Gagnaire in France, all of them rated Michelin three-star restaurants.

In molecular gastronomy, food materials are moleculized, re-shaped, liquefied, or gasified, and made to resemble something people are familiar with, like fish roe or egg yolk.

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