My Cousin's 30th Birthday

In the Chinese community we consider every 10th birthday an important birthday. The birthday would become even more important if a relative/family member of us is reaching his/her 60th birthday.

In Hong Kong, for a lady who is turning 30 it would be like a turning point of her life, especially when she is still single and available. Luckily, my cousin, Wing Yee, who had her 30th birthday in early July, is going to get married soon!

To celebrate this big day with the beloved relatives and family members, Wing Yee held a birthday banquet in a Chinese restaurant that night, and invited 24 of us relatives to join the “welcome to the aged group dinner party”. (LOL)

This is a beautiful raspberry, blueberry and mango sponge cake bought from A-1 Bakery, I didn't expect their cake would be that oh!-so-yummy. A bit of a surprise for me that night.

Roasted Suckling Pig - When you eat with Chinese people at Chinese restaurants, please be prepared that you'll see the heads, tails, paws, feet, skin, bones, shells, etc. of the animals.

Lobster in Butter and Cheese Sauce with E-fu Noodle (芝士焗龍蝦配伊府麵底) - The highlight of this dish is the e-fu noodle because it's aborbed the essence from the lobster and the creamy, cheesy and buttery sauce.

Stir-fried Squid, Sea cucumber intestines, Green Peas, Celery, Lotus root, Honey-roasted walnuts and Bell peppers (荷塘花姿珊瑚蚌). Andrew Zimmern might prolly fancy this dish (LOL), I have seen him eating sea cucumber intestines in Samoa before, hahahha. This dish stresses on the crunchiness and crispiness of all the ingredients.

Deep Fried Crab Cake Balls Coated with Crispy Julienned Spring Roll Wrappers 千絲百花蟹拑 - My cousin ordered this dish especially for me because she knows I love deep fried crab cake balls. Long story short, well it's a nostalgic/childhood thing of mine, so I am not gonna tell you why here, haha.

This dish is a contemporary version which is slightly different from the traditional one. The traditional crab cake balls aren't usually coated with any julienned crispy spring roll wrappers. The crab cake inside was so succulent and full of texture, with crispy bit on the outside, this dish was divine.

Shark Fin Soup - with veiled lady and seafood (竹笙海皇燴魚翅) - No comment, I personally don't like shark fin soup.

Steamed Coral Leopard Grouper (清蒸大海東星斑) - Is the fish head irritating to you?

If you like fish, then you should try Chinese steamed fish, you will be able to taste the sweetness and freshness of a fish in its simpliest form if it's cooked in a Chinese steamy way (oh I sound too patriotic!).

Zucchini Stuffed with Dried Scallop (翠塘玉環柱脯) - This dish is very traditional and can usually be seen in Chinese banquets. The zucchini slices look like jade rings, right?

The restaurant's signature dish - Roasted Goose (海港燒鵝皇)

It was delicious. The skin of the goose was very crispy (imagine Peking Duck!) and the meat full of flavour. But I think the meat was slightly over-cooked, a bit tough in some parts.

Seafood Fried Rice (錦繡海鮮炒飯) - yum but not spectacular, my mom's shrimp paste and cha siu fried rice is much better than this one.

Chinese Birthday Buns (Sou Bao) (壽包) - Two different fillings in these buns. The one with a yellow dot on the surface means the filling is creamy custard (with egg yolk and milk) and the other one is lotus seed paste.

This one is with creamy custard filling

The lotus seed paste was oozing out when I split open the bun

Purple Glutinous Rice Soup with Coconut Milk (紫米露) - Delish! Not too sweet.

Why are they serving mini cherry tomatoes on the fruit platter??? Strange!

When you turned 30, what did you do on your big day?

For those who are turning 30, what are you gonna do to celebrate?

Where was it?

Victoria Harbour Roasted Goose Seafood Restaurant

Address: 1/F., Ma On Shan Centre, 1 On Chun Street, Ma On Shan, New Territories, Hong Kong

Tel: 2630 9818