CookSmart (16th Issue) Page8

EatSmart Restaurants Snaps

Telford Recreation Club

A Hidden Restaurant in a Crowded City

Telford Recreation Club, a member of the ClubONE restaurant group, is a nice hideaway from the busy streets of Kowloon Bay. It offers spacious and elegant banquet rooms for a wide range of dining and banqueting service; still more, it is also an ideal place for members to enjoy a nice meal with friends and relatives.

Mr. LEE Chi-tong joined the food industry in 1986.  He served in several renowned hotels and seafood restaurants before he arrived at the ClubONE some six years ago.

A Taste of East Meets West

Mr. LEE Chi-tong, Head Chef of the restaurant group, says, “Our vegetables are mostly blanched here as a lot of our members prefer to have light and healthy dishes cooked with less sugar and salt. Plain vegetables, steamed fishes and rice in soup are some of their favourite dishes.” The restaurant has earned a reputation of serving quality food made with fresh ingredients. Mr. LEE says, "Fresh ingredients deliver a full, natural flavour. They need no additional flavourings.” In addition to traditional Chinese dishes, the restaurant also offers Western treats like the healthy green salad, as well as the Jiangnan (lit. "south of Yangtze River”)-style appetizer platter, which is made with mushrooms and vegetables.

Mr. LEE, also known as "Brother Tong”, has over 20 years of fine culinary expertise in Chinese cuisine; that having been said, he is not a stickler for tradition at all. He has done a western cooking class, trying to combine traditional Western techniques and ingredients with Chinese cuisine. The Western techniques of preparing sauces and meats, he says, are most inspiring for him.

Healthy, Fresh Fruit in Dishes

Mr. LEE likes to use fruits such as mangoes, strawberries and longans to give his dishes a fresh and tangy flavour. Fruit sauce is also a refreshing extra partner for any dish. Yet he hinted that fruit and vegetables will dry up after prolonged cooking. To avoid so, Mr. LEE suggests adding fruit in the cooking just before the other ingredients are done, and give it just a quick stir-fry. This will allow the fruit to retain its juice and flavour.

The restaurant has introduced to its banquet menus a number of healthier options, such as “Grilled Scallop and Blanched Prawns”. Nevertheless, some customers still want to treat their friends and relatives with traditional Chinese banquet dishes such as roast suckling pig, shark fin and deep-fried stuffed crab claws.