Congee is one of the must try dishes when visiting Shunde. Food critic Jiasheng 嘉升 has tried more than a dozen pork congee places in Shunde District in Guangzhou and Bai Kee 伯记粥 is his favourite.
Bai Kee is a popular place, so come well before 9am as most food would be sold out by that time. Most of Bai Kee's clientele are from the neighbourhood, loyal followers over decades.
The environment is hyperlocal, spartan furnishings but comfortable enough, informal, gritty with a welcoming ambiance.
Bai Kee has more than twenty different types and cuts of meat. All fresh.
As soon as you arrive, go to the counter and chiller, and point to the ingredients you want. Another in your party go find available seats.
There're fish slices, fish balls, fish belly, fish bones. There're pork ribs, tendon, meat slices, meat balls, maw, heart, tongue, liver, large intestine, skin, etc. There's also beef. They are all sold by weight.
Your selected ingredients are cooked a la minute in the creamy white congee where the rice grains are all melted into a gruel that flows like a thick mushroom soup but not dense like a paste.
The Cantonese describe the desired texture as "cotton smooth" 绵滑.
Bai Kee's congee has a natural umami sweetness from rice, red dates, pork bones, conpoy and other ingredients. Juices from your chosen meats add their flavours to the congee too.
Must order the pork liver. The powdery type liver is very fresh, sliced thick and blanched 70% done, so it is crunchy, moist and flavourful.
The tender pork tongue has a dairy milky taste. Must order!
Must also order intestine head 肠头 (I presume the rectum 😬 ) for their tender springy crunch. It's well cleaned, so there is no issue of off taste. Enjoy it and don't overthink it 😅
Regulars recommend a dash of white pepper.
Let's go to Shunde, one of China's food capitals 顺德美食之都.
Restaurant name: Bai Kee Congee 顺德伯记粥店
Address: No. 76, Wenxing Road, Ronggui, Shunde District, Foshan City, Guangdong, China
Tel: +86 159 1457 9926
Hours: 6am - 11am (but mostly sold out by 9am)
Written by Tony Boey on 6 Feb 2025
Note: The purpose of this interpretation is to allow non Chinese audiences to access the content of the video, and also prepare for my own visit. When I visit these eateries myself, I will append my own personal experience here in this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments submitted with genuine identities are published