What I like about Cooking Papa is that each item on the menu is authentic and has a picture for reference. There are no Americanized dishes served here. Here, they serve Hong Kong style snack foods like noodles and roasted meats as well as the banquet style dinner plates which I have chronicled in previous posts. For this dinner, we had a banquet style meal again with a hint of snack food.
Fish Stomach Soup
Soup is always the first course of every meal. The soup is made from dried fish stomach and egg drops. It may look like a horror movie, but it tastes really good. The soup has a very nice clean flavor and the stomach and egg provides depth. The fish stomach is flavorless and has a chewy texture. To add flavor, people would add a few drops of red vinegar.
Pork Belly
Roast pork is one of my favorite Cantonese barbecue dishes. A whole pig is roasted in an open fire or, nowadays, a pit oven until the skin crisps up. It's rare to see just the belly being served. Crispy skin on top of layers of fat and meat.
Hainan Chicken
This is just a half chicken cooked in its broth and then cooled in ice water. It's served with sweet chili and minced ginger sauces. To my surprise, it didn't come with rice and was served quite cold rather than lukewarm.
Congee with Seafood and Peanuts
Congee is typically snack food, which you don't see served in a banquet meal. But this is a family favorite. Typically, this is just a rice porridge with peanuts and squid. But, there is something different about this version. There is pork tripe, scallops, shrimp, and fish as well. I believe that this is the West Coast version. It's probably the most decadent congee that I have ever had.
Dungeness Crab
Being here in the Bay Area, it was necessary for me to try the local seafood. And dungeness crab is probably the most notable. I had this crab every day I was in the area. It's more difficult to eat compared to lobster and blue crab. The legs are cracked at certain points to, but I still needed to use a nutcracker to actually break into the hard shells. The meat is not as tasty as the blue crab, but still worth eating anyways.
Peking Duck
I was so happy to see this on the menu as I haven't had this dish in 2 years. The process of making this dish is more complex than roast duck. The duck is dried for a day before being roasted, making the skin more crispier. Underneath the skin is some duck meat. There is buns, scallions, and hoisin sauce to eat the duck. Now if I could only find a place closer to home that makes this dish well.
Honey Walnut Shrimp
This is my sister's favorite dish. It's deep fried shrimp, lathered in a honey mayo sauce, and served on a bed of diced cucumbers and roasted walnuts. The cucumbers are a different touch. Back east, I'm used to broccoli. Even though I hate mayonnaise, I love the sweetness that the sauce has.
Hong Kong Style Egg Puffs
Unlike most Chinese restaurants, this place doesn't give complementary dessert at the end of the meal. They do, however, have some very unique selections. These are puffs of fried egg batter topped with powdered sugar. They're like Chinese donuts. Even if the saying goes sugar makes everything better, these puffs are good without it. It's slightly crusty on the outside and fluffy and sweet on the inside. These are best fried dough I've ever had.
This was a great way to close out my last night in Bay Area. I feel disappointed for only staying for 2 full days, since that is clearly not enough time to explore the city. But at least I have some reference points when I return. San Francisco is the perfect city for this blog, since there are so many great eateries. Its suburbs are no different either, especially with places like Cooking Papa.
Cooking Papa
949A Edgewater Blvd
Foster City, CA 94404
Other location:
2803 Homestead Dr.
Santa Clara, CA 95051
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