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Geoduck is not a duck. It is a salt water clam. In Chinese it is called 象拔蚌- ‘elephant trunk clam’ as it has a long and chunky siphon, which looks just like an elephant trunk. It looks a little ugly but it is yummy! I am surprised Heston Blumenthal, chef of Fat Duck ( 3 Michelin starred restaurant and one of the top 3 restaurants in the world) and Dinner (his new popular venture in Mandarin Oriental, London) have not used them for his quirky Fishy Feast already!

The best way to cook geoducks is to have them steamed with garlic, spring onion and glass noodles. It is tender and the fresh garlic complements very well the natural sweetness of the geoducks. The glass noodles enhance the texture in the mouth.

Alternatively, geoducks can be enjoyed as thinly sliced sashimi. They are naturally sweet. The texture is a little similar to Continue reading about Geoducks >>

I love traditional Chinese shadow puppet shows for their simple elegance. They usually depict old folk tales. The set up is quite basic- simple light, music, screen and puppets that are made of cardboard or thin coloured acrylic sheets. Controllers move individual puppets around to bring the story to life.

Recently I saw a great show (see above) – the fight between the Snipe and the Clam 鹬蚌相争. The snipe had a flight with the clam. The snipe attacked the clam with its beak and the clam held on to it. Both refused to let go. A fisherman came by and netted them both.

Like most Chinese folk tales, there is always a lesson to be learnt from the story. The lesson of this one is: ‘If both sides refuse to compromise, a third-party will take advantage of the situation.’

The snipe was about to ‘fly in’, as controlled by the lady on the left of the screen. Continue reading about the making of the shadow puppet show >>