滷 味 The last time I was down in Fremont, I noticed 萬 家 香 滷 味 (maan6 ga1 heung1 lou5 mei3), a shop that specializes in selling 滷 味 (lou5 mei3). It's difficult for me to define 滷 味 other than to say that it is popular in many places in China and generally consists of salty side dishes. The item I got was 考 夫 or 烤 夫 (haau2 fu1), an interesting Northern Chinese side dish that can be tough to find in the Bay Area. It consists of a mixture of dried bean curd, mushrooms, cloud fungus, and bamboo shoots soaked in various sauces and spices. The flavor often reminds me of licorice. Anyway, I love 考 夫 and wonder where it originally came from. Somehow the name does not seem Chinese to me.

Speaking of 滷 味, 潮 州 (chiu4 jau1) Chaozhou restaurants typically have dishes like 滷 水 鵝 (lou5 seui2 ngo4) brine-soaked goose or 滷 水 鴨 (lou5 seui2 ngaap3) brine-soaked duck. Last year when I was in HK, I remember buying 滷 水 鵝 at 飄 香 潮 州 滷 水 專 門 店, a specialty shop on 皇 后 大 道 西 Queen's Road West. The owners, a father and son from Chaozhou, were very friendly as they told me that their 滷 水 鵝 was authentic Chaozhou style and gave me a sample to try. They even spoke a few words of 潮 州 話 (chiu4 jau1 wa2) Chaozhou dialect for me to hear. I bought a half goose and brought it back to my hotel room, enjoying every bit of it. Every since that time, I have been a bigger and bigger fan of 滷 味. Next year, when I return to HK, I hope to be able to go back to that same shop to get some more authentic 潮 州 滷 水 鵝.  ¶ 8:33 PM