Places to eat in Waikato

Master House is the only Chinese restaurant that I believe does Yum Cha for its customers in the Hamilton city, there have been a few new Chinese restaurants opening up in the city but so far I have not seen Yum cha being mentioned on the menu.

Before I discuss this restaurant let me explain what Yum cha is for those who don't know. Yum cha is a selection of different dishes that are brought out to you and you choose whether you wish to have the dish or not. They can be a variety of different dishes such as dumplings, seafood, or even a plate of chicken wings. Usually they are bite size and you will get between 3 and 4 servings in one bamboo steamer or on a plate.

I like this restaurant as I enjoy trying out the different flavours of Chinese cuisine. To the west many people think Chinese is just Fried rice and Sweet and sour. In a sense this is true but it is often been made for the western palate. Real Chinese food can be more complex and the flavours are somewhat tastier and more herbs and spices and sauces are added. Traditionally a Cantonese way of eating Yum cha is the term "drinking tea" according to the Wikipedia website and while sipping on cups of tea, people can enjoy trying a variety
of different dishes.

The prices vary from dish to dish and if there is something special that you do like, the hostesses are very accomodating and will ask if the dish can be made for you.

I enjoy coming here with my Chinese friends on a regular basis or as special treat with my sweetheart when we want to feel as if we are in China.

LAW BOCK GOW is my favourite dish from Master House, I am not excatly sure why I love this dish but every time I come to Master House I ask for this. Basically it is a Daikon cake which has been steamed and fried. I have included the recipe below which I found from a website. It truly is something I love and it may be a bit glutenous for some. It is a bit tricky to make but it still tastes very good. If you don't have any chinese sausages you could try using bacon instead or leave it out alltogether for those who don't eat pork.

Favorite Dish: 2 Lb Daikon radish, grated
1 oz. dried shrimp
1 1/3 cups dried ***ake (dried mushroom)
5 oz Chinese sausage
1 tbs oil
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 tsp sugar
3 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro
1 2/3 cups rice flour
oil for frying

Makes 6

Place the daikon radish in a large bowl and vover with boiling water to 5 minutes. Drain, reserving any liquid, then allow the turnip to drain in a colander. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess liquid. Place in a large bowl.
Soak the dried shrimp in boiling water for 1 hr, then drain, adding any soaking liquid to the reserved daikon radish liquid.
Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes ( or until they are soft enough ), then drain, adding any soaking liquid to the reserved daikon radish liquid. Squeeze out any excess water from the mushrooms. Remove and discard them stems and finely dice the caps.
Place the sausage on a plate in a steamer. Cover and steam over simmering water in a wok for 10 minutes, then finely dice it.
Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and heat until very hot. Stir-fry the sausage for 1 minute. Then add the shrimp and mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 mintues, or until fragrant. Add the scallions, sugar, rice wine and pepper, then add the daikon radish, cilantro and rice flour and toss to combine. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved liquid and mix well.
Place the mixture in a greased and lined 10 inch square cake pan. Place the pan in a steamer. Cover and steam over simmering water in a wok for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours, or until firm, replenishing with boiling water during cooking. Remove the pan and cool in a fridge overnight. Take the cake from the pan and cut into 2 inch squares that are 1/2 inch thick.
Heat a wok over high heat, add 2 tbs of the oil and heat until very hot. Cook the turnip cakes in batches, adding more oil between batches if necessary, until golden and crispy.

Recipe from http://yohanagourmet.blogspot.com/2006/10/daikon-radish-cake-law-bock-gow.html

Not the most glamourous of restaurants, RR is tucked in amongst the suburb of Hamilton East which is a few minutes drive from the city centre. Red walls decorate the place but it has very little in the way of decoration and the owner has just taken over the other shop to keep up with demand of his customers as the first shop was getting a bit too tiny. Pictures of each dish are featured underneath the glass tabletops to give the customer an idea of what they will be getting.

What makes RR so special is that the Indian community of Hamilton come here so it must be good, its not uncommon to see a table filled with a mixture of Indians and New Zealanders mingling together and sharing a meal.

I will take some photos the next time I am visiting :-)

Favorite Dish: It would be very fair to say that each dish that I have tried is very good and very reasonably priced. The most expensive thing on the menu is the Tandoori Whole Snapper ( a steal at $17.00 NZD). Many of the main meals are around $11.00 upwards. I tend to start with the Onion Bhaji which consists of 4 deep fried onions which are cooked in a chickpea flour and served with chutney and sambar. Then I will share a main together with whoever I am eating with and share theirs with a nice plain naan ($1.50 for 4 generous sized pieces) and sometimes I may have a Mango Laasi ($3) The Dosa's I have been told by Indian friends is just like the ones they get back home and yes they are very good and range from $5-$7 and come with the usual condiments. RR is also suitable for Muslims and comes with both Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian meals.

Be prepared sometimes to wait a little bit for your table as it it fills up very quickly, one evening we shared a table with a father and his three kids out for one of their birthdays, we didnt mind but usually would have had our own table.

Bajji
Ingredients
Channa flour (Besan/Chickpea) 1 cup
Rice flour 1/2 cup
Chilli powder 1 t.spoon
Ghee (melted butter) 1 t.spoon
Hing a small pinch
Salt 3/4 t.spoon
Cooing Oil for frying
Vegetables - Cauliflour, Eggplant, Potato, Onions, Green bell
pepper washed and thinly sliced.

Method
Make a batter with channa flour, rice flour, chilli powder, hing,
ghee, and little salt. Coat the vegetables in this batter, and
deep fry in oil.

Serve with some of those yummy Indian chutneys... Beautiful...:-p

There's nothing better than a home-grilled meal, with plenty of very local ingredients!