Dessert By Candy

Growing up in Hong Kong in the 80s, a lot of my childhood food memories are associated with western-style cuisine as interpreted by Chinese. The sizzler plate is one particularly memorable item. Typically, it is a steak dinner served on a hot heavy cast-iron plate. The waiter would gingerly place it in front of me with a silver gravy boat at the ready. That is the cue for me to unfold my paper napkin and hold it like a curtain between my face and the food. As the gravy was poured over the steak, everything sizzle along with smoke and aroma which would linger on my clothes long after the meal ended. I love the theatrics and the multi-sensory experience of a sizzler dinner.

Nine times out of ten, restaurants serve sizzler as a set dinner (aka prix-fixe) to make the whole western dining experience complete. There is always a choice of cream or borscht soup (borscht of course) and sometimes a side salad for appetizer. A sweet dinner roll accompanies the soup and it is best when sliced in half with a nice cold slice of butter slowly melting by the warmth of the bread. The fries and blanched mixed vegetables are the best accompaniment to the steak to mop up all the excess gravy. Of course, no meal is complete without coffee/tea and dessert. Dessert is usually a little cup of jello or mango pudding drizzled with evaporated milk.

Now that I am all grown up, the sizzler dinner does seem a little cheesy but it still holds a special place in my heart. It is what I immediately think of when I crave a "steak dinner". Luckily, there are restaurants in Toronto that specialize in this type of Hong Kong-style western cuisine once you venture to Richmond Hill/Markham. My favourite haunt is only five minute drive from my home so I don’t even need to make a special trip to satisfy my craving. In recent months, I’ve drastically decreased my consumption of red meat. One problem is that it is difficult for me to get enough iron from my meals. Since iron plays a very important role in my athletic performance, I’ve decided to start eating two meals a week with red meat. At $15.99, it is certainly a very affordable way to enjoy a steak dinner with all the trimming!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Food and Drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.