"While a large tureen has more flavour because it has so many ingredients, it's harder for the server to make sure each person has each ingredient in their bowl," he explains.
The chef, who also oversees the hotel's Shang Palace, says the soup served in the restaurant features about 15 ingredients, including chicken, fish maw, abalone, sea cucumber, American ginseng, bamboo pith, deer tendon, wolfberries and mushrooms.
"We layer the ingredients and the top layer has the choice items such as fish maw, abalone and sea cucumber. Under that are items like mushrooms and bamboo pith, followed by chicken and pork. That's so that when the lid is taken off, guests can see the most expensive ingredients at the top," Mok says. He also adds a splash of brandy as well as huadiao wine, for a more fragrant flavour.
At Cuisine Royale in the Hopewell Centre in Wan Chai, the soup is presented in a tureen large enough to serve 12 people and it has a dozen ingredients in it including sea whelk, Chinese ham and fish maw.
Chef Frankie Tong Yat-fai says there are various prices of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, most ranging from HK$800 to HK$1,200. Diners can pay HK$4,000 for the premium version.
At Yan Toh Heen in the InterContinental Hong Kong, executive chef Lau Yiu-fai cooks nine ingredients in the famous dish, as the number is auspicious. He uses quality items as conpoy (dried scallops), abalone, fish maw and sea cucumber.
"We make the soup base first using black chicken, lean pork and ham and let it simmer for about four hours. We add the rest of the ingredients and simmer it some more before serving."
Lau says this method of preparing the soup ensures there is less fat, making it healthier for diners. "We make sure the skin is removed from the chicken because it's the skin that has the fat. That way the broth is very clear."
Lau explains that preparing the ingredients takes longer than the actual cooking of the dish, as each type of dried seafood has its own specifications in terms of how it needs to be rehydrated. Dried sea cucumber, for example, needs to be soaked for at least a week beforehand, while dried fish maw should be soaked in hot water.
"We use canned abalone because it's more convenient, otherwise dried abalone can take an additional 20 hours to soak and prepare," he says.
At Yan Toh Heen the soup's name has a more metallic ring to it in Chinese, as it translates literally to "house filled with gold and silver".
Despite the wealth of ingredients in the soup, chef Mok says it is typically consumed after Mid-Autumn Festival until the end of March as it helps warm up the body. And during the month of March, Shang Palace will have mini bowls of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall on offer to help diners stave off the cold.
Soup bases
7/F-8/F, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2584 7722
2/F The Excelsior Hong Kong, 281 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, tel: 2837 6790
4/F-6/F Kwan Chart Tower, 6 Tonnochy Road, Wan Chai, tel: 2892 2888
32-40 Wellington Street, Central, tel: 2522 1624
Lower Level 1, Kowloon Shangri-La, 64 Mody Road,
Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2733 8754
Lower Level, InterContinental Hong Kong, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, tel: 2313 2323
7/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, tel: 2804 1300
Shop 411-413, 4/F Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen's Road Central, tel: 2522 2148
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Fortune flavours the bowl
