No flowers for fourth anniversary

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Four years ago at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two of us exchanged our vows to be with each other for the rest of our lives, in the company of just two witnesses and a lawyer. Tonight we are back at the place where it happened - Caprice - so that I could celebrate the fact that I'm still alive after four years of marriage. When I booked the table, Saffron Bae had asked me whether we were there for a special celebration, but I pretended it is "just dinner". I figured there was no reason to make a big deal out of it.

I told the chefs that we didn't want to have too much food, and the kitchen was kind enough to set up a menu based on the bottle of wine I had brought. I just love the way they cater to the needs of their clients.

As usual, Victor very graciously came to pour us a glass of Champagne to start our evening:

Leclerc Briant Réserve Vendages 2018, dégorgée Decembre 2023, en magnum - acidity was pretty high on this, so the palate was pretty crisp. The nose was pretty metallic on the first whiff, but then turned pretty yeasty as the wine opened up in the glass.

For the first time in quite some time, all three of the amuse bouches inside the boîte à bijoux were new. They finally switched out the pita with curry chicken mousse.

Last call at Nine One

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Mr. Christmas is back in town for a short few days, and I relished the opportunity to catch up with him. As he was making his way around different parts of southern China, I knew that Cantonese food wasn't a must for him. I was somewhat surprised when he suggested we go for Indian food, and I knew just where to take him! I quickly checked in with the Bombay East Indian Girl as I knew she was off on holiday, but would be back in the kitchen at Nine One tonight. We were all set.

Early this morning I began receiving messages from my friend. She had returned from her travels yesterday, and has decided to leave the restaurant concept that she has spent the better part of the year building. She was clearly unhappy with whatever was happening in her absence and decided it was better to walk away than be part of it. However, she would be in the kitchen tonight for one last evening, as both another friend and myself had booked tables tonight, and she wanted to take care of us.

The mood was clearly a little awkward when we arrived. I could see it on Johnny's face, and of course my friend the Bombay East Indian Girl. I ordered a few dishes that I wanted Mr. Christmas and his family to try, and left the rest up to the chef.

Khakra, chundo - I've always enjoyed the spice in the khakra (ખાખરા) and especially the chundo (छुन्दो).

Birthday in the Valley

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It's that time of the year again, and we needed to find a place to pop open a bottle. This year Foursheets decided that she would want to go a little casual and didn't want to eat so much, so we decided to go back to Locanda for some of their great pasta. What is also perfect is the ability to order à la carte so we can decide both the amount of food we want to take, and the dishes to match the wine we brought.

Carta musica - I really love these Sardinian crisps, and now they come in different flavors.

Hanwooooo in Hong Kong

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We've known for some time that Born and Bred was coming to Hong Kong. 30K had been having discussions about this since at least 2019, although that obviously got derailed thanks to the pandemic. There had been sporadic talk about updated opening plans but none of those ever came to fruition.

A few months ago we started seeing signs outside a space being renovating, so we knew that 30K was opening some kind of noodle shop in town. A bunch of us were very excited and waiting for this opening, because we knew that whatever project 30K decides to do, he would put full effort into it and deliver results that are up to his standard.

I hadn't been paying attention about their opening timeline, and certainly hadn't heard anything from PR8. So I was a little surprised when 30K asked me to join him for lunch today at Moo-Lah (牟樂).

The raison d'être, of course, was to bring Born and Bred's Hanwoo beef into Hong Kong. But instead of just copying the concept from Korea, 30K decided to open a place serving dishes that locals are already familiar with, and upgrade it with "better beef from Born and Bred". I was eager to see how that would work.

A set lunch menu is a 3-course affair, starting with a simple salad, a main dish with noodles or rice, and dessert. Tonight we would taste through a few options from the menu.

Tomatoes marinated in plum juice (話梅番茄沙律) - the salad is light, and the tomatoes which had been marinated in preserved plum (話梅) sauce were pretty interesting.

A golden shower

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We received a proposal from the couple in the Tiny Urban Kitchen. As Mr. CSO's birthday is just a day earlier than Foursheets', they wondered if we would be interested in doing a joint celebration. They are big fans of Wagyumafia and have joined as members, and invited us to share this unique experience.

I know of a few people who were among the earliest members of Wagyumafia when they first opened in Tokyo, but I have never really had much interest in the kind of performative dining experience that they are known for. I see them as a more modern version of Benihana, and chuckle at the memory of my one and only meal spent at their original New York City location more thn 30 years ago - when the chef spent the whole evening been pissed that my friends and I completely ignored his theatrics. But hey... I know these guys at least serve up some pretty good beef, and our friends are a lot of fun, so we readily agreed to a joint celebration.

The entrance to the dining space is through Mashi No Mashi - the ramen joint from the same group. As this was our first visit, Foursheets and I were kinda clueless about what was supposed to happen. There wasn't exactly an area for us to cool our heels while we waited for our friends to arrive, and it felt ridiculous to stand in an open area behind people on stools slurping down ramen, so we asked to be seated ASAP.

We were then led into this small, enclosed space where it felt like an intermediate step before stepping into a clean room or a freezer. It was here that we would get our "welcome" bite and drink. I was a little bewildered, and as the whole thing felt a little rushed, it didn't exactly feel very welcoming to me... Had I known about this little step, I probably would have chosen to wait for our friends so that we could do this together.

We were given a piece of beef ham to start.

Sharaku Junmai Ginjo (寫楽 純米吟醸), R5BY - seimaibuai of 50%. The nose showed a lot of musk melon and banana, along with a very sweet, starchy rice profile.

After that little ritual, the two of us were led into the dining space, featuring a C-shaped counter around the prep/cooking area. I could see a Josper grill, so I assume that's where the chunks of beef would be cooked. The stools we would sit on were just a little high for someone of my stature, and it was a pain in the ass to have to get up and down. A couple of minutes later our hosts arrived, and we could finally get this party started!