Seafood and bongwater

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I got a message a couple of days ago... my friend Vlad would be in town for a couple of days. I am always looking to spend more time with him, so we made plans to meet up for dinner tonight - just after he lands. We figured they would appreciate some casual, local Canto fare, so I booked us a table at our new favorite neighborhod joint Lucky Ship (船嘉•福).

The owner behind this joint also owns a seafood supply business, so this is one of their strengths. Foursheets and I love this place for a variety of reasons. Besides the fact that they are very pet-friendly with their outdoor seating, We also love the daipaidong (大排檔) atmosphere as well as the classic dishes.

Chaozhou cold threadfin with rice (潮式凍馬友魚飯) - one would think that with the majority of Chinese in Thailand descended from Chiuchow immigrants, the cold "fish rice (魚飯)" would be more familiar to our visitors. I was wrong. But happily this turned out to be well-received. I do love it when they do it the new style, cut into pretty, bite-size chunks instead of having the fish served whole.

Birthday in the summer

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It’s no secret that Mr. Chichi is a superfan of Chef Vicky Cheng’s, and he’s been to both VEA and Wing (永) countless time… although I’m pretty sure he actually does keep count. He recently asked me to join his dinner table at Wing, and since I was kinda curious about how much more food Vicky gives him on top of a “standard” menu, I said yes.

We started, as usual, with a seasonal drink to suit the 24 seasons. Currently we are in Summer Solstice (夏至).

Hongkie sushi

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The King is in town for a few days, and I was invited to join his dinner with our mutual friend. I know very well that our friend has a fairly short list of restaurants he frequents, so I was pretty surprised when Suzhi Zinc was chosen. I know a number of friends have been there, but since I don’t eat much sushi in Hong Kong (or in general), I just haven’t gotten the urge to check the place out. So tonight I finally had occasion to do so.

I was apologetic to my friends prior to arrival at the restaurant, as I thought I would run a few minutes late… and I know it’s customary to start service on time and start times are often simultaneous for all customers – so a late customer means EVERYONE at the counter waits for you. Well… I need not have worried. Not only was I not late, but the other customers all arrived later than I did.

After everyone has arrived, service began with a series of otsumami (おつまみ):

Sweetfish (鮎) – this was an interesting preparation inspired by the classic Chiuchow dish of “chilled fish (凍魚) / fish rice (魚飯)”, where the fillet was lightly seasoned with salt and served chilled. Served with crunchy lily bulb from Hokkaido and garnished with some local oxalis for a bit of acidity.

Biryani biryani

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This was a dinner I had been looking forward to for more than 3 months. At a dinner 3 months ago, B Bestie was telling us about the upcoming collabs he was orchestrating, and he mentioned that one of them would involve Biryani Osawa (ビリヤニ小澤). I had heard about this Japanese chef in Tokyo serving up interesting biryani (बिरयानी) from a friend, and in fact I tried to squeeze a visit in on my last trip to Tokyo. Unfortunately I didn't make it there. So when I heard the name mentioned by B Bestie, my hand went up about 0.3 seconds after and I told him I wanted a table at the event.

I had roped in a few more friends for this, such was my excitement about this dinner. Unfortunately a couple of them had to cancel, and I duly informed B Bestie about downsizing my table. When I got to Leela tonight, I was surprised that we were still given a table of 6... so I apologized profusely to James, and let him know that he should have a word with B Bestie.

As I had confirmed with the restaurant about my dietary restrictions being "no beetroot and fish cum", the first of the starters was replaced with something Foursheets and I were familiar with...

Tuna papdi chaat Lucknowi tokri chaat - I usually see this come in the bigger size for a table of 4 or more. Tonight only two of us are getting this substitute course, and suddenly this thing looked so much cuter! Always love Manav's tokri chaat (टोकरी चाट) for the mix of acidity, cream, the crunch of the deep-fried potato, and all the herbs and spices.

Another trip to Spain... in Taipei

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It is, once again, time to commemorate the day when Mom suffered terrible tummy pains all those years ago. After staying in Hong Kong for the last couple of years, this year I've resumed the old habit of flying home and spending the day with the Parental Units. Choosing a venue became easier this time, as many restaurants are closed on Mondays, and I decided to return to Molino de Urdániz. Since my happy first visit more than 3 years ago, this Taipei outpost have gotten themselves a second macaron, so I was really looking forward to more modern Spanish cuisine.

The current menu is called "Clásicos y Evolución", which features classic dishes created by Chef David Yárnoz at the home based in Spain as well as creations using locally-sourced ingredients.

I was a little annoyed with the restaurant's service at the very beginning, as they seemed intent on having us start our meal right away after we sat down. It should have been obvious that I was setting up my cameras to take pictures at the beginning, before the mayhem was about to start, but the staff completely ignored this and insisted on putting food on the table before I was remotely ready...

Pine spring: mushroom consommé - poetically named "pine spring (松泉)" in Chinese, this was not officially on the menu but offered as an extra treat. We were asked to first taste the mushroom consommé - made with 4 different types of mushrooms - on its own. Then we were to mix in the paste on the cup's rim - made with ground, dried mushrooms that was infused with pine needles - and taste the mixture. This helped to warm up the stomach to prepare for the meal, and Mom loves mushroom soup so she was pretty happy.