Die-Nasty at Dynasty

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I had the opportunity to attend a big feast tonight.  This movable feast is actually pretty famous around town, and for some reason I've never gotten around to participating in one of these for the last two years I've known about it.  When I saw an announcement for dinner at Dynasty (滿福樓), I signed up immediately.  My last dinner here featured Champagne Krug a few years ago, and I remember the food being pretty decent.

The menu had been pre-arranged by the organizer, who is extremely knowledgeable about the restaurant's strengths and weaknesses.  I was pretty sure that there wouldn't be any "misses" tonight... There were around 50 of us in total, spread amongst four big, round tables.

Cold-soaked white king oyster mushrooms (冰鎮百靈菇) - braised and then dunked into ice-cold water.  Pretty nice.  Love the texture.

Honey-roasted chicken livers (蜜汁燒雞肝) - looked pretty but could have used a tad more of that honey glaze, or maybe it was just the piece I picked up...

Honey-glazed barbecued pork (蜜汁烤叉燒) - just dripping with that sweet, lovely honey glaze... I love different kinds of char siu (叉燒), and I certainly don't mind them sweet and fatty.  There were also a few pieces with bouncy bite.  I would have been happy with just a plate of this and a bowl of rice...

Soy-marinated pig trotters (鹵水豬腳仔) - what's not to love about these?!  Collagen galore.

Fresh crab claw steamed with coriander and preserved egg (香荽皮蛋蒸蟹拑) - very lovely.  Crab claw was fresh, and the fragrance of coriander worked well with the century eggs and delicate flavors of steamed egg.

Baked frog's legs and fish maw with scallion in clay pot (薑蔥田雞魚鰾煲) - the strong smell of scallions and ginger filled the air, temporarily blocking my senses... The frog's legs were good, but I didn't care for the fish maw (魚鰾)... Even with lots of white pepper they still couldn't get rid of the "fishy (腥)" taste...

Deep-fried crispy young chicken (脆皮炸子雞) - not bad at all.  Even the breast meat was tender and moist.

Sweet and sour pork with pineapple (菠蘿咕嚕肉) - very well done.  Crispy batter coated with a well-balanced sauce.

Baked bean curd with minced pork and salted egg (台山釀豆腐) - pretty yummy, with minced pork, salted egg yolk at the bottom of the bowl and a thin slice of mud carp fish cake (鯪魚片) on top of the tofu.

Braised Chinese lettuce with dried pomelo peels in abalone sauce (鮑汁柚皮唐生菜) - beautiful to behold and well-executed.  A pity that shrimp roe wasn't used, but this was delicious nonetheless.

Poached rice with minced beef, preserved egg and coriander in clear broth (香荽皮蛋牛崧泡飯) - pretty yummy, and nice to get some hot soup in the tummy.

The desserts were all pretty tasty...

Deep-fried sesame puffs (炸蔴圓) - lovely with the runny black sesame paste filling.

Steamed sesame buns (蔴茸包) - surprising that this came with a white sesame paste filling... which was delicious.

Steamed traditional brown sugar sponge cake (欖仁馬粒糕) - not bad at all, and no baking soda taste, either.

There was a pretty eclectic selection of wine tonight...

Hanzo Plum Liquor (半蔵の梅酒) - not bad, actually...

2002 Comte Lafon Meursault Clos de la Barre - I brought this bottle from home.  Anjou pear, mineral, a bit flinty, a little sweet on the nose, a hint of straw. Two hours later the nose was much more open, with a little almond/marzipan even... 

2007 Chateau Ste Michelle Muscat Canelli - initially a little menthol? Lots of tropical mango, a hint of flint and a tiny bit of effervescence. Very sweet on the palate.

2007 Chapoutier La Croix des Grives Rouge - minty, pine needle and leather. Pretty concentrated and I definitely felt the alcohol.

2009 Chateau Dynasty Merlot - I brought the bottle, wrapped it in tin foil and asked the group to blind taste it.  I haven't had anything from Dynasty since the late 80s when I was drinking their non-vintage medium dry white with seafood in Southeast Asia.  We'd always jokingly called it "Die-Nasty", and I thought it would be "interesting" to drink a bottle of Dynasty while dining at Dynasty... 

Nose of smoke, pine needle, a bit sweet... not very complex. Nose was still a little sharp after double-decanting for 3 hours.  Not something I would likely buy or drink again, but to be honest I didn't think it was "nasty"...  Thankfully nobody hated it enough to pick up the heavy bottle and throw it in my direction!

This was a very good evening, and I survived my first taste of the movable feast.  I'll be seeing some of these people again in 3 days...