Char siu OD

I was craving for char siu last week and got into discussion on Twitter, and proposed to the group that we meet up for lunch today.  A few people put their hands up, and a reservation was made at Fu Sing Shark Fin Seafood Restaurant (富聲魚翅海鮮酒家).  It's a local favorite when it comes to dim sum, and their char siu has always been near the top of my list.

I arrived late and was surprised that the gang hadn't ordered anything to satisfy their cravings.  Once I sat down, I was immediately told by the Princess that I was not allowed to eat.  I was only allowed to eat whatever she gave me permission to eat.  Now that the ground rules have been set, I kept quiet and waited for her command…  At first, she told me that the only thing I could eat was the complimentary soy-marinated gluten (烤麩)…

I was next allowed to eat a crispy pork bun (酥皮叉燒餐飽).  I have missed this soooo much!  This was piping hot when I bit into it, and I can't even describe the level of happiness I felt…  I should have had a second one…

Then I was finally allowed to have some Fu Sing char siu (富聲叉燒), which was the main reason why we were here.  This was really, really good, and totally lived up to my expectations.  Good amount of fat, good amount of char and caramelized fat… Just about perfect.

Unfortunately, this is the fourth day in a row that I've had very good char siu.  I started with the wonderful pork shoulder at Kowloon Tang (九龍廳), then had some take-out from Yat Lok (一樂) during happy hour the next day, followed by the Iberico version from Tin Lung Heen (天龍軒) last night.   As awesome as this char siu was, after the second piece all I could think of was that I didn't want to see another piece of fatty pork for a while…

Chicken wings - these were marinated with shrimp paste, and I thought the flavors were pretty interesting.

Finally, I was given permission to take the last crystal prawn dumpling (水晶鮮蝦餃).  Very good, even with only 11 folds…

We added a few more dishes for the second round.  The pan-fried turnip cake with prawn paste (煎釀百花蘿蔔糕) was very yummy.  When I placed the order, I didn't realize that this ain't your run-of-the-mill pan-fried turnip cake.

In reality, this is a layer of prawn cake fused on top of the turnip cake.  The browned exteriors of both layers were very fragrant, and the bits of dried shrimp inside the turnip cake turned out to highlight the flavors of the prawn cake.  Thank you, ma'am… may I have another?

Steamed rice-flour rolls with deep-fried crullers (炸兩) - this was pretty good.  Then again, deep-fried foods often are…

Chilled mango cream with sago and pomelo (楊枝甘露) - finished with a bowl of this classic dessert.

This was a nice get-together with my foodie friends.  I look forward to more of these gatherings once I'm back in Hong Kong.