Another Fook Lam Moon birthday

It's another birthday celebration at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門), and one where our host splurged for a classic dish that the restaurant is known for - and something that I haven't had in quite a long time.

Deep-fried frogs' legs (椒鹽田雞腿) - it seems we can never get enough of this dish.  In fact we knew the "large" size wasn't enough and immediately ordered another "medium" plate.

Roast suckling pig (大紅片皮乳豬) - de rigueur when one dines here.  Does one ever get tired of this piggy?  Apparently not this crowd.  But who can blame us when the skin is wafer-thin and so crispy?!

Snake soup (菊花燴蛇羹) - 'tis the season, and this time I limited myself to just one bowl.  Some at the table had not had snake soup before, and they were told that it "tastes like chicken"...

Abalone with mushroom and lettuce (原隻鮑魚跟唐生菜) - I haven't had abalone here in years, probably not since this meal 4 years ago.  I can appreciate abalone, but it's not normally something I'm willing to shell out big bucks for.  Not sure how big this was, but I know it must have cost a pretty penny…

Just for the heck of it, I drank both the Riesling and a Bordeaux red with this dish, trying to see if it made much difference.  Surprisingly, putting the red with abalone didn't bring out too much more of the "fishy" flavors, and it certainly wasn't an unpleasant combination.  The crisp acidity of the Riesling perhaps worked a little better, but the difference wasn't night and day.

Stir-fried garoupa fillets with vegetables (菜遠炒斑球)

Stir-fried lobster with black beans and green peppers (豉椒炒龍蝦球) - one of my favorite dishes here, and they did a pretty decent job tonight.  The ratio of lobster to the other ingredients seems to have gotten lower, but that's not necessarily a bad thing…

Stir-fried kale with ginger sauce (薑汁生炒蘭度) - very tender and yummy.

Stir-fried noodles in soy sauce (豉油皇炒麵) - a little disappointing in that the wok hei (鑊氣) from being stir-fried at high heat was missing.

Fried glutinous rice with preserved meats (生炒糯米飯) - always delicious here, and tonight was no exception.

Yolk and sesame paste birthday buns (蛋黃麻茸壽飽) - gotta get these for birthdays…

This normally isn't a drinking crowd - well, other than me and the birthday boy, of course… - but the joyous occasion must have gotten into the rest of the group.  I was advised to bring along two bottles of wine, and brought a third bottle as a back up just in case.  Well, we finished everything so quickly I was sure we could have had a fourth bottle.  Gotta remember next time…  And need to breathe the wines a little more, too, given the speed of drinking...

1998 Bahans Haut-Brion - big nose with smoky, earthy, cassis, very minty notes.  Full-bodied.

2000 Troplong Mondot - a little ripe on the nose, a little oaky, then strong notes of coconut butter developed, along with some savory notes.  Dry on the palate.

1995 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - mineral and flint, petrol, a little ripe given the vintage but this was still dry on the palate, with plenty of acidity.