Another stuffing session

Just 3 days after completely stuffing ourselves at our last unplanned gathering, the old gang met up again for the dinner that was planned a few weeks ahead of time.  I had booked a room at Megan's Kitchen (美味廚) for the 7 of us, but due to people being out of town and under the weather, the 5 of us ended up trying to consume a feast meant for 6.

I really loved the food here from a couple of dinners I had last year, so I made sure to order some of the same dishes while replacing other dishes that may clash with wine.  Not surprisingly, many of these aren't exactly healthy…

The appetizers sextet (六福喜臨門) showed up soon after we took our seats.  I was starting to get pretty hungry...

Pan-fried eggplant (醬燒茄子) - not as heavy as the usual 魚香茄子 but oily and tasty enough.

Marinated jellyfish (爽脆海蜇)

Braised beef shank (鹵水牛腱) - not bad.

Deep-fried Bombay duck (椒鹽九肚魚) - OK, but not as good as I remembered.

Deep-fried tofu cubes (黃金豆腐粒) - not bad but a little more "moist" and "wet" compared to my last visits.

Century eggs (溏心皮蛋) - the alkaline flavors were pretty strong and pungent, so I chose not to finish my half of the egg.

Cucumber with chili sauce (拍青瓜) - not part of the original 6, and not sure why they used chili sauce... and it tasted a little Korean but not as thick as gochujang.

Deep-fried prawn toast (脆炸鮮海蝦多士) - still pretty yummy, but somehow a tad below the quality of what I had last year.  Also served without the heads on the side tonight.

Braised abalone with kailan (碧綠蘭度扣鮮鮑) - pretty good, actually... The fresh abalone had a pretty springy texture and the sauce was pretty yummy.  The kailan (芥蘭) had been peeled and the texture was very crunchy.

Pan-fried ox tongue with honey marinade (香煎美味蜜糖汁咸牛脷) - OMG this was about as good as I remembered... I can eat a whole plate of this, and in fact one of these days I may just do that.  Perfect balance of texture... tender yet slightly charred and crispy on the outside.  Loooove that layer of honey marinade, and of course the half-cooked onions underneath were yummy, too.

Steamed brown-marbled grouper (清蒸生猛海老虎) - not a fan.  The fish had the distinctive muddy flavors which I hate, and I thought it was a tad over-cooked.

Deep-fried stuffed chicken wings (糯米飯釀脆雞翼) - this was probably the best version I've had so far... For some reason the chicken skin was a lot fattier/greasier than I remembered, and the flavors of the diced Chinese preserved sausage (臘腸) really shone through tonight.  In the future maybe I'll just have this and the ox tongue...

Blanched bean curd sheets and leafy amaranth in superior broth (上湯鮮腐皮莧菜) - finally something a little healthier...

E-fu noodles with beef in black truffle sauce (黑松露牛肉伊麵) - OMG... dishes with black truffle sauce usually are pretty good value for money in terms of the amount of flavor they pack, and this was no exception.  Two mouthfuls after I started digging into my bowl, I found myself hitting a wall and suddenly feeling very full. Unfortunately, there was no way in hell that I was gonna stop and not finish this bowl of delicious noodles, with minced beef, diced onions and black truffles.  Everything else be damned... this was too good to give up!

Chilled sago cream with mango and pomelo (美味廚楊枝甘露) - pretty good actually.

I brought 2 magnums for dinner tonight, but as a friend dropped out at the last minute and another was driving, we decided to just open one of them.

2001 Ramonet Bâtard-Montrachet en magnum - nice toasty nose, with grilled corn and lemon.  Ripe with good acidity on the palate.