Three smiles of the Seventh Son: very belated celebration

November 23, 2013

Three smiles of the Seventh Son: very belated celebration

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So it begins. Through pure coincidence, I will be spending 3 nights over the following week dining at the same restaurant. Given that it's Chinese and the menu has been set by the hosts on two of those nights, I wonder how many repeat dishes there would be. In all honesty, though, this is a "First World problem"… given that the restaurant in question is Seventh Son (家全七福) - which should be one of the best Cantonese restaurants in town.

Tonight's gathering was a belated birthday dinner - VERY belated… by more than 6 months. Apparently some of the guests had conflicting schedules which couldn't be resolved… until now. Anyway, I'm just glad to be invited. The birthday boy told me how many wines he was bringing to dinner, and I just knew that I'd be falling asleep at the table…

We were also dining with the owner's daughter, whom I had met very briefly a few years ago. Of course I was introduced as "zee bloggeur"… and proceeded to tell her that I love the place so much I'll be back tomorrow and back again next week!

I was munching on some yummy candied walnuts as I sipped on bubbly, as traffic was pretty bad and most of us - including myself - were late. When we finally had a full house, the onslaught began with the presentation of appetizers:

Sautéed string beans with black olive and mustard pickle (欖菜四季豆) - not bad. Nobody makes sautéed string beans better than Mom, but this is one of the better versions I've had in Hong Kong.

Honey-glazed chicken liver (蜜汁燒鳳肝) - pretty good.

Deep-fried frog legs (椒鹽田雞腿) - pretty decent.

Pan-fried lotus root cake (香煎蓮藕餅) - personally I prefer the ones from Guo Fu Lou (國福樓), but this was a helluva lot better than what I had at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) last month…

Broiled sliced fresh whelk (堂灼響螺片) - I've always been too cheap to order this dish myself, as I never was able to justify spending this kind of money on whelk… I must say, though, that this was very tender and delicious. The only problem is that as these were done table-side, the air was filled with the fragrance of sesame seed oil, which kinda interfered with the wines…

Barbecued whole suckling pig (大紅片皮乳豬全體) - on my second try, I think the crackling is now on par with the pig served at FLM. I was encouraged to try one of the trotters, but declined as I'm still on my diet. I took a small piece of meat but refrained from the ribs. I still haven't figured out whether they over-season the ribs side as they do at FLM.

Snake soup (菊花燴蛇羹) - the FLM-style snake soup has always been relatively clear and mild, and I always found it to be a little bland. But hey, I'm on my diet and less salt is certainly good! The preserved orange rind (陳皮) lent a lovely fragrance to the soup.

Braised mountain turtle with Chinese lettuce (紅燒山瑞跟唐生菜) - hmmm I haven't had turtle in a long, long time… in fact not since the last dinner where the menu was set by the owner's daughter. This time the turtle wasn't shredded and stir-fried, but I thought it was pretty good. The gelatin-like pieces were actually the softer "skirt" of the turtle shell, which was kinda interesting. Braising with garlic cloves and crispy pork belly naturally provided lots of rich flavors…

Stir-fried pea shoots and winter bamboo shoots (冬筍扒豆苗) - very good, as both ingredients were young and tender.

Crispy chicken (當紅炸子雞) - I thought it was pretty decent, but I only had one small piece…

Claypot rice with duck and preserved meats (煲油鴨腊味飯) - it's winter time and you just gotta have this… the hell with all the calories that duck fat brings! I just couldn't resist having a second bowl…

...and a second helping of all the preserved meats.

The savory part of the meal was over. Bring on the desserts!!!

Deep-fried egg crullers in honey (蜜糖雞蛋散) - these were GOOD! I couldn't resist having a second piece…

Mini egg tarts (酥皮蛋撻仔) - these were good, too. Inhaled in one bite.

Sesame rolls (芝麻卷) - these are really good.

And I love to unroll them before eating. Don't they look like rolls of film from the old days?

Almond cream with egg white (蛋白杏仁茶) - this was pretty good, too. The egg white tonight was very finely whipped, so it wasn't clumped together.

And I was too full to have my daily ration of fruits...

Besides all the delicious food, there was, of course, a fantastic selection of wines courtesy of the very generous birthday boy. Let's see what I got drunk on...

First flight was a trio of blanc de noirs Champagne. It's always interesting to drink them together, despite the different vintages. This was, of course, the über luxury version...

1996 Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire - nice and ripe. Sweet on the nose, with a little cane sugar. Later on the acidity became more obvious on the finish. Very enjoyable.

1998 Krug Clos d'Ambonnay - a little more toasty, fresher, more vibrant, and yet more elegant. Pretty sweet, full-bodied on the palate, with a long finish. Later on the nose got to be a little more pungent. The best of the trio by a hair. Despite owning bottles of this über luxury cuvée - and massively overpaying when the damn thing was launched - this was the first time I've tasted any.

1980 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises - initial nose was coffee. Pretty oxidized by now, very ripe, with big nose of cane sugar. Full-bodied on the palate with slightly high acidity on the finish. Also a little bitter on the finish. The birthday boy told me upfront that I'd probably be the only one who would appreciate this... and it was definitely right up my alley.

Second flight was a pair of Montrachets.

2000 Domaine Leflaive Montrachet - initially the nose was more muted thanks to over-chilling, then toasty corn came out, which was lovely and not in-your-face. A little bit grassy and straw notes, which led some of us to wonder if it was un petit bouchonée. Soft and buttery on the palate. Such an open and beautiful wine now. The first time I drank this was 2 years ago, and that was bottle no. 253 while tonight I drank bottle no. 255...

1992 Joseph Drouhin Montrachet Marquis de Laguiche - nose was a little more muted, flatter, more flinty.

Third flight was a pair of twins. Both came from the same vineyard in the same vintage - part of the Hospices de Beaune auction. The barrels that the wines came from were purchased by different buyers and the only difference was the élevage. Such an interesting pairing!

2007 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon, élevé par Faiveley - minty, forest notes, very classic. Seemed to be from cool fruits. Lovely. I got a preview of this wine from magnum at another dinner last month, and it tasted completely different...

2007 Hospices de Beaune Mazis-Chambertin Cuvée Madeleine Collignon, élevé par Pierre André - a little sweeter, still good concentration on the palate, but somehow less interesting.

Fourth flight initially was a pair of Musigny, but one of the bottles seemed off, so the birthday boy uncorked his backup bottle. The pair of Musigny was once again supposed to be "twins", because some say that in the old days, Madame Bize-Leroy used to buy her Musigny barrels from Vogüé for her négociant wines...