A quiet Sunday dinner

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It's been a while since I last had a meal with the Tiggers, and tonight was an opportunity to catch up with them.  I can't remember the last time I was at Wan Wah (文華廳) for dinner, but it was kinda nice to try out different dishes than what I'd been having at lunch on the weekends.

Marinated fresh abalone with jellyfish (海蜇鹵水鮮鮑魚) - the abalone had very nice flavors from the marinade.  The jellyfish heads were excellent - perfectly crunchy without being too much.

Deep fried air dried beef, tangerine peel, sweet and sour sauce (陳皮香脆薄牛肉) - this was interesting... very thin slices of air-fried beef, deep-fried until it's crunchy.  Definitely tasted the sweet and sour glaze, plus the distinctive flavors of the aged tangerine peel.

Roast suckling pig (化皮乳豬) - not bad.  Not Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) level, but pretty decent nonetheless.  The advantage here is that the ribs have been removed, making it a lot easier to eat.

Double-boiled soup with arrowroot and mud carp (粉葛鯪魚赤小豆瘦肉湯) - very good for drawing out the accumulated moisture.

Live prawns, baked, soya sauce (豉油皇海中蝦) - very tender, but slightly on the salty side thanks to the soy sauce.

Steamed spotted garoupa (清蒸東星斑) - a very delicious fish, and well-executed.  It's too bad that at high-end Cantonese restaurants, you always end up eating some type of coral fish that's on the "Avoid" list of World Wildlife Fund's Sustainable Seafood Guide...  But hey, at least they no longer serve shark's fin!

Braised beef ribs, gravy (醬燒牛肋骨) - this thing reminded me of the rib I had at Ho Lee Fook.  Unfortunately, this was overcooked and dry.  It also wasn't as tasty in terms of flavors.  Pretty disappointing.

Kale, ginger, Chinese wine (薑糖酒炒芥藍) - we ended up ordering two plates of this.  The first place was OK, but slightly softer.  The second plate was clearly a lot more crunchy, and we could taste more of the ginger and Chinese wine.

The petit fours consisted of coconut and black sesame jelly (椰汁芝麻糕), almond tarts and a deep-fried dumpling filled with red bean paste that surprised us by being spicy.

1995 von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Auslese 91 - very nicely balanced on the palate, with reasonable acidity here.  Nice marmalade notes along with the usual flinty and petrol nose.

Perhaps thanks to the traffic arrangements resulting from the Occupy movement, we were pretty much the only locals dining here tonight - every other table looked like hotel guests unfamiliar with Chinese cuisine.  I hope they enjoyed the food like we did.  Finally, many thanks to Babu for the treat tonight.