No more snake (for now)

It's been almost a year since I last saw Felix, and I was really looking forward to having him in town again.  He has read my previous posts about the private dining facility, and requested that as the venue for our gathering.  I dutifully rounded up a group of friends for the occasion.

It's been almost exactly 6 months since I was first introduced to this place, and I've already been here 7 times before tonight, so it's fair to say that I've gone through a number of dishes multiple times.  While the menu tonight featured many dishes I've had before, I was glad to see two items which were new to me...

Deep-fried crab claws (椒鹽肉蟹鉗) - this is probably the third or fourth time for me to have this, and I finally felt that this was an amazing crab claw.  Not that the previous ones haven't been delicious, but this particular one - which was bigger than the previous claws I've gotten - was particular satisfying thanks to both the size and the flavors.

Stir-fried soft-shell turtle shell (鳳城炒水魚裙) - I've had the mountain turtle here a couple of times, but this was the first time having soft-shell turtle.  Very old school and delicious, with bean sprouts, pickles, spring onions, yellowed chives, red chilis, Indian almonds, and deep-fried rice vermicelli in addition to the wonderful shredded "skirt" of the turtle shell.  What really made the dish, though, was the presence of some incredibly fragrant preserved mandarin rind (陳皮).

Braised goose web and pork tendon with mushroom (花菇鵝掌豬腳筋) - this was really, really good... Actually better than any other version I remember having in town.  The pork tendons were really, really soft, and the goose web was softer, too.  And that mushroom?  Wow!  The sauce was incredibly viscous and sticky with collagen, and I did actually pick up the plate to lick it... Thankfully nobody managed to snap a picture!  I did notice that a certain famous finger was put to good use...

Double-boiled chicken soup with whelk (淮杞響螺燉雞湯) - something that some of us are used to having a lot at places like Fook Lam Moon (福臨門), and my friends thought this was better.

Steamed sole (清蒸海方利) - not a fan tonight.  I definitely got that muddy taste with my first bite, although some of us wondered how a fish supposedly caught fresh from the ocean could smell of mud.  As usual the back was a little overdone, but the wings were still wonderful.

Braised hundred-treasure duck (百寶炆大鴨) - it's been a few months since I last had this here, and I still love it.

Stuffed inside the bag of skin were lotus seeds, Job's tears, egg yolk, plenty of shiitake mushrooms, and also the duck meat itself.

Four-treasure vegetables with superior broth (上湯四寶蔬) - still as delicious as ever, especially the radish!  That superior broth is just magical...

Fried glutinous rice with preserved meats (生炒糯米飯) - I think a few of us were happy that I asked the chef to put this on the menu.  Not as magical as the first plate we had here a few months ago, but still very, very good... and would stack up well against any other in town.  Wonderfully dry on the outside, with enough bite in each rice grain.

Almond cream with lotus seeds and egg white (蓮子蛋白杏仁茶) - very good as usual.

We brought a hodgepodge of wines, and thankfully we didn't drink as much as I thought we would...

2012 Roses de Jeanne Côte de Val Vilaine Blanc de Noirs, dégorgée à Avril 2014 - delicious, smooth and round on the palate.

2011 Keller Westhofen Brunnenhäuschen Absterde Riesling trocken - classic nose of minerals, white flowers and plastic.  Definitely dry on the palate.

1952 Borgogno Barolo Riserva - initial nose of sweet fruit, followed by tea, salty plum, minerals, and smoke.  Still alive and kicking.

2010 Vincent Paris Cornas Granit 30 - ripe nose with wonderful notes of forest and potpourri.  So fragrant and beautiful.

1995 Jos. Joh. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese - classic notes of minerals and plastic, with good amount of sweetness on the palate.  Very round and smooth.

Valdespino Solera 1842 Medium Sweet Very Old Oloroso Blend VOS - classic, with nose that's like Shaoxing wine after soaking some salty plum in it.  Wonderful.

Another very enjoyable evening of good food and wine, and it was nice to gather the troops and see Felix again.  A bunch of us are totally in love with this place, and I feel very privileged to have access to the chef.