Champagne wishes and caviar dreams, expired edition 2

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Hello Kitty and I had the distinct pleasure of dining with Dada and The Man in White T-shirt at their home.  I was originally looking forward to dining out somewhere, since eating at home meant that The Man in White T-shirt would be busy cooking for us instead of enjoying himself.  But one does not object when an invitation like this comes along...

Besides, if we weren't dining at their home, how would Hello Kitty and I ever get to meet Bunch and Chewie?!  And of course, who were the first ones to greet me when the door opened?

While the French chef was busy in the kitchen cooking us Cantonese food, I laid out the goodies that I had brought along.  I hadn't planned on bringing anything other than wine, but since I found out yesterday that my aged/expired caviar needed to be consumed 3 months ago, I made a last-minute decision to bring along what was left of my stock... and hoped that my hosts didn't mind.

Russian golden oscietra, packed March 2017 - initially I was worried about the white stuff that was on top, stupidly thinking that perhaps it had gone moldy... But The Man in White T-shirt figured that it was just the congealed oil from long periods of refrigeration, so we went ahead and ate it anyway...

I still couldn't find the mini-blinis that I normally get, so I bought some thick-cut Japanese milk toast as a substitute.  It turns out that they worked reasonably well after toasting.  I put some crème fraîche on the toast, added some chopped onions from our hosts, and then the caviar on top.

I could taste some nice umami here in addition to the salt.  The eggs were also pretty oily, with metallic flavors.  Kinda like marinated mackerel.  Surprisingly there was some acidity here before the bitter finish.

Russian beluga, packed June 2017, suggested use by November 16, 2017 - this tin was in even worse shape compared to the tin I opened yesterday, which came from the same fish.

In terms of the beluga, I decided not to add any onions.  Instead, I did it the way Uwe Opocensky and Gaggan Anand wanted me to eat caviar - by licking them from the back of my hand.

I also brought along a bottle of bubbly to wash down the caviar...

2004 Inflorescence Côte de Béchalin, dégorgée en Avril 2011 - very rounded on the palate and easy to drink.  I could definitely taste the pinot noir as this was a blanc de noirs.

When our host was done cooking the soup for us, we sat down at the table and started digging in.  We also had a large piece of fourfinger threadfin (馬友), a nice local chicken that had been hanging to dry before being roasted, and this rice with lots of very yummy roast meats on top.

We also managed to pop open another couple of bottles, as well as get a taste of delicious Shaoxing.

2013 Jacques Prieur Bourgogne Blanc - very ripe and surprisingly soft on the palate.  Curiously almost a little minty as well as flinty.

2004 Prieuré-Roch Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru - love this wine.  Really nice and toasty nose, with lots of strawberries.  Really sweet and beautiful, with floral and leather notes.

25-year Shaoxing - very smooth.  Definitely savory with salty plum notes.

A very delicious and fun evening.  Many thanks to our host and hostess!