Bongwater with Gaggan

I had just paid my first visit to The Flying Elk two nights ago with a bunch of people from the industry, but when Gaggan Anand comes to town and invites you to dinner... you don't utter the words "...but I just ate there!"   So I bit my tongue and brought a few bottles of bongwater with me to dinner.

Once again I did not have to order from the menu, because everything was up to Chef Jim Löfdahl.   I've tried most of the dishes two nights ago, anyway, so I won't bother with notes on the same dishes.

Boneless chicken wings, Kvibille cheese, crispy parsley, clarified butter - still pretty good.

Truffle popcorn, Västerboften cheese, dried mushroom - meh.

Croquettes, shortrib, thyme, smoked chili emulsion - still pretty good.

Gougères, Allerum cheddar, fennel seeds, chestnut honey

House smoked Norwegian salmon, pink peppercorns, lemon smetana, trout roe, crispy cucumber

Tartar "lamb in dill", dill mayonnaise, "ättika vinegar", pickled root crops, crunchy onions

Roasted scallop, scrambled egg, truffle, beurre noisette, crispy potato and smoked soy

Baked hen's egg "63.4C", spinach, truffle, Gruyère, roasted chicken jus, petit pois and dried sourdough bread

Umami salad, duck confit, shiitake, smoked pecorino, crispy onions, umami dressing

Poached turbot, Sherry and beurre noisette emulsion, bacon, broccoli, and hazelnut - the beurre noisette was certainly very nutty and creamy.

"Rossini", roasted cod and foie gras, truffle jus, green beans and mie de pain

Open sandwich, pork cheeks "24h", cabbage, truffle béchamel, wild mushroom, black pepper - didn't know that the pork actually comes from Yuen Long (元朗).  Also noticed for the first time that there were thin shreds of crispy potatoes just below the shaved truffle.

Roasted smoked venison sirloin, Frantzén's "hot sauce", bitter salad, jus roti, and sea buckthorn oil - the Swedish venison was slightly firm on the outside but surprisingly tender in the middle. 

Grilled beef tenderloin, smoked heart of beef, horseradish, celeriac remoulade, pickled mustard seeds - the Irish beef has been dry-aged.  There were pickled mustard seeds with the beef jus.  Topped with onion ring and powdered horseradish.

Baby chicken and lobster "pot-au-feu", baby chicken, lobster, consommé, tarragon and lobster soup

Lobster soup on the side.

Sea buckthorn and carrot sorbet, chrysanthemum, orange peel and cinnamon oil

Crème brûlée, Swedish coffee, Tahiti vanilla, toasted hazelnuts

Grilled pineapple, Swedish punsch, brown sugar, star anise ice cream - ginger and brown sugar crumble on top of the ice cream.

“Marängsviss”, blueberries, lemon thyme, rye

"After Eight", mint and chocolate

Gaggan has been brainwashed by Vladimir into loving bongwater, so I knew what kind of wines to bring... Although as it turns out there were 10 of us, so the 3 bottles went very quickly.

2014 Ganevat Grusse en Billat

2008 Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo - big, toasty nose with coffee notes.  Soft on the palate.  Very nice.

2014 Yann Durieux DH Rouge - nice and floral, almost a little like Leroy.  A little ripe and sweet on the nose with dried herb notes.  Good acidity on the palate.

I asked for a girlie drink , and was served this rhubarb pie.

It was good to see Gaggan back in Hong Kong, and I was grateful (and more than a little shocked) to receive the gift that he had Vladimir pick out. Time to up my game!