Birthday humping

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It was 2 years ago that a bunch of us gathered in an industrial warehouse in the boonies for a double birthday celebration.  The meal was so memorable that quite a few of us kept reminiscing about some of the interesting cuts of beef that we were tasting for the first time... while never getting around to going back there.  So what better excuse is there than another celebration for the two birthday boys?

This time around, though, transport was made easy by hitching a ride with friends.  And it wasn't raining like it was two years ago.  So the ride to Pride Team Limited (傲嚐) was smooth and easy.

As was the case 2 years ago, our dinner started with a number of cooked dishes before moving on to the main event of hotpot...

Chilled abalone (凍食鮑魚仔) - never a bad thing to start with these, although they were a bit more chewy due to the serving temperature.

Deep-fried squid and tofu in salt and pepper (椒鹽鮮魷豆腐) - deep-fried food with lots of deep-fried garlic and chili on top.  'Nuff said.

Deep-fried sillago (油浸沙追魚) - very, very tasty.

Giant tiger prawns pan-fried in premium soy sauce (豉油皇大花蝦) - seeing as I was the last one to pick up a prawn, I was left with the midget of the bunch... whereas The Man in White T-shirt had a specimen whose head seemed bigger than my prawn...

Next up was the hotpot, which came with a soup base made of ox bones and corn.  The spread of different cuts of beef we had was pretty impressive.  This time around I didn't bother asking what each of the cuts were...

Top shoulder blade (ミスジ) - always one of my favorite cuts of beef, especially in yakiniku (焼肉).

Beef shank (牛𦟌) - butterfly cut.

I think this was a plate of hanging tender...

...and not sure what this was...

But this... THIS was why we were here tonight.  BABY, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR! The hump (牛駝峰) on the back of the cattle.  Tonight the hump wasn't as marbled as what we had 2 years ago, but it was still damn good... with a great texture after cooking in the hotpot.

崩沙腩角 - once again we had the pre-cooked cartilage/tendons bits around the area between the brisket and the short plate.  These were thrown back into the hotpot and tasted wonderful.

Sternum cartilage (牛白肉) - and we were also very, very happy to have this again.  Such a rare treat, and so crunchy!

We also had the combination of beef meatballs and cuttlefish balls, both of which were very tasty.  The soft texture of cuttlefish paste with crunchy bits of cuttlefish encased inside was pretty nice.  The black pepper flavors in the beef balls were outstanding.

A hotpot wouldn't be complete without throwing some noodles into the mix at the end, and scoop up all the goodies at the bottom left behind.  We got a few packs of Demae Itcho (出前一丁) and went to town.  You would not believe the number of people giving instructions on how instant noodles should be cooked...

And since this was a birthday celebration, we had a Royal Milk Tea Mousse Cake from Lady M.  No surprise that we couldn't finish the cake after a huge meal, so we left some for the boss and the staff.

We got pretty buzzed 2 years ago, and this year it almost looked like we would get completed wasted when this was the bottle count... especially when we STARTED with the 交叉窿! 

Remy Martin XO Special, believed to be from late 1980s or early 1990s - unbelievably fragrant on the nose, floral notes such slowly floated across the table after opening.  Very, very smooth on the palate now, and doesn't burn going down - the way it would with a younger Cognac.

Hatsukame Junmai Daiginjo Kame (初亀. 純米大吟醸. 亀), BY27, from isshobin - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  Very fragrant and fruity.

Kamonishiki Junmai Daiginjo Tojo Yamadanishiki 35 (加茂錦  純米大吟醸  東条山田錦35), BY29 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 35%.  Really fragrant nose.  More intense and concentrated on the palate, with fermented rice notes.  Very nice.

Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Spring Breeze 42 (磯自慢  純米大吟醸 スプリング・ブリーズ 42), BY29 - seimaibuai (精米歩合) of 42%.  Fragrant, cleaner and more focused on the nose, with banana notes.  Very nice but not as rich and mature as the Kamonishiki.

Kokuryu Daiginjo Ryu (黒龍  大吟醸  龍), BY29, from isshobin - very clean nose.  Much drier on the palate.

2009 Alvaro Palacios Finca Dofi, from magnum - drinking beautifully.  Really ripe and sweet on the nose, with lots of sweet vanilla, coconut, and oaky notes.

2010 Quintarelli Rosso Ca' del Merlo - still too young and not really open after breathing in bottle for 5 hours.

Thankfully we left a couple of bottles unopened, but everyone had a great time, anyway. We also shared some of the 交叉窿 with the chef, who enjoyed it almost as much as The Man in White T-shirt.  I was sorely missing Nicky Tse, who did not make an appearance tonight. Oh well, maybe next time!