Eating fish and meat like a white girl

Ro Ro and DaRC are kinda hosting a dinner, and Hello Kitty and I have been invited to join the fun.  This was also an excuse for the gang to celebrate two October birthdays, so I decided to bring slightly nicer wines than usual.  Hello Kitty was pretty excited about this dinner, because it would be her first chance to try out the cuisine at The Sports Club (五陵會).

Looking at the menu, and one could be forgiven for thinking that there was a celebratory feast going on...

Pickled cucumbers and century eggs (酸青瓜皮蛋) - I really liked the texture of the pickled cucumbers.  The century eggs produced some interesting results with the Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet.

Bitter gourd with preserved olives and mustard leaves (欖菜涼瓜條)

Deep-fried prawns with salted egg yolk (金沙蝦球) - deep-fried.  Lathered in gooey, salted egg yolk.  How does anyone resist these?!

Deep-fried pork spare ribs with shrimp paste (香酥蝦醬骨) - deep-fried and crispy.  Batter flavored with that pungent yet irresistible shrimp paste.  A sprinkle of deep-fried diced garlic and chili pepper on top.  Very nice flavors and very tender.  INHALED.

Pork bone, soy bean, and mustard stem soup (咸豬骨黃豆大芥湯) - look at the size of those bones!

Pretty damn good.  Not so sure about the soy beans, though...

Deep-fried garoupa filets (脆炸吉列斑球) - arguably the best dish here... Soooo fluffy and tender inside, yet maintaining the crispy exterior.  Perfect for Hello Kitty.

Naturally, this came with two difference types of sauces:

The sweet corn and egg drop sauce was just a perfect match for this.

The sweet and sour sauce is great, too!

Braised beef tendon and brisket with radish (羅白清湯牛根腩) - this is comfort food for many of us.

And yes, it was very good...  A little peppery with the fragrance of some Chinese wine.

Steamed egg white with virgin mud crab roe (奄仔蟹粉蒸蛋白) - OHHHHHH YESSSSSS... This was very, very, very delish... I wish I had more room in my stomach for 5 bowls of this.

Simmered pea shoots with tomatoes and tofu skin (蕃茄鮮竹浸豆苗)

Roasted baby pigeons (紅燒妙齡乳鴿) - these were very, very good... Again, I wish I had more room.

Sweet and sour pork (咕嚕肉) - not at all surprised that this dish was added as an extra.  Very well-executed, though.

Steamed rice wrapped in lotus leaf (飄香荷葉飯)

Traditional steamed sponge cake (古法馬拉糕) - actually very, very nice.

Almond cream with egg white (蛋白杏仁茶)

There was, not surprisingly, some wine to go with our dinner.

2010 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 1er Clavoillon - very ripe, nice and fragrant, sweet Chinese licorice.

2010 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Gouttes d'Or - reasonably ripe but the acidity was higher.  More flinty.

2004 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux - eucalyptus, leather, animal notes.  Fragrant but still lean on the palate.

2009 Il Marroneto Brunello di Montalcino Madonna delle Grazie - really ripe, really sweet nose, with minty notes.

1982 Ducru-Beaucaillou, en magnum - Decanted for almost two hours prior to serving.  Smoky, still some sweet fruit, minty, and woodsy fragrance.  Drinking beautifully.