Another deep-fried birthday

I received a happy invitation to lunch today.  We are here to celebrate The Man in White T-shirt's birthday, and Dada has asked Suzuki-san at Hidden (秀殿) to put together a special menu for us.  It's one of our favorite places in Hong Kong, and I was pretty happy to be back here again.

I was thirsty so I started with a girlie drink.  Unlike the ladies who kicked off with a highball, I was trying to pace myself so I could focus on the wines.

Yamanokotobuki Furufuru (山の寿  フルフル) - this is an umeshu (梅酒) made with two types of mango - Alphonso and Irwin - as well as passion fruit.  I loooove mango, so it was a no-brainer.  Interesting that there was a hint of bitterness here.

Potato salad (ポテトサラダ) - for someone who grew up eating Japanese-style potato salad, this was pure comfort food... and I couldn't resist digging into it with gusto.

Okinawan spinach (ハンダマ) - very interesting.  I'm sure I've had this particular cultivar before, but never knew that it came from Okinawa.

Fried chicken wing (手羽唐揚げ) - still one of the best chicken wings in town, thanks to the acidity in the sauce.

Ginkgo nuts and propagule (銀杏  零余子) - surprised to see the taro propagules (零余子) here.

Shrimp (えび) - nice to get the heads.

Fried tofu (厚揚げ) - while the others were greedily munching on fish cum, I was happy with this.  There was a little more soy sauce today, so this was a little more salty than I would have liked.

Japanese oyster and bacon roll (かきベーコン巻き) - how could you not love this, especially with that smoky bacon?!

Matsutake and Pacific saury roll (松茸秋刀魚巻き) - pretty intersting to have the fatty saury rolled up and deep-fried, then pairing it with some shredded matsutake (松茸).

Shrimp taro (海老芋) - sooooo smooth and silky.  With some yuzu (柚子) on top.

Wagyu tenderloin and garlic (和牛ヒレとにんにく) 

Mozzarella (モッツァレラ) - deep-fried cheese?  Hell yeah!

Red pickled ginger pork flank roll (豚バラ紅しょうが巻) / Spring onion pork flank roll (豚バラねぎ巻) - these were really good!  Pork belly is always a good idea, and while I've had the roll with spring onions before, this was my first time having it with the pickled ginger.

Herring roe on kelp with sea urchin (子持ち昆布と雲丹) - one of my favorite items here, and today it came with sea urchin on top.

Chestnut (栗) - this was incredibly sweet.

Napolitan spaghetti (ナポリタン) - YESSSS!!!! So happy to have this again.  And can't do it without some Kraft 100% Parmesan and Tabasco sauce.

Sausage (ソーセージ) - a special request by our hostess.  Finishing with a little wiener.

We had a nice little line-up of alcohol, all from the birthday boy's (and of course, mine) vintage.

1970 Mouton-Rothschild - double-decanted 45 minutes before serving.  Smoky nose, not as sweet in terms of fruit.  Some acidity on the palate, with a hint of savory notes.  

1970 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve - smoky and sweet fruit in the nose.  Still going strong and the wine tastes younger.  Acidity was higher, but the tannins are still around. 

1970 Baron Gaston Legrand Bas-Armagnac - lovely nose with honey, caramel, and medjool dates.  Very smooth, actually.