When it feels just right

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It's been a long, long time since I last had a decent dinner at a Chinese restaurant, thanks to the dining ban imposed by the government.  When the ban was finally lifted recently, I was happy to have been invited by The Great One to join her table at The Chairman (大班樓).  It was 5 months ago that I last had the pleasure of dining here, and we were all a little surprised at what seemed to be a (relatively) short menu put together for us by the kitchen.

Pickled mid-summer ginger root (大班樓子薑) - always nice to start with these.  I really wonder how much of this the restaurant goes through each year.

Cherry tomatoes pickled in basil reduction (醃漬蕃茄) - them tomatoes sure were sweet, and nicely accented with some basil.  The slices of crunchy pear were marinated in Chinese wine, although I couldn't figure out which type...

Deep-fried crab meat and mushrooms dumplings (酥炸蟹肉香菇盒) - the execution of this dish seems uneven, and tonight my piece was simply too greasy and soggy.  Yes, I'm aware that this 'ravioli' was made by stuffing filling inside two round discs of pork lard.  But there are some restaurants which do it so well that it doesn't leave this icky, greasy feeling in your mouth.  

Soya sauce slow cooked pork tail with plum sauce (紅燒豬尾) - my first time having this.  It was indeed very very tender, with nice fruity flavors from the plum sauce.

Geoduck in fish and rice broth (魚米湯煮象拔蚌) - I'm normally not a fan of geoduck, but this was always decent.  Love how smooth the strained rice broth is.

Slippers lobsters stir fried with fresh water crab roes and snap beans (蟛蜞膏炒蝦籽琵琶蝦) - really, really good as always.  Love the river crab (蟛蜞) roe with all that oil... and those young, sweet sugar snap peas.  The accompanying spring onion and ginger brought that classic flavor profile to the dish.

Slow cooked spicy lamb ribs (慢煮香辣小羊排) - very, very good.  Loooooove fatty lamb, and there was just the right amount of spices here.  Crispy and dry on the outside, with layers of fat making it tender on the inside.

Seasonal vegetables cooked in fish broth (魚湯浸時菜) - always delicious, and tonight the wolfberry (枸杞) leaves were nice and smooth.

Pork belly stew hot pot rice (梅乾菜陳皮扣肉煲仔飯) - it would be impossible not to love this... a pork belly dish I grew up with.  So fragrant and delicious.  Perfect over a bowl of rice.

We were also given the rice crispies, which are always welcome.

Desserts trio (甜品三味):

Mung bean cake (綠豆糕) 

Hawthorn berries pudding (山楂糕) 

Almond cream (杏仁茶)

There were a few casual bottles of wine:

2012 Michel Niellon Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes - pretty ripe and soft on the palate, with marmalade notes.  Some acidity here.   

2007 Joh.Jos. Prüm Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese - tons of petrol, white flowers, and polyurethane in the nose.  Classic.  Loved the sweetness on the palate.

2007 Pichler Riesling Smaragd Loibner Steinertal - also polyurethane notes, with white flowers, a little flint.  More elegant than the Prüm and also more dry on the palate.

2009 Lascombes - popped and poured.  Smoky and minty.  Pretty ripe and sweet.

Pretty happy with dinner tonight. The amount of food seemed like it was less than our usual menu, but in reality it was just about right. None of us felt stuffed or in pain at the end of the meal, and we were going home happy and satisfied. Of course, it was nice to meet up with friends for dinner, too.