Another taste of Guizhou

My first introduction to Wan Wan Xiang (碗碗香) was more than 2 years ago, courtesy of PR8. It was one of those gatherings for our Peanut Gang and he wanted to introduce us to something a little more offbeat in his 'hood. I thought that dinner was interesting, but didn't have much background on the cuisine of Guizhou (貴州). And since spicy fare doesn't feature often in my diet, it wasn't something I was dying to return for.

Since that time I've met a colleague from Guizhou who is actually a frequent customer of the restaurant and is on friendly terms with the owner. And after stopping for a casual lunch there with Sankala a few weeks ago, we decided to organize a dinner to introduce some friends to the restaurant. After all, it's not often that one comes across Guizhou cuisine in Hong Kong.

There are, apparently, a number of price levels for set dinners here. My colleague arranged for the cheapest option to dispense with some of the seafood, as he felt that "authentic" Guizhou cuisine is light on those ingredients. We were seated in the private area upstairs, and really looked forward to this meal. Due to the inability of a couple of us - yours truly included - to handle heat, we asked for a moderate level of spiciness (小辣).

Guizhou-style tossed egg noodles (貴味涼麵) - I was a little surprised that we were leading off with carbs, but why not? This would be my first taste of cuishao (脆哨), which has been sprinkled on top here along with the pickles.

Guizhou-style tossed steamed rice roll noodles (貴味米皮) - a different variation, with more pickled radish and carrots on top.

Spicy century eggs (滾滾財源黃金蛋) - the color of these century eggs (松花皮蛋) were much lighter than what we normally see.

Spicy braised beef shank (涼拌香辣牛腱) - with marinated shredded cucumber and using the acidity to balance out the spice.

Braised pig trotters Qingyan-style (青岩豬蹄) - I don't know whether what we got was truly done the way one would see in the town of Qingyan (青岩) outside Guiyang (貴陽), but the spices here were pretty tasty. I didn't think I needed the chili powder, of course...

Mashed potatoes with cuishao (脆哨土豆泥) - OK, so this is where I would get to much on these little cubes of crispy pork belly called cuishao. These aren't just your average deep-fried pork lard, they're actually pork belly bits which have been fried until most of the oil is out and what remains is a tiny bite of glorious crispiness. I'm normally a fan of deep-fried pork lard anyway, but these are definitely even better.

Marinated fish leaf root (風味涼拌折耳根) - I was given a warning about the rhizomes of fish leaves (魚腥草), with my colleague telling me that 90% of the people he brings here end up not liking it. Well... neither did I. Since these were served raw and not cooked the taste was definitely very fishy, and even the other fragrances coming out could not manage to help mask that fishy taste... nor could the acidity from the vinegar or the heat from chili powder. The boiled potato chunks, though, were OK.

Braised beef cubes (一口香滷味牛丁) - these were pretty nice and tender. Tasted fine on their own but more interesting with chili powder.

Spicy beef tendon (香辣拌牛筋) - I don't think I've ever had beef tender where the seasoning included vinegar like this, but OK.

Steamed foxtail millet (土家香糯小米鮓) - I don't get to eat foxtail millet much these days, but I used to love it as a kid when my grandpa used to order porridge made from it. These was just a little bit sweet with brown sugar, and very fragrant - perhaps they used lard? I didn't taste any pork belly that is often used as a stuffing...

Sour fish soup (碗碗苗家酸湯魚) - this is what RAW Yeah wanted, and it is indeed a signature dish from Guizhou. The fish is likely silver carp (鰱魚) that comes from Wu Jiang (烏江) in Guizhou. Besides the fish we also had thin slices of tofu, Napa cabbage, soy bean sprouts, and thick rice noodles.

Grateful that RAW Yeah volunteered to portion this into bowls for us. The tomato-based soup is acidic and reminded me a little of tom yum goong (ต้มยำกุ้ง) due to the fragrance of herbs. There's a separate bowl with a spicy dipping sauce from the fish, which gave the dish more complexity in terms of flavors.

Spicy stir-fried chicken Yanglang-style (息烽陽郎辣子雞) - not as spicy as I had feared.

Stir-fried frog legs with pickled chili (糟辣椒爆炒田雞) - made with diced chili which have been fermented.

Spicy stir-fried prawns (香辣大蝦) - this was surprisingly tasty. The seasoning which included cumin and sugar crusted on the outside of the prawns, and this wasn't too spicy for me.

Guiyang-style rose jelly (貴陽玫瑰冰粉) - so nice to have this icy and refreshing dessert after setting my tongue on fire. Surprised by the use of rose petal jam on top of the peanuts and sesame seeds. Loved the fragrance of roses.

Sankala brought a napoleon/millefeuille to celebrate someone's birthday, but the pastry from Mimosa was very local in style... and old school in that sense.

We were fairly weak in terms of alcohol consumption tonight, as some of us were too busy eating the dishes that arrived in quick succession.

Ohmine 2grain (大嶺2粒 山田錦) - seimaibuai of 35%. Soft on the palate.

Dewazakura Junmai Ginjo Dewasansan Muroka Nama Genshu Puppy (出羽桜 純米吟醸 出羽燦々 無ろ過生原酒), from isshobin - seimaibuai of 50%. Much rounder and sweeter on the palate, very easy to drink.

A pretty happy dinner, although many of the ladies felt the spice level could be dialed up a notch or two. I guess they can always go back without me...