Uninvited

It's the last day of working from home before we return to full-time work in the office next Monday. Due to the pandemic cases spiking at the very start of this year, we took the decision to work from home starting in mid-January... and never really officially returned. So here I am at home, puttering around at lunch time, when I suddenly started getting messages from Four Sheets. She was joining my friend L for lunch today along with a couple of others, for what I thought was a "girls' lunch" at the Island Shangri-La.

Well, it would seem that I was meant to join this lunch. L had assumed that Four Sheets would let me know about it and that I would be arriving with her. There was, in fact, a setting at her table for me. And it was made clear to me in no uncertain terms that my presence was expected, nay, demanded and required. L was flying home today and since we haven't seen each other in 3 years, I needed to get my butt over.

So I found myself seated at the table more than an hour late, have been assured that Uwe Opocensky would not try to kill me. Not today, anyway...

Courtesy of Four Sheets

So before I arrived, Uwe had wheeled out - once again, this "leg of ham" and proceeds to carve something out from the top side...

Pâté en croûte - with duck and, of course, foie gras.

Raviolo: ricotta / spinach / white truffle - this was very, very nice, even if one were to remove the white truffle that was shaved on top. Very hearty and satisfying.

Japanese potato: Hokkaido / seaweed / caviar - a dish I had just 4 weeks earlier. I do love the acidity in the cream sauce to cut through the fat, and the mix of sturgeon caviar and salmon roe. Once again the Hasselback potato was very hearty, and great for this weather.

French red mullet: baby artichoke / chorizo / bell pepper - another dish I'm having for the second time. Unfortunately, though, the flavors seemed a little off. There may have been a slight touch of ammonia here, and the majority of the table felt the same way. One friend requested a change to another dish after taking a few bites, and perhaps I should have done the same... as the lobster looked pretty damn good!

Seafood tower - so for some reason, many ladies in my circle just LOOOOOVE the idea of a seafood tower. The dish is a staple at the Lobster Bar downstairs, and apparently this particular version was featured at a corporate conference in the hotel... No, none of this was "real" seafood, but dessert items mimicking the look.

Lemon: tea / cake / sponge - definitely tasted like lemon...

Sushi: watermelon / mango / coconut - coconut milk-flavored shari with a mango-flavored neta.

Mussel: milk chocolate / mango / hazelnut - this was very good.

Oyster: Banoffee / pie / chocolate - slurp.

Octopus: mango / passion / fruit

Langoustine: tail / 60% / nuts

Lobster: claw / chocolate / crunch

Scallop: shell / crème brulé / vanilla

Caviar: coffee / crème / tiramisu - naturally, I made a mess when I was the first to dig a spoon into this tin of "caviar"... So this is a alternate version of tiramisu with spherification of coffee as the "caviar" on top. Pretty tasty, though!

While I was initially reluctant to join lunch, I was very glad to have caught up with L. She was among the first people I met when I arrived in Hong Kong before the handover, and I do treasure our long friendship. Hopefully she'll have a little more time when she's next in town.