Spicy Bordeaux

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The Compatriot is in town on a short stopover and had time for one dinner. I rattled off the names of a few restaurants but the one that seem to have caught his attention was Mián (紅棉), as it's more than just your box standard Cantonese restaurant. Foursheets and I also love the place for its pet-friendly outdoor terrace, but as the weather has been unstable lately, we played it safe by getting a table indoors.

I've got a list of favorite dishes based on multiple visits, but I wanted to make sure our visitors got to try things that interested them. Thankfully the dishes they chose were ones I would have probably ordered, anyway.

We started a little late because of a late arrival, but I was wondering why it was taking so long for food to arrive after we had asked the staff to alert the kitchen... when all four starters we had ordered came at the same time.

Boiled sliced pork ∙ garlic ∙ chili oil (蒜泥白肉) - pretty spicy, but perhaps a little less than I remembered. Lots of diced garlic delivered that familiar flavor profile, and the heat was somewhat tempered by the celtuce wrapped inside the pork.

The usual good stuff

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We have a friend in town for the first time in 8 years, and a mutual friend who dined with us last month while he was in town insisted that we must take this friend to Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This happened to make total sense, as our visitors were staying in an area not far from the restaurant.

Unfortunately I had to navigate rush hour traffic across the harbor in a Friday night, so I ended up being pretty late... and quite a few of the cold dishes had already arrived at the table before I even stepped into the restaurant. I'm grateful that everyone waited for me.

Goose liver marinated in Chinese wine (極品酒香鵝肝) - after our experience last time while comparing the two different versions of goose liver, we decided that the one marinated in wine was superior. And indeed, not only is the liver really smooth in texture, but the marinade was just much more fragrant in the mouth.

Chili in Wanchai

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I don't dip my toes - or more accurately, my tongue - into Sichuan cuisine very often, thanks to not having a high tolerance for heat. The rare exception has made for a pair of meals at Deng G (鄧記) over the past few years, as they serve up some dishes which are more traditional and not everything is smothered in chili oil. When an invitation came from Mr. Chichi (吃吃君) for a dinner there while Chef Deng Huadong (邓华东) was back in town, I checked with Foursheets - who is always up for something spicy - and happily accepted the invitation.

The menu was, of course, composed by the chef. Foursheets and I did object to the inclusion of shark's fin, so we were promised a substitute that would not alter the experience significantly.

We started with six cold appetizers (鄧記六小碟):

Chayote shoots with Sichuan pepper (川椒龍鬚菜) - very refreshing, and not really spicy at all.

2024 Mooncake roundup

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I wasn't feeling particularly festive this year, and I couldn't travel to be with the Parental Units for a family reunion this Mid-Autumn, so I didn't buy many mooncakes this season. Foursheets has absolutely zero interest in mooncakes, so anything that comes into our home will be consumed exclusively by moi. And I don't need to grow any more than I already have...

I was walking past Pak Po Vegetarian Kitchen (百寶齋廚) when I noticed that they were selling mooncakes that I would be interested in, so I just bought myself a single one to try.

Jujube and walnut mooncake (棗泥核桃月餅) - this was actually pretty good. The flavors of the jujube paste was nice and strong, but I do wish they added a little bit more walnut and not just at the bottom. I'd definitely buy this again.

From Sai Wan Ho to Central

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After a happy dinner last week hosted by the Mushroom Supplier, we received word that the Tea Supplier - who was a few seats away from me - was inviting us to dinner at Hop Sze (合時小廚). I was somewhat surprised by the invitation, but decided to respond positively to the kind gesture.

Hop Sze used to be a simple restaurant in a residential neighborhood which served decent classic Cantonese fare at a reasonable price. Foursheets and I used to drop by for lunch after we took Kuma the Asshole for his bath, and while we thought the dishes we had were well-made, we never thought about organizing big meals there with groups of friends. We did hear stories of other friends who didn't live in the neighborhood starting to gather there, and the place started to get a reputation among the foodie crowd in the latter half of 2019. We didn't join those meals, and our last visit was a lunch in October 2019.

Then the pandemic hit and the place became one of the place that were impossible to book. I never understood why, but my usual reaction to watching places like that go up in popularity was to stop patronizing them. There are very few places in the world where I feel that I must dine at, and if lots of people are tripping over themselves to book seats somewhere, well, I'd rather give my business to others whose cuisine I like and who genuinely need my business. So I watched with passing curiosity as they opened a second, larger outlet near our old apartment, but still never bothered to try and book.

Tonight turned out to be a great opportunity for us to try many dishes that this place was known for. The original location in Sai Wan Ho had closed and will be rebranded, while Brother Kuen and his team have relocated to Central and now serve the members of Club Batard. Operations began 10 days ago, and the Tea Supplier has booked the largest private room - where the original signage is now hung, and which is set up for people to enjoy karaoke.

Dry aged piece of ass

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S hasn't been in town for 6 years so, naturally, there is a long list of places she wants to hit. She rattled off the names of a few places, and I made the executive decision to book us a table at Wing (永). It has been much too long since I last visited Vicky's restaurant, and I feel a little indebted from that last visit as it ended up being just three of us in the room. Tonight, though, we would be squeezing 9 of us around that table thanks to a late addition. It was gonna be a cozy evening.

Our visitor was stunned by the balcony attached to our private room, and that wicker hanging chair that Foursheets loves so much. I do have to admit that I myself find it a really nice perk, to be able to step out and take in the view of the city... and also enjoy a cigar after dinner. That will come later.

As always, I left everything in the hands of Chef Vicky Cheng. I know there would be a lot of tasty goodies, and it would finally be my turn to taste that abalone. I was also wondering at what point I would see some gold...

Coastal glehnia root and longan tea (北沙參桂圓茶) - we are now in the season of "white dew (白露)", and we started with our seasonal drink. I have no idea what glehnia root tastes like, but the longan flavors were certainly prominent and recognizable.

A shroomy Friday

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It's been a while since I last saw the Mushroom Supplier, so I was pretty glad when he extended an invitation to join them for dinner at Man Ho Chinese Restaurant (萬豪金殿). Chef Jayson Tang has been doing a mushroom themed menu for some time now that is supplied by, of course, the Mushroom Supplier. I had missed out on joining the big gathering a while ago, so it was very kind of our friend to arrange another gathering for us.

We have an expert in Chinese tea in attendance, and he very kindly shared some Puer tea whose vintage dates to 1983.

Three white tees in the 'hood

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Having been away for the last 6 years, S is finally back in Hong Kong on a stopover for her work trip. The last time I saw her, she was trying to keep up with Geruhage and his son in a gyoza-eating competition at 4 a.m. in Fukuoka while I quietly slurped down some tonkotsu ramen (豚骨ラーメン)... We missed each other by a few weeks in Japan last year, so I was pretty happy that she finally found an excuse to come back to Hong Kong.

She chose to make Neighborhood her first stop in the city, and stepped into the Kingdom of White Tee a mere two hours or so after landing. RAW Yeah and I both showed up in white T-shirts to match the Kitchen Nazi, and when the boss came to join us for the latter half of our dinner, we had three white tees around our table. S, of course, didn't get the memo...

I had warned S about the Kitchen Nazi and that we'd end up with stuff that we didn't order. Sure enough, the first three dishes that showed up were all items we hadn't ordered.

Deep-fried sillago / yogurt - always happy to have deep-fried sillago (鱚) here, and tonight this came with a yogurt sprinkled with some spices on top... and reminded S and I of Indian raita (रायता).

Stuffed in the East

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Foursheets and I were crossing the harbor on a mission today, so I came up with the idea of lunching at Nine One. I have paid them three visits since their opening, but have never found occasion to do lunch. After seeing some idiot on social media complain about their thali (थाली), I figured I owed it to myself to check it out. It would be the perfect lunch after a fairly heavy dinner last night.

We rocked up unannounced and, of course, the Bombay East Indian Girl was surprised to see us. What I clearly hadn't planned on was the restaurant serving a different lunch menu on the weekends, which made total sense when one thinks about it. Instead of 1-dish meals like thali, sandwiches, and paos (पाव), the restaurant simply offered a tasting menu for lunch. I guess the lightest option we could choose would be the 3-course lunch, then...

Khakra, chundo - the sight of the khakra (ખાખરા) along with chundo (छुन्दो) at the very start of the meal always feel pretty dramatic, thanks to the size of the chips. Chundo is much more up my alley than Foursheets' so I happily lapped it up.