The new bastard in town

The Birdiegolfs have been away on a long trip, and now that they have returned, wanted to meet up to belatedly celebrate Foursheets' birthday. When another restaurant that Foursheets thought we should try didn't have any openings until we hit November, Ahleeso suggested that we do it at Club Bâtard. They've obviously ponied up the membership fee as an early bird, so now we get to piggyback on them.

Now that the restaurant has moved to Central and expanded their operations, it's no surprise that we would run into friends while we were here, but I wasn't expecting to run into the Specialist and BFF.

With Foursheets' new dietary restrictions, we forced everyone to go à la carte instead of following a tasting menu. I think that worked out well for me...

Bâtard's burger - I had been seeing people post about this "duck burger" so I just had to try for myself. It's small and gone in just a couple of bites. The minced duck patty came with slices of duck foie gras, barbecue sauce, and julienned bell pepper. Very tasty for sure.

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!

Mr. Ho is back in town after an absence of nearly 2 years, and was in the mood for more Italian food. Unfortunately I no longer patronize a certain dining group's restaurants so we are not going back to the restaurant where we last dined together, but I proposed Estro as a substitute. They have introduced a new menu where diners can order à la carte and no longer need to choose their tasting menus, so Foursheets and I were pretty eager to try it out.

For me, Juve Fan's best dishes have often been his pastas. This is not to say that the appetizers and main courses are not delicious, but for me the hit rate on the pastas have pretty much been 100%. Tonight I was determined to just do three different pastas and nothing else.

We started with some aperitivos and bread, and the offering has been lightened a little.

Tarali - I still really love this as it's just soooo fragrant and tasty thanks to crunchy bits of almonds along with black pepper. That anchovy buffalo milk butter is still available on the side and as sinful as ever.

The Chairman in transit

DaRC pinged me 2 days ago and asked if I could join a dinner tonight with a couple of visitors from Paris transiting through town. I had missed doing lunch with the visitors a few weeks ago as they were transiting on their way to Japan, and now that they are on their return journey home, I figured I should take the opportunity to catch up with them at The Chairman (大班樓). After all, they took time out to show me around some of their favorite spots in Paris during my trip last year, and it was only right that I return the favor somehow.

I was glad to see that the menu for tonight could still fit on the front page, although we did have more courses than the "standard" menu.

Cold squid noodle and lily bulbs with pine nut gazpacho (魷魚涼麵百合配松子凍湯) - this was obviously a dish created after The Chairman did their collaboration with Onjium (온지음) and Seroja in Seoul earlier this year. The lily bulb petals were, of course, crispy, starchy, and sweet, while the pine nut "gazpacho" was velvety and refreshingly chilled. A really good dish to start with.

DaRC and I figured that the squid "noodles" were not actually long strips of squid, but real noodles which had been made with mostly squid in the fashion of Chinese "fish noodles (魚麵)".

Ginger and vinegar pig trotter terrine (甜醋子薑豬手豬耳凍) - this is a dish I have loved very much ever since I first tasted it almost exactly a year ago, as the combination of sweetness and acidity from the black vinegar layered with the ginger complemented the flavors of the pig trotter and pig's ear. Tonight, though, they brought these out from the chiller too soon, as the jelly had started to melt a little by the time this was served to us. I do like that they added some finely diced sansho leaves (木の芽) on top for that touch of fragrance.

Crispy taro cake with smoked duck (茘甫鴨盒) - an oldie but a goodie. I just looooove how fluffy that taro mash gets after deep-frying, and unlike some other places, I've never ever tasted that nasty baking soda crap in the taro.

I loooove how smoky and tasty the filling is, with that chunk of crunchy water chestnut and all.

Thick cut Chairman style char siu (炭火厚切叉燒) - it's taken them a while to even offer char siu on their menu, but nowadays this is one of the best versions in town. It always come as thick cut, always nice and charred with smoky flavors, and of course it is always nicely marbled and incredibly succulent. Tonight the taste of Mei Kuei Lu (玫瑰露) definitely came through.

Fresh water crab roes with pomelo skin and winter melon (蟛蜞膏柚皮冬瓜) - this is always a unique dish, with two different textures and that sauce made with roe from the very special river crabs (蟛蜞). No bitterness in the rehydrated pomelon skin, no siree!

Cleansing soup (一口湯) - this was apple and pear soup tonight, so the sweetness was pretty obvious.

Slipper lobsters poached in rice broth (魚米粥蝦籽琵琶蝦) - oh yes... that silky smoth "congee" made after filtering the rice grains and other solids out. Sweet to the taste, as is the very tender slipper lobster, only punctuated by the umami from the shrimp oil and shrimp roe. Always a beautiful dish in all its variations.

Steamed fresh flowery crab with aged Shaoxing wine, fragrant chicken oil and flat rice noodles (雞油花雕蒸花蟹配陳村粉) - no one comes here for the first time without tasting the signature, nay, iconic dish. They may not have been the first to come up with this dish, but they certainly do it well.

Camphor wood smoked black foot goose (樟木煙燻黑腳鵝) - it's been a while since I last got served half a goose here...

But in all honesty, half is all we needed. We made sure our guests took the leg, got some of the neck and Frenched the bird by taking its tongue out of the head. Wonderful smoky flavors, and looove all that fat underneath the skin.

Stewed pork belly and preserved vegetable claypot rice (梅乾菜扣肉煲仔飯) - pork belly is always a good idea...

Mixing up the braised preserved mustard greens (梅乾菜) delivers the flavors evenly. So, soooo tasty.

Of course, we cannot forget those rice crispies at the bottom of the clay pot.

The pot is sent back to the kitchen so that the remainder of the rice crispies can be cooked with clam broth.

Rice crispies in broth is such a comfort dish for me, and I empty the bowl in no time even though I'm already very full.

Gourd juliennes and white wood ear fungus cooked in homemade fish broth (魚湯白木耳浸瓜絲) - this is such a Cantonese way to serve vegetables... in fish broth!

Desserts trio (甜品三味):

Wolfberry ice cream with black sesame cream (杞子雪糕配芝麻糊)

Mung bean cake (綠豆糕) - the outside is made with mung beans (綠豆) while the filling was made with red adzuki beans.

Chiuchow mooncake (潮州朥餅) - I do love these Chiuchow-style mooncakes with flaky pastry, adzuki bean paste, and candied winter melon (冬瓜糖).

DaRC and I brought out a few bottles as a treat for our visitors, and I hope they enjoyed them.

1990 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - nose of white flowers, lemon, and a hint of caramelized sugar. The nose was much more elegant than expected, without the usual notes of polyurethane. There was only a hint of ripeness on the palate along with lots of acidity, which gave the wine a long finish.

2014 Mouton-Rothschild - the wine was opened the night before. Very fragrant nose with lots of mint, sweet fruit, and some smoke underneath. This paired very, very well with the taro and smoked duck thanks to the smokiness in both.

1990 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel - very big nose with honey, nutty notes, a lot more plastic and polyurethane, some acetone. Really viscous, round, and sweet on the palate. The wine showed more marmalade and orange blossom water with additional aeration. Really lovely.

2004 Vieux Château Certan - at first whiff the wine was much more smoky than expected. Started drinking more than 1½ hours after opening. Very fragrant now with a lovely woodsy nose. There was also a little bit of vanilla on the nose. Tannins were still here but very well integrated by now, with a good acidity balance on the palate.

It would appear that our visitors were very happy with the meal, even though they had eaten very, very well during their time in Japan. They were off to the airport for their flight home, and we hope to catch up with them again very soon.

Sticks and Burgs

The Great One needed to bail on her booking at Hidden (秀殿) due to her babysitting duties on behalf of the tourism board, so Foursheets and I were only too happy to take it over. As this was a foursome, I asked a couple of other friends to join us. As it turned out, one of them was making his first visit after years of reading about my visits.

The boys were pretty happy to follow our lead and just raise their hands when we were doing the ordering. As I knew they don't visit as often as I do, this meant I was ordering a bunch of stuff just so they could try more items. Methinks I ordered a tad too much...

Awa-odiri fried chicken wing (阿波雄鶏手羽唐揚げ) - we always, always start with the chicken wing. One of my favorite chicken wings in town, with the wonderful acidity in the sauce being the perfect complement to the delicious deep-fried chicken skin.

Guess who's coming to dinner, 2024 edition

Gaggan is on a short trip to Hong Kong and only staying 2 nights, but he very kindly reserved tonight so we could eat out together. Just as I was starting to think of which Cantonese or Chinese restaurant to take him to, he mentioned that he would like to go to Neighborhood. I was, of course, overjoyed at his choice, since it is the one restaurant where I have visited more than any other restaurant in Hong Kong. I wasted no time in getting us a table, but I didn't want to tell The Man in White T-shirt who I was bringing tonight.

I kept being told that the boss' new lounge was "just around the corner" but no one ever told me exactly where it is. So I asked Shirley to take me there, and it really was as described... Paragon was a chill place to hang out.

Blue Note - any time I see a cocktail with Blue Curaçao as an ingredient, I MUST order.

I Want It That Way

I'm still biased against most "four hands" or so-called collaborations among chefs, as many of them simply showcase signature dishes from the participating chefs. Since many of these events have been hosted by restaurants where I know the chef, the reality is that I'm probably already familiar with at least half the dishes... so these meals become less of a discovery for me. There are exceptions, of course, and over the last couple of years we have seen more and more events feature dishes where all the chefs contribute to each and every dish - resulting in a "true" collaboration.

Historically the collabs I looked forward to the most were ones with Gaggan Anand. As long as I have been going to collaborations like GohGan and others involving him, they have generally insisted that all the chefs work together on all the dishes so that each chef contributes to every dish. I was, however, left a little disappointed at the second GohGaDen pop-up in Singapore last year, where I thought the chefs got a little lazy and a few dishes were simply lifted from the menu at their respective restaurants... but that was an outlier.

Gaggan was coming back to Hong Kong for the second leg of his collab with Vicky Cheng, and this time it was at VEA. My last visit to VEA was some 4 years ago, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to revisit the top floor of the building instead of the floor just below. I quickly messaged both Gaggan and Vicky asking for seats, insisting to both of them that we would gladly pay for our meals. I was glad to be told that seats had been reserved for our usual quintet.

We arrived a little early so I had time to drop off goodies with the boys and do a proper greeting before things started to go crazy. It worked out well that our little gang was seated in the middle of the counter area so it was easy to watch the action going on.

First, a little sip of Champagne. As Vicky is one of the Krug Ambassade, this was naturally a glass of Grande Cuvée.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 123005 - initially this was served too cold, but after warming up a little using my hands, the nose opened up to show the classic toasty brioche notes that I love so much from Grande Cuvée. The acidity was fairly high, and we had a little tartness and tannins on the finish.

As is often the case, there was no menu given upfront so we didn't know what was coming our way. I did receive word that changes had been made for me when it came to the first bite...

Yogurt explosion 💥 shirako, Champagne - these days the dish comes with pop rocks which, if you had asked me a few years ago, I would have said was "so last decade"... So we now have to pop the yogurt ball on the "lotus leaf" cone immediately before eating. But wait! This version came with a Champagne beurre blanc with salmon roe, but apparently the instruction to hold off on eating came too late for some people, and they popped it into their mouths before the sauce was spooned on top...

Krug x Flower

This is the tenth anniversary of Champagne Krug's single ingredient program, and as Olivier Krug likes to recount, it all started in Hong Kong with chefs like Uwe Opocensky at the Krug Room. I knew that the theme this year would be Krug x Flower as Hairy Chevalier Saffron Bae had traveled to France earlier this year for a special event. I was looking forward to tasting his creation this year, but didn't get to do so when I paid him a visit last week.

I had already received an invitation to join a tasting event today, so I knew it was just a matter of time until I found out what Saffron Bae had come up with. The itinerary today included just two stops, with the first one being Caprice. A small group of us sat around a couple of tables at Caprice Bar, where Anyss and Floriane made sure our glasses were always filled - if not with Krug, at least our water glasses were never empty!

Once again Olivier Krug presided over the day's events, on what would be his last day in town during a short stopver. A few of the ladies were obviously thrilled to meet him, and why shouldn't they?

Pumpkin, corn and saffron - I didn't realize that Saffron Bae's contribution this year would be the replacement to their long-standing pita. The new version is filled with a pumpkin-based purée which also includes some saffron. Then it's garnished with a single grilled kernel of corn along with one thread of saffron.

Still no ocean view

It's been some time since we last had a proper catch up with The Bombay East Indian Girl, and days after stepping away from the kitchen at my favorite opening of the year, we agreed to meet up for an early lunch today near her former workplace. Hoi King Heen (海景軒) is a place we used to enjoy visiting, albeit infrequently, and it's been quite a few years since our last family gathering there.

Imagine my surprise that, after not having been here for a few years, we were directed to go upstairs instead of down to the basement level. Apparently there is some renovation work being done, and the dining room is now temporarily located in one of the function rooms at the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. We were the first people to arrive in the empty room.

It's a weekend morning, so that's dim sum in my book. We refrained from over-ordering in the first round...

Shrimp dumplings "har gau" (海景蝦餃皇) - this came with a whole shrimp and without any diced bamboo shoots. The shrimp was fairly crunchy, and the flavors were pretty pronounced compared to other har gau. I was left wondering if it was given a boost...

No flowers for fourth anniversary

Four years ago at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the two of us exchanged our vows to be with each other for the rest of our lives, in the company of just two witnesses and a lawyer. Tonight we are back at the place where it happened - Caprice - so that I could celebrate the fact that I'm still alive after four years of marriage. When I booked the table, Saffron Bae had asked me whether we were there for a special celebration, but I pretended it is "just dinner". I figured there was no reason to make a big deal out of it.

I told the chefs that we didn't want to have too much food, and the kitchen was kind enough to set up a menu based on the bottle of wine I had brought. I just love the way they cater to the needs of their clients.

As usual, Victor very graciously came to pour us a glass of Champagne to start our evening:

Leclerc Briant Réserve Vendages 2018, dégorgée Decembre 2023, en magnum - acidity was pretty high on this, so the palate was pretty crisp. The nose was pretty metallic on the first whiff, but then turned pretty yeasty as the wine opened up in the glass.

For the first time in quite some time, all three of the amuse bouches inside the boîte à bijoux were new. They finally switched out the pita with curry chicken mousse.

Last call at Nine One

Mr. Christmas is back in town for a short few days, and I relished the opportunity to catch up with him. As he was making his way around different parts of southern China, I knew that Cantonese food wasn't a must for him. I was somewhat surprised when he suggested we go for Indian food, and I knew just where to take him! I quickly checked in with the Bombay East Indian Girl as I knew she was off on holiday, but would be back in the kitchen at Nine One tonight. We were all set.

Early this morning I began receiving messages from my friend. She had returned from her travels yesterday, and has decided to leave the restaurant concept that she has spent the better part of the year building. She was clearly unhappy with whatever was happening in her absence and decided it was better to walk away than be part of it. However, she would be in the kitchen tonight for one last evening, as both another friend and myself had booked tables tonight, and she wanted to take care of us.

The mood was clearly a little awkward when we arrived. I could see it on Johnny's face, and of course my friend the Bombay East Indian Girl. I ordered a few dishes that I wanted Mr. Christmas and his family to try, and left the rest up to the chef.

Khakra, chundo - I've always enjoyed the spice in the khakra (ખાખરા) and especially the chundo (छुन्दो).

Birthday in the Valley

It's that time of the year again, and we needed to find a place to pop open a bottle. This year Foursheets decided that she would want to go a little casual and didn't want to eat so much, so we decided to go back to Locanda for some of their great pasta. What is also perfect is the ability to order à la carte so we can decide both the amount of food we want to take, and the dishes to match the wine we brought.

Carta musica - I really love these Sardinian crisps, and now they come in different flavors.

Hanwooooo in Hong Kong

We've known for some time that Born and Bred was coming to Hong Kong. 30K had been having discussions about this since at least 2019, although that obviously got derailed thanks to the pandemic. There had been sporadic talk about updated opening plans but none of those ever came to fruition.

A few months ago we started seeing signs outside a space being renovating, so we knew that 30K was opening some kind of noodle shop in town. A bunch of us were very excited and waiting for this opening, because we knew that whatever project 30K decides to do, he would put full effort into it and deliver results that are up to his standard.

I hadn't been paying attention about their opening timeline, and certainly hadn't heard anything from PR8. So I was a little surprised when 30K asked me to join him for lunch today at Moo-Lah (牟樂).

The raison d'être, of course, was to bring Born and Bred's Hanwoo beef into Hong Kong. But instead of just copying the concept from Korea, 30K decided to open a place serving dishes that locals are already familiar with, and upgrade it with "better beef from Born and Bred". I was eager to see how that would work.

A set lunch menu is a 3-course affair, starting with a simple salad, a main dish with noodles or rice, and dessert. Tonight we would taste through a few options from the menu.

Tomatoes marinated in plum juice (話梅番茄沙律) - the salad is light, and the tomatoes which had been marinated in preserved plum (話梅) sauce were pretty interesting.

A golden shower

We received a proposal from the couple in the Tiny Urban Kitchen. As Mr. CSO's birthday is just a day earlier than Foursheets', they wondered if we would be interested in doing a joint celebration. They are big fans of Wagyumafia and have joined as members, and invited us to share this unique experience.

I know of a few people who were among the earliest members of Wagyumafia when they first opened in Tokyo, but I have never really had much interest in the kind of performative dining experience that they are known for. I see them as a more modern version of Benihana, and chuckle at the memory of my one and only meal spent at their original New York City location more thn 30 years ago - when the chef spent the whole evening been pissed that my friends and I completely ignored his theatrics. But hey... I know these guys at least serve up some pretty good beef, and our friends are a lot of fun, so we readily agreed to a joint celebration.

The entrance to the dining space is through Mashi No Mashi - the ramen joint from the same group. As this was our first visit, Foursheets and I were kinda clueless about what was supposed to happen. There wasn't exactly an area for us to cool our heels while we waited for our friends to arrive, and it felt ridiculous to stand in an open area behind people on stools slurping down ramen, so we asked to be seated ASAP.

We were then led into this small, enclosed space where it felt like an intermediate step before stepping into a clean room or a freezer. It was here that we would get our "welcome" bite and drink. I was a little bewildered, and as the whole thing felt a little rushed, it didn't exactly feel very welcoming to me... Had I known about this little step, I probably would have chosen to wait for our friends so that we could do this together.

We were given a piece of beef ham to start.

Sharaku Junmai Ginjo (寫楽 純米吟醸), R5BY - seimaibuai of 50%. The nose showed a lot of musk melon and banana, along with a very sweet, starchy rice profile.

After that little ritual, the two of us were led into the dining space, featuring a C-shaped counter around the prep/cooking area. I could see a Josper grill, so I assume that's where the chunks of beef would be cooked. The stools we would sit on were just a little high for someone of my stature, and it was a pain in the ass to have to get up and down. A couple of minutes later our hosts arrived, and we could finally get this party started!

Kosher in Ningbo

The Hungry Tourist is working his way through restaurants on his next tour, and one of the places that I've recommended to him is Yong Fu (甬府). While it's not Cantonese and therefore not "local", in my opinion it's one of the best restaurants in town for Chinese food, and often on the list of places I recommend to friends visiting from overseas. As I was one of the people who recommended the place to him, I felt kinda obliged to join him for dinner so that he would be able to taste through more dishes. So... in spite of a heavy week of eating, and the fact that I had already indulged in a big lunch earlier in the day, I dutifully showed up to dinner.

We were set up in one of the small private rooms upstairs, with a menu pre-set by Ms. Yu the manager. This would be really interesting, as one of the guests requires food to be kosher and it just happens to be Rosh Hashanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה). So we would have neither shellfish nor pork - two types of ingredients the restaurant is known for.

Chinese kale's heart ball (芥蘭球) - I do love the way they created a dish out of something that is often overlooked as too tough to be served at a nice establishment. These local kailan (芥蘭) stems were peeled, fermented in brine, and cut to break the fibers in order to tenderize them. The flavors from fermentation were definitely noticeable, and we've got some acidity as well as a hint of spicy kick. Such a great way to whet our appetites to start our meal.

Lunch with the ladies

An invitation was extended by PR8 to taste the new, seasonal menu at Andō. It has been a few months since I last paid Goldfinger a visit, so I thought I could take time out of my very free schedule to say hello.

I never know who PR8 will arrange for me to sit next to, although I'm confident he knows not to have me sit next to some bitches. Today it would be Giona's responsibility to babysit us, and I would have the pleasure of the company of a few ladies who lunch. So the conversation turned out a little different today.

Carlito gorgor very kindly poured us some bubbly while we waited to everyone to arrive:

Krug Rosé, 28éme édition, ID 123009 - very fragrant nose with lots of red fruits, so sweet on the nose with a little caramelized sugar around the edges. Good acidity on the palate with a long finish.

As usual, we started with a series of snacks: