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.

The Man in White T-shirt arrived and made a beeline for the bar to get himself a drink. I guess some liquid courage is required before going into battle.

Vlad has read my blog and knows the reputation of the Kitchen Nazi, so he was looking forward to seeing the boss in action. Yes, our table was set with a copy of the menu at each seat, but we all knew that no one was doing any ordering here... at least not when the Kitchen Nazi is in.

Boiled artichoke / liver mousse / truffle - it's been some time since I last had artichoke here, and I do enjoy nibbling on the leaves. I'm also a sucker for liver so this was up my alley.

Red whiskered shrimp - these red whiskered shrimp (赤米蝦) have long been favorites at our home, not only with us but with our dogs. And I really do love the way these are cooked and served chilled, seasoned with a little piment and a couple of sprays of oil. Since CC isn't here to eat the heads, I decided to eat some on her behalf.

Aged Spanish beef carpaccio / mushrooms - served with both white button mushrooms and porcini. Love the chewy bite of the beef.

Smoked pacific saury - it's the season for fatty pacific saury, and as usual this came with very lovely smoky flavors.

I have a habit of putting smoked fish on the sourdough bread, and that liver sauce on top was so, soooo good.

Grilled pepper / sustainable blue fin tuna - loved the marinade for the Spanish farmed tuna, and worked so well with the peppers. The real surprise was the crunchy, dehydrated garlic.

Deep-fried sillago - I don't think I'll ever get tired of deep-fried dish like these. I noticed that Indian Hairy Legs also liked munching on these...

Heirloom tomato terrine / burrata / caviar - I loooove vegetable terrine, and the tomato terrines here are always fantastic.

Yes... another dish I put on bread. The pesto was sooo tasty, and worked amazingly well with the fruity acidity of the tomatoes, the creamy burrata, and the savory caviar. Just perfect.

Buffalo wings / Roquefort salad - not sure why the Kitchen Nazi said that this dish was only for me, when it's actually Foursheets who loves buffalo wings. The sharp acidity and the spice worked well with the Roquefort spread on the sucrine lettuce hearts.

Grilled Sicilian baby squid - this has become a fixture on the menu here, and I've had this every single visit this year. Not that I'm complaining...

AAAAAAND I could not imagine not having it on bread.

Salt-baked virgin mud crabs - no salt-baked chicken for us tonight, but we are having a salt-baked dish regardless.

We had ourselves a few virgin mud crabs.

Plenty of roe tonight. Yum.

Saute porcini / abalone - Vlad was happy because we now had a big plate of porcini, and it was an interesting contrast in terms of texture with the abalone.

Sea urchin and mussel risotto - I was surprised to find that we had ourselves only one main dish, but this made me very, very happy. Loved the al dente rice. So, sooo rich in flavor.

I was too full so I decided not to touch dessert. Unfortunately we didn't get enough of my favorite canelés and I didn't get one... Pout.

Since Vlad was in da haus with Indian Hairy Legs, I decided to bring out a lineup of wines which were mostly bongwater...

2005 Inflorescence La Parcelle Côte de Béchalin, dégorgée en avril 2012 - the nose was really nice and toasty, very fragrant with nice notes of marmalade, toasty corn, and amazingly very nice and perfumed with floral notes.

2020 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant - still flinty on the nose but more ripe on the palate thanks to the grapes being harvested late.

2008 Jean-François Ganevat Cuvée Prestige - the nose was really oxidative, very savory on the nose, very much like the vin jaune from Jura.

2020 Frédéric Cossard Skin-Contact "Rafling" - the color was orange and cloudy. Very ripe on the palate, more like a cider than wine with the tannins and the mouthfeel. Good depth on the palate and plenty of acidity.

2009 Hospices de Beaune Corton-Clos du Roi Cuvée Baronne du Bay, elevé et mis en bouteille par Lucien Le Moine pour El Bulli, en magnum - started drinking about 2 hours after decanting. Drinking really nicely now with some vanilla oak, so, sooo sweet that I could have taken it for a Californian pinot, with lots of coconut butter, too. Also blueberries. Tannins were still here on the palate. A lovely wine.

2013 Jean-Michel Stephan Côte-Rôtie Côteaux de Tupin, en magnum - started drinking about 2½ hours after decanting. Meaty and leather notes on the nose. The wine then really opened up some 3 hours after decanting, and became soooo floral with lots of violet. Beautiful!

This was a fun evening, but then it always is with Indian Hairy Legs... and we were at Neighborhood with all that food from the Kitchen Nazi. About halfway through dinner, Vlad told me that he now understood why I come here so much... and as Indian Hairy Legs said, it's the type of restaurant that could work in Hong Kong but not in Bangkok. It's too bad he doesn't live here, because I'd love to go back regularly with him.