The Chairman in transit

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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.