Rainy expedition

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Mr. and Mrs. Locust are back in town for the first time in a year, and as we kinda missed each other a year ago, we've only seen each other once since the borders opened. Tonight was their "free night" away from family, and I was asked to pick a place for us to eat out. Having known Mr. Locust for more than 30 years, I pretty much know which types of places are up his alley. And in spite of the distance we'd have to travel, I really thought Sun Hon Kee Restaurant (新漢記) would be something he'd appreciate.

Unfortunately for us, the presence of a few typhoons and tropical depressions around meant it started to rain in the late afternoon, and ended up with a downpour in parts of town. We changed our original plans of taking the train up to Fanling and ended up taking a taxi to dinner, which ended up costing a pretty penny.

Brother Hon was in da haus and Foursheets immediately struck up a conversation with him. While we ordered a few dishes that we felt were "must try", the boss added a few dishes which were off-menu for us.

Pork tendon with shallot oil and soy dipping sauce (白烚豬前腿筋) - I can't imagine bringing someone here without ordering this up, and as always, the strips were very springy and crunchy. This was also VERY strong in terms of their pork flavor. Perfect with the soy-based garlic dipping sauce on the side.

Homemade prawn cake (自家製蝦餅) - a special of the day, made with minimal starch. Very bouncy texture, springy yet soft enough.

Cuttlefish balls (自家製鮮墨丸) - another favorite dish, again made with little starch. Wonderfully tender and bouncy, and brought the fragrance of the tangerine peel (果皮). Served on a bed of leafy amaranth (莧菜).

Sun Hon Kee special fried fish noodle (自家製手打一品鮮魚麵) - this was requested by our visitors, and that was definitely the right choice. Stir-fried at high heat to deliver beautiful wok hei (鑊氣), the noodles were on the firm side thanks to the use of mostly fish and minimal starch. Plenty of white pepper used which, when combined with all that wok hei, made things very tasty.

Pork ribs in shrimp paste (金牌蝦醬骨) - this is always a good idea, and Brother Hon definitely thought we needed it. Absolutely loved the rich flavors that the shrimp paste imparted on the pork. So juicy. So mouth-watering.

Stir-fried river crab roe with riceflour noodles (禮雲子炒陳村粉) - the surprise of the night came last. The roe of the river crab (蟛蜞), known as 禮雲子, is something I have only seen on the menu of a couple of restaurants, so I was pretty happy when Brother Hon told us that he was sending this to us. I didn't realize it would come with the flat riceflour noodles (陳村粉).

The flavors of the crab roe were certainly intense, but I wondered whether some Shanghainese hairy crab roe had also been mixed in, judging from the texture and the flavors. Nevertheless I was pretty happy, and it would be the first time for the Locusts to taste this delicacy. Smiles all around.

Steamed black sugar pudding (自家製黑蔗糖蜂巢糕) - we were pretty full, but I just had to order my favorite dessert here. The fragrance and the flavors from the sugar was intense and beautiful. I know the Locusts loved it, too.

I took it easy and just brought one bottle, and as it wasn't anything fancy, I didn't order Brother Hon any...

2005 Clos des Papes Rouge - started drinking almost 2 hours after decanting. Minty on the nose, with plenty of woodsy notes. Very nice and sweet on the palate.

We were very happy with our dinner, and thanked Brother Hon for the goodies. Since it was totally dry up here, we decided to walk to the station and take the train back home. Very good to see the Locusts, and hope to share more meals again soon.