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On my first trip back to Shenzhen last November, Foursheet and I had a very enjoyable dinner at
The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) in the
Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen. When an invitation came to spend a couple of days at the hotel, including a meal at the restaurant, I didn't hesitate to say 'YES' once I figured out my travel schedule.
The jouney by car on a weekday morning took just less than 1 hour, and we were greeted by the ladies from the hotel upon arrival. Minutes later I stepped into the Skyline View Suite the hotel had prepared for me, and the view over the city was just fantastic.
After soaking up the calm above the city, it was time to head to The Bay by Chef Fei for our lunch. This time we were placed in one of the private dining rooms and not in the main dining room. A few of the nibbles were already laid out on the table when I arrived.
Almond wafers (杏仁酥片)
Pear
Not sure what filling came with these
cookies...
Sesame cookie balls (开口笑)
Then came the series of starters:
Poached stem lettuce, marinated chili (冰爽扇形青笋) - I love celtuce (莴笋) stem when it's blanched and served cold with a little bit of chili oil kick on top of acidity. So refreshing.
These were sliced and then arranged so that the shape resembles the iconic "fan" of the Mandarin Oriental group.
Cantonese barbecue pork, honey (蜜汁叉烧) - this had nice, fruity flavors in the marinade, and the fragrance of Mei Kuei Lu (玫瑰露) was pretty noticeable.
Although there was a nice amount of marbling, the black pork (I didn't ask which type of 黑豚肉 this was, but I'm guessing it's unlikely to be Japanese
kurobuta) was on the firm side, with more bite than many other plates of
char siu I've had recently. This was not a bad thing, just different.
Poached squid, chili oil, pepper (红油南澳大鱿鱼) - this was very tasty, as the chili sauce (烧椒酱) was mild in heat but delivered nice flavors. The squid itself, of course, was fresh and had quite a springy and crunchy texture.
Crispy Bombay duck fish, caviar (鱼子酱香酥峰巢九肚鱼) - I've had deep-fried Bombay duck since I first arrived in Hong Kong three decades ago, but it's not often that one sees it battered like this in the classic "beehive (蜂巢)" presentation.
Very crunchy batter surrounding the soft and fluffy fish inside. I guess the little bit of caviar added a bit more salinity to it.
Double boiled Chinese silk chicken soup, fresh ginseng (鲜人参太和乌鸡炖花胶) - the fish maw was nice with collagen that stuck to my lips. Good flavors of ginseng in the soup to nurture our bodies.
Poached chicken, ginger-dip (贵妃白切葵花鸡) - too bad Foursheets chose to stay home and not join me on the trip, because here's her favorite chicken! This may look like any other poached chicken, but the flavors of these chickens fed with sunflower seeds are so much better.
Blanched Canadian geoduck, basil (金不换煮加拿大象拔蚌) - kinda interesting to see basil being used here, but apparently it's an ingredient often used in Chiuchow cuisine.
The geoduck was pretty nice.
Boiled Chinese cabbage, tomato, crispy pork fat (番茄油渣煮潮州黄芽白菜) - I love Chinese cabbage, and I'm not sure I've ever had it together with tomato. The best part, of course, were those little cubes of deep-fried pork lard!
Boneless crucian carp congee (挑战刀工极限无骨鲫鱼粥) - the ladies had apparently read my comments on this dish from my last visit, and wanted to make sure that their signature dish would outperform what I had last time.
I don't remember whether this was cooked tableside on my last visit, but today we had the chefs come show us how it's done. It is said to test a chef's knife skills because crucian carps have lots of small bones, which is something I definitely remember from my childhood days.
The fish from Xinfengjiang Reservoir (新丰江水库) a.k.a. Lake Wanlü (万绿湖) didn't taste as muddy today, although it is difficult to get rid of it completely even with the help of lots of white pepper that the chef added. Still, I was happy with this congee with the lovely milky broth.
Dim sum combination (豪华点心拼盘) came next:
Black pepper char siu puff (黑椒天鹅叉烧酥) - very cute. I could certainly taste the black pepper.
Pan-fried dumpling with black pork (黑豚肉锅贴) - with a "sail" attached to wish diners smooth sailing (一帆风顺) in their lives.
Dumpling with black truffle and rehydrated dried celtuce (黑松露贡菜饺) - the translucent wrapper looks pretty.
Shanxi jujube pudding (山西枣皇糕)
Chinese yam and rose cake (玫瑰山药糕)
Mongtong durian puff (金枕榴莲酥) - I love durian so I was happy to have a little piece of this.
Kiwi (猕猴桃)
I was really happy to be able to return for another delicious meal. Very grateful to Brother Water, the team, and the ladies for their kind hospitality.
Maybe I should hit the gym and burn off some of these calories...
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