Hungry in Ningbo

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Nine days after my scouting mission, I'm back at Yong Fu (甬府) sitting with The Hungry Tourist and his crew of, well, hungry tourists. This is only my friend's second time organizing a food tour of Hong Kong, and the first since 7 years ago. While they are clearly focusing on the "local" cuisine, we both thought that Yong Fu should be on the itinerary, since it represents the best that Hong Kong has to offer.

The menu tonight included a few seasonal dishes I had tried out last week, as well as some old favorites which have become quintessential. Some of the dishes were also chosen with the consideration that all the diners (except moi, of course) were non-Chinese guests from overseas.

Mud crab with mashed ginger and coriander (招牌十八斬) - this turned out to be more popular than I had expected. As usual, I did not partake when it came to raw crab.

I thought the guests should have a drink that pairs well naturally with the cuisine, so I asked for some yellow wine (黃酒) to be served together with the raw crab. This was probably the first experience of tasting Huadiao (花雕) for everyone, especially the Huadiao infused with aged mandarin peel (陳皮花雕) that was blended in-house. I did tell the crowd that Huadiao is actually the wine that was used to make the sauce for the flowery crab they had at The Chairman (大班樓) last night...

Crispy canapé with pine nuts, dried shrimp and seaweed (意境一口酥) - never had this before, and it was OK.

"Four luck" braised wheat gluten (四喜烤麩) - very classic, and most of the guests were scratching their heads when 烤麩 was introduced as "gluten"...

Smoked frogs (煙熏田雞) - definitely got that smoky flavor, but this turned out to be the least favorite of the starters. In fact, I think a quarter of the dish remained untouched.

Ancient style tofu skin (古法豆皮) - someone couldn't wait to dig in and ruined the plating for the rest of us. This was OK.

Jellyfish skirt with celtuce (萵筍拌海蜇裙邊) - this is always nice and refreshing. Not sure many people tonight are aware of celtuce or how it can be prepared, but it's a staple for me at home.

Quick stir-fried Chinese broccoli (熗炒芥蘭球) - I love how this dish was created, and how Chef Liu took a humble ingredient - and a part of the vegetable that would normally be discarded at a fine dining restaurant - and created something that is pleasing both visually as well as on the palate. The base of the kailan (芥蘭) stem is fermented to tenderize it, then cut like an accordion or a Slinky and given a beautiful presentation. Always interesting with the mild acidity as well as spicy kick.

Slow braised cuttlefish with pork (大烤舟山墨魚拼滷肉) - once again, some people jumped in quickly and ruined the presentation for our pictures. In any case, I'm not sure they gave us enough pieces of pork belly. I was able to grab myself two small pieces of the cuttlefish, which were flavorful and delicious.

Traditional yellow croaker and fish maw thick soup (傳統黃魚魚肚羹) - the initial suggestion was for the "hot and sour" version of the soup, but I had a change of heart this morning and asked for a switch. I very much prefer this traditional take, with the new recipe of blending the chicken and fish broth, for its more delicate flavors. The tenderness of yellow croaker would be something new for the visitors, as well as the diced cubes of fish maw. I still love the finely diced bamboo shoots, too.

For those whose dietary requirements mandated their food to be halal, substitutions were made for this dish.

Deep-fried Bombay duck (脆皮水潺) - all of the visitors (bar one who lives in Hyderabad) were surprised to find out that Bombay duck is, actually, NOT duck but a type of fish. It's fairly common to find it on the menus at restaurants in Hong Kong, and I've been bewitched by its fluffy, ethereal texture ever since I took my first bite back in 1995. It is almost always served deep-fried, and tonight was no exception.

However, rather than the slender strips in light batter one usually finds, tonight the kitchen filleted the fish in a way that a single fish yielded just one large piece of fillet, coated in a thick and crunchy batter. I suggested that people take this with some of the house chopped chili sauce (主廚青椒醬), and we quickly asked for a few more bowls of it.

Baked oyster with dried bamboo shoot sauce (筍麩菜焗生蠔) - this would be my first time having oyster here, and Chef Liu admitted that he doesn't offer it very often. These came from Rushan (乳山) in Shandong Province (山東省), and were served with a sauce made of 筍麩菜 - a combination of shredded bamboo shoots and preserved leafy mustard (雪裏蕻) cooked together. The resulting flavors are rich like preserved mustard greens (梅乾菜), and pretty delicious.

Braised brown croaker with potherb mustard and bamboo shoots (雪菜筍絲燒東海野生鮸魚件) - this was also very well-executed, as the flesh was very soft and tender. I love the milky broth with diced bamboo shoots and preserved leafy mustard (雪裏蕻).

Another substitution was made here for those needing a halal dish.

We had a filmmaker in the group who wanted to do some filming in the kitchen. So I accompanied him downstairs and, with permission from Chef Liu, he got to film the chicken getting its skin crispy.

Yong Fu golden crispy chicken with pepper and sesame (甬府黃金椒麻雞) - so here comes the chicken in all its golden glory. It was taken apart tableside and there was a crowd filming the process, including our resident filmmaker.

Once again, some people swooped in to grab the crispy skin before we had a chance to take a pretty picture. We wrapped the skin and the shredded meat inside very thin pancakes, and honestly no sauce was needed as the chicken already came seasoned with pepper and sesame. That didn't stop some people from putting the chopped chili sauce inside the way they would with Peking duck... Yes, this was still very, very good. Definitely a worthy substitute and, in my mind, superior alternative to Cantonese crispy chicken (炸子雞).

Stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with shepherd's purse (薺菜炒冬筍) - I love this dish and only get to enjoy it during the cooler months. There definitely wasn't enough of it to go around our big table, so I asked for a second serving... Loved the sweet bamboo shoots coated in the finely diced leaf.

Braised cattle steak with radish (蘿蔔燜黃牛排) - I enjoyed this dish a lot last week, so I was happy to see it on the menu.

Very, very tender beef brisket, with sweet red-peeled radish 水蘿蔔.

Sautéed baby green vegetables (捨得菜心) - I translated the meaning of 捨得, explaining that only the tender hearts were used and the kitchen was "willing to give up" the outer parts. Very tasty in the chicken broth.

Hawthorn and pear drink (山楂雪梨飲)

Hand made dumplings with shepherd's purse and minced pork (手工薺菜水餃) - I really do love these dumplings, and in all honesty, 2 just ain't cuttin' it. Still using the thicker, more chewy wrapper just like last week.

Ningbo sesame glutinous rice balls (寧波湯圓) - quite possibly the finest tangyuan (湯圓) in Hong Kong...

A final substitution was made here as tangyuan are not halal... so they got hot and spicy soup noodles instead.

Tonight we've got the big-ass blueberries from Yunnan Province (雲南省), plus Indian jujube (青棗).

One of the guests brought along some white wines, while I offered 2 bottles of red Burgundy from my cellar.

2017 Testut Chablis Grenouille - this was decanted to give it time to air, but the staff made the mistake of serving it right away. Nice and toasty nose. Good acidity, a little tannic and grippy on the palate.

2020 Tissot Arbois Les Bruyères - much bigger toasty notes on the nose. Palate was more focused with crisp, higher acidity.

2018 Rémi Jobard Meursault 1er Cru le Poruzot-Dessus - the nose was toasty as one would expect, and still got the acidity on the palate, but this was a little more buttery and certainly softer.

1995 Hospices de Beaune Corton Cuvée Charlotte Dumay, élevé par Dominique Laurent - first bottle was served after about 2 hours in decanter. First taste was a little acidic, but still got the black fruits. More fruity with the second pour, along with smoke and toasty notes. Second bottle decanted about 30 minutes before serving was tasting a little more fresh.

This was a very good dinner, and I think the crowd was fairly happy. This was a long menu with a lot of food, but thanks to the abudance of vegetables and a lack of carbs, it was well-balanced and people didn't feel really stuffed. I'm happy to have helped introduce the crowd to a different type of cuisine they've never come across - and in fact, unlikely to come across outside China. Very grateful to Chef Liu, Yu-zong, and Gemma for their help.