A quick stop in Hangzhou

I met up with a few friends tonight for a quick meal.  We had talked about doing a larger gathering a few weeks ago, and we finally worked out a date for dinner at Hong Zhou Restaurant (杭州酒家).  I had a really good meal a few months ago, and wanted to come back for a revisit.

I wasn't particularly hungry, and as this was meant to be a casual meal over a couple of bottles of wine, my friends and I ordered a handful of dishes to start.

Quick meal at the Russian department store

I met up with a couple of friends tonight who love going to Tien Heung Lau (天香樓).  Over the years I, too, have found a special place in my heart for this restaurant, and I was happy to return.  Since we did not have a big group, we took it easy and didn't pre-order any dishes.

HK Chowmeet 2011 part 1: Hangzhou-style feast

It's that time of the year again.  For the fourth consecutive year, a group of Chowhounds congregated in Hong Kong for a feast.  This was my third year in attendance, as I was out of town for the very first one.  The first meal this year took place tonight at Hong Zhou Restaurant (杭州酒家), the restaurant run by the son of the owner of Tien Heung Lau (天香樓).  I've never been here, and have always been curious since the son has gotten himself a macaron for the last two years while the father has none... not that I trust the rubber man's opinions on Chinese food!

I did some research before hand and asked the group for suggestions, then placed the order for the key dishes earlier this week.  The manager then suggested a series of 8 starters, as is traditional.

The annual pilgrimage to the Russian department store

It's been close to a year, but we're back in hairy crab season again, and it calls for a return to Tien Heung Lau (天香樓).  Some of my friends have been waiting to come back for a while, so I gathered the troops and trekked across the harbor for dinner.

Those of us who have been coming here for the last couple of years have grown to love a specific set of dishes, and have weeded out the ones we feel are overrated - stir-fried prawns with tea leaves (龍井蝦仁), beggar's chicken (富貴雞) and braised pork belly (東坡肉) in particular.  My past blogposts basically show the same items... but there is a good reason for this.

The restaurant has been around for some years, and so have the waiters - which can lead to some issues.  When the waiter hands over the menu, one immediately notices that only about 20% of the printed items have prices written next to them - don't even bother trying to order anything else.  And even then some of those items with prices may not be available, depending on the season.  The waiter will always steer you towards the same 10 or so items when you order.  I joked that this place is like a Russian department store of the old Soviet era - with very few items on the shelves and the "take it or leave it" attitude.

We seem to run into familiar faces when we come here.  For our Thanksgiving dinner here last year, Chua Lan (蔡瀾) was sitting at the next table.  Tonight I saw Mr. Zee - a former chairman of the Kiangsu Chekiang and Shanghai Residents (H.K.) Association (香港蘇浙滬同鄉會).  So the old-timers keep coming to this place... and we were definitely the table with the youngest average age by far.

Chopped Indian aster and tofu (馬蘭頭) - always a crowd pleaser, but I thought it was a little dry today.  Still get the fragrance of the vegetable and also the sesame oil.

Drunken pigeon (醉鴿) - still very good, but curiously not popular with this crowd tonight. I was tempted to take a couple of spoonfuls of the wine and drink it...

Country paté (肴肉) - this was OK but again not really popular...

Deep-fried freshwater eel (爆鱔背) with garlic brown sauce - maybe it's because I got to the dish late and only took the pieces soaking up the sauce at the bottom, but I found the eel to be softer and not as crunchy as I remember from previous visits.  Not necessarily a bad thing, but it raises the question regarding consistency.

Deep-fried frog legs (炸田雞腿) - poor Resident Froggie had to put up with our potshots ever since her "incident" here last year, and finally decided that she's had enough.  The sight of those wide-spread legs on the plate just made my mouth water...

I knew which dish was coming our way without even looking... Smoked yellow croaker (煙薰黃魚) really is my favorite dish here, and that smoky fragrance just permeates the air around the entire table - and manages to float over to neighboring tables, too.  The flesh has just enough seasoning to make it perfectly delicious, and the smoky fragrance is only partially transferred into the flavor.  A perfect dish.

In all my previous visits to the restaurant - and with my professed love for hairy crabs - I have never thought about ordering a whole crab here.  I still remember hearing about people paying USD 100 for a single crab back before the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, and I'm just not willing to pay that kind of price.  Hairy crab (大閘蟹) is something one can easily steam at home for a fraction of the cost.  There's no skill involved and therefore no reason to pay the restaurant a premium.

Tonight half the crowd wanted crabs so I reserved a few.  When some guests dropped out at the last minute, I forgot to adjust the number of crabs so we ended up with an extra.  As no one else was stepping up to take it and it has already been steamed, I gave in to temptation and grabbed it.  Unfortunately, it proved to be another overpriced choice.  The amount of tomalley was a little disappointing, although there was a decent amount of translucent sperm.  I'll probably never pay USD 80 for another one of these again.

The next few dishes were served while half the table was having crab, so that the rest of the group would would have something to do instead of sitting around waiting.  I had to pause periodically from destroying my crab to reach out for a spoonful of each of these.

Braised shark's lips with sea cucumber (紅燒海參魚唇) - OK so I'm still not clear whether this is made from the lip or the tail of the shark, but in any case it's just gelatin.   It's a dish where everything is soft and wobbly... Great for your complexion.

Stir-fried rice cakes with shredded pork and leafy mustard (雪菜肉絲炒年糕) - we know the kitchen can fire up a dark soy version of the rice cakes, but the waiter insisted that this is all that's available.  Did someone say "Russian department store"?

Then came the perennial highlight of the meal - stir-fried hairy crab roe with noodles (蟹粉撈麵).  No way you won't feel full after a bowl of this.  Just absolutely wonderful.  Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I wolfed this down and displayed very poor form and table manners...

It's still too early for my favorite Shanghainese veggie (塌窩菜) so we had to make do with some stir-fried pea shoots (清炒豆苗).

As a result of our experience last year - when we finished our meal relatively late and didn't get our free dessert - Mrs Dyson decided to ask the kitchen to send out dessert before everyone was done with the meal.  She was able to enjoy three bowls of the glutinous rice balls in fruity fermented rice soup (什果酒釀丸子)... and was definitely a happy camper!

I thought we'd be able to finish more wine, but I guess only a couple of us are actually alcoholics...

2005 Marc Morey Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Referts - nose of minerals, sweet and really ripe.  A little hot on the palate but with a slightly acidic finish.  Nicely balanced.

2002 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Vintage Rich - definitely "richer" and sweeter than your average Brut, since this is Sec.

2007 Ram's Hill Sauvignon Blanc - I think most people had no idea who made this wine, so had very low expectations.  This limited production "reserve" wine from Marchese Lodovico Antinori - who makes a very delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc under the Mount Nelson label - blew us away.  It was intense and rich, with an explosion of fruit like muscat and white grapes, minerals, flint and green apple.  The only other New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which gives me this much pleasure is Cloudy Bay's Te Koko, but some of us think Ram's Hill may be even better.  I think this calls for a blind tasting face-off!

2005 Hétszőlő Tokaj Late Harvest - lots of honey, marmalade, acetone and floral notes.  Pretty sweet since it's a late harvest wine.  I was always under the impression that Tokajs are made only with Furmint, but that just shows you how little I know... This was made with 95% Hárslevelű and definitely very fragrant, thanks to maceration with the skin.

A very good dinner overall, but considering that the crab cost as much as the rest of the dinner, I don't think it was a very good trade.  Will continue to eat them at home from now on!

Another fragrant Thanksgiving

For the second year in a row, I spent Thanksgiving evening at Tien Heung Lau (天香樓).  Me thinks this might become a tradition going forward...

It was a busy day.  Bibendum had put out a press release regarding the 2009 version of his Red Guide to tourists visiting Hong Kong/Macau, and there had already been some chatter among my friends about some of the choices.  Then we kicked off the evening by attending the launch party for the 5th edition of the WOM Guide. The editors are dining buddies so we showed our support, and some of us relived college days by taking a few sips from the vodka luge... wonder why Fergus thought it'd be a fun party trick...

But the main event was dinner in Jordan.  As soon as we walked in, I saw Chua Lan (蔡瀾) seated at the table next to us.  We know how much he loves this restaurant, and so do we!  Probably should have asked the restaurant to give us the same menu that he was having...  I didn't do the ordering this time, but most of the dishes would have been on my list anyway.

For cold starters, we had malantou (馬蘭頭, chopped Indian aster and tofu), soy-marinated duck (醬鴨), and drunken pigeon (醉鴿).  Everyone loved the malantou and the plate was cleaned up in no time.  The duck was salty as usual, and half of it remained untouched.  The pigeon, however, was very delish.  There was just enough flavors of the wine, and the meat was moist (with all that wine!) and tender.

Next came a plate of stir-fried freshwater shrimps (清炒蝦仁).  The shrimps were rather large by our standards, and my friend were disappointed that he didn't order the version with tea leaves.

Deep-fried frog legs (炸田雞腿) showed up, and we all happily dug into them.  Very light as usual, although just a liiiittle off the usual level.  Our Resident Froggie suffered an accident, however, when she dropped it on the floor after taking just a couple of bites.  I think she was a little traumatized...

My favorite dish - the smoked yellow croaker (煙薰黃魚) - followed and the smoky fragrance immediately filled the space around our table.  It's still my favorite fish and the Taiwanese contingent absolutely loved it.  We even had someone take spoonfuls of white rice and scrape the smoky flavors off the lotus leaf...

The very fragrant beggar's chicken (富貴雞) always seem to follow the croaker, seemingly wanting to compete for the title of the most fragrant dish.  Despite its detractors at the table, I still love this chicken.  It's true that this isn't the most succulent chicken in town - although the breast meat today was reasonably soft and juicy thanks to a friend's handling - but the fragrance is hard to beat.  I think I ended up eating the most chicken.

It's apparently still not the season for 塌窩菜 (for the second Thanksgiving in a row!) so we had to settle for stir-fried bamboo and pea shoots (冬筍炒豆苗).  Both were pretty yummy as they're in season.

The Dong Po Pork (東坡肉) was as I expected - the lean section was tough and a bit chewy.  But for those who were here for the first time, it was natural that they wanted to try the dish.  This is consistently one of the sub-par dishes here.  The crowd ignored this dish for the longest time because they were all busy chowing down the other highlight of the evening...

...which was of course the stir-fried crab roe over noodles (蟹粉撈面)!  This is hairy crab season, and of course we'd come for the crab roe.  It was as good as it always has been, and we had brought along our own silicone spatula so that we could scrape every last drop of the crab fat off the plate!

For the first time ever, I was not offered the complimentary dessert.  Apparently they had run out of this, which I find incredulous because I've always managed to close down the restaurant and had always enjoyed the dessert on previous visits.  Oh well.  Maybe they got upset with us since we brought along our own pandan chiffon cake from Bengawan Solo.

It was another happy meal for Thanksgiving.  The more capable members of the group went in search of some Taiwanese shaved ice for dessert, but I decided to call it a night and go home, knowing what is still to come over the next two days...

Flavors of Hangzhou

I'm entertaining some out of town guests tonight, showing them the best of Chinese cuisine in Hong Kong. I chose to take them to Tien Heung Lau (天香樓), the best Hangzhou restaurant in town. My guests have lived around Geneva for many years, and it would be interesting to give them a taste of something that they normally can't find in their part of the world.

We sipped on some warm Huadiao (花雕) - Chinese yellow wine - while we waited for everyone to arrive. The restaurant has their own stock of aged wine and it's a chance for my guests to try some.

We started with the usual selection of cold appetizers - a plate each of malantou (馬蘭頭, chopped Indian aster and tofu) and soy-marinated duck (醬鴨). Indian aster is an unusual vegetable eaten mostly by the Shanghainese, and as it happens I just bought a big bag of it earlier in the afternoon to take home to mom in Taipei. My guests have never heard of the veggie, but found themselves appreciating this cool and refreshing dish. Unfortunately, the duck today was the salty version, and the plate remains largely untouched.

A plate of freshwater shrimps stir-fried with Longjing tea leaves (龍井蝦仁) came, and disappeared rather quickly. I normally would have dispensed with ordering this, but tonight I thought that my guests might appreciate the tenderness of the small shrimps without the shells. Surely they use bigger shrimps in Europe and elsewhere, which result in slightly tougher, chewier texture...

The dish that actually disappeared in record time was the deep-fried frog legs (炸田雞腿). Granted, there was only one pair of legs for each of us, but these were snapped up with such eagerness I was taken by surprise. Everyone wanted to get these while they were piping hot. And yes, the resident Froggie gave her thumbs-up with her free hand on this one (the other hand was busy)...As for myself, I thought this was good but slightly inferior to what I had last time. Oh and the deep-fried leaves (雪菜, a type of Indian mustard) were also popular as some sugar has been sprinkled on top while frying.

Smoked yellow croaker (煙薰黃魚) arrived and I was immediately transported to heaven. I could never get tired of the smoky fragrance of the fish, which was concentrated on the skin. The moist flesh was yummy...and I got busy taking down the parts of the fish that my guests were too polite to touch, like the pectoral fin and the tail. No way I was gonna let the best parts of the fish go to waste!

We paused for a bit while we tried to clean up the dishes and sip some red wine. The 2000 Arietta Variation One would be something very unusual for most people. This Californian winery makes an interesting blend of Syrah and Merlot that, in my opinion, works very well. The tasting conditions tonight were not ideal, and I (surprisingly) didn't bother to take notes, but I still liked the wine a lot. There was plenty of the sweet vanilla coming from new oak barrels, and clearly the wine was going to be pretty concentrated with a lot of good fruit.

I made sure that the waiter broke out the beggar's chicken (叫化雞) in slow motion while my guest filmed the process. What a wonderful dish...one that I would always pre-order while booking a table. Some parts of the chicken today - particularly the breast - were a bit drier than I would have liked, but overall the meat was still soft and moist. And the fragrance was just unbelievable. Unfortunately we were missing two members of our posse, so while normally there would nothing left of the chicken's carcass, we actually left enough meat on the bones tonight...

We added an extra order of deep-fried freshwater eel (爆鱔背) with garlic brown sauce halfway through the meal. This was really nice...crunchy and the brown sauce was great, although someone thought that the eel tasted even better with some vinegar on top.

I was really happy with the veggie with salted pork (鹹肉塌窩菜) tonight. This was another Shanghainese veggie but only in season during the winter. I had missed it terribly during my last dinner at the restaurant, but it was worth the wait. There was only a hint of bitterness, and the sauce was awesome as it was infused with flavors from the salted pork... Too bad I was already pretty full at this point.

To contribute to everyone's cholesterol level, we finished with a bowl of stir-fried hairy crab roe with noodles (蟹粉撈麵). This is very, very sinful because you get hit with lots of carbs plus the cholesterol, but I can't imagine a meal here without it. Best taken with lots of sweet vinegar and chopped ginger...

My guests seemed to appreciate the glutinous rice balls in fruity fermented rice soup (什果酒釀丸子). For Chinese people who are used to having the glutinous rice balls for dessert, this is unusual in that the restaurant has chosen to add fruits into the soup, with strawberries, orange and banana bits.

As we were finishing up the meal, I got to chatting with our waiter. He has been here for more than 30 years, serving the same classic dishes to loyal clients day in and day out... The funny thing is that this restaurant no longer has a full menu. Not that I am complaining about the food, but it's quite an experience looking at the menu which has a ton of different dishes printed on it, and noticing that only a few of these actually have prices written down... The reality is that this place prefers to prepare some ingredients a certain way, and your waiter will tend to steer you towards the same few classic dishes. Even if you ask for something different, they are either not available or you will find yourself being convinced that the classic way is the best way...

This was a really enjoyable meal, and I think the 6 of us had enough food for 8 people. However, I think I will take a little break from this place as I have been here 4 times in the last 7 months... Surely there are other Shanghainese restaurants in town that are worthy of my business?

Why have turkey when there's beggar's chicken?

Once again on Thanksgiving Day, I have chosen to have chicken instead of turkey. This year the venue is Tien Heung Lau (天香樓), my favorite Hangzhou restaurant. What a dinner this turned out to be!

A few of us arrived early, and started with a small plate of country paté (肴肉) and vegetarian goose (素鵝). This was pretty standard and did its job of toning down our hunger... Of course, those who arrived late never saw any traces of this plate...

We decided to skip a few "classic" dishes which didn't measure up to our standards on previous visits. The freshwater shrimps stir-fried with Longjing tea leaves (龍井蝦仁) got passed over for not being fragrant enough. The Dong Po Pork (東坡肉) was also nothing special.

As usual we started with some selection of cold appetizers, which was a combination of malantou (馬蘭頭, chopped Indian aster and tofu), soy-marinated duck (醬鴨), and another portion of vegetarian goose. The malantou is as good as it's ever been, while the duck was less salty than a previous visit.

Sadly the deep-fried freshwater eel (爆鱔背) wasn't available today, but we made up for it with the deep-fried frog legs (炸田雞腿). This was really nicely done, very light and one can really taste the true flavor of the flesh. Our resident Froggie thought this was much better than the grenouille that she is used to having...

Twice-cooked pork is something we ordered for the first time, as I seem to remember reading about it on the internet...but unfortunately I didn't care for it. The pork just wasn't fat enough for me...

One of the highlights of a meal here is the smoked yellow croaker (煙薰黃魚), and it never fails to elicit praises from the crowd. The smoky fragrance stays with you for as long as there's skin left on the plate...and the soft, supple flesh is just amazing. I would say that this dish gives the traditional Cantonese steamed fish a good run for the money as the best way to do fish.

There were 7 of us tonight, enough to share another traditional highlight - the beggar's chicken (叫化雞/富貴雞) - which had to be pre-ordered. This being our Thanksgiving dinner, of course the chicken has become all-important. And it certainly did not disappoint. Why anyone would choose to have roast turkey instead of this chicken is beyond me... (OK, so there are certain traditions that people keep to...) The minute that the chicken is taken out of the pot and unwrapped, the fragrance hits you and there is no doubt as to why the restaurant is so named ("heavenly fragrance").

The waiter finishes opening the chicken and reveals the mushroom stuffing inside - kinda similar to the turkey, innit? - all the while steam keep rising from the plate. Soft and moist meat seemingly from a banquet in the heavens is yours for the taking.

Lest we forget, this is hairy crab (大閘蟹) season and we are in a Hangzhou restaurant. As some of us are not crab lovers, we pass up steamed hairy crab and opt for the classic stir-fried hairy crab roe with noodles (蟹粉撈麵) instead. There isn't anything more that I can say about this dish which hasn't already been said. I quickly wolf down my bowl of noodles and secretly rejoice when one of us chooses not to have the crab roe...

Two veggie dishes complete this great meal, although we would have preferred the veggie with salted pork (鹹肉塌窩菜), unavailable as 塌窩菜 is not yet in season. Stir-fried winter bamboo shoots with pea shoots (冬筍炒豆苗) is great as both are in season. Alfalfa stir-fried with wine (炒草頭) is interesting as the texture reminds me of sweet potato leaves. This is stir-fried with Chinese rose wine (玫瑰露), which is used in the production of Cantonese sausage (臘腸, 潤腸).

We are served the complimentary dessert of glutinous rice balls in fruity fermented rice soup (什果酒釀丸子), which everyone enjoyed despite being stuffed.

I brought a bottle of the 2006 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, which I thought went down easy with Hangzhou food due to its sweetness. We also enjoyed some Huadiao wine (花雕), which has been blended by the restaurant using something of a solera system employed by sherry producers. The oldest vintage dates back some 20-odd years. Wonderful stuff with served warm.

This was a great meal that everyone enjoyed immensely. And yes, I was thankful for my good fortunes this year as well as my good health.

Fragrant chicken from the heavens

Last night I returned to Tien Heung Lau (天香樓) as a bunch of us went out for dinner with JS and her parents, who were in town from Korea. We wanted to introduce them to something Chinese, but not the typical Cantonese one finds in HK.

We started with a pitcher of their aged Shaoxing wine (紹興酒) - actually Huadiao (花雕) - but this time at room temperature without heating it up. In retrospect perhaps we should have drunk it warm, as heating would help hide the defects and impurities of the wine. Served cold, there was a distinct vegetal nose, and a bit moldy. I can imagine that the wine sat in ceramic jars for years, aging and the top of the wine acquiring its layer of mold (the Spaniards would call it flor).

In terms of food, we had three starters. The vegetarian goose (素鵝) was good. Malantou (馬蘭頭) - a dish prepared by finely chopping the shoots of Indian aster (馬蘭) and mixing with finely chopped tofu - was as good as it gets. Our Korean guests took a liking to this. Finally we had drunken pigeon (醉鴿) - a dish that I prefer over the soy-marinated duck (醬鴨) that I had last time. The balance was just right between the alcohol and the saltiness of the meat.

I ordered the freshwater shrimps stir-fried with Longjing tea leaves (龍井蝦仁) again, hoping that the restaurant would improve on its poor performance from my last visit. Nope. There is still too much salt and I still can't detect the subtle taste of the tea. I guess this will be the last time I order this...

We have a reprise of the deep-fried freshwater eel (爆鱔背) with garlic brown sauce. We traded a few jokes about the ubiquitous "garlic brown sauce" that one finds in American Chinese food, but the eel was just as good as last time.

I would never dream of not ordering the smoked yellow croaker (煙薰黃魚) while I am here, but the waiter decided that a medium-sized fish would be enough for the 7 of us. Does he not know how much I love this fish, and can probably take down half of it on my own?! Anyway... the fish arrived and the smokiness filled the air immediately. Our guests find that they, too, enjoy this fish in Korea. The flesh was moist and tender, and the taste delicate. In fact, I thought the skin could have used a tad more flavoring to achieve perfection. But this was good enough for me!

I pre-ordered the beggar's chicken (叫化雞/富貴雞) a few days ago, but when the restaurant called me to confirm my reservation, they found no record of this and told me that I would have to do without the chicken. I kick up a fuss, and end up talking to someone who apologized and promised me that I would have my precious chicken. Anyway, the waiter lays the large pot on the floor next to our table, and proceeds to remove the chicken from its lotus leaf wrapping. The fragrance hits us immediately, even before the chicken is laid out on the table before us. The meat is soft and moist, full of the fragrance from the spices and the lotus leaves. This is truly wonderful stuff, and I'm glad I ordered it.

The veggie with salted pork (鹹肉塌窩菜) is served out of order, but receives a warm welcome. Unfortunately for the pork it doesn't see much lovin' today. The Dong Po Pork (東坡肉) comes in its small ceramic jar, and is much smaller than I expected. I guess all the pictures on Open Rice are taken with wide angle lenses so the size is exaggerated. I am not impressed by the dish. There have been many detractors on the net, and I tend to agree with them. I can find a number of restaurants that do a better job on this one.

We finish up with the stir-fried hairy crab roe with noodles (蟹粉撈麵). Absolutely no complaints here, and after drenching my bowl with vinegar mixed with finely chopped ginger, I wolf down the entire bowl as I was unable to stop myself...it was soooo delicious. It was a heavy dish, and I find myself with a very packed stomach.

As usual the restaurant served us the complimentary glutinous rice balls in fruity fermented rice soup (什果酒釀丸子). This is a good way to end the dinner.

During dinner we did enjoy 2 bottles of the 1999 Chateau Musar. It's so curious that I would have friends bring bottles of this wine twice over the last 3 weeks, since I probably haven't had the Musar red in about 3 years! The wine was wonderful, with a big nose of minerals, sweet red fruit and even a hint of caramel towards the end. I was so happy to have the opportunity to drink this.

What a wonderful dinner! I never thought I'd return to this restaurant so soon, but I'm glad to have had the opportunity to dine here again.

Heavenly Fragrance

Last night I got together with a couple of friends to pay a visit to one of Hong Kong's top Chinese restaurants, Tien Heung Lau (天香樓). This is a very old establishment specializing in Hangzhou cuisine, which is kinda similar to Shanghainese cuisine. I had always known that this place was famously expensive, especially for anything related to hairy crab (大閘蟹), and I relished at the opportunity to finally give it a try.

We started with a pitcher of their aged Shaoxing wine, which has been warmed up. A lot has been written about the quality this vino, but it really is very good and has a very long finish. The fragrance of the wine also lingers in your mouth...

The cold appetizers we started with were vegetarian goose (素鵝) and soy-marinated duck (醬鴨). The vegetarian goose, made from tofu skin, was delicious. The meat of the duck was nice, but too salty for my liking.

The first dish to arrive was a plate of freshwater shrimps stir-fried with Longjing tea leaves (龍井蝦仁). As is typical of traditional Jiangsu and Zhejiang cuisine, the chef uses very small freshwater shrimps, removes the shells, and coats them with a small amount of corn starch. The result is a plate of shrimps with very, very tender flesh. While the shrimps were fresh, the flavoring was just a tad too salty, so that it masks the flavor of the tea. Short of actually chewing on the tea leaves, I couldn't really detect the subtle fragrance of the tea. I'm a bit disappointed here, as much has been written about this dish in cyberspace.

We also order the deep-fried freshwater eel (爆鱔背), with a garlic brown sauce that was a bit sweet. Delicious stuff, and the crunchy eel goes down very well with the Shaoxing. I probably could have used a second order of this...

The dish I looked forward to the most was the smoked yellow croaker(煙薰黃魚). This is a fish that is very difficult to find, and it is a childhood favorite of mine. Mom used to make it at home and it's a dish that you pretty much only see it in upscale restaurants serving Shanghainese/Hangzhou/Zhejiang cuisine. Anyway, it has been years since I had a nice experience with this fish, and I LOOOOVED what I had here last night. The smoky fragrance of the fish arrived even before the plate hit the table. The skin of the fish was so full of flavor, and the flesh was so soft and tender. Unbelievable! While mom never smoked the fish at home, just having this dish brought back a lot of memories. I could return to this restaurant just to have the fish.

After finishing the fish, I dug into the plate of stir-fried young hairy crab (毛豆炒六月黃). These are not fully-grown hairy crabs, but the size is reasonable. Fried in the usual sweet, dark sauce with the beans. Pretty tasty but honestly this is something that can be had in other restaurants.

The other highly-anticipated dish was the stir-fried hairy crab roe with noodles (蟹粉撈麵). I was a bit surprised at the noodles being used, since they were a bit wider than I expected and were more yellow - not exactly typical Shanghainese. But the crab roe was very delicious, and having it over the noodles was definitely the way to go. I'm sure it will go well with rice, too, but the texture of the noodles just go so well with the grease... I think as long as you have the right ingredients (you can buy boxes of frozen hairy crab roe from most Shanghainese restaurants in town), you can make this at home. So I'm going to try my hand at this in the fall.

For veggie, everyone seems to order the same dish with the salted pork (鹹肉塌窩菜). I am genuinely surprised to see this dish in the middle of summer, as I know that 塌窩菜 is a winter vegetable. But it is something that I love and only find in certain restaurants, so it's great that I am having it. Later on I discover that the restaurant buys large quantities of the stuff in winter, store it and serves it year round, removing the leaves on the outer rim which may not be in the best condition. So you end up paying a premium for having the vegetable out of season, but at least you will be assured of the high quality of the ingredients.

For dessert, the restaurant always serves the glutinous rice balls in fruity fermented rice soup (什果酒釀丸子). It's not bad, and hey, it's free! Nothing's ever cheap at this place so you take the free stuff while you can get it.

Was this meal everything that I had hoped it to be? Almost. The yellow fish was by far my favorite, and the biggest reason to return in the future. I will need another occasion to try out the braised fatty pork (東坡肉), and this will probably be in the fall when hairy crab is in season. Let's see how much they will charge for the crab then...