Seafood galore

Tonight looks to be my last visit to On Lot 10 in a while.  Susan had organized a gathering, and as usual had given David carte blanche on the menu.  I was only too happy to join them and count it as part of the birthday celebrations...

Tomato and basil salad with summer truffle - the different types of tomatoes were all very good, with balsamic and basil to pick up the flavors.

Up and down Japanese evening

After the Acker tasting, I met up with the Resident Froggie for a Japanese evening - starting with dinner at Irori (酒処いろり).  I'm happy to see that business has returned to my favorite haunt, so I could continue to enjoy their food for years to come.

Sesame sauce tomato salad (胡麻トマト) - it's been a long time since I had this.  Still love the refreshing tomatoes with that great sesame/ponzu sauce.

Baa, baa, black sheep

After my dinner three nights ago, I couldn't get the yummy taste of lamb out of my mind.  I love gamey meats like lamb and mutton, and after my research on the Hebridean black-faced sheep - with their black faces, brown wool, sometimes two sets of horns - which also feed on seaweed during winter, I was more interested than ever.  I must go back and get me some more!

Haggis and more

I was invited by the Mandarin Oriental to an intimate gathering of fellow bloggers, to sample Scottish fare during the hotel's "A Taste of Scotland" promotion at the Chinnery.  A team from the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland came to Hong Kong for this affair.

I was pretty excited and responded to the invitation right away.  I must admit that I don't know anything about Scottish cuisine other than haggis which, despite having heard about it since my teenage years, has always eluded me.  This would be my first taste of the iconic dish.

Shake, baby, shake!

Four days into my detox program, I got a call from the Resident Froggie to go drinking.  Whisky was the topic of the day, and curiously we started the evening at Bourbon.  It supposedly has some of the best barbecued meats in town, and looking at my neighbor's hunk of beef short ribs - which he repeated offered to let me taste but I declined - the claim probably wasn't an outrageous one.

Instead I settled for some deep-fried onion rings and a shot of single malt Scotch whose name I don't recall.  I asked for the whisky to be served on the rocks, having been told they have those perfectly round ice spheres.  Unfortunately the experience wasn't all that it was cracked up to be... no pun intended.  The minute the bartender poured the whisky over the ice sphere I heard a loud crack... The sudden temperature change was apparently too much for the ice to handle, and as the sphere melted it was clearly uneven and jagged.  Not what I expected at all.

I wanted to introduce Froggie to b.a.r. Executive, not only for the selection of whisky but also for the entertainment value.  Turned out to be a good choice...

We sat down at the bar in front of a range of delicious-looking Japanese fruits, and decided to start with a cocktail.  I asked for mine to be made with perssimmon, and Hidome-san proceeded to mix in some cranberry juice and Charleston Follies.  Very viscous as far as drinks go, but interesting.  Froggie had hers made from Gros Colman grapes which were hand-peeled by the lovely assistant.

While Froggie continued on her path for peaty whiskies, I asked for a double of Nikka Taketsuru 21 years (ニッカ竹鶴２１年) on the rocks.  The nice, big chunk of ice was well-made and nicely carved, and melted very evenly in the glass.  The whisky was very Japanese in style - sweet, lots of vanilla in the nose, and not much peat.  A refreshing change from all the Islays I tend to drink...

There was a chunk of musk melon (マスクメロン) sitting in front of us, and I made the remark that it was staring at us like the eye of Sauron...and had to be disposed of.  So once again we asked for a cocktail - this time with Bacardi, Monin Miel, lime juice and Midori.  The ripe sweetness of the melon, plus the fragrance of Midori, made for a delicious drink.

Not yet satiated, we chose another victim to sacrifice itself for our pleasure.  This time it was one of a pair of giant Niigata pears (新潟梨) which were hiding behind the melon.  Already buzzing, I made an inappropriate comment about stuffing them into an oversized bra...before having one taken away and dealt with.  The lovely assistant patiently peeled it, then proceeded to work the flesh over a grater to extract the juice by hand.  The resulting nectar - shaken as usual in the Cobbler Shaker with Bacardi - was sweet and lovely.  The alcohol was hardly detectable.

I think Froggie was really impressed with the place.  The care and attention to detail taken by the Japanese assistant while working on the fruits was consistent with what we expect from an establishment like this.  Hidome-san's skills in ice-cube chopping with a cleaver - and of course his skills with the cocktail shakers - were fascinating to watch for a newcomer.  It's a shame that once again I didn't ask for persmission to do some filming...

I was feeling generous at the end of the evening, and treated Hidome-san and his assistant to one of Pierre Hermé's white truffle macarons.  I think they were pretty happy...

Cross harbor Japanese evening

A Japanese friend of mine had been clamoring for some tonkatsu (豚カツ), and I finally got around to gathering the troops to check out Romankan Yokohama (浪漫館横浜), whose ownership includes one of my friends.  I had gone to check out the very delicious sandwich earlier this year, but I was eager to check out how they'd fare with a full cutlet.

We called over a waitress to take our order.  She informed us that there was no more pork fillet - they had sold out.  What??!!  Being one of the two main choices at any tonkatsu restaurant, how is it possible for them to run out before 8pm on a Saturday night?!  The waitress also seemed very eager to go back to her station to input the order into the system, as I kept having to call her back to the table so I could finish my order.  She kept running away... was I that repulsive?

We started with some deep-fried chicken cartilage (軟骨唐揚げ), which were OK.  I didn't have any of the cold tofu (冷奴) or the salad with plum dressing.

Being a lover of pork fat, it had never crossed my mind to order the fillet... I was always going to order the deluxe deep fried breaded pork loin set (極品旨みサクサクロースカツ御膳).  I started by grinding some sesame with mortar and pestle, which produced a nice fragrance and did provide a nice flavor.  The pork arrived and I was very, very happy.  I drizzled on some sauce - whose flavors were pretty intense and to my liking - and sprinkled on some ground sesame.  One bite and I was a happy boy...plenty of fat in the cutlet and the whole thing was just really succulent.  This was the reason for trekking across the harbor tonight!

I lifted up the lid to my rice bowl, and was immediately disappointed.  The rice looked a little mushy, and that was indeed the case.  You want the rice grains to be moist enough to stick together, but not to the point where the grains get so wet they get mushed in the process of being scooped into the bowl... Oh well.

I finished my yummy pork loin, and also had a piece of the deep fried breaded chicken cutlet in grated radish and vinegar.  The chicken was very juicy and tender, but basically tasteless without seasoning.  I guess with the radish you really need to dip it into the vinegar...

After dinner we went for a round of drinks at Sevva.  Not exactly the best weather, what with the wind and the fog... The girls decided they wanted to sit indoors, and we ordered a round of cocktails and a couple of desserts.

Some time ago I had also promised to introduce a couple of Japanese bars to my friend, so we headed to Causeway Bay for round two... Our first stop at Bar Seed was a short one, as they were full and couldn't accomodate the 5 of us.  Miyano-san was very nice and apologized profusely...

So we headed to the other side of Causeway Bay and ended up at Executive Bar.  I had heard about this place for some time, and wanted to meet its owner Ichiro-san.  We sat down at the bar and started to order our drinks one by one.

I took a shot of Ardbeg Blasda straight up in a white wine glass.  The word "blasda" in Gaelic means "sweet and delicious", and this was definitely a sweeter expression of the Ardbeg style.  They toned down the peatiness of the whisky to about a third of what it normally is, and the result is obvious.  You can definitely still smell the peat but it's much lighter now, with a hint of sweetness on the nose...a little caramel...and a finish that is also a little sweet.  Pretty interesting.

I switched gears and asked for a cocktail made from the Japanese fruits on display.  Ichiro-san recommended the small watermelon from Miyazaki (宮崎), and squeezed the juice out of a quarter of the fruit.  He added it to a shot of Absolut vodka on ice.  The watermelon juice was very, very sweet, and masked the alcohol of the vodka pretty well.  Nice and thirst-quenching.

My friends wanted to see Ichiro-san working the cocktail shakers, so we ordered two cocktails - shaken with a Cobbler Shaker and a Boston Shaker, respectively.  Ichiro-san's shaking skills truly have to be seen... I haven't been to many Japanese bars in my time, but his style is truly unique as far as I'm concerned.  The second cocktail was ordered just to see him in action again...

For my final drink I took a shot of Caol Ila 27 Year Old, again straight up.  I wanted to try some of the other Islay malts which aren't available elsewhere.  Very mature.  Pretty sweet with caramel, a little plum and a little peaty.  Spicy and long finish.

I think next time I'll take my whiskies on the rocks, just to witness Ichiro-san's ice-picking skills.  Whether you ask for a square or round cube of ice for your malt, his amazingly fast hands ensure that the ice would be sitting in the glass in no time.  I did have my camera with me, and I wish I'd asked him for permission to film him!  Maybe next time...

Isle of Islay vs Isla Formosa

Tonight I went back to Bar Seed for a drink (or two...) with a colleague.  We had just received our license for our company from the SFC today, so it seemed like a perfect excuse to do a little celebration.

We finished the bottle of Murray McDavid Macallan 1997 from my last visit.  I enjoyed this as much as last time, possibly more.  Nose of honey, caramel, raisins, butterscotch, a little salty plum (話梅) and a bit spicy.  The palate was sweet, with a long and spicy finish.  Not surprisingly, this was good on the rocks but much better straight from the single malt glass.

I brought out something different tonight.  There's been a little bit of excitement in Taiwan recently over Kavalan (噶瑪蘭), the new whisky distillery in Yilan, Taiwan.  Apparently at some random blind tasting last month - with a small sample of 4 whiskies - the regular Kavalan offering (Sherry cask) won over the rest.  Taiwanese media of course made a big deal of out it, and I finally took notice of this product whose advertisements I have seen numerous times in Taoyuan Airport.

On my way out of Taipei after the Lunar New Year, I picked up a bottle of the (limited edition?) Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask.  There's no indication on how old this single malt is, but given that the distillery was only set up in the last couple of years, this is probably no more than 3 years old.  This was also at cask strength, so just under 60% alcohol.

I took this on the rocks, letting the water dilute the strong drink.  Nose was a little unexpected - salty plum (話梅), sour plum soup (酸梅湯), and ripe fruits in general.  Pretty sweet on the palate.  The nose was almost brandy-like, and pretty different from your run-of-the-mill whisky.  Maybe the regular Kavalan whisky would have a different nose.  From my bar stool last night, I couldn't quite understand why the group of people in Scotland actually picked Kavalan to be the winner.  The darn thing was just too one-dimensional, with no complexity whatsoever.

Guess I'll have to try it again, probably drinking it straight instead of diluting it.  I'll get a better sense of the nose this way.

A perfect dram of whisky

A friend of mine brought me to a Japanese bar tonight, hidden away upstairs in a commercial building.  It was classically Japanese, with a small counter and about 10 seats in the entire establishment.  The owner/proprietor stood behind the bar in his pleated tuxedo shirt, black cummerbund and pants.

We started with the remainder of a bottle of a Strathisla Highland Malt by Chivas Brothers, which my friend kept at the bar.  It was classically sweet like a Highland malt, and I took it straight in a Riedel Single Malt glass.

I wanted something else so I asked for the Ardbeg 10 Years on the rocks, and watched as the owner poured it over a large cube of ice that he had spent time cutting down to size so that it would fit the glass perfectly.  This is normally done in Japanese bars, as the size of the ice cube meant a slower melting process.  My friend didn't quite like the peaty, hospital disinfectant nose that is typical of Islay whiskies.



We needed a new bottle and asked the owner for suggestions.  What the owner pulled out of his cabinet can only be described as pure genius - a marriage between his perception of our preferences.  The Murray McDavid Macallan 1997 was an interesting beast...  Distilled at Macallan in Speyside (originally part of the Highlands), it was bottled at Bruichladdich on Islay - my favorite whisky distillery.  Aged for 9 years in Bourbon and oak barrels used in the production of Ridge Zinfandels, the owner called this "spicy Macallan."

And it was.  Taken in the Riedel glass, it was sweet and fragrant like caramel.  But at the same time it was big and spicy on the finish.  Pretty much everything I could ask for in a whisky.

I think I gotta spend more time browsing through the Laddie Shop on the Bruichladdich website...