Clueless at the club

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The MNSC boys are doing two dinners this week, two days apart. We almost made it three in a row, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The Ox played host tonight, and we found ourselves back in The Grill at the Hong Kong Country Club.

After a weekend of stuffing myself in Shantou, I was more than happy to take things easy tonight and order à la carte. Soup and salad for me, then... But our host ordered a few starters for us to share.

Jambon persillé - a classic dish I am always happy to see. So nostalgic to see aspic with ham, and the fragrance of parsley just works so well with the gribiche sauce.

Shantou hop day 3: beef hotpot brunch

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It's our last day in Shantou, and we didn't get out of bed as early as originally planned. BUT we learned our lesson yesterday so we went out for coffee before breakfast. We went back to my new favorite Pickles and Coffee (咸菜咖啡) for another hit, only this time I didn't order the namesake drink again.

Yashi cold brew with osmanthus (桂花鸭屎香冷萃) - with cold brew made with single origin coffee beans from Yunnan (雲南), Yashi (鴨屎香) tea, osmanthus syrup from Morin, dried osmanthus flowers, and garnished with a piece of osmanthus candy. This was, effectively, the Chiuchow version of yuenyeung (鴛鴦) - but an elegant, high-end version. I love osmanthus flowers and the fragrance they leave in one's mouth.

Shantou hop day 2: cooking the ocean

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Dinner tonight was probably my most-anticipated meal of this trip. I very much appreciate the casul aspect of Chaoshan cuisine, and I'm well aware of the traditional way of dining that we had at lunch today. But ever since I experienced high-end Chiuchow cuisine in Shenzhen back in 2023, I've been very curious about exactly how fine the top chefs in this area could take it. While spending minimal time doing on homework on where to eat in this town, we quickly came upon Taste of Chaoshan - Zhuhai Restaurant (潮汕味道•煮海餐厅) as THE fine dining establishment. As one of only two restaurants in the city to receive the diamonds from the Black Pearl Dining Guide, and the only one to receive two diamonds, this would seem to be the pinnacle of Chaoshan cuisine in town.

I traveled eastward for the fourth time today, this time to the banks of the Han River (韓江). The restaurant takes up two floors of a commercial building, with panoramic views of the eastern side of the city. Tables are placed far enough apart that one is aware of one's neighbors without feeling like part of the conversation, so the atmosphere is pretty tranquil.

The daily set menu is custom tailored for each table, after discussions on specific preferences. I requested a couple of their signature dishes while adding something additional on top for extra cost. Hell, it's our first time so I wanted to make sure we get as full of an experience as we reasonably could. Except, of course, the charcoal-grilled whelk that's priced at more than CNY 3,000 each...

There were two small plates of snacks on our table:

X.O sauce (XO酱) - with conpoy (干貝) and sardine fry. Kinda one-note.

String beans with preserved olive greens (榄菜豆角) - pretty tasty.

Shantou hop day 2: criss crossing the city

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We needed two things this morning: coffee and breakfast. We went downstairs to the café at WhyTime Hotel (怀棠府邸酒店) to see what the free breakfast was like, but they were pretty full with other guests... and besides, the food didn't look particularly local. So we ventured out across town to a place recommended by a friend.

It's raining a little this morning, and we got dropped off at the general area for our breakfast spot. Well, the street address listed on Dianping (大众点评) wasn't the correct one, so we wandered around a little to see if it's hidden in an alley somewhere. And indeed it was! This was LITERALLY A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL... The so-called signage was actually that of a defunct real estate agent, and that's where the open kitchen is. The dining room is accessed by duck around the corner through a doorway. OK, then...

Shantou hop day 1: seafood supper

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I had originally wanted to take a break from traveling this weekend. There was an invitation to an extremely hard to book restaurant in Yunnan, but with two big meals earlier in the week and a few more next week before traveling for work the following weekend, I politely declined... much to the shock of my friend.

But Foursheets was restless. I had been doing ALL of the traveling lately, and maybe she felt a little left out. It is true that other than our quick trip to Beijing at the start of the year, the only place she's been to outside Hong Kong has been Taipei. After weighing our options close to town, she decided that we should explore Shantou (汕頭). We had long heard about the amazing food scene in the Chaoshan (潮汕) region, so this would be our first peek.

There was lots of drama before our departure, as Friday night traffic almost prevented us from getting to the train station on time. In my rush to get to the train platform, I actually dropped my wallet as I went through the border checkpoint. Thankfully it was recovered just a minute later... and we made it onto the train with just a couple of minutes to spare.

The 2½ hour journey was relatively uneventful, and our taxi driver drove us across the city so that we could check in to WhyTime Hotel (怀棠府邸酒店). Foursheets chose this boutique hotel in the old town area that had been converted from a historic banquet hall. I must admit that it is very charming.