Six years on

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I haven't seen the Hungry Tourist for more than 6 years, as that was the last time he came to Hong Kong. He's back in town for a few days scouting out locations for his next tour, and this offered me a chance to catch up with my friend. He was having lunch at Lung King Heen (龍景軒) today, and as it has been 6 years since I last stepped foot in the restaurant, I figured I'd join him today.

We decided to focus on dim sum today, although my friend had also pre-ordered the roast chicken from Chef Chan Yan Tak (陳恩德) that he loves so much. I relished the chance to see how they have updated their limited dim sum menu, but sadly we dropped from a party of 3 to 2, so we were limited in the number of dishes we could try.

Our amuse bouche was a crispy rice cracker with vegetables on top, plus a couple of deep-fried whitebait. I was honestly a little shocked at the sight of this. Yes, the crispy rice cracker was very, very tasty... but that topping, seriously?! It looks like the frozen mixed vegetables (三色豆) that one finds in every supermarket's frozen food section. Not befitting a Michelin two- (and formerly three-) star restaurant at all.

Spicy Bordeaux

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The Compatriot is in town on a short stopover and had time for one dinner. I rattled off the names of a few restaurants but the one that seem to have caught his attention was Mián (紅棉), as it's more than just your box standard Cantonese restaurant. Foursheets and I also love the place for its pet-friendly outdoor terrace, but as the weather has been unstable lately, we played it safe by getting a table indoors.

I've got a list of favorite dishes based on multiple visits, but I wanted to make sure our visitors got to try things that interested them. Thankfully the dishes they chose were ones I would have probably ordered, anyway.

We started a little late because of a late arrival, but I was wondering why it was taking so long for food to arrive after we had asked the staff to alert the kitchen... when all four starters we had ordered came at the same time.

Boiled sliced pork ∙ garlic ∙ chili oil (蒜泥白肉) - pretty spicy, but perhaps a little less than I remembered. Lots of diced garlic delivered that familiar flavor profile, and the heat was somewhat tempered by the celtuce wrapped inside the pork.

The usual good stuff

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We have a friend in town for the first time in 8 years, and a mutual friend who dined with us last month while he was in town insisted that we must take this friend to Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This happened to make total sense, as our visitors were staying in an area not far from the restaurant.

Unfortunately I had to navigate rush hour traffic across the harbor in a Friday night, so I ended up being pretty late... and quite a few of the cold dishes had already arrived at the table before I even stepped into the restaurant. I'm grateful that everyone waited for me.

Goose liver marinated in Chinese wine (極品酒香鵝肝) - after our experience last time while comparing the two different versions of goose liver, we decided that the one marinated in wine was superior. And indeed, not only is the liver really smooth in texture, but the marinade was just much more fragrant in the mouth.

Chili in Wanchai

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I don't dip my toes - or more accurately, my tongue - into Sichuan cuisine very often, thanks to not having a high tolerance for heat. The rare exception has made for a pair of meals at Deng G (鄧記) over the past few years, as they serve up some dishes which are more traditional and not everything is smothered in chili oil. When an invitation came from Mr. Chichi (吃吃君) for a dinner there while Chef Deng Huadong (邓华东) was back in town, I checked with Foursheets - who is always up for something spicy - and happily accepted the invitation.

The menu was, of course, composed by the chef. Foursheets and I did object to the inclusion of shark's fin, so we were promised a substitute that would not alter the experience significantly.

We started with six cold appetizers (鄧記六小碟):

Chayote shoots with Sichuan pepper (川椒龍鬚菜) - very refreshing, and not really spicy at all.

2024 Mooncake roundup

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I wasn't feeling particularly festive this year, and I couldn't travel to be with the Parental Units for a family reunion this Mid-Autumn, so I didn't buy many mooncakes this season. Foursheets has absolutely zero interest in mooncakes, so anything that comes into our home will be consumed exclusively by moi. And I don't need to grow any more than I already have...

I was walking past Pak Po Vegetarian Kitchen (百寶齋廚) when I noticed that they were selling mooncakes that I would be interested in, so I just bought myself a single one to try.

Jujube and walnut mooncake (棗泥核桃月餅) - this was actually pretty good. The flavors of the jujube paste was nice and strong, but I do wish they added a little bit more walnut and not just at the bottom. I'd definitely buy this again.