September 25, 2018

French wines with suckling pig

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Three days after coming for dim sum, I'm back at Seventh Son (家全七福) for a dinner hosted by Curry.  Given that we had just passed the 15th of the month - Mid-Autumn Festival was yesterday - we were not treated to a vegetarian dinner, although we still had plenty of veg to enjoy.

Shredded tofu 'Yeung Chow' style (揚州干絲) - I never knew that they had something like this... off the menu, of course.  Tossed with some Chinese celery, but I found this a little too salty for my taste.

Deep-fried vegetarian custard (素戈渣炸) - no chicken testicles here... just some shrooms.

Barbecued whole suckling pig (大紅片皮乳豬全體) - my second roast suckling pig here in 4 days.

Pretty tasty, of course, but I tried not to go crazy on this...

Double-boiled pork stomach stuffed with whole chicken filled with birds' nest (豬肚鳳吞官燕) - I didn't have a clue what this was at first... until it was explained to me.  Cutting open the pouch made of 3 portions of pig's stomach revealed an inner pouch made of chicken skin, which was itself stuffed with birds' nest.

Loved the flavors of the chicken soup.  Loved the chicken skin and of course the pig's stomach.  As for the birds' nest... my palate ain't sophisticated enough for this, so I shared some with a friend.

Baked stuffed crab shell with onion and fresh crab meat (釀焗鮮蟹蓋) - this was one of my favorite dishes back when I first started going to Fook Lam Moon (福臨門), and I still love it for the shredded onions they stuff in the shell - which adds additional texture as well as sweetness.  But damn!  These shells just get smaller and smaller (probably shrank by at least ⅓) while the price has more than doubled...

Braised bamboo fungus with pigeon egg (竹笙扒鴿蛋) - not quite vegetarian, but good enough.

Braised pomelo skin in abalone sauce with tofu (豆腐鮑汁柚皮) - pretty similar to what I had a few days ago, but with abalone sauce instead of shrimp roe.

The Japanese tofu puffs were pretty nice, and the kailan (芥蘭) was very, very soft...

Braised beef brisket with turnip (蘿蔔清湯炆爽腩) - one of the signature yet overlooked dishes here.

This is butterfly brisket (爽腩) so it's a more expensive cut than your average brisket.  Very, very good...

Fried rice 'Yeung Chow' style with fresh shrimps (圍蝦揚州炒飯) - Curry didn't over-order in terms of food, and in the end we needed some carbs to go with the wines.  Pretty damn good.

Walnut cookies (核桃酥)

This is an MNSC dinner, which means the wines matter far, far more than the food. And Curry was his usual generous self...

2002 Coche-Dury Meursault - served 5 hours after opening.  Nice and toasty nose, with lemon citrus but also a hint of dustiness.  Good acidity on the palate with a bit of ripeness.

First pair: decanted 30 minutes after opening, and served 1 hour and 15 minutes after decanting.
1975 Trotanoy - smoky, minty, showed riper and more woody notes, with lots of sweetness and coconut notes.  96 points.

1975 L'Evangile - sweet and grassy, smoky, a little dusty, and some old wood notes.  Showing some amber along the rim.  Smooth on the palate.  93 points.

Second pair: served 2½ hours after opening without decanting.
1993 Ponsot Clos de la Roche - very dusty and cloudy with lots of sediment in glass.  After the dustiness faded it showed very nicely, with toasty notes and a hint of floral nose.  Didn't care for the second pour.  92 points.

1993 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche - cleaner nose with more fruit, but also slightly dusty.  After dustiness faded in the glass this showed ripe, sweet fruit... almost bubblegum, and a little tropical coconut.  94 points.

Third pair: decanted 1 hour after opening, and served 2½ hours after decanting.
1991 Guigal La Mouline - slightly grippy on palate, but what a beautiful wine!  Ripe fruit, a bit smoky, oaky, fragrant, with graphite notes, almost some coffee and a little orange.  Acidity on the high side.  99 points.

1991 Guigal La Landonne - much riper on the nose, cooler fruit, minty, smoky, much more concentrated than the Mouline.  Also a little more closed, with a hint of dustiness.  96 points.

Fourth pair: served 4 hours after opening without decanting.
2003 Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - a little sharp and alcoholic, a little bit of rust, some cool, black fruits, and oaky notes.  94 points.

2003 Cathiard Romanée-Saint-Vivant - really metallic and ripe, also a little dusty and a little toasty.  Some jamminess.  93 points.


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