Dim sum with Champagne Diva

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Geruhage pinged me a couple of days ago, asking if I could help out one of his friends. Champagne Diva is coming to town for a few days, and she would appreciate a few introductions to industry people who may have interest in taking a look at her bottles. When my good friend asks for help, I try my damndest to deliver. Thankfully I managed to line up a meeting for her with one of my favorite restaurants in town.

I felt it would make sense to actually meet up with our visitor over a meal, so I booked us a table for lunch at Forum Restaurant (富臨飯店). It was a shame that Jacky was away this week studying for his MS exam, otherwise I could have introduced our visitor to him, too.

Due to a work commitment, I arrived a little late to lunch... much to my chagrin. By that time the ladies had already put in the first round of orders based on recommendations from the staff. As we found find out soon enough, some of those items were rather repetitive...

Pineapple bun with barbecued pork (菠蘿叉燒包) - this is something that is popular at many places around town, although I don't think I've ever ordered it here.

Imagine my surprise when I tore the bun in two to discover that... WHY, YES, this "pineapple bun (菠蘿包)" actually DID have chunks of pineapple inside! So... not your average charsiu bao (叉燒包) at all.

Deep-fried spring roll with shredded chicken (懷舊雞絲春卷) - I love it when spring rolls are done right, and they certainly do that here. I reminded the ladies to add a little Worcestershire sauce.

Forum steamed premium shrimp dumpling with pork (富臨蝦餃皇) - very classic. Tons of flavor in the shrimp.

Steamed chicken bun with ginger (薑粒雞包仔) - the bun is very old school, but honestly we didn't need to order this one up unless someone didn't eat pork and needed chicken as a substitute...

Steamed barbecued pork bun with oyster sauce (富臨蠔皇叉燒包) - and we DEFINITELY did not need this! Not after the first item that arrived on our table. Still very tasty, of course.

Steamed rice roll with lobster and scallion (蔥花龍蝦腸) - the cheapskate in me has never ordered this luxe version, but if you were hankering for some lobster...

This was pretty nice with a touch of soy sauce, because the last thing you wanna do is to overpower the sweet flavors of the lobster.

Crispy rice roll stuffed with Hokkaido scallop (北海道帶子脆米腸) - this is a perennial favorite, and the staff was right to recommend it to our guests. The crispy, deep-fried layer inside always surprises first-timers, and I love to see their eyes open wide as they take the first bite... then seconds later beaming with a smile. Of course, the scallops stuffed in the middle are always delicious, too.

Deep-fried turnip pastry stuffed with pickled mustard greens (雜菜蘿蔔絲酥餅) - I thought I'd ordred these a bunch of times before, but I was still surprised by the variation today.

In addition to the shredded radish inside, we've also got pickled mustard greens (榨菜) and other shredded veggies inside making this a 雜菜 filling.

Steamed chicken soup dumpling with pork (淮揚小籠包) - xiaolongbao (小籠包) is always a good idea, even at a Cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong. Pretty nice. Not sure our guests have had a proper one before.

Of course, just as I was demonstrating the art of carefully lifting one one of these - with the aim of not breaking the delicate wrapper - I tore a hole in mine and all the delicious, warm soup inside leaked out. Perfect.

Pan-fried lamb bun stuffed with leek and green onion (甘肅羊肉生煎包) - I have really come to love these pan-fried buns! No, the spiced mutton filling doesn't scream Cantonese, but I don't care! These are always so, soooo tasty!

We've had waaaay too much carbs thanks to all the different buns, but I wanted to make sure the ladies didn't leave without experiencing the magic of this classic dessert...

Deep-fried sesame glutinous ball (黃金煎堆仔) - I did tell the guests that "it's just a bunch of hot air"... and there was just enough solids that was pretty tasty after deep-frying. One of these days I would introduce them to the giant version...

Since Champagne Diva makes her own Champagne, it wasn't a surprise that she had already ordered a bottle before I arrived. She has a habit of drinking offerings from her friends, especially ones from her village or nearby.

Diebolt-Vallois Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée en 2022 - very nicely balanced and quite easy on the palate.

Benoît Lahaye Rosé de Macération, dégorgée en Mars 2023 - I loooove rosé Champagne like this. The nose was so fragrant and fruity, full of juicy strawberries.

This was a great way to enjoy lunch! Very happy to have made the acquaintance of our visitors, and also relieved that I didn't have a busy afternoon ahead of me...