Shenzhen tour day 1: third time is the charm

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I'm in Shenzhen for a couple of days, tagging along with My Favorite Cousin and her parents as they explore the city a little bit. Having gotten a tiny little taste of the city's dining scene in the last 2 years, I'm actually eager to expand my horizons.

Thanks to a prior engagement, I missed out on lunch at a restaurant I was curious about. I did make sure that I arrived at Futian Station (福田站) via the High Speed Rail by late afternoon, and from there it was just a short walk for me to check into the Futian Shangri-La, Shenzhen minutes later.

We took a short stroll around the mall at UpperHills (深业上城), mainly for me to show the elders all the EV makers displaying their models at just one corner. There were lots of people strolling around at dinner time, but My Favorite Cousin noticed that there were very few people browsing inside the stores.

For dinner tonight, I took the family to a place I've become somewhat familiar with. I have dined at The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) at Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen on two previous occasions, and I'm happy to return any time for their refined Chiuchow cuisine. Given that the others had already dined at a Chiuchow restaurant for lunch, this would be their second Chiuchow meal today...

As usual, there was a welcome drink.

Poached stem lettuce, marinated chili (冰爽扇形青笋) - I thought we could start with a little vegetable to make the family happy.

I love the crunch of celtuce stem, and also the little spicy kick and dose of acidity that whets our appetites.

Crispy Bombay duck fish, caviar (鱼子酱香酥峰巢九肚鱼) - Bombay duck is always interesting for visitors, and here the presentation is visually impressive.

The fluffy texture of the fish is unusual, and it works well when deep-fried. Here the thick, crunchy batter is a good contrast to the soft, airy interior.

Chaozhou style marinated mackerel (潮式冻青花鱼饭) - similar presentation with the fish arranged in two rows instead of one, but the fish has changed to mackerel.

Still very tender, and I liked the fermented soy bean sauce from Puning on top.

Poached squid, chili oil, pepper (红油南澳大鱿鱼) - I really enjoyed this dish from my last visit so I thought I'd order it again. The sauce had enough flavor and kick, and the sesame seeds were very fragrant. The squid was fresh and springy, and uncle really enjoyed the tentacles. Once again, I forgot about his gout...

Poached chicken, ginger-dip (贵妃白切葵花鸡) - it's a shame that Foursheets didn't come along with us on the trip, because this is her favorite chicken. Served with the traditional condiments of minced ginger with spring onion (薑蓉), as well as a soy sauce with diced shallots and aromatic ginger (沙薑). Apparently the restaurant only gets allocated two of these chickens per day...

Wok-fried sweet beans, lily bulbs (蜜豆仁炒兰州百合) - this dish was originally brought to the table too early while we were still busy with the other dishes, so I complained and sent it back. When it was finally brought back to the table, the lily bulbs were no longer crunchy but had gone soft. That was a real shame, because we wanted the elders to get a taste of the wonderful root from Lanzhou (兰州). The foxnuts (雞頭米) were an interesting discovery for my aunt.

Boneless crucian carp congee (挑战刀工极限无骨鲫鱼粥) - I was surprised that this was the one dish My Favorite Cousin wanted to order, but apparently uncle has been wanting to have congee. Finally, on my third time tasting this, I found very little trace of that muddy flavor crucian carp (鯽魚) is known to carry. I guess the white pepper is doing its job well. In any case, this was very, very tasty... and the most important thing? Uncle was very, very happy.

Water chestnut soup, snow fungus (冰花柠香马蹄露) - our complimentary dessert soup (糖水) came with diced water chestnuts, snow fungus, and shaved zest of local citron (香水檸檬). So fragrant and refreshing, and not very sweet at all.

Baked durian puff pastry (金枕榴莲酥) - apparently the elders really love durian, so we ordered this before the kitchen knocked off. Decent flavor inside the nice puff pastry shell.

We finished with a small plate of fruit, which is always nice.

My Favorite Cousin and I each brought a bottle to dinner:

2012 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, dégorgée en Fevrier 2020 - nice nose of marmalade. Very good depth on the palate, with acidity but also savory minerals. After further aeration the nose began to show some toasty notes.

1990 Maximin Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Kabinett - classic nose of petrol, polyurethane, orange blossom water, and lemon confit. Good acidity but more rounded and mellow on the palate. Drinking pretty nicely.

Not a surprise that we ended up closing the restaurant. We dropped the elders off at the hotel but someone wanted more drinks. We eventually found ourselves inside Re-C Whiskey and Cocktail near our hotel. As it's a whisky bar, I started off with a shot from Islay... and chose 2013 Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Islay Barley.

I wanted another drink, and made it a girlie drink this time with Midsummer Orange Night. An appropriate way to cap off the evening.