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I've been keeping my schedule light this month to make it easier on myself, but I had given Mr. Chichi the finger a few times too many lately, so I agreed to join him at
Neighborhood tonight to meet a new friend. Just like it was 3 weeks ago, The Kitchen Nazi wasn't ready when I arrived, and shooed me over to
Paragon to grab a drink. I was then introduced to our last-minute companion who would be joining us for dinner.
I did start my evening on the right foot, though, with a
Blue Note. I'd always order a drink that's blue.
We have two newbies tonight, and they've never experienced being under the control of The Kitchen Nazi. They never even got to see a menu.
Dry bouillabaisse - I miss the spectacle of The Kitchen Nazi's bouillabaisse, which used to come out in giant pans bearing a wonderful variety of local seafood. Tonight's version was a "dry" one with some
piment d'espelette aïoli on the side. We had some local lobster, mantis shrimp, and sliced octopus along with fennel.
Lentil salad / egg / caviar - a pretty "IG-able" dish with all the caviar in the middle, alas, he didn't bother to sprinkle gold on top tonight.
I do have to say, though, that for someone who doesn't love lentils, I've always enjoyed this dish. Love the flavors of the lentils meshing well with the egg and the salted caviar.
Deep-fried spinyhead croakers - spinyhead croakers (獅頭魚) is always a welcome sight, and I do love them deep-fried. Had to be careful and pick out the "stone" in the head as always.
Boiled artichoke / liver mousse / truffle - The Man in White T-shirt is the guy who taught me to like artichokes, because I never liked them until I had his steamed artichoke at
On Lot 10. The latest iteration sees the kitchen plucking all the leaves out, cutting away the tips, and arranging them on the plate.
There's also chicken liver mousse spread on top of the artichoke heart, with slices of black truffle on top.
Buffalo wings / Roquefort salad - with wings as tasty as these, I don't need to go to Hooters. Pretty sure the Roquefort spread on the sucrine lettuce beats whatever gets put in front of me by waitresses in skimpy outfits.
Grilled local baby squid - I suddenly realized that my dinner here 3 weeks ago was the first time that I wasn't served this dish for the first time in the last 2 or 3 years. It had been the one constant in all my meals here during that time... and it's easy to see why this has been a perennial crowd favorite.
As I have done on so many occasions, I put the squid on sourdough. It is absolutely the best way to eat this, and make sure there is plenty of sauce on the bread.
Buchot mussels / curry / corn - almost the same as our last dinner here, with chanterelles and sweet corn in a very sweet and creamy curry sauce.
Black sausage / fried egg - the
boudin basque was one of my favorite dishes from
On Lot 10, and The Kitchen Nazi has made sure to add pan-fried eggs on top.
I really do love the rich and decadent flavors from
boudin basque with all that pepper. And a fried egg with runny yolk drizzled all over it does make it even better.
Star snapper - the local seafood is always a highlight here, and tonight we had a star snapper (石蚌). The tender, succulent, and sweet flesh of the fish always works well with the acidity of the tomatoes, and I love the fragrance that basil brings.
Salt-baked chicken / ganbajun / giblets / rice - just like last time, the salt-baked chicken had
ganbajun (干巴菌) stuffed under the skin. That makes for a very, very fragrant dish - more so than the usual version with "just" the morel cream sauce. As usual the rice came with tons of giblets, and I took pains to make sure I don't get any testicles on my plate...
Raspberry millefeuille
Canelés - there are never enough cat anuses at the end of the meal.
I didn't know how big the party was gonna be, and it turns out we were pretty tame with just two bottles...
Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 223024 - nice and toasty on the nose, but that acidity was pretty sharp. In fact, I initially thought this was 171ème because of how high the acidity was. Not a fan of the high acidity tasted in the recent editions.
2020 Frédéric Cossard Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Abbaye de Morgeot - kinda rounded on the palate, but with good acidity from mid-palate to finish. Not too toasty on the nose, with just a bit of flint.
The Kitchen Nazi poured us a little
vin jaune to go with the "chicken rice".
1988 Domaine de la Pinte Vin Jaune - alcoholic on the nose, with a little apricot and a hint of honey. Nice and nutty, too.
That was a lot of food, and delicious as always. It was also kinda interesting listen to The Kitchen Nazi recount his recent experience on the Chinese TV cooking competition show.
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