Fish, shrimp, but no crab

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I haven't seen my friend for 9 years. He lives halfway around the world from me, and for one reason or another - the pandemic among them - we just haven't traveled to each others' cities since I last saw him in Hong Kong. He's taking an East Asia tour this month, and I finally got a chance to catch up with him and his wife.

Incidentally, he's one of the people who bailed out on my booking at the Chairman (大班樓) earlier this week, despite the fact that his wife has never been. As both of them are staying in New Territories, I figured I would pick somewhere that involves less traveling on their side. Much to my surprise, out of the two options I presented, they chose the one that involved significantly more trekking...

I last trekked all the way to Fanling (粉嶺) for dinner at Sun Hon Kee Restaurant (新漢記飯店) on account of another visiting friend. We grabbed a bigger group of people and had Brother Hon come up with the daily specials. For our casual lunch today, though, there's no need to bother the boss.

Pork tendon with shallot oil and soy dipping sauce (白烚豬前腿筋) - this is an absolute must. I have never not loved this dish. The meat is so bouncy and tasty... and so much fun to chew on.

Loofah with cuttlefish ball (自家製墨魚丸浸勝瓜) - these homemade cuttlefish balls with ink are always nice, but unfortunately the loofah today was very, very muddy.

Sun-dried whitebait with chili pepper in soy sauce (尖椒醬油焗山坑魚乾) - I have always loved these dried river fish called 山坑魚, as it's so crispy and leaves a beautiful fragrance in the mouth. It's also fun to play Russian roulette with the peppers, seeing which ones are spicy and which are mild.

Stir-fried river shrimp with Chinese chives (韭菜炒河蝦) - I had forgotten about this dish until we saw it at the neighboring table, and immediately ordered it. The tiny little river shrimp are as packed with flavor as sakura shrimp (桜海老), and I honestly don't think one order was not enough for the 4 of us. Too bad Foursheets had ordered one of the big dishes...

Braised beef brisket (清湯牛腩) - this was a pretty big bowl of brisket, and someone obviously loved the braised radish... which is a good thing.

Steamed black sugar pudding (自家製黑蔗糖蜂巢糕) - I was a selfish asshole who wanted this dessert for himself, and my friend was tempted to have a piece or two despite his health condition. His wife glared at him a few times...

I hope my friends enjoyed lunch today and felt it was worth the journey. It was definitely out of the way, not just for them but for Foursheets and I... so it was definitely "worth a special journey" - IYKYK. Glad to have caught up with my friends, and hope to see them again soon. Next time I won't forget to bring the German riesling...