The overcooked Chairman

Pin It

After making sure Sporty Cousin finally got a chance to dine at The Chairman (大班樓) for the first time, I thought it would be nice to invite him for another round. After all, the guys clearly wanted the oppotunity to taste more dishes from the restaurant's repertoire. And I made sure that we would not repeat any of the dishes we had the last time they came.

Ginger and vinegar pig trotter terrine (甜醋子薑豬手豬耳凍) - I really, really love this dish... So happy that they came up with this delicate, refined version of the Cantonese classic. The finely diced kaffir lime leaves on top of the minced pickled ginger really shone tonight. I did notice, however, that the jelly in the terrine had a firmer texture this time, and didn't melt as easily with heat.

Goose wings and goose kidneys in soya marinate with honeycomb tofu (滷水鵝翼鵝腎配蜂巢豆腐) - had to try this new dish. The de-boned goose wing was OK, but the slice of goose gizzard was very nice and crunchy.

Crispy pig tails with plum sauce (山楂梅子脆皮豬尾) - I love this dish, too, and so did the visitors. The plum sauce worked perfectly with the fat underneath the deep-fried skin.

Cleansing soup (一口湯) - once again we had mud carp (鯪魚) and kudzu (粉葛).

Pan fried threadfin with shallot (乾蔥豉油王煎大馬友) - this is a new dish that Danny recommended, so I took the boss' advice. There's something about pan-frying a fish steak until it's really golden brown and crispy on the outside, then serve it up with a generous topping of deep-fried shallots, fresh spring onions (and Chinese celery?) And this was definitely a decent-sized fourfinger threadfin (馬友). Definitely one of the gang's favorite dishes tonight. If we had to nitpick, though, it would have been better with just a tad less salt to make the dish more delicate.

Braised spare ribs preserved plums in caramelized black vinegar (話梅老薑陳醋排骨) - one of the original classics from the restaurant's beginning, but I don't order it enough. Still pretty tasty after all these years thanks to the fruity acidity from salted plums and vinegar, and then the little pickup from ginger.

Pork belly slow cooked in preserved Chinese vegetables with Chinese bun (梅乾菜陳皮扣肉配夾包) - a little homey dish. As a guy who loves fatty pork belly and this preparation in particular, I always feel I'm not quite satisfied with just one measly slice of pork belly. I do like the flavors of the preserved leafy mustard (梅乾菜), and I'm always happy to have the opportunity to taste it together with pork fat.

Poached capon with scallions oil (蔥油本地小騸雞) - it's been a long time since I last had this here, and it was pretty decent. The chicken skin was especially nice and crunchy. However, the meat of the capon was a little overcooked. The accompanying minced ginger sauce on the side, though... was so tasty I could have sworn the kitchen was using some magical chicken powder.

Stir fried seasonal vegetables with XO sauce (XO醬炒時菜) - this is often my favorite vegetable dish here, as the quality of their kai lan (芥蘭) is normally very high. Not the case tonight. Also definitely over-cooked and on the limp side, so it's no longer got that beautiful crunch.

Stir fried beef fillets with premium soya sauce and layered rice noodles (豉油王肥牛超陳村粉) - the soy sauce used here tasted a little on the sweet side which, for a guy who loves kecap manis, actually isn't a problem for me. The high heat of the wok also served to caramelize the sugar in the soy sauce as well as the flat rice noodles, so I was pretty happy with how this ended up.

Desserts trio (甜品三味)：

Wolfberry ice cream (杞子雪糕) - the visitors objected to this ice cream, complaining that it was much too milky. I can't say I disagree, even though this has been on the restaurant's menu ever since opening.

Jujube jelly (棗泥糕)

Black sesame cream (芝麻糊)

I had to go home for a conference call with a client, so I didn't bring any wine to dinner tonight. Very unusual for me.

I was pretty happy to have seen Sporty Cousin in Hong Kong for dinner, and I hope he enjoyed the being back at The Chairman. Now I'm looking forward to seeing him over dinner in Guangzhou next month.