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After a ride of nearly 2 hours on the high speed rail, we got off at Futian Station (福田站) and grabbed a taxi to dinner. I had been wanting to check out
Gem Garden (珍庭) ever since my first trip to Shenzhen after the pandemic ended, and finally got my chance tonight.
As was the case with lunch, we had pre-ordered a few dishes for this dinner, then added more after we arrived. Our private dining room had a TV that played a video of the restaurant's signature dishes on repeat, and we ended up ordering some items which looked tantalizing.
Service started with a plate of
kumquats (金桔), which was how our lunch ended hours earlier. These were bigger in size, and just as delicious as the ones I enjoyed at lunch. Served together with some wax apples (蓮霧).
We also had
pickled radish (蘿蔔泡菜) to help whet our appetites...
...as well as
sugared cashews (糖霜腰果) and
dried sardine fry (銀魚仔乾).
Marinated foie gras (卤水鹅肝) - kinda
de rigueur at Chiuchow restaurants...
Marinated goose web (脱骨老鹅掌) - nice that they remove the bones before serving.
Both Zhongmeister and I had been curious about the goose heads served at high-end Chiuchow restaurants. They're pretty damn expensive, usually comes in at around RMB 1,500 for just the head and the neck of the bird. Apparently this was due to the cost of raising the goose for 3 years or more, but by that age the meat becomes tough and not enjoyable to eat? Something like that... After inquiring with three different friends, we decided to go for it. However, we were advised by the manager during pre-ordering that we should only order half the neck, as a whole one would be too much for the 6 of us.
Marinated Chenghai goose head (澄海狮头鹅老鹅头) - this was... well... pretty disappointing. After seeing a beautiful picture of a whole neck at a different restaurant a few months ago, and admiring a chef working on this dish in the video shown in our room on repeat, this seemed anti-climactic. Of course there would be no impressive presentation of a whole head and neck, and this came already chopped up. The taste was fine, but I don't think I'd do it again.
Marinated mantis shrimp (潮式腌虾姑) - this wasn't dissimilar to the ones I've had at other restaurants, but unfortunately my late bite tasted of ammonia... so not great quality and freshness.
Deep-fried traditional hand-made crab meat dumplings (古法手工金钱蟹盒) - the shell was very crispy, and the high heat of the oil created bubbles on the surface.
The contents seemed more simple, but crab meat being the dominant ingredient. Not greasy like what we had for lunch today. Pretty nice.
Deep-fried shrimp ball (自制炸虾枣) - Foursheets asked for these. OK la... but interesting these were served with fried curry leaves - which I really liked.
Stewed wild pomfret with luffa (吊瓜煮野生大斗鲳) - this was interesting as the Chinese pomfret was very fine in texture, while the loofah/Chinese snake gourd was very sweet with no muddy flavors. We also had Chinese celery and preserved mustard (鹹菜) with the fish.
Braised black goat belly with salted lemon (咸柠檬黑山羊腩煲) - the weather has turned slightly cooler, and we figured we could get braised goat on the table. Unlike the ones commonly found in Hong Kong, this version came with a clear broth and was seasoned with salted lemon. Love that fatty goat belly, and the lighter flavor profile was pretty interesting.
Deep-fried buzai tofu (炸布仔豆腐) - I love me some deep-fried tofu, especially when it's of high quality. Served with the usual chopped Chinese chives in salt water.
The tofu was wrapped in fine cotton gauze during production, giving it the name 布仔豆腐. Very fine and fluffy inside, which contrasted with the crispy exterior.
Stir-fried scored squid with pork tendon and water bamboo shoots (香芹板筋茭白炒麦穗鱿) - the squid was pretty nice, but the pork tendons were nothing like the ones we had at
Sun Hon Kee (新漢記飯店). Bummer.
Seafood congee in casserole (海鲜砂锅粥) - another dish we pre-ordered. Plenty of seafood here.
Fried taro pie with 5J ham (煎5J火腿芋头饼) - this was pretty interesting, with bits of
jamón ibérico from
Cinco Jotas stuffed inside.
Deep-fried rice pie with preserved bergamot (老香黄炸油粿) - I love fried dough, and this one came stuffed with a paste made with
laoxianghuang (老香黃), or aged Buddha's hand (佛手柑).
We brought along 2 bottles of Germans for this last dinner of the trip:
1989 Le Gallais Wiltinger Braune Kupp Riesling Auslese - decanted before serving. Big nose of white flowers, white truffle, orange blossom water, marmalade, and honey.
2020 Keller Dalsheim Bürgel Spätburgunder Trocken Großes Gewächs - decanted before serving. First whiff showed strawberries and eucalyptus. About 45 minutes later the wine got softer on the palate. The fragrance was nicer after almost 1½ hours, showing more leather.
I DEFINITELY over-ordered, and we were pretty stuffed as we piled into the minivan that would take us back to Hong Kong. It's been a pretty good weekend with lots of good food and wine, but time to get back to reality...
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