Aussie neighbors

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After I missed out what looked like a fantastic dinner hosted by my Aussie friend a few weeks ago, the host suggested that we meet up at Neighborhood over a few bottles. As it was a bunch of rare and old Aussies I had missed out on, I thought we should have the same wine theme. With that in mind, the Film Buff would be a perfect dining companion on account of his collection of Aussie wines. I also ended up roping in Fergie because, well, surely he is up for drinking just about anything.

I didn't tell the Kitchen Nazi that I was coming, figuring that Shirley would let him know if necessary. He was geuinely surprised to see me as I tapped him on the shoulder. I was kinda hoping that this meant we could do the ordering ourselves, but no such luck... So we prepared ourselves for an onslaught.

Strawberries / burrata / caviar - I was surprised to find that there were two types of strawberries here... I thought the white chunks were potatoes, but they were actually white strawberries - which were just as delicious as the red ones. The salinity of the caviar worked very well with both the creamy burrata as well as the sweetness of the fruit.  Pretty refreshing as a first dish.

Escargot / ramps - I've always loved the fried escargot dishes here, and this one was no exception.

Loved the flavors of the ramps wrapped around the escargot, and of course the garlic aioli went perfectly with this. I wish I could have asked for a second portion, but I knew our meal was just beginning...

Red whiskered shrimp / white asparagus - I have always, always loved the little shrimps that the Kitchen Nazi serves up this way, marinated and chilled. Tonight the red-whiskered shrimp (赤米蝦) came with white asparagus. Very yum. I ate ALL the heads, just like our CC would do.

With my love of putting anything and everything on the sourdough bread here, I decided to make my very own "shrimp toast (蝦多士)" - but this ain't exactly the Hong Kong classic. In fact, I regret only putting 3 little shrimp on top... I should have stacked 5 or 6 of those babies.

Deep-fried sillago - these are always welcome, and just like those shrimp, we've had them many, many times here.

Grilled Sicilian baby squid - another perennial favorite, because how does one even get tired of eating these?! Well, maybe if one were suffering from gout, like the friend sitting next to me...

And YES, there MUST be squid toast! Every.Single.Time. With all the garlic, parsley, and that kick from chili powder.

Boiled artichoke / liver mousse / truffle - another dish that features regularly, and that bitterness from the chicken liver mousse does add something extra to this.

Buffalo wings / Roquefort salad - the only dish requested by my friend, so of course we were too happy to go along.

Baked potato / salted fish / bacon / olive - YES! Another new dish! Normally I would stay away from baked potatoes, as I find them boring. Not this one. In addition to the usual bacon, we've got bits of Chinese salted fish (鹹魚) adding their pungent flavors, plus some black olives. OK... so this was pretty decent - for a baked potato.

Handmade garganelle / black pork ragu / scallop / truffle - the garganelli with ragù is one of my favorite dishes here, but tonight it looked a little different... and it's not just because we've got slices of black truffle on top.

We have a delicious Norwegian scallop, and it was really gooood! Of course, I was just happy that I got to have garganelli.

Four-finger threadfin tail - given that we had already pre-ordered beef, I wasn't expecting to get fish as a main course... but how could we say "No"?! The tail from this big four-finger threadfin (馬友) was done in the classic house style, with tomatoes, basil, and potatoes. Of course, the fish is just so silky and tender.

Australian wagyu shortrib roast beef - since we're drinking Aussie reds, I wanted to enjoy them with Aussie wagyu. While the restaurant is no longer using the chocolate wagyu from Mayura Station, this was still very, very delicious. I wondered if the beef had been dry-aged, since the distinctive flavors were coming through. Of course, the best part of the dish were actually the taters... and not the beef. It may sound ludicrous, but anyone who has tasted the dish would understand.

Tarte tatin / ice cream - this is always my favorite dessert here. Very nicely done.

Canelés - I was so happy that we got two plates of these, and I got to have three of them!

So we had a few bottles of Aussies tonight... and all were more than 20 years' old.

1999 Howard Park Chardonnay - this was really nice and buttery. Ripe on the palate but still got a good amount of acidity, with a little bit of bitterness on the finish. Drinking so well now.

The next bottle is one I asked my friend to bring. I've seen this label for literally decades and have never tasted one of their wines, and tonight I finally got my wish. Even more interesting to hear the unconventional story of the winery.

1996 Wendouree Shiraz Mablec - the nose was so fragrant, a bit smoky, with exotic spices like anise. Very nice and soft on the palate now, very silky, and not at all diluted or weak. This is so interesting, and drinking very well.

1981 Penfolds Grange - started drinking 1½ hours after opening without decanting. This has opened up nicely, showing the coconut butter along with oak, leather, and gamey notes. So classic. Drinking so well at 45 years of age.

2002 Penfolds Bin 707 - started drinking more than 2 hours after opening without decanting. There was a slight hint of metallic nose, sweet fruit, some green capsicum, and a hint of savory notes. Very nice and smooth on the palate.

1996 d'Arenberg Riesling The Noble, from half-bottle - classic honey, honeydew melon, marmalade, saffron, orange blossom, and even a hint of coconut butter.

This was a fun evening, but then just about any visit to Neighborhood inevitably is... especially when a few nice bottles are involved! No surprise that we had waaaaaay too much food and had to pack a bunch of stuff home. Well, in spite of everything I say, I'm grateful that the Kitchen Nazi likes to play kitchen Nazi... and we get fed all sorts of yummy stuff. It's clear that his China fans are still in da haus, and the request for cheffies haven't stopped.