Saved by the sticks

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It was a little more than 2 years ago that I last saw Egon Müller IV in Hong Kong, at an amazing tasting featuring wines from his family estate Weingut Egon Müller - Scharzhof as well as those from Domaine Trimbach. When DaRC asked whether I would be interested in joining a tasting of his wines that is being organized by ORD Fine Wines, I immediately said "Yes". I do recall, with much fondness, the previous time I attended such a tasting just before the pandemic. This time, though, there would be some red wines at the tasting so it won't be just riesling.

The three of us showed up at the new home of Palco inside Heritage 1881. I know the restaurant only by name, but I figured simple Italian food would be fine... I would be wrong.

We started with a glass of welcome drink while waiting for everyone to arrive. As I sat in my seat while others mingled, I received a message from the Zhongmeister that he was here, too, together with some mutual friends. So I, too, got up and mingled. That was when I realized that Egon was not here. Apparently he needed to be at the estate, so his daughter Isabelle came in his place.

2021 Château Belá Štúrovo Riesling - nice, classic nose of petrol and white truffle. A little sweetish on the palate but still got the acidity.

We finally sat down and started dinner more than 40 minutes late... and I was starving.

Scallop carpaccio with salmon roe calamansi soy-vinegar sauce - nice to have some citrus notes.

2023 Le Gallais Wiltinger Braune Kupp Kabinett - classic nose with polyurethane and white flowers, a hint of honey, and more elegant. Good acidity on the palate making it more crisp, but also a little more grippy.

2022 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett - this was bigger on the nose, with more flint and petrol. So fragrant and lovely.

Foccacia and cheese crisp - not sure what type of cheese was used, but maybe Parmigiano-Reggiano? We would later ask for more foccacia because it wasn't a big dinner...

Roasted storm clam with garlic foam - I thought these were surf clams (北寄貝) and not the New Zealand storm clams, but hey... I'm not a chef so what do I know? The clam was very springy as expected, and the foam was very buttery. The scent from the seaweed garnish on the side was VERY strong, and honestly a little distracting.

2023 Le Gallais Wiltinger Braune Kupp Spätlese - very nice, sweeter on the palate than the kabinett, of course... with some acidity for balance.

Tilefish uroko yaki with mala-spicy fish maw sauce - so this was interesting... An Italian restaurant serving fish cooked in a way commonly seen in Japan, with an ingredient seen most common in Cantonese cuisine, accompanied by a Chinese mala (麻辣) sauce. The fish maw was OK, and I was more forgiving of the thickened sauce than DaRC.

Urokoyaki (鱗焼き) is done by pouring hot oil on the fish skin, instantly deep-frying the scales so that they flip/stand upright. This execution was OK.

2022 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Auslese - this was sooo floral, soooo alluring. Pretty sweet on the palate now. These days auslese are made with 100% botrytis grapes thanks to climate change.

We had a choice of either short ribs or pigeon puff. Unfortunately, all three of us chose the latter. I later found out that Zhongmeister and friends all chose the ribs...

Baked pigeon puff with port wine sauce - the puff pastry didn't look as crispy as it should be, but we didn't realize how wrong it was until we tried cutting in...

For some reason I had difficulty cutting the bouncy, slightly rubbery pigeon all the way through. But the surprise was that the pastry shell actually detached completely from the stuffing.

The pastry was soft and soggy... and we realized that for some reason Chef Ken Lau - who supposedly came out of the kitchens of Gaddi's and Felix - decided to put a layer of what seemed like Japanese tamagoyaki (卵焼き) between the pigeon and the spinach lining. All three of us gave up on this dish, and just ate the pigeon. Which I didn't even care for.

2019 Château Belá Rulanské Modré - the nose was sooooo sugary, and actually a bit sharp and definitely a bit overripe and oxidized. Not great.

2017 Château Belá Cabernet Sauvignon - minty and fragrant nose, with a little bit of pepper and nice fruit that was kinda ripe.

Cheese platter - Gorgonzola, Comte, Brie cheese - once again, I was a little more forgiving than DaRC.

1989 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Beerenauslese - honey and marmalade notes on the nose. Nice and viscous on the palate, but this was kinda weak mid-palate. The finish was long and nice.

The rieslings were nice and I was happy that we had the chance to taste them, but that meat course was so fucking shit we all got pissed off. That's when we decided to go for a second round to 溝貨... and what better venue for that than our beloved Hidden (秀殿)?! I quickly booked seats online and roped in Foursheets, too.

We started with their signature fried chicken wing (手羽唐揚げ), but stopped at just one. So, soooo good!

Japanese angelica shoots (タラの芽) - it's the season for spring mountain vegetables, and we are always happy to start with these.

Bamboo shoots (筍) - so fresh and sweet, and so crunchy!

Butterbur bud (蕗の薹) - the bitterness is certainly an acquired taste, and these days I never fail to order it.

Siberian onion (行者葫) - not often seen on the menu, and I do love it for its sweetness.

Onion fish cake (玉ねぎさつま揚げ) - the sweeter, fluffier version that I prefer.

Special rich pudding (特製濃厚プリン) - can't leave this place without finishing with this... my favorite pudding in Hong Kong.

I was much happier now, so time to go home and sleep it off. Very grateful that places like Hidden exist for times like this!