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Two days after we first met, I'm sitting down with my new friends from Europe again. They had visited
The Chairman (大班樓) a few years ago, but that was before the menu format change and the move to the current digs. I seem to be always taking visitors and other friends to dine here, but the good news for me tonight was that for once, I didn't have to order the signature flower crab!
The bad news for me was that immediately after lunch, I suffered pain in my digestive system that prompted a visit to a clinic... where I was diagnosed with indigestion and prescribed meds to (hopefully) alleviate the symptoms. That meant I wouldn't be at full capacity tonight, and would be nibbling more than devouring.
I know that my guests have big appetites but I chose to stick with the "regular" or "basic" menu, without adding any extra dishes. I figured that since they are eating their way around town with two big meals a day, this should be enough in terms of calorie intake...
Ginger and vinegar pig trotter terrine (甜醋子薑豬手豬耳凍) - since being introduced in 2023, this has quickly become one of my favorite starters here. I made sure to give the download on the origins of this dish to the visitors, as those not familiar with local customs would never make the connection with birthing mothers. I do love the sweet and sour vinegar, and how the jelly reminds me of what the original dish looks like when I first take it out of the fridge. The signature pickled young ginger of the restaurant has been finely diced and used as garnish, alongside really finely chopped kaffir lime leaf for their beautiful fragrance.
Crispy pig tails with plum sauce (山楂梅子脆皮豬尾) - I don't think my European friends get many chances to nibble on pig's tails, although I did recount my first experience of ordering
Tentation de Saint-Antoine at
Au Pied de Cochon all those years ago. I do love this with the plum sauce,
Thick cut Chairman style char siu (炭火厚切叉燒) - this is certainly one of the best charsiu in town, and tonight it was very, very good. So marbled and tender, and incredibly flavorful with charred flavors.
Cleansing soup (一口湯) - tonight was chicken soup with cordycep flowers (蟲草花). The sweetness from the "flower" was pretty obvious.
Steamed grouper fish head with fermented chili (剁椒鹹肉蒸龍躉魚頭) - I did ask the visitors whether they were up for having
"kokotxa", and the answer came back positive. This is one of my favorite dishes at the restaurant, even though it's not Cantonese. They did, very kindly, added one dumpling (水餃) for each of us.
I do love the gelatinous bits that I need to extract from all those little nooks and crannies, and the acidity from the pickled chilies worked so well with the heat of the fresh chilies as well as the numbing sensation of the Sichuan peppercorns. Unfortunately the staff had given me a little too much considering my condition tonight, and I couldn't finishing everything on my plate. The visitors, though, did an incredibly good job of clearing their plates.
Stir fried slipper lobsters with sweet peas and fresh river crab roe (蟛蜞膏豆仁炒琵琶蝦) - seeing how my new friends enjoyed the young sugar snap peas two nights ago, I decided it would be the right thing to order this dish. Not only would they also get to have some slipper lobsters, but I could introduce them to the roe from the river crabs (蟛蜞). Always a delicious combination of sweetness with umami.
Crispy skin chicken with red bean curd marinate (南乳麵醬炸子雞) - I just nibbled on this dish... not because I didn't like it, but I knew the visitors would enjoy it much more than I would tonight. Sure enough, the plate was practically licked clean. While I always think the accompanying sauce made with red bean curd (南乳) is incredibly interesting, the truth is that the chicken stands very well on its own without it.
Stir fried jicama, snap peas, water lily seeds and gordon euryales seed (蜜糖豆仁沙葛炒雞頭米) - I find it a little incredible that, even after all this time, the translation fail of "gordon euryales" on the menu still hasn't been corrected. Regardless, though, the dish was still very delicious with their different textures... from soft to chewy to crunchy.
This was a dish I had not tried before... so I was eager to check out the seasonal dish.
Springtime rice (春天飯) - we see fox nuts (雞頭米) making their second appearance tonight, sugar snap peas making their third appearance, jicama (沙葛) making their second appearance, sweet potatoes, toasted olive kernels (欖仁), eggplant, and even Indian aster (馬蘭頭) that is beloved by the Shanghainese!
Actually, there was also finely-shredded smoked fourfinger threadfin (馬友), which made all the difference. I loved that the restaurant departed from the usual protein-themed rice and made it (almost) all about the veggies.
Desserts trio (甜品三味):
Salty lemon ice cream (鹹檸檬雪糕) - I had to show our visitors the different jars of pickled/preserved goodies in the middle of the dining room while explaining about salty lemon. I do like this ice cream, and it's actually more special than the wolfberry ice cream that the restaurant launched with at the beginning.
Almond milk (杏仁茶) - I also had to explain that while this is common translated as "almond milk", it's actually made with apricot kernels and not almonds that people in non-Chinese society are familiar with.
Jujube jelly (棗泥糕) - I've been a big fan of jujube (紅棗) since childhood, so this naturally speaks to me.
My discomfort today, which left me in pain for most of the night, also affected my capacity to enjoy wines. I was too worried about acidity levels in my stomach, so we ended up opening just 3 bottles tonight.
1990 Maximin Grünhauser Riesling Herrenberg Kabinett - this was still pretty fresh and lively, with good acidity level on the palate.
2019 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese - definitely sweeter as a spätlese. Very nice and classic.
2011 Payre Rose Marlène N°3 - pretty smooth now given its age, with nice leathery notes on the nose.
In spite of my discomfort, I was pretty happy how dinner turned out tonight. I think all of the dishes were new to our visitors, and it was clear how much they enjoyed them by the empty plates going back to the kitchen. Here's hoping that my new friends enjoyed their meals in Hong Kong and Macau, and hope to see them soon in Europe.
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