Four Seasons in Hangzhou day 3: Taizhou in Hangzhou

So… a couple of hours after our 20-course lunch, we once again headed out across the river for dinner. Wildyeast (暗香) is a name I have heard about for a couple of years now, although to be honest I didn’t have much of an idea of what cuisine they served. I had thought they were serving a menu that was more Western, but turns out they actually changed to serving Taizhou (台州) cuisine…

A 14-course menu had been set for us. Let’s see how it goes tonight… But first, the introduction of ingredients for the meal, something that seems obligatory by now.

Clay oven baked flatbread with ganba wild mushroom (干巴菌火烧饼) - "fire baked flatbread (火烧饼)" is a Taizhou snack made with cured pork (咸肉) and preserved leafy mustard (梅乾菜) inside layers of pastry. The flatbread is stuck on the inside of a clay oven and baked while exposed to heat from fire. Tonight's version also had some ganbajun (干巴菌), whose distinctive, pungent fragrance was front and center.

Cold-brewed tea - very clean flavors.

Summer peach and ruby bolete (水蜜桃红乳菌) - we were told that the ruby bolete was simply dressed in olive oil, but I thought I tasted something similar to ponzu (ポン酢) in the marinade... it was definitely something familiar to me. The peach was, apparently, served with peach jam on top. Nice and refreshing fruit that is just great in the summer.

Salted free-range chicken with jellyfish and pickled mustard (农家咸草鸡佐酸菜海蜇) - the free-range chicken was salted to give a firmer texture, then shredded and served with jellyfish from Dalian (大連) along with pickled leafy mustard (酸菜). Garnished with plenty of baby coriander for aromatics.

Served up with some scallion oil mixed in. Yeah, the chicken definitely had bite... which was nice.

Citrus-infused raw drunken Huanglang mud crab (柠香生醉黄琅青膏蟹) - the female giant mud crab (螾) from the coastal area of Huanglang (黄琅) in the Luqiao District (路橋區) of Taizhou are famed for their thin shells, and of course these come with plenty of roe.

As the crab is meant to be chilled and taste similar to ice popsicles, the chef decided to introduce fruity citrus flavors by shaving the zest of various citrus fruits, including citron (香水檸檬) and orange.

Crayfish and crispy lotus root in homemade chili oil (红油小龙虾脆藕片) - the thin slices of lotus root were marinated in rice vinegar, and garnished with some moringa (辣木) shoots as well as young lotus stem (藕帶).

The crayfish came with chili oil made with fish bones and garlic, which brought a nice little kick.

Old duck pickle soup with mint bouquet (薄荷什锦柴把老鸦汤) - the turnip here had been pickled with some pepper, and the acidity was a surprise. The soup had a spicy kick to it all the way in the back of the throat. Meanwhile, the mint "bouquet" came with slices of duck meat, liver, and gizzard. Pretty nice.

I took one look at this, and the first thing that came to mind was "He's dead, Jim!"

Steamed local wild yellow croaker with fresh termite, oil and salt (鲜鸡枞油盐蒸东海野生黄鱼) - it's a nice treat to taste a wild yellow croaker... even nicer when there's termite mushrooms (雞樅菌) involved!

Peanut oil from Guangxi Province (廣西省) was used along with two types of salt - sea salt and salt from a well.

I always, always love termite mushrooms... and I've loved yellow croaker since I was a child. Back then, wild yellow croakers were plentiful.

Geoduck in chicken broth with basil (九层塔鸡汤捞象拔蚌) - this was dressed in both a nice thicken stock as well as Thai basil oil, with fresh Thai basil leaves as garnish.

The geoduck was really nice, with a very springy and crunchy texture. Naturally, the Thai basil flavors were very nice.

Braised selected fish maw with sand ginger and chanterelle (沙姜鸡油菌扣甄选黄花胶) - this piece of fish maw was real nice and thick... Sat in a sauce made with dried porcini, chanterelles, and aromatic ginger (沙薑).

The surprise lay hidden underneath... ORZO! Not rice!

Stir-fried king solen with water chestnut and pork tendon (鲜菱角板筋炒竹蛏王) - gotta say... the highlights were the olive kernels (欖仁), which were really toasty and fragrant.

Braised luffa with clam and dried scallop (瑶柱蛤蜊烧丝瓜) - how could I not love me some loofah (絲瓜), especially when clams are involved?!

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Our staple carb dish was prepared tableside.

Sanxia claypot rice with Huadiao shrimp oil custard (虾油花雕蒸蛋手剥三虾拌饭) - the Suzhou classic "three shrimp noodle (三蝦麵)" has been modified into clay pot rice form.

We've got the shrimp, shrimp roe, and shrimp tomalley mixed in along with diced spring onions, sugar snap peas, and a steamed egg custard seasoned with shrimp oil and Huadiao wine. This was very, very tasty... and I would have wanted another bowl had there been stomach space available.

Agar jelly with Yangyan green tea panna cotta (洋菜膏羊岩勾青奶冻) - underneath the agar agar garnished with osmanthus we had a panna cotta made with Yangyan Gouqing (羊岩勾青) from Yangyan in Taizhou. Not sure I cared for this...

Taizhou-style ginger and brown sugar soufflé (台州姜汁红糖舒芙蕾) - OH DAYAM! This was MUCH better! I guess the pastry chef from the old days before the restaurant turned Chinese is still around...

This came with vanilla ice cream that melted into the bottom, which was perfect.

We finished with three mignardises:

Pistachio choux

Seaweed brûlée

Canelé - I was flabbergasted that for the third time in recent weeks, I was served cornflakes (yes, like the breakfast cereal!) with desserts at fine dining restaurants. WHY?!

Our hosts very generously opened some nice bottles for us.

2019 Ulysse Collin Les Pierrières, dégorgée le 5 Fevrier 2024 - this is a blanc de blancs so acidity was fairly high. Always a nice drink.

2022 Keller Oberer Hubacker Riesling - classic riesling with a huge nose of petrol, along with crisp acidity. Love Keller.

2022 Dugat-Py Meursault Très Vieilles Vignes - the nose was, surprisingly, not so toasty but very nice and fragrant. Later on the nose turned very buttery with plenty of vanilla.

Once again, we left the restaurant very, very full. As always, I was very grateful for the hospitality and the treat, and while I had some exposure to Taizhou cuisine over the last few years, I'm still a novice and appreciated the opportunity to expand my knowledge.