Hokkien in da haus

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We have known about Mr. Chichi's new project for some time now, and a number of us have been looking forward to having a fine dining Hokkien restaurant in town. We know he has high standards and doesn't compromise too much, so the cuisine offered should be fairly authentic. As a (fake) Taiwanese, I must admit that my understanding of Hokkien cuisine (閩菜/福建菜) isn't very deep... although, admittedly, it should still be better than your average Cantonese person. So I'm pretty interested to get myself educated.

We know he has been asking close friends to join him in multiple rounds of taste tests to get things right, so when the invitation came for dinner tonight, I knew they felt ready.

We were led to one of Hokkien House (福上)’s private dining rooms for what would undoubtedly be a feast. There’s no meal with Mr. Chichi that doesn’t involve my stomach being on the brink of explosion, but I was surprised to find ONLY 13 dishes on the menu before fruit and dessert.

Choking smoky sticks

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I had a pretty good first experience at Torikaze (鳥かぜ) - the local outpost of famed Tokyo joint Torishiki (鳥しき). That was, of course, by invitation from B Bestie. After that meal, I thought maybe, just maybe, there is finally a yakitori (焼き鳥) joint that Foursheets could enjoy. In addition to the 3 sticks of veggies - which were watched over by Chef Matsui Ryo (松井亮) himself - there were another 9 different vegetables offered as add-ons. It wouldn't have to be an all-chicken evening.

We managed to rope the Zhongmeister and Winnie the Chew, as they have been a few times and are fans. As our friends have always sat in the private rooms, I thought they should get a different experience by sitting at the counter - like a proper yakitori joint. This would turn out very badly for me tonight...

Appetizer : edamame egg tofu with shiso sauce (前菜：枝豆玉子豆腐、しそソース) - the perilla sauce was not bad, but it wasn't as strong and fragrant as hoped.

Detour to Hangzhou day 2: shrimp and tea leaves

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It's a new day and I need some breakfast. I had originally thought about grabbing some noodles like the Hangzhou specialty pian er chuan (片儿川), but the place Nicemo recommended would take 20 minutes by taxi - or 40 minutes round trip. That seemed like too much effort just to get breakfast on a workday, so I decided to walk around the hotel and see what I would come across.

Unfortunately, there were no shops nearby offering the noodles I wanted. Most were places offering simple takeout stuff and bakeries, which didn't offer any interesting local stuff. I actually considered getting brekkie at McDonald's... but eventually came across Longquan Shaobing (龙泉烧饼) which offered simple shaobing with preserved leafy mustard (梅干菜烧饼) - something I tasted for the first time two days ago. Actually, these also came with little bits of pork fat. So... totally up my alley! Happiness.

Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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Since early 2007, I have been wanting to gear my future travels towards visiting more locations which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are so many amazing places around the world to see!

Here is the list that I have already visited so far. Click on the links to see pictures from my Google albums.

Total count: 80 sites in 21 countries

Australia
Greater Blue Mountains Area - 1976
Sydney Opera House - 1976

Belgium
The Architectural Works of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement - 2018
Belfries of Belgium and France - 2018
Historic Centre of Brugge - 2018
La Grand-Place, Brussels - 2018
Major Townhouses of the Architect Victor Horta - 2018
Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex - 2018
Stoclet House - 2018

Cambodia 
Angkor - 2001

Detour to Hangzhou day 1: dinner by the lake

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On my trip to Hangzhou last month, I kept telling people that the first (and previous) time I was in Hangzhou had been in 1998. At that time, the only international hotel in existence was Shangri-La, and what was then Hyatt Regency Hangzhou hadn’t even opened. Well, tonight I’m staying on the shores of West Lake (西湖) for the first time, and using this opportunity to dine at what has become a Hangzhou institution - 28 Hubin Road (湖滨28).

Chef Fu Yueliang (傅月良) – who now helms the kitchen at the amazng Ruyuan (如院) - had been the executive chef here when this restaurant opened. He had modernized and made the pagoda-shaped braised pork belly into an iconic dish. Since he didn’t serve us the dish when we were at Ruyuan last month, I was determined to have it here.

The restaurant offered us two small dishes to nibble on: broad beans (蠶豆) and Chinese napa cabbage (白菜).

Detour to Hangzhou day 1: Liangzhu culture

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I’ve been spending time around Anji (安吉) over the last 2 days for our company offsite, and it was time to go home. Since Nicemo offered to drive a few of us back to Hangzhou, I requested a detour to Liangzhu (良渚) so that we could tour the ruins of the ancient city, which are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The trip from Banyan Tree Anji to Liangzhu National Archeological Site Park (良渚国家考古遺址公园) took a little more than an hour. We rented a golf cart and Nicemo drove us around the park for our tour.

Caprice in August, part 2: Le Pin duo

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It's been exactly two days since some of the MNSC boys last saw each other, and here we are again tonight, sitting around a table blind tasting wines. It's my turn again to play host, and for the second time in two weeks I'm back at Caprice with the Hairy Chevalier. With a smaller group tonight compared to last week, we could comfortably fit into the Chef's Table and hang out near the cheese cellar.

With a bunch of old fogeys at the table who bitch about long menus, I asked my friend for a short service. I was serving Champagne to start plus 3 flights of reds, so 4 courses ought to do it for these guys. Focus on quality, not quantity.

As is the same with every meal, the amuses bouches arrive in la boîte à bijoux:

Foie gras tartlet

Lobster tartlet

Crispy anchovy roll

Beef and Bro Bro

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It's been six years since Bro Bro left us, and we continue to toast him on his birthday. Unfortunately I messed up by choosing to host an MNSC dinner on his birthday this year, so tonight we're doing this a day early. Since we had a pretty good meal a few months ago to remember his passing, I decided to go back to Gyu+bar by Miyoshi for more beef.

For our second visit we chose not to take the set dinner menu, and opted to pick and choose à la carte. This way we could get exactly what we wanted.

This bread has a distinctive shape that looks awfully familiar... Sadly the texture is a far cry from the original I'm thinking of.

Clueless at the club

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The MNSC boys are doing two dinners this week, two days apart. We almost made it three in a row, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The Ox played host tonight, and we found ourselves back in The Grill at the Hong Kong Country Club.

After a weekend of stuffing myself in Shantou, I was more than happy to take things easy tonight and order à la carte. Soup and salad for me, then... But our host ordered a few starters for us to share.

Jambon persillé - a classic dish I am always happy to see. So nostalgic to see aspic with ham, and the fragrance of parsley just works so well with the gribiche sauce.

Shantou hop day 3: beef hotpot brunch

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It's our last day in Shantou, and we didn't get out of bed as early as originally planned. BUT we learned our lesson yesterday so we went out for coffee before breakfast. We went back to my new favorite Pickles and Coffee (咸菜咖啡) for another hit, only this time I didn't order the namesake drink again.

Yashi cold brew with osmanthus (桂花鸭屎香冷萃) - with cold brew made with single origin coffee beans from Yunnan (雲南), Yashi (鴨屎香) tea, osmanthus syrup from Morin, dried osmanthus flowers, and garnished with a piece of osmanthus candy. This was, effectively, the Chiuchow version of yuenyeung (鴛鴦) - but an elegant, high-end version. I love osmanthus flowers and the fragrance they leave in one's mouth.

Shantou hop day 2: cooking the ocean

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Dinner tonight was probably my most-anticipated meal of this trip. I very much appreciate the casul aspect of Chaoshan cuisine, and I'm well aware of the traditional way of dining that we had at lunch today. But ever since I experienced high-end Chiuchow cuisine in Shenzhen back in 2023, I've been very curious about exactly how fine the top chefs in this area could take it. While spending minimal time doing on homework on where to eat in this town, we quickly came upon Taste of Chaoshan - Zhuhai Restaurant (潮汕味道•煮海餐厅) as THE fine dining establishment. As one of only two restaurants in the city to receive the diamonds from the Black Pearl Dining Guide, and the only one to receive two diamonds, this would seem to be the pinnacle of Chaoshan cuisine in town.

I traveled eastward for the fourth time today, this time to the banks of the Han River (韓江). The restaurant takes up two floors of a commercial building, with panoramic views of the eastern side of the city. Tables are placed far enough apart that one is aware of one's neighbors without feeling like part of the conversation, so the atmosphere is pretty tranquil.

The daily set menu is custom tailored for each table, after discussions on specific preferences. I requested a couple of their signature dishes while adding something additional on top for extra cost. Hell, it's our first time so I wanted to make sure we get as full of an experience as we reasonably could. Except, of course, the charcoal-grilled whelk that's priced at more than CNY 3,000 each...

There were two small plates of snacks on our table:

X.O sauce (XO酱) - with conpoy (干貝) and sardine fry. Kinda one-note.

String beans with preserved olive greens (榄菜豆角) - pretty tasty.

Shantou hop day 2: criss crossing the city

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We needed two things this morning: coffee and breakfast. We went downstairs to the café at WhyTime Hotel (怀棠府邸酒店) to see what the free breakfast was like, but they were pretty full with other guests... and besides, the food didn't look particularly local. So we ventured out across town to a place recommended by a friend.

It's raining a little this morning, and we got dropped off at the general area for our breakfast spot. Well, the street address listed on Dianping (大众点评) wasn't the correct one, so we wandered around a little to see if it's hidden in an alley somewhere. And indeed it was! This was LITERALLY A HOLE-IN-THE-WALL... The so-called signage was actually that of a defunct real estate agent, and that's where the open kitchen is. The dining room is accessed by duck around the corner through a doorway. OK, then...

Shantou hop day 1: seafood supper

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I had originally wanted to take a break from traveling this weekend. There was an invitation to an extremely hard to book restaurant in Yunnan, but with two big meals earlier in the week and a few more next week before traveling for work the following weekend, I politely declined... much to the shock of my friend.

But Foursheets was restless. I had been doing ALL of the traveling lately, and maybe she felt a little left out. It is true that other than our quick trip to Beijing at the start of the year, the only place she's been to outside Hong Kong has been Taipei. After weighing our options close to town, she decided that we should explore Shantou (汕頭). We had long heard about the amazing food scene in the Chaoshan (潮汕) region, so this would be our first peek.

There was lots of drama before our departure, as Friday night traffic almost prevented us from getting to the train station on time. In my rush to get to the train platform, I actually dropped my wallet as I went through the border checkpoint. Thankfully it was recovered just a minute later... and we made it onto the train with just a couple of minutes to spare.

The 2½ hour journey was relatively uneventful, and our taxi driver drove us across the city so that we could check in to WhyTime Hotel (怀棠府邸酒店). Foursheets chose this boutique hotel in the old town area that had been converted from a historic banquet hall. I must admit that it is very charming.

Mushrooms and peppers

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The Compatriot was back in town for a couple of days, and we agreed to catch up over dinner. Lately he hasn't been getting as much good Chinese food as he would like, so he requested for a visit to Xinrongji (新榮記). I've always had a good time here, and I do miss some of their seasonal specials - which can be pretty special. As there were only four of us tonight and I had my heart set on the Chinese mushrooms which were in season, I had to dispense with some of the perennial favorites when ordering tonight.

They always serve up some amuses bouches, which will have a seasonal fruit along with some baked cookies or crackers...

Almond crakers (杏仁脆片) - always very tasty, as the flavors of almonds and butter come through.

Caprice in August, part 1: magnum party

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I'm seeing the Hairy Chevalier two weeks in a row, as I play host to two different crowds. I had been wanting to treat Dashijie (大師姐) for dinner for some time now, and also repay the favor of some others who have very kindly included me among the lucky recipients of their generosity. The advice given to me when planning this meal was to choose a venue where I would have "home court advantage". Well... one of those places is definitely Caprice, so I roped in the Hairy Chevalier for this.

I chose this time to host this dinner because I knew that it would be tomato season, and Monsieur Tomate would be shipping their bountiful harvests from France into the arms of the Hairy Chevalier. I even saw the Hairy Chevalier post on social media with some of those beauties while he was on summer holiday. So I pinged my friend last week and requested that we have a few special dishes based on those tomatoes. Imagine my utter shock being told that it would be unlikely for us to have ANY of those tomatoes, because Monsieur Tomate had lost about 85% or more of the crop, due to the wildfires raging through France. I had been focusing on the events in Bordeaux in advance of my upcoming trip, so it came as a total surprise that the heat had also killed off produce in the Loire Valley.

My "home court advantage" suddenly took a blow...

Nevertheless, I have full faith in the Hairy Chevalier and his team. I also trust them implicitly to tailor a menu to match the wines I had prepared for tonight.

But first, la boîte à bijoux:

Foie gras tartlet

Champagne and dim sum

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We have been fans and supporters of Sato-san and Takano-san for years, and one of the things we admire about Sato-san as a chef is his curiosity, on top of his obvious creativity. During the pandemic years, he spent a lot of time testing recipes for roast Peking duck, and I've even had his "duck ramen" and "charsiu" once or twice. So... we've seen a glimpse of his "Chinese cuisine" before.

When I found out that Ta Vie 旅 was doing a special menu with Cantonese dim sum, I immediately messaged them and asked for a table. I needed to see what his interpretation of dim sum looked (and tasted) like. As it turned out, this was an event in conjunction with Champagne RSRV, for which Sato-san is chef ambassador. So we'll be sippin' on bubbly while nibblin' on dumplings.

Casual in the hood

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It's been about 10 years since someone last dined at Neighborhood, and a request was made to make a return visit on the back of the Chairman dinner. So I duly made a booking for tonight.

A couple of days ago The Kitchen Nazi pinged me to tell me that he won't be in town tonight, as he will be on vacation. No problem, I said. I've been to the restaurant plenty of times when he's not around. In fact, sometimes I prefer for him not to be around, since I could then order whatever dishes I felt like having. That's not really happening when he's in the kitchen...

I tried to get the group to order what they thought they wanted to eat, because I don't want to keep ordering the same dishes over and over again. I also kept the amount of food reasonable, as we had pre-ordered a large main course.

Fried escargot / basil / garlic - I've always loved this dish, as the combination of garlic and escargot is just so classic.

The watery Chairman

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This is the first of two nights out that I’m spending with the King. I had promised months ago that I would get a booking at The Chairman (大班樓) so that some of their friends from Taipei could get to try it, so here we are. I had asked the visitor to choose the dishes tonight, with a couple of inputs from me. Some of their choices were a little surprising, but as we would find out later during the meal, the regular customer isn’t always right.

Crispy taro cake with smoked duck (荔甫鴨盒) – flavors from the Chinese celery were pretty noticeable.