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.

"Har gau" steamed dumpling with Ise lobster and shiba shrimp - I think it's great that Sato-san kicked off with the classic dish of har gau (蝦餃), which is often used to measure the quality of dim sum at a restaurant. They came in a bamboo steamer custom made for this event.

Foursheets and I both counted 12 folds in the wrapper, which held up and didn't break despite being nice and thin. That meant it wasn't over-steamed - something unimaginable in this kitchen. Instead of the usual prawns and diced bamboo shoots, the filling was made with Ise lobster (伊勢海老) and shiba shrimp (芝海老), the former of which delivered a nice, bouncy texture. Sato-san emphasized that no MSG was used, and that much we could taste. We also thought no lard was used, which meant these didn't taste as sinful and moreish...

Deep-fried taro with white shrimps and caviar - so... not your usual mashed taro puff (蜂巢芋角), but Sato-style with upgraded ingredients. In addition to the traditional taro purée, we also had Japanese glass shrimp (白海老) from Toyama Bay (富山湾), crunchy cucumbers, and egg yolk. Topped with oscietra caviar (from Kaviari?) We felt the taro shell wasn't as crunchy as we are accustomed to, and perhaps this was because the serving temperature was lower and the crispy nest had softened.

2015 Mumm RSRV Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée en Mai 2023 - nice with a little toast on the nose, then we also got a little bit of floral perfume, perhaps from the restaurant's own environmental scent. The acidity on the palate was, naturally, higher.

"Siu mai" kegani crab and sweet corn dumpling with crab XO sauce - of course siu mai (燒賣) would also be on the menu, as it's very popular with Japanese diners.

As Cantonese people often take dim sum with condiments such as X.O sauce, Sato-san made his own version with the legs of the Japanese horsehair crab (毛蟹) from Hokkaido.

We were asked to put some X.O sauce on top of the siu mai.

Inside we had the meat of the Japanese horsehair crab along with sweet corn, presumably also from Hokkaido. This was nice.

"Xiao long bao" with consommé double - well, these definitely passed the "chopsticks test", meaning the wrappers didn't break while the xiaolongbao (小籠包) were being transported between the steamer and the spoon.

As is traditional, this was taken with black vinegar and some ginger. Very nice.

Mumm RSRV Cuvée 4.5, dégorgée en Septembre 2023 - the nose was bigger, I guess from the pinot noir? Definitely more rounded on the palate compared with the blanc de blancs.

Peking duck - served out of order, but we didn't mind. We were very happy to see zee duck again.

I don't think I've ever had Sato-san's Peking duck served up in a wrap before. Unfortunately these had gotten a little cold so it seems serving temperature continues to be an issue. The pancakes were a tad on the thick side, and got a little chewy. Otherwise, very happy to have Pecking duck here.

Pan-fried "Noir de Bigorre" pork dumpling - this was something I had the pleasure of tasting 2 months ago at the Ta Vie collaboration with Yong Fu (甬府), and I was happy to have it again. This time, though, mine came with some extra sparkle... I was a little surprised that Sato-san started so early with the gold flakes, but nevertheless the pork filling with black pepper was as tasty as I remembered.

Spring roll with dried abalon - finally, we got something that came very hot, fresh out of the fryer, so this was good.

Inside the crispy wrapper we had abalone, of course, and also morels, bamboo shoots, and peanut shoots.

2013 Mumm RSRV Cuvée Lalou, dégorgée en Septembre 2023 - the nose was floral and more elegant. There was more depth on the palate here, with a longer finish.

I've had Sato-san's charsiu before, and it's good to see a return. This time he also served it up with phoenix nuts (鳳眼果)。

Charcoal grilled char-siu "Iberico pluma" with sweet Sherry wine and black truffle sauce - I love, love ibérico pluma, and tonight this came with some truffle sauce on top, along with the phoenix nuts.

Then Sato-san came and shaved some end-of-season Australian (Tasmanian?) black truffle on top. But my portion came with the truffle pre-shaved because... well, here's more glitter! I really enjoyed this, and the sauce on the side that tasted like honey mustard came with a real kick.

The side dish of vegetables included carrots, cucumbers, and wood ear with a sesame sauce.

2018 Mumm RSRV Blanc de Noirs, dégorgée en Mai 2023 - very well balanced despite the relative young age.

Duck ramen - I was also very happy to see this again. I've had twice - both the initial version and version no.2 - the latter of which I tasted exactly 6 years and 2 days ago.

I love duck. I love roast duck. And I love any kind of noodles featuring duck. This was definitely comfort food for me.

We were asked whether there was anything we wanted to encore, so we chose another steamer of xiaolongbao.

Almond jelly with golden peach, osmanthus blossoms - a variation on my favorite dessert here, now that lychee season is over. This particular version also included ice jelly (冰粉).

Come to think of it, the whole thing was pretty golden, でしょう？

Instead of the usual roselle tea, we had some Oolong tea with rose (玫瑰烏龍).

Chocolate pudding - OF COURSE there was never any question that I would be having this. In fact, I didn't even need to ask. And of course, it is the final "golden" course.

YES, this is STILL my favorite chocolate pudding in the world. The kaffir lime in the chocolate makes all the difference.

No, none of these were the best version of dim sum I've ever had. But that's not the point. I never expected them to be. We came to satisfy our curiosity - whether a chef from Japan who trained in French cuisine and then in Japanese cuisine, who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years or so - can come up with dim sum that tickles our palates. Sato-san contnues to push his own boundaries as he expands his repertoire further, and we saw more of it tonight. And for that, I am grateful to have a courtside seat.