Party like it's 1990

Pin It

An invitation came to join a group for friends to dinner, ostensibly to help celebrate Giona's birthday. The chosen venue was somewhere the birthday girl has never been, and one that I have also never been. I had heard about SẾP when it first opened some time ago, but while I was somewhat intrigued, I had never heard friends rave about the place. I did join a dinner where Chef DoBee Lam collaborated with other chefs, but as it was a joint effort, I didn't feel it was indicative of what the "true" flavors would taste like.

We were in the large private dining room, so we were not in a position to watch the chefs work over wood fire in the open kitchen... which was supposed to be the attraction. Oh well...

123!! Dzo - there were three appetizers:

Bánh tráng: Phú Quõc dried shrimp, quail egg rice paper - the sakura shrimp here tasted pretty nice.

Mực ống: yobuko no ika basil tartlet - the tartlet came with diced spear squid (槍烏賊) from Yobukocho (呼子町) in Saga Prefecture (佐賀県). The squid flavors were pretty nice, with just a bit of heat and fish sauce, while the pomelo pulp provided a good contrast.

Bia - the petit pineapple lager, with its coconut foam on top, tasted like a piña colada.

Saigonese airy bánh mì 2.0 - a nice and dainty bánh mì, unlike the ones we usually grab and chomp down on.

All the ingredients such as barbecue Yamato pork, fermented daikon, candied chili... came in very, very thin slices along with foie gras pâté. Even the natural yeast bread wasn't baguette-like, but more akin to foccacia without so much olive oil.

Bào ngư hun khói - so the fresh Japanese abalone was smoked and roasted like charsiu (叉燒)...

The edges were definitely smoky and crispy.

Chinese yam (淮山) - with yuzukosho (柚子胡椒).

Next came the "Mekong surf and turf"...

We had the XL red prawn, which were Alborán Sea carabineros. This was the "surf" part.

These were smoked and served with a thin slice of garlic toast.

I love putting everything on bread, so as usual I made myself some "prawn toast (蝦多士)"... But the mistake I made was to cut my carabinero in half. I should have done what The Man in White T-shirt did - putting the whole prawn on the toast. It's much, much more impressive - and satisfying - this way.

I enjoyed the other half of my prawn with the good stuff I dug out of the prawn head, and the garlic toast is actually slightly sweet. YUM!

Smoked wagyu tongue - the "turf" part. Seasoned with kampot pepper and lemon Dijon (mustard).

OF COURSE I also made myself some "tongue toast"... a literal 牛脷酥/牛舌餅. Of course, I just love that springy, bouncy texture of thick-cut tongue.

Gà quay Hội An - here comes a roasted Three Yellow Chicken (三黃雞), which has been air-dried for 72 hours.

The skin tasted a little like skin from a confit duck in terms of texture, and that's always something I love.

The chicken came with a side of lemon leaf young papaya slaw, which was refreshing and very welcomed by the crowd.

We were next shown the ingredients for our next dish...

We've got different cuts of beef, including Rangers Valley wagyu oyster blade, Gyeongju Millennium 1++ Hanwoo ribeye, sternum cartilage, and beef balls.

We were first given a taste of the broth for the phở bò, which we were told was made over 48 hours (menu says 24 hours) and had tons of white pepper in it.

We also got some extra chả lụa.

Quận 11 pepper lao bo - the final product.

The radish was very, very sweet... almost as if sugar had been added. While the others thought the broth became too sweet because of it, I was totally fine with it. The seasoning of the beef balls were pretty strong, and I was really, really happy with the sternum cartilage.

Xe đẩy ngọt ngào: a trolley of sweets comes next.

The birdnest is optional, and since I rarely eat something like this, I chose to have it.

Nha Trang birdnest with basil sorbet - the flavors of the basil was pretty strong.

The color combination was quite pretty.

Hà Nội S'mores - not what I was expecting, but these were actually pretty big!

The pandan flavors were really nice and strong. A lot of fun to eat.

Some coffee cookies to finish.

Well, this was really just an excuse to get together and DRINK, and the organizer set a theme for everyone to bring bottles from 1990, even though it's not the birthday girl's vintage...

1990 Moët et Chandon Cuvée Dom Pérignon - nice and toasty on the nose, with a bit of straw and some Chinese licorice, but also a hint of wet cardboard, perhaps. Good acidity on the palate.

1990 Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - the nose was really nice, showing classic notes of petrol / truffle and white flowers. Still pretty fresh, and there was good acidity on the palate with just a tad of ripeness. Even after 2 hours this was still really good.

1990 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot - definitely showing nose of leather and almost a little bit of piquillo peppers. Light color and lighter on the palate.

1990 Marcel Juge Cornas Cuvée C - CORKED, but still nice and open, with leather notes and a very big, farmy finish.

1990 Hubert de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Rugiens - a bit more concentration here, with a lovely nose of eucalyptus along with smoky, grilled meats.

1990 Georges Mugneret Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Chaignots - this was fairly elegant, with a fragrant nose of leather. Very nice.

1990 Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist - peaty and smoky on the nose, but actually there was lovely caramel underneath the hospital disinfectant.

1990 Beaucastel - lovely fragrance of leather with a hint of farmyard on the finish. Surprisingly this was sweet on the palate.

1998 L'Evangile - decanted more than 2 hours prior to drinking. A lovely Bordeaux, with a very fragrant nose showing cedar and smoke.

1990 Climens - nose of honey, marmalade, honeydew, and also nutty. Wonderfully sweet on the palate.

This was a fun evening, and I must say I enjoyed the food very much. Maybe it's time I brought Foursheets here to try out the different phở they have. Many thanks to our organizer for putting together such a fun group, and also grateful for the treat.