The four Italian horsemen

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More than 3 months after our last gathering around wines from Years of the Horse, our foursome is back popping a few more bottles. When it was suggested that we open some Italians, I suggested to the group that we bid on a particular lot of wines from top Italian producers that I saw at an auction. There were exactly four bottles, and they were all top cuvées from renowned producers. Well, we managed to win the lot.

I saw a few dishes on social media posted by Chef Liu Zhen (刘震) of Yong Fu (甬府), so I suggested that we pay the restaurant a visit - especially since the others haven't been in quite some time. Thankfully the team could accommodate us, even when I insisted that they include a dish from their set dinner. Thank you so much, Yu zong!

I LOOOOOVE mahua (麻花), and it's even better when they come covered in powdered seaweed. Oh, and their peanuts come with seaweed, too!

Sweet bamboo shoots with pickled potherb mustard (青雪菜甜筍) - the bamboo shoots were pretty crunchy. The natural sweetness of the shoots were rather overpowered by the pickled leafy mustard.

Original flavor pork sausage and preserved vegetable pork sausage (雙味手工香腸) - I had these earlier in the year, and was pleasantly surprised by the version made with preserved mustard greens (梅乾菜).

Fresh walnut with dried shrimp skin (核桃蝦皮) - always happy to see this. The dried shrimp shells are always tasty.

Braised spiny sea cucumber with Ningbo-style wok baked cabbage (焅菜遼參) - there was good depth of flavor in the sea cucumber, while the marinade of the Shanghainese cabbage (青江菜) was actually a little on the sweet side.

Yu zong saw the lineup of red wines tonight, and decided to supplement the pre-arranged menu with something a little extra on the house...

Braised intestines with peppercorn smoked salt (大紅袍熏鹽滷大腸) - it's been a couple of years since I last had this dish. In addition to the wonderful fragrance of the Dahongpao (大紅袍) Sichuan peppercorns to neutralize the pungent flavors of intestines, we also had some of the restaurant's amazing homemade chili sauce (肥椒醬).

30 years aged radish and matsutake with razor clam in crab broth (三十年陳菜脯松茸浸蟶子湯) - the soup was very nice and sweet thanks to the crab, and I loved the loofah. Having aged radish that has been around for so many years, with all its concentrated flavors, gave the soup a lot of character.

Oil poached pomfret with triple onions (三蔥油浸象山白鱗鯧) - another dish I had earlier this year, but tonight we had the white pomfret from Xiangshan County (象山县). Cooked in oil with leeks (京蔥), onions (洋蔥), and shallots (乾蔥頭).

This was really, really tender... and very tasty, of course, especially thanks to all the leeks and onions.

Braised "lion head" pork and tofu meatballs with velvet mushroom (鹿茸菌紅燜豆腐獅子頭) - I would never pass up an opportunity to have "lion head" meatballs, and asked for this when I saw pictures of it.

The flavors here were pretty strong. Texture-wise this was very tender, although not quite to the level that mom's giant version gets to. I did have a discussion with Yu zong about mom's recipe using finely diced onions to create holes in the meatballs. Here there was plenty of tofu and egg wash. Very happy.

Wok-fried frog legs with garlic cloves (蒜子爆炒田雞) - it's been a while since I last had tiny frogs here, and tonight they came with water bamboo (茭白), green capsicum, and garlic cloves.

Always amazed at their ingredient-sourcing... where do you get frogs this small?

Ms. Yu sent us another extra dish to go with our reds, and this braised fatty pork belly was so, soooo good! The fat just melted in the mouth.

By now we have asked Yu zong to join us at the table, and as we got to talking about Italian wines, she suggested we enjoy some fresh winter jujube (冬棗) with them. This... was amazing! It's as if we stepped into another dimension. Together with the Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco, the combination delivered deep, fermented flavors like preserved mustard greens (梅乾菜), or even reminded me of ganbajun (乾巴菌). WOW! I'm ashamed that I have been underestimating Ms. Yu's knowledge and experience with wine.

Stir-fried mustard green stems with salt fish oil and minced ginger (鹹魚油芥菜心) - always a winner with that salted fish flavor.

Chef's signature homemade pork (主廚手工包) - yeah, baby...

Preserved mud snail (三北鹹泥螺) - another off-the-cuff choice from Yu zong, and my second time tasting this dish in 2026. From Cixi (慈溪) outside Ningbo City, and marinated the traditional way. Am I slowly coming to appreciate this delicacy?

Ningbo sesame glutinous rice dumplings (寧波湯圓) - no introduction necessary, and actually no words necessary. "BJ4" in Taiwanese internet slang.

Musang King durian mooncake and Black Thorn durian mooncake (貓山王榴蓮月餅 黑刺榴槤月餅) - as today is the day after Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節), we were served the special durian mooncakes. I have already tasted some last night, but I'm always happy to savor them anytime. I do still prefer the ones with Black Thorn (黑刺) filling.

Our focus tonight, of course, was on the wines.

First pair:

1995 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Montfortino Riserva - decanted more than 1½ hours after opening, but the wine did not open up after another 15 minutes. There was some woodsy fragrance along with a little mint. After more than 30 minutes in the decanter this was a little more open. Certainly the more tannic of the pair, but the acidity was there. After another 40 minutes, and about 3 hours after first opening, the wine was finally open, and we had more fruit showing.

1998 Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco Santo Stefano di Neive Riserva - this was more mature and more advanced of the pair, with the color being lighter and more amber. The wine was more fragrant in the mouth, much more oxidized, and more flamboyant. After another 30 minutes this became pretty savory and showing soy sauce, but at the same time this was still caramelized, nutty, and sweet. Beautiful.

Second pair:

2010 Roagna Barbaresco Crichët Pajé - I could feel the richness and the power of the wine, but this just wasn't very open even after an hour in the decanter. It did get better later on, but was showing a little toasty as well as a little dusty.

2010 Giuseppe Mascarello Barolo Monprivato Cà d'Morissio Riserva - nose was minty, and the wine felt younger and fresher. The acidity was definitely higher. This was open enough and drinking pretty well.

This was a wonderful evening. The wines all drank very well, and for the first time I understood why some people would describe Barolo and Barbaresco as similar to Burgundy... We also had a ton of fun chatting with Yu zong, who really has, together with Chef Liu, charted their own course that is distinct from the mothership. I have so much to learn from them.