Another home banquet

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A few years ago I had the honor of being a guest at what I called "the ultimate home banquet", and it was an incredibly memorable meal. Well, tonight I answered to another kind invitation from the hosts, and I was just so, so excited!

Before we started, Dashijie (大師姐) regaled us with one tale after another of how things have just not gone her way while putting this dinner together. Well, with everything that happened, I'm just grateful that we still have a delicious meal waiting for us. Given that some of the dishes were on the menu from my last dinner, I'm using the same poetic names for them stylized by our hosts' daughter.

Naturally, once again the serving china used were all from Ruyi Gastronomy and from the Home Banquet Collection (家宴逸品) range.

1996 Bruno Paillard Assemblage, en magnum, dégorgée en Janvier 2006 - acidity was high on the palate, even felt a little grippy. Really nice and full-bodied, and drinking very well.

Winter melon concerto (蟹肉雪膠冬蓉羹) - always wonderful to start with this... a bowl that warms up the stomach and prep it for what's to come for the rest of the evening. In addition to the base of winter melon purée, we had snow gum, crab meat, and a sprinkle of powdered ham on top. The superior broth had so much flavor...

Supreme decadence (海膽戈炸) - YEAH, BABY, YEAH!!! It's been far too long since I last got to pop these in my mouth!

Needless to say, these packed a real punch in terms of sea urchin flavors. The seasoning was a little bit on the strong side, but I totally get how that's the right call for this. And that texture was just so, soooo creamy inside and fluffy outside.

A second piece?? HELL YEAH! I didn't take any sugar with these, but maybe I should have with the second piece. I didn't think it was needed, though.

Oyster treasure trove (蠔豉鬆) - another wonderful, classic dish. The dried Japanese oysters were diced and stir-fried with carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake, Chinese celery, Cantonese preserved sausage (臘腸) and preserved liver sausage (膶腸)...

I do love how Dashijie's little elves trim the lettuce leaves.

It's always so nice to get the contrast between the big flavors of the filling and the crunchy, refreshing lettuce leaves. With a sip of the spätlese, it really gave a boost to the flavors of the dried oysters.

1997 Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese - this was really lovely and so fragrant with the classic nose of white truffles/petrol. It's at a very nice level of sweetness for me.

Crab medallion (金錢蟹盒) - a few of us crowded into the kitchen to watch these being dropped in oil for deep-frying.

This old school dish isn't found in many restaurants these days... because it's not considered healthy. Why is that, you ask? This is a product that takes two thin slices of pure pork fat (冰肉) and slaps them together, with a stuffing of crab meat, salted egg, shiitake, bamboo shoots, coriander, and water chestnuts. This was, again, very well-seasoned. Despite having been placed on the special plates after deep-frying to allow the excess oil to drip down, this was still pretty oily... BUT IT WAS SO MOREISH! I would have absolutely loved to have a second one.

Kamoshibito Kuheiji (釀し人九平次) Special Selection, 2024 - this was soft and very elegant, with sweet but lightly fermented nose.

Ocean emperor takes flight (仙鶴神針) - this beloved classic was served to the applause of my fellow diners. Maybe a handful of places now still have it as part of their repertoire, and our hostess insists to carry on the heritage.

Our host was tasked to shred the pigeons, and plated the legs and the wings separately. Of course I greedily picked one up and nibbled on it.

Besides shark's fin, the birds were stuffed with shredded shiitake and ham. It's easy to imagine the richness of flavors just by looking at the color.

Was this a beautiful and delicious dish? You bet. The pigeon was incredibly tender and tasty, and I really, really wish that the "needles" were anything other than shark's fin. But it is what it is...

Birds of a feather (鹽焗雞配雞油飯) - the chicken that comes out of this kitchen is still salt-baked the old fashion way... that is, buried under a hill of coarse salt. Takes a lot of effort to still do chicken this way.

Can't have this chicken without some fragrant and delicious rice, along with some minced ginger. As delicious as the rice was with the chicken fat, I really couldn't bring myself to stuff my face with more of it... Not when my eating schedule these days is so incredibly packed.

Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva Especial, 1994/1999/2000 - still very concentrated, but now softer on the palate.

Stir-fried king prawns with oyster sauce (川椒蝦) - the sauce was kinda on the sweet side. I always love it when basil is deep-fried.

2005 Dom Pérignon Rosé - nose of red fruits and minerals.

Braised brown marbled grouper with tofu, garlic, roast pork, and dried mushrooms (蒜子冬菇燒肉豆卜炆老虎斑) - we almost didn't get a fish today... and apparently it took our host some effort to secure one deemed good enough for this home banquet. The brown-marbled grouper (黃皮老虎斑) was braised with vintage 2000 aged tangerine peel from Dongjia (東甲). The tofu puffs tonight were especially tasty and in high demand. Meanwhile, the crispy pork belly (燒肉) braised with the fish such that the crunchy crackling became soft and chewy was totally up my alley.

Stir-fried kailan with ginger (薑汁炒芥蘭)

E-fu delight (乾燒伊麵) - I love these noodles, especially when they come with all that shrimp roe. I didn't need another bowl of carbs, but how could I resist?!

Sweet pancake with roasted peanuts, sesame, and desiccated coconut (椰絲花生芝麻甜薄罉) - this is such a Hong Kong classic...

Any dessert with desiccated coconut gets brownie points in my book. And then there's the extra crunch from the peanuts and the sesame.

Pan Tang memories (馬蹄糕) - I loooove how fluffy the water chestnut pudding was... Thick cut, and pan-fried at low heat to deliver a very thin, browned crust of caramelized sugar on the outside... while the center was like jelly. Made with water chestnuts from Pan Tang (泮塘).

1947 Caillou - beautiful marmalade notes.

I had gone to Pan's Cake (小潘蛋糕坊) while in Taiwan last week to pick up their famous puff pastry with egg yolk (蛋黃酥), and I decided to bring a big box back so everyone could have a taste.

Adzuki bean puff pastry with egg yolk (紅豆沙蛋黃酥)

Mung bean puff pastry with egg yolk (綠豆沙蛋黃酥) - I actually prefer these, since to me the use of mung bean paste is more "Taiwanese".

Just as we were leaving after thanking our hosts, SOMEONE remembered that we didn't get any of our host's famous ice cream... so we stayed a little longer. The coffee ice cream was DAMN GOOD! Just like it was last time. Too bad I couldn't take the mango ice cream tonight...

Once again, I'm incredibly grateful to have had the privilege of being invited to Dashijie's home banquet. We're fans of many of her products, and very grateful that she is carrying on the legacy of the late Mrs Pearl Kong Chen (江獻珠女士) and her family. Legacy cuisines and dishes are increasingly rare today, and need to be treasured so that those who appreciate can still have opportunity to enjoy them.