Hot in the city

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I seldom have hankering for hotpot meals in restaurants. Besides the soup base - and often I would prefer something clear or even plain water - it's mostly about the ingredients. There isn't much cooking skill involved, and I freely admit to having next to none in that department. I'm almost always joining friends or family when I find myself at a hotpot restaurant. So it was the case today... when Mr. Chichi extended a rare invitation to join him for Beijing-style lamb hotpot (涮羊肉).

Having spent a lot less time in Central over the last year or so, I've been oblivious to the opening of Peking Hotpot (新京熹老北京涮肉火鍋) - a genuine Beijing import. I had, in fact, walked past it last month without taking much notice. But since Mr. Chichi is organizing, I figured I'd get to have a pretty good experience - and a lot of food.

We have the hotpot with traditional clear broth (傳統清湯鍋).

We were presented with the array of condiment sauce (搭檔小料), and I love the traditional sesame sauce.

Rush, rush

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My friendly neighborhood prime broker wanted to take me out to lunch in order to celebrate my new job, and also as an early celebration of our birthdays. She was rambling about some restaurant she'd never been to... when she suddenly lamented that she hadn't been back to The Chairman (大班樓) in a long time. Well... I decided to grow some thick skin and begged for a table - which was how we ended up here today.

Lunching at The Chairman is something I have seldom done, unless it's a weekend or I'm not working. Imagine showing up here today and immediately recognizing people at a few neighboring tables. I guess I don't live the same leisurely life as those people... but that's OK.

I left the choice of dishes entirely in the hands of my broker a.k.a. the Landlord. I thought she would consult with her colleagues before making the choices, but I was wrong. There were a few dishes that I would not have picked, that I didn't care for, but I bit my tongue. This lunch was about making someone else happy, and it had nothing to do with me.

Cold squid noodle and lily bulbs with pine nut gazpacho (魷魚涼麵百合配松子凍湯) - no, this isn't Cantonese cuisine. It's more Japanese and Korean, and that chilled pine nut cream is just so refreshing on a warm day. Those petals of 9-year-old lily bulb from Lanzhou (蘭州) is just so crunchy with incredibly high sugar content.

Redemption, one week later

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I was less than impressed with my dining experience at Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 (壹玖捌叁) last Friday, as the experimental tasting menu delivered a few head-scratchers. At the time, though, we already knew we would be coming back for lunch today. I had seen positive comments posted by friends about the dim sum here, which was why my dinner last week was so shockingly disappointing. Anyway, we got a different group today so we could try lots of stuff from their menu.

I was pretty excited looking at the dim sum section of the menu during my dinner last week, so I opened it up and started scanning for the goodies. That's when the staff came and told us not to order anything from the big menu... as the kitchen had come up with a new list of dim sum items, and those were presented on a totally different menu. So... one of the items I was most excited about trying is no longer available. Now I was disappointed even before we started ordering.

Someone was pretty excited about checking out as many dishes as we could with the five of us around the table, and it did turn out to be a big lunch...

Diced peppery Black Angus beef puff (胡椒安格斯牛肉餅) - I was a little surprised that this was the first item that arrived, but I suppose they had been pre-baked and could be heated up quickly?

Cinq années

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Five years ago today, our dear Bro Bro crossed the rainbow bridge. In the immediate aftermath of this devastating loss, Foursheets asked to have dinner at Nikushou because she couldn't be bothered cook, and couldn't think of anywhere to go eat. So we had a few cut of beef at our favorite yakiniku (焼肉) joint and washed it down with a bottle of wine.

We returned to Nikushou for the next 4 years and established the tradition of just having simple, delicious food with a bottle of wine. Unfortunately, Nikushou closed its doors days after Bro Bro's 4th anniversary. Tonight we needed fo find an alternative venue, and I defaulted to La Maison - another place whose food we enjoy without too much fuss. And they don't charge corkage.

I was late to dinner due to a work call, and when I stepped in to the restaurant, every single table was occupied. The space was very lively, unlike the few quiet evenings I have spent here in the past. There was even a singer on stage entertaining the guests.

I've always liked the bread they serve here. It's never anything fancy, but it comes out warm and generally tasty enough.

40-year-old Fortune

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We last saw DaRC and Ro Ro a few weeks ago before they jetted off, and they're about to do that again for a European tour, so we arranged to meet up for a couple of bottles. I asked for a place with decent glassware and decanters, where corkage wouldn't break the bank and, naturally, air conditioned. The decision was made to book us into the Fortune Room (幸運閣) at the Hong Kong Jockey Club, a place I haven't been back to in more than a decade.

This was a rare opportunity for me to completely step back from ordering. In fact, I didn't even look at the menu. At all. Members who know the menu well call the shots.

Crispy Bombay duck fish • fermented tofu (醬豆腐炸九肚魚) - thicker batter than expected, and the batter also had more flavor thanks to the fermented tofu.