Years of the Horse

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It was five years ago that the Gang of Pfour got together for dinner and brought out bottles from different Years of the Ox. That was a fun and successful tasting, so tonight we decided to bring out bottles from Years of the Horse. This dinner should have happened 2 months ago, but unfortunately I had to postpone. Thankfully Goldfinger was very understanding, so we reconvened at Andō tonight.

We had a choice of two welcome drinks, and I picked the one made with roselle and chocolate. Definitely different!

We started with the bocaditos:

9 courses in 90 minutes

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For a variety of reasons I have neglected Goldfinger this year, and that's not a nice way to treat a friend. Thankfully B Bestie extended an invitation to a dinner at Andō for their collaboration with the team from August in Jakarta, giving me the opportunity to at least show my face...

As friends sharing my table were late, I had some time to chat with Chef Hans Christian and partner Budi Cahyadi. I admitted that, amazingly, I have never made it to Jakarta... as I followed the advice of Indonesian friends to go elsewhere. I've transited through the capital city's airport on my way to more remote parts of the country, but not made my way through the infamous city traffic...

A few days ago, I discovered to my horror that I had a board meeting to attend tonight. I suggested to B Bestie that I would just pass up dinner as I would have to leave the restaurant early, but he promised that the kitchen could speed things up for me, and there was plenty of time as long as I started at the appointed time of 6:30 p.m. Well... some people were pretty late in getting to the restaurant, and by 7 p.m. I decided I needed to start without them.

This "welcome drink" was apparently a "cold brew tea" based on lemongrass and ginger along with some grapefruit juice. Unfortunately I didn't like it... as it tasted medicinal.

Then came four snacks:

Closing out the cycle

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There hasn't been an official MNSC dinner in over 11 months. I had tried to close out our current cycle - which began in the middle of 2022 - unsuccessfully several times earlier in the year. But busy travel schedules and force majeur made it impossible to get at least 5 of the boys together for a scheduled meal. Seeing that we were reaching the end of 2024, I reached out to the boys for one last try to host a dinner. Much to my surprise, EVERYONE raised their hands and we ended up with a full house tonight!

Since I had to cancel the original dinner scheduled at Andō earlier this year, I figured it was only right that I host the dinner there. Most of the boys have, in fact, never been to the restaurant, so it was a good opportunity to introduce them to Goldfinger. I asked for a custom menu to match the lineup of reds I was bringing, and worked out the opening/decanting schedule to Carlito Gorgor to try to catch the optimum windows of the wines.

Roasted piquillos, onion, sardines, caviar tart - this was nice, and the sardine didn't feel too heavy with the combination.

Latin with Spanish

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It was exactly 3 months ago that our Gang of Pfour washed down some Italian food with a few bottles of Italian wines, so we were now due for another meeting. I was surprised to learn that neither Ms. Hurricane nor Wai Gor had ever been to MONO, and it's been much too long since I last saw Ricardo - both of which definitely need rectifying.

I had a panic attack about an hour before dinner started. Foursheets is currently taking some Chinese meds, and doctor's orders are for her to avoid a whole slew of ingredients in her diet. I hurriedly messaged Ricardo, who very kindly promised to do what they can to accommodate her. And they certainly did.

Seeing how it was our friends' first visit, I suggested that they take the Journey instead of the Soul menu, as there was a course that no one should leave without trying.

Mexican infladita / corn / bafun uni / tonburi - I was here for an event last month so I've already had a taste. The purple corn infladita came topped with some summer cypress seeds (とんぶり).

Lunch with the ladies

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An invitation was extended by PR8 to taste the new, seasonal menu at Andō. It has been a few months since I last paid Goldfinger a visit, so I thought I could take time out of my very free schedule to say hello.

I never know who PR8 will arrange for me to sit next to, although I'm confident he knows not to have me sit next to some bitches. Today it would be Giona's responsibility to babysit us, and I would have the pleasure of the company of a few ladies who lunch. So the conversation turned out a little different today.

Carlito gorgor very kindly poured us some bubbly while we waited to everyone to arrive:

Krug Rosé, 28éme édition, ID 123009 - very fragrant nose with lots of red fruits, so sweet on the nose with a little caramelized sugar around the edges. Good acidity on the palate with a long finish.

As usual, we started with a series of snacks:

Not a blind tasting

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I was planning on hosting my blind tasting wine dinner at Andō tonight, getting Carlito gor gor involved in the fun of tricking the boys. Unfortunately something came up a few days ago and forced me to postpone the gig, and I had to scramble to grab a couple of people on short notice. The last thing I wanted to do was to be an asshole and cancel on a chef friend's restaurant with 2 days' notice. Thankfully DaRC called in a friend and Foursheets also came in to help, so it wasn't a total disaster.

I had previously asked for a menu that was red wine-friendly, but told Goldfinger that this was no longer necessary. Always happy to see what they have in store for us.

Bocaditos: as usual, we started with a trio of bites.

Shiroebi tart - we've got some yuzu (柚子) cream in the tart below the raw Japanese glass shrimp (白海老).

Brazil vs. Argentina

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Now that Hong Kong has opened up its borders, many chefs have resumed participating in collaboration events with fellow chef friends. Taking a break from the happenings of the Basque Culinary World Prize in Japan, Chef Manu Buffara of Manu in Curitiba is spending a few days in Hong Kong to hang out with fellow Latin American chefs like the Bromance Twins. I was fortunate enough to have been invited by PR8 to join a few friends at lunch at Andō.

One of the regrets of my life is that I never traveled to São Paulo to visit my aunt and uncle while they were still around. They emigrated nearly 5 decades ago, and after leaving the East Coast of the US to come back to Asia, it always seemed such a long way to travel. I should have made more of an effort years ago to take advantage of the opportunity to get exposure to Brazilian culture. Oh well...

The menu with thirteen courses would alternate between offerings from Andō as host and Manu as guest. We also had a wine pairing.

Tuna Young yellowtail / clams / caviar, from Manu - the ever-considerate team at Andō swapped out the Japanese tuna for young yellowtail (ハマチ) for me. Marinated with honey from plebeia saiqui, and served with a beurre blanc made with clam juice. And of course, Kaviari Kristal caviar. You've got acidity here but actually the dish was also reasonably salty while being tempered, no doubt, by the honey. A pretty punchy way to start our meal!

Meaty Friday

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It's Friday night and Foursheets has a hankering for some meat. Rather than going to a steakhouse, she decided she wanted to check out Rosita, a collaborative effort by the Bromance Twins. Most of our close friends have checked out the place long ago, but yours truly takes a long time to visit new restaurants, per SOP.

As this is meant to be a "casual" spot, the attraction for us is the ability to order à la carte, according to our mood and our appetite. We swiftly shut down our server as he suggested the "menu del chef".

Rosita signature ceviche - with splendid alfonsino (金目鯛), spot prawns, Hokkaido scallops, strawberries, chayote, and watermelon radish. As the leche de tigre was poured on top in front of us, this meant there wasn't a lot of "cooking" time.

Yonomoto

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I'm not the most alert when it comes to special events at restaurants, as I often miss the email announcements that come into my various mailboxes while I'm busy at work. I've been lucky a few times in the past, but more often than not I just let these things pass me by.

I was moping around the house on New Year's Day, enjoying a lazy Sunday morning when I saw the email announcing the MONO X Toyo Eatery collaboration. I sent a message to the restaurant, fully expecting that no one would reply on a public holiday. When Hong Kong went back to work two days later, a reply did come and I managed to grab 2 seats for the event.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Jordy Navarra from Toyo Eatery before, although he has certainly received a lot of attention over the last few years. So I was really looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table. The good thing is that I knew this would be the kind of collaboration/four-hands that I like, where the chefs actually put their heads together to create each dish incorporating flavors from each team. The dishes are then unique to the event and not previously seen at either restaurant.

We had good seats at the counter for our meal, which allowed Ricardo and Jordy to come over from time to time during service. We also chose the wine pairing, and Mauricio was kind enough to offer me a couple of extras...

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221042 - more toasty on the nose than I remembered, but that's very, very classic Grande Cuvée. Pretty popcorn. Wonderful.

Oh Sherry

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A few weeks ago while I was sipping on a glass of 1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección - a wine I absolutely love and finally had a chance to introduce to mom - the sommeliers at Caprice told me about a special dinner featuring wines from the Toro Albalá winery. Unfortunately that dinner is scheduled for tomorrow, at a time when I have a previous, unavoidable work engagement. I was pretty disappointed upon hearing the news...

The following evening, I was serendipitously served another glass of the 1929 Don PX at the end of dinner at MONO. I was lamenting about not being able to join the dinner at Caprice when Mauricio informed me that they would be hosting a lunch today. I immediately put my hand up, and I'm grateful that my name was added to the list.

Lunch today was an intimate affair, and we were sequestered away in the private room at the bank. We had a representative each from the winery as well as the local agent. The list of wines was, alas, shorter than what would be served at the Caprice dinner, but I was glad to be in attendance nonetheless.

Inflatida sea urchin - the shell of the inflatida today was made with purple corn. Topped with some tongues of sea urchin and nasturtium.

Stuffed with Hokkaido sea urchin and botan shrimp (牡丹海老), so this was rich and creamy, a little sweet as well as a little sticky from the raw shrimp. This worked well with the dry fino as the acidity and oxidative characters balanced out the stuffing.

Mom's HK Michelin tour day 5: Latin evening

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For her third dinner out, and to continue the theme for today - which is "something exotic" - I've decided to take mom to MONO for a taste of Latin America. This would not be something that mom often comes across, and I was pretty confident that many ingredients would be new to her.

I told Ricardo what I wanted for mom, and asked him to create an exotic experience for us. I had no doubt that he would deliver in spades.

Given that there were four of us tonight, we were seated at a table away from the counter. Mauricio and the team took very good care of us, making sure to bring us the special ingredients for each dish and making the introductions.

Purple corn Mexican inflatida / fresh king crab / Taiwanese organic avocado - nice flavors from the purple corn. Didn't manage to distinguish the flavors from the paracress on top...

Diary of a Quarantined Boy part 2, day 4

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Day 4, halfway through the ordeal. We don't get out of bed unless it's for breakfast...

Shrimp dumplings ∙ BBQ pork bun ∙ pork congee (蝦餃 ∙ 叉燒包 ∙ 豬肉粥) - the wrappers for the har gau () were pretty thick, and I counted only 10 folds. Meh. But the char siu bao (叉燒包) were pretty good. The congee with pork wasn't as good as the one with beef yesterday.

Yilan hop 2022 day 2: dejeuner à côte

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Just as I was planning my trip back to Taiwan and thinking of excursions out of Taipei with the Parental Units, I saw the announcement from Fudy about his new restaurant. He apparently decided to team up with André Chiang in his latest venture, located in a white, 3-story mansion nicknamed “the little white house (小白宮)" built in the 1980s which onced belonged to the Lu Clan in Toucheng (頭城). The look and feel of the building - fresh after some renovation - made it look like a holiday home on the Côte d'Azur.

Funky disco orgasm dinner

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It's that day of the year again, and I needed to choose a friend's restaurant for my birthday dinner. I actually haven't been back to MONO for quite a few months, so it seemed appropriate that Sankala and I pay Ricardo a long-overdue visit. He does, after all, deliver something unique in Hong Kong.

Ricardo is busy doing a special event tonight, but was kind enough to come back to the restaurant to greet me and serve up a couple of dishes before running off. Knowing that it's my birthday, he also arranged something a little special.

Venezuelan corn arepa / red crab / sweet peas - the arepa was nice and warm, filled with a mix of crab, avocado purée, and crunchy green peas. A little more acidic than expected. With some avocado leaf powder. A familiar dish that's become a nice way to start our meal.

Second chances, pinot edition

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Thanks to the dinner ban as well as the Film Buff's travel plans, it has taken us more than 4 months to gather together for some wine. I haven't been back to Andō for quite some time, and figured I could get everyone there for a refresher. I was surprised to have encountered some resistance from the group, but in the end I'm glad that they decided to trust my judgement. I was also glad that stringent government restrictions had been lifted by now, so that the 6 of us could be seated together in the private room next to the kitchen.

I didn't say anything to Goldfinger about the group expecting a "Peter menu", but some of my friends tonight was certainly looking for something above and beyond what they themselves had experienced while dining here.

We started with a caviar tasting, featuring 3 different brands: Kaviari, Nomad, and Petrossian. Each was served in a different fashion. And OF COURSE Goldfinger made sure I had gold foil on each serving, and only for me. I AM special, after all...

8 stories

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It's been years since I last treated my friendly neighborhood prime broker to a nice meal, and with the help they've given me lately, I felt it was high time I did something nice for them.   I wanted to choose a place that isn't too far from the office so that it would be relatively convenient, so I figured Andō would fit the bill pretty nicely.  I haven't been back to see Goldfinger in quite some time so it was time to rectify that situation.

The meal started with a trio of little bites:

Monaka with fruit tomato and jamón ibérico - jamón from Joselito.

Chocolate tart with Manchego and green peas - there wasn't that much Manchego but the smell and flavors were certainly very strong. Nice sweet peas.

Tomato water with zucchini

XS, S, M, and L

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A couple of months ago Virgilio Martinez pinged me to let me know that he was coming to Hong Kong with Pía León for an event with the Bromance Twins - Agustin Balbi and Ricardo Chaneton.  At the time I wasn't sure that I was going to be in Hong Kong, since it was just a couple of days before the start of the lunar new year holidays. 

This '8-hands collaboration' (imagine my eyes rolling to the back of my head as I contemplate this) became 'Raices I' - which implies there are more to come...  The collaboration was meant to showcase the common 'roots' shared by the four chefs from South America.  Thankfully I don't fly home to Taipei until tomorrow, and I was fortunate enough to have Ricardo save me two seats tonight at Mono.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I would run into friends tonight - including The Great One.  So we moved ourselves one seat down the counter so I could be seated next to her.

I was very happy to see Virgilio and Pía again, especially since I still have not managed to fly over to visit them in Peru.  And Virgilio didn't hesitate to remind me that I had promised to visit them since 3 years ago...

I was busy fidgeting with my camera as soon as I sat down, since the restaurant's lighting produced some banding.  In the middle of all this, we were offered a complimentary glass of bubbly as an aperitif:

Ulysse Collin Les Maillons - nice and ripe.

Each of the boys came to present his starter:

Duck escabeche, from Central - the duck had been lightly cured and served with an escabeche sauce, along with mash of a purple root as well as flowers such as purple borage.