Pretty, but not my thang

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The Good Doctor wanted to catch up over lunch, and decided to take me to one of his favorite sushi joints.  I don't eat much sushi in Hong Kong, so I'm unfamiliar with most outlets in town.  I've heard people talk about Sushi Kado (角) before so I was happy to check it out.

But first I decided to do a little homework, and the first piece I read was from 2 years ago on Fungry and Fabulous.  Lynn's conclusion was that the flavors were much too mild and that Sushi Sase (鮨佐瀬) would always be a better choice.  I kept that in mind as I sat down and waited for lunch to start.

I ordered the seasonal sushi set (板前寿しセット), which comes with 12 pieces of nigiri sushi (握り寿司) and a roll (巻物).  I specified - as I usually do - that I do not eat any form of tuna.

First comes a bowl of salad.  It's always good to get some greens in.

Then came the seemingly obligatory steamed egg custard (茶碗蒸し) with crab.  A nice a premium version with sweet crab meat, along with a touch of ginger in the custard.

Then came the procession of sushi...

Birthday with three divas

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Tonight I had the privilege of attending a very special dinner tonight.  My friend had decided to celebrate a big birthday with two other ladies, and planned a big bash at Amuse Bouche.  One of the highlights of the bash was to be a blind tasting game, whether a selection of Bordeaux First Growths would be served and we would have to guess their identities.  I was, of course, very grateful to my friend for her kind invitation... and dutifully put together an ensemble that roughly complied with the "black tie" dress code.

I knew I would have a good time the minute the doors of the elevator opened.  Someone had put together a playlist for the evening, and Vienna from Ultravox was playing.  That set the tone for the rest of the evening, and with the exception of a couple of WTF songs from the likes of One Direction - no doubt catering to the taste of the kiddies in their own play room - the music rarely strayed.

We started with some Champagne as we waited for everyone to arrive.  To make sure that there was enough for the 40-odd guests, my friend brought out a methuselah of 1995 Dom Pérignon.  Big nose of toast with some yeasty notes.  Very lively on the palate, rounded with some maturity, but also very good acidity.

The first-timer

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Last week I found out that my trader has never been to Yat Lok (一樂燒鵝), so I decided to take him for a taste of my favorite roast goose in Hong Kong.  We went a little bit early to avoid the long lines, and thankfully we were seated right away...

Rice flour noodles in soup with roast goose (馳名脆皮燒鵝瀨粉) - knowing how they ration their drumsticks, I decided to let my trader have the drumstick while I just had the regular goose.  No, I will never get tired of the flavors coming out of this goose... and I relished all the fat underneath the thin and crispy skin.

Blanched choy sum (菜心, 全走)

After we were done, my trader told me he understood why I love this roast goose so much.  Well, it's certainly a helluva lot tastier than the stuff you get at Yung Kee (鏞記酒家)!

The visiting Chairman

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A fellow food lover from another continent reached out to me a few weeks ago, wondering if I'd be interested in meeting up while he's in town.  It's not my usual practice to meet up with complete strangers, but as we seem to have a couple of mutual friends, I kinda said to myself... "why the hell not?!"  As I found out tonight, I actually completely ignored an earlier request to meet up... some 5 years ago!

After some discussion, we decided to meet up at The Chairman (大班樓).  As there were only two of us, it would have been tough to do dinner at most Chinese restaurants.  I remembered that this place has a set menu designed for two, so here we are.

Szechuan spicy New Zealand crispy lamb belly (川味香辣紐西蘭小羊腩) - served with slices of cucumber, pickled mustard (榨菜), spring onions, chili and Szechuan peppercorns.  Good amount of acidity here to balance out the fat.

I was a little surprised that the chef decided to lead off with this... While the original intention may have been to stimulate our taste buds with the first course, the chili lit my tastebuds on fire, while the Szechuan peppercorns simultaneously numbed my tongue.  Yes, the lamb was fatty and crispy the way I like it, but wouldn't this have been better towards the end?!

Drunken Porn

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It's getting to year end and we've still got 4 more MNSC dinners to go, so they're gonna come at a (relatively) furious pace.  We kicked off the season with Lord Rayas once again hosting at The Pawn.

It seems that our MNSC members are increasingly overlooking the food part of these dinners, and since Lord Rayas was very kind and accommodating so that the bloggueuuurrr - that would be yours truly - could taste whatever he wished, we were given the à la carte option.

Charcuterie board: Ibérico shoulder, grape chutney, pickle, grilled toast, home-cured meats - duck breast, salami, pancetta, pork rillettes - as usual we shared a couple of these.  I can't tell you how much I wanted to take the entire quenelle of duck liver parfait and spread it on endless slices of brioche.  Oh, and that quenelle of rillettes, too!  That (onion?) chutney was damn good.