Winter warmers

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I caught a lot of flak last month when I paid a visit to my favorite private dining facility without a few of my friends.  Lots of hands immediately went up, and the likes of Your Highness demanded that I take them to drink some more of that wonderful snake soup.  So, being the good friend that I am, I dutifully booked us a table and asked the chef to prepare the dishes requested by the gang.

As Cathy from HaoKouFu (好口福) happened to be in town - and has been eating her way through places that got promoted by the Rubberman - I figured she shouldn't miss the chance to try out my current favorite Cantonese kitchen in town.  I was pretty glad she could come along.

Barbecued Iberico pork (黑毛豬叉燒) - always tasty.  None of that overly sweet glaze on that outside - which I actually do like...  Rich flavors from the soy sauce, with just enough sweetness.  Wonderful balance between the delicious fat and the chewier lean meat.  This disappeared quickly.

Turning Japanese

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A fellow foodie from Taiwan was in town, eating her way through restaurants gaining stars in the latest edition of the Guide Michelin.  She had been invited to dine at Serge et le Phoque and was told that she could bring a friend.  I was very grateful that I was chosen as the "plus one", and happily tagged along.

The menu had recently changed to an à la carte format, featuring a good number of choices.  We decided to let the kitchen work its magic and send us surprises, and waited with anticipation for the food to arrive.

Crosnes tempura - the French always seem to love crosnes (寶塔菜) during the fall and winter, and here they've lightly battered them and put them in a fryer, then provided some grated radish (大根おろし) and dashi (出汁) like the Japanese.

Le meilleur pigeonneau

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While lunching together last week, The Man in the White T-Shirt asked whether I'd be interested in joining him for lunch at the Hong Kong Jockey Club.  Apparently one of the chefs from La Bouitte - the newest three-star from the Guide Michelin 2015 for France - would be in town.  Since I am unlikely to travel to Saint-Martin-de-Belleville anytime soon, I figured it'd be a good idea to join this lunch.

As I was due to bring a few bottles of wine for dinner tonight, I decided that it would be prudent not to take the suggested wine pairing and stay sober.  I think it turned out to be a good idea...

Our amuse bouche was huître Gillardeau, voile d'eau de mer, perle yu yuzu, croustillant à la noisette.  We were instructed to take the thin hazelnut crisp first, then move on to the Gillardeau oyster - taking care to pop the yuzu (柚子) pearl in order to release the flavors.  Gotta say that the oyster was incredibly sweet and tasty.  A very good start, and my mouth was amused, indeed...

2015 Altaya annual tasting

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After a few years' absence, once again I was able to attend the annual tasting put on by Altaya Wines.   We are friends with the boss, and some of the best wines I've drunk have been with him... and very often brought by him...  so I do try to come and support him when I can.  For the first time this year, I was invited to the trade tasting session instead of the one for the general public - and this caused the boss to raise an eyebrow when he saw me...

There's always a good range of wines from across the world at Altaya's tastings, and each year some of the winemakers and proprietors make the trip over to attend.  I always try to stop by the booth if I know a principle is there, but I didn't make it to see Patrick Maroteaux from Branaire-Ducru or Stephane Ogier.   I did taste through the range of Pol Roger that Hubert de Billy poured for me, though... and made sure to stop by and see Rolf Binder himself and Rick Burge from Burge Family.

I started with the whites and Champagnes, and waited to get to the reds.  Unfortunately there was just too little time, and I didn't go through the wines quickly enough, so I missed out on a lot of great reds...

Forgotten goose

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Yet another friend requested that I take her to lunch at my favorite roast goose joint, so we made the short trek from our office building and presented ourselves at the door of Yat Lok (一樂燒鵝).  Fortunately, we arrived early enough and didn't have to wait in line.

I must not have been coming enough lately, because I was actually denied a roast goose drumstick when I asked the staff... and neither the boss nor the boss lady was close enough to overrule the staff.  Boo...

So I made do with just the rice flour noodles in soup with roast goose (馳名脆皮燒鵝瀨粉), which was fine.  A drumstick would have been a little more satisfying.  I haven't been feeling well over the last 12 hours, so I decided to drink a lot more of the MSG-laden soup than I normally would.  Needed that warm liquid in my stomach...

We also took some blanched choy sum (菜心, 全走) to add to our daily veg intake.

I was so out of it today that I even forgot to take pictures... but hey, it's not like I don't already have about 100 of them...