Jack of all trades

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Sometime during the first month when I started to hang out with Hello Kitty in Jordan, we walked past a curious pair of restaurants in her hood.  Both advertised themselves as 'fusion' but the cuisines listed ranged from Indian to Mexican to Italian... and more.  We were curious, but didn't have the cojones to walk through the door.

Months later, over a meal with Rickachu - who happens to live mere steps away from the restaurants - we learned that they had previously tried to eat at V. Dimpal Fusion and Pizza House... but had not succeeded without booking a table in advance.  They had to settle for dining next door at Mala's Fusion Cuisine, but clearly V. Dimpal was the more popular (and presumably serves more delicious food) of the two.  So we made a pact to dine there together.  Somehow we never found the opportunity to make good on our promise.  Until tonight.

Cloudy Bay x Cloudy Bay, premium edition

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Around a month ago, we were casually picking up groceries in a supermarket when Hello Kitty spotted packs of pre-cooked clams from New Zealand.  She was pretty excited to see them, and we ended up picking up a pack.  I also made a detour to a different supermarket to pick up a specific bottle of wine, so that we could have a "Cloudy Bay x Cloudy Bay" pairing...

The surf clams from Cloudy Bay Clams came blanched and chilled, and were ready to eat right out of the package.  We were pretty happy munching on them.

Another feast in the 'hood

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We have a friend who's back in town after a long break, and to no one's surprise, she requested that we get together at Neighborhood.  The Great One put in a call to The Man in White T-shirt, and as usual gave him carte blanche.  The 6 of us - minus an unfortunate a casualty of heat stroke - sat down and waited for our feast to start.

200-day dry-aged Mayura Station M9+ wagyu rump - I had seen this posted by others recently, and was pretty happy to have the opportunity to try it.  Yes, it's Aussie wagyu, marinated in classic Chiuchow 'lo shui (滷水)' marinade, and rubbed with black truffle on the outside.

Four bottles at Seventh

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It's been a while since the few of us winos met up for a few bottles, so plans were made for us to catch up tonight.  When the time came to pick a venue, it wasn't a complete surprise that Seventh Son (家全七福) was chosen.  It is, after all, one of the best Cantonese restaurants in town.  So... just a week after my lunch there, I found myself back at a different table - this time with a few bottles.

For some reason the task of ordering fell on my shoulders, so I picked out a few simple dishes for us.

While we were waiting for some friends to arrive, three of us decided that we were too hungry and needed some food first.  Given our dismal experience at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) a few days ago, Hello Kitty decided that she needed to satisfy her craving for pork...

Crispy pork belly (脆皮燒腩仔) - this was MUCH better than what we had three nights ago.  Definitely not reheated in a microwave.  Crackling remained crispy and delicious.

Honey glazed barbecued pork (蜜汁叉燒) - beautiful, with the right amount of fat, and very tender and flavorful.

Slip and slide

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Ninja's making her move out of town, and Hello Kitty and I met up with her tonight to catch up.  Not surprisingly, she wanted some "real Cantonese" food... and preferred to go to Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) even though I suggested several alternatives.  I did understand her rationale, though, as she associates most of the other places I suggested with work-related meals.

Since there were only three of us, I didn't think we needed to pre-order anything special.  So we picked out a few simple dishes we thought would be representative of the place.

But our evening started with a surprising disappointment.  At 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night, when the 2nd floor of the restaurant (read: the floor where stragglers and nobodies get seated) is only half full, we were told that the kitchen had run out of barbecued pork (叉燒).  SERIOUSLY?!  A top Cantonese restaurant, with no char siu?!  AT PEAK DINNER HOUR?!  And all they have is roast pork belly...

I am instantly reminded of my disastrous dinner at Lei Garden (利苑) in the International Finance Centre all those years ago, when nothing I wanted was available.  And I never spent another dime of my money at that restaurant ever again...

Deep-fried frogs' legs (椒鹽田雞腿) - these were crispy and delicious as always, with that nice sprinkling of deep-fried minced garlic and chopped chili.