Pizza fight

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So... the last few weeks have seen a few "battles" from The Great Pizza Bake Off  - where a few chefs and food writers pair up and pitch their special pizza recipes against each other.  The actually cooking is then done by the team at Mercato, and diners "vote" for them by ordering the one which appeals to them the most.

And now it was Da Jam's turn as he goes up against Chef Butterfingers Satoru Mukogawa, who was filmed dropping half his pizza while presenting it at the restaurant on Monday.  I wasn't able to join the publicity festivities on Monday, so I decided to rope in Fergie and try it out for lunch today.

Of course the two of us would order both pizzas and decide for ourselves which one tasted better.  We know both of the creators behind the pies, so there should be no favoritism here...

Bacon jam pizza : bacon jam, farm egg, wild mushrooms - BUT OF COURSE it has jam on it!!!  This recipe is from a guy named DA JAM, after all...

Assholes for neighbors

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A friend is back home for a few days and misses Cantonese food dearly.  I have, unfortunately, been stuffing my face a little too much lately... so I wasn't able to spend more time with her.  But I did promise to take her to Tasting Court (天一閣) for some nice Cantonese, so we grabbed a few accomplices and got ourselves a table, tailoring the menu a little.

Deep-fried pork fat stuffed with prawn (金錢蝦餅) - the chiffonade of kaffir lime leaves gave off a lovely fragrance to go with the prawns wrapped inside deep-fried caul fat.  I also liked the pickled cucumbers.

Occupy Amber: Prima Donna In Da Haus

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It's Hello Kitty's birthday, and once again I asked her to choose the restaurant for her birthday dinner.  Having gotten word that Amber has put together their "Amber Classics Menu" in advance of their renovation, she decided that we should go and check it out.  After all, it's been a while since we were last able to taste Chef Richard Ekkebus' signature Hokkaido sea urchin - thanks to it being taken off the menu last May.

We arrived a little late, but were greeted warmly by the staff.  Once seated we were shown the menus, and John brought the wine list so I could choose something before our red wine was ready.  Imagine my surprise, then, when Hello Kitty informed me that she fancied the seasonal degustation menu instead.  So... I've come all this way back here and we won't even have the one dish that I miss so dearly...

We started with a glass of Alfred Gratien Brut, whose nose very caramelized, quite mineral.  Very full on the palate, with very high acidity and a grippy finish.  Definitely showing the meunier side.

A sticky holiday

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It has been waaay too long since we met up with Birdiegolf, so when we found ourselves with not one but two days off during the week, it seemed like the right time to have a meal together.  Hidden (秀殿) was suggested as the venue, as our friends have not yet had the pleasure of dining there.

Once seated, I immediately inquired about the curry rice that The Man in White T-shirt was photographed with recently.  I was saddened to be told that it was not available.  I would have to settle for something else, then...

Fruit tomato (フルーツトマト) - these were more ripe than the Amera (アメーラトマト) we had on our last visit.

Fried cheese bites (一口チーズフライ) - it still amazes me how much we enjoy these deep-fried pieces of Camembert... And yes, we ordered a second serving.  Again.

The flowery Chairman

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We promised to take Mikacina for a Cantonese meal while she's in town (she's already had another Cantonese meal before tonight), and we decided to take her to The Chairman (大班樓).  Neither The Great One nor I have been there in a while, so this was a good opportunity for a refresher.  Since The Great One made the arrangements through Danny, we knew we would be well taken care of.

We started with some cold-brewed Oolong (烏龍) tea, which had amazing floral notes as if they came with osmanthus (桂花) - the way some tea merchants like to combine them.  Just as Danny said, this was almost a little sweet on the palate.

Pickled mid-summer ginger root (大班樓子薑)

Sweet vinegar pickled tomatoes (醃漬蕃茄)