Cross harbor Japanese evening

Pin It

A Japanese friend of mine had been clamoring for some tonkatsu (豚カツ), and I finally got around to gathering the troops to check out Romankan Yokohama (浪漫館横浜), whose ownership includes one of my friends.  I had gone to check out the very delicious sandwich earlier this year, but I was eager to check out how they'd fare with a full cutlet.

We called over a waitress to take our order.  She informed us that there was no more pork fillet - they had sold out.  What??!!  Being one of the two main choices at any tonkatsu restaurant, how is it possible for them to run out before 8pm on a Saturday night?!  The waitress also seemed very eager to go back to her station to input the order into the system, as I kept having to call her back to the table so I could finish my order.  She kept running away... was I that repulsive?

We started with some deep-fried chicken cartilage (軟骨唐揚げ), which were OK.  I didn't have any of the cold tofu (冷奴) or the salad with plum dressing.

Being a lover of pork fat, it had never crossed my mind to order the fillet... I was always going to order the deluxe deep fried breaded pork loin set (極品旨みサクサクロースカツ御膳).  I started by grinding some sesame with mortar and pestle, which produced a nice fragrance and did provide a nice flavor.  The pork arrived and I was very, very happy.  I drizzled on some sauce - whose flavors were pretty intense and to my liking - and sprinkled on some ground sesame.  One bite and I was a happy boy...plenty of fat in the cutlet and the whole thing was just really succulent.  This was the reason for trekking across the harbor tonight!

I lifted up the lid to my rice bowl, and was immediately disappointed.  The rice looked a little mushy, and that was indeed the case.  You want the rice grains to be moist enough to stick together, but not to the point where the grains get so wet they get mushed in the process of being scooped into the bowl... Oh well.

I finished my yummy pork loin, and also had a piece of the deep fried breaded chicken cutlet in grated radish and vinegar.  The chicken was very juicy and tender, but basically tasteless without seasoning.  I guess with the radish you really need to dip it into the vinegar...

After dinner we went for a round of drinks at Sevva.  Not exactly the best weather, what with the wind and the fog... The girls decided they wanted to sit indoors, and we ordered a round of cocktails and a couple of desserts.

Some time ago I had also promised to introduce a couple of Japanese bars to my friend, so we headed to Causeway Bay for round two... Our first stop at Bar Seed was a short one, as they were full and couldn't accomodate the 5 of us.  Miyano-san was very nice and apologized profusely...

So we headed to the other side of Causeway Bay and ended up at Executive Bar.  I had heard about this place for some time, and wanted to meet its owner Ichiro-san.  We sat down at the bar and started to order our drinks one by one.

I took a shot of Ardbeg Blasda straight up in a white wine glass.  The word "blasda" in Gaelic means "sweet and delicious", and this was definitely a sweeter expression of the Ardbeg style.  They toned down the peatiness of the whisky to about a third of what it normally is, and the result is obvious.  You can definitely still smell the peat but it's much lighter now, with a hint of sweetness on the nose...a little caramel...and a finish that is also a little sweet.  Pretty interesting.

I switched gears and asked for a cocktail made from the Japanese fruits on display.  Ichiro-san recommended the small watermelon from Miyazaki (宮崎), and squeezed the juice out of a quarter of the fruit.  He added it to a shot of Absolut vodka on ice.  The watermelon juice was very, very sweet, and masked the alcohol of the vodka pretty well.  Nice and thirst-quenching.

My friends wanted to see Ichiro-san working the cocktail shakers, so we ordered two cocktails - shaken with a Cobbler Shaker and a Boston Shaker, respectively.  Ichiro-san's shaking skills truly have to be seen... I haven't been to many Japanese bars in my time, but his style is truly unique as far as I'm concerned.  The second cocktail was ordered just to see him in action again...

For my final drink I took a shot of Caol Ila 27 Year Old, again straight up.  I wanted to try some of the other Islay malts which aren't available elsewhere.  Very mature.  Pretty sweet with caramel, a little plum and a little peaty.  Spicy and long finish.

I think next time I'll take my whiskies on the rocks, just to witness Ichiro-san's ice-picking skills.  Whether you ask for a square or round cube of ice for your malt, his amazingly fast hands ensure that the ice would be sitting in the glass in no time.  I did have my camera with me, and I wish I'd asked him for permission to film him!  Maybe next time...

Whites only

Pin It

I went back to the China Club (中國會) to meet up with a few ex-colleagues for dinner, in part to celebrate the impending sabbatical of a friend.  One of my friends is about to lose her membership with the club, so we decided it would be easy for a few of them to walk across the street to dinner.

Unfortunately, we didn't book a private room and ended up in the main dining room.  It was loud...not just from the crowd but from the band and the singer in the room.  I've never sat in the main dining room for dinner, and this would probably be the last time that I do so.  Not what I had in mind.

I came up with a list of a few dishes I liked and had them pre-ordered.  Started with a plate of fatty char siu (肥叉燒) while we waited for the last person to arrive.  A little sub-par tonight...while there was enough caramelized fat, the exterior - which is usually a little dry and crispy - was too dry and hard.  The pork was just too chewy...

Conch baked with goose liver (鮮鵝肝焗格蘭嚮螺) - this was not bad, but nowhere near the level that I remembered from last time.

Roast duck (掛爐琵琶鴨) - the duck was very, very nicely roasted.  The skin was thin and crispy, while the meat was soft and succulent.  But I seemed to be the only one who kept eating it...

Wolfberry leaves with sliced pork in superior broth (上湯枸杞葉肉片) - always nice to have wolfberry leaves - along with some wolfberries (枸杞子).

Stir-fried thin noodles with shredded chicken in soy sauce (豉油皇雞絲炒麵) - very, very yummy with lots of wok hei (鑊氣) from frying with high heat.  The only drawback here is that they used too much oil tonight, and the whole thing was a little greasy.

For dessert I had some deep-fried egg cuillers (蛋散), which were very nice and fluffy.  I didn't have any deep-fried glutinous rice balls (煎堆).

I pushed this gathering from lunch to dinner because I wanted to drink, and brought along a bottle of 1999 Roger Sabon Le Secret de Sabon.  Nose was pretty farmy, with mint, a little smoke, sweet fruit, earthy and minerals.  The combination with char siu made the smokiness much more prominent.  Medium acidity.  Not bad to drink now.

Half way through dinner, I realized that we were the only Asian table in the dining room - every other table was either all or predominantly Caucasian, with the occasional token Asian.  That felt a little weird.  Yes, I realize that the setting of the China Club caters to expats and visitors, but I didn't expect things to be so one-sided.  I guess most of the local clientele - like me - weren't exactly looking forward to watching the waiter showing off kung fu his skills with his tea pot...

Tycoons' fraternity

Pin It

Tonight the gathering of foodies took place at Shun Tak Fraternal Association (順德聯誼總會).  We had heard about this place from a friend and decided to check it out.  As one enters, there is a wall of photographs showing prominent members, and we see the familiar likenesses of two of the city's wealthiest tycoons who hail from the region.  Somehow I doubt that these guys come here to eat these days...

Interestingly, there was a table next door consisting of a bunch of lady foodies we know.   What a funny coincidence!  We pre-ordered a bunch of dishes, which were supposed to be their greatest hits:

Stir-fried shark's fin (桂花翅) - a few of us (including yours truly) do not eat shark's fin for environmental reasons, so we asked the kitchen to do this with fake fin - essentially gelatin strands.  I don't mind the consistency of the gelatin, but I thought the scrambled eggs were overcooked and too dry.  A little disappointed.

Pig's lung soup (豬肺湯) - the soup looked green, so we asked the waiter if they added almond cream in it.  You should have seen the reaction (both verbal and the look of disdain) from the waiter as he ladled soup into the bowls...and spilling it on the table in the process.  Yes, they used almonds...the waiter scoffed at us as if we were a bunch of clueless babies who didn't know our food.  The reality is that the use of watercress in the soup overpowered any scent of almonds.

Fried and baked fish head (燒焗魚咀) - we think they used cutlassfish, but whatever it was, it was delicious.  I'm not an expert at eating fish heads, but I was happily sucking away trying to get as much as I could out of every little crevice...

Braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe (蝦籽柚皮) - pretty nicely done here.  Lots of yummy flavors from the shrimp roe.  I also liked the bok choy (白菜仔) that came along with the pomelo.

Stir-fried milk (大良炒鮮奶) - kinda disappointed.  The milk was stir-fried with slices of button mushrooms, pine nuts plus some shredded pork, and served over a bed of deep-fried vermicelli.  It was just too salty for me.

Fried pigeon (炸乳鴿) - excellent.  Very juicy on the inside while the skin was wonderfully crispy.  I was tempted to have more than one piece, but thought I should control my intake...

Pan-fried prawns in superior soy (豉油皇煎大蝦) - these were pretty big prawns...and they were butterflied so the outside was a little dry.  But the full flavors from the soy were very nice.  Personally I prefer my prawns to be smaller, as they tend to be more tender to the bite.

Braised pork hock with mustard green (肘子扒芥膽) - the lean portion of the pork was a little dry, but that layer of skin and fat was not bad.

Stir-fried glutinous rice (生炒糯米飯) - kinda wet but not quite to the point of being soggy.  They used both kinds of Cantonese sausages, which was interesting.  Still think Fook Lam Moon (福臨門) does the best version, but this was not bad.

For dessert there was almond cream (杏仁茶), without egg white tonight.  This was much thicker and had lots of fine almond grinds which gave it more texture, but unfortunately stuck to the back of my throat and annoyed me.

We also had homemade whoopie pie shaped like owls.  The elves had baked them in both large and small sizes, and I chose a small one for myself.  Polished it off in one bite.  The filling was made with peanuts, and we detected some spices and wondered if there was ginger or nutmeg.  Pretty nice.

For wines we started with a bottle of 2006 Hokkaido Wine Yukitsumi Kerner (北海道ワイン雪摘みケルナー) brought by a friend.  I remember visiting a winery in Hokkaido 10 years ago but don't remember if this was the one.  I've also never had Kerner (nor heard of it) even though it's one of the most-planted varietals in Germany.  Anyway, this is basically like eiswein...where the grapes are harvested after snow has fallen and the grapes have been frozen.  Nose of muscat and green apple.  Sweet on the palate but slightly tart on the finish.  Can't say I was very impressed, but very interesting to drink something from Hokkaido.

2006 Selbach Riesling Kabinett "Fish" - I was bringing a couple of bottles of this home, so I thought I'd crack one open during dinner.  Minerals in the nose, with medium acidity balancing out the slightly sweet palate.  It's a cheap wine that's very quaffable.

There were a few let-downs tonight, but for the price we paid it was a very decent meal with some real winners.  If only the setting were a little nicer and the waiters more customer friendly...but then again, if they count the tycoons as their customers then we're practically nobodies, so why should we expect good service?

Unveiling at the Forum

Pin It

My friend just flew back yesterday from the 2009 en primeur tasting, and wanted to get together for a simple dinner over a bottle of wine.  She suggested Forum (富臨飯店), and I readily agreed as I have never dined there.  The chef/owner is famous for his abalone, and this always struck me as another place where people splurge on shark's fin and abalone, so I've deliberately stayed away in the past.

The two of us took in 3 dishes, which actually is a lot.

Traditional-style fried and cooked eastern star garoupa (古法煎煮東星斑) - kinda similar to what I had at Fook Lam Moon (福臨門), except that the taste here was a lot lighter as the fish wasn't braised with soy sauce.  Lots of radish, ginger and spring onions.  The flavors were very delicate - despite the crispy outer layer from pan-frying.  What was interesting was that the fish wasn't pan-fried whole but in halves.

Pigeon fillet with vegetables in ginger sauce (葁汁翡翠鴿脯) - a nice change to the way I normally have pigeon.  Filleted and stir-fried...the sauce was OK but they definitely over-cooked it.  The consistency in my mouth was starting to approach that of over-cooked pig's liver.  The stir-fried kale was nice, though.

Baby Chinese cabbage stir-fried with garlic (蒜茸炒娃娃菜) - pretty nice, and made up for my lack of veggie consumption in the last couple of days.

Deep-fried glutinous rice balls (煎堆) - very nicely done.  It's just a thin layer of glutinous rice sprinkled with sesame and deep-fried.  It was already starting to deflate so I quickly grabbed one and chomped on it.  That fragrant sesame flavor was delicious.

Almond cream with egg white (蛋白杏仁茶) - interesting that they didn't ask me whether I wanted the egg white, and just served it like that.  In fact I have never seen so much egg white in almond cream elsewhere...with some pretty big chunks.  The cream was nice but the consistency here seemed a bit thin.

I brought a bottle of 1998 Sine Qua Non Pinot Noir Veiled because my friend had talked about tasting some newer vintages of wines from SQN, and I happen to have some of the first few vintages.  Pinot has always been the weakest link in SQN's portfolio, but I love this wine mostly for its beautiful label created by owner Manfred Krankl.  I double-decanted at home.  The nose was alcoholic at first, but faded after a while.  There was plenty of fruit, with grilled game meats and some sweet candy, mint and perhaps even a hint of medicine in the nose.  Towards the end the nose became sharp again. The finish was a little short, and at the very end after 3 hours the wine tasted awful on my palate.

A casual, relaxing dinner over an interesting bottle of wine.  What a nice way to spend the last evening of a long weekend.

Tapas delight

Pin It

I went back to Tapeo tonight for some tapas.  It's been too long since I was last here, and I decided to pay the affable Piero another visit with my favorite cousin.

I took a glass of 2008 Altozano white, made from Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo.  Nose of peach and tropical fruits, with a little oak and some white flowers.  There was almost a hint of fizziness.  The wine was a little ripe on the palate with medium acidity.

Gambas pil pil - simple yet delicious, fried in olive oil with plenty of garlic and red chili peppers.

Ham croquetas - very creamy and gooey inside, with little chunks of ham inside.  A tad on the salty side, but otherwise pretty decent.

Sardines a la plancha - the minute these were put on the grill I could smell nothing but the fat of the fish being cooked.  Always wonderful, served with some red chili peppers and romesco sauce on the side.

I took a red as my second glass, choosing to go with 2006 Altozano red.  This was a blend of Temperanillo and Shiraz, which produced a very interesting nose.  Mint, pine needle, fragrant and floral notes.  Lots of plum and very ripe fruits, almost raisin-like.

Iberian morcilla and duck egg - I love morcilla and any kind of blood sausage.  Chunks of this were fried with onions and topped with a single duck egg.  Flavors were pretty heavy here, especially after the chunks of fat inside the sausage were heated.  Actually tasted better with some bread.  My favorite dish of the evening.

Crispy pork belly with quince alioli - I saw chunks of this being cut down to size when I first sat down, so of course I wasn't gonna pass this up.  Pretty decent, especially the crispy crackling.  But the portion did shrink from 3 pieces to 2 over the last year...

We were pretty full, so I went for the churros.  I loooooooove churros, and wish that I could have these for breakfast.  Dipped, double-dipped and triple-dipped in the chocolate sauce.  Slurp...

I'm glad I came back tonight.  Since this place is so close to the office, I think I should stop by more often!