Tim again

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Two days after my dinner in Macau, I'm back at Tim's Kitchen (桃花源小廚) - this time in Hong Kong.  I had set up this dinner a few weeks ago, and decided it would be in very poor form to change the venue.  Besides, I don't mind having the same dishes a few days apart - at least not these dishes.

I skipped the stir-fried giant glass prawn (玻璃明蝦球) to save myself some stomach space, so my first dish became crab claw poached with winter melon (冬瓜蟹拑).  It was as good as always, and I particularly liked the delicate and subtle flavors of the Yunnan ham in the sauce.

I passed on the braised assorted snake soup (太史五蛇羹), as I wasn't really in the mood and wanted to have a lighter meal.  The ladies, however, happily slurped away... especially that loud Resident Froggie...

Braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe (蝦子柚皮) - the waiter served the dish, and went into autopilot and immediately dissected it into four pieces.  I completely forgot to stop him, and I could see Froggie cringing and clenching her fingers around the grip of her SLR.  Clearly she had wanted to take a picture of the thing in one piece, not four... Oh well.  With the delicious skin in our mouths, we wondered how anyone ever realized that pomelo skin could be made into a dish, and discovered that pairing it with shrimp roe would be so awesome...

At the same time that the pomelo skin arrived at our table, two other dishes were also served to us.  I got a little agitated at the service, as there was no way we could get to all the dishes before they got cold.  The staff apologized and took the dishes back.

But the roasted baby pigeon (紅燒頂鴿皇) had just been freshly chopped up and needed to be consumed immediately, so we picked up the pieces and started chomping.  The pigeon meat was succulent and tender; there was lots of seasoning, especially on the skin and the membranes around the inner cavity.  While the flavors were nice, somehow I didn't quite get the wonderful surprise I found in Macau.

As we were finishing up the pigeon, the waiter brought the remaining dishes to the table - supposedly fresh batches instead of reheating the original plates.  Stir-fried tripe with mixed vegetables (七彩炒肚尖) is always welcome in my book, and the tripe was particularly chewy today.  I kept wondering whether the chewiness resulted from reheating...

Braised goose web and pork tendon in oyster sauce (豬腳筋扣鵝掌) - Froggie doesn't do feet, so she kept to the soft and wonderful tendon instead. It had been braised for so long that the outside became glue-like and left a coating on my lips and tongue.  The goose web was really well-done, too.

The ladies were pretty full by this point, while I was just fine.  No carbs tonight, and I decided to pick out a couple of desserts to finish the meal.  The steamed jujube cakes (紅豆糕) were honestly a little too gelatinous... and we put in some effort to separate and eat the layers one by one.  The fragrance was that of jujube skin, but the smokiness was intensified.  Not very sweet.

The sago puff pastry (甘露酥) was a total failure, and none of us liked it.  There was absolutely no sago anywhere.  Instead the filling was actually lotus seed paste - like a mooncake - with pine nuts.  Unfortunately the outer shell wasn't puffy at all and crumbled instead.  Now I wonder if they gave us the wrong dessert...

I brought my last bottle of 2006 Taille Aux Loups Montlouis Sec Rémus, which showed floral notes along with orange marmalade and honey.  Nose was kind of sharp.

We left the restaurant satiated, and I for one was happy not to be stuffed like a pig...

Chubby piggy

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I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Chubby Hubby tonight.  CH and Cha Xiu Bao were the original two food blogs I followed, and these guys really know their food and - unlike yours truly - can actually cook.  Our hostess decided to take us to the Kimberley Chinese Restaurant (君怡閣) since she has heard all about the Kimberley Pig from us but has yet to try it herself.

We decided to keep to a small selection of dishes, so that we could have enough stomach space to fully appreciate the pig.  The dishes we ordered were all the usual suspects:

Deep-fried salmon skin

Braised pig trotters (鹵水豬腳)

Clear ox bone soup (清燉牛骨湯) - the big claypot was honestly a little big for us, and a few of us managed to have a second bowl later on during the meal.  While the soup was still delicious, I thought they didn't spend enough time cooking it as there wasn't enough marrow and collagen in the soup itself.  The consistency used to be much thicker but it was a little light tonight.  I also seemed to have gotten a good portion of the collagen tonight.  My lips were shiny and sticky...

As the pig takes a while to roast, and we didn't have any other dishes coming, there was somewhat of a gap in the middle of our meal.  Our hostess grew a little impatient, but I hope in the end she found the wait worthwhile. 

The stuffed roast suckling pig (金陵全豬烤金苗) was rolled out, and our hostess and the guest got up and took pictures - pretty much obligatory for anyone seeing this for the first time.  There was the familiar crackle of the pork crackling as the cleaver sliced through the tubular piggy.  How I love this pig...  Each of us was able to have two slices (or more for some...) without feeling really stuffed.  Another little piggy went to heaven so that we the diners could have a heavenly meal.

We also had some stir-fried kale with garlic (蒜茸炒芥蘭), just to have a more balanced meal...

Our hosts also brought two bottles of wine to share with us.  Unfortunately I wasn't much in the mood for wine, so my tasting notes were pretty basic...

2003 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino - sous bois, pine needle and a little sweet.

2004 Marengo Barolo Brunate - some spices and potpourri.

The kitchen sent us a plate of fresh fruits as well as some osmanthus jelly (桂花糕), which I always enjoyed.  A nice way to finish up this simple yet wonderful meal.

Lost. Again.

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Some relatives were passing through Hong Kong and were scheduled to leave this afternoon, so I rushed to have an early lunch with them before they boarded their flight.  I was looking for a location around the Airport Express station when I suddenly came upon The Square (翠玉軒). I've never had much high regard for this place, being one of those generic venues in the Maxim's Group.  But somehow these people have gotten themselves a macaron, so I figured I'd see if the tire people once again got things wrong.

Steamed rice flour roll with shrimp (鮮蝦蒸腸粉) - there is some salty egg yolk inside along with the shrimps.  Normally the combination works - in other forms - but somehow this just felt a little weird today...  I wasn't quite liking the powdery texture of the yolk along with the smooth textures of the roll and the shrimp.

Marinated yamaimo with tofu skin (腐竹伴淮山) - this was OK.  Not really digging the sauce.

Steamed shrimp dumplings (蝦餃) - methinks the skin was a little too thick... and I wasn't the only one.

Baked pastries with ham and spring onions (黃橋燒餅) - tasted pretty good, although they still can't top the ones from Victoria City Seafood (海都) made with lots of lard.

Deep-fried shrimp spring rolls (鮮蝦春卷) - pretty good actually.

Deep-fried spring rolls with mixed seafood (炸海鮮卷) - favorite dish of my Favorite Cousin.  I'm starting to think that this place does better with items that are not steamed...

Deep-fried salt water dumplings (咸水角) - didn't get to have one of these...

Stir-fried kale with preserved mustard green (梅菜芥蘭) - my relatives were surprised by the sweet taste of the preserved mustard green (梅菜), which is more salty and dry.

Pan-fried turnip cake with XO sauce (XO醬煎蘿蔔糕) - this was not bad.

We were a little full and decided to pass on dessert.  Judging from the dim sum we had today, my long-held view of the restaurant remains unchanged... maybe they do better with regular dishes.  Another WTF from the Michelin "experts"...

As we wrapped up lunch, I discovered to my horror that my wallet was missing.  I looked around and it was nowhere to be found.   I guess I must have dropped it in the cab AFTER I paid for the cab fare...  This is the second time in two months that I've managed to lose my wallet.  Sigh...

Macau Tim

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It's Dayliao's turn to host an MNSC dinner.  Since he's getting married in Macau about a month from now, he decided we should trek over to Macau for his last MNSC dinner as a single man.  We would revisit Tim's Kitchen (桃花源) and actually sit in the same room as the last time Dayliao hosted his dinner in Macau...

A series of starters were placed onto the lazy Susan as we started the meal:

Century eggs with pickled ginger (皮蛋伴酸薑) - not one of those things that goes well with wine, but delicious nonetheless.

Marinated sliced pork belly (涼拌爽肚片) - these thin slices of pork belly were blanched and a little chewy.  I really enjoyed the sensation as I bit down with my teeth and felt the spring of the meat.

Deep-fried duck tongue with garlic and pepper (椒鹽鴨舌) - I normally take the tongues marinated in soy sauce, but this was pretty nice, too.  Slightly spicy.

Marinated sea cucumber (涼拌遼參) - I liked the soft yet slightly chewy texture of the sea cucumber.

Deep-fried shredded mushrooms (酥炸菇絲) - very, very tasty... Reminds me of the deep-fried shredded burdock (牛蒡) I love so much.  Slightly spicy with chipped chilis.

Deep-fried tofu cubes (椒鹽豆腐粒) - ho-hum.  Batter is sprinkled with chili powder.

After a while, the other dishes started arriving one after another:

One should never miss the stir-fried giant glass prawn (玻璃明蝦球).  While the prawn was as good as always, the thin slice of ham tonight was the star.  Unlike what I'd get at Tim's Kitchen in Hong Kong, this sliver had a honey glaze and much sweeter.

Deep-fried whole crab claw (椒鹽原隻鮮蟹鉗) - I've never had the deep-fried version in all my visits to Tim's Kitchen, but this one wasn't bad either.  The crab meat was still fresh and sweet, although the batter was a little spicy.  It was gone in no time.

Stir-fried shark's fin with bean sprouts and egg (桂花炒魚翅) - a rather weak execution.  Not fried with high heat and we couldn't taste the wok hei (鑊氣).

Stir-fried tripe with mixed vegetables (七彩炒肚尖) - can't imagine coming here without having this dish...

Roasted baby pigeon (紅燒頂鴿皇) - O-M-G.  Even though I enjoyed the pigeon at lunch today, this pigeon just blew away anything I've had recently.  The meat had been marinated with spices and the wonderful fragrance of star anise came through.  I couldn't resist cleaning up the plate since no one else was grabbing any...

Braised pomelo skin with shrimp roe (蝦子炆柚皮) - just awesome.  I used my spoon to clean up the starchy sauce and tried to get every single grain of shrimp roe...

Fried rice with beef (生炒牛肉飯) - very, very good.  The rice grains had the right balance between being moist yet dry enough, with perfect bite.  A testament to the skills of the chef.

Rice flour rolls stir-fried with satay beef (沙爹牛肉炒腸粉) - pretty yummy, too.  The rolls were very soft, and the satay sauce definitely hit the spot.

Glutinous rice balls with black sesame center (擂沙香麻球) - these were sooooo good... The flavors of the black sesame filling were just really intense.  I must have had at least three of these.

Steamed lotus seed paste birthday buns (蓮蓉壽包) - pretty good, although the ones at Fook Lam Moon still come out tops.

The food was awesome, and I think it's at least on par with the main restaurant in Hong Kong.

The main event of the evening, served in pairs:

2002 Comte Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Goutte d'Or - muted nose with some oak, vegetal, chalky and minerally.

2002 Comte Lafon Meursault 1er Cru Les Charmes - a bit ripe, oak, sweet on the palate, and also hot on the palate.

1991 Comte de Vogüé Bonnes-Mares - ripe and mature.  Suddenly oyster sauce notes emerged, along with a little salty plum (話梅).  Really silky smooth on the palate.  Later on the wine was much more acidic.  91 points.

1991 Dominus - brett and medicinal, smoky, lead pencil and some fruit.  93 points.

1994 Dominus - mint, smoky, brett, sweet and a bit of caramel.  Should have known from the caramel that this wasn't French...  93 points.

1994 Latour - initially closed, later some smoke.  Actually still a little tannic.  94 points.

1988 Dujac Clos de la Roche - very fruity, sweet and full of berries.  Vibrant and lively.  95 points.

1988 Hubert Lignier Clos de la Roche - orange marmalade, a little farmy, nose seemed a little cooked.  A little grassy and vegetal, with some potpourri.  93 points.

1985 Margaux - very bretty and medicinal, green, vegetal, mint, and almost a little ripe on the finish.  94 points.

1985 Mouton-Rothschild - ripe with a little brett, and a little sweet on the nose.  94 points.

That was a lot of good wine for one evening...

Dim sum with a view

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I can't remember the last time I had a meal at Yan Toh Heen (欣圖軒), even though it has long been one of my favorite restaurants ever since I arrived in Hong Kong all those years ago.  I was entertaining more visitors and decided it might be a good idea to pay them a visit.

Roasted baby pigeon (香燒軟骨鴿) - these were pretty good... succulent and tasty.

Baked sweetcorn buns with diced chicken and garlic (蒜茸美國雞粒焗玉米餐包) - I have no idea why this has been marked as one of the chef's recommendations.  We all thought this was the one item which failed in terms of taste.  OK, garlic is always welcome, but the bun was actually like a crappy wheat dinner roll and these just don't taste good steamed.

Turnip and freshwater eel in puff pastry (燒鱔蘿蔔絲酥盒) - the puff pastry was very fragrant and oily, but as a result it was too soft and broke apart easily when I lifted it with my chopsticks.  The taste was very interesting, although I was surprised that carrots were used in addition to turnip.

Steamed carrot, pinenuts and chive dumplings (甘筍崧子韮菜餃) - interesting and creative combination of filling, including some mushrooms.  The skin is made with carrot juice, which gives it that bright orange color.

Steamed crabmeat, green vegetables and black truffles dumplings (黑松露蟹肉菜苗餃) - another yummy dumpling, this time with the skin made with spinach purée.

Steamed rice flour cannelloni with shredded roasted duck conpoy and chives (韮皇瑤柱火鴨絲腸粉) - so-so, although in the end I finally thought that the shredded duck as somewhat tasty.

Stir-fried broccoli with XO sauce (XO醬炒西蘭花) - kinda interesting.  I've always loved the XO sauce here so no complaints here...

Mini egg tarts (珍珠雞蛋撻) - I couldn't believe how badly the restaurant failed here... the egg custard filling was just bland and tasteless... One of the worst egg tarts I've had in a long, long time.

Chilled mango cream with sago and pomelo (楊枝甘露) - very tasty and refreshing.

I'm glad I came back for dim sum today - which incidentally was the first time I've had dim sum here.  I found the general quality to be very high, befitting a Michelin-starred hotel restaurant.  The items were also pretty creative, and actually worked most of the time.  I should cross the harbor and come back more often...