Le French GourMay: a near-perfect three-star

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Thanks to the ban on dinner service, it has been more than 5 months since I last visited Sato-san at Ta Vie 旅 - one of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong. I've been looking at their post on the new dishes, and as the date for my visit got closer, I found myself drooling a little bit more. Those dishes looked really, really good. In fact, the presentation looked downright stunning.

We still have their house-made butter...

...and their house-made ricotta.

Both of those condiments are meant to go with the signature nukazuke (糠漬け) bread. After 7 years I am still in love with this bread. Just so unique.

Two years on

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It's been 2 years since our beloved asshole left us, and for the third year in a row, we are having dinner at Nikushou. Compared to previous years, though, our dinner tonight turned out a little more fancy - and the conversation a little more jovial.

The restaurant has been suffering from a lack of cow cow chopstick rests, as many have been damaged over the years while others have been stolen by customers. I noticed that my cow cow was not only missing the nose ring but actually was missing both legs down one side of its body...

Second chances, pinot edition

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Thanks to the dinner ban as well as the Film Buff's travel plans, it has taken us more than 4 months to gather together for some wine. I haven't been back to Andō for quite some time, and figured I could get everyone there for a refresher. I was surprised to have encountered some resistance from the group, but in the end I'm glad that they decided to trust my judgement. I was also glad that stringent government restrictions had been lifted by now, so that the 6 of us could be seated together in the private room next to the kitchen.

I didn't say anything to Goldfinger about the group expecting a "Peter menu", but some of my friends tonight was certainly looking for something above and beyond what they themselves had experienced while dining here.

We started with a caviar tasting, featuring 3 different brands: Kaviari, Nomad, and Petrossian. Each was served in a different fashion. And OF COURSE Goldfinger made sure I had gold foil on each serving, and only for me. I AM special, after all...

Six months on

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It has been much, much too long since this foursome popped open a few bottles, mainly thanks to the 4½-month ban on dinner service. It was 6 months ago that we opened up a few nice bottles to wash down some white truffles, and this time around we decided to hit Xinrongji (新榮記), a place I like very much. The Baller definitely has a better relationship with the restaurant than I do - since they don't know me from a hole in the wall - so I let him make the arrangements.

Although we had booked more than 3 weeks' in advance, the restaurant had already run out of their daily quota for roast Peking duck for tonight. I never understood why roast Peking duck is so popular in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong that don't specialize in Pekinese cuisine, but I guess I really don't know much about Chinese food. As I said to my friend earlier... I'll live.

Bayberries (楊梅) - I love that we always start with some seasonal fruit, and tonight these bayberries were really, really nice.

We also had these almond cookies (杏仁餅), which are always really, really good here. Soft and crumbly, and certainly very tasty.

Dinner under the stars, doggie edition

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We've been meaning to arrange a doggie playdate for our CC Dogcow, but unfortunate it didn't happen last year... so we tried again when Winnie the Chew could join us and bring their little fur baby along. Once again we chose Mian (紅棉) as the location, as it's pretty nice to sit under that pink-and-white shower tree in the courtyard.

As one of us hasn't really tried the menu here, Sankala and I ordered some of the usual suspects to give the first-timer a taste.

Jade lettuce ∙ wasabi (日本鮮山葵玉玲瓏) - always nice to start with something refreshing with clean flavors, especially on an evening like this.