Spicy Bordeaux

Pin It

The Compatriot is in town on a short stopover and had time for one dinner. I rattled off the names of a few restaurants but the one that seem to have caught his attention was Mián (紅棉), as it's more than just your box standard Cantonese restaurant. Foursheets and I also love the place for its pet-friendly outdoor terrace, but as the weather has been unstable lately, we played it safe by getting a table indoors.

I've got a list of favorite dishes based on multiple visits, but I wanted to make sure our visitors got to try things that interested them. Thankfully the dishes they chose were ones I would have probably ordered, anyway.

We started a little late because of a late arrival, but I was wondering why it was taking so long for food to arrive after we had asked the staff to alert the kitchen... when all four starters we had ordered came at the same time.

Boiled sliced pork ∙ garlic ∙ chili oil (蒜泥白肉) - pretty spicy, but perhaps a little less than I remembered. Lots of diced garlic delivered that familiar flavor profile, and the heat was somewhat tempered by the celtuce wrapped inside the pork.

The usual good stuff

Pin It

We have a friend in town for the first time in 8 years, and a mutual friend who dined with us last month while he was in town insisted that we must take this friend to Noble Imperial (尚御潮滷居). This happened to make total sense, as our visitors were staying in an area not far from the restaurant.

Unfortunately I had to navigate rush hour traffic across the harbor in a Friday night, so I ended up being pretty late... and quite a few of the cold dishes had already arrived at the table before I even stepped into the restaurant. I'm grateful that everyone waited for me.

Goose liver marinated in Chinese wine (極品酒香鵝肝) - after our experience last time while comparing the two different versions of goose liver, we decided that the one marinated in wine was superior. And indeed, not only is the liver really smooth in texture, but the marinade was just much more fragrant in the mouth.

Chili in Wanchai

Pin It

I don't dip my toes - or more accurately, my tongue - into Sichuan cuisine very often, thanks to not having a high tolerance for heat. The rare exception has made for a pair of meals at Deng G (鄧記) over the past few years, as they serve up some dishes which are more traditional and not everything is smothered in chili oil. When an invitation came from Mr. Chichi (吃吃君) for a dinner there while Chef Deng Huadong (邓华东) was back in town, I checked with Foursheets - who is always up for something spicy - and happily accepted the invitation.

The menu was, of course, composed by the chef. Foursheets and I did object to the inclusion of shark's fin, so we were promised a substitute that would not alter the experience significantly.

We started with six cold appetizers (鄧記六小碟):

Chayote shoots with Sichuan pepper (川椒龍鬚菜) - very refreshing, and not really spicy at all.

2024 Mooncake roundup

Pin It

I wasn't feeling particularly festive this year, and I couldn't travel to be with the Parental Units for a family reunion this Mid-Autumn, so I didn't buy many mooncakes this season. Foursheets has absolutely zero interest in mooncakes, so anything that comes into our home will be consumed exclusively by moi. And I don't need to grow any more than I already have...

I was walking past Pak Po Vegetarian Kitchen (百寶齋廚) when I noticed that they were selling mooncakes that I would be interested in, so I just bought myself a single one to try.

Jujube and walnut mooncake (棗泥核桃月餅) - this was actually pretty good. The flavors of the jujube paste was nice and strong, but I do wish they added a little bit more walnut and not just at the bottom. I'd definitely buy this again.

From Sai Wan Ho to Central

Pin It

After a happy dinner last week hosted by the Mushroom Supplier, we received word that the Tea Supplier - who was a few seats away from me - was inviting us to dinner at Hop Sze (合時小廚). I was somewhat surprised by the invitation, but decided to respond positively to the kind gesture.

Hop Sze used to be a simple restaurant in a residential neighborhood which served decent classic Cantonese fare at a reasonable price. Foursheets and I used to drop by for lunch after we took Kuma the Asshole for his bath, and while we thought the dishes we had were well-made, we never thought about organizing big meals there with groups of friends. We did hear stories of other friends who didn't live in the neighborhood starting to gather there, and the place started to get a reputation among the foodie crowd in the latter half of 2019. We didn't join those meals, and our last visit was a lunch in October 2019.

Then the pandemic hit and the place became one of the place that were impossible to book. I never understood why, but my usual reaction to watching places like that go up in popularity was to stop patronizing them. There are very few places in the world where I feel that I must dine at, and if lots of people are tripping over themselves to book seats somewhere, well, I'd rather give my business to others whose cuisine I like and who genuinely need my business. So I watched with passing curiosity as they opened a second, larger outlet near our old apartment, but still never bothered to try and book.

Tonight turned out to be a great opportunity for us to try many dishes that this place was known for. The original location in Sai Wan Ho had closed and will be rebranded, while Brother Kuen and his team have relocated to Central and now serve the members of Club Batard. Operations began 10 days ago, and the Tea Supplier has booked the largest private room - where the original signage is now hung, and which is set up for people to enjoy karaoke.