**** So, this is part 2 of our dinner. If you haven't read part 1, you can find it here.
After the "Banquet" and the "Dim Sum", the next set of items up were named "Fish".
Anhui Province Red Braised Fermented Wild Seabass, I'm thinking that this was supposed to be a homage to Chòu Guì Yú, which uses a brine based fermentation technique?
We enjoyed the textural variations within the dish. The ikura like fish roe presented a savory-brininess. The fish was tender, not overly salty.
The "Why We Don't Need to Eat Shark's Fin Soup" was interesting, subbing agar for the shark fin.
We were told to pour the soup, which had a nice gelatinous richness onto the Braised Abalone with Shiitake Mushroom and Sea Cucumber which was part of the "set". It was a bit of overkill. For some reason the abalone tasted somewhat bitter?
And then there was the Garlic Steamed Tiger Prawn, Mung Bean Noodle, with "Superior" Soy. Not sure why they needed to add the Superior Soy to the name…..I use it in my dishes all the time and think of it as a kitchen staple?
Nice balanced garlic-ginger tones in this; but the tiger prawn was over-cooked and tough.
Next up were the "Snacks".
Starting with the riff on Rou Jia Mo; something we loved during our trip to Shaanxi.
A very interesting put it together yourself presentation. The mantou was a bit too doughy; it should be more crisp as well. The lamb had really been stewed in the juices and sauce, but was quite mild in flavor. It seemed a bit "tame"…which I think was the issue we had with many of the dishes here.
Soy Chicken with Ginger Oil and Oscietra Caviar. Man Ossetra Caviar, with Soy Sauce Chicken?
It was accompanied by some soy sauce for dipping. The caviar and soy sauce did a great job balancing out the dish which skewed sweet.
We did enjoy the texture of the Pulled Noodle Cracker with Japanese Wagyu and Shrimp Chili Oil.
But the Wagyu seemed a bit lost here. The chili oil was savory, but wasn't particularly spicy.
Next up were the "Five Flavours"; now you know how much I reference suan–tian–ku–la–xian, the sour-sweet-bitter-spicy-salty metaphor for balanced dishes.
Gong Bao Chicken, Roasted Peanuts, and Hot Pot Essence.
This was a nice bite as the ma-la (numbing spice) came thru cleanly.
We were provided with Nashi Pear edges with Sichuan Peppercorn as a palate cleanser for the final dishes.
The presentation of the Sweet and Sour Corn Fed Chicken, Thai basil, Pineapple and Candied Walnuts was eye catching.
But like many of the other dishes, the "Emperor had no clothes". It was too sweet; the chicken was not crisp enough and bland. Not enough basil to really add that anise goodness to the dish.
Not sure why the Roasted Cashew, Tamarind, Dried Shrimp and Coriander Cheung fun wasn't on the "dim sum" menu.
The Missus enjoyed the crisp youtiao that crowned the dish; it again skewed a bit sweet, though the cheong fun was nicely texture with a nice "pull" to it.
The silken tofu in the Chrysanthemum Tofu and Lemongrass Broth was beautifully silken.
The dish came with a very nice soup spoon of sauce on the side.
We were told to eat the tofu in combination with the Yunnan Seared Beef with Mint, Chili and Lemongrass.
Which was fine. As you can tell, we were getting a bit worn down by this time.
And my notepad on my phone was getting quite full.
On the bright side; the last "main dish" was quite interesting. The Young Coconut with Madagascan Black Pepper Sauce.
I know, doesn't look like much from this angle. But turn the plate around a bit……
Yes, there's more black truffle here. We were surprised that it went well with the slightly sweet and nutty coconut. The black pepper sauce really balanced the dish out with the fried shiso leaf adding in that touch of minty-anise-vegetal tones.
As you all know, I'm not much of a dessert guy, but I found the Coconut Water Ice to be quite refreshing. Especially after so many items.
The Candied Walnuts with Blue Cheese was an interesting, very non-Chinese item for dessert.
The Missus enjoyed the version of Dragon's Beard Candy provided.
We took the Petit-Fours with us. The Missus enjoyed them with coffee the next morning.
So, if you've made thru both posts, I'm sure you can figure out what we thought of the meal. The service was a bit hovering, but very nice. The presentation of the dishes were quite excellent; but we don't eat with our eyes. For a place whose owner claims to be a "Chef-Anthropologist", many of the dishes really didn't capture the essence and soul of the cuisine of the various regions of China to us.
As for the price; it was 200£ per person plus another 200£ for the wine pairing….which the Missus liked BTW. So, all told including service charges/tips the bill came out to about $1k US!
We'll have to mark this one up to "well, at least we finally tried A Wong".
A. Wong
70 Wilton Rd.
Pimlico, London, United Kingdom
