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2009-08-19
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It took a month to plan a dinner gathering, pretty much the same amount of time to negotiate on the menu for the event. There are a million things to decide on -- whether the menu should feature all specialties of the restaurant, or should the event includes some surprising rare finds that are often overlooked or have noses turned away from it? My experience in planning anything like that was Thanksgiving dinner that involved myself as the one-man kitchen squad. Luckily enough here on OR, there
Passing hallways after hallways of dimly lit buildings, walls with scraped paint, and old hunchbacked folks who seemed too old, weak and fragile to be walking on stairs is the venue for this gathering. On this night of a thousand stars (light bulbs), the corner our party took place occupied 5 round tables. Free seating allowed us to pick our own seats. I eyed mine with the familiar faces, and as we settled down, the show began with great anticipation from salivating minds!
豉椒炒蟶子 (Razor Clams with Black Beans) gave off a whiff of complex aroma combining black beans, chilies and the briny remembrance of the sea from the clams, which came out just right (no stringy matter indeed). 上湯浸豆苗 (Pea Tendrils in Broth) was light enough to begin with, as the flavour of the chicken broth permeated into the fresh pea tendrils. Dried shrimps and bits of fish maw had their supporting roles in providing extra depth in flavour. 小炒王 is a 'house-special stir-fry' dish that is supposedly different among each joint. Here we have a combination of textures between toasted cashew nuts, celery, squid and a few shrimps in the mix, quickly tossed in the wok and served.
沙爹牛肉粉絲煲 (Beef and Vermicelli in Satay Sauce, served in Pot) arrived bubbling and beautiful in brown. The beef may be slightly tenderized, it wasn't so soft to begin with. The vermicelli absorbed the peanut-filled satay sauce, made downing rice an easier task indeed. Next was 沙拉蝦球 (Prawns in 'Salad Dressing'). Before you start thinking vinaigrettes, Think of it like sweet and sour pork, but instead of the sweet and sour sauce, you dress it up with Miracle Whip, the white fluffy mayonnaise dressing. It may seemed rather unconventional, but it's one of those local variation dish that made HK-cuisine proud with raging popularity. The prawns were dipped in a light batter coating and fried, then quickly tossed in the sauce so that the sauce slightly clinged onto the prawns without wetting the crispy texture. It took less than no time for the crowd to snaffle down the entire plate of these prawns.
Famed for its deep-fried dishes, 金利來's next dishes were three in a row -- all deep fried. In between calls out for beers, the first one was served -- deep fried tentacles of squid. It's slightly drier than we thought it'd be, but when the next plate of squid, coated in an eggy batter and fried, served together with, deep fried Bombay duck (九肚魚) the squid was impressive again. Each piece of squid was thick and tender, while the Bombay Duck was soft and pillowy as usual. The five-spice salt on the top was just adequate as flavoring. 酥炸蝦棗 (Cheese-filled Shrimp Fritters) were just about perfect. Each golden globe was coated with vermicelli and then deep fried for a crunchier texture. The coral interior revealed finely mashed shrimp mixture with flakes of waterchestnut, not to mention the rich filling of cheese oozing out. It's hard to get tired of fritters of any kind, and with the shrimp ones, they disappeared faster than the salad prawns earlier.
The last thing on the menu was also the only item that needed to be reserved in advance. 當紅炸子雞 (Crispy Chicken) had the perfect contrast of thin crispy skin and moist meat in a chicken dish. The skin was slightly sweet but the chicken itself was so richly flavoured that I couldn't help for seconds (and thirds too)
At the time of writing the dinner had been quite a while ago, and this joint seemed to have relocated to a new place as it waved goodbye to the location that once held many parties of joy, with night after night of kisses and cries, woos and wows over celebratory moments and festive occasions we all celebrated over local fare here at 金利來. What lacked in decor, had been compensated by years of good service and endless approbation in the foods that were far too close to home to be completely ignored. I am also counting on visiting the new location as well.
Note: Thanks to a dear friend who managed the party. Great experience indeed!!
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