SMS and I were invited to an epic feast on Monday night. My colleague wanted to host the residents who’ve worked at the VA recently. I was invited along since I’ve started to help with some of his OR days. I suspect it’s also nice to have at least one other faculty colleague along. Those residents are rowdy! (Jk). +1s were also invited so SMS came into the city, which was really gracious of him after a long day at work during a busy week for him.
I started the evening off right by going to the wrong restaurant. As SMS said, “The address is on top of the menu! How did you do that?!” But I had typed it in from my email where HK was spelled out as Hong Kong, so I ended up in Outer Richmond instead of SOMA. Great. I was pretty flustered b/c it is a total pet peeve of mine when people are late for dinner reservations at restaurants. I think it is the height of rudeness. So I was pretty mad at myself.
But, all was forgiven and no permanent grudges seem to have been held. Steven grew up in Hong Kong, so he has a deep knowledge of the cuisine that is tied in with a lot of warm memories and favorite dishes. He and his wife ordered in advance so we got a lot of special dishes that aren’t on the normal menu because of the advance preparation that’s required.
I feel like I would use up all my positive adjectives in describing the food. Apart from the overall deliciousness of every.single.dish (really!), the contrasting textures within dishes really heightened the sensory experience. In particular, the coffee ribs had a sticky, sweet, crisp glaze that contrasted with perfectly cooked pork rib meat. The turbo fish had a buttery crust that contrasted with the flaky meat. The surf clams were huge and sliced clam was mixed in with ginger, sprouts, and other crisp veggies. The deluxe winter melon soup was delicious and served in the gourd itself. Mrs. Cheung said that it took six hours to cook. The dim sum appetizers were excellent and really, probably enough calories for a normal dinner. And yet, we persisted. I did reach a point of being maxed out. I really wanted a second rib, but I thought that I would probably have regrets. I’m not sure if that’s actually true, but I think I stopped eating at an appropriate point.
I don’t know if I would ever go back without the Cheungs. They were wonderful hosts and the experience was superlative. Maybe I would venture out to dim sum brunch on my own but better yet, maybe SMS and I will invite them out on a separate night and have another wonderful meal!
Oh my goodness, how amazing. I’ve never had the opportunity to go to a Chinese or Hong Kong restaurant with someone who really knows the cuisine well, that sounds sublime.
I love dim sum, but usually I’m so hungry that when they come around with the food I just take the first things that come, and then I’m full and they bring something that I wish I had room for. Sigh. We used to love Ton Kiang on Geary before they closed.