鴛鴦 :: Yin Yang

The moment air-tickets were bought, I set about searching for a private kitchen for the man's birthday dinner in Hong Kong. So many choices! Honest-to-earth good food wanted in a unique setting. Hong Kong's private kitchens are a breath of fresh air. I wanted specifically a cuisine that's quintessentially Hong Kong, but I could deal with a twist. As long as it's not full fusion or progressive experiments. No western, Szechuan-pepper-anything or Northern Chinese influences. Finally, I settled on Margaret Xu's acclaimed Yin Yang (鴛鴦).

Giggled at the reviews and write-ups noting the 'hard-to-find' venues of these private kitchens. To me, nothing is ever that hard to find. Not with Google Maps. In Hong Kong, we can either opt for the driver to ferry us around some places, or we take the trains and a long walk between destinations. On foot, it's the fastest and easiest way to get to know a city. When I got there, I was pleased because the man's eyes lit up. The vibes, the fact that it's housed in a shophouse (not a mall), the seating and cosiness of it all, he was literally overjoyed. His palate, I believe, is a tad jaded too. Trying to find exciting dining options for him, especially a special birthday meal, isn't easy in any city.

Dining at private kitchens requires advance reservations anyway. So Yin Yang was most accommodating in understanding our menu preferences. The lovely Margaret patiently took me through her ideas and concepts. She tailored different food items to cater to the man's likes, and to what I like. But the portions, woah! The portions were huge. And guilt to us if we couldn't finish it. The produce is mainly sourced from Margaret's two organic farms. So we ate, and ate and ate.

Changing with the seasons, its menu nonetheless features the highly popular Yellow Earth Chicken (黄土鸡) and Soup Without Water (无水炖汤, a broth of beef jus and longan). We had those. The man courageously finished that giant chicken all by himself. He swore it was the best roast chicken he's ever had. When they chopped it up to be eaten, they managed to somehow removed the fats too. Either that, or in the smoking of the chicken, the fats dissolved. Then, the gigantic plate of crab (with roe in the shell) came. We almost keeled over. That gravy (crab jus, sea salt, ginger pond, egg, spring onions, etc) was fabulous with their olive oil rice. Full of briny ocean treasures.

When it came to dessert, the man ate most of it. He gobbled the tang yuan, and loved the lemongrass ginger sorbet I really didn't mind the square of black sesame with tofu. Margaret does tofu beautifully, be it savory or sweet. The savory tofu tonight was piled with chilli, tomato and baccalau (salted, cold). Loved it. Whatever tofu creations of hers, I'll faithfully slurp them up. The evening was absolutely divine.