Chapter 160: The Self-Cultivation of a Gourmet

Lung King Heen is also a three-star Michelin establishment, renowned primarily for its Cantonese cuisine and particularly celebrated for its classic afternoon tea.

Johnson waved a hand indifferently—as long as the food tasted good, anything was fine. Having some tea and a chat while idling away the time sounded rather pleasant. Located on the fourth floor of the Four Seasons Hotel on Finance Street in Central, Amy, being a well-known figure in the industry, easily secured a table.

As the sommelier wheeled the champagne trolley over, Johnson noticed a pleasant surprise on the wine list: a rare production of rosé champagne, Oeil de Perdrix.

He chuckled and said, "Partridge Eye? What a delightful find! Its unique pinkish-orange hue possesses a bit more sugar than a Blanc de Blains, yet offers an extra layer of complexity compared to an ordinary rosé. Set against the starlight of Victoria Harbour, it's the absolute most exquisite way to open the evening."

The sommelier smiled, attempting to converse in rather halting Mandarin. Amy found it difficult to bear, prompting the server to ask somewhat helplessly, "Would you please grant me some practice with my Mandarin?"

Watching the sommelier pause for a full three seconds of a fixed smile after every single sentence, his eyeballs spinning wildly behind his spectacles as though an inner repeating machine were lodged in his mind, Johnson couldn't help but be amused.

After ordering a selection of dim sum, Johnson leaned back leisurely against the sofa, sipping his champagne. Outside the window lay a direct view of Victoria Harbour facing the direction of the Kowloon Peninsula—a truly magnificent landscape.

Chatting animatedly with Amy, time flew by, and before they knew it, evening descended, bringing once again that sacred hour for dining!

The appetizer was salt and pepper squid served with a sweet and sour sauce, somewhat reminiscent of Japanese eel preparation where the conger eel is split open and the skin is roasted to a delightful crispness. The sweet soy reduction possessed a greater complexity than teriyaki sauce, and the subtle smokiness echoed the charcoal-grilled essence perfectly, while the vibrant acidity cut through the richness of the conger eel. Magnificent!

The black truffle and lobster spring roll arrived emitting an overwhelming aroma of black truffle. At Amy's special request, the baby lobster had been replaced with shredded Napa cabbage and pork, maintaining an unpretentious profile that never stole the spotlight, perfectly complementing the inherent sweetness of the lobster.

"This supreme chicken and shredded silk broth is a deeply meaningful dish because its existence serves almost as an alternative to yellow-braised shark's fin," Amy recommended. "It utilizes consistently high-quality Danish chicken, using more than double the volume typically required for a standard broth. Simmered since the morning, the whole chicken yields its golden, fresh fragrance in its purest, unadulterated form."

"The thickness of the soup is derived entirely from the rendered subcutaneous fat of the chicken. To prevent the oils from solidifying, a warming candle is required underneath. Originally used as a base broth for shark's fin or bird's nest, it now incorporates shredded chicken, black fungus, and carrots to enhance the texture. Saving the sharks—what a supreme act of virtue!"

It was astonishing; even for an aficionado like himself, with closed eyes it would be nearly impossible to distinguish it from shark's fin. It was a brilliantly conceived work born of genuine craftsmanship.

"The organic black garlic sautéed giant prawn balls always borrow from Sichuan cuisine whenever the name 'Dae-chien' appears on a local menu. Here, prawns are stir-fried with fermented black beans and dried chilies. The black garlic is flown in directly from Japan—it's fermented garlic that has had its harsh spiciness filtered out, leaving behind a pure, lingering sweetness..."

"As for 'Ruyi', it signifies mushrooms, specifically using elm fungus and yellow fungus; 'Window screen' refers to asparagus threading through bamboo fungus; and while pipa tofu is traditionally pan-fried, here it is entirely steamed and paired with a clear supreme broth, emphasizing an even greater sense of serene detachment..."

"The fried rice here does not use actual rice, but rather an Italian pasta made from durum wheat called Puntalette. It's Western ingredients prepared with Eastern techniques, and with a single spoonful, it still retains that unmistakable 'wok breath' characteristic of traditional fried rice..."

Amy set down her spoon and said with deep admiration, "The executive chef is Chan Yan-tak, a native-born Hongkonger affectionately known in the culinary underworld as Uncle Tak. I once interviewed him, and he mentioned that his ultimate comfort food is simply fried rice, which is why presenting fried rice as the grand finale is the most fitting choice imaginable."

"Having previously retired, he was finally moved by the sincere persistence of the Four Seasons Hotel to emerge from retirement and build Lung King Heen, single-handedly establishing the benchmark for Chinese cuisine within the Michelin system. If you look at subsequent Michelin-starred restaurants, you will find the shadow of this place in almost all of them, to a greater or lesser extent..."

"For instance, the complimentary amuse-bouche, the meticulously polished dishes, the contemporary expression of traditional culinary techniques, and even the carefully orchestrated sequence of courses..."

Johnson was thoroughly satisfied. The young woman whose fluent Mandarin guided them through the meal was named Ida. When asked where she had acquired such standard Mandarin, she explained that she came from a joint training program between the Wuhan University of Technology and Xi'an Jiaotong University, and had even completed an internship at a hotel in Hohhot.

With an adorable and earnest server, a professional and dedicated sommelier, a wonderful wine pairing, and that formidable yet stable Cantonese culinary aura...

It lived up fully to its legendary reputation!

Upon returning to the presidential suite, fully sated, they engaged in a friendly match before lying back comfortably in bed to chat. Stroking Johnson's muscular physique, Amy coaxed playfully, "I've always wanted to go to the mainland to produce a show, but I never had the opportunity. I hear there are all sorts of intricate customs and taboos?"

"Last month I was in Suzhou, a land blessed with outstanding talents and auspicious geomancy. Since ancient times, it has harbored ingenious artisans and hidden masters. Even the simple act of eating fish comes with a variety of specific rules."

Johnson recounted in a leisurely tone, "Notice how the traditional Chinese character for Su is composed of grass, water, fish, and grain, right? Down in the water towns of Jiangnan, everyone holds a mental schedule for eating fish. When a certain time arrives, you eat a specific fish, and you must never get it wrong."

"In the first lunar month, the dark sleeper fish has delicate flesh, coinciding with the full bloom of wild mustard flowers when the landscape is patches of golden yellow, hence it is called 'rapeseed dark sleeper fish'. Their appearance isn't particularly attractive—large mouths with tiny scales, black bodies with round tails, large heads with many bones, and fins resembling butterfly wings."

"They love to hide at the bottom of the water, moving close to the mud, and are as lazily apathetic as if enchanted. Though small in size, their flesh is exceptionally exquisite. As Yuan Mei noted: 'The meat is extremely tender and loose; frying, boiling, or steaming them are all acceptable. Adding salted mustard greens to make a soup or broth makes it especially savory.'"

"The simplest preparation is steamed eggs, and the most touching moment is that instant when the lid is lifted, releasing the combined fragrance of fish and rice. The fish is even more tender than the eggs, yet delicate without falling apart, tender without turning mushy, simply..."

Amy couldn't help sitting up slightly, asking excitedly, "And what else?"

Johnson let out a low chuckle, deliberately withholding the rest to tease her playfully before continuing, "In the second lunar month, peach blossoms bloom and mandarin fish are plump. There is a famous dish called Squirrel Mandarin Fish, where the fish is seasoned, battered, and deep-fried until golden, then retrieved and drenched in a sweet and sour reduction."

"To my mind, deep-frying is truly an unforgivable waste of sublime ingredients; it must be steamed. The back of the fish is stuffed with slices of bright red cured ham and snow-white bamboo shoots. Having undergone a baptism of ginger and scallions, the fish sheds all muddy odors while retaining pure freshness. This method preserves the original flavor most effectively, making each bite aromatic, savory, and leaving a fragrance that lingers on teeth and cheeks long after..."

"In the third lunar month, when rapeseed turns yellow, soft-shell turtles are at their plumpest. Known as 'rapeseed soft-shell turtles', once this season passes and summer arrives, the fish are referred to as 'mosquito turtles', their flesh becoming loose and tough, and no longer worth anyone's attention."

"Their bodies are laden with rich fat, offering the highest nutritional value and the most exquisite flavor, perfectly timed. They must be simmered together with a whole free-range chicken over precise heat until all the savory goodness is fully extracted. To describe it with an old saying: it's so fresh your eyebrows might just fall off!"

"When shad enters the market and pufferfish depart, it has broken the wheat-harvesting season of Jiangnan. Their form is elegant yet flattened, resembling bream but elongated, growing up to several catties in weight, with scales that gleam dazzlingly before the eyes. When first pulled from the water, they are silver-white, fresh, tender, and incomparably magnificent."

"You must not scale them, nor wash them with water. After slitting the belly and removing the viscera, you simply wipe them gently with a piece of gauze. The steamed shad is bursting with rich juices; a gentle poke with chopsticks causes the juices to gush forth like a spring, and when eaten, it feels slippery, delicate, rich, mellow, and intensely fragrant..."

"Even Su Dongpo praised it, writing: 'The spring breath of peach blossoms still remains, and this flavor surpasses pure perch.' What a pity they are becoming increasingly scarce, alas..."

Eileen Chang also lamented in *Remnants of Red Chamber Dreams*: "Life holds three regrets: first, that crabapples have no fragrance; second, that shad are full of bones; and third, that *Dream of the Red Chamber* remains unfinished."

True gourmands love them not only for their rich fat and tender meat, but even more for their abundant bones that make them so satisfying to savor and suck clean. As the old saying goes: a single rib calls for three taels of wine!