After MONTHS of delay during which plans were changed multiple times, the Peanut Gang finally got our act together and met up for a meal. This was our first lunch gathering, and after many attempts to set Medora as the venue, we ended up at Zhejiang Heen (浙江軒) today.
I haven't been back here since my first visit in 2016 - when I witnessed the person next to me bite into a shard of broken wine glass that was left in his food. Well... I was also less-than-impressed with some of the dishes that night, as things like imitation crab legs, fish fingers showed up on my plate. So, yeah... I put this place on my "no go" list for years.
But Fergie made the booking and obviously enjoys coming, so I was happy to leave everything in his hands.
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First things first at a Peanut Gang gathering: PEANUTS!![]()
Spicy preserved duck eggs (麻辣皮蛋) - this is... in no way Shanghainese or has any origin in Zhejiang cuisine.
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Iced foie gras in red wine gravy (紅酒冰鎮鵝肝) - I could definitely taste the wine in the foie, but the texture is on the dense and firm side.
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Crispy cutlassfish (舟山黃金帶魚) - I love deep-fried cutlassfish, and this felt lighter and healthier, and less oily.
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Sliced eels' back with garlic (搶虎尾) - having grown up on Shanghainese cuisine, how have I managed to go through life without tasting this dish? Well, I love freshwater eel, and this was totally up my alley.
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Sauteed prawn balls in chili sauce (乾燒蝦球) / fried river shrimps (清炒河蝦仁) - the waitstaff called this "蝦蝦笑“ as it combines two different preparations of shrimp. No complaints here.
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Double-boiled meatballs (清燉獅子頭) - WOW! These "lion's head" meatballs were pretty damn big! I think each of us got a quarter in our bowl. Nice with the Napa cabbage.
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Sauteed sweet beans with shredded ham (火丁甜豆) - this is one of my favorite dishes in Shanghainese cuisine. These tiny little honey peas are so, so tender... and their sweetness gets enhanced by the presence of some diced Chinese ham. I probably should have eaten less of the other dishes and just had half of this plate by myself...
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Crispy deep-fried chicken (脆皮炸子雞) - not the way Cantonese chefs do fried chicken, but I'm actually more used to this. Nice with the dipping sauce.
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Deep-fried frog's legs in salt and pepper (椒鹽田雞腿) - OK la...
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Xiao long bao (灌湯小籠包) - these were decent but I was hoping the wrappers would be more delicate.
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Sauteed bamboo shoots with shepherd's purse (薺菜冬筍) - another favorite dish of mine. Winter bamboo shoots can be so sweet when they're in season, and cooking them with finely diced shepherd's purse (薺菜) yields something very tasty.
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Minced pork with black pepper pastry (黑椒小燒餅) - I've always loved 蟹殼黃 since I was a kid, and these were pretty nice.
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Deep-fried egg whites with red bean paste (高力豆沙) - this was on the house.
Fergie was whining about getting called names by me and some other stuff, so he tried to extort some wine out of me. Seeing that my last visit was for a wine dinner, I chose to bring a bottle from that very same winery.
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2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett - very nicely balanced between sweetness and acidity on the palate. Big nose of plastic and petrol, which was just classic.
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2004 Ducru-Beaucaillou - ripe fruit with nice woodsy notes on the nose. Also showed dried herbs and plenty of smoke.
