Our "Abundant Flavour Brunch" commenced with the opening of a bottle of Veuve Clicquot - to me the perfect start of a perfect meal. First, the staff explained to us the different stations of this truly abundant buffet. I was eager to tuck in and decided to first sample the fish and tofu soup, which was mild but flavourful and while being perfectly light, the different ingredients offered a range of textures to give this soup some unexpected complexity that I liked a lot. My friend and I then treated ourselves to some cocktails that caught our eye on the menu. One was a concoction of the comforting pleasures of Korean citrus preserve in honey topped with my favourite Veuve; the other was a rather successful marriage of east meets west in a Chrysanthemum Mojito (and it worked very well!). I then ventured out to try some of the beautifully arranged appetizers. It was impossible to choose and so I took a bit of everything. There were thin slices of tender pork and beef brisket, so succulent, they disappeared very quickly. Next I tasted the delicate slices of braised pork, cut as thin as a veil, with a complimenting wafer-thin slice of cucumber; the delicious dip served with this delicacy was particularly nice. Continuing my culinary journey around the buffet, I sampled the gorgeously plump mushrooms with perfect wheels of fried tofu that were presented in a thick gravy and looked enormously tempting. Feeling that I couldn't go wrong with any dish, I went ahead with more boldness and tried the spicier dishes that had been luring me the moment we walked in: Beautiful shiny chili peppers contrasted the pink piping hot prawns served in a gorgeous bowl. They were cooked to perfection, light and moist but also crisp and retaining their shape. The heat was quite bearable, too, so I quickly headed for the next spicy dish of fried fillets of fish, which soon became one of my favourites. I complimented the spicy treats with some healthy greens. I remember yummy green string beans fried in the tiniest of shrimp to create a unique flavour that is rich and very addictive.
While we were munching on the delights, we were suddenly treated to a "Kung Fu Tea Pouring" show that was quite awesome and completely unexpected.
After the breathtaking show during which the performer showed his skill of pouring tea from a rather long spouted tea pot while performing different figures of the Kung Fu martial arts form, we went back to indulging in the food. I decided to get some "greens" and particularly liked the "Jade" vegetable that looked like glistening gems, light and gorgeously translucent green. The "Jade" vegetable is one of my all time favourites as it adds a cooling touch to the spicy dishes I love so much.
After the enjoyment of various new dishes, we were again treated to a special performance; this time it was the traditional art of noodle making. In fact, we even received a delicious bowl of "Daan Daan Mien" (my favourite Shanghai noodle dish) made with the very noodles the performer was producing before our eyes.
Next, I sampled the healthy-looking steamed dumplings. There was a whole range on offer, such as the reddish spicy pork dumpling, a vegetable dumpling and the traditional Xiao Long Bao, which is always very much appreciated.
Then, as we were just about to think "that was it", another performance materialized, and this time it was the very famous Sichuan "Face Changing" act, which I had only seen on TV before and which was a lot more impressive than I had anticipated. Well and truly amazinged, we then went on to continue our lavish meal...
Some of the favourite main dishes were selling out fast so we quickly decided on ordering the beef tenderloin with wild ginseng in garlic and yellow bean sauce. The taste of the beef reminded me of liver (which I like a lot) and though I never had wild ginseng before, I must say that it was rather good. We also shared the braised prawn with preserved plum sauce. That dish was definitely a winner and tasted even better than expected. However the star of the day was the steamed cod fillet with fresh green peppercorns (Szechuan peppercorns that is!) and soy sauce. What an amazing taste sensation! Until then, I had only ever tasted the red/dry Szechuan pepper corns and this experience came as such a pleasant surprise that I actually sneaked some of the peppercorns home in a napkin, they were so special - I wanted to keep some...
Of course, no feast of gluttony is complete without its just desserts. We indulged in a delightful duo of tofu and pistaccio ice cream, both of which were sublime.
Needless to say, we left the restaurant feeling well and truly pampered and with the solemn promise to be back for more...
Thanks again to the wonderful staff of Hutong for making this blissful blunch absolutely memorable and special.