Chinese Dinner for 6

[OzPiper]

A mate is retiring this week, after 40+years as a dental surgeon. 6 of us had a Chinese dinner to wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life.

Started with a trio of my favourite champagne, Tattinger Comtes de Champagne


Dumplings and fish


Followed by an excellent deboned, stuffed duck which was braised for 4 hours

And a trio of reds


Chicken with shiitake and Chinese sausage steamed in lotus leaf


Plus several other dishes, dessert(s) and a couple of other bottles which escaped being photographed

 

[sablebrush52]

A mate is retiring this week, after 40+years as a dental surgeon. 6 of us had a Chinese dinner to wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life.

Started with a trio of my favourite champagne, Tattinger Comtes de Champagne
View attachment 363711

Dumplings and fish
View attachment 363712

Followed by an excellent deboned, stuffed duck which was braised for 4 hours

And a trio of reds
View attachment 363713View attachment 363716

Chicken with shiitake and Chinese sausage steamed in lotus leaf
View attachment 363717

Plus several other dishes, dessert(s) and a couple of other bottles which escaped being photographed

Amazing as always.

 

[dd57chevy]

Oz , that looks nothing like what they serve at Panda Express . Are you sure it's Chinese ???

 

[anotherbob]

Oz , that looks nothing like what they serve at Panda Express . Are you sure it's Chinese ???

I hate panda express. They always get uptight when you tell them you've never had panda before and what would they recommend for a first timer. I assume cause they're a bunch of snobs.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Superb mate, when I come to Sydney we are going out on the razzle dazzle for some of this sort of fair.

 

[troutface]

I'm a foodie wannabe, you my friend are the real deal.

 

[OzPiper]

Superb mate, when I come to Sydney we are going out on the razzle dazzle for some of this sort of fair.

Mate, I'll look forward to your visit

 

[OzPiper]

Oz , that looks nothing like what they serve at Panda Express . Are you sure it's Chinese ???

Funny, but I had that exact question asked by a visiting Frenchman from
Paris who averred that Chinese was his favourite cuisine (after French, of course ) and that what we were eating was nothing like any Chinese food he has had in France

 

[shanez]

Six people, six bottles of wine. That's how it should be done.

Duck is probably the tastiest animal on the planet.

 

[dd57chevy]

Duck is probably the tastiest animal on the planet.

I've never had it , but I understand it is moist & dark . I I always go for dark chicken & turkey parts .
As I've never hunted , I'm not even sure where a guy could get it around here.....

 

[OzPiper]

I've never had it , but I understand it is moist & dark . I I always go for dark chicken & turkey parts .
As I've never hunted , I'm not even sure where a guy could get it around here.....

The ducks here are farmed - nice and tender and not gamey.
I have a very good friend who is French, and is a chef who loves to hunt.
He put on a game meal once with wild duck, hare and wallaby tail - all shot by himself.
Interesting, but I'd probably decline the next invitation after nearly breaking a tooth on bird shot.

 

[mikethompson]

Looks like a succulent Chinese meal

 

[dd57chevy]

The ducks here are farmed - nice and tender and not gamey.
I have a very good friend who is French, and is a chef who loves to hunt.
He put on a game meal once with wild duck, hare and wallaby tail - all shot by himself.
Interesting, but I'd probably decline the next invitation after nearly breaking a tooth on bird shot.

Expensive?

 

[LotusEater]

I want OzPiper to adopt me

 

[wyfbane]

A mate is retiring this week, after 40+years as a dental surgeon. 6 of us had a Chinese dinner to wish him all the best for the next chapter of his life.

Started with a trio of my favourite champagne, Tattinger Comtes de Champagne
View attachment 363711

Dumplings and fish
View attachment 363712

Followed by an excellent deboned, stuffed duck which was braised for 4 hours

And a trio of reds
View attachment 363713View attachment 363716

Chicken with shiitake and Chinese sausage steamed in lotus leaf
View attachment 363717

Plus several other dishes, dessert(s) and a couple of other bottles which escaped being photographed

Hell yeah! That is a feast. Well done, sir!

 

[wyfbane]

Six people, six bottles of wine. That's how it should be done.

Duck is probably the tastiest animal on the planet.

Agreed, but it isn't as easy to make fantasic as some animals.

The ducks here are farmed - nice and tender and not gamey.
I have a very good friend who is French, and is a chef who loves to hunt.
He put on a game meal once with wild duck, hare and wallaby tail - all shot by himself.
Interesting, but I'd probably decline the next invitation after nearly breaking a tooth on bird shot.

Ducks here are farmed, too. I have 32 of them at the moment. So tasty.

 

[OzPiper]

Expensive?

Nah !
Chinese meals here in Oz are on the cheaper end of the scale.
Total cost just under Aus$500 for 6 people.
I don't order expensive items like abalone or fish or sharks fin.
You can eat very well at a very reasonable cost if you know what NOT to order.

In contrast, a meal at an upmarket restaurant not too long ago cost a friend and I just under Aus$1,500 for 2 persons
And we did not drink bottles of expensive wine.
It was one of the best restaurant meals I had for a few years. BUT ........

 

[OzPiper]

Agreed, but it isn't as easy to make fantasic as some animals.


Ducks here are farmed, too. I have 32 of them at the moment. So tasty.

The trick with duck is not overcooking them, and keeping them tender.
There are lots of restaurants serving undercooked duck that is chewy as shoe leather
This duck dish was so tasty and succulent. It didn't need a knife to cut through it at all.

 

[wyfbane]

Nah !
Chinese meals here in Oz are on the cheaper end of the scale.
Total cost just under Aus$500 for 6 people.
I don't order expensive items like abalone or fish or sharks fin.
You can eat very well at a very reasonable cost if you know what NOT to order.

In contrast, a meal at an upmarket restaurant not too long ago cost a friend and I just under Aus$1,500 for 2 persons
And we did not drink bottles of expensive wine.
It was one of the best restaurant meals I had for a few years. BUT ........

That comes in right at $300 US. That is impossible to do here. That champagne alone is $160/ bottle to buy outright, let alone what a restaurant would charge.

 

[OzPiper]

That comes in right at $300 US. That is impossible to do here. That champagne alone is $160/ bottle to buy outright, let alone what a restaurant would charge.

Ah yes.
The wine is not factored into the cost of the meal.
They are from our cellars.
Often at these dinners the wine far outstrips the cost of the food
The corkage charged by the restaurant was AUD$5 per head.
No reason not to BYO