Wrap-up of NJ eGullet dinner at China 46

[Sandra Levine]

Nineteen or twenty eGulleteers enjoyed the food and each other's company at China 46 on April 7.  Twelve courses, including an assortment of five cold appetizers, ensured that no one got up from the table (four hours after we sat down) hungry. The consensus seemed to be that the best dish was the pepper and salt shrimp in shell -- lightly fried, cooked to perfection -- edible, shell and all.  Rail Paul said after that dish that he's waiting for the 40 virgins to lead him into paradise.

Those of us new to China 46 found it to be everything those who knew it had promised -- extraordinary versions of dishes found elsewhere and other dishes none of us has encountered before.  The menu is on the China 46 planning thread on this board, so I won't repeat it here.

Even Tommy shared his wine --(well, Rosie sneaked his bottle away when he wasn't looking.)  Many different beers were brought and shared, as well as Prosecco and Extra Dry Champagne.  I drank too much and am too tired to be able to write a coherent report, so I hope others will elaborate.  It was great fun -- both the food and the company.  

Oh yes.  I've mentioned the high point, so I may as well mention the low point.  Only one course, steamed fish, did not reach the heights of the others.  It was described as sea bass, but tasted more like muddy catfish to some palates, at one table.  The other table did not seem to have the same problem.  

Toward the end of our banquet, Cecil brought the entire kitchen crew out to meet us.  We gave them an enthusiastic round of applause.  

What were other favorite dishes?  Moments?  Oh yes, the dumplings, the dumplings -- but which ones?  The spicy capsicum cellophane noodles.  Cecil brought out a small dish of the golden pepper oil for us to smell and taste plain.  I don't know if this an infused oil or an oil actually pressed from the peppercorns, but it is a long, slow build-up and a deep, subtle warmth.  

A great evening.

[tommy]

well, Rosie sneaked his bottle away when he wasn't looking.)  

twice.

strange how none of my wine was left but there was lots of beer and other types of wine left.  hmmm.  strange indeed.   :p

[glenn]

strange how none of my wine was left but there was lots of beer and other types of wine left.  hmmm.  strange indeed.

The beer I brought, some specialty from Brooklyn Brewery, was awful.  So what the heck was I supposed to do?.. I had no choice but to bribe Rosie to steal your Villa Maria (one of my fave sauvignon blancs).

And thanks to the Perlows for their fine efforts!

[tommy]

I had no choice but to bribe Rosie to steal your Villa Maria (one of my fave sauvignon blancs).

you are a man of impeccable taste.

and yes, that beer was awful. ;)  actually, it was interesting, but not something i'd drink while eating.

[Rachel Perlow]

Thanks for starting the thread, Sandy. Only one person was unable to come at the last minute, so we did indeed have 19 attendees.

Towards the beginning, after the puffy-crunchy dumpling buns, Rosie asked me if we could ask for more (there was only one dumpling each), I said we probably could but there was a lot more food to go, so it was better to hold off. Cecil probably heard this exchange because there were enough of the pork and crab soup dumplings for two per guest. Funny moment: Tommy trying to demonstrate to Paul Reis how to pick up the soup dumpling (so as not to tear it) and dropping it on Paul's lap!

Around 6:30, Dee Reis asked me how many more courses were there left? I checked my list, the answer was seven! Groans of disbelief was the reply from around the table, and I noticed people taking much smaller portions from the platters thereafter. There were many highlights for me besides the salt & pepper shrimp (they were great, I haven't had them in a while). I always look forward to ordering the Ruby Pork. A good rule of thumb for this dish is to only order it when there are at least 5 people at the table, so you can't get it everytime you go there - well, except for tommy who manages to! ;)

Two of the dishes on our menu I hadn't had before. These being the Fish Maw and Mixed Seafood simmered in White Sauce and the House Special Sauté with Baked Sesame Buns. We learned the fish maw was like fish tripe, or stomach. It was rather spongy with a delicate taste, but we were all suspicious of it and there was quite a bit left on the plate. The mixed seafood consisted of sea cucumber, scallops and shrimp. The scallops were so perfectly (=barely) cooked, as they were in the Shanghai Casserole. How do they manage to serve food so hot and not overcook the scallops?

The House Special Sauté was a revelation. It was a spicy mixture of firmed tofu, ground pork and chives, all chopped finely (about 1/8-1/4" cubes). Very interesting and I'm sure Jason'll be ordering that one again. This dish and the Ruby Pork are both eaten by stuffing the filling into the crispy sesame buns.

Earlier in the evening (between the dumplings?) Cecil added an extra dish, sauteed potatoes he humorously calls Shanghai French Fries. This is flavored with that yellow pepper oil, which is why I had him bring out a dish of the oil for people to examine. Oh! That's what must have made us all get too full, too early!!!

Congratulations to the door prize winners, tommy and Jonathan Sibley! They each won an eGullet mug. Click here to read about all the eGullet Merchandise available for purchase. And, thank you to Jon Lurie for donating a third door prize: $5 in McDonalds gift certificates, won by Sandy Levine. :D

[tommy]

strangely enough i went to mcdonald's this morning, but i haven't used my mug.  hmmm, maybe i won the wrong gift!?

that dinner was 4 hours!  the first dinner in newark was long, but a lot of that was filled with chit-chat and drinking.  last night was hard-core eating, from start to finish.  it was painful after a while, but i was never entirely too stuffed to eat the next course.  thankfully, the mississippi mud flap (the fish, not the mullety hair style) was so atrocious that i was able to skip it entirely.  you gotta give alan levine props for being not only the first one to dig into that dish, but for also choosing the face as his first bite.  noble.

[Rachel Perlow]

Just so as not to besmirch a fine restaurant's reputation: that fish was impecably fresh, it just obviously tasted like what it had been eating. I tasted the fish from Rosie's table and the swampy taste was not as pronounced.

Also, I specifically asked Cecil to pace the food slowly. I've been there with up to eight people before and sometimes there are too many dishes on the table at once. Last night there was never more than two platters offered at once (not counting the cold apps which were all brought at the same time) with plenty of time in between to digest and talk.

[tommy]

oh, well, when i say "atrocious" in the context of china 46, i really mean "interesting and too complex for my palate". ;)

if it's true about what you say with the "tasting like what it ate" thing, perhaps i can ask cecil to feed my next fish soupy dumplings.

[jhlurie]

Earlier in the evening (between the dumplings?) Cecil added an extra dish, sauteed potatoes he humorously calls Shanghai French Fries. This is flavored with that yellow pepper oil, which is why I had him bring out a dish of the oil for people to examine.

These were a revelation to me.  I think Sandra was the one who noticed that part of the reason that they were so striking was that they were prepared in a way we don't normally see potatoes.  We were trying to figure out the cooking method between us, and I'm not sure that we did.

I've decided that I could have an entire meal of just Crunchy-Puffy Dumplings, Soupy Dumplings and these "Fries".

By the way, when the kitchen crew came out en masse it may not have been clear to everyone who Chef Peter Lau was.  He was the older man in the baseball cap.  Apparently the cap is his trademark. :)

They all very much deserved the applause, but something like those potatoes seems to be Peter excercising his creativity.

[Rosie]

What Tommy failed to tell you is that I have to give him a Turley in exchange for letting me borrow his wine. I think he has come out ahead. And I even brought an extra bottle of wine to give him so he could share. The fact that I kept it on my table has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't offer it to anyone.

It was a wonderful evening and a very special thank you to Rachel for planning this event.

My favorite dishes were the soup dumplings which no one at our sophisticated table dropped or tore. The ruby pork and tofu,ground pork, chive mixture that we stuffed into baked sesame buns were also fabulous. I never need to taste fish maw or sea cucumber again. Not that they were bad but they were more nondescript. Otherwise--we also couldn't believe that we dined for four hours.

And before I forget I don't think my Turley order will be in until next Fall!

[=Mark]

A couple of images of the eGullet Dinner:

Egulleteers in the dining room at China 46

The Kitchen Staff:

[Rail Paul]

Thanks also to Rachel and Rosie, and the many others who made the evening a success. The range of food and the stimulating conversations were exceptional.

I'd like to put in another good word for the pepper shrimp: butterfly, saute, lightly dusted with fine black pepper and kissed with lemon, then served with moist centers. A succession of tastes exploding in various parts of my mouth.

Soup dumplings were divine, lightly browned on the bottom, and full of delicious broth. Easily four inches across and two high. The rule was "If you break the dumpling, you lose the soup!"

And, of course, to Tommy, for being so generous with his selection of fine wines, and his nearly faultless handoff of the soup dumpling.  Tommy thoughtfully made sure one was saved for me, and attempted to serve it with his chop sticks. The dumpling slipped, and began to fall toward the floor. With a quick move, I cupped my hands, and caught the treasure at chair seat height. I quickly scooped it, and popped it into my mouth, to gasps, and cheers...

[tommy]

paul, i think you had a little too *much* of my wine, as you're making up stories!!

4 inches across and 2 high?  oh man, if you really think so then you're the only one who's 2 high.  and they weren't browned on the bottom (well, not the ones with all of the soup at least).

and not to make myself sound any more clumsy that i already do (or am), but i wasn't using chopsticks (which might have made dropping your dumpling excusable).  it was actually in a spoon.  i really don't know how it got away.  regardless, nice save.

as always, a pleasure.

[pbrodsky2]

Mark - very nice photographs.

Rosie and Rachel - I thought it was an exceptional evening.

My personal favorite was the House Special Saute.

Thanks all.