Braised Sea Cucumber and Goose Feet

One of Derrald's high school friends got married last month and Derrald somehow pleaded, bullied, begged,  his way onto the guest list. I was his plus one and we had a great time. Neither one of us has ever attended a wedding here in Hong Kong and it did not disappoint. Held at the beautiful Sheraton in TST the room was all done up in purple,

with fabulous feathers,

delicate flowers,

 and mood-setting candles.

It was impossible to resist the perfect photo op set up for wedding pictures with the bride and groom... so let the good times roll.

One of the highlights of the evening was the twelve course meal which included many Hong Kong delicacies like Shark's Fin Soup and Roasted Suckling Pig...

Braised Marrow stuffed with Conpoy:

Braised Sea Cucumber and Goose Feet:

*goose feet taste pretty much like chicken feet, think chicken skin... I am ashamed to say I can't tell you what the sea cucumber tasted like but it's NOT a vegetable and Derrald assures me it's texture is similar to that of a mushroom.

With so many courses regular glances at the menu were required.

Double boiled Hashma with Lotus Seed and Lily Bulb:

*the white bits floating in this sweet broth are actually frog fat or more specifically "frog fat from around the womb of a female frog" They didn't really have a specific taste to me. Maybe it was the image of eating frog fat or maybe it was the fact that we'd already eaten ten courses of food but none of us managed to finish our bowls

Dessert! Baked Egg Custard Tartlets with Bird's Nest served with Egg Custard Dumplings:

 *these were delicious!!

 Another highlight of the evening, especially for Derrald, was the magician.  The joy that this man and his tricks brought to my husband can only be described by the words "giggling like a little school girl" punctuated with exclamations of "How did he do that?!?" and "That's amazing!!!" There has subsequently been talk of how much it would cost to bring this Mr Magician for a visit to our home.

I failed to get a picture of the bride and groom so here's a picture of a separate bride and groom, from another time, another place... a year and a half later at another wedding.

Wonderfully Rich...

...British Duck Fat.

On a recent trip to London I was looking for fun things to bring back for Derrald when I came across this little gem. Time to confess! How many of you are "dolloping" your roast potatoes in good ol' British Duck Fat?

I ended up getting a jar of hot English mustard.