In early winter, I was invited to participate in a food tasting at Wujiang Hotel. Jiangbin’s food has always been famous for its exquisiteness, nutrition, health and deliciousness. Every time Jiang Bin releases a new dish, we are always invited to have a try. Throughout the year, Jiangbin launches new dishes according to the season, and also has many themed banquets, such as the Bamboo Shoots Banquet, the Vegetarian Banquet, the Canal Banquet, and so on. Every time we taste it, whether it is the presentation, taste, or the innovation of the dishes, we will be eye-opening.
Of course, I am looking forward to this tasting. In Xiaohong’s words, other activities have to be put on the sidelines. We made an appointment at 5:30, but we were still ten minutes late when we got there. The reason for being late was that I didn't drive, so I walked there because I didn't have enough budget. When we arrived at the box, the sisters had already arrived. The two CEOs of Jiang Bin and Chairman Jiang of the former Food Promotion Association had already taken their seats and ate with us. Such a high standard is really a bit flattering. There was a circle of dishes on the table. I expected Aunt Jin to have taken a photo of each dish, so I didn’t need to take out my phone and just started eating.
Four small plates of fruits, namely strawberries, kumquats, green dates, and cherries, in red, yellow, green, and purple. The colors are extremely harmonious. Each fruit is crystal clear, with full flesh, absolutely It is the best among fruits. Next to each fruit plate, there are two small hand plates, which contain candied fruits and dried fruits, including kumquat cakes, plum blossoms, bayberry, and olives, as well as candied chestnuts, spiced beans, air-dried edamame knots, and honey-flavored peanuts. This variety of fruits, candied fruits, and dried fruits, paired with a cup of mulberry bud tea, feels like a tea party. We were drinking tea and chatting, and it was very lively. These candied dried fruits carry a lot of childhood memories. When I was studying, those plums and bayberries were wrapped in triangular bags, which cost three to five cents a bag. Buying one bag would satisfy your craving for an afternoon. Unfortunately, even three cents and five cents were not often available in pockets at that time. On days when I don’t have pocket money, I can only hang around the old lady selling snacks to satisfy my craving, or pick up some prune stones, crack them with bricks, and eat the almonds inside. The air-dried edamame knots aroused the screams of excitement from most people. The neighbors’ edamame knots were dried in the dojo. When passing by, I grabbed a handful and put them in my pocket. They chewed very delicious. Nowadays, it is difficult to taste this kind of taste again. Jiangbin’s dried edamame knot brings our thoughts back to our childhood.
Seven appetizers, each with surprises. Jiang Bin’s signature rose amber raw drunken crab is expected to be quite good. Mr. Wu next to me highly recommended it. I have never eaten raw drunken crab. I also tasted a small piece for the first time. It had the fragrance of roses, the crab roe was soft and glutinous, and there was no fishy smell of crab at all. If I didn't tell you that it was crab. , you must think you are eating some kind of dessert. Drunken Sirloin, Jiangnan Sanbai Salad with Black Caviar, Cooked Drunken Lake Shrimp, Fuzhen Wine Cuigourd, Jiangnan Goose... just hearing the names will make you intoxicated. For example, Jiangnan Yao's goose is specially made by Jiangbin. I have written an article before specifically introducing the cooking method of Yao's goose. Each dish is like a work of art. The exquisite presentation and color combination make people unable to bear to eat.
The hot dishes were served, and each one was amazing. The Four Treasures Soup is made from the finest Liao ginseng, Australian scallops, abalone, fish maw, and flower mushrooms. Not only is it delicious, but its nutritional value is also quite high. When the waiter brought it to me, I hesitated for a moment whether to eat it or not. In the end, I couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food and finished the whole bowl of thick soup.
Cook the seabass fillet on the rose salt plate, and serve the seabass raw fish first. It is delicately placed on a tray and brought up. The salt plate is piping hot. Put the sashimi on the small plate. Put it on, fry it from front to back until it changes color, and then you can eat it. The salt plate is made of real salt, so you can eat it without any seasoning. Of course, those who like seasoning can sprinkle their own pepper. There is soup in the small teapot, pour it into the water shield fish fillet, and it is ready to eat. The water shield is green, the fish fillets are white, and paired with the yellow soup, it looks really good. Take a sip, it's delicious. If you find it too hot, you can eat siomai and dingsheng cake while you wait. This tray actually contains two dishes and two snacks. We all said that the name of the dish is a bit long and difficult to remember. I prefer to call it "Thoughts of Water Shield Perch" because it is easy to remember.
Nut Dongpo Lamb Fang abandons the traditional method of braised mutton in white and braise, uses Dongpo pork method to braise mutton, and adds red yeast rice powder. It is very creative, the meat is crispy, fat but not greasy.
Deep-fried seabass and honeycomb shrimp balls are also two dishes made into one platter. The main ingredient of the deep-fried seabass roll is of course seabass. The honeycomb shrimp balls are very creative. The fried tofu is turned over and the shrimps are put in. Deep-fried, it is crispy and delicious.
Steamed hairy crabs, Minglu ecological mandarin fish, Wujun fragrant green vegetables, stir-fried silver teeth with Chinese greens, eyebrow pot stickers... When the waiter brings out the dishes one after another, weight loss and diet control are all forgotten.
The final treat is a bowl of Jiangbin Braised Pork Noodles. At first glance, it looks no different from ordinary braised pork noodles. After tasting it, I realize that there is something special inside. This big meat is nothing but bad. The braised meat is crispy and has a unique Jiangbin flavor. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the best noodle in China. Even though my stomach was already full, I still finished the whole bowl of braised pork noodles. Everyone said that this bowl of noodles should be served first. Mr. Wu said that if we serve it first and fill everyone's bellies first, we won't need to serve the rest of the dishes. This would seem like we are too stingy, so we will treat everyone to a bowl of noodles. That's true. Generally, when entertaining guests, they always want to take out the best. In fact, they really can't eat that much.
Finally, there is a dessert to finish - passion fruit and sweet potato diced, sweet and sour, appetizing and refreshing.
When we left the table, we all said that it was such a waste to have so many unfinished dishes of such good quality. The organizers immediately understood and asked us to pack it all up and take it away. We were really not polite. We packed them all into boxes one by one, one plate for you and one plate for me. We took everything away except for a plate of fragrant green vegetables.
Each of them carried a few boxes of packaged dishes and walked home talking and laughing with the sisters. The cold wind of early winter is blowing. The wind is cold, but we are warm.
Note: The picture comes from Auntie Jin’s Food Official Account!