The best satay beef ho fun @ Pak Lok Teochew Restaurant (Dai Siu branch)

The long-established Teochew restaurant Pak Lok Teochew Restaurant on Hysan Avenue announced its closure last September. Just as everyone was lamenting the loss of another old establishment, three months later it rose from the ashes: descendants of the founder took over and relaunched it under the name 'Dai Siu'.

A month ago friends arranged a dinner there, joined by veteran journalist An Gor, writer He Gu, singer Long Xiaojun, five of us in total, to revisit the Teochew cuisine. Since we'd all been at the restaurant at different times before, I had been there a bit longer—ten years ago at a sake gathering I had their satay beef ho fun and have never forgotten it.

After drinking gongfu tea, the platter was served: braised items and smoked items. The pork tendon, with its gluey, clingy texture, was irresistibly delicious; the sliced goose was tender and tasty, the rich, aromatic braising liquid clinging to the slices seemed to tell the restaurant's decades-long history—after all, the braise is the heart of a Teochew restaurant. The smoked eel was fatty and flavorful with a smoky aroma; even compared to French cuisine it wouldn't be outclassed.

The plump squab stuffed with glutinous rice became an exquisite ginger-rice pigeon: crisp exterior, meat tender and juicy, the glutinous rice had plenty of ginger and included lotus seeds, but it wasn't as heavy as eating Eight-Treasure Duck—relatively lighter. The salted lemon-steamed grouper was cut into portions and arranged with choy sum in an alternating pattern; the grouper had thick flesh and fresh flavor, the salted lemon added a hint of fragrance. The faintly visible Shao-style vegetable roll enclosed a very rich filling—shrimp, dried scallop, abalone pieces, etc.—both savory and sweet and juicy.

As I mentioned earlier, I can't forget their satay beef ho fun, and of course it was on the menu that night: a generous heap of beef ho fun, each rice noodle strip distinct and coated in thick satay sauce with crushed peanuts; the beef pieces were large, tender and smooth, perfectly integrated with the noodles—after a decade apart, its charm remains.

"Shortly after the meal, I couldn't wait and arranged a dinner with readers here; I'm tempted to organize one too—can it happen by the end of the year?"

希慎道的潮州菜老字號「百樂潮州酒家」，上年九月宣佈結業，當大家還在惋惜又少一間老號之際，三個月後浴火重生，由創辦人嫡系後人接手，以大少店之名再戰江湖。

月前友人相約飯局在此，連同傳媒界前輩安哥，作家何故，歌手龍小菌，一行五人，回味這裡的潮州菜，因為大家之前都在不同時間來過，我就比較耐一點，十年前的清酒局，吃過它們的沙嗲牛河，念念不忘。

飲過功夫茶之後，拼盤隨即奉上，有滷水有煙燻，豬腳筋的如膠如漆的美妙感覺是令人吃到欲罷不能，鵝片軟熟可口，沉實芳香醇厚的鹵水，附在鵝片身上，像道出這數十年來飯店的歷史，畢竟滷水是一間潮州菜館的心臟，煙鱔肥美之外，帶著陣陣煙燻香，就算拍埋法國菜的出品，絕不比下去。

飽滿的乳鴿，裡面釀了糯米，成為了如此精緻的薑米鴿，脆身的外表，肉質嫩中帶juicy，糯米很夠薑，還有蓮子在內，但沒有好像吃八寶鴨般膩，相對比較輕巧一點；鹹檸檬蒸龍躉，切成件狀，與菜心梅花間竹排列，龍躉肉厚，魚味鮮美，鹹檸檬的點綴，多了一份清香，若隱若現的紹菜卷，包住的餡料非常豐富，蝦仁，瑤柱，鮑魚粒等等，既鹹香又鮮甜多汁。

我在前段提到對這裡的沙嗲牛河念念不忘，這晚當然不缺席，大兜亂的牛河，每條分明的河粉，沾滿濃厚的沙嗲汁，連帶著花生粒，牛肉件頭大質感嫩滑，與河粉一氣呵成，闊別十載風采依然。

飯後不久，何故兄急不及待，在此安排了與讀者的飯局，我心思思又想搞埋一份，年尾能否成事？