Not wise it is, I tell you, to begin a post about food at 11pm at night when you're hungry but can't eat because you're fasting for a blood test that you have to take the very next morning.
What impulse it was that made me begin writing about a fatty piece of iberico pork from Dian Xiao Er, I don't know.
But I don't like leaving things off when I've already started, so decided to continue.
Big mistake.
I got so hungry.
Not that I could make a hasty order for this dish eleven o'clock at night, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be on the order list when I go back to the restaurant next time.
Dian Xiao Er has quite a variety of dishes suited for all ages.
Whether you be the sort who likes soups, vegetables, eggs, poultry, staples, appetizers or meat, this restaurant has it all.
Of course their signature star dish is the roast duck which they serve with Angelica Herb sauce, or Tang Kwei sauce, and you'd be best not to miss out when you come eat here.
We've been taking the duck with Tang Kwei sauce most of the time, but in recent days, it's not just the duck that we've taken a liking to.
There's also this- the Iberico Pork done Char Siew style- which I've had, I think, at least twice, and which, to me, is one of the more interesting dishes at Dian Xiao Er here.
It's a little hard to explain just why this dish is so good.
At first glance it seems like an ordinary plate of char siew.
Which well might be, except that it somehow grabs your attention and lingers deep inside your mind for a very long time after.
To someone who's trying it for the first time, it might be the skin on the top of each slice that stands out.
To another, however, it might be the fat, or the caramelized sweetness of the char siew that (so far) I've found unparalleled to any other.
I take a great fancy to the skin of this char siew.
At first glance, it might seem like a little burnt (like why is it so dark?), but poke at it with your chopsticks (if you can), and you'll find that there isn't any chao ta taste on the skin, and instead of a top which you have to painstakingly scrape off, you get a layer that's crisp, crunchy and chewy similar to the crackling tops of siew yok that most people know and love.
It isn't just the skin of this dish that I've taken a fancy to, however.
There's also the fat.
Which, even though it would be controversial diet-wise to some of us, is in fact the star of this dish, and a waste it would be if there were none of it at all.
Fortunately the guys here at Dian Xiao Er do it rather well, and once you've gotten used to the spongy, collagen-like chew, once you've gotten used to the burst of natural oils that spring forth from the fat, this distinctive flavor, and texture, is exactly what you'll think of when you contemplate your order the next time.
I've come to appreciate the flavors, and the chew, of the fat in this char siew.
But more than that, it is the caramelized sweetness of the meat which I've come to love.
Simply because I don't think I'll be able to find a piece of char siew this soft, this spongy, this tasty, and this sweet, at anywhere.