Grand Majestic Sichuan and Peter Seafood showcase provenance in one-night seafood menu
Chef Theign Phan's Grand Majestic Sichuan partnered with Aberdeen-based Peter Seafood for a one-night menu on 15 October, tracing seafood from Hong Kong waters to Dalian. The nine-course dinner paired local and coastal China catches with Sichuan flavours, highlighting provenance and sustainable sour
Chef Theign Phan and her team at Grand Majestic Sichuan in Alexandra House joined forces with Aberdeen-based Peter Seafood on 15 October for A Celebration of Local Catch, a one-night menu pairing seafood from Hong Kong and coastal China with Sichuan flavours. The collaboration brought together the restaurant's flame-led approach with Peter Seafood's sourcing and handling expertise.
Founded by Peter Kam in 2012, the supplier began as a two-person operation and has since expanded into seafood import, export, processing, wholesale and retail, serving restaurants, hotels and clubs while promoting sustainable sourcing. The nine-course dinner journeyed through seafood sourced from nearby Hong Kong waters to Dalian, almost 2,000 kilometres away, giving provenance an unusually visible place at the table.
Starting close to home, the meal opened with chilled cuttlefish noodles made with catch from Hong Kong waters, dressed with red and orange Sichuan fermented chilies, aromatic soy and chili oil. Ruby snapper from Taishan, around 145 kilometres away, was prepared in a fish-fragrant style with ginger, garlic and Sichuan chilies. Bombay duck from the southern Guangdong coast, about 150 kilometres away, was fried wrapped in rice paper and served with XO sauce, while conch from the Guangdong-Fujian coastline was sliced and paired with green chilies and Sichuan peppercorn.
Kuruma prawns from Hong Kong waters were set against Sichuan chili bean paste, fermented glutinous rice wine, garlic and ginger. Yellow croaker from Fujian, around 873 kilometres away, was served with pickled mustard greens, green cold-skin noodles and yellow lantern chili paste. The farthest-traveled ingredient was abalone from Dalian, roughly 1,984 kilometres away, paired with locally sourced pigeon, wild mushrooms and baked rice.
Phan explained that while visiting fish markets to source seafood, she had occasionally found herself being chased by birds, which would sometimes make off with the catch. Including pigeon on the menu, she joked, was a small act of culinary revenge. Dessert kept the Sichuan theme intact with chocolate ganache seasoned with Sichuan chili and peppercorn, accompanied by a glutinous rice dumpling and black cane sugar syrup.
Although the collaboration was designed as a one-night event, three to four dishes developed for the dinner are expected to be added to Grand Majestic Sichuan's regular menu, allowing parts of the experiment to continue beyond the special showcase.
