Initially, our meal avoided the sea, which was fine because we feasted on birds like roasted squab with crisp, burnished skin. A squeeze of lemon and a dip in salt helped balance the bird’s gamy flavor, which isn’t for everybody.

Plates hit our table so fast that some dishes got lost in the mix, one of them being roasted chicken in soy sauce. By the time my chopsticks snagged a piece, the skin was a bit soggy, and the meat lukewarm. There’s no telling how the bird would have been at full strength.

They definitely treated humble Ling cod with a lot of deference, preparing the fish three ways, including braised heads with fatty, collagen-rich skin and crisp gailan, and in a murky soup that captured the cod’s essence but didn’t contain much actual meat.

KL cooks also sautéed supple cod with scallions, peppers and crunchy snap peas.

Lobster was even better, with sweet chunks of Maine meat tucked away in cuts of red shell.

Braised tofu and mushrooms arrived in a soy-based sauce and maxed out on umami.

We were all impressed with pepper greens sautéed with sweet, punchy caramelized garlic.

They braised oxtail with red wine until the meat and collagen absorbed the flavor. We gladly plucked rich tail meat from their chambers and piled bones alongside the clay pot.

For dessert, we received sweetened red bean soup and two puddings: mango with sweetened condensed milk and “turtle pudding.” It was unclear whether the pudding actually contained traditional powdered turtle shell, but even if it didn’t, the bitter black jello in syrup was interesting, and supposedly had health benefits. As Louie said, “After you eat this you’ll live forever.”