Three more pasta

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Tonight we are back in Estro after a long absence. I had to cancel our last booking nearly 2 months ago, and I knew I needed to make it up to Juve Fan. It's been much too long since I last came to see him, longer for Foursheets, and even longer for My Favorite Cousin.

I know it's been a long time since My Favorite Cousin was last here, because she was not aware that one can now order à la carte instead of taking a set tasting menu. And as I have preferred to do on the last few occasions, I wanted to focus on the beautiful pasta here. So I asked for three of them. In fact, I was really tempted to take all four that were on offer...

But I knew Juve Fan wanted me to take a starter, so I went with his suggestion. Would that be too much food for me?

We started with some sesame crisps and tarali, both of which were fragrant and full of flavor.

A wine emergency

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Mama Bear is in town for a short stay, and I managed to catch up with her for coffee a couple of days ago. She was apparently at her wine cellar today checking up on her collection when she sent me some pictures. A couple of bottles from her birth vintage were showing ullage that were on the low side, and she wondered whether the wines were still drinkable. I assured her that the wines were probably still fine, but it would be a good idea to drink them up sooner rather than later.

That was when she suggested that I help her open them up, and she wanted to do that TODAY. Well, I could open them up at home, but with this pair of wines... they should be given the proper respect by being drunk over a nice meal. So I asked for a last-minute table at Ta Vie 旅, along with a couple of menu changes, all the while apologizing profusely to Takano-san for the imposition.

It's been far too long since we were last here, and I was glad to come and taste Sato-san's new creations. Of course, I also love me some old favorites.

One always starts the meal here with the signature nukazuke (糠漬け) bread, which I have loved ever since my first visit back in 2015.

More cheese and more Japanese

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We've been meaning to catch up with Kutsuyama for a few weeks now, and we finally managed to catch each other tonight. As we didn't need a big, heavy meal... we thought we would catch up over a couple of bottles and nibble on some cheese. Roucou seemed like the perfect enue, and I really wanted another opportunity to check out the many other dishes I didn't get to try yet... especially ones with a Japanese touch.

Foie gras and poppyseed crème brûlée - I had this on my first impromptu visit after a gala dinner, and I was happy to have it again. Tough to resist a foie gras dish like this...

Manav's Hong Kong

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I have always enjoyed Chef Manav Tuli's cuisine since my first visit to Chaat, and over the years I've seen him work on a few dishes where he reinterprets Cantonese dishes with his "Indian" perspective. Tonight I was invited to return to Leela for a dinner where he put together a collection of his creations called "Flavours of Hong Kong".

I took a look at the menu for tonight, and realized that I had actually tasted some of them on my last visit 3 months ago. As they were pretty tasty, I was only too happy to try them again, along with whatever Manav has developed since then.

But first... I'm happy to that I still have the opportunity to enjoy some khakra (ખાખરા).

No MSG

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A couple of days ago mom mentioned that, on a radio program she tunes in to regularly, the host had interviewed the chef of the Golden Dragon Restaurant (金龍餐廳) in The Grand Hotel (圓山大飯店). The chef claimed on the program that they make their dim sum items fresh everyday (shouldn't all decent restaurants do this?!) and that they don't use MSG. The latter was what piqued mom's interest. As a long-time sufferer of adverse reactions to chemical additives in food, she doesn't visit Chinese restaurants often when dining out. So she wanted to see whether these guys really live up to their claim.

I made a booking for lunch, and of course Last Minute Uncles does what he does best... join us and insists he won't come unless he gets to pay. Well, he is a member at the hotel's club so he knows this place better than any of us.

It's the first time I stepped foot in this restaurant, and as I look at the dim sum section of the menu, I got a little ambitious and wanted to try as many items as possible. I did remember to order in rounds, though...

Steamed rice rolls with mixed sauce (混醬腸粉) - this is a street food staple in Hong Kong, and I've had it many, many times for breakfast. Unfortunately the sauces just tasted off... although neither Foursheets nor I could pintpoint why.