Wagyu in the Valley

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Due to scheduling conflicts, I wasn't able to meet up with my Korean Kohai while we were in Seoul last month. Luckily he and his family were coming back to Hong Kong for a few days, and we managed to meet up over dinner tonight. As it's a very busy week for Foursheets and I in terms of dining out, I chose a place we like very much which doesn't force us to take long set menus... which takes me back to Locanda.

When I asked about pre-ordering dishes, someone practically circled half the menu... orz. We ended up picking 2 main courses ahead of time, and figured we could order the rest after we arrived.

Hokkaido scallop, crispy potato, broccolini purée, fennel salad - this looked a little more charred than I was expecting...

...but turned out pretty well.

Aomori tuna tartare, bottarga di muggine, datterino tomato - oops... I totally forgot until after we finished that I ate what could have been bluefin tuna. Oh well... it WAS tasty.

Culatello di Zibello D.O.P. - always a good idea when it's on the menu... and always good with Champagne.

Spaghetti chitarra al frutti di mare - seafood pasta is always a good idea here, too! This time we chose the mixed seafood version to get a good variety. The langoustine, unfortunately, was a little on the mushy side.

Acquerello risotto with sea urchin - I was a little surprised when Foursheets asked for this, but it's a pretty safe bet here and nicely executed.

Braised seafood: lobster, tiger prawn, white fish with zucchini fregola sarda - I don't remember having ordered this before, but I thought this was a good choice with both lobster as well as a big slab of fish fillet. Definitely very tasty.

But my favorite thing about the seafood dish was actually the fregola sarda on the side. My Pavlov mode was instantly activiated the minute I saw the word fregola printed on the menu... This was cooked with seafood stock, alcochol, and zucchini to make it green. So happy.

Mayura Farm Station wagyu OP rib M5 - this became our obvious choice since the other beef on the menu is Hanwoo - something our Korean friends can get easily at home. This would be the second night in a row I'm having the wagyu from Mayura Station, and this hunk of beef was a sight to behold!

I was just salivating at the sight of tender, succulent beef with beautiful marbling. I was also staring at that giant bone and the goodies around it. So, soooooo delicious. Just wonderfully executed to extract the right balance of flavors. I gotta come back again with a big group so we can order this again!

Confit carrot, gem lettuce salad, beef jus - a very nice selection of veggies to balance out that hunk of meat.

Pear tart, almond paste, pear jam, Madagascar vanilla gelato - happy to see thin, crispy tarts like these. I wish mom were here to taste this.

The Korean Kohai insisted on "behaving" in front of his son - who was dining with us and helping to hoover up the food - so we only opened 2 bottles tonight...

Legras et Haas Intuition, dégorgée en Octobre 2023 - the nose had a nice and lovely fragrance. The dosage of 6g/l makes this a Brut, but I kinda felt the palate veered towards the sweet side.

1994 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - started drinking more than 1½ hours after decanting. Nose was nice and smoky, with pencil lead and black fruits. Very smooth tannins on the palate after 30 years. There was also a hint of earthiness a little later.

Very happy to have spent some quality time with the Korean Kohai and his family tonight, and also happy as always to return to Locanda for Chef Steve Chiu's delicious and solid cooking.