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.

Potato skin toast, mortadella, pistachio panna cotta - we were told that this was gluten-free. While I always love Mortadella, and the pistachio panna cotta tasted nice, the bottom toast got a little soggy. Maybe it was left sitting out for too long.

Japanese sweet shrimp, honey peas, and buffalo burrata tart - the flavors here were naturally milder, and the creamy burrata was pretty nice.

Watermelon juice with lime oil - very nice and refreshing.

Sourdough - pretty nice as always.

Soy, plankton, and anchovy emulsion - while I always love dipping bread in olive oil, this dairy-free emulsion was really nice thanks to the anchovies. I have to admit, though, that I kinda miss the richness of their old buffalo milk butter with anchovies...

Squid | capers, mustard greens, squid ink - OK, so I didn't realize this would be one whole squid... The squid was steamed first, then charcoal grilled. Served up with squid ink sauce, a little parsley oil, and a sauce made bell pepper, piment d'espelette, mussel water, and fermented fish sauce. Maybe this is why I thought I tasted some blue cheese... and not something I agreed with.

The spear squid (槍烏賊) from Japan was stuffed with a mousse made with cod belly, capers, and local mustard greens brunoise.

Linguine | mantis prawn, Amalfi lemon - Juve Fan has a way with sauces for his pasta, especially when he uses Amalfi lemon... and tonight the sauce also used mantis prawn, fresh basil, and we've got fine shavings of bottarga. Just absolutely beautiful.

The mantis prawn came with roe whose texture was almost like soft-boiled egg yolk. The texture of the shellfish itself was very soft with a light bounce, and came with nice, lightly-grilled flavors.

Bottoni | spinach, guanciale, honey peas, egg emulsion - I was originally looking to get a different pasta, but I saw the word "guanciale" and it was no longer an option... We were told there was some "carbonara" sauce at the bottom, but knowing how much I love carbonara, maybe Juve Fan should have given me a lot more of this?!

Inside the wrapper was ricotta di bufala and "spinach curry", while there were some fresh honey peas and guanciale on top along with marigold leaves. So nice to have curry at Estro! Must applaud Juve Fan for his creativity.

When a restaurant has an open kitchen, it's easy to see what the hell those guys in the kitchen are up to, and Juve Fan usually stands in front facing the dining room as he finishes up the plates. When I turned my head to look to see what he's doing, I see him playing with some big pieces of gold foil, which were reflecting the light coming from the heat lamps...

Pappardelle | Neapolitan ragout essence, wagyu beef cheek - so THIS was the course he chose to give me the gold. He didn't give me any gold at all last year, so I assumed he had forgotten... but with this giant piece on top of my pasta, it's safe to assume he still wants to be my friend...

Underneath that gold, we had a ragout made with tiny cubes of wagyu beef cheeks. This was a little more salty than I had hoped for, as this was Neapolitan and not Genovese and the caramelized onions were missing. The flavors were very rich and I loved that some Parmigiano was added, and the fragrance was so amazing and lingered on in the mouth.

We were definitely too full for dessert, so I made do with the few bites of sweet endings:

Pistachio gelato - this never fails. And I don't need a huge scoop of it. This was just perfect.

Golden kiwi panna cotta

Almond chocolate - this was so, soooo nice and I saw My Favorite Cousin take two of these.

Since My Favorite Cousin wasn't drinking tonight, or at least announced that she would not, we took it easy:

2023 Pietradolce Archineri - the nose was very fragrant and tropical, showing stone fruits along with floral and flinty notes. The crisp acidity shone through.

2016 Sine Qua Non Deux Grenouilles - 36% roussanne, 29% chardonnay, 23% viognier, 9% petit manseng, 3% marsanne. Started drinking around 15 minutes after opening. Nose of apricot, a hint of honey, definitely very ripe, oxidized, and alcoholic. Showing notes like Chinese licorice, and almost reminds me of Chartreuse.

It's good to come back and see Juve Fan, and I really do miss his amazing pasta dishes. I am looking forward to the opening of the new casual spot from him, as I really miss having a place like Ramato around.