Awesome pasta

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I took a couple of friends out to Tuscany by H tonight. I was the only one in the group who's been there since Harlan's return, and I wanted to introduce my friends to one of the best Italian restaurants in town. 

We started with the 2004 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Spätlese. Smoky nose with minerals, petrol and lemon notes. It's a nice and easy wine to drink, with a slightly sweet palate like a Spätlese.

My starter was the giant crab cake, which was done pretty well and paired with some very ripe tomatoes. Very tasty indeed.

The 1996 E. Pira and Figli Barolo Cannubi was decanted and drank pretty well, with a fruity, strawberry nose that was a little stewed, with a bit of brett and distinctive forest notes. Still a little tannic on the palate.

I chose the tagliolini with jumbo scampi tails, vine ripened cherry tomatoes in baby shrimp sauce. I remember that my friend had raved about it during our last visit, so I was eager to try it out. The plate that arrived in front of me was huge, and it was awesome. Very succulent scampi, together with those delicious cherry tomatoes and a good dose of basil for that classic Italian taste. The thin homemade noodles packed lots of flavors of the sea thanks to the shrimp sauce. The whole thing was just so yummy that I inhaled it all in no time. My friend ordered it as well and did the same thing.

As I was really full, I decide to take it easy on dessert, ordering the lemon and blood orange sorbet. The lemon sorbet was fine, but the orange sorbet was much nicer. A good way to end this meal.

One last note - the service from the waitstaff was very commendable. They were very thoughtful, which was quite a refreshing change from most of what we find in Hong Kong.

Flashback

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The regular crowd from the wine shop gathered again tonight. The main purpose was to introduce someone to "the pig", so of course we are back at the Kimberley Restaurant (君怡閣). There were 12 of us in the banquet room just outside the restaurant, and it would be an over-the-top feast.

We started with a big sashimi platter, which was supplied from the sister Japanese restaurant. An interesting way to start the meal.

What followed was a selection of 6 appetizers (六錦碟), which were initially referred to as "6 small plates". Well...they were anything but small! But all very, very delicious.

Chilled slices of bitter melon (冰鎮蒜香涼瓜片) - very refreshing with a crunchy texture thanks to being chilled, and only slightly bitter.

Deep-fried Chinese whitebait (椒鹽白飯魚) - this is always yummy, and there was a huge pile of it, with deep-fried garlic and chili.

Deep-fried sea eel (燒汁鰻魚球) - nice and crispy on the outside, with a bit of sauce to give it a nice flavor. Unfortunately it's still a bit "fishy" for me.

Braised ox tongue (鹵水牛脷) - this was really wonderful...beautiful flavors and the chewy, springy texture was just perfect.

Braised pig trotters (鹵水豬仔腳) - always wonderful, the skin is soft and tender, while retaining a springy texture. I've always been a big fan.

Braised tofu (鹵水嫩豆腐) - soft, yummy and tasty.

Mixed seafood and winter melon soup (八寳海鮮燉冬瓜盅) - it's always impressive to see the waitstaff wheel in a whole winter melon on a cart, then proceed to scoop out the contents into individual bowls. The soup is perfect for cooling down the body during summertime.

Prawns baked with white pepper (白胡椒干焗海中蝦) - Wow! This place always knew how to do prawns, but they've taken it up another notch. The prawns are actually pretty big, and soooo tasty with the cracked white peppercorns all over the shell. You can smell the peppers from a mile away, which reminds me of the claypot of white peppercorn shrimp at Nino's Cozinha. I greedily sucked the heads dry...

Roast suckling pig stuffed with glutinous rice (金陵全豬烤金苗) - the highlight of tonight's dinner. The piglet was so tiny with its tail stub sticking up into the air. It was sooooo delicious, though. There was just enough fat between the skin and the rice. I don't need to rave about this pig any more than I already have multiple times...

Pomelo skin with shrimp roe and mustard greens (蝦籽柚皮伴玉芥膽) - the mustard greens were nice with that slight bitterness, and the the pomelo skin was also well done.

Braised beef brisket and tendon with potato (香茅汁薯仔扣牛根牛坑腩) - the tendon was really, really tender and tasty. I was already full by this time and didn't take any of the brisket.

Handmade noodles with Malay meat sauce (馬來肉醬撈手拉麵) - I'm not sure exactly how this qualifies as "Malay" but it was pretty darn good. There was plenty of lemongrass mixed in with the pork, so it was a bit spicy and fragrant. I finished the whole bowl and made myself even more full...

Baked sesame buns (香麻焗燒餅) - just when I thought I was done, out came a plate of these wonderful buns. I can never resist these, so I picked one up and nibbled... very soft and fragrant - evidence of how much oil/lard was used. Pretty good and light in taste, but I still prefer the ones at Victoria City (海都).

Finally the fruit platter and petits fours came, but I could only manage to nibble on a piece of deep-fried egg cuillers (蛋散), since it was so divine with molasses.

Now, this group never gets together without a ton of alcohol, and tonight we went over the edge - at least for me. A total of 14 bottles were brought to dinner, and fortunately we left one bottle unopened... The theme was 1999 so there were lots of 10-year old wines on the table.


2004 d'Auvenay Bourgogne Aligoté Sous Chatelet - very toasty nose like roasted corn, minerals, then giving way to something pungent akin to smelly armpits or BO... then it hits me...it's peepee de chat!

1966 Perrier-Jouët Blason de France - caramelized cane sugar, very much like Chinese drink of sugar cane and water chestnut (竹蔗馬蹄), honey, a bit plummy, toffee. Still some acidity left, but almost no bubbles left in this one. Delicious!

1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé - nose of vanilla, caramel and toffee.

1999 Bollinger Grande Année Rosé - very nice mousse, good acidity balance and it's not too sharp. Finish was a little bitter.

1999 Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Millésimé - I bought this in Reims on my second trip to France in May. Wonderful mousse, still very fresh and vibrant. Big, sweet nose with lemon notes. Wonderful on the palate.

1999 Comtes Lafon Meursault Perrieres 1er Cru - a bit of straw, minerals and sweet corn nose. Beautiful and ripe.

1999 Laville Haut-Brion - pretty sweet nose with flint, straw and a hint of corn. Palate was a bit ripe, and the finish was a bit acidic and spicy hot

1999 Faiveley Corton Clos des Cortons - I was disappointed in this bottle I brought. A couple of other friends had the same comment - this doesn't smell like Pinot Noir! Why are we pouring Bordeaux out from this Burgundian bottle?! Nose was very medicinal with brett, alcoholic, green peppers, eucalyptus...nothing says Pinot Noir or Burgundy. Still a bit tannic on the finish.

1999 Méo-Camuzet Corton Clos Rognet - beautiful nose, fruity, a bit minty, a bit of ripe prunes. Now THIS is a real Corton!

1999 Philippe Charlopin-Parizot Charmes-Chambertin - what a beautiful wine! Classic farmy nose and roast meats, with ripe fruit, orange, floral/violet notes.

2001 Armand Rousseau Chambertin - very elegant and light-bodied, with lots of orange and tangerine notes. Sweet and exotic. A lovely wine but completely different from what I expected.

1999 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Cerretalto - medicinal and brett nose, smoky and alcoholic with some fruit, grilled meats and eucalyptus notes. I decided to bring this so that it wasn't an all-Burg night for the reds.

1920 Cossart Gordon Malmsey - everyone raved about the last Madeira I brought, so I decided to bring another bottle tonight. Lots of orange marmalade, sweet vanilla, toffee, honeydew melon, caramel and nutty notes. Very, very sweet on the nose. Very lovely.

Following the example of last August, I had to excuse myself and leave a little early. The evening had been awesome both in terms of the food and the wines, but I'd gone over the edge and needed to lie down.

A little molecular fun

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Another birthday, and yet again I've chosen to dine at a fusion establishment. I haven't been back to Bo Innovation for a couple of years, and I've been thinking about revisiting ever since the people working for the chubby baby decided to give them 2 stars. I wondered if things had gotten so much better since my previous visits to put them on par with some of the best meals I've ever had.

I must say that I don't really like the space they currently occupy - the last place was slightly better. I can't really say why it is, but it just wasn't very warm and inviting. But the bright lighting did make it easier for picture-taking...

As is traditional I opened a bottle of wine from my birth vintage, and tonight it was the 1970 Veuve Cliquot Brut Reserve. I love old Champagne, and this bottle was no exception. Nose of caramelized sugar, brown cane sugar, orange marmalade and of course the Chinese salty plum (話梅). To be precise, it's salty plum that has been dipped into Shaoxing wine (紹興酒). Very fine bubbles and the wine was surprisingly sweet on the palate for a Champagne.

Given that I haven't been back to the restaurant in a while, and this being my birthday and all, the Chef's Menu was the appropriate choice for the evening. Here goes:

Pomelo sunrise nitro-bomb - OK this is really gimmicky, probably designed for people who haven't been exposed to molecular gastronomy. A dollop of foam flavored with pomelo and tequila is dropped into a bowl that has been frozen with liquid nitrogen, quickly freezing and hardening it into a very cold meringue. Once in your mouth it sticks to your tongue much in the same way as licking a cold piece of metal on a snowy day. It numbed my taste buds for a while, and leaves me wondering why the chef would do this to me right at the start of the meal...

Oyster: spring onion, lime, ginger snow - the French oyster used (didn't ask for the origin) was very rich and creamy, with a very long finish. The spring onion flavor mixed with ginger granita made for a classic Chinese combo of 薑蔥. A sip of Champagne washes it down and cleanses the palate.

Caviar: abalone, congee - the congee has the viscous consistency of baby food, but not sure what the cubes of jelly are made of (abalone essence?). The caviar was very tasty indeed, and the whole thing was pretty yummy.

Noodles: "dan dan", grilled salmon roe, mixed herbs - one of the best dishes of the evening. This would be my first time having salmon roe that is grilled, and I'm not used to them being this dry. But the combination with the angel hair and the spicy sauce was great. Next time I'd ask for a big bowl for take-out...

Mussel: saffron essence, lychee foam, crispy lip - this brings me back to my meal at El Bulli, where I had the essence of mussels in a "ravioli". This time the chef has extracted the essence of mussels and made a cold soup flavored with saffron. The savory taste of the sea is then combined with the sweet, fragrant taste of lychees sitting on top as a pile of foam. Mixing the two makes for an interesting experience for one's taste buds. There's a piece of deep-fried mussel lip on the side but that's not really important...

Toro: foie gras powder, freeze dried raspberry, mustard herb - we were asked to use tweezers to roll up the toro so that the powder is wrapped inside. The toro might be real thin but the flavor has come out thanks to being lightly seared. I must say that I didn't really get the taste of foie from the powder - it just tasted a bit meaty. The raspberry did have a distinctive enough taste, though. Pretty yummy and interesting.

Baby food: "mui choy kau yok" - twist open the tops and the contents of the warm jars are revealed - a brown custard at the bottom which taste of fatty pork, and the foam on top which tastes like preserved vegetables. The combination of the two is the classic Chinese dish 梅菜扣肉. While others thought this was a little too salty, I thought it stayed true to the taste of the original dish as it was meant to be enjoyed with rice. The big baby in me found it really enjoyable and the jar was empty in no time.

Molecular: "xiao long bao" - the classic Shanghainese pork dumpling xiao long bao (小籠包) has gone molecular. The thin flour skin has disappeared, and now we get the classic molecular "ravioli" which contains the essence of the dish - steamed pork and juices. The thin sliver of vinegared ginger on top adds the finishing touch.

Foie gras: spicy sichuan chives sauce - the last time I had steamed foie gras was the foie gras xiao long bao at Le Platane in Shanghai when Justin was still around. This was much, much better. The blocs of foie were so tender and succulent, and the addition of bean sprouts and yellowed chives - along with the starchy, spicy sauce - turned this into something decidedly Chinese.

Salmon: fermented black bean, honey, pickled "bak choy", ginger shoot - most certainly my least favorite dish of the evening. The salmon was slow-cooked so it was still kinda raw and tender, but the flavors were off. Somehow the combination of honey and fermented black bean (豆豉) just tasted funny.

Langoustine: preserved duck egg, english mustard, cauliflower risotto, black truffle - my favorite dish of the evening. The langoustine was just coated with the salty egg yolk (咸蛋黃) with a bit of mustard to give it more kick. I have always loved this preparation and this was no exception. To have another taste of Alvin's famous "risotto" was even better. I remember this well from a few years ago, and the full flavor of the truffles (no doubt a few drops of truffle oil were added) just lingered in my mouth. Thank you may I have another...?

Wagyu: M9+, black truffle soy, "cheung fun" - another highlight of the evening. Yes, the beef was tender, juicy and fatty, and sprinkling sea salt on top and rubbing black truffle sauce on it made it tasty. But the real winner were the rice noodle rolls - cheung fun (腸粉) - which were stir-fried with the same black truffle soy sauce. And I thought that Victoria Seafood's cheung fun stir-fried in XO sauce was good... this one just blows it away.

Pre-dessert: black sesame soda - a great palate-cleanser, kind of. Drinking a mixture of carbonated and slightly acidic soda with black sesame soup (芝麻糊) was a lot of fun. We were sternly scolded when we tried to stir the mixture with the straw, as the motion would break up the bubbles in the glass...

Dessert: banana ice cream, poached banana in "shui jing fang" - both parts of the dessert tasted pretty good, although personally I have never understood the attraction of deep-fried ice cream.

I had a slice of a very nice cake from the Mandarin Cake Shop, with - what else? - fresh and juicy peach bits on top.

The restaurant poured us complimentary glasses of Moscato d'Asti, which went nicely with the desserts.

Finally we have the petits-fours. The osmanthus macaron was very, very nice as I love the fragrance of the flowers. The chocolate-filled sesame balls (煎堆) paled in comparison.

Alvin did make an appearance in the kitchen towards the end of our meal, and he looked very different than I remembered - no glasses, no highlights in the hair, and in general just a lot more toned-down. Fortunately, what hasn't changed is his creativity. Do I think the Michelin people were overly generous with their stars? Yes. But there's no denying that I had a wonderful meal here tonight, and I'll look forward to returning for more of Alvin's goodies.

Another bull market lunch

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Another Lunch Club gathering and the second one this month. Somehow we ended up at Amber, where business continues to be good - at least during lunch. The set lunch here isn't exactly cheap, but every table was occupied today. I ran into a friend from Goldman who looked like he was interviewing someone...

The signature foie gras Chupa Chups-style, with an outer coating of raspberry sauce along with a sliver each of gingerbread and beet root, was presented and quickly gobbled up. The shot of cantaloupe soup topped with mint foam and port wine ravioli was refreshing, although I didn't quite appreciate the addition of the port wine molecular 'caviar' into the mix.

My starter was the langoustine seared with Iberian pork chin, summer roots raw and cooked, crustacean yuzu coulis with manni "per mio figlio" olive oil. Needless to say the langoustine was fresh, succulent and sweet. The pork was fatty and very yummy, with a thin, crispy layer of skin on top. But I thought the coulis was a bit strange - savory and a bit heavy with crustacean flavors, then suddenly you hit the acidity of the yuzu.

The main course was something which I had tried last month - short rib braised in Gigondas, garden pea stuffed morels, white onion purée, "tartine de lard cul noire". The Rhone red-braised rib was sooo fatty and soft it was melting in my mouth. Actually it was a bit rich for me, considering this is lunch and not dinner. But I greedily shoved each mouthful in, and lapped up the very yummy onion mousseline. My see lai friend stared me down when she saw that I had left some of the potato mash unfinished, but I just didn't want to push myself over the edge today.

We each received a coconut ice cream "Oreo", which I promptly shoved whole into my mouth and munched on in slow motion, letting the ice cream melt and gradually coat my tongue.

Fresh wild strawberries over hibiscus jell-O, panna cotta & bourbon vanilla ice cream was my choice for dessert. It seems like this season all the fine restaurants in town got their hands on these wonderfully delicious berries. They were very yummy, and the combination with hibiscus was even better. There were bits of crumble everywhere and I made it into strawberry crumble as was suggested. Of course, strawberries and panna cotta is another classic combo that just can't go wrong.

I'm very full by now, and the short rib seemed to be comfortably settling into my stomach. This calls for a double espresso...

While the food was delicious, the air felt heavy at the table. None of us were particularly happy, as we were all preoccupied with issues at work. Hopefully our next meeting will be a happier one.

The other twin

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Over the last few months two restaurants have opened with the same name, serving very different types of cuisine. Tonight I had a chance to try out the second place named Gvsto, serving up Italian fare. Reviews had been mixed so far so I was a bit apprehensive.

I started with the panzanella al pofumo con burrata di bufala. This bread salad turned out to be a little different from my expectations, but it was OK. Shredded pieces of bread was mixed with chopped cucumber, tomato, red onions and topped with burrata cheese. Plenty of basil sauce to provide flavor.

I chose the signature dish of spaghettoni al nero di seppia con calamari e agrumi as my second course. The thick noodles frankly were a little too al dente for me, becoming a little harder to chew due to its size. But the taste was absolutely delicious. The squid ink along with tiny rings of calamari provided flavors of the sea, enhanced by garlic. Chopped cherry tomatoes added a bit of acidity and sweetness, and the final touches were provided by the thin strips of lemon zest that gave the dish some added kick. I thought everything worked very well together.

I brought a bottle of 2002 Kongsgaard Chardonnay, which I mistakenly thought was their Viognier/Roussanne. What a beautiful wine! This was probably the sweetest Chardonnay I can remember, with an explosive nose full of ripe honeydew melon, straw, lemon, sweet corn, butter, a bit of vanilla and some minerals. The color was a beautiful gold, and the wine was very ripe and sweet on the palate. No wonder Parker gave it 95 points...I whole-heartedly agree and probably would add a point or two on top.

The panna rappresa al limone con fragole fresche e menta was the perfect dessert to end this meal. The lemon-flavored clotted cream had the right acidity, and the strawberries balanced that very nicely. I could have had two of these...

The very friendly manager - who had been checking up on us all evening - kindly offered us a glass of Barolo Chinato. I've never had this before, and it sure was different! The base is Barolo, but this has been made with primarily the bark of the Cinchona tree - better known to us as quinine - and other spices. The result is a digestif that is highly regarded for its medicinal purposes. Indeed, the nose is nothing if not medicinal, with notes of hospital disinfectant, turpentine, pine and fir that reminds me of Christmas potpurri. The wine is actually somewhat bitter on the palate. I guess I don't have to worry about malaria for a while...

I think dinner tonight has been a pleasant surprise, at least for me. There were no real disappointments in terms of food, although my dining companion had a different opinion on her dishes. Service was also surprisingly friendly which always helps.