Pre-Flight Treat

There’s no words more comforting when Chef Bombana dropped by our table and said he would take good care of us, especially during the white truffles season and when you knew he's a man of his word. I was excited to be able to join some other friends for a dinner tasting at Chef Bombana's Otto e Mezzo restaurant late last month, on the very evening I flew out to London for a week - that's the way to start off the holiday with a sumptuous feast.

Of course we ended up with more than a handful of white truffle dishes throughout the evening. We began straight away with a small amuse-bouche dish of chanterelle veloute with shaved white truffles and drizzle of olive oil, just a prelude to the sauteed lobster and mushroom purees completely covered in truffles shaved in front of us at the table. I was pleased with the quality of white truffles I had so far this season but nothing beats the ones served by Chef Bombana, aka "King of White Truffles". The lobster tail was perfectly cooked and served with just a light splash of butter sauce, and released the enticing truffle aroma just fine with this slightly warm dish.

Traditional wisdom called for something simple to go with white truffle dishes, like a clean canvas or backdrop. It's hard to tell which ones were better for this evening - either the "Raviolo Bergese", with the whole egg yolk sandwiched between two thin pasta sheet with a light cream sauce, or the traditional Risotto done the Milanese way with butter and cream but without saffron. My vote would probably go to the Raviolo, as I liked the combination of the oozy egg yolk and white truffles, with one intense flavor matching another on equal footing.

We did have a few non-truffle dishes as well. Shimaji (yellowjack fish) carpaccio was served with a champagne sauce, oscietra caviar, tomatoes and winter vegetables - I love the refreshing taste with the accent of umami flavor from the caviar. Seems like everyone went on a craze about sea cucumber as a new ingredient for dishes, and chef attempted his version with diced ham, abalone and mushroom stuffing, mushroom and meat consomme and thin slices of porcini on top. They worked well together with good firm texture from the sea cucumber. Venison was sent to us as main course, done Milanese style with the whole piece battered and deep-fried then carved into serving portion. Underneath was the meat jus and Jerusalem artichoke puree. I love the meat done medium rare with super tender texture, and the dish was solidly executed like what I expected from a top Italian restaurant in town.

Thought the wines were well-chosen too with a few classic selections. The Etna Rosso and the Barolo from Monforte d'Alba were what stood out - the slight sweetness from the Etna Rosso and the earthy flavor from the classic Barolo seemed to work best with the fresh aroma of the white truffles.

We finished with two desserts before I needed to run to the airport - first the mango sorbet with nougets, then the milk gelato prepared at tableside with more white truffles shaved on top (plus the festive panettone along with the petit fours sweets). The creamy custard with clean flavor worked wonderfully well with the aromatic white truffles and was perfect as a suiting end to our truffle feast, and thank you chef for the great send-off.

(Meal was by invitation. More photos can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/g4gary/albums/72157712062372673)

When? November 25 2019
Where? Otto e Mezzo Bombana, Shop 202, Landmark Alexandra, 18 Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Raviolo Bergese with Alba White Truffles
Drinks?
Champagne Vilmart & Cie Grande Reserve Premier Cru Brut NV
2018 Costaripa Rosamara Valtenesi DOC
2017 Girolamo Russo A'Rina Etna Rosso DOC
2014 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo "Bussia", Barolo DOCG
2014 Casanova di Nero Brunello di Montalcino DOCG
2016 Tasca D'Almerita Capofaro Malvasia di Salina IGT