Juve Fan has, apparently, been developing a new dish that he wanted me to try. It wasn't quite ready when he first told me about it a month ago, but he was confident that he would get it right soon enough. So this is how Foursheets and I came to dine at Estro tonight during the long Easter weekend while many of our friends traveled outside Hong Kong.
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But besides the new dish, I was actually more excited about something else. I recently discovered that Juve Fan is, in fact, kind of an ex-tifosi. As I was ordering some funny stuff from Taobao, I decided to add to my order so I could give him something that is perfectly suited for him. Tonight I would have the opportunity to give him the gift and also grab a photo op for this gag gift that only current F1 fans would understand...As it was the long weekend, I guess I wasn't too surprised that there were no familiar faces in the dining room tonight. The dining room itself seemed a little quieter than usual which, again, was expected.
First came the selection of aperitivo:
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Sakuraebi rice cracker, sesame cracker and tarali - both types of crackers were very fragrant and delicious, but I especially enjoyed the newer version with sakura shrimp (桜海老). The tarali always packs plenty of flavors, too.
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Steamed egg custard with mushroom zabaglione - pretty tasty, with peas as well as diced cubes of mushrooms inside.
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Burrata and zucchini tart![]()
Green apple and cucumber drink - always nice with the acidity to cleanse the palate.
I brought a bottle of bubbly as I thought it might suit the dishes tonight, but...
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2000 Dom Pérignon P2 - this was definitely corked with that wet cardboard smell. The palate was definitely flat, with some acidity mid-palate, but the finish was definitely bitter and short. Some toast on the nose, but really not enjoyable.
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Oyster | almond, lemon tomato, caviar - we were asked to enjoy the Karatomari Ebisu Oyster (唐泊恵比須かき) two different ways: first with the concentrated tomato consommé which had been made with cooked tomatoes and caper oil. This was pretty nice, but I kinda wish there was more of the consommé.
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The oyster was poached mi-cuit in the shell, which gave it a crunchy texture. The caviar smoked with artichoke buds was complex and interesting, and worked nicely with the oyster together with the consommé.
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Abalone | green asparagus, spring vegetables, seaweed, vermentino sauce - the Korean abalone came pan-fried so that it was tender in the middle while crunchy around the edges. It was surrounded by foam made of vermentino wine.
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Underneath we had a bed of Italian asparagus and green peas, which were very tasty.
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Linguine | almond, rocket, uni - I jokingly rolled my eyes at Juve Fan and accused him of copying Luca Fantin... but of course this was a very different take... at least in terms of color. The green sauce was made of almond milk and arugula, with some arugula as garnish.
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In the middle we had a combination of tomatoes, almonds, and onions mixed together. The flavors here were complex, with a creamy and crunchy texture that proved interesting.
Much to my surprise, it was Foursheets who asked the question I normally find myself asking: "did the sea urchin need to be there?" To be honest, I'm not sure. The pasta certain didn't get worse by adding some on top, but I also didn't think it got eye-poppingly good because of the premium ingredient.
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Pappardelle | onion genovese, melanosporum black truffle - I don't get to have Juve Fan's genovese nearly as much as I would like, so I was pretty happy that this was on offer tonight.
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While I would never complain about having this topped with thin shavings of French black truffle, I do with that I had gotten a liiiiittle bit more of the sweet sauce. I just love it too much.
Seeing that I've given up on my Champagne, we were offered glasses of a wine to pair with the parpadelle:
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2008 Di Meo Greco di Tufo Vittorio Riserva - aged for 12 years in the tanks and then another 24 months in the bottle, the nose showed a little bit of exotic spices, definitely flinty, oxidative, and definitely heavily toasted once the wine is in the mouth.
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Bottoni | Pecorino, artichoke, lardo - the stuffing of Pecorino and lardo was simply fantastic! Sooo much flavor and such intensity! I'm normally not a guy who gets excited by artichokes, but the bits of roasted artichokes and fried artichoke chips were both pretty tasty. The last of the "artichoke three ways" came in the form of burnt powder, which I felt were completely useless and added no discernable flavors.
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So... finally we have the pièce de résistance... the reason why we came. Zee duck! After trials with various imported varieties, they decided to use local birds and brine them before aging for a few days. Slow-roasted with a glaze of bergamot honey and lavender from Yunnan (雲南).
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Duck | radicchio, balsamic vinegar - FOOKMI! What an unexpected surprise! This duck, which came out of a kitchen run by an Italian, was the juiciest, most tender duck I've tasted in recent memory. I completely did not see this coming. Duck juice (not jus) was literally oozing out and covering my tongue as I bit down. The honey glaze on the skin was wonderful, and the fragrance from lavender was pretty obvious. The radicchio was on the acidic side, tempered somewhat with dots of balsamico.
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We were served some duck consommé as a drink, although this was plenty rich that I would call it a broth rather than consommé that has been clarified... because that fat and collagen was sticking to my lips after drinking this! Oh and I could taste the lavender, too.
In my 15 visits since the restaurant opened, this was undoubtedly the most surprisingly dish Juve Fan has ever served me.
We were also offered a glass to go with zee duck...
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2017 San Valentino Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva Terra di Covignano - nice nose with some spices and dried herbs, and fragrant eucalyptus.
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Orange - in the middle we have yogurt crème, sablé, and whipped marscapone with a few dots of blood orange gel. The wedges of Italian blood orange were beautifully juicy with plenty of acidity and bitterness. I was loving it, but unbelievable as it is, Foursheets INHALED this dessert! She almost never touches desserts, but this was totally up her alley.
Finally, we have the sweet endings:
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Sicilian pistachio gelato - this really is fucking fantastic, but we knew that since before this place opened.
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Italian strawberry tart - very tasty.
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Coffee rocher - soooo much better now that they've added coffee in the filling!
I'm glad Juve Fan decided to serve us 3 pastas tonight, but I'm also glad he came up with a stunning meat main course after the pasta courses. This was certainly worthy of a one-month wait, and I look forward to coming back for another taste.
