Michelin wine dinner with Alba truffles and Barolo wines

Head chef Antonio Tardi invites one-star chef Andrea Gabin to create a wine gala together.  Topped with the aroma of Alba truffles and Barolo wines.

menu:

*truffle crusted scallops served with veal sweetbreads and "scorzanera"
Ingredients went well together. Can't taste the veal though. Probably because it was a bit over prepared: cooked so many different ways before served so you can't taste the original flavor any more. Though scallops and truffles went OK together.

pairing wine: casa langhe favorita doc., gagliardo 2006
grape type: Favorita
Nice golden amber color. A bit too oaky drinking alone. With food brings out some rose and sandalwood aroma, quite interesting.





*pumpkin soup served with candy lobster and white truffle
The chef  used local Taiwanese lobster instead of imported ones, fresh and environmentally friendly.
Pumpkin soup was just right, went very nicely with the lobster.(Most local restaurants make the soup too watery.) Personally,  I don't think it was a good idea to put the truffle in the soup because the pumpkin's too sweet and flavorful, can't taste the truffle at all.

*pan fried potato gnocchi served with cabbage, red wine sauce and white truffle
The cheese ghocchi went very well with local cabbage and truffle. Very small portion though: Only three ghocchis on the plate.

Pairing wine: Barolo serre docg., gagliardo 2004
Grape type: Nebbiolo
Elegant aroma, full of red berries and bouquet. Balanced on the palate. Went OK with the dish but didn't bring out very much nice surprise.

*crispy egg served with tender potato, bock choy and white truffle
Simple ingredients but very skillfully  made: poached egg wrapped in some chopped deep fried pasta, the pasta part was a bit oily but the chef balanced it out with some kind of local green vegetable again. Take a bite of the perfectly made poached egg, dip some pasta and the truffle in the yolk, it's just heaven.

Pairing wine: Barolo cannubi docg., gagliardo 2005
Grape type: Nebbiolo from Cannubi single vineyard
Flora and berries. A bit too acidic on the palate. OK with the dish.

*green apple and grappa sorbet scented with cinnamon
Sorbet was a little too hard, some kind of cereal like cookie crumbs on the side. A bit too oily to clean your palate.

*grilled natural beef tenderloin with peanut sauce, artichoke heart and white truffle
Antonio and Andrea went around and sliced a lot of white truffles on every body's  dish.
The chefs that Marco Polo restaurant invited recently tend to prefer to make the whole piece of beef very tenderly. Personally, I think crispy outside, tender inside and sealed the juice of the meat in is the best way.

Pairing wine: Barolo riserva preve docg., gagliardo 2004
Claimed one of the best of the Chateau, only 6000 bottles made.
Not sure if it's because of palate fatigue, Can't tell why it's so special.  The finish was a bit bitter.
Went pretty well with the dish.

*black chocolate fondant and white truffle
Cake was good, truffle was nice but pretty weird combination. Originally they listed another dessert online: sugar ball filled with white chocolate mousse, milk foam and passion fruit sorbet
That one sounds like Robuchon's famous dessert "Le Sucre". Was going to compare them. Felt cheated.

Over all, Gabin is my favorite chef among the three they've invited recently. The dishes demand a lot of work and complicated procedure, but you can still taste the original natural flavor of the ingredients.
Some one-star young chefs are just trying too hard or using too much ingredients together. Using local ingredients is also a good idea, most restaurants in the wine countries choose to use local food to match local wines because there's a natural harmony between them.

The young Baloros I've tried today tend to be very exciting at the beginning, but after an hour or so they started to loose it.