It’s white truffle season once again

MANILA, Philippines - It’s that wonderful time of the year once again when the earthy diamonds in the Alba region in Italy are in bloom. This year, white Truffles cost more than last year at $8,000 per kilo retail. Unfortunately for us, Pinoy lovers of this rarity, there are no restaurants in the Philippines that import white truffles on a regular basis.

A couple of years ago, Red at Makati Shangri-La offered it for a week and it hasn’t repeated the promotion since then. This is in contrast with Hong Kong and Macau where almost all fine dining Italian and continental restaurants offer it in their menu during white truffle season (late October to mid-December). I was even surprised to see a Chinese restaurant in Macau advertise it just days ago.

My favorite place to sample it is at the three-Michelin starred Robuchon in Macau. Robuchon A gallera at the old Lisboa hotel is now Robuchon au Dome at the 45th floor of the elegant Grand Lisboa hotel.

For this dinner at Robuchon au Dome, I invited four close friends who were vacationing in Macau for the featured L’ Automme sampling dinner that featured eight courses. The new venue is perched on the top tier of the Grand Lisboa building and is shaped like an elongated dome with a breathtaking view of Macau. No expense was spared on the design, amenities and utensils of the restaurant.

As in previous visits, dinner started with a huge basket of delicious breads freshly baked in the premises and served piping hot. I warned my friends not to indulge too much on the breads as there were eight dishes arriving not to mention a house appetizer that technically made it nine.

Course one was Robuchon’s house Sevruga caviar layered over creamed Dungeness crab meat. The combination of the briny nutty caviar complemented the dreamy taste of the creamed crab meat. Although the serving was ample, it left us wanting for more. We even wanted to take home the empty caviar canisters as souvenirs.

Course two was Toyama egg with white truffle. Expect the Japanese to always come out with innovative versions of food we normally consider ordinary. Sort of bringing everyday food to the next level. Wagyu beef, square watermelon, giant sweet apples and strawberries and now dark orange yolked gourmet eggs. The slightly cooked Toyama egg yolk had a robust rich taste and was garnished with young spinach topped with generous slivers of white truffles. Absolutely no need for superlatives to describe the dish.

Course three was the richest tasting of all the courses — a cappucino of cepes (a.k.a. porcino or wild mushroom) with a thick emulsion of mouth-lingering foie gras. The soup composition was so thick it felt like we were actually eating something solid. After savoring the last drop of soup, we all felt full and requested our Pinoy waiter Medel to please slow down.

Course four was served after a 15-minute break. Tasty pan-fried scallops with pearl pasta cooked in squid ink in a New Zealand mussell reduction. What was amazing about the dish was how they made the pearl-shaped pasta look and taste like caviar with an al dente texture

Course five was the “piece de resistance.” Cubed Kagoshima (grade 12 in Wagyu terms) rib eye served with sauteed spinach and baby artichoke and a mild bearnaise sauce. Despite the fact that we were all bursting at the seams, we savored every piece of the cubed kagoshima beef punctuated by “oohs” and “aahs.” The beef not only melted in our mouths but glided smoothly. The taste was so rich you could only eat so much then there was the wall or the point of saturation.

Course six was extra because I couldn’t get enough of white truffles. I ordered an extra course of rolled potatoes with foie gras topped with truffles. This was the most heavenly of all the dishes. I wouldn’t mind ordering another.

Course seven to course nine were part of the dessert section. First dessert was fruit-flavored granita with rhum. Although it was yummy, the bitter taste of rhum interferred with the flavor harmony so I opted for another dessert from the cart wheeled in by our capable Pinoy waiter Medel. All six of us diners selected different desserts from the cart and shared. Most popular was the Napoleon. Rich-blended coffee was served last. We needed another half an hour on the table before all the food went down and we could stand up. As we boarded the high-speed elevator to the lobby, I heaved a sigh and silently uttered I shall return for white truffle season 2013.