The best steak I have ever had in my life...

I can't stop thinking about the Italian wine pairing dinner I went to last week with wines from the renowned Bastianich family that was accompanied by an incredibly scrumptious dinner I will never forget, prepared by Chef David Almany of Osteria Mozza in Singapore (a Mario Batali restaurant), number 35 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list.

I was a little skeptical of this dinner because of the venue... it was held at the western restaurant of the Chinese Recreation Club (CRC) of all places! While my family and I eat there about once a month since the food is pretty decent (I always order the baked pork chop rice), the service is always off. The servers always get one of our orders wrong, or forget something, or someone's food doesn't arrive until 15 minutes after everyone else has received theirs. So because of our previous experiences, I wasn't sure how well this wine pairing dinner would be executed.

To my surprise, this was a flawlessly executed dinner by the CRC staff, and everything was cooked to perfection, accompanied by an endless flow of prosecco (Flor Prosecco di Valdobbiadene).

The first course was a grilled octopus salad. This was the best octopus I have ever had. The texture was soft but not mushy. Later in the evening, chef explained that it was done in the same technique as duck confit - cooked submerged in olive oil and later grilled. The octopus was also perfectly seasoned. This was paired with a dry Bastianich 2011 Pinot Grigio that had a subtle sweetness, which went well with the smokey flavors from the grill.

Grilled Octopus Salad

Next was the burrata with crushed almonds, grilled asparagus and bacon made from pig's cheek. Oh. My. God. SO GOOD! The burrata was a balloon bursting with white, creamy goodness when I cut into it. The salty bacon, slightly bitter asparagus and crunchy almonds complemented the smooth texture of the burrata. I could easily have had two plates of this.

The wine pairing for this dish was our favorite wine of the night, Bastianich 2011 Friulano. This wine was sumptuous and full-bodied for a white wine. The fruity notes seemed to dance on my palate making each sip more enjoyable than the last.

Burrata

The second appeteizer was a ricotta gnocchi with chopped wild mushrooms and spinach. The gnocchi was made purely from ricotta, which made it much lighter than the traditional version made from potatoes. The gnocchi was light in flavor, giving way to highlight the natural bitterness of the spinach and firm texture and buttery taste of the mushrooms.

This was paired with the Bastianich's Vespa Bianco - a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Picolit. I'm normally not a big fan of Chardonnay because of its oaked flavor, but I found it to be really subtle in this blend. I still prefer the Friulano.

The main course was a porcini-rubbed Japanese Wagyu ribeye. Holy moly. This is the best steak I have ever tasted in my life. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was exploding with flavor. The porcini rub created a nice crunchy crust on the outside and the earthy flavours of the porcini came through nicely, with the slightest crunch from bits of coarse salt. I haven't stopped thinking about this steak since, nor have I stopped salivating at the thought of it!

The steak was accompanied with Bastianich Vespo Rosso, another blend of grape varieties -  Merlot, Refosco and Cabernet Sauvignon 2009.

Porcini-rubbed Japanes Wagyu ribeye with rosemary potato

The five-course dinner was finished off with a cheese plate of taleggio and a sheep's milk cheese served with raisins and dried apricots, and a slice of bread. The sweetness of the raisins and dried apricots when very well with the soft and punget goat cheese, while the thin slices of taleggio was sharp and salty.  

The plate was paired with the last wine of the evening - Bastianich Calabrone Refosco, Schipettino, Pignolo and Merlot 2008. This red was lighter in texture than the Vespo Rosso and has rich dark berry flavors and soft tannins. Interesting fact: the Bastianich winery only produces 3,000 bottles of this.

After this delicious dinner, I plan to make a trip to Singapore to eat at Osteria Mozza to try more of Chef David's cooking. This dinner has also turned me into an even bigger Batali fan. I'm also going to buy the Mozza cookbook which David Almany has contributed to.

I have a trip planned to New York city this summer and will be dining at Manzo in Batali's new artisanal marketplace Eataly. I couldn't be more excited to have another great meal by one of his chefs. 

My sister (L), mom (R) and I with Chef David. He is a really nice guy and we enjoyed talking to him about his background and his favorite restaurants in HK! Kinda cute too!