More of my favorite lamb

It's Mrs. Tigger's birthday and I'm back in Hong Kong.  We had dinner at the same venue as last year's birthday dinner - 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana.  I was very happy, because it's been quite a while since I was able to have some of that delicious lamb…

There was a plan to open a bottle from the birthday girl's birth vintage, but it turned out that a couple of us weren't in the best condition to consume alcohol, so we fêted Mrs. Tigger this year sans alcool.  Uncharacteristic of me, yes, but we'll just save those bottles for future years…

Amuse bouche - salmon with vodka cream and caviar.  A little oyster leaf on the side.

Jamón ibérico, 36 months - delicious as always.

Beef carpaccio - the waitress got our order wrong, and sent over the carpaccio when we wanted jamón.  After realizing their mistake, Chef Umberto kindly made this complimentary.  Very nice.  Wagyu from Tajima (但馬), I believe.

Seared red tuna with fennel pollen, eggplant salad, tomato and orange dressing - very nice.  A little tapenade on top.

Poached langoustine, on asparagus compote, natural jus, sea urchin - very lovely.  Just can't resist seafood like this… especially the shellfish sauce.

Burrata cheese ravioli, black olive, cherry tomato and basil - I was surprised to see burrata being used to make ravioli, but this was really, really delish.  Just the simple and classic flavors of cheese, tomato and basil - but oh-so-good.  The sweet basil was fantastic.

Colorado rack of lamb, artichoke purée, black olive and lamb jus - I've already raved about this countless times, and I just love the delicious fat.  Brings back memories of Uzbekistan and their fat-bottomed sheep…

Birthday cake from the Mandarin Oriental (where else?!), with delicate flavors of lemon and a chocolate bottom.

"Malaga" wild strawberry, vanilla panna cotta, maple syrup foam and strawberry salad - I'm glad it's wild strawberry season again.  This wasn't the best millefeuille I've had, but the strawberries alone were enough to make me happy.

The panna cotta was pretty good, and more strawberries is never a bad thing…

Another very happy dinner… It's good to be back!