Lobster with Bird

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I wasn't supposed to have another cheat meal so soon, but the little bunny typhoon messed up my dinner plans last night.  I was meant to have met up with My Favorite Birdbrain Cousin and her parents, and would have chosen some place Chinese so I could be a good boy and stay within the boundaries of my diet.  No such luck.

While I would have preferred Chinese and ordered a big bowl of rice with some blanched veggies, Birdbrain insisted on going to On Lot 10.  I was hoping that there wouldn't be a table available, but the girl got lucky and actually got a table for us.  That meant I would definitely make this a cheat night, since there's no way I could ever keep to my diet with David's food… Damn!

I let Bird do the ordering, but warned her about having "eyes that are bigger than her stomach" - 眼睛比胃口大.  I don't think my warning had any effect… and thankfully I insisted that one main course would be enough for us.  I had asked David to decide whether we should have the daily fresh seafood or the paella, and David had chosen to serve us his very special paella… which never ceases to blow me away each time I have it.

Kintoa ham, pickled quindilla peppers - always happy to have the ham here, although I stayed away from the peppers tonight.

'21 day' foie gras confit, beetroot marmalade - I think it's the first time I've ever had David's foie gras torchon… and I love it.  The beetroot marmalade on the side was surprisingly devoid of the usual earthy flavors.

Scallop crudo artichoke heart, Parmesan emulsion and truffle - I enjoyed this on my last visit, and I wasn't disappointed tonight.  Everything just goes so well together… both in terms of textures and flavors.

Carabinero red prawn, house made spaghetti and coral reduction - for the first time since… hell, I can't even remember… I passed up the head of a carabinero.  Two reasons: my aunt also loves prawn heads and I gave it up in deference to her, and I also haven't been sucking out the goodness of any prawn heads since my program started.  I was happy with half of the tail that was already tasty enough, and was tempted enough to use a little bread to soak up the yummy (but too salty for my diet) reduction… and a little surprised by the fiery kick.

Soupe de poisson - I love the soup here and the flavors tonight seemed a little stronger than usual.  Texture-wise I think this also thicker than usual… and I started to wonder whether I was tasting added flour, or did my bowl really have that much "sediment".  My clam, though, did seem to be just a liiiitle bit "off".

Lobster paella - well, David never just serves us plain old "lobster paella"… he'll always have something a little more up his sleeve.  Tonight what we got was made with French homard bleu, with both lobster coral and lobster roe, along with local free-range chicken and chicken liver.  Wow…

Oh blimey!  I don't think I've ever had lobster roe before… The little round black eggs of the girl lobster turns red after cooking, and made everything so perrrrrty… The homard bleu was of course VERY tasty, the chicken very yummy, the chicken liver just as yummy as the chicken itself.  I couldn't resist nibbling on the lobster coral, which Bird eventually discovered as well…  Soooo decadent!

Bacon roasted brussel sprouts - Bird and my aunt both like Brussels sprouts, so that is what we ordered.  Very tasty… especially with strips of bacon!

Green peas and baby vegetables - also very yummy, with what looked like petit pois, baby carrots, baby radish, pearl onions, bacon and chervil.

I was full and passed on dessert, but Bird being Bird… she couldn't exactly pass up the chocolate and hazelnut cake, could she?!

Unfortunately for us, my wine of choice for the evening failed us miserably...

1997 Vincent Girardin Corton Charlemagne - this was completely oxidized and showed a deep, golden hue.  The nose showed caramel, Chinese licorice and mineral notes.  Very ripe on the palate, and also a little tart.  Not really enjoyable.