The king of paella

Hours after meeting Tigger for lunch, here I am having dinner with him again.  The Tiggers have been hankering to go back to On Lot 10, since Babu really misses the fresh fish that David serves up.  So while we were watching some horsies jump around, I called and made a reservation for tonight.  And not wanting to miss something epic for a second time, I called to make sure we were going to be served a few specific items...

Steamed artichoke - the ones we got today were skinny-ass versions of what I had 2 weeks ago...

We got a stuffed crab shell as a starter.  Of course, this ain't no ordinary crab shell... it's the shell of an Alaskan king crab!  Just look at the lemon wedges on the side to figure out the size of the shell.

The cold crab meat was really yummy.  Mixed with onions and chives, this was both a little spicy and acidic.

Jamón ibérico, aged 48 months - oh yum...

Tried to be healthy with a little salad...

But for me the main event tonight was definitely the Alaskan king crab paella.  Eight beautiful legs of the king crab lay on top of a layer of rice, along with mussels and some petits pois.  This was absolute perfection tonight.  The legs were showed full-on crab flavors - I could still taste the ocean.  The rice tonight was done just right - not soggy like what I had 2 weeks ago, but dry and chewy enough.  Sooo tasty with the mix of seafood flavors and the finely diced chorizo.

But the best part about a good paella is the socarrat, and I was determined to take in as much as I could... so I pulled an ILoveLubutin and scraped the pan clean with a spoon.  No, I don't think I could clean the pan with my finger like she does...

Pan-fried fourfinger threadfin - it's been a while since we last had the fourfinger threadfin (馬友) from David, and how delicious this was!  Done with tons of butter, potatoes, watercress and a ton of coûtons.  The flesh of the fish was sooooo soft and tender, and of course incredibly tasty.

I had deliberately tried to keep the number of dishes in check, and as it turned out, we had just the right amount of food.  We were not overly stuffed, yet we were all satisfied with our bellies full.  Oh and there was no need to make a run to Tsui Wah...

Knowing we would be seafood-heavy tonight, I brought along some white wine for everyone:

2000 Les Plantiers du Haut-Brion en magnum - oaky, flinty.  Ripe on the palate, with a pretty long finish that seemed a little bitter.  Not bad at all.

Tonight was definitely a roaring success.  Of course I will be back again and again... and will be needing that king crab paella a few more times!