Headless 3-star lunch

I came back to Hong Kong from my trips to the US and Taiwan bearing gifts for the Tiggers, so they very kindly allowed me to crash their usual lunch date at 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana.  It's been quite a while since I was last there, and I happily accepted their invitation.

I'm a creature of habit, and when I revisit restaurants that are old favorites, I tend to go back to the same dishes that I love.  And so it was that I decided to forgo the normal set lunch and ordered up one of two dishes that I had been missing dearly...

Artisanal chitarra with tomato and red king prawns - ah... one of my favorite pastas in town.  That wonderful al dente texture from the thick pasta... the gorgeous shellfish and tomato sauce that I tried to pick up with the chitarra as much as possible.  And when the pasta was all gone but there was still sauce left in my bowl, I picked up the leftover bread on my plate and dutifully scooped up the rest.  (Tigger suggested that I do an I Love Lubutin and use my index finger instead...)  The carabinero was delish, but wait... WHERE THE HELL IS THE HEAD?!

OK, I know it's been a while since I've been here... but they've always served this dish with a single prawn, including the head.  Where did it go?!  For those of us who truly love carabineros, how is it possible that the kitchen would think to deprive us of the pleasure of holding the head between our fingers while we greedily sucked out every last bit of goodness from it?!  I don't mind getting my fingers dirty at all!  Why, oh why?!  Oh, the humanity!

This place is definitely one of the (if not THE) power lunch spots in town, and I counted 5 other tables with people I know.  A mutual friend of ours knew that my birthday had just passed, and very kindly sent along glasses of Quintarelli Primofiore (I didn't ask Danilo for the vintage).  This was young but very delish, showing a lovely and fragrant nose of forest pine and potpourri.

Many thanks for the kindness of friends.