Spanish ro ro

Two months ago I chanced upon a blurb about a promotion that The Steak House Winebar  + Grill at the InterContinental Hong Kong.  They would be showcasing the beef shipped in by José Gordón - the man behind Bodega El Capricho in Spain. I got pretty excited at the prospect of tasting some good Spanish beef, but kinda got busy and forgot about it... until very recently.

I first came across El Capricho in a documentary called Steak (R)evolution.  Then last year The Man in White T-shirt actually paid them a visit and came back very happy.  Given my fondness for the Spanish beef I've had in the last few years, I knew I needed to somehow come and try it for myself.

So I managed to rope in DaRC and Chaxiubao and booked a table of six, two nights before the end of the promotion. 

We wanted to keep things simple, so we each ordered our own starters while sharing the large cuts of beef.

Iberico bone marrow, veal sweetbread, chorizo, endive, toasted mini baguette and red wine reduction - how could I possibly pass up bone marrow?  I gotta admit, though, that I've never had bone marrow from an iberico pig before...

And this came with diced cubes of sweetbread and chorizo, along with some parsley. Very interesting combination of textures, not to mention the flavors.  Perfect over some slices of mini baguettes.  Fatty and so, so satisfying.

70 days dry-aged bone-in striploin, 25 oz. - very tasty, indeed!  I love the firmer texture of old Spanish cattle, which is tenderized somewhat by the extended dry-aging process.  We were advised to take small bits from the strip of fat on the other side of the bone - as if I actually needed someone to point me in that direction...  I've always been fond of the blue cheese-like flavors found in fat and tendons of dry-aged beef, and MAN!  This was something else!  I felt like I was chewing on a piece of Fourme d'Ambert or Gorgonzola...  Oh, I also stripped the thin strip of meat attached to the bone.

The doneness was just right.  Very, very happy.

70 days dry-aged prime rib, 30 oz. - quite an impressive sight. 

The cut was more tender than the striploin, and I took a piece on either side of the bone.  Also very tasty, but somewhat less flavorful than the striploin.

Crème Catalane, citrus segments and churros - how could I resist crema catalana, especially when it comes with churros???  Heavenly.  Very rich, though...

I brought along two bottles of Rioja tonight, both of which I carried back from the winery all those years ago...

1995 Remírez de Ganuza Gran Reserva - ready to drink upon opening and decanting.  Smoky, earthy notes with perhaps a little black olive.  Medium bodied.  Later some leather and a little more fruit.  Drinking very well now.

2003 Remírez de Ganuza Transnocho - decanted at the same time as the Gran Reserva but drank about an hour later.  Much more concentrated as a press wine. Still plenty of fruit left.

A very good evening spent together with friends. I was happy that we didn't order more beef, because once again I stuffed myself full of peanuts at the table...