Love uni? Eat your fill of sea urchin in an Italian restaurant for a change
Chef Carlo Marengoni isn't peculiarly fond of sea urchin, or ricci di mare every bit it's known in Italian. He's from Bergamo, a landlocked city about an hour's bulldoze northeast of Milan in the foothills of the Italian Alps. The Chef de Cuisine of The Fullerton Hotel'due south The Lighthouse Restaurant & Rooftop Bar is much more accustomed to the rich, bawdy, robust dishes of the northward: Porcini, polenta, stuffed ravioli and truffles.
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Yet he knows all too well the dining habits of Singaporeans, having fabricated the island his home for the past 24 years (he's also married to a Singaporean). That cognition – of Singaporeans' dear affair with the spiky marine animate being – inspired Marengoni to come up with a special urchin-focused menu that will be available for a limited time only.
Called Chef Marengoni's Signature Sea Urchin Specials, the iv-course menu (S$148++ for lunch or dinner) is a gastronomic journey designed to send uni lovers into seventh heaven. Oops, pardon us – uni is the Japanese term that has been appropriated into local parlance, thanks to its ubiquity in Japanese cuisine.
"I'chiliad trying to allow people know that y'all can also accept sea urchin in an Italian restaurant," Marengoni told CNA Luxury during a tasting ahead of the bill of fare'due south launch. Indeed, the harvesting of urchins is as much an Italian tradition every bit it is Nipponese, although for obvious reasons the Mediterranean-facing southerners are its strongest advocates.
The menu is available from July 5 to July 26, 2019, July marker the starting time of the harvest flavor in Puglia, the region best known for ricci di mare. The traditional manner to swallow information technology is to dip fresh, bootleg bread straight into the halved animate being's creamy centre. "The breadstuff is already very tasty, and with the sea urchin, you don't need other flavours," explained chef.
Another pop option is to toss information technology into a simple pasta dish. The restaurant already has one such dish on its regular menu, Fresh Body of water Urchin Gragnano Spaghetti, which has been a hit with customers.
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The dish is reprised in the seasonal card – where it forms the 2nd course – and was a clear favourite at the table. Tossed with a rich sauce of garlic, anchovies and bottarga, this traditional pairing is enjoyed throughout Puglia, Sicily and Sardinia. Marengoni used dry pasta rather than egg pasta, the perfectly al dente noodles providing the requisite compactness and bite in contrast to the velvety urchin.
Information technology must be noted that Marengoni used a Japanese diversity for the tasting, although there is little deviation in gustation between the ii. The most obvious stardom is the color: Ricci di mare tends towards deep orangish and red tones, whereas uni ranges from pale yellows to lite oranges (and even purples).
To backtrack a picayune, the starter course: Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio was paired with Sea Urchin, dusted with seaweed pulverisation, and zested with lime. The delicate, briny flavours of this oceanic duo set the stage for the rest of the tasting.
As to why the carte du jour doesn't offer, say, a starter of bruschetta or business firm-fabricated bread and urchin – to introduce the traditional pairing to local diners – Marengoni explained: "It could be considered besides uncomplicated. [Maybe it would piece of work] equally an amuse bouche, but as an appetiser, [guests would feel that] it's too unproblematic – they could do it at abode."
For the third form, diners can choose to bask a dish from the country or the sea: Either the Half Naked Boston Lobster (less salacious than it sounds) or the Veal Tenderloin. The former was dressed with a house-made urchin sauce, served with a side of turnip greens, and garnished with freshly shaved truffle. The latter was bathed in the same sauce, and came with a side of asparagus and a sprinkle of house-made porcini powder.
Nosotros sampled both options, and found the lobster to be a tad overcooked, although information technology did provide ample bite, (once again) a counterpoint to the custardy urchin texture. The veal, meanwhile, was fork-tender and pleasantly savoury, working well as a fleshy base for the urchin.
To cleanse the palate, the tasting ended with Marengoni's take on a traditional lemon-axial dessert from the Amalfi coast: Lemon Please with Amalfi Lemon Custard, Lemon Sorbet and Limoncello. Pro tip: Do as we did and order a shot of Limoncello liqueur to round off the experience. You won't regret it.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/experiences/uni-sea-urchin-lighthouse-fullerton-239931
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