For his birthday dinner this year, T.H. was clear about where he wanted to dine. And this decision was made a few months ago when our dinner at @basquekitchenbyaitor left him hugely impressed.
I know many people specifically visit this restaurant to savour their Txuleta and/or Turbot that are grilled on the Josper, but we had the Tasting Menu by Chef-owner @aitortxuchef. Leaving it to chefs to decide what to feed me has always been my preferred because I believe they would want to share creations that best represent them, not to mention those they are most proud of. And that’s how we spent the evening enjoying the following:
1. A yet-to-be-launched premium pintxo of mushroom glazed uni on toast topped with freshly shaved white truffle. Outrageously yum!
2. Another incredible premium pintxo of decadently delish “egg on egg on egg” action featuring caviar on a cured Japanese egg yolk and bottarga.
3. Piping hot and crunchy truffle croquetta with a creamy core of black truffle aioli and more white truffle to finish. I’ve always liked this a lot.
4. Very tender and flavourful abalone that’d been sous vide for 48 hours served on sourdough and blanketed in a “Donastiarra” sauce.
5. Housebaked sourdough with the restaurant’s as-fab-as-ever smoky butter.
6. An exquisite creation of poached Kegani hairy crab meat with Kaluga caviar, mixed greens and chive oil.
7. Hearty course of meaty cep mushrooms with cured japanese egg yolk and marigold - I simply couldn’t believe how satisfying this was.
8. An interesting dish starring sea anemone rice with plankton aioli and sea succulents - ice plant and sandfire.
9. Very flavourful pan-fried red mullet smothered in beef tendon crackling puffs and a sauce of its own bones, liver and such.
10. Tasting of the sea, a mussel consommé with creamy bouchot mussels and goose barnacles hidden under the foaminess.
11. For the meat course, T.H. had his favourite A5 Miyazaki Wagyu tenderloin with foie gras, autumn truffle, pumpkin purée and jus, while I got the incredible lamb that had bowled me over the last time. It was every bit as mind-blowing as I remembered.
12. To enjoy with our meats, we had what T.H. christened the “King Of Chips”. I must concur as the heap of huge and chunky, triple-cooked chips were perfection - mealy inside, crispy out. The white truffle shaved on was lovely but not necessary because frankly, the chips were outstanding on their own.
13. “Heaven on Wheels” rolled up next and Sham prepared for us a selection. By selection, I mean nearly every cheese on that trolley, including those from the Basque Country. You could probably have spotted my beaming smile from outer space. So great was my happiness.
14. Palate cleanser was a yellow-on-yellow vibrance of mango ice-cream, tangerine sorbet and marigold petals.
15. For dessert, Chef Aitor served a flan with the most luxurious mouthfeel, and it had the excellent company of housemade chamomile ice-cream and yuzu dust.
16. Petit fours were thoughtfully packed by Chef @ippinn_ for us to take home because after that cheesapalooza and desserts, we could not imagine taking another bite.
To pair with the parade of seafood and red meats throughout the night, @jaureguiberryvincent recommended an atypical red which we found really lovely.
Thank you Team @basquekitchenbyaitor for a most memorable dinner.
