From 06/09/2022 to 08/09/2022 marks our very first collaboration with the world-famous restaurant “Asador Etxebarri”. Among all the collaborations, this could be the rarest of all. Not only Asador Etxebarr was ranked the third best restaurant in the world, it was located in far far away land, deep in the mountains of Basque, Spain (also known as the food-war zone due to its amazing restaurant quality and quantity). Asador Etxebarri is a 100% wood fire restaurant, the simplest yet the most sophisticated way of cooking. We were very lucky to have invited Mr. Tetsuro Maeda who is the owner chef’s right-hand man for many years.
Ok, enough babbling about all the background information. Let’s dwell on what filled our empty stomachs and hearts.
Due to location constraints, we could not have Mr. Maeda showing off his signature fire skill this time. Nonetheless, this four hands with Chef Masa from Masa Saito, WABI-SABI-Dining‘s very own Chef Terashima, and Chief Sommelier Chiyomi was nothing but perfection.
As the title suggests, this event is all about transporting our guests to the little town of Basque, Spain where everyone is carefree, happily enjoying a casual family gathering in the cozy night breeze.
The dishes were laid out in a buffet style where everyone can feel free to roam around and take whatever they like.
Just look at the amazing spread!
All of these are traditional Spanish tapas made with imported Spanish herbs and condiments. Bring you the most authentic Spanish flavours.
Chef Maeda doing his magic
An all time favourite dish loved by everybody – Spanish tripe stew. By switching ordinary beef cubes to top grade Japanese wagyu, it elevates this dish from a home-cooked flavours to a Michelin plate.
This pickles and sardine paired perfectly with our wine and champagne! The perfect balance of saltiness, sourness, spiciness and umami leaving you wanting more!
What’s a Tapas party without these chunky, succulent octopus! The Spanish’s love for octopus can be seen from their numerous ways of preparing it. This recipe is called A la Gallega, which boiled octopus with potatoes underneath it. Chef also drizzled extra virgin olive oil to enhance the flavour.
Speaking of seafood, this scrumptious live lobster tail is definitely the star of the show. With just the simplest way of cooking, chef’s perfect execution on the doneness of the lobster brought out the freshness and sweetness of the flesh a 100%.
Let’s not forget the star of every exotic Spanish night. The best ham in the world – Ham of joselito and our guests on that night enjoyed the entire leg all to themselves! What a treat!
My personal favourite was this Spanish omelette. They say the most difficult dish to cook is a simple one because people already have high expectations of what they have tried and you would have to put a lot of effort to make it tastes great. Well, this hearty dish had exceeded everyone’s expectations. Not only the doneness was perfect – a little charred on the outside and gooey in the middle, every bite was laced with the sweetness of the egg and soup stock.
The potatoes in the fillings are fried prior, adding fragrance and texture to the soft gooey center. You could also add a few pieces of Joselito ham to give it a little punch. To sum it up, You could taste Chef Maeda’s years of experience in controlling the temperature of this simple dish.
Last but not the least, it’s a happy ending for carb lovers. This asari risotto was to die for. Those fresh Japanese clams (asari) are not particularly fancy and big, but the little umami bombs are top grade from Hokkaido, lowly simmered with short grains till perfection, drizzled with olive oil.
I would say this dish was a representation of Chef Maeda himself. A perfect “le mariage” of Japanese and Western flavours.
Once again, we couldn’t be more grateful to all chefs, staff, and all our beloved customers to make this magical night possible. There’s no doubt that food connects people and our journey together has just started…
For those who have missed the fun this time, we have regular events throughout the year! please checkout our website or follow our Instagram for our future event updates.
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Location
WEEK1: Scent of journey, Breeze of Spain
https://wabisabi-dining.com
207 River Valley Road #01-60 UE Square, 238275
(Mohamed Sultan Rd side)
Call Us: +65-8126-2395 or WhatsApp