New Dessert: Former TRB Consultant Updates Barolo's Menu

Barolo welcomed Eugenio Iraci as their new Chef de Cuisine this summer, and even if you don't recognize his name, you might recognize some of his dishes. Iraci has done some consulting for the kitchen at Temple Restaurant Beijing, and now he's bringing a taste of that talent to Beijing's Italian fine dining.

His balsamic marinated tuna tartar (RMB 158) with sea urchin mayonnaise and cucumber soup sounded appealing, but I was wanting something rich and savory, with some depth. The porcini mushroom soup (RMB 128), with its marscapone-chive tortellini and truffles, fit the bill. If something can be simulatneously earthy and luxurious, it is this.

The new menu has a heavy focus on seafood whether a squid ink tagliolini (RMB 238) with shrimp, cherry tomatoes and fava beans or a crab risotto (RMB 198) with cauliflower and mint. There are meat options – tortellini with carbonara sauce and pork cheek (RMB 158), roasted lamb chops (RMB 328) with a black olive crust, grilled black Angus tenderloin (RMB 398) with smoked potato puree and roasted porcini mushrooms.

I went with the roasted turbot (RMB 288) with Kalamata olives, capers and cherry tomatoes. The brine of the olives and capers provide a pleasantly salty accent to the tender white fish.

What is worth traveling for – whether two blocks from Wanda Plaza or from across town – is the upside down vanilla creme brulee (RMB 98). Arriving in what seems to be a small fishbowl covered with a disc of hardened chocolate, it has a strange but innocent enough look. There are flourishes to the affair; a server pours hot chocolate sauce, melting the covering and drizzling down onto a scoop of salted hazelnut ice cream.

It is sweet and salty with caramel notes and has the crunch from a torched sugar top, found at the bottom rather than the top. The presentation makes you forget what classic dessert you are eating. It's the kind of surprise that molecular gastronomy thrives on: how it appears is not what it is. But here, Ignaci succeeds with simplicity, a mere inversion of tradition – a literal turning upside down – rather than tricks of chemistry. He writes, "I hope my food will bring everyone a blissful getaway from stress in life."

As potentially corny as this may seem, this was certainly a welcomed diversion from office drudgery imposed on a late summer afternoon.

Photos: Cat Nelson