Day 5: Alba white truffle festival and a meal at Osteria La Torre

Day 5: Alba white truffle festival and a meal at Osteria La Torre

Restaurants visited:

Osteria La Torre (5 star, Excellent food and great services)

Truffle Festival: So much truffle and just 1/3 of the prices in the US

The day has finally arrived. The main reason for this trip to Alba, the truffle festival!

As I stepped outside of the apartment, I was greeted by a lot of people on the street. Turns out, the entire street is turned a street market every Saturday!

As I moved towards the main city plaza, I realized that I was going to need some help finding the truffle market. I was really lucky because as I turned my head, I saw the tourism office right there by the plaza. I walked in and was greeted by a friendly Italian girl who speaks great English! She gave me instructions to the market, the general directions in this regions and lots of helpful ideas and free maps. She also set me up with free wifi access. Only 2 hours per day though. (I don’t really understand this restriction, but I was not going to turn down free wifi!)

People can also purchase tours and other activities here. I was asking about cooking classes and they wrote down my available day/time and asked me to come back later to check for class availability.

I left the office and move on to the truffle market. As I walked pass what felt like a million people coming in the opposite direction, I suddenly sniffed a faint familiar fragrance… Oh my God! White truffle!!! I looked up and saw this sign with the only Italian word that I know: “Tartufo”!!!!!!!!

Following the sign, I arrived at the entrance of the market. I paid 2 Euro for the ticket and stepped into this gastronomic heaven. The air was completely filled with white truffle aroma at every corner. The most amazing sensory experience I’ve ever had in a market. There were at least 30 truffle traders/hunters selling white truffles right here. The average price is around 200-300 Euro per 100 grams. In the US, the same amount of white truffle would go for 1000 dollars or more!

    
 

There were sample tasting of truffle paste, pasta, chocolate, hazelnuts cakes, etc. I don’t know what else to describe this place except “paradise”!

Towards the end of the space, there was an area where many wine producers in this area showcase their wines and a wine bar area that people buy wine by the glass, and also can purchase light eats such as pasta, panini, ect. Add 25 euro for truffle shaving, of course. I ordered a glass of nebbiolo and a bowl of Tajarin with white truffle shaving on top.

 

The pasta was just okay though. I should’ve known better not to have high expectation for festival cafeteria food, but I couldn’t resist the truffle aroma that filled the air.

As I munched on the pasta and drank the wine, a cute couple from Genova at the same table and I started a great conversation about the olive oil that they produce in their olive tree orchard and the B&B they are building. The girl is from Canada and the husband is from Italy. Was it the classic story of a girl coming to Italy and fell in love with the food, the land, the people, and eventually a man of her own? I didn’t ask. They looked really happy. We were all happily submerged in the truffle aroma, the wine, and the beautiful Italian spoken words in the background that surrounded us. She left me their contact information and I promised to get in touch with them. The next time I come here, I will for sure stay in their B&B after it is open. I also promised to buy some olive oil from them. Organic and first cold pressed, they promised. :-)

(P.S. I realized that I didn’t save their contact information on my iPhone at the last step. Must be the alcohol! The couple from Genova, if you see this post, please email me and let me know your contact information. I want your olive oil. :-) )

I circled around more and bought some hazelnut chocolate and cakes, then went back to the apartment. Every time I drink wine, I get really sleepy. So I took a short nap before heading back out again.

Afternoon walk in Alba: Duomo and a local supermarket!

Every Italian city / town has at least one main church. I wanted to check out the one in Alba. The sun was setting, which made it hard to take photos of the half shaded church building. Still, it was a beautiful church and I couldn’t help taking some photos.

When I was in Florence 4 years ago, I walked into a church and took a few photos, but then was quickly stopped by someone. I did some research online afterwards and realized that in most churches in Italy, photography is not allowed once inside. Unfortunately, it was the case with this church as well. It was beautiful. I wish that I could show you guys.

When I was walking around in the church, a friendly old priest said hello to me and started chatting with me. We sat down and had a long conversation about the history of this church and other churches in Italy. We used the TripAdvisor app on my iPhone looking for many different churches throughout Italy. It was fascinating watching an old Italian priest using iPhone and the app UI that I designed.

He told me that this church in Alba is of Gothic style. The columns and the ceiling were built to mimic the forests. The columns reach up to the ceiling and branch out like trees in the forest reaching up to the sky, and the ceiling is painted dark blue as the night sky and with stars painted on it. The style was originally from Germany where people believed that forests held special power.

I told him that I will stop by Paris before I head back to San Francisco. He then gave me a pendant of Maria that he got from a church in Paris and asked me to check out the church if I have time. What a lovely and warm priest here in Alba! As we shook hands and said goodbye, I could feel his passion passing through to me with his big warm hand.

When I walked out of the church, it was already dark. I was getting really thirsty and there was no more drinking water left at the apartment. I walked to a local supermarket and got myself some water, a packet of breadsticks and a jar of Nutella. (Ferrero, the maker of Nutella, set up its headquarter here in Abla.) Sandro, a French intern in our team told me that Nutella in Italy uses the hazelnuts from Italy and tastes better than the ones that we get in the US, which uses the hazelnuts from Canada. I don’t know about the hazelnuts from Canada but the hazelnuts here in Piedmont is amazingly good.

Oh, and they have the best shopping baskets ever. It has a handle and wheels at the bottom!

Osteria La Torre: My truffle ultimate experience continues…

I found out about Osteria La Torre on chowhound.com. I also checked TripAdvisor and the photos looked amazing. I made a reservation on their website before I came to Italy. When I called them today to reconfirm the reservation, no one spoke English. They only speak either Italian or French. Even though it was a bit challenging to communicate with them, eventually I made it here and was seated promptly.

The location on Google map is about half a block off. However, there is a sign of the restaurant at the Google pin location pointing to where it is. It’s pretty easy to find.

A lovely girl approached me and she spoke English. Woohoo! She patiently explained everything on the menu to me and helped me decide what to order.

We decided on the Coccotte tartufata (Similar dish as I had yesterday at Antica Corona Reale, that egg, cream and cheese dish.) and Ravioli quadri rid e coi al burro (chestnut ravioli with sage and butter). And depending on how full I feel after the ravioli, we will decide if I’ll order more.

We again started with amuse bouche. Vegetable flan and sour kraut. Really delicious.

 

One thing that I noticed is that breadsticks seem to be one of the standard “bread” that restaurants here serve. Everywhere I go, breadsticks are served. Delicious!

Next up. Cocotte Tartufata. I was again in paradise. Egg, cream, cheese and butter, with truffle shaved on top. It is really the ultimate truffle experience. After this, no other dish will be able to come even close to the truffle high I get from this combination.

The next dish was the ravioli. I had truffle shaved over it. It was pretty good but the problem of having any dish after Cocotte Tartufata is that everything will just pale in comparison. Good dish though.

To my surprised, I felt that I could have one more small dish afterwards. I haven’t had any meat dish yet, so I asked my waitress what she would recommend. I can’t remember the name of the dish and it was not on the menu, but it was basically every body part of a rooster except for the meat. Like the brain, the guts, the crown, etc. She said it was a regional specialty and she looked concerned that it may be too weird for me. It must have been really obvious. Hahaha. But, hell, how many times am I going to make it here in my life time to have a chance to try this dish. “Yes”, I said. And the dish arrived!

It was pretty good! I had no idea what half of the stuff was and I ate them, but they were very tasty. There were two pieces of fried polenta on top of them but I wish that there was one more. There were some pickled vegetables, which balanced out the gamy taste of some of these body parts. I’m not sure if I would order it again but I’m very glad that I tried.

I was really full by now but wanted some sweets, so she brought me raspberry sorbet, which was delicious! If I wasn’t this full, I would’ve wanted to try their panna cotta, but oh well.

After the dessert came the sweets. Highlights: Dark chocolate covered hazelnuts. These hazelnuts are amazing. If you have a chance to come to Piedmont, make sure you bring some home. Hazelnuts in this region are super sweet and delicious.

And this concludes my day full of amazing experiences. Tomorrow, I will visit my 2nd Michelin 3-star restaurant in Italy: Piazza Duomo, here in downtown Alba.

Day 4: Verona in the morning; Alba, the truffle heaven, in the evening

Restaurant visited:

Antica Corona Reale da Renzo (5 star. Amazing food, incredibly friendly services), Micheline 2 star

Morning walk in Verona town center: Arena, Juliet’s balcony and the Lamberti tower.

Verona is the city that Shakespeare picked for his star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. However, once I started looking into this city, I realized that there is a pretty famous arena here, too. Not as big as the one in Rome but seems to be better preserved (or restored).

As soon as I walked out of my hotel (Hotel Milano), within 100 steps, I was standing right in front of the Arena. I didn’t expect my hotel to be in such a prime location!

There is no fence or any barricade between me and this buildings of 2000 years. As I reached out and touched the crumbling facade of the exterior wall, I wondered what the roman citizens 2000 years ago were thinking as they tried squeezing into the arena to see the bloody sport of Gladiators.

After I got inside (pay for ticket at the entrance), I climbed up to the top of the arena and had a nice view of the entire space. This is where roman citizens celebrated honor through blood and violence. I could feel the terror and excitement of the crowd and hear their gasp and cheer soar through the sky.

 

I climbed back down under the arena and got a completely different perspective. It was dark and horrifying. As gladiators and prisoners being forced through these humiliating holes, have they given up all hopes and just wanted a quick death? The sense of fear and hopelessness was so overwhelming. How many people have died this way in that ancient time. How many people cared?

 

I continued my journey to Juliet’s balcony. I was really glad that I visited arena first so that I didn’t have to end my half-day encounter with Verona with such heavy emotions.

The road connecting the arena and Juliet’s house is the main shopping street of Verona. There were a lot of people outside. Great for people watching.

Verona is a small town and the walk was less than 10 minutes. Juliet’s house was much smaller than I thought. I’m not sure if it’s because I was affected by the preconceived notion of Shakespeare’s story or because of all the pink heart-shaped souvenirs hanging around all over the place, when I looked up to the balcony, I had the urge to pay the fee to go up to the balcony and call out “Romeo, oh Romeo. Where are thou?” Before I did it, however, a flood of tourists stormed in screaming and shouting. They all bunched up around the statue of Juliet to touch her bare breasts. Rumor has it that it will bring you luck in romance. After witnessing such a chaotic scene where people pushing each other to touch Juliet’s bare breast, any sense of romance has all but escaped me and all I wanted to do was to get away from that crowd as far as I could. “Gosh, tourists…” I caught myself saying that as I exit the house… LOL.

A few blocks away from the house was Lamberti tower. People can pay to go up and have a bird’s eye view of Verona. Since my visit to the romantic balcony was abruptly cut short by a group of screaming strangers, I figured that I’d pick myself up and attempt at saving some sense of romance with Verona before I left. What else can be better than hiking up to the top of a tower for a sense of hope and achievement?

 

The view on top of the tower was amazing! I didn’t know Verona was such a beautiful city until I viewed her from atop. My love affair with Verona was saved!

 

With this powerful sense of achievement and optimism, I now travel on to my first main destination, Alba, the city on the land of hazelnuts, Barolo wine, and of course, white truffles!

Train from Verona to Turin

The train from Verona to Turin takes almost 4 hours…

“Wait, Won Sun, where did you have lunch?”

Ha. I thought I could slip that one through by you! The answer was… you might want to hold on to something for this one… A granola bar! I had a light breakfast at Hotel Milano before I left, and wasn’t really feeling anything for lunch by the time I got on the train. I had expected some kind of cafe on the train for such a long ride but there was nothing. I was left with just a granola bar that I brought with me from home for the plane ride, which I didn’t eat until now.

Don’t worry though, the dinner that I have tonight will more than make up for it. You might want to hold on to something for that one, too. Hahaha.

Back to the journey… I reserved a rental car a month ago. I don’t know how to drive a stick shift, so I requested an automatic. My friend Keyvan told me that sometimes, even if you have reserved an automatic, they might still not have one available for you in Europe and you are left with a manual. I was really nervous that it would happen to me as I approached Turin train station.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Not only that, they have given me a Mercedes-Benz! I’ll be eating truffles in style! Woohoo!

Driving from Turin to Alba

Here was my first ever driving experience in Italy… well, in Europe, even. It was a bit nerve-wrecking to drive on a single lane road and have two cars on my both sides squeezing pass me. Thankfully, through many small obstacles, I arrived at Alba safely to meet with the owner of the vacation rental that I will be staying for the next 7 days. Laura was kind enough to wait for me until I arrived an hour later than we had anticipated. She showed me the lovely apartment and gave me the keys. Here is my home for the next 7 days!

Antica Corona Reale da Renzo: The most amazing truffle dish I’ve had.

It took about 40 minutes to drive here from Alba. It was a pretty straightforward ride. I just followed Google directions and got to the restaurant without any problem.

Antica Corona Reale has 2 Michelin stars and has been around since 1815. (That’s 198 years!) The chef now is the 4th generation owner. The restaurant staff was very friendly and the decor was very comfy and feels like home. All the male patrons, however, wore shirt and jacket. No one was wearing a tie. The two guys sitting next to me wore jeans, so I take it that jeans are okay. I was in my dress pants and jacket without a tie and felt right at home.

As they walked me to my table, an overwhelming aroma of white truffle filled the air. I was already intoxicated before I sat down. I knew I was in right hands. I knew this evening would be amazing.

I didn’t order the tasting menu but still, they gave me 2 amuse-bouche and a palate cleanser before dessert. The Amuse-bouche dishes were huge! Not the small bite size that I’m used to in the fine dining restaurants back home. And my God, they were amazing. They were the best food that I have eaten since the risotto back in Venice, and these were just amuse-bouche! First one was a pork sausage on top of creamy buttery mash potatoes. The second one was beef tartare. Both were just amazing. I’m not used to eating raw beef but I had no trouble finishing these and still wanting more.

 

For my dinner, my waitress told me that the dish “Cocotte egg with white Alba truffle” was the winner of the best truffle dish in 2004, so I ordered that dish. Since I’m a huge risotto fan, I asked if they could make me some risotto and they said yes. What a great service!

The risotto came first. The chef came and personally shaved TONS of truffle on it for me. He told me that the real prized Piedmont white truffles are actually brown and the flesh is more brown than beige. Good to know! The risotto was a bit too salty for me but it was really creamy and the truffles were amazing. A lesson learned for me. Order what they offer, instead of asking for something that they don’t normally do. I should’ve just order the Tajarin with truffle. (a type of pasta special to this region)

The next course arrived with a lot of truffles on it. My waitress went ahead and stirred it up to mix everything together. The chef then arrived and shaved even more truffles on it!

 

This dish, was absolutely the best truffle dish that I have ever had. So creamy and buttery. The warm bowl held this running bright yellow creamy mess where the flesh of white truffles filled every corner. Every spoonful of it, there was so much truffle that I had to chew through it like eating a meat dish. Cream, cheese, egg yolk and white truffle. This is literally the dish to die for. I mean, seriously, I have to now consider if I should eat a lot of this and die happy early in my 50s of heart attack. The. Best. Truffle. Dish. Ever. Must-have if you come to Alba.

Next: Palate cleanser. Cinnamon cream with red wine poached pear. At this point, I was so overwhelmed with joy and happiness from the last dish that I couldn’t really remember what this taste like anymore. I remember it was good. That was all. Sorry guys… Hard to remember anything after such a truffle high from the previous dish… Sigh.

My waitress stopped by after I finished my palate cleanser. My God, I am amazed at her ability to understand what I was mumbling about. I didn’t even understand what I was saying. All I could think about was how great that truffle egg dish was. I must have said yes to her asking me if I wanted dessert. I don’t remember. Hahaha. That truffle dish was all I could think about. When the dessert arrived, I kept asking myself why I ordered this since there was no way I could finish it. Anyhow, it was delicious and really beautifully presented. So as the little sweets at the end of the meal.

 

This meal was the most amazing meal I’ve had in Italy so far. When you visit Italy, even if it is a little bit out of the way, come here. It is worth it. I might change my schedule so that I can visit it again before I leave Alba. Absolutely amazing.

Amazing food and friendly service. The old owner (I think he was the father of the chef) stopped by twice and asked me how everything was. All I could say was “perfect”. Everything was just perfect. And he gently pat my shoulder, said “Good”, smiled, and walked away satisfied. Such a sweet old man.

Couldn’t have imagine a better first meal in the white truffle capital of the world.. :-)