Trifles with truffles

The chef chose Italian white veal for his truffle-dinner course.

A native of Bergamo in northern Italy, he was trained at Centro di Formazione Alberghiera and apprenticed under Ezio Santin at Antica Osteria del Ponte, now a Michelin-starred restaurant outside Milan.

In 1983, he joined the famous Rex Il Ristorante in Los Angeles, where he became a star for his simple yet refined regional cooking. The restaurant is a mainstay for post-Oscar parties. By the time he arrived in Hong Kong in 1993, his name was becoming synonymous with "truffle".

Bombana was named the Best Italian Chef in Asia by the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners in 2002, "King of the White Truffle" in the food-and-wine press, and Worldwide Ambassador of the White Truffle in 2006 by the Piedmontese regional Enoteca Cavour (Italy).

When the Ritz-Carlton closed for relocation in 2008, Bombana was in transition, too. It was a break from the everyday rush, but he didn't feel he had much time to re-assess his vision.

"At that moment, a lot of great chefs were coming to Hong Kong, new products were available, and it was becoming more and more of a gourmet city," he says.

So the challenge continued to be: Pursue the best, the freshest ingredients - and still keep the natural taste, the traditional Italian flavor.

"You are always trying to achieve beyond your limits, you know ?"

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