Top restaurants flaunt their truffles

If you enjoy dining at fine Italian restaurants, chances are you will soon have a white-coated chef at your elbow, joyously shaving paper-thin slices of fresh white truffle on top of your favorite pasta.

"In Italy, truffles are known as the gift of gods'," says chef Robert Barazzutti of Hong Kong's two Aqua restaurants. "To appreciate the amazing flavor, we present the truffle with a simple homemade egg-yolk pasta and a little cheese or seasoning.

"No more than five ingredients per dish," he adds. That's a standard we've heard from other chefs this month as boxes of the fungal favorite began to arrive on the docks of Shanghai and Hong Kong.