HOW much courage does it take for a chef to cook for his or her guests without giving them a menu, believing that all the courses they prepare will be loved?

Giovanni Terracciano, chef de cuisine of the Palladio Italian restaurant, accepted the challenge recently to show his confidence in a surprise dinner called "Black Box."

It is so named because each course is full of surprises, explained Antonio Acone, the new manager of Palladio restaurant.

Guests that night did not have to look at a menu, but totally trusted the chef's creativity. Terracciano chose many of his signature dishes as part of the 10-course dinner, such as goose liver with balsamic vinegar, garfish, monkfish, lamb shank, and of course, the Italian chef's pasta and risotto.

Ten courses, all of them delicious! A big dinner! But each course was served in small portions so the guests' stomachs would not be overburdened.

The best part of the dinner, in my personal view, was the melon sherbet with a thin slice of dried cantaloupe, the best sherbet I've ever tried.

Lu Chang