Paul Jaboulet Aine Wines at Graze KL Hilton - nice!

The Lenglui resplendent in pastel blue. Ho leng hor?

June 7th 2016

Been a bit lax on the food writing of late. Raya holidays, Cruise around the Greek Isles, Raya holidays, Euro football and Wimbledon along with the usual IWFS and daily email management takes a mental toll. Also doing a lot of writing and recording for my Wikiloops and Youtube Rock Music projects. And being hugely envious of my foodie friend Julian who recently went for lunch at the Paul Bocuse in Lyon. Twice. Read it here. 

Not to say there haven't been a few dinners along the way. Just that the brain didn't seem to want to kick into gear and mood to tap out the matchless prose on the Mac. Anyhow, today seems possible, so here goes. 

One dinner we enjoyed was the Paul Jaboulet Aine Wine Dinner at Graze in the KL Hilton. We got a Whatsapp from Bobby offering the usual discount so ahead we went and signed up. Texas and FBQ also made it to the dinner. 

Graze is the now renamed Senses and targets a Bistro style in both ambience and food offerings. The room was arranged in table rows of ten to accommodate. About forty people seemed to be in attendance for this one. 

I quite like Graze. Light and airy in ambience, mirrors on the ceiling and the staff are warm. Chef Marc seems to control both the upstairs Graze and the downstairs Chambers - must be a stairway between them. He must be fit...

Sometimes I find that the company or the mood or something is not right for me to make notes at the table or photograph the food. FBQ takes good shots so when she is in company I often put the camera away. When this is the case, I assign a "tick" system on the menu - one is good, two is very good and three is excellent whilst no tick is okay only. 

The Salmon got two and the yuzu caviar got three - I remember a wonderful lightly oily piece of fish that slipped so easily between teeth and tongue and a lemon spritzing salt shave in the mouth from these fellows - great way to wake up the senses and slap the brain into gear. The CdR Blanc got one tick.

The Salmon

Both the Pot-Au-Feu and CdR Rouge got two ticks each, though I now have little memory of either. 

Spanish Roast Chicken pot-au-feu

The quail and truffle mash was darned good, all blended together with the reduction to create a mouth slathering meaty goo that zapped all the right places. Rich, taste, aroma - made the cheeks feel that kind of squeaky high pitched Betty Boop style "oooooo" as it pinched and tweaked. So, so yumyum. 

Seared French Quail

And the pairing of the Crozes with the quail made the wine sing La Marseillaise - the slightly sweet yet peppered Hermitage got well spritzed, giving off fresh fruit berries and green pastures. My new friend next to me raised the glass and said "Ho Seck hor?" Indeed. Ho seck (which i take to mean unbelievably good).

Was a bit apprehensive about the cheeks, given that the last time we had it downstairs at the Chambers it was dry and barren. Chef redeemed himself on the night - this one had full on rich beefy Bistro gravy taste and the texture of the cheek was very good. That kind of midway between melt and chew that lets the gravy seep in and infuse the meat. Belter. With the lentil and potato strips adding salt and vegetal crunch and the tomato giving a zap of cherry sweetness, the whole ensemble came into wonderful harmony. 

Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek - belter!

Dessert was rich and creamy as ever, and for the second time at the Graze I did not get my coffee. Hmmm….   For revenge, I hid the remains of a bottle of La Chapelle for the wine staff to get a taste. Hope they got there.   

Dessert

Don't remember too much about the wines, though they were supposed to be stellar examples of the style. Don't get me wrong, the wines were delightful and it was a real privilege to sit down and sup them. Indeed, it was good enough that we made enquiries as to price, but subsequently somewhere down the road opted not to buy. They didn't leap out as something that was a "must buy" or that would pair with much of the cuisine we normally eat. Though Lenglui's Beef Stew might be a contender - we normally have a good Bordeaux with it, though a meaty CdP would also stand up well. Have to break out some Rhone next time Lenglui gets the Mastercook urge. 

For some reason, FBQ did not seem to take many pictures. At least I couldn't find them on the FB page. There are a couple of manky ones on my handphone which hopefully serve to give a sense of visual. Must get a decent phone camera soon. 

In all, redemption for the beef cheeks, tasty menu and well thought through combinations that entertained both visually and tastewise. Wines felt a bit forgettable. But credit for looking to keep the wine dinner punters engaged - just have to wait for the unmissables. Cheers!

Menu

Citrus Cured Scottish Loch Fune salmon, mesclun leaves, cherry tomatoes and green peas, yuzu caviar

2013 Cotes du Rhone Blanc Parallele 45

Spanish style roast chicken, smoked paprika & Cotes du Rhone pot-aux-feu, herbal aioli crostini

2013 Cotes du Rhone Rouge Paralllele 45

Seared French quail, baby spinach salad, truffled celeriac puree, red wine reduction

2013 Crozes Hermitage "Les Jalets" Rouge

Braised Australian Wagyu beef cheek, Le Puy lentils, tomatoes and spring onions, crispy potatoes

2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Les Cedres

2007 Hermitage La Chapelle

Black Olive & chocolate tart homemade vanilla ice cream

Premium tea and coffee selection

Ornellaia Wines at Graze KL Hilton - outstanding!

April 14th 2016

You know those nights when all the stars seem to align and you look back and think - wow….  That was the feeling we had after a brilliant wine dinner at the Graze in the KL Hilton with Ornellaia wines being supplied by Milawa. And with vintage Pol Roger Rose Champagne. And all at just over RM300. Wow - Stellar evening.

I didn't take any notes or decent photos for this one. Our guests had intimated that they got a bit annoyed with flashing photos and stuff at the table so I decided to just sit back and enjoy this one. But it was damn good, and I couldn't just let it pass without some sort of record. 

Got wind of this dinner through an unsolicited and somewhat surprising email from the KL Hilton. They don't seem to have emailed me for years and suddenly one pops up. I suspect my recent attendance at the IWFS dinner downstairs at the Chambers might have had something to do with it. Someone new at the marketing desk revises the mailing lists and add what they see as new candidates.

And what a pop up this was - Ornellaia wines with food at the Graze. And a 15% discount if we booked early. Which we did. A quick forward to foodie friends attracted two more so we were four. 

We decided to Uber this one since the parking rates at the Hilton/Meridien seem variable and I no longer have confidence in how much the sucker is going to charge. Chambers was RM8 flat whereas a session at Le Meridien shocked with RM35 for the parking. Rather pay such money for drivers and cars and get happily zonked and not have to worry about the drive home. 

Mirrors on the ceiling - welcome to the Hotel KL Hilton Graze!

So we arrived spot on at 7pm and our friends were there at exactly the same time. Up the escalator and into the Graze (which we were later reminded used to be Senses) and greeted with a flute of chilled Pol Roger Rose. How civilised! We automatically hung around the door for a little while taking in the ambience and chugging half of the fizz and proffering our glasses for a refill to which the charming man kindly obliged. Things were looking good. We then got shown to our seats and made friends with our seating companions. There was Anis and Joe and Ros and partner (never did get her name - too far down the table) and Flemming, apparently of Danish descent but with some Spain and Arab in him. Total chameleon, but loves to cook and pair wines at home. Sounded a natural for the IWFS - I asked him to email me for detail and will get him in. Friend Gordon was brilliant in marketing us as foodies who bring other foodies together. Must say he has great warmth and a gift in bringing people in. 

Drink Rose Champagne on ice...

Must also say the floor staff were most generous with the fizz - we all must have got at least four refills that I remember. And it was delightful - strawberries, crisp bubbles and finish, real sleek and full body in the mouth, nice chew and fresh nose of light fruit. Could easily suck this one all night, it was a belter of a fizz. Though probably time for it to be drunk. The menu says it was 2006 though I thought I saw 2002 on the bottle. So it goes.

The table setting was pleasant, crisp thick white tablecloths with good glassware and a mat for the wine glasses with each place labelled for the wine that was designated to go in there. This makes life far easier in determining which wine is which for comparative purposes. And top ups. 

Ornellaia winery lies near a town called Bolgheri on the West coast of Italy about 50 km south of the port of Livorno. Along with Sassicaia, Solaia and Tignanello, Ornellaia is one of the four original Italian "Super Tuscans" bred to compete alongside the superstars of Bordeaux for global share and attention. The wines are made from pretty much the same grapes as grown in Bordeaux, but with slight differences resulting from grape additions and the Italian sun, sea breeze, and terroir. I almost visited Ornellaia on a recent Mediterranean cruise which made a stop at Livorno but instead opted to go to Florence for lunch and shopping. I also wanted to make a day of it by doing Sassicaia in the morning and Ornellaia in the afternoon cos research suggested there was nothing to do in either Livorno or Bolgheri. So it goes. Maybe next time.

Chef Marc and the demon eyed Patrick...

Ornellaia Far East rep Patrick Lachapele and Chef Marc Fery stepped up to respectively said a few introductory words and we were off.

Now writing this six days after the event, the food is fading into the distance, but the wines remain in the head. They were stellar. We have been fans of Ornellaia's Le Volte ever since we first had a bottle by accident at a now forgotten restaurant some good few years back and when we then found the Vintry selling it for RM70ish at the time we whacked for a case and pretty much repeated this exercise annually. Great easy wine but with good fruit and body and character - fairly full in the mouth but not overpoweringly so. We have drunk its vintages over the years with pleasure. It does gain a little with some age, especially if the year was hot and the tannins a bit pronounced, but it is not really for the long term. We were drinking the 2013 on the night, and indeed it was lovely. Will have to sock away a couple for our Italian foodie sessions. 

The 2012 Serre Nuove came off like classic Bordeaux in taste and texture terms - more left bank than right (think Pichon and Leoville) with lovely medium coffee and tobacco notes. It had enough complexity to satisfy but not so much to get in the way of the food. I first had a Serre Nuove when I picked up a bottle on a tour of Amalfi coast to bring home because I hadn't seen it back in KL (note - the week of my return saw me finding it at the BIG…). We had it with an Amante dinner and it didn't really inspire at the time. But tonight I got a better sense of it and what Ornellaia seems to be trying to do. Classic Bordeaux style and blend but with a slight whack of… Italian, both on the nose and in the wine. Classic Left Bank Bordeaux can be a bit stuffy and formal and… well, classic because that is what it is. Ornellaia adds a cute hint of Mediterranean freshness that gives it a pleasant lift without taking anything away from the classicity. It's a bit like pouring a decent Bordeaux through one of those wine aerator things - gives a nice spritz and tickle but keeps the wine untouched and unadulterated. Very interesting wine, this.

"We are all just prisoners here of our own device" "Eh?" "It's the Eagles, innit? Hotel California?" "Oh yeah..."

Though it got totally lost on everyone who clearly preferred the lighter and fruitier Le Volte. And it was on way dodgy ground having been set up against its big brother to come. So it goes. I had fun. And the servings by the floor staff were far from stingy. I must have had at least four top ups, and I did not appear to be alone in this. They were going up and down the tables dealing out the booze in spades. Which I note is often a sign that they are looking to get everyone well juiced so that the last wine can stretch a bit further. Fair enough - they keep pouring, I keep drinking. This have I have been taught by the Sweeper. 

The Ornellaia 2012 was absolutely stunning - full on dark fruit gobsmack in the mouth, massive nose of deep chocolate and berries, smooth and chewy tannins and a finish that was delightfully endless. What a wonderful wine. And again, they kept topping us all up, as if the final extinction had come to earth and we were clearing the cellar on our last day alive. Brilliant wine service - O if they could all be like this….

Foodwise, the first course Salmon Rillettes were lightly pleasant, sufficiently savoury and mouth meltingly good. The French croutons gave nice crunch and carbo but it was the Yuzu Caviar in extra virgin olive oil that was genius - citrus, salt and the lightest of oils with that soft crush of the caviar bubble was bliss. The fact that they were still pouring the champagne to go with it was double bliss. Absolute perfecto match. 

In the master's chamber, they gather for their feast - the Salmon Rillettes

The Dutch Veal consomme broth was very good - light and liquid with kind of meaty Oxo cube whack in the mouth but smoothly so whilst the tiny cut veggie bits gave enough texture for body. I remember the praline as being a bit like a crusty meat chocolate kind of thing - something you might find in a box of Milk Tray for Meateaters but without the chocolate. Quite cute. The Serre Nuove got a bit diluted with the soup, so I ended up slurping one and guzzling the other. 

The quail came and went - little memory other than it all got finished. Seem to remember a good taste between the potato, jus and the bird, whilst the spinach was brilliant. No real memory of the match with the Serre Nuove, but I definitely enjoyed both!

They stab it with their steely knives - the wonderful lamb

There was a lot going on with the lamb - bean stew, kale cabbage, polenta and mushrooms with onion and thyme jus. It all went together in a rich bistro kind of way.  The lamb was excellent, though not many seemed to finish it all. Mine was - chewed off the rib Viking style. I asked for the remains on the plates to be collected and bagged for the dog, but somehow didn't end up with any of it. I guess some bigger dog got in the way. Given the bistro style food, the Serre Nuove with its classical Bordeaux feel went very nicely. Tannins cut the meat and fat cut the tannins to reveal pleasant fruit and some depth in the wine. But the Ornellaia just blew everything away - the lamb got elevated by the massive fruit and chocolate and the wine evened out to show lovely depth and beautiful silky sleek texture. Yum. 

Dessert was actually very tasty, with the booze infused berries inflicting an alcoholic belt on the rich Valrhona chocolate to which the frozen yoghurt lent a delightful ice creamy skim. Would have been excellent with coffee, which got ordered but did not arrive. 

Last thing I remember - Valrhona chocolate - yum

The wine ultimately stopped pouring which we took as a sign that the night was over. After a bit of nonsense concerning the bill (we were supposed to get a discount which took another 5 minutes to rectify), we left fairly quickly and got a cab home.

All in all, it proved to be a great evening of food, wine and friends. Great conversations around the table, generous pourings and well tasty food. And notwithstanding the pouring generosity, it was also one of those where I didn't feel boozed - usually a sign that the wine was really good. But I did need some biscuits for supper on getting home - it all hit as we got through the door and the soak-up-the-booze munchies set in quite significantly. 

A few grimps and gripes here - didn't get my coffee, didn't get my take-home lamb bones for the dogs, also didn't initially get the 15% earlybird discount on the bill - any more boozy and I would have paid without thinking. Seem to be oversights rather than policy, but oversights suggest that staff are either stressed or uncaring. I think probably the former. 

I remember having conversation with the Hilton Restaurant Manager and feeling stabbed in the heart when she told me about their RM170 corkage charge per bottle. I think I started ranting and saying that that was crazy and how could I come back when Soleil gives an IWFS boy like me free corkage and magnificent service whenever I go there. Got the answer that that was hotel policy. Of course it is. Same as the car park pricing. Which is why with any luck I won't have to go back there on any regular basis. Getting there and home is now an expensive pain which I prefer to marginalise. I'll go back to Soleil or Cilantro or Sage without a second thought but the Hilton and Meridien give me much pause. Which is a shame - the food and service warrant return visits. Only on someone else's ticket, I'm afraid. 

But the staff were generally very pleasant and friendly and hugely professional and the KL Hilton is lucky to have them. Seems to be able to keep them too, which also says much. One of the floor staff shared a story about a visiting Michelin 2 star chef who got all the floor staff in the kitchen after the meal and had everyone drink champagne. I asked whether the home Hilton chefs ever did this and got a shy "no". Which on the face of it comes across as a bit mean when doing so would do wonders for a sense of team. My guess is that such imbibing gets seen as a budget issue by management whereby wines brought in by a supplier must ultimately be accounted for and why incur any extra expense by letting staff guzzle any of it. Someone would have to answer for it. Fair enough - though for me giving wine waiters a sip or two is educational and should ultimately be able to be expensed as Staff Training. There you go. Staff everywhere keep their mouths shut and enjoy the joys as and when they come. They know that their managers will come and go. Been there…  Cheers!!

ORNELLAIA WINE DINNER

Pre-drinks

Champagne Pol Roger Brut Rose 2006

Appetizer

Scottish Loch Fyne Salmon rillettes,

sun-dried Cherry Tomatoes, French

baguette croutons, baby Mesclun

leaves, Yuzu Caviar and extra

virgin Olive Oil

First Course

Sherry and Madeira infused double

clarified Dutch Veal consomme,

crispy pulled Beef Praline, 

vegetable Paysanne, Chive

Le Volte dell'Ornellaia 2013

Second Course

Grilled French Quail, Foie Gras

stuffed, sweet Potato mash, baby

Spinach, Truffle jus

Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia 2012

Cranberry Granite

Main Course

Herb Crusted Australian Dorper 

Lamb rack, three coloured bean stew,

saute Kale Cabbage, Polenta cake 

and Porcini Mushrooms, cipollini

Onion and Thyme jus

Ornellaia 2012

Dessert

French Valrhona Chocolate tart, 

Passion Fruit mousse, clotted

Cream, candied Macadamia nuts,

Cointreau marinated Raspberries,

forest Berry Coulis and crispy

Yoghurt

Premium tea selection of coffee

Soleil First Anniversary Dinner - Very Happy One!

5th August 2014

Sheee… seems like all we've been doing of late is going to the Soleil for our food and drink fix. In danger of becoming part of the furniture. Also in danger of being a little more than a mouthpiece for the place. 

Well, nothing is forever, and our experience is that great places must be enjoyed and savoured while they are there. Something soon comes along to upend the magic - either higher prices which lead to lower portions or management getting in the way of chef performing the artistry. Not that we wish this on anyone, is just that this tends to be our experience and happens more often than we like. So it goes. 

It hardly seems a year has gone since we first heard about this new restaurant in the sleepy outskirts of Petaling Jaya. "Must go, must try" was the buzz we got from more than a couple of foodie friends raving about this new place. What sealed the initial deal was learning that Yuhei of Vinum fame was the sommelier and Effandie from Sage was the Maitre 'D. We figured these guys wouldn't be joining some hole in the wall joint and so we went. Five times. Between September and Christmas.  Wine dinners and New Year's Eve were great memories. We've also been there a few times this past year. 

So when we go the email saying Soleil would host a special wine pairing dinner to celebrate their first anniversary, it was a short hop to say yes. The regular friends also got the news and we had a table of five quite quickly. 

Sifu, Lenglui and The Doc

Arriving a tad late on the night, we got greeted by both Yuhei and Effandie. Indeed, that would be the last we would see of Effandie who would be catering to a private party at the upstairs section - presumably the boss was hosting some friends. 

Entering the restaurant and getting seated, it was clear that there was no real sense of occasion on the part of Soleil. This felt a tad disappointing - a first birthday is a real achievement in the restaurant world and having got there with praise and return visits from the culinary elite of KL is no mean feat. On paper, the menu and wines were brilliant, so maybe this was the real occasion and no real need for trumpets and fanfare. Okay - I guess I understand the lack of celebration, but….   perhaps it would have been good for SOMETHING to have happened. As it was, it came across as just another night. Frustrating. Maybe the shine is fading?

There was certainly no fade on the opening Tribaut Champagne Fizz - crisp and crunchy with a crab apple biscuit nose. Lemon sorbet and sherbet in the mouth with creamy bubbles on a honey finish. Always nice when an unknown label surprises on the upside. 

Butter Poached Lobster with Couscous Salad, Tomatoes and Cucumber

First course out was the Butter Poached Lobster, which was simply excellent. Nicely salted which helped lighten the texture toward bouncy perfection. The Couscous was firm while the sorbet gave a citrus chill zing on the tongue. There was also some avocado somewhere which lent a creamy smooth coating to bind the ensemble into a light bright mouthful of delight.

Got some very generous topups of the Champagne which helped to open up the butter on the lobster and the bubbles crisply cleaned the Avocado gunk from the throat. Great cleansing bubbles, though it later got a bit tarty when it had warmed to room temperature. Still very drinkable, though. 

2011 Domaine Henri Darnat Meursault
"Clos du Domaine"

As ever, the bread was stellar. We were given both regular and truffle butter and for some reason the ordinary outshone the truffle. Just a bit too much truffle which seemed to get in the way of the creamy sweet golden churn. 

Next out came the Meursault which was all steel and apples, flint and lime, stonefruit and dragonfruit. Also got loads of oak butter which would offset the gunk of the Butternut Soup - sorry, Bisque - very nicely.

The Meursault was an easy choice for Atlantic Brill given the firm meaty feel of the thing. On its day, Brill is lovely, somewhere between a plaice and a cod in taste and flaky firm texture. The evening's presentation felt a shade fishy though it was well poached and its firm texture gave good body to the soup. It had good bounce on the flesh, perfectly cooked. The hint of curry powder in the soup gave it a slight fiery cumin style spritz which brought out a little pepper spark on the Meursault finish. 

Grilled Antlantic Brill and Langoustine with Zucchini and Butternut Squash Bisque

The Langoustine felt a bit off - that slight over-firmness you can sometimes get if the thing has spent time in the cooler. Or maybe a bit too long in the soup - sorry, Bisque. Having said all this, there was nothing left in the bowl. Even the Texas Ranger ate some and he normally doesn't let a fish flake past his teeth. Had to call for more bread to sup up the soup. Bisque. Whatever.

Roasted Quail with Endive, Dates and Juniper

The Roasted Quail was gamey, meat well smoked and hung like a Scots Guard. We think we coined the new word "quail-ey" - the thing definitely tasted of quail in a way that overpowered everything around it. That unique oily meat that is quail yet a bit overhung. Or maybe hung over. Or William Hung. The Endive gave a nice vegetal spark to nicely counterpoint the sweet date sauce. The resulting ensemble was rich, firm and full of feel and bounce. Very macho. 

2008 Domaine Harmond Geoffroy Gevrey
Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Perrieres"

Being paired with the Gevrey Chambertin made sense - nothing too overpowering that would fight with the food. Yet something with enough character that would stand on its own. The 2008 GV proved perfect with its beautiful nose of soft cherry and rose petal perfume. Clean and lean cut in the mouth, and a fritzy spritzy crack on the tonsils. Good balance, feel and a fine peppery finish on a beautifully textured and structured wine. Very feminine, and a real charmer, the one you would introduce to mother. Or Quail-ey quail. It tamed the gaminess a treat whilst the date sauce nipped the pepper for a sweet fire on the tongue. Very good pairing. 

For some reason, the juniper leaf had not been consumed with the dish. Having learned at a recent sake tasting that you can eat such things with drink, I duly ate the leaf and sipped the GV. It gave off a cute gin kick to illuminate a different dimension to the Pinot. I feel one must always be reasonably adventurous and try the unconventional - if we stick to what has always been tried and done then nothing new is ever learnt. Yes.

Having said this, leaving some GV to try with the beef was a mistake - it killed the wine and gave it an acid and steel tart finish. Bleachhhh....  Lesson learnt. Again.

2007 Chateau Malescot St-Exupery

The 2007 Chateau Malescot St Exupery Margaux had been decanted for something just over an hour, since Sommelier Yuhei felt that not a lot of time was needed for it to open out and any much longer would have seen the fruit evaporate too much. For me, it still needed time in the decanter. In the glass, it was way way not open and still as tight as a Scotsman's pocket. Notwithstanding, a good swirl put paid to much of the lean tightness to reveal a classic Bordeaux - pepper nose followed by a full mouth of cassis, toffee and chocolate and prominent crunchy tannins on the finish. 

I liked but Lenglui didn't quite. The balance was not quite there at first, and it felt a bit toasted with lots of burnt oak. But it grew. The tannins evened out in the decanter and glass though the fruit did fade quite quickly. Not bad. Had better. 

Was a bit of a wait for the beef, but it was worth it. Totally excellent and the absolute business. A hunk of tender meat of brilliantly smooth texture which melted in a firm clean bite. The Jus was also perfect, full of taste without overpowering the meat. Back of the Net Score for the Angus, and yet further evidence that chef is definitely getting meat, both in preparation and selection. The quality on the meat tonight was superb. Clearly the Soleil has got a good supplier somewhere. Can't remember the vegetables, but the Beef seared the memory. Definitely go back for this. 

Pan Seared Black Angus Beef Tenderloin with Glazed Vegetables and Red Wine Sauce

Match-wise, the meat cut the tannins of the Margaux, giving a sweet cherryade note to the wine. But not much else for me. On paper, a good choice given the Cabernet Sauvignon dominance in Margaux, which somehow didn't quite work in the practice. Both food and wine were individually brilliant to good, but the match was only so so. Felt like the wine needed a bit more heft and body to stand up to the beef. Not bad, but not brilliant. So it goes. 

2010 Chateau d'Anna

The 2010 Chateau d'Anna Sauternes was a standard long nose of apricot, with loads of honey and ripe peach. Surprisingly clean on the finish, with no feeling of cack in the throat like many of the dessert wines tend to leave. This one had a lovely balance of sugar, fruit, good crispy acid and honey with a hint of cinnamon. Lovely wine. Not normally a fan of desserts but this was very, very nice. 

I had yet to understand why some restaurants like to pair chocolate with dessert wine. The goo of the cacao and the syrup of the wine normally combine to leave the mouth feeling like sweet mud which only coffee can properly clean. But tonight would bring revelations.

On its own, the dessert was a stunner. A lovely melange of fruits, flowers, and cold textures topped off with crunchy crumble flakes of sugar cake and chocolate. The Chocolate was total wow - pure cacao taste without any milky sweetness - all dark cocoa and firm rich gateaux butter feel. The Banana Sorbet was brilliant with the mango, with the totality of the combo giving a fierce chilled acid gunky coat on the mouth. This was where the Sauternes came in and somehow sweetly and deftly washed away the lot, leaving the mouth in some state of heavenly paralysis. It left me feeling like the man in Coleridge's "Xanadu" who had just dined on honeydew and drunk the milk of paradise. O perfecto. It doesn't get much better.

Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate Cremeux with Caramelised Mango and roasted Banana Sorbet

Yet another score to Soleil. I am feeling maybe we have overdone the place for now, and probably need to try pastures new. But this year with them has been little short of brilliant. The staff, the food, the parties and the memories. Long may they continue and let us all look forward to celebrating the Second Anniversary together!!

Just as a bit of a preachy rant postscript, I feel the need always to be grateful that we are blessed with those faculties which allow us to appreciate and enjoy all this food and wine nonsense. And the werewithal. I try to be thankful for every day and every occasion when we can join with our friends around a table to enjoy good food and wine. Because, God help us, this Good Life could all end tomorrow. Chance and circumstance can change lives in a second, both for good and bad.

I recently got reminded of this when a close friend got a recurrence of something life threatening and shitluck and which I will help him to fight the sucker. Compare this to another acquaintance who recently survived a life threatening liver problem only to remain the same cantankerous nasty piece of work he always has been. Does little but grumble and bitch and make life miserable for those around him. Some people never learn, eh?

Hmmm…   the world feels a bit strange and off whack at the moment - weak economies, belligerence in East Europe and China, the increase in religious bigotry everywhere. The Devil always makes work for idle hands, and there are a lot of those in this overpopulated world of ours at present. Belt up, folks, could be a bumpy ride ahead.

Menu

First Course

Butter Poached Lobster with Couscous Salad, Tomatoes and Cucumber

NV Champagne Tribaut Originale

Second Course

Grilled Antlantic Brill and Langoustine with Zucchini and Butternut Squash Bisque

2011 Domaine Henri Darnat Meursault "Clos du Domaine"

Third Course

Roasted Quail with Endive, Dates and Juniper

2008 Domaine Harmond Geoffroy Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Perrieres"

Main Course

Pan Seared Black Angus Beef Tenderloin with Glazed Vegetables and Red Wine Sauce

2007 Chateau Malescot St-Exupery

Dessert

Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate Cremeux with Caramelised Mango and roasted Banana Sorbet

2010 Chateau d'Anna

RM300 ++