Quick shout out for excellent Pork Noodles and steamed fish, with superb chicken in aspic starter. Great choice from Herman in picking the Montes 2011 Suavignon Blanc. Crisp, clean and refreshing, not a lot of fruit but great zip and acidity. Should buy a few bottles. Mr Gwailo sang his usual Pang Yau and rocked out with Delilah and I Saw Her Standing There. Righteous.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Morande Wine Dinner at Favola December 3rd 2012
The email was promising - five course dinner with wine for RM120 at the Favola restaurant. Silly price. Wine distributor Cave and Cellar looked to match Favola Italian food with Chilean wine from the Morande vineyard. The troops were quickly rounded up and reservations duly made.
The marketing manager and winemaker were in town and gave a quick intro to Morande. Standard talk about the wines and the vineyard.
The antipasti was lovely, with honours going to a pear and ricket salad with grilled duck sausage, walnut and gorgonzola. The nut and pear crunch underpinned the chewy sausage and the cheese sealed the whole deal. Clam vongole was a bit over chillied, but gave a good test to the cooling capacity of the Morande Pinero Chardonnay 2011. It proved up to the task, slightly sweet finish with reasonably crisp acidity though not much in the fruit or complexity department.
Potato and mussel soup with parmesan crouton soaked up the remainder of the bread. The Morande Grand Reserva Chardonnay 2010 felt baked, as if it had been left too long in the heat somewhere. It tasted similar to the 2009 I'd had previously, though less balanced and more wood and vanilla. Possible suspicion of over expsoure to oak in the vinification process. We called for more Pinero which went nicely with the soup.
The Penne pasta was pleasant, al dente with interesting texture from the pine nuts. The Limited Edition Carignan 2007 came across as a fruity Shiraz. Lots of character and large damson in the mouth, good full body and a long bold finish. It just didn;t match the food, and it was difficult to gauge quite what food the Carignan could actually go with. Possibly a hearty lamb stew or something more country and meat based. Certainly didn't help the pasta. The wine notes were also a bit confusing, with references to sour cherry, myrtle and maqui and boldo tea - what do these taste like? And why should we care? Morande winemaker Ricardo Baettig later shared that they were looking to promote the Carignan as a viable competitor to the traditional Carmenere and other single varietals. On the evidence of this example, got quite a ways to go yet.
The sirloin was fair and juicy, though a shade high in gristle and came out cold. The salmon got slightly overcooked somewhere and came out warm and slightly sad. The flagship House of Morande Red Blend 2006 mixed Carignan with Cab Sauv and Cab Franc and came out… confused for me. Didn;t seem to match the notes - reasnoable body rather than full and not a lot of length for me. The grapes didn't seem to be happy with each other, fighting in the mouth for dominance of flavour. As with the Carignan, a wine that would be difficult to find a good match with food. Something big and bold to beat back the fruit. And alcohol - both the reds were quite high, with the winemaker shrugging his shoulders and saying "That's the sun, what can we do?" Maybe try picking your grapes a bit earlier?
In sum, a bit disappointed with the wines but enjoyed the food and the company immensely. Overall the wines didn't do any favours to the food and felt a bit rough and raw. Cave and Cellar give great value on their wine dinners, just wish they could find a way to match them with the food with a bit more thought and care. Won't be buying any of these.
Again, got stiffed by fierce car parking charges - RM14 even after two hours for RM8. Painful.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Petroliam Club KLCC November 30th 2012
The good doctor wanted to treat myself and Lenglui to dinner and raved about the Petroliam Club. We had been there previously on singing gigs with our Six2Eight accapella group but not tried the food. We were the only ones there. Great location on the 42nd floor of the Twin Towers overlooking the city to the north and west. food was okay. Salmon went well with a Shelley Beach white blend whilst chocolate dessert was not overly sweet. Meat quality on the steak not bad but not great. It was nice to feel as thought the place had been booked out for us, but not sure I'd return quickly. The food was not that spectactular, though a quick tour of both the Chinese and Japanese partner restaurants looked promising for a future visit.
Marco Polo Restaurant November 29th 2012
One of our default restaurants. Birthday dinner for Uncle Mak and Mrs Mak. Lenglui ordered and we got treated to excellent chicken soup and very excellent roast duck. The Soon Hock Yee was steamed perfectly whilst the sea cucumber was apparently most enjoyable. Not many people there. Shame because the food is fantastic. so is the 20% discount Lenglui gets from her Marco Polo card. Recommended.
Iketeru KL Hilton November 24th 2012
Supposed to be at an open house but got screwed by Garmin in Shah Alam. Google map as well. Drove around in circles until Garmin sent us back to the main road at which point we conceded defeat. Ended up at Iketeru. Fair sashimi and very good teppanyaki steak with a bottle of hot sake soothed the nerves. Shout out for the Garlic Fried rice and the Garlic chips that come with the steak. With the Hilton card, the food is a good deal at 50% off for two people. But the sake is a bit stiff. Can buy the big 1.8 litre bottle for under RM100 at the Isetan whilst the hotel whacks you RM300 plus after plus plus for a standard 750ml bottle. What to do? Japanese food without sake is like chips without vinegar or Roti and dahl without sambal. Just not the same.
Best Western Hotel November 11th 2012
Went for the wedding of Brother Ho's daughter. Lenglui and I were joined at the Table by Dato Kok and wife, Kelvin, and Key from the Amante group, and by Victor from Spanish Passion who was supplier of the wines to the restaurant. Food was okay, though the chicken seems to be the memory - succulent and a bit oversalted but lovely nonetheless. Dessert also. Victor's Spanish whites were tasty, good firm body and crisp acidity. Kelvin brought a Chilean red. First time I'd ever come across someone bringing their own wine to a wedding. It does make sense, though. Most hotel wine is pretty mediocre stuff. At least with your own you know you'll enjoy it with friends. Sang the usual Yue Liang Tai and Pang Yau for the wedding. Mix up with singers and songs meant that Lenglui had to change to singing "Only You" instead of her wedding party piece "The Wedding Song". To have both of them sing the same song was cannot, even though the bride's mother thought it would be okay. Lenglui did it well. But she would have nailed the Wedding Song way better than the other singer. The groom seems a pleasant chap - well balanced.
Hilton KL Senses Restaurant November 10th 2012
Surprisingly good steak. Senses were having a beef promotion and this was the star. Meat quality on the Angus was very good and the medium rare ribeye steak was nicely prepared. Lamb cutlets also very good, above the usual con-fusion food that I seem to remember Senses excelling at. Guigal Cotes Du Rhone was an excellent partner to both. Steak was even better than recent eatings at the Prime next door in Le Meridien. Don't seem to have much luck at Senses - every time we go there I get an earful of criticals from Lenglui. Must be the feng shui of the place.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)