Archive for category Wine
Review – Alain Solivérès at Whisk, Hong Kong
Chef Alain Solivérès from the Taillevent restaurant in Paris visited the Whisk in the Mira Hotel, Hong Kong briefly this week. Jordi, ex-Gaddi’s sommelier, is the Head Sommelier at the Mira now so we decided to give them a visit.
We didn’t go for the degustation menu as it was a bit too much. Highly recommended was the Lobster & Curry (HK$230/US$30). Done “risotto” style, it was extremely good. Actually using épeautre (spelt, which is a wheat a bit like barley) instead of Arborio rice made the dish less rich and heavy. A hint of curry spiced it up so it was less creamy. Perfect! Especially when matched with a bottle of 1999 Courbis Cornas les Eygats from Northern Rhône, full bodied but not too overpowering. Thanks Jordi for the recommendation. The famous Taillevent duck pie (HK$410/US$53) was a bit disappointing. A bit dry but the truffle gravy helped alleviate that. Not as legendary as rumored, maybe it’s better in Paris? We’ll have to try it someday. C’s M7 Wagyu beef (HK$550/US$71) was very tender, but typical of Wagyu… where’s the beef flavor?
For dessert, the Exotic Delight (HK$110/US$14) was interesting. The coconut foam on top of the pineapples tasted just like a piña colada. Refreshing.
A good experience and we were told the “risotto” might be available in the future. Another good reason to go to Whisk more often. Their Sunday brunch is also very good too. Or maybe we should visit Taillevent in Paris first?
– 17/20
Whisk
The Mira Hotel
Level 5 (dedicated side entrance on ground level)
118 Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui
Kowloon, Hong Kong
T: +852 2315 5999
E: whisk@themirahotel.com
W: www.themirahotel.com/en/dining/whisk.aspx
110319 Whisk - Stainless steel menu cover
110319 Whisk - Cold carrot soup w/ coriander mouse
110319 Whisk - 1999 Courbis Cornas les Eygats
Review – Oyster & Wine Bar, Hong Kong
We haven’t been to the Hong Kong Sheraton Hotel for eons. Tonight, R had a meeting in Tsim Sha Tsui and thought we’d try the Oyster & Wine Bar on the top floor of the hotel. The lifts only go up to the 17th floor and a flight of stairs took us up to our destination. The views of the Hong Kong harbor were stunning especially when seen from the Kowloon side. We arrived early and had to wait for C, so we checked out the wine list. We were surprised to be given an iPad to select our wine. The app was not bad, we could select by type, grape, country, etc. and each wine had some tasting notes to help our selection. The best thing is you can add the wine to ‘my selections’ to narrow your selection or show the sommelier for a final recommendation. After playing with it for a while, we settled for the Champagne Barons de Rothschild. We heard about this a while back and always wanted to try it. This Brut non-vintage was smooth and well structured with a lingering finish worthy of vintage Champagnes.
When C arrived, we chose the king sized Seafood Platter HK$1,140/US$146. This was more substantial with two layers as opposed to the queen size that only had one layer and priced at HK$650/US$83. There was everything – oysters (of course), clams, mussels, prawns, crab, shrimp, etc. They were very fresh and we even encored a dozen Kumamoto oysters to satisfy our crave.
We were treated to dessert due to some incident with one of the waiter’s service, or the lack of. Not what you would expect from such a high caliber hotel. But the Molten Chocolate Cake and Grand Marnier Soufflé more than made up for it.
The food and atmosphere were great, but let’s hope the service is more up to par next time. Maybe we’ll sit at the oyster bar and sample their wide selection of more than 20 different oysters from all parts of the world.
– 17.5/20
Oyster & Wine Bar
18/F, Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road
Kowloon
Hong Kong
T: +852 2369 1111
W: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Menu cover
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - iPad wine list
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Dinner plate decoration
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Garlic bread
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Oyster selection
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - King size seafood platter
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Kumamoto oysters
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Barons de Rothschild Champagne
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Warm chocolate pudding
110210 Oyster & Wine Bar - Grand Marnier soufflé
Thomas Keller experience at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
This was indeed a rare opportunity to enjoy the culinary delights of the great legendary chef Thomas Keller right here in Hong Kong. Since our 2007 visit to the French Laundry in Napa, Chef Keller is definitely our favorite. This was specially arranged by the Mandarin Grill to bring the team of eight from Napa’s French Laundry and New York’s Per Se to prepare three dinners and two lunches for food aficionados in Hong Kong. The whole experience took eight months to prepare as almost all the ingredients were flown in specifically for this event. This was to reproduce the French Laundry experience in its entirety. Thanks to C, we were fortunate to secure our table. Even at HK$5,888/US$755 per person, there were more than 1,000 people on the waiting list!
We started off by being bombarded with a wide variety of canapés – blue cheese puff, salmon cornet, pork tart and chilled carrot soup. The salmon tartar filled cornet was the same signature amuse bouche served at the French Laundry and a refreshing start to our 10-course dinner!!
The “Oysters and Pearls” got us off to a roaring start. This is another famous dish from the French Laundry and the Kumamoto oysters with the Californian white sturgeon caviar made a perfect match. The 1997 Salon paired with this starter was heavenly.
The Hand-Rolled Musquée de Provence “Tortellini” included a generous portion of white truffle that was not on the menu and enhanced the flavors of the Mangalista ham and pomegranate seeds. Great for us, as you know, we love white truffle.
The main highlight of the evening was the “Calotte de Boeuf Grillée”. This beef from Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho was heaven. A cross between Japanese Wagyu and American Black Angus created magic. It literally melted in our mouths and it didn’t have the excessive fat that normally comes with Wagyu. Simply divine. The “48 hour” brisket also added an extra dimension to the dish. Bravo. This was paired with the cult wine Colgin “IX Estate” 2005, which we were told was opened at 9am! That’s more than 13 hours! But the end result was perfect.
After 8 courses and 8 different wines, time finally came for dessert, actually two. The first was Popcorn Sherbet, paired with the 2000 Disznoko, Tokaji Aszu, 5 Puttonyos. To end, the “M&M’s” actually stood for Madagascar vanilla bean mousse and Mast brothers chocolate ice cream. Dow’s 20 year Tawny Port sealed the deal.
After the dinner, Thomas Keller went around the dining room to visit every table and talk to all the guests, take pictures and sign autographs. At the end, we were given a signed copy of Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry Cookbook. Although not personalized for us, we didn’t mind as we already had a personalized copy signed during our visit to Pebble Beach’s Food & Wine Festival in 2009. But we did get his signature on the French Laundry clothes peg. We also received the evening’s menu personalized with our names presented in a nice French Laundry folder.
Although maybe not as stunning as our first visit to French Laundry in Napa, this was indeed an experience that was right up there. And thanks to Mandarin Oriental for hosting such an amazing event.
– 18.5/20
The Thomas Keller Restaurant Group
French Laundry, Napa Valley, USA
Per Se, New York, USA
Mandarin Grill + Bar
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
5 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2825 4004
E: mohkg-grill@mohg.com
W: www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong/dining/restaurants/mandarin_grill/default.aspx
101201 Thomas Keller - Menu setting
101201 Thomas Keller - Blue cheese puff
101201 Thomas Keller - Salmon cornet
Celebrating Mid Autumn Festival in Style
Gloomy weather, rain, no full moon…why not celebrate Mid Autumn Festival with a bottle of Dom Pérignon Œnothèque 1996? Just launched earlier this year, this top cuvée is very elegant and smooth. The seven extra years of aging was definitely worth it.
– 19/20
100922 - Dom Pérignon Œnothèque 1996
Club des Chefs des Chefs Gala Dinner, Hong Kong
This was a special invitation from Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. The occasion? A Gala Dinner for the Club des Chefs des Chefs, an exclusive group of top chefs who cook for the world’s premiers, presidents and monarchs. This annual event is held in Hong Kong and Beijing this year and will head to Moscow in 2011.
While enjoying a glass of Louis Roederer Champagne, we managed to catch up with Markus Burkart, chef to His Majesty the King of Sweden. Originally from Switzerland, he has been cooking for the King for more than 20 years. He shared an interesting fact that on any official Royal trip, they ship all the ingredients for all the meals in a military plane. This ensures that there are no surprises when cooking in a foreign country. A potato would have the sweetness and consistency that the chef expects when preparing the dishes.
For dinner, we were seated at the Swiss table in the company of Gregor Zimmermann, Chef in charge of the Official Receptions, Switzerland. The six course dinner was prepared by Mandarin’s own executive chef, Uwe Opocensky. He started us off with Spiral. VERY interesting. Everyone at the table stared at the dish and wondered how to approach it. We were informed to put a finger in the spiral and cover it with the crushed olive and black sesame. The spiral was made from very fine strands of sugar, kind of like cotton candy. The sesame was a bit dry – but there was so much, were we supposed to finish it all?
Then the Crispy Fish was a caramelized garoupa which tasted like the dessert caramelized bananas (拔絲香蕉). Not bad, especially when paired with the 2008 Beringer Chardonnay. The waffle base for the Peking Duck that followed was too thick and did not go as well as the regular thin wraps. Overall it was a bit salty too. The famous Tea was a variation of the one we enjoyed at the Krug Room before, except this time it was chicken broth instead of onion soup.
Then the Beggar Chicken was an interesting concept. Unlike the typical beggar’s chicken which is cooked in a clay dome, this modern version had a ‘shell’ made from gypsum powder (石膏粉) that is normally used for tofu fa (豆腐花). The waiter assured us that the shell was edible. Hmmm, maybe we’ll pass. Also, the chicken was a bit dry. However, the highlight was the 2005 Lascombes that was paired with the dish. We couldn’t resist a second pouring…or third…
For dessert, the Butterfly was made from caramelized sugar and once again reminded us of Uwe’s ‘humming bird’ we had at the Krug Room. For petit fours, dozens of bird cages were marched into the room and each cage contained glutinous rice dumplings, caramel apple, pineapple puffs, and chilled mango puddings.
Overall, a very creative implementation of traditional Chinese dishes and a great culinary exchange opportunity.
– 15/20
Mandarin Oriental
5 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
T: +852 2522 0111
W: www.mandarinoriental.com/hongkong
100818 Club des Chefs des Chefs - Menus from the chefs
100818 Club des Chefs des Chefs - Cocktails
100818 Club des Chefs des Chefs - Table setting
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