Cape Mentelle Wine Dinner @ Neo Tamarind KL

This is my first time to Neo Tamarind and it is also my first time tasting so many Cape Mentelle wines in one night. My first encounter with Cape Mentelle would be their Sauvignon Blanc Semillion a few years ago as I love a fresh and lively white and the 2012 bottle that was poured to us that evening was lively, fresh with hints lemon and grapefruit flavours. That's a good start to the evening!

The venue was beautifully decorated with white romantic roses and an elegant table setting which depicts the image of the brand. As one of Margaret River's "Founding Five" wineries, Cape Mentelle is indeed one of the pioneers and also creating the benchmark of quality for the region's wine. I also came to know that one of my favourite whites from the Cloudy Bay winery in NZ is actually a sister winery of Cape Mentelle. The winery is now part of Estates & Wines (owned by Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) and thus building on a solid foundation. There are more than 150 hectares under vine and the winery crushes about 1,700 tonnes of fruit from the estate vineyards and contract-grown fruit sourced from within the region.

 

 A little contest to win a bottle of wine by identifying the correct wine.

A few varieties of canapes were served together with the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012 and then followed by a four-course-dinner and then a dessert.

Ashley Wood was in town recently to represent the winery for all the wine dinners held here. Before making a stop in KL, he was actually in Singapore the day before and he enjoyed the climate and food here. Ashley is actually the viticulturist at Cape Mentelle who has a great interest and passion in grape growing. He believes that the superb quality of the fruit grown in Margaret River is a unique reflection of the good terroir.

The wines that we would be pairing with our food - Chardonnay 2011, Cabernet Merlot 2010, Shiraz 2011 and Cabernet Sauvignon 2009.

Steamed White Cod with Coconut Herbs Reduction

Paired with Chardonnay 2011

The steamed cod was a little bland to my liking but it was somehow interesting to see it being paired with a coconut based sauce and it blends well. The Chardonnay 2011 with a 100% chardonnay grape has an abundance of grapefruit and fresh lime nose but on the palate, it has a lemony and pear flavours. Very citrusy and well balanced. It's ready to drink now or to be cellared to 2021 according to the experts. (97 points by Australian Wine Annual 2013 - Jeremy Oliver)

Roasted Chicken served with Garlic Bulb, Whipped Potato, Apple Sauce with Chicken Jus

Paired with Cabernet Merlot 2010

The roasted chicken was tender and smoky but what I liked best was the grilled garlic bulb. I am not a garlic person but I ate almost half of that garlic and this proves something right? The Cabernet Merlot 2010 has a bright ruby red colour, with lots of red fruits, aniseed and tobacco bouquet. On the palate, it shows a fruity and vibrant wine full of red fruits and plum. A medium body wine to be enjoyed with chicken and pork. This wine is a blend of 44% cabernet sauvignon, 42% merlot, 7% cabernet franc, 6% petit verdot and 1% malbec. It can drink now or to be cellared through 2030. (96 points by Western Australian 2012 - Ray Jordan)

Roasted Duck Breast served with Red Cabbage Puree & Mustard Sauce

Paired with Shiraz 2011

I was in fact a little disappointed with the roasted duck breast as it was quite tough and needs more chewing than a chewing gum. However, some of the others may have managed to get a better duck. Anyways, back to the wine, we had a glass of Shiraz 2011. Of all australian wines, I probably like Shiraz very much because I like the spicy and peppery palate which is medium to full bodied and this one here clearly has a nose of pepper and aniseed with rich berries. On the palate, it shows depth, chocolate notes and liquorice with a spicy finish. This bottle can be cellared right up to 2031. (98 points by West Australian 2012 - Ray Jordan)

Grilled Beef Tenderloin served with Eryngii Mushroom, Scallion Oil & Beef Jus

Paired with Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

The beef tenderloin was good - tender, juicy and lightly flavoured with scallion oil. The highlight of the night would be the Cabernet Sauvignon 2009. It was the wine that everyone is anticipating to taste because Cape Mentelle has a rich history of exceptional quality and consistency with Cabernet Sauvignon which is their single vineyard wine. The wine has a nose of violets, blackcurrants and rolled tobacco. On the palate, it has black fruits, subtle flavours of chocolate, plum and aniseed and hint of oak. it's a full bodied wine with a good complexity and finish. Ready to drink now or to be cellared through 2029. (98 points by West Australian 2012 - Ray Jordan)

Green Tea Creme Brulee as dessert!

Ashley Wood explaining all about the wines we had that night and then it was followed by the prize giving session to those who have guessed the wines correctly. And I've won a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2012!

A picture with Ashley, Chong (Brand Ambassador for MHD), KY and Missyblurkit.

With KY & Wei Zhi from KampungBoyCityGal

I had fun that night trying out so many wines and learning more about this wonderful Australian wine producer from Margaret River which exudes quality and style in its wines and also presentation. I left home with a smile. It was also nice to be able to meet some of the food writers whom have blogs I read regularly. This is indeed the last wine dinner event I will attend for now until August as I will be in Belgium to spend quality time with my partner. Thank you for the invitation!

NEO Tamarind

(My advice is to park at KL Life Centre and walk over)

19, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur
(opposite Equatorial Hotel beside Wisma KFC)
(NEO Tamarind is close on Sundays) 

Tel: +603 2148 3700

Website 

Have a G.O.U.R.M.E.T affair at Millesime KL

Millesime is indeed a pioneer in the fine-dining scene in KL city. After being the first restaurant to serve the famous Bordeaux 1st growths by the glasses, they have came up with another exciting GOURMET dinner for gourmands out there. With these constant buzz happening at the restaurant, who would ever let Millesime, the gastronome helmed by Chef Max Chin slip off their minds?

I have to thank Max and Lionel, the co-owner of Millesime for inviting me to yet another pleasurable evening at the restaurant. Although I was just there a few days ago, dinner at Millesime is just too irresistible to give it a pass. G.O.U.R.M.E.T (Gastronomic Overtures U Really Must Eat Today) is simply an evening where people gather to indulge an "outrageously fabulous" dinner paired with selected wines/spirits and with pre-dinner drinks and continuous flow of canapes. According to Lionel, the idea is to have a fun time for people to mingle together. Unlike conventional wine dinners, the focus is not on the wines but more on the food and the people.




Unfortunately, GOURMET is by invitation only and it will be held once every other month. There will only be seats for 30 pax and each pax would have to pay RM300 which includes food and drinks. It's a steal considering the quality of ingredients that went into the dishes whipped up by Max and the wines that you will be enjoying. There's no membership recruitment for GOURMET events. The trick is getting an invitation. (Don't worry, if you want one, just buzz me! But I shall take 10% commission for being the mediator, just kidding)

Max arranging the Oyster Platter

The dinner starts with an interesting game of blind tasting. We were given a glass of wine and was asked which part of the world or country it was produced. The winner takes home a bottle of champagne. I really couldn't guess that it was wine made in China. The wine has a very nice nose but lacked finishing. After that, we were treated to the 1st dish which was a plate consisting of a variation of oysters. These were Kumamoto (US), Fine de Claire (France), Coffin Bay (Australia) and Donegal Bay (Ireland). I had fun tasting the different types of famous oysters and my favourite is the Kumamoto due to it's buttery and robust flavours.

And with these oysters, we had some Saint Clair Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc 2010. This winery makes a very classic Malborough style sauvignon blanc using the traditional fermentation methods. The results - fresh, crisp with medium bodied and dry palate but not too overly bubbly.



The 2nd dish, is a lattice of Hokkaido Scallops with a sauce made in wine braised leek and Gironde's Aquitaine Caviar. I heard one of the guests commenting that this is a "siew pau" (roasted pork dumpling) laden with caviar! haha... it did looked like a chinese fried dumpling. When I cut through that "dumpling", I could see the tender scallops, just waiting for me to sink my teeth in. It was indeed a perfectly cooked scallop and the caviar gave it a hint of saltiness to balance the taste. I love the dish as Max always score a perfect 10 in his scallop dishes!

For this dish, we had a bottle of German Selbach-Oster Riesling Kabinett 2008 which is sweet but not too overpowering. It has hints of lime and also grapefruit, making it a refreshing wine to drink. This wine is best paired with seafood and it does go well with the scallops and leek sauce.



It may not look picture perfect but the Boston Lobster with Pasta and Black Truffle in Creme Fraiche may be one of the best pasta I had. I've never tasted pasta that absorbs the flavours from the sauces so well. Think of the aroma of truffles and the juicy, succulent lobsters paired with al dente fusili. Doesn't this makes you hungry? This is definitely going to be one of my favourite creations from Max.



The 4th dish is a wild caught Pacific sea John Dory Cassoulette and the sauce is made with Pinot Noir and fresh bay leaf. A cassoulette is a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating in the south of France, containing meat, like a meat & bean casserole. The dory was really fresh and the flakes of the fish is juicy and tender. I like the contrasting textures of the tender fish with the julienne carrots and the beans which are not cooked until too mushy.

The wine pairing is a little adventurous. Instead of going for white, Lionel decides to have this dish with a Stonier Pinot Noir 2009. It has a light ruby red in colour, lots of red fruits with plums and cherries. A savoury note runs parallel with the fruity notes. It's intense and has an average length finish.


Alas, we are on the last dish before the dessert. It's the Ballotine of French Pintade with Goose Foie Gras and Tawny Port. In simple English terms, it is actually a terrine (coarse pate or jellied meatloaf) of goose foie with guinea fowl. It's a new dish at Millesime but I've in fact tasted it days before this dinner here and max calls me the "guinea pig". hmmmph... It's nice because you get all the robust flavours from foie gras and guinea fowl made with a sauce that has a caramel-like sweetness from the port used.

The best wine will of course be served last. It's none other than E.Guigal Gigondas 2007. The year 2007 is one of the good years for Gigondas and according to wine guru Robert Parker, the best Gigondas from E.Guigal that he has tasted has to be the 2007. A typical red Rhone blend, it has dense plum, with notes black berries. The wine is full-bodied, with stunning purity, and it's texture is multi-layered with a long finish. (92-94 points from RP)



The sweet ending that night would be this jellied berries on apricot cream brulee and rose petals with champagne sherbet. I finished the sherbet as I prefer a little sourness compared to the caramel-sweet brulee. Anyways, I'm still a chocolate-soufle girl when it comes to Millesime.




These are the wines we had, coming from New Zealand, Germany, Australia and France. What sets GOURMET dinner and the rest of the wine dinners is in the selection of wines. They are from different regions and producers and thus you'll get to be more adventurous with the pairings. It's indeed delightful to know that there were so many supporters of Millesime and also people that are looking for a night of pleasurable company and good food.

An overture of gastronomic indulgence not to be missed. The trick now is getting an invitation. (Don't worry, if you want one, just buzz me! But I shall take 10% commission for being the mediator, just kidding)

I really think Millesime deserves a spot in the best fine dining or even the best french/continental cuisine category. Well, too bad it isn't but I would still think this place rocks. If you're kind enough, do contribute a vote to Millesime and me at Time Out Food Awards 2011. Voting closes on 31st Oct 2011.

Bon Apetito!

Millesime
(it's outside of the building on the extreme right corner)

G1-01-3, Level G1
Menara Kencana Petroleum, Solaris Dutamas
No. 1, Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur

Operation hours are from 12pm-12am
Website

Tel: +603- 6211 0648

Credit card: YES
Pork Free

(Degustation Menu: Price ranges from RM220++ & above)

Champagnes & Wonderful reds

Ok, I do admit that sometimes I'm very spoilt when it comes to dining and drinking. I have friends with fine tastebuds and thus sometimes the dinner can get a little lavish. So happened that during dinner sometime ago, it also coincides with my sis getting a promotion and it was very kind of my friend to call for a celebration with some wonderful bubblies.

Dom Perignon 2002

The Dom needs no introduction. However, the latest release of the 2002 shows that it is capable of drinking well with a very floral bouquet, hints of ripe apricots, passion fruits and peaches on the palate and a finish with a subtle hint of bitterness. It's good to drink now.



Right after we finished sipping our Dom, a lady brought in a plate of strawberries. At the corner of my eyes, I've already spotted a bottle of Cristal, the jewel and tête de cuvée of Champagne Louis Roederer chilling in the champagne bucket. I was squealing with delight but my sis was kinda blur and didn't know I was excited about her favourite champagne.







"If a wine could ever make you want to pull the top down on your '68 Ferrari convertible, rip off the rearview mirror and take off, this is it" as quoted by Wine & Spirits.



And so, the strawberries were meant to go with the Cristal 2002. Wine & Spirits gave this a 100 pointer but it managed to get a 96 from Robert Parker which is the same rating for Dom 2002. Cristal 2002 is brilliant yellow with light amber highlights and has a beautiful mousse with fine cordon of persistent and fine bubblies. The nose is intense and delicate, revealing a clean and well-blended mixture of flavors of honey, cocoa, lightly toasted hazelnuts, candied citrus fruit.It's a harmony of well-blended flavours that is silky and refined.

The dishes we had were pretty simple. There's steamed prawns, "seng kua" with pork, bbq pork ribs and also my favourite pork noodles. Ok, almost all the dishes are pork.

And a cigar in between dishes.

My friend liked the idea of doing blind tastings as it tells whether we really like the wine as it is or because we knew it was an expensive label. Obviously none of us knew what we were drinking that night until the end of the dinner.

Blind tastings of reds

Oh I do love blind tastings. It made the whole wine drinking experience so interesting and exciting because you just wanted to know if your tastebuds really do get influenced by the mind after knowing the labels.

The first wine has a very nice nose. It turns out to be one of the wines that I so wanted to drink! it's a Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2000. Vega Sicilia is indisputably one of the great estates of Spain.The one we were having is actually a second wine of the Unico, which is dubbed as Spain's "Chateau La Tour".

Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2000

This was the vintage of the good wine grower, for much depended on careful work in the vineyard, which has given the wine richness and concentration, with tightly knit fruit and nicely balanced oak, making for a structured but elegant wine.



Powerfull on the nose, some oak, vanilla, tobacco, but well integrated. Good acidity and bitterness. Long and complex finish.







I love the palate of the second bottle, not knowing that it's actually a bottle of the Wirra Wirra Chook Block 2002. Why this wine of Australia is so special, you ask?



From time to time Wirra Wirra produces wines from very small parcels of extremely intense, high quality fruit. Chook Block is a unique wine which is not made except in exceptional vintage like 2002. It is not made to a particular style; winemaking is purely in a custodial sense attempting to reflect in the wine the quality of both the Chook Block Vineyard, and the vintage. The fruit was 100% Hand Picked, with bunch selection by hand to remove any undesired bunches. "There’s no doubting that it’s a deep, profound wine!"







Only 250 cases were made! There's an oriental spices bouquet with an underlying score of licorice. On the palate, it's concentrated, chocolatey with a refined structure of finely balanced acid and fine grained tannin. As this is purely Shiraz, you can expect it to be medium to full bodied and has a savoury complexity and exceptional length in flavour and intensity.



The friend of mine was trying to bluff me and tells me that this is a bottle of YellowTail which until today, I've yet to taste it. I told him, "If this is really a Yellow Tail, I really don't mind drinking this all the time at all!" And then he kept quiet. Oh come on, I'm still not drunk. The 4 of us drank these 4 bottles in one dinner.

Revisiting Lafite @ Shangri La KL

The last time I dined at Lafite at Shang was probably more than half a year ago when they had a change of chef from Damon Campbell to now Georg Schroppel. I can see that he has changed the menu and it's interesting to see how the new dishes would fare.

It was a post birthday dinner for a friend and since he was craving for some French cuisine, Lafite was a timely excuse for an indulgence in some good food! Nothing much has changed at Lafite - same setting, same ambiance and probably the same concept. That night was particularly full as almost 80 percent of the place was occupied by ladies!

To start things off, the amuse bouche for the day was made to look like a mini ice-cream. The "scoop" was a salmon confit and the cone was a crispy pastry. The taste was lovely but sadly it was too small! haha... They had a new bread which is red in colour. Apparently it was red because it was made with beetroot and topped with black sesame seeds. The bread tasted very good with the aioli which is actually a garlic mayonnaise made with garlic, olive oil and egg.

Pierro Pinot Noir 2008

The wines of Pierro from Margaret River does indeed worth a mention especially this bottle of Pinot Noir. I've had the Pierro Chardonnay 2003 but certainly not the reds. Despite it being an Australian wine, traditional Burgundian methods still drive Pierro's pinot production. The 2008 bottle displays an aroma of plums, with soft and gentle flavours of red cherries and blackberries. It's medium-bodied with velvety textures and silky tannins. Very good for drinking now although you can also consider cellaring it for a few years. Priced at RM380+ a bottle at Lafite, I think you can probably get it outside for half the price.

Australian Kobe Wagyu Beef Steak Mille Feuille (RM75)
This is like a steak tartar using the Australian Tenderloin paired with lemon polenta and also topped with caviar. Had a spoonful, nice and flavourful but I'm not really a fan of steak tartar!!


Pan Seared Perigord Foie Gras (RM60)
The Perigord, a former province of France is apparently a truffle area and is famous for its foie gras. This dish consists of a nicely seared foie gras paired with a celery root puree, orange meringue, apricot almond chutney, spiced bread and the very interesting contrasting textures of sauce, fluffy bread and almond nibs. Love it!


Australian Kobe Wagyu Beef Tenderloin (RM160)
The tenderloin is cooked medium rare, paired with a bernaise sauce, herb pomme puree, black truffle puree, bone marrow and also a piece of pan seared foie gras. I was really having a good time indulging in foie gras, forgetting about my cholesterol levels. Who cares when you have a piece of foie gras dangling in front of you at that moment?!! The dish was excellent.


Australian Hill Side Farm Lamb Loin (RM120)
It's a combination of grilled lamb rack and braised lamb, served with couscous, fine ratatouille, and balsamic glazed tomatoes. The lamb was tender and free from gamey tastes but I am not a big fan of lamb and couscous either. My friend did have a special palate for food!

After both the starter and mains, we were both very satisfied and full. There were no room for desserts. It was indeed a very wonderful dinner. I had not had such wonderful french cuisine for sometime and this was really a good reward for a hard's day work.

Lafite is still one of the safest bet for fine dining in the KL food scene. Good job chef!

Other posts on Lafite - here & here and here.

Lafite
Shangri La Hotel
11 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
T: +(60 3) 2032 2388Website

Duck stories and more @ Imbi Palace KL

The evening started with a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve. It has been quite sometime since we last had a bubbly for dinner. This dinner was timely because it's been 6 days I last had pork too! Difficult to find porcine delights in Langkawi and over the weekend, we had some Indonesian food.

Oh, I was dying to tell you about this wonderful non-vintage French champagne. The tiny bubbles and mousse tells a lot about the quality of this fizz. It's pale gold, pear and nectarine nose is really pleasing. The palate was crisp, clean and tangy which is so refreshing. I think it's perfect for a sunny afternoon drink. Just arrived into the country and distributed by Asia Euro, this bottle here is better than any of the non-vintage-expensive-labeled-champagnes that you can get for a lesser price!

That night, we had a bottle of white, which coincidentally happened to be my favourite lot of all - 2008 Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Sauvignon Blanc. Single Vineyard wines are 'terroir' wines, reflecting the unique vineyard sites or exclusive parcels of lands from which they come and therefore they are in very limited quantities. This NZ wine has a really beautiful aroma of ripe gooseberries, citrus and passionfruit. The palate is layered and gently structured. If you do ever come across this bottle, give it a try.

The other wonderful wines we had that night was French wines coming from the left and right bank of the Bordeaux region. On the right bank, we had two wines from Pomerol (Petrus is made here too!) which are Chateau Le Bon Pasteur 2003 and La Gravette Certan 2007 (the 2nd wine of Chateau Certan). And on the left bank, we had the Chateau La Dominique 2005 from St Emilion and also the Chateau Lascombes from Margaux.


The food journey that follows is indeed an abundance. The first appetiser that we had was the Fried toufu (beancurd) cubes with diced meat and eggplants. It was absolutely addictive because the toufu is smooth and soft in the inside and crispy on the outside. Paired with the minced meat abd eggplant, it's a match-made in heaven! Then we had a takeaway order of Fish head curry from the opposite restaurant and served before our eyes in a claypot. The fish was fresh and the curry was just bowl-licking good. But I didn't asked for the name of the shop, sorry. Fried octopus tentacles was also on our table. Sorry Paul, we had to eat your cousin.

We had very interesting friends joining us that night. They were actually the owners behind the successful London Four Seasons Duck and now after their outlet at O Gourmet in BSC, they are opening one more in Jaya Grocer at Jaya33! I must ask for my VIP card cos I loved the Four seasons duck in London! The lady has been our usual dinner companions but the other 2 guys, very young, are the people behind the successful duck. So just as we were talking about ducks, the 8 treasures duck appeared!

From my last visit to the Palace group of restaurants (including Grand Palace in Pavilion), they now seemed to be serving multiple styles of stuffed birds like 8 Treasures Duck, Stuffed duck and also 8 treasures chicken. This stuffed duck is ala braised style with lots of "goodies" packed inside. The sauce was very good to go with rice!

The other dishes we had that night were the Cold Flower Crabs, Braised Oxtail in claypot, Roast chicken, 2 types of green vege which is the spinach and a type of chinese cabbage. The oxtail wasn't impressive but the cold crabs were very good as well as the roast chicken.

I thought the food is going to end but they seemed to keep coming. According to Mr. L, he's got a reputation to keep, which is to "over-order" every time we have dinner!

The soupy dishes we had that night was the pig cartilage soup with corn (which was really creamy and full of flavour) and also the pork noodle with vermicelli and pig intestines! Ooh la la... I remember the first time I had this was here and after that, I was craving for it every other time.

For dessert, we had a choice of Herbal Jelly (Guilin Gao), Mango Pudding, Durian pudding and also the Double-boiled "suit kap" (frog jelly) with Hasma. Wah, I was really stuffed and full to the brim.

And then, we decided to try the Glenmorangie Sherry Wood Finish single malt whisky that I bought in Langkawi as the finale of the dinner. This is a very nice whisky with orange peel, butterscotch, a little smoky and well-rounded on the palate. Priced at RM150 in Langkawi, it's really cheap loh!

Glenmorangie and a MonteCristo

Thanks for a great dinner & company but it's a bummer that the next day I had to wake up at 7am to go to work!

Kaesler Winemaker's Dinner @ Westin KL

This is a very much delayed post as the invitation for the wine dinner was held in The Living Room in Westin which sits beneath a stunning glass sun burst sculpture from the ceiling on 15th June and I haven't have the time to blogged about it. Moreover, I was so busy gallivanting that I didn't take any pictures with my crappy camera and had to resort to mugging pictures from Cumi & Ciki 's website.

I am truly embarrassed.




That night, we were treated to a dinner of Kaesler wines from Barossa Valley in South Australia where the company produces wines from vineyards as old as 1893. We got to try at least a wine each from the different series that they have from Stonehorse, Estate & even the Limited Estate Release.

It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Stephen Dew, the winemaker for Kaesler & Nashwauk wines since 2002. He was even kind enough to send me a email after the dinner and told me how interesting that our conversation were that night that it was everything but wines! Haha... I guess I was a little too intoxicated to remember but I do remember bringing out a box of Neuhaus chocolates for sharing!

We started with the Old Vine Semillon 2008 (RM90). This wine has got the Granny Smith apples and zesty grapefruit on the palate which makes it very suitable as a aperitif before dinner. While I was sipping on this, I spotted Max from Max@iHaus whom happened to be there for this dinner too!

The second wine we had was Viognier (pronounced as vee-on-yay) 2008 (RM110) where it has some spicy notes on the nose but a full-flavoured wine and it's crisp on the palate. This wine could be served with the cheese platter!

Then, we moved on to the reds. First up was the Stonehorse Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre 2007 (RM90) or in short GSM. This is still a very young wine and in my opinion, this wine has not been really opened up yet. On the nose, it has berries and spicy notes with a chocolate palate.

After that, we were served Stonehorse Shiraz 2006 (RM115). This is a full-bodied wine with some licorice notes on the palate and was rated 90points by Wine Spectator, In my opinion, this wine would be better in a couple of years time.

My favourite for the night would be the Bogan Shiraz 2006. It has dense, dark purple hues and has a generous nose of plums and chocolate. It's a full-bodied wine and it's intense with dominant hints of blackberries and has a good finish. This wine is designed to highlight the synergy between Barossa Shiraz and the good quality of American oak. Rated at 90 points by Wine Spectator.

The food was marvelous too.

From Left :

Hokkaido Scallop crudo, green apple sorbet with cucumber
Apricot & almond beignet, creamed wild mushrooms
Roast lamb neck, tzatziki, smoked bone marrow, cherry puree

Baby beetroot in flaky pastry, horseradish, chives

One of the main course that didn't impress me was the licorice port glazed braised angus beef short rib with smoked potato puree. IMHO, the licorice drowned the taste of the beef and it creates a sticky feel to the meat which I didn't like.

The Old Bastard & I

It's true that they say good girls like Bastards and in this case, everyone got excited when the winemaker opened a bottle of the Old Bastard Shiraz 2007 (RM480) so that we can all get a taste of their premium limited edition release. On the nose, it has hints of berries like the blackberries and even strawberries together with sandalwood. On the palate, I can taste that this is a very young wine and in fact, too young to be drunk now. That is why, the Bogan is still truly my favourite for the night despite the heavy price tag for the Old Bastard.

I still liked the name of this wine. "Give me an Old Bastard will ya?!!"

Note: These wines are distributed by Straits Wine Company and thanks to the invitation by Yoke May from The Westin KL. I truly enjoyed the evening! Thanks to Cumi & Ciki for the pictures which I mugged shamelessly and thanks to Stephen for the good company!