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)

The Rolland Collection Wine Dinner @ The Pressroom Bangsar

The dinner invitation came very timely which is just right after I got my medical report and a liver passing with flying colours. Ok, to be making sure that I am keeping my liver well and strong, I'll better consume good wines and eat good food. It's time to roll, babeh with the Rolland Collection!

The dinner is hosted by Sunrise Wines & Spirits and it was held at The Pressroom in Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC). The last time I was at this restaurant were some moons ago and I've not dine here for quite sometime. It's a good reason to come back and try their dinner menu.

Danny Rolland and Michel Rolland

Dany Rolland was in town to lend grace to the dinner. She is a renowned oenologist and a right hand person to her husband, Michel Rolland whom is a famous wine maker and consultant. Together, they formed the Rolland Collection, a range of Bordeaux wines with 5 appellations from the right bank, where the Rolland family originated in Pomerol.

There were particularly 2 wines that I was looking forward to try that night. A quick scan at the menu and wine pairing, I knew these 2 wines would be the highlights of the night.

Ch. La Grande Clotte 2007, Bordeaux Blanc

This white Bordeaux from the vineyard of Lussac terroir consists of a blend of 60% Sauvignon Blanc et gris, 25% Semillion and 15% Muscadelle. The fermentation is done 100% in new french oak barrels. The 2006 vintage was rated 90points by Robert Parker Wine Advocate and I was wondering how the 2007 vintage would be doing. Dany told me that she would rate the 2007 vintage a notch better than the 2006. The 2007 is fresh, flowery with citrusy notes and minerals. It's acidity is refined with a persistent finish and it would be drinking well now or probably in another 1-2 years.

Ch. Le Bon Pasteur 2006 Pomerol

The wines from Chateau Le Bon Pasteur in Pomerol are from vines that are more than 30 years old. The grapes are harvested manually at full ripeness and are sorted before and after destemming. Then the grapes are fermented separately in small tanks and aged 15-18 months in new french oaks. Rated at 90 points by Wine Spectator, this wine is also worth noticing as it has very soft tanins, aroma of plums and blackberries and it's full-bodied. You will also find it having hints of vanilla, chocolate and coffee undertones.

What was equally important to a wine dinner is of course the pairing of food with the wines. In my opinion, the food does affect the palate of the wines and thus a lot of effort and careful planning must be put into the menu.

Tian of Crabcake
With Avocado & Tomatoes dressed in Cilantro Oil

Paired with a glass of Ch. La Grande Clotte 2007 Blanc, this crabcake compliments the wine very well by bringing out the freshness of the white. The crabcake itself is moist and crispy on the outside.

Roast Duck Spring Roll
with Jackfruit Salsa, Hoisin & Lemon Dip

Paired with the Spanish Campo Alegre 2007 from Toro. This wine is the 2nd wine of Campo Eliseo, made from 100% of Tinta de Toro which is a Spanish classic variant of Tempranillo grapes. They are then aged 12 months in French oak barrels. This is a wine with lots of blackcurrants, spices, peppery and also oaky. When I look at the menu, I already can expect that this pairing is going to be very tricky. The Spring roll was too hard and the jackfruit salsa was sweet and sourly. Overall, the taste did not really jive with the wine. It's an interesting dish but too bad the jackfruit didn't compliment the wine well.

Foie Gras Ravioli
And Beef Consomme with Truffle Foam

Paired with a glass of Ch Le Bon Pasteur 2006 from Pomerol. This is the iconic wine of the Rolland Collection with a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Carbernet Franc. The foie gras ravioli is complimenting the wine very well with its robust flavours but the dish came in a little cold. The beef consomme which is slowly simmered with mushrooms and beef bones were very tasty. I drank every single drop of it! And I was wishing that I can have bigger bits of foie gras...

Wagyu Cube Roll
With Extra Virgin Olive Oil & Maldon Sea Salt

Before adjourning to the mains, we had a scoop of orange sorbet to cleanse our palate. The wagyu was done medium rare but from the looks of it, I had a feeling that it was done rare because the meat is still very tender and reddish looking. It's nice but somehow it didn't give me a very good taste of the beef. The flavours were subtle but lucky the simple preparation style matches the Ch Le Bon Pasteur 2006. The red meat brings the plums and blackberries flavours out of the wine.

Chocolate Cigarillo
with Honey Mascarpone Cream & Coffee Mocha Ice Cream

I was glad that the dessert has finally been served as the portions for the dinner is quite substantial and I'm definitely filled to the brim. This chocolate dessert is paired with a glass of Remhoogte 2005 from Stellenbosch South Africa. It's a good vintage from South Africa and with a blend of Merlot, Carbernet Sauvignon and Pinotage, it gives this wine an oaky and smoky palate.

The dessert was very sweet and I managed to have a conversation with the Head Chef, Saiful @ Bob. It doesn't help that I'm a chocolate snob and thus I was very curious about the chocolate he had used for the dessert. It was a 55% cocoa lined with a brandy snap. I suggested that he should have used a 70% cocoa instead given the nature of the sweetness from the other ingredients. The 70% dark chocolate would have tasted better with the combination and together with the wine.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable dinner as Dany herself has been educating us about the wines and sharing her passion in this field. These wines are priced from RM180 for the white and the reds except Ch Le Bon Pasteur 2006 which is at RM500/bottle. There were some hits and misses with the menu and there is still room for improvements.

Sunrise Wines & Spirits Sdn Bhd
Tel: +6012-2154811
Fax:+603-62728288
www.rollandcollection.com

Katnook Estate Wine Dinner

This post was supposed to be written earlier but due to a number of factors such as absence of pictures, lack of time and also forgetfulness, I seemed to have delayed it till now. That is why, I have also forgotten the name of the guy above whom was someone from Diageo.

The wine dinner was held at my favourite fine dining chinese restaurant which I have written about it here. It was nice to have good food and good wine again.

The Katnook Wines

Katnook Estate is located in the heart of Coonawarra, Australia's premier red wine district. The name "Katnook" means "Fat Land" in aboriginal language and it refers to the Coonawarra's red and fertile soil. They have a few labels under Katnook Limited Release (Prodigy & Odyssey), Katnook Estate and Katnook Founder's block.

Wine Dinner Table Setting

At a wine dinner, usually there were a couple of glasses on the table for each person depending on the number of the different wines one is going to have. That night, we were going to try 5 wines and thus 5 glasses on the table each with a paper disc with number as a label on the wine glass stand to differentiate the wines. It also ensure that the waitresses whom are pouring the wines would not be confused and poured it into a wrong glass. Professional wine drinkers are a bit sensitive about this issue and you wouldn't want to upset them!

Pre-dinner
Katnook Founder's Block Sauvignon Blanc 2008

This is made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes and have a pale straw colour with very light green tinges. The nose is subtle with some hints of lemon flower and gooseberries, thus giving it a zesty palate and a crisp finish.

Mo Mo Duck Roll
The Mo Mo Duck Roll is something I would love for an appetiser. Not only the smoked duck was tasty, it actually went very well with the mango slices, zucchini and wrapped with a thin layer of crepe.

Katnook Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2007
The 2007 vintage will be remembered for the severe spring frosts that devastated vineyards across Coonawarra and reduced crops to less than 25% of usual yields. The nose and palate is very close to the pre dinner wine but this one has got a better lingering finish.

Salt Baked Cod Fish
This fillet of cod fish is slightly salted and baked to perfection. The secret of this good tasting dish lies in the accompanying sauce.

Katnook Estate Chardonnay 2005
This Chardonnay is fermented in French oak barrels and thus the subtle oak aromas. The palate is fruity with subtle honeyed oak which is smooth and light.

Pan Fried Black Pig

This pan fried black pig is served with wasabi and butter shoyu sauce. Another one of Frankie's best dishes. It's a very interesting mix of tastes.

Katnook Founder's block Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This one has a nose of berries and plum. It's an easy-drinking, full bodied wine with hints of plum and light mint.

Pigeon in Two Style
The pigeon is cooked in two ways. The two wings are roasted to a perfect crisp and the body is stewed.

Katnook Estate Shiraz 2005
This elegant wine has got aromas of raspberries, plum and liquorice. I like the light spiciness with hints of pepper and chocolate which gives it a fine finish.

Wok Charred Rack of Lamb
These two racks of lamb is wok charred and it has the aromas of the wok which is like slightly burned aroma but it's not. The juices is intact and the taste it just divine.

Katnook Estate Carbernet Sauvignon 2004
This is a layered, long and structured wine. It's nose is complex and has subtle hints of oak. On the palate, it is rich, layered with ripe fruits. It has hints of chocolate and also spicy plum fruit with lingering fine tannins.

Then as we thought that we had completed the wine dinner, he pulled out two bottles of wine wrapped with a layer of paper. When the paper was torn, it revealed two of the limited release bottles which is the Odyssey Cabernet Sauvignon and the Prodigy Shiraz. These two are the award winning wines from Katnook and their prices is 5 times the Katnook Estate and the Founder's Block collection. So that two bottles were the surprise for the night. Every one squealed with delight!

The dinner was good and so were the wines. You can get them from Asia Euro Wines & Spirits as they are the distributors of Katnook now. This wine dinner costs RM180 per person which I think it's quite a good deal.

Felton Road @ Max's

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Felton Road Winemakers' Dinner

Yesterday at Max. Western Dining. (Max has moved to here)

With Blair Walter, winemaker.

Was absolutely stunningly deliciously cunnilingus.

Would love to post some pictures here now but the pictures have not been sent to me so please bear with the delayed posting. I think I'm salivating thinking of the seared sea scallops on grilled provencale vegetable with cuttlefish ragout in lobster oil!!! (which I licked to the last drop)

Are you feeling it too?

Wyndham Estate @ Chinoz on the Park

I've got quite an early start in drinking wine. In fact, I think I started appreciating wine when I was still in my college years, mostly due to family upbringing - not my parents though. It's my uncle that introduced me to the world of wines. Although at the age of 18, a bottle of Wyndham Estate Shiraz Bin 555 is already an expensive bottle to me, it didn't stop me from enjoying it. I think the most expensive bottle that I had when I was in college was a Moet & Chandon champagne.

Memoir of a wine bottle

Everyone starts at somewhere, and I started with Wyndham Estate, an australian label - easily available and affordable. I've been drinking australian for many years, well, until lately, ever since I met my wine drinking friends. There's no turning back now after you've got a taste of those fabulous wine enclosed in french labels. Thus, it was an offer I couldn't resist when I received an invitation from Lenny, the PR person for Millenium Associates to join the "Baron of Barossa", Nigel Dolan whom is the Chief Winemaker at Wyndham Estate. It brings back many memories especially how I developed a liking for the Bin 555 Shiraz and how I shared the bottle with my special someone on my birthday when I was 21.

Joining me for lunch were KY, Gareth @ Shaolin Tiger & Kim. I arrived late due to the crazy traffic. We started off with a Sparkling Bin 555 Shiraz. It was paired with Wild mushroom consomme with oxtail ravioli. The bowl is big and the ravioli is so small (as usual) but that didn't deter me from enjoying the miniscule appetiser. The sparkling wine was something special as I don't always get to taste a sparkling wine. It was also a bottle of Bin 555 which brought back memories.

This is what you'll get when you have bloggers for lunch!

(If you're not used to eating with bloggers, I suggest you to stay away. It can be very annoying.)

Next up, we had the foie gras bon bon with caramelized apple. The foie gras was wrapped in a dumpling like manner, deep fried to golden brown and served with Wyndham Estate Show Reserve Cabernet Merlot. You know I'm a sucker for foie gras but this meal doesn't seemed to satisfy my foie gras cravings because the portion was too small. Pairing it with a slice of caramelised apple was refreshing as it goes very well with the sauce.

The food

Then for the main course, we had a choice of confit of salmon trout with poached oyster or oven roasted beef fillet with caramelised shallots. If you choose the salmon, WE Show Reserve Chardonnay will go well with it and as for me, I chose beef and thus I had a glass of WE Show Reserve, Shiraz. I quite like this bottle as it has hints of spice plum and the palate is soft and balanced. I'm not a fan of Chardonnay and not to mention I forgot to have a glass of it. So, don't even ask me how it tasted like because I wouldn't know, would I? KY was so into the salmon that kept on complimenting about it. I felt it was alright but the beef I had was a bit tough. Bet it was older than I do!

For dessert, we had a green tea & white chocolate mousse served in dark chocolate cups and a jelly. It was good chocolate, I can tell (being a full time worker at a chocolate factory) and I love the hot chocolate at Chinoz because they are using the Valrhona chocolate! I can be wrong about wine and cigars, but not with chocolate.

A total of 4 different bottles of Wyndham Estate were served that afternoon. It was a good lunch as I've never realised that I'm missing out on so many other bottles of WE. The wine served at tastings usually gets better along the way and so does the price. I used to purchase Bin 555 at RM50 a bottle years ago and I'm not sure what's the price nowadays for the same bottle. All I do know is that, good things are never cheap. I somehow feel that there is a lack of depth for Australian wines - not saying for all australian wines as I've tasted some really good ones. Everyone has to start from somewhere and I have no better recommendation that one should start with an australian label and then slowly move on to other regions to find your favourite bottle. As I have found mine now, having gone through at least 40 - 50 different bottles from different vineyards and vintages.

Cheers to more good food & expensive booze!

It is very obvious that KY couldn't drink. Just look at his red face vs mine! lol.... That was not all, as if the wine wasn't just for drinking that "someone" has to make an art out of the Show Reserve! I couldn't remember whom did it but it was certainly a great work of art. Nigel must have been very proud with us bloggers being so creative and all! I enjoyed the invitation very much and thank you!

Cheers to art with wine appreciation!

Lafite

The title highlighted my Wednesday. I started off with a full day of meetings and at lunch time, I met up with Ms Koh for lunch at Imperial China at Wisma Jaya. We had a hearty meal of dim sum and also noodles matched with the latest gossips. We talked about my future marriage too but I told her it's too far to discuss about it at this point of time. She's always very corncerned who I'm with and who I'll be marrying and thus sometimes she dictates whom I should be dating! It was a good lunch as I have not been seeing her for quite sometime.

Next stop after my meeting was KLCC. My mission was to check out Godiva's first outlet in town. I wanted to try their Chocolixir (the elixirs of life?!!), the chocolate drinks but was put off by the pricing of RM22 per glass. At that price, I can get 2 glasses at Starbucks with the comfort of a couch and wifi. At Godiva, it was pay and go. No way I'm spending that money on a glass of chocolate drink. I can get Valrhona's hot chocolate at Chinoz on the Park at RM16.

Since dinner was at 7.30pm, I called KY for a drink. I had too much chocolate and thus needed a juice fix and we both went to Juice Works located at the lower ground floor right opposite O'Brien's. At RM20, we both get a big cup of blended fruit juice.

I had berry -licious (mixture of strawberries, berries, apple and banana). Seen with me here is a bag of Godiva filled with Napolitains (RM60) and a Jar of Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder (RM103). They're not for me but I'm not telling you why.

KY had some tropical-dunno-what and I asked him to pretend that he's reading since he was seen carrying that Jeffrey Archer book around!

I left at 7.15pm to head to Lafite at Shangri-La Hotel. Thanks to KY's GPS, I managed to find my way there in the shortest time possible without any hassle. My sense of direction in KL is still pretty much senseless. My first time at Lafite. Speechless.

I've heard of Lafite and it's exorbitant pricing but I've never been there. Sadly no man ever offered to take me there.... until recently my dear friend Ellen from Asia Euro invited me for a wine tasting and dinner at Lafite together with the chateau owners from France. They represent the Chateau Cos d'Estournel and Chateau Palmer. It was a dinner for about 40 pax and thus she booked the whole restaurant. Lafite is indeed one of the most expensive restaurants in the country. A normal meal will cost at least RM200 per pax excluding wines.

On normal days, the restaurant looked like this.

That night, they had it transformed to 5 round tables with 8 pax each.

After a round of smooth Nicholas Feuillatte Champagne, we head to our tables and where the appetiser was served. All the guests at my table, and in fact everyone there were experts in drinking wines and I was just an amateur whom started drinking cheap Australian wines and had now accquired a taste for French burgundy and bordeaux.

The first dish, Warm Bone Marrow Custard was made with Beuree Monte and Garden Chives. The accompanied wine, Pagodes de Cos 2004 (by Chateau Cos D'Estournel) was indeed a pleasant young wine. It's about RM150-200/bottle.

Next, it was Warm Forest Mushroom Salad with soft-poached hen egg and grainy mustard dressing served together with Alter Ego 2003 (Chateau Palmer). It was smooth and it had a lovely merlot nose. The wine is getting better and this bottle costs RM113. A 2001 Alter Ego can cost up to RM450.

This dish is indeed the highlight of my dinner. Who hasn't know that I love foie gras?!! This beautiful pan Seared Duck Foie Gras was served with poached cherries, Cherry Meringue and nut crumbles. Absolutely delicious. It was better than the one I had at Cafe Cafe. The foie gras melts instantly on my tongue and the taste was just perfect! Not to mention that we had the 2nd Best Wine in the world voted by Wine Spectator which was Chateau Cos D'Estournel 2002. It has a spicey oak nose with cigar and some spices. The wine was the best I have taken. No wonder at almost RM600 a bottle, I couldn't be drinking it on a frequent basis.

My first time having a Cabillaud Cod as well. The sauce was made with sweet pepper, zuchinni, fennel stew and shelfish sauce. The cod was cooked perfectly and it was so smooth! Such a beautiful dish will only do justice with a good glass of Chateau Palmer 2000. I felt that the palate was rather austere. The anticipated maturity should be 2009-2040. Maybe I should start buying now and wait for a few years. It's about RM600-700 a bottle.

This Melt in Your Mouth Beef was accompanied by Pomme puree, mushroom ragout and thyme sented veal reduction. Veal reduction is basically bringing the stock to boil until it the water reduces by two thirds. I did not finish the beef because I was too full. The beef did not really melt in my mouth but it was still good. This time we had two different wines to go with it. It was Chateau Cos D'Estournel 2000 and Palmer 1995.

The Black Forest dessert which consists of soft chocolate pudding made from Valrhona served with Cherry Sorbet and almond cream with cocoa soil was the last drool. We had a glass of Dow's L.B.V Port 2001 which was medium sweet. LBV stands for Late Bottled Vintage. I couldn't finish the dessert too.

The wine glasses are all labeled with a disc liked label so that we know the name of the wines we were drinking. The glasses gradually gets bigger as the wine gets better. And I had to go to the washroom 3 times as my bladder was not big enough to house all the wines. I still liked Chateau Cos D'Estournel 2002. One thing was missing in Lafite that night as we had the best food paired with the good wines. It was cigars!!! How nice if we can have a puff of Cohiba.

Usually the price of wines is different when you ordered it from a restaurant as they usually have a high mark-up. Sometimes it's almost 200-300% higher. Lafite charges a corkage fee of RM170 if you plan to bring your own wines. It's only worth it if you bring a bottle of RM500 wine and above. Some restaurants might not even allow it.

I like wine tastings like this where we are able to taste from two different Chateaus rather than just one so that comparisons can be made. Now I that I have found my favourite bottle, who wants to buy me dinner and wine at Lafite again?