Can be found here.

Where: Ah Hoi’s Kitchen, Traders Hotel, 1A Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249716

When: Saturday, 28 June 2008, from 12.30 pm to 5pm

Price: S$130 nett/pax

Menu:

Bonnezeaux 2000, Chateau De Fesles

Pacific Combination
(Honey baby squid, Seared Scallop and Jelly Fish)
Vouvray Brut, Tete De Cuvee

Double Boiled Shark’s Bone Soup with Wanton
Sancere Blanc 2006, Jean – Paul Picard

Oven Baked Fish Tandoori
Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2006, Alain Geoffroy

Wok-fried Lobster with Spicy Seafood Sauce
Sancere Rouge 2004, Jean – Paul Picard

Grilled Lamb Cutlet in Mongol style
Saint-Romain 2004, Domaine Moillard

Crispy Fried Noodle with Seafood
Gigondas 2004, Domaine Quiot

Chendol

By Paul Hunter

To be read with the menu.

Aperitif
Cremant de Bourgogne, Charton, Clos St Nicholas
Bright gold colour, soft fruit & good bead.
From Co?tes de Nuits, Chardonnay, 13.5% alc.
A perfect starter.

First Courses
Floc de Gascogne White
From Bordeaux region Aquitaine, Appellation Floc de Gascogne.
A blend of three whites: Colombard, White Ungi & Gros Manseng,
and some Armagnac to give 16.5% alc. A dull gold colour and a sweetness, probably from the Manseng.
Most thought it went well with the first courses.

Hot pot Foie Gras
Domaine du Salvard, Le Vieux Clos, Appellation Cheverny, Loire Valley, 2006, 12.5 alc.
Blend of Sauvignon 85% & Chardonnay 15%, this blend is not usual in Sancerre. Pale gold colour with the Sauvignon fruity nose/palate & mild acid finish.

Shiitake soup & Coral trout
Trousseau, Rolet Pere et Fils, 2003, 13% alc.
From the Arbois AOC in Jura – east of Burgundy.
Brick red colour, light fruit nose & palate & a soft acid, tannin/acid finish. A good light red for the soup & fish.

Lamb shoulder
Les Allees de Canetmerle, 2002, 12.5% alc.
From young vines in Haut Medoc, AOC, Bordeaux. Bright red colour, oakey nose, soft fruit & a grippy tannin finish. The lamb would have supported a bigger red.

Frome d’ Ambert
Floc de Gascogne Red 16.5% alc.
The red version of our first wine. A dull red colour with a sweet spirit nose & big mouthfilling fruit. Goes well with dessert.

Can be found here.

By Paul Hunter

To be read with the menu.

Aperitif
Philippe Gonet Brut Rose? NV 12% alc.
This wine is 100% Pinot Noir grown in Vertus, the southern most Premier Cru in Champagne. The wine was a bright pink colour with a floral nose and soft pinot fruit on the palate. Good bubbles and a clean finish.

Scallops
Runchet, Bianco di Merlot 2005, 12.5% alc.
A white wine made from Merlot (without the skins), Pinot Grigio & Chardonnay by Eredi Carlo Tamborini in the Italian speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland.
A bright light gold colour, served at a perfect temperature. The aroma reminded of sweet grape juice. It was a big bodied wine with a good balance of acid and fruit.

Shark Fin and Chicken in Claypot and Cold Lobster Salad
Pouilly Fume? 2006, 12.5% alc.
From the most eastern part of the Loire Valley, across the river from Sancerre. Made from Sauvignon grapes in the Domaine Serge Dageneau and Daughters. The soil on the Pouilly side of the Loire river imparts a flintiness to the wine which gives a light smokey (fume?) aroma which is often hard to detect, but the Pouilly producers use this characteristic to differentiate their wine from Sancerre.
The wine had a rich tropical fruit nose – not fume?! (This is unusual in the Loire and is found more in New World Sauvignons). Lots of mouth filling fruit with enough acid to hold up the fruit on the finish.

Sea Garoupa and Abalone and Sea Cucumber
Pinot Noir 2004, 13% alc.
From the Chorey Les Beaunes appellation in Burgundy. This appellation is in the Co?te d’Or between Beaune and Nuits-Saint-George. It is on the east side of the main road on the Soane Plain which is alluvial soil and produces a lighter and less complex style of wine than the Grand Crus on the limestone slopes on the west side. These wines are considered very good value for early drinking. Betrand Machard De Gramont of Domaine Machard De Gramont was the winemaker from a well known Bourgone family with a somewhat ‘scandalous past’.
The wine was bright red with a pink rim. There was soft fruit on the nose and a pleasant acid / fruit palate. The finish was short with light tannins.

Chili Crab and Red House Fried Rice
Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, Chateau Charmail 2004, 13% alc. 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet, 15% Cabernet Franc.
Parker describes this wine as one of the most consistent Cru Bourgeois over the last 10 – 15 years.
The Chateau is on the left bank of the Gironde river and is owned by Roger Se?ze, it is well placed near the Grand Cru producing Chateau Margeaux.
The wine was inkey red colour with rich fruit aroma. The palate was somewhat austere lacking the promise of the nose and the finish quite short.
2004 was not a great year in Bordeaux with a lot of rain at harvest time.

Mango Pomelo in Light Sago
A ‘grappa’ style liqueur 43% alc. from Marc Josmeyer in Alsace. Gewurztraminer was noted on the label; presumably it was distilled from this grape. It was clear water in colour with hot alcohol in the mouth.

Can be found here.

Where: Aurum, Blk 3C, The Cannery, Clarke Quay, #02-03

When: Saturday, 31st May 2008, from 12.30 pm to 5pm

Price: S$130 nett/pax

Menu:

Aperitif
Cremant de Bourgogne, A. Ponelle

Parmesan Fluid “Sandwich”
Watermelon Caviar * PX
Liquid of Jabugo Ham
Floc de Gascogne White

Sous Vide of Scottish Salmon
Citric minestrone, cucumber salad, trout roe
Hot-Pot Foie Gras “Savory Coffee”
Champignon, fizzy grapes, Bordelaise foam
Cheverny, Domaine du Salvard 2006

Golden Shiitake Soup
Langoustine tempura & instant olive oil noodles
Morning Catch, Coral Trout a la Plancha
Black rice “carbonara” Hermitage red wine sauce
Arboise Trousseau, Rolet Pere & Fils 2003

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder
Provençale vegetables, lemon puree, mustard mint jus
Allees de Cantermerle 2002

Fourme d’ Ambert
Ingot of passion, hazelnut puree, petite salad
Floc de Gascogne Red

By Paul Hunter

To be read with the menu.

Tomato Gazpacho

Wolfberger Rosé NV. Cremant d’Alsace 12% alc.

Cremant is the word the French use for a sparkling wine produced outside the Champagne region.

This wine was made from the Pinot Noir grape, it had a light pink colour and a light body, good fruit & high acidity with nice fizz (mousse) and fine long lasting bubbles (bead).

It appeared to be well liked and in great demand as a starter.

The Mushrooms

With the mushrooms we had a Bandol rosé from Provence (see TE #83 notes) Domaine Bunan, Moulin Des Costes, 2006, 13.5% alc.

A dry rosé, pale pink/brown colour with little aroma, soft fruit on the palate and a dry acid finish.

The Duck

A dry white wine from southern Rhône was served with the duck: Camille Cayran, La Réserve, 2005, 13.5% alc. Cairanne, Côtes de Rhône Villages, Grand Vin de la Vallie du Rhône. Cairanne is considered the best of the 20 villages in the appellation of the Côtes du Rhône Villages.

The label stated a blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussane, and Clairette Bourboulenc: Roussanne gives body, Grenache gives subtle fruit, and Clairette adds acidity & aroma to the blend.

The wine was a bright gold colour, a hint of oak on the nose and a well balanced fruit/acid palate and finish.

The Scallops

Another white wine was enjoyed with the scallops: Blanc de Blanc - Sec (dry) Chateau Talbot Caillou Blanc, 2005, 13% alc.

Good bright yellow/gold colour with vanillan oak and fruit on the nose followed by a big fruity palate and a soft tannin/acid finish.

Chateau Talbot is better known for its good value reds. Parker rates this white wine as ‘good’, it is made from the Sauvignon grape.

The Beef

With the beef came the first red wine; a Super Tuscan Sangiovese: Risecoli Saekulum, 2001, 13.5% alc. This is required by Italian Indicazione Geografica Tipica to be 75% Sangiovese and can have some Cabernet, Merlot and Shiraz blended.

The wine was a dark murky red colour, probably unfiltered (no sediment detected.) A balanced fruit/oak nose with rich sweet fruit on the palate, and grippy tannins with a clean acid finish.

This wine is maturing well and will last for several more years.

The Cheese

A Burgundy, Gervrey Chambertin. Côtes de Nuits, Albert Ponnelle, 2005, 13% alc. This appellation includes some of the most famous Burgundies.

A dull ruby colour with some fruit hidden beneath a big oaky nose. Soft fruit and acid on the palate followed by a strong tannin finish. This wine is good drinking now and will keep.

The Chocolate

The dessert wine was a Swiss chocolate liqueur – Cresta Liqueur, 17% alc.

The bottle stated: ‘a delicate liaison between finest Swiss chocolate and smooth fresh cream.’ The rich cream somewhat overwhelmed the classic dessert and disguised the high alcohol.