Investor dinner in Hong Kong

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Last night I took my HK-based investors to dinner at Caprice as a gesture of appreciation of their support. I had been wanting to do this for a while, and we were treated to A Taste of Caprice. Two of the guys were busy with work and we didn't get started until just before 9pm.

We had some wonderfully delicious bread to accompany the 1998 Kistler Chardonnay Cuvee Cathleen, which was a bit tight when it was first opened.

Started with lentils du puys and foie gras cocktail with Brittany oyster foam. I've never been a big fan of lentils, but the oyster foam was briny and yummy, but seemed to have overpowered the foie gras a bit.

I enjoyed the green asparagus with veal sweetbread fricassee, lemon confit and caper vinaigrtte. The sweetbread was nicely done, looking almost like a large piece of fried cuttlefish.

When the next course was served, one of the guys jokingly complained about the lack of food in his bowl. The morel mushroom consomme with virtual jelly of Chateau Chalon wine was first served with just a few tiny bits of jelly in the bowl. The consomme was poured in later with tiny, yummy bits of morel that were so full of forest mushroom flavor.

The 1995 Clinet was smooth on the palate, but the finish was a bit short after having been in the decanter for a couple of hours.

The wild turbot fillet with green peas, romaine salad and aromatic mint emulsion was delicious. The long and narrow piece of turbot was pan-fried and crispy, sitting on a bed of succulent peas and the tingling hint of mint adding just the right touch.

The Kistler is now fully open, full of toasty oak and minerals. Yummy.

I wasn't expecting to be served paella, but the langoustine a la plancha with shellfish and chorizo paella in lobster jus was just great. The aborio rice was cooked just rice, smooth and slippery against the tongue, and the chorizo balances the seafood.

The Pyreneen milk-fed lamb with fondant vegetables, ratte mashed potato and basil sauce was perfect. The pieces are small and bite-sized, with the lamb fat making the meat full of gamey flavor.

The 1995 Philip Togni was still full-bodied with tannins smoothed from years of aging, and was clearly the preferred wine over the Clinet.

The cheese selection from Bernard Antony was wonderful as usual. I asked for the 4-year Comté, 18-month Mimolette, Époisses, the soft and strong Munster, Pouligny Saint-Pierre...

Seeing how much I loved the Comté, the waiter brings me a glass of Château Chalon, an oxidized wine (hence a nose that is so similar to that of dry Fino Sherry) from the region of Jura, the source of Comté. And you know what, it does match the cheese perfectly!

And if this wasn't enough, we finished with two dessert courses - raspberry coque with tropical vnilla chiboust, rose ice cream and hibiscus coulis and snacking opera with coffee biscotti, pecan nut brownie and cappuccino ice cream. Both the rose and cappuccino ice creams were about the best I've ever had.

We finally finished before 12:30am, and I felt very bad for the restaurant staff who had to stay behind for us. But it was definitely a great meal, and I hope to do this again soon!