Trois Cépages

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After a 2-month break, we finally had our first scoring MNSC dinner tonight.  We were all roaring to go for the start of the new season, and Dr. Poon picked Cépage - one of his favorites - as the venue.  The restaurant is closing soon as the landlord is taking the space back, so this may be one of the last opportunities for me to come here.

I guess that's the reality these days in Hong Kong, across a broad price range where the landlords' decisions have determined what we can or cannot eat in a certain neighborhood...

Our amuse bouche was scallop tart topped with premium caviar - this was soooo delicious, and a great way to start.  The thin filo pastry at the bottom was very nice.

Foie gras and kaviari eel - the foie gras / eel combo has popped up  a few times over the last year in my culinary adventures, and this is a little different as the chef did not mash the two ingredients into one.  The eel was rather smoky and interesting.  There was a little cup of dashi (だし) on the side, which we were supposed to drink separately.

This was a big hunk of foie!  Definitely not good for cholesterol… Interesting as the exterior had been seared till the edges are all hardened while leaving the center still soft.

Black truffle in perfect harmony with quail egg over sweet onion tart - this was pretty good, and the second day where I'm having some nice truffles...

Salmon tataki confited, served on a bed of Japanese flowers and a light yogurt sauce - I was initially surprised at how dry the exterior of the salmon was, but as I sliced it open and revealed the moist interior, a lightbulb went on inside my head… It is supposed to be tataki (たたき), after all… I guess the yogurt sauce was interesting.  A very Japanese take on a classic combo.

Milk fed baby lamb cooked in 'à la plancha' style, with glazed baby carrots and lamb jus - there was never any question which of the two choices of meat course I would pick… Have had this a number of times, and love just picking up the chops by my fingers and chomp.  Soooo succulent...

Oven baked apple, brown bread ice cream and caramel with sweet cider - this was interesting… Diced apple with some almond flakes on one side providing the acidity.

Then the ice cream with sweet caramel…

…and some chocolate fudge.

Dr. Poon as usual served up some really good stuff, and I gave pretty high marks to most of these wines.  Unfortunately, my tasting notes for the evening was lost along with notes from a few other evenings. Somehow about a week's worth of notes disappeared from my (once) trusty iPhone.  Fortunately I had managed to blog about all the other evenings except this one, so the damage was limited… but it means my tasting notes on tonight's wines are gone...

1985 Louis Roederer Cristal - loooooove this!  Old Champagne is always awesome, and you've got that savory, mineral, salty plum (話梅) nose that I always love.

Flight 1:

1988 Dujac Clos de la Roche - a very lovely wine, fragrant and floral. 97 points.

1988 DRC Grands Echezeaux - denser, more animal and powerful.  94 points.

Flight 2:

1997 George Jayer Echezeaux par Henri Jayer - very nice and elegant.  I think I gave this 96 points...

1997 Rouget Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Cros Parantoux - more meaty and animal.  I think I gave this 93 or 94 points.

Flight 3:

1997 Shafer Hillside Select - huge nose of sweet fruits, vanilla, tangerine... Sweet on the palate.  I think I gave this 96 points.

1997 Bryant Family - big, ripe and very sweet.  I think I gave this 96 points.