Krug x Flower

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This is the tenth anniversary of Champagne Krug's single ingredient program, and as Olivier Krug likes to recount, it all started in Hong Kong with chefs like Uwe Opocensky at the Krug Room. I knew that the theme this year would be Krug x Flower as Hairy Chevalier Saffron Bae had traveled to France earlier this year for a special event. I was looking forward to tasting his creation this year, but didn't get to do so when I paid him a visit last week.

I had already received an invitation to join a tasting event today, so I knew it was just a matter of time until I found out what Saffron Bae had come up with. The itinerary today included just two stops, with the first one being Caprice. A small group of us sat around a couple of tables at Caprice Bar, where Anyss and Floriane made sure our glasses were always filled - if not with Krug, at least our water glasses were never empty!

Once again Olivier Krug presided over the day's events, on what would be his last day in town during a short stopver. A few of the ladies were obviously thrilled to meet him, and why shouldn't they?

Pumpkin, corn and saffron - I didn't realize that Saffron Bae's contribution this year would be the replacement to their long-standing pita. The new version is filled with a pumpkin-based purée which also includes some saffron. Then it's garnished with a single grilled kernel of corn along with one thread of saffron.

Unfortunately, my palate failed me today. Although we were given THREE of these pitas to taste, I had a difficult time picking out what should have been the obvious and distinctive flavors of the saffron. Or maybe I was already drunk from the Champagne...

I was kinda disappointed, though, because he refused to live up to his role as Saffron Bae today. Looking at his picture from the campaign, the least he could do for us - his valued guests - was to sprinkle some saffron threads down on the pitas the same way a certain Turkish gentleman handles another seasoning. But... no, he was uncooperative. SAD!

Krug Rosé, 28éme édition, ID 123009 - nose of cranberries, red currants, and other red fruits, along with some toast. This was very lively and fresh, and the acidity was quite high. Gotta be the best Krug Rosé I've tasted.

Our second stop was MONO. Ricardo was pretty surprised when I stepped into the restaurant, and of course it was good to see him. I do feel a little guilty that I haven't given him any love in a while...

Seasonal Mexican purple corn inflatida - I'm always happy to start a meal here with an inflatida, and today the shell was made of Mexican purple corn. Topped with summer cypress seeds (とんぶり), which is a less salty and vegetarian alternative to caviar.

The filling inside was a combination of corn, cayenne pepper, lime, and Japanese green sea urchin (馬糞雲丹). That acidity from lime really came through the creamy corn and sea urchin.

White sesame sourdough bread - the bread today, whose "mother" started life 1,879 days ago, did not come with quinoa or kiwicha but white sesame. Very nice. And even better with the arbequina olive oil from Eva Aguilera.

Nasturtium root, trout roe, nasturtium flower - anyone who's been to MONO will probably be familiar with mashua, which is the root of nasturtium. This has been roasted while being wrapped in bacon, but in his infinite wisdom Ricardo has decided to remove the bacon and not even serve it to us... which seems like a real shame, at least to me. Instead we have fresh and pickled nasturtium flowers, fresh nasturtium leaves, and a cream sauce that's made with nasturtium leaves. The dish would have been almost vegetarian were it not for the final ingredient - trout roe seasoned with lime and olive oil.

OK, so I finally see a substantial presence of flowers and could taste them, but unfortunately I found some bitterness in my mashua. I thought it might have been the nasturtium leaves, but I confirmed that the source was, indeed, the root. Hopefully this was an anomaly and I just got a weird one.

Krug Grande Cuvée, 172ème Édition, ID 123005 - being young and fresh, the acidity was certainly high on the palate. The nose started with very strong nutty and toasty notes, and opened up further to that very familiar toasty brioche nose I love so, soooo much from Krug Grande Cuvée.

Argentinian alfajor, dulce de leche, dry coconut - it's been a while but I just had to complain to Ricardo about the size of these... I understand they are 'mignardises size', but nowhere near satisfying enough. He promised to give me one that's double the size when I come see him next month. Better make that triple size so I could actually taste the dulce de leche!

Argentinian mate cocido - it's always comforting to drink of cup of hot mate at the end of the meal, but today I was more interested in making sure I finish my glass of Krug.

A very nice and idyllic way to spend an afternoon, with one of my favorite Champagne cuvées and tasty bites. We even got to take home a pot of edible flowers, which included chrysanthemum, dill, lavender... etc. Of course, I was also able to add another recipe book to my collection. Very grateful to have been invited to this, and enjoyed running into Munching Dentist again.