The saffron club

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The new MNSC cycle actually started at the end of last year, but I had to skip Pineapple's customary Christmas dinner so I could be with the Parental Units. While it definitely was a bummer to have missed out on some fantastic wines, these days I wouldn't miss spending Christmas with mom for the world.

We needed to get another session done early in the new year, so a few of us gathered for a quiet tasting hosted by Juliano. I'd never had the chance to check out the Hong Kong Golf and Tennis Academy Town Club right in the middle of Central, so I was kinda looking forward to dinner tonight at Saffron.

Hokkaido scallop tartare, uni, avocado - this was probably my first time coming across avocado balls, and we've got a few tongues of creamy sea urchin, what seemed to be crème fraîche at the bottom together with the scallop, along with some crunchy cucumber and ice plant. The chilled soup delivered a healthy dose of fruity acidity, which made this a very refreshing dish and helped stimulate our appetites.

Tubetti pasta, squid ragout, semi-dried tomato - I found this really enjoyable. It's not fancy but the squid ragù (no, I wouldn't call it ragout) was really tasty, in spite of the olives that I normally dislike. Inhaled in no time.

Ping Yuen Chicken, smashed new potatoes, extra fine green bean, chicken sauce - they only showed us the whole chicken for all of 15 seconds before taking it away and chopping it up, but they brought the 'leftovers' back after serving each of us a piece.

The chicken was plated with slices of Onyx M3+ tomahawk.

Sautéed mushroom - not sure why this needed rosemary...

Baked cauliflower

Hazelnut praline mousseline, sesame croquant, pear sorbet - the caramel on the side was nice and that sesame croquant on top was very good.

Canelés - I was surprised at how good these were, and since no one else was touching these... I ended up having two. The exterior was nice and crunchy while the centers were just right.

Our host was his usual generous self, and we enjoyed all the bottles starting from the white wine that was served blind.

2007 Arnaud Ente Meursault Clos des Ambres - quickly double-decanted. Elegant and beautiful nose of lemon, and surprisingly not a lot of toasty notes. Good acidity and very fresh on the palate. About 45 minutes later there was more flint and toast on the nose, but not big and overpowering. Lovely.

First flight: served without decanting around 2 hours after opening.

1985 Georges Mugneret Ruchottes-Chambertin - very obvious nose of sweet grass, very fragrant nose with nice fruit, smoke, and leather. 92 points.

1985 DRC Échézeaux - showing more concentration on the nose, the wine seemed meatier, a hint more farmy and leather notes. Another 20 minutes in this was showing some coffee, fragrant and floral notes. A beautiful wine. 97 points.

1985 La Conseillante - lots of black pepper, a little grass, plenty of tobacco, savory notes like black tea. Some 4 hours after opening this was also showing some green pepper. Just beautiful. 98 points.

Second flight: served without decanting around 3 hours after opening.

1986 Henri Bonneau Réserve des Célestins - definitely very sweet honey on the nose like an old Sauternes, kinda exotic. Love this wine. 97 points.

1986 Lafleur - minty and cool, more subdued on the nose, more eucalyptus, and a bit savory. 94 points.