Wineshark weekly - 25 September 2011

This week was away to Singapore and Bangkok, and so was quite slow in catching up on my wine and stuff. On Friday Ivy and me went to Whampoa to have dinner. Nothing special on that restaurant so I decided not to write, but then we went to The Sesame dessert house in Man Tai Street.

We ordered two desserts: Ivy had a 'Black and White' - a black sesame soup underneath with milk curd on top, and I had a Mango and Melon Mix with 'Q' Jelly. As recommended by the shop, the Black and White should be eaten in layers: first completing the milk curd on the top, then on the black sesame soup, and then mixing the two so that there are three different flavors and style of dessert in one go. And mine has a chewy texture which coupled with the sweet mango and melon pieces are also delicious. A good dessert house which I recommend you to try!

Saturday was our monthly wine tasting party. This time we have it in David's clubhouse. Each of us brought something to eat and once again we had some wonderful dishes from everyone. The theme of the tasting this time is single varietal blind tasting. Each of us bringing a bottle, and others have to guess which variety and country the wine is coming from. I identified the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but the most amazing thing is that I got the commune right for the Pinot, but have to say luck plays a big part on that. Haha... The list of wines we have:

1. Tyrrell's Wines Semillon 2006, Hunter Valley, Australia
2. Morande Chardonnay Gran Reserva 2006, Casablanca Valley, Chile
3. Jean-Francois Chapelle Corton Grand Cru 2005, Aloxe-Corton, Burgundy, France
4. La Spinetta Gallina 2006, Barbera d'Alba, Italy
5. Montes Purple Angel 2007, Colchagua Valley, Chile
6. Filipa Pato FLP 2008, Bairrada, Portugal

During the tasting David and Helena also shared their recent trip to France. I am so jealous and hope we can organize one trip next year with this group so we can have a real wine tour together. And a big thanks also to David who helped me to buy a Domaine Weinbach Cuvee d'Or Gewurztraminer Quintessence de Grains Nobles 2002 from the domaine during his visit. This is their top wine and only produced in a few years with very limited quantity. I have been searching this wine for a long time and finally got it into my collection!! Will need to age for another 10+ years but hope to enjoy this with my friends then!

I resume my cooking lesson this week also. We have made two dishes: a Leek and Lentil Soup, and a Pork Chop with Onion and Mustard. Both are nice and quite easy to make. I will share the recipe later when I make those again at home.

Time to stop here and start my wine study, with a bottle of Chateau Clerc-Milon 2004 to accompany me. A happy National Day to you all, and hope the typhoon won't affect our fireworks next Sat!