Wineshark Weekly - 29 April 2012

Weather is very bad now when I am writing this blog. There are heavy rain, thunderstorm outside. Scary... I need to drive in a while and have to be careful... Personally this week is a hectic one for me. On my job there are many things that I need to handle, and going to have a lot of big changes that will certainly play a critical part in my career and personal life, which I have to be careful how to deal with them...

 

OK, this week the restaurant I featured is Olala, not the western restaurant (which I covered earlier) but their Shanghai Noodle shop. Located in Wanchai Star Street, it is a small shop with only a few tables. Simple decor, but giving the atmosphere of a friendly and personal touch. We ordered a Pork Strip in Garlic Mash, Marinated Eggs, Shrimp Noodle and Beef Noodle.

The eggs I would say were a bit salty, though could tell the skills of the chef in making the yolk still creamy. The pork strip was quite nice, with a good balance of garlic and the other seasonings, though I prefer to be a bit more spicy.

The noodles definitely were the main dish, as the name of the restaurant implied. My shrimp noodle was tasty, with the noodle very chewy and quite sure that it was self-made. The soup was simply gorgeous, similar to the lobster bisque but lighter and thinner, without losing the flavors of the shrimp. Ivy had the beef noodle. The beef was tender though she did not like it to be in chunk but prefer to be in slides.

One thing to note, each noodle costs $150, one of the most expensive noodle I had. On the night for the above the bill was $360. Not something you go often, but still nice to try once in a while, for the noodle and the soup.

This week I did not do any cooking because Ivy was not at home. Just alone I had instant noodle. So who say I only eat good stuff? I am a flexible person and can have lunchbox too!

Not been back to UST for a long while, this week I went there to give s sharing to the students, invited by their career center. The other speaker is a pilot in CX, and his story was really inspiring and interesting. He is still young, but hearing how he did not give up in trying to achieve his dream gave a lot of positive energy to the students and even myself. And for my own I also enjoyed the sharing especially all the questions and interactions with the students.

During the week I also went to a wine tasting organized by Links Concept, featuring Alvaro Palacios himself. Really nice to meet him in person, but unfortunately did not buy the L'Ermita to have him signed. Having tasted six of the wines, I like the white the most, with the others acceptable to good. But since it was quite cheap I did order all of them... Along with what I ordered from ORD and Ponti, this week I bought 19 bottles... Again don't know where to keep those...

Happy to meet my friend Jack from HACTL again, he is my big brother when we worked together in Kai Tak to develop the new ground handling services for the company after moving to CLK. Got updated on how he is doing recently, and the progress of the new CX terminal was fun, and certainly look forward to going to the next gathering in which we cook ourselves.

Some tasting notes to share on this week:

Chateau d'Arche 2003 (Sauternes)

Very good quality Sauternes of amber color, with a fairly intense, complex and developing nose of raisin, honey, apricot, oak, orange marmalade, cinnamon and caramel. Sweet but not cloying, balancing well with a fairly high acidity, the wine is full-bodied, with fairly intense flavors of apricot, honey, walnut, orange marmalade and raisin. Finishing with a good length, the wine is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 8-10 years.

Chateau La Vieille Cure (Fronsac)

Good quality Bordeuax with a deep ruby color, this wine has a fairly intense nose, showing developing and complex aromas of blackberry, bilberry, plum, liquorice, charred oak, forest floor and savory. Medium in acidity, the tannin is fairly high, with some bitterness though still ripe and velvety. Fairly full-bodied, the wine has reasonable intensity, with flavors of blackberry, plum, cloves, charred oak and savory. Finishing with a reasonable length, it is of good balance and ready to drink now, though can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

Need to get ready to go out soon, in May I will need to do quite a lot of traveling. So until next week, take care and be careful when driving!

Wineshark weekly - 22 April 2012

Last week I did not write this blog, my car could not start when I went out to have afternoon tea with my classmate. After calling the Audi service, I got the toll truck to pick it up to the service centre to check. I was quite pissed because originally I had scheduled my annual check on Fri (and that was booked nearly a month ago). If the check could be arranged earlier then this could be avoided... I had to spend $1000 extra on the toll truck.

Unbelievably it took them four days to get back to me on the check results. Like I suspect the battery was dead and need to be replaced. And since my car was already five years old there were quite a few other parts that they recommended me to change. But the cost was quite high and so I ended up only changing only the regular pieces and the brake part. Will need to change my tyres elsewhere though to save money. When will I get my car back? Next Wed! A total of 10 days! Isn't it fantastic?

Enough complaint. This week the restaurant I featured is Lawry's The Primb Rib. Located in The Lee Gardens in Causeway Bay, it is an American restaurant which also has outlets in LA, Chicago and a few other cities. Quite busy on the day, the whole restaurant was full (we went there at about 9pm).

The place is quite comfortable, offering ample space and you will not feel your privacy is invaded. I ordered a Cream of Mushroom Soup and a Lamb Cutlet, while Ivy ordered the set dinner, with a cocktail, Salad, Pumpkin Soup and Steak.

The salad was mixed in front of you, with the waitress mixing it on a big bowl on top of ice, swirling it to cool it down, and then pouring the sauce from high up. We were also given a cold fork to eat the salad.

The soups were acceptable in my standard, without surprise. For the main course the steak was cut in front of you, with the chef pushing a silver cart with the meat, and depend on your order on the portion size and how thorough the steak is cooked, the chef would cut the steak for you. Although I did not try the steak, from the pinkish look and the way Ivy cut it I know that it was tender and juicy. I think it is quite well prepared.

For my Lamb Cutlets, it was done properly. The quality of the lamb however was not the best. But still overall I enjoyed the dinner and especially appreciate the warmth and nice atmosphere. With a glass of red wine, the total cost on the night was $1090 (after a credit card discount). Not cheap, but not super expensive, I will visit this restaurant again in future.

I also had the month's tasting party with my friends this week. The theme was US and I had prepared six bottles of different varietal wines. I turned out did not write any tasting notes as I wanted to enjoy the dinner and conversation instead of spending too much time on writing down the notes. Particularly memorable was the Zinfandel from Russian River Valley, with an alcohol level of 16.1% abv! Frankly at the end of the dinner I was a bit drunk and barely recalled what happened on the way home...

The other wines I tasted since the last blog:

2002 Chateau Beychevelle (St-Julien)

Good quality Bordeaux GCC with deep garnet colour and a fairly intense and complex nose, showing developing aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, prune, cloves, perfume, cedar and savory. Medium in acidity, with well-integrated and velvety tannin, the wine is of medium body and showing reasonably intense and relatively simple palate of blackberry, black cherry, plum, cedar and cloves. Finishing with a fairly short length, the wine is ready to drink now but can benefit from another 2-3 years of ageing.

2003 Chateau Chasse-Spleen (Moulis)

Good quality Bordeaux with a deep ruby colour and a garnet rim, showing signs of ageing. Fairly intense on the nose, the wine has a fairly complex and developing aroma of blackcurrant, black cherry, blackberry, liquorice, cedar, chocolate and savory notes. Medium in acidity and tannin, with a ripe and fine-grained texture, it is a fairly full body wine with reasonably intense flavors of blackberry, plum, black cherry, cedar and cloves. Finishing in reasonable length, the wine is overall in balance though the palate is comparatively weaker. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

2004 Chateau Desmirail (Margaux)

Good quality Bordeaux with a deep ruby colour, having fairly intense nose with developing aromas of blackcurrant, bilberry, blackberry, liquorice, cedar, cloves and savory. Medium in acidity and tannin, which is ripe and silky in texture, the wine is fairly full body with reasonably intense flavors of blackberry, cedar, bilberry, prune and cloves. Finishing with a reasonable length, it is smooth and elegant. The nose is more complex than the palate, with a little bit of bitter taste in the end. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 4-6 years.

2007 Chateau Loupiac-Gaudiet (Loupiac)

Good quality Bordeaux sweet from Loupiac with a fairly light gold colour, intense and youthful nose of lemon peel, orange, mango, acacia, grass, marzipan and honey. Medium-sweet, the wine has a medium acidity. Full bodied, it has a reasonably intense palate of honey, lemon, apricot, pineapple and acacia. Finishing with a reasonable length, overall it is quite simple. Even though the sweetness and acidity is in balance overall it is still a bit disappointing. Ready to drink now and can benefit from further ageing of another 8-10 years.

2006 Chateau Bahans Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan)

Good quality Bordeaux with a deep ruby colour, with a garnet rims showing the signs of ageing despite its relatively young age. A reasonably intense nose of developing characters, including blackcurrant, blackberry, plum, cedar, earth, savory, chocolate and perfume notes. Medium in acidity, the wine has ripe and well-integrated tannin. Fairly full body, the palate is reasonably intense with blackcurrant, blackberry, cedar, cloves, smoke and coffee flavors. Finishing with fairly long length, it is overall in good balance and the nose evolves beautifully over time. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 8-10 years.

Next week I would travel to Manila and also need to give a sharing with some UST students, to preapre for their career. I look forward to that. Then we would have an offsite meeting. Another busy week coming up...

Until then, please take care and want to hear from you soon on comments/feedback on this blog.

Wineshark Recipe - 38. Pan Cake with Ham Filling

First we need to make the savory pan cake batter:

• Milk - 5oz
• Water - 12oz
• Flour - 8oz
• Egg - 5
• Butter - 2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Parsley - 1 tsp
• Cooking oil - 1/2oz

Mix the flour, egg, butter, salt and white pepper powder together, then gradually add water and milk. Softly mix well. Add parsley and cooking oil after the batter is smooth.

Then heat the pan, and use tissue to wipe some oil on the pan. Pour a ladle of the batter to prepare the pancake.

Then we need to prepare the Sauce Supreme:

• White stock - 9oz
• Butter - 1/4 oz
• Cooking oil - 1/4 oz
• Flour - 1/2 oz
• Bay leaf - 1
• Avoset - 1 oz
• Lemon juice - dashes
• Egg yolk - 1
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes

Cook the butter and cooking oil together, then add flour and bay leaf to slowly cook till fragrant. Then add the white stock gradually, and mix well. When it is done, add avoset and other seasonings.

Finally we prepare the filling:

• Sauce supreme - 1 lb
• Diced ham - 10oz
• Butter - 1oz
• Mushroom - 4oz
• Diced onion - 4oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Avoset - 2oz
• Egg yolk - 1
• Parmeson cheese

First cook the onion in hot water for a short while, then remove to dry. Then stir fry the onion with butter, adding the mushroom, ham and sauce supreme. Finally add the avoset and seasonings, and put the fillings in the pancake, wrap it up and put on oven tray. Pour the remaining sauce supreme on top and sparkle with Parmeson cheese.

Wineshark Recipe - 37. Waldorf Salad

Ingredients:

• Potato - 8oz
• Apple - 2
• Celery - 4oz
• Mayonnaise - 3oz
• Avoset - 1oz
• Lettuce - 4 pcs
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Walnut - 8 pcs
• Lemon juice - 2 tsp

First wash the potato and boil in hot water with skin. After cooling peel off the skin and cut into stripes, and put in salt water to avoid turning black.

Peel celery to remove the tough fibre, cut into stripes, and then mix with potato and apple. Add the seasonings and mayonnaise.

Chop the lettuce and put on the plate, add the salad and put the walnut on top.

Wineshark weekly - 8 April 2012

Last week I did not write this blog because of too many things to do. Got no more excuse this week as it is the Easter public holidays, and we have a four-day vacation, but I still haven't cleaned up my home as I planned originally...

The restaurant I visited this week is Aqua, located on the roof of One Peking Road. Actually I have been there many times but all were under company functions, it was in fact the first time I went there personally. As you know, it is a good spot for drinks, with a hip environment and beautiful harbour view.

Advance booking is a must here, and they serve both Italian and Japanese cuisine. On the night we had ordered an Antipasto and a Catalana Salad as appetitizer. The Antipasto is a assortment of ham, cheese and olive, which to be honest was nothing special. However, I like the Salad as the prawn and lobster was of good quality, and having the right taste and texture for me.

For the main course I had a loin of lamb, cooked medium rare, which was very juicy and tender. That was done in the perfect way and I gave them high marks. Ivy had a Veal Ravioli which was also tasty, with the black truffle blending well with the veal on aroma and flavor. With the gorgeous view, this was certainly a nice dinner. Without wine and dessert, the total bill was $1461, not cheap but a restaurant that would be perfect to show someone our beloved Victoria Harbour and HK, and also to enjoy a good time with your love ones.

On my own cooking, this week I made English Chicken Broth and a Lamb Bourguignon. Both were simply fantastic. As you know I am particular on my cooking, and so the Chicken Broth is made from scratch, not those ready-made broth from supermarket. From cutting the chicken, preparing the broth, skimming the oil and shredding the meat, it was all done by myself. No wonder it was so good!

The Lamb Bourguignon is a French cuisine, originated from Burgundy as its name implied. You will find most recipe actually using beef but I did change that to lamb for personal reason. Not too difficult to make, the trick here was to pan fry the lamb slightly before braising, to keep the juice inside the meat. The original recipe also requires some Pinot Noir for cooking but since I was drinking a Bordeaux on the day, I actually used that instead. With spaghetti, I am sure you can easily have a full plate in no time!

Last Saturday I organized a Bordeaux wine tasting, taking place at the Wine Gallery in Central. The place was nice and my friend Godwin a good host. I brought 5 bottles and there was also a very good South Africa red that Godwin shared. I was quite impressed by the 2004 Prieure-Lichine, 2004 La Tour Haut-Brion and 2005 Couhins-Lurton Blanc. Sharing the tasting notes here:

2005 Chateau Couhins-Lurton Blanc (Pessac-Leognan)

Good quality Pessac-Leognan white, lemon in colour and showing intense and youthful, yet complex aromas of grass, lemon, lime, straw, bread, cream and honeysuckle. Medium in acidity, it has a warming sensation and fairly full body, with reasonably intense flavors of grapefruit, lemon, butter, oak and honey. Finishing in reasonable length, the alcohol is balanced with the ripe fruit and body of the wine, exhibiting typical Sauvignon Blanc characters. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

2004 Chateau Prieure-Lichine (Margaux)

Very good quality Bordeaux GCC, with a deep ruby colour and intense and developing, highly complex nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, earth, smoke, cedar, cloves, savory, plum and chocolate. Medium in acidity, fairly high in tannin yet it is robust and silky. Fairly full body, the palate is intense, with blackberry, plum, cloves, cedar and hints of black olive. A reasonable length on the finish, the wine is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 6-8 years.

2004 Chateau La Tour Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan)

Very good quality Bordeaux GCC, with a deep ruby colour and reasonably intense, developing and fairly complex nose of blackberry, plum, liquorice, cloves, cedar, cream and chocolate. Medium in acidity, its has a fairly high tannin, robust and grippy. Fairly full body, the palate is reasonably intense, with blackberry, plum, prune, cloves, cedar and hints of chocolate. Finishing with a reasonable length, the wine is in good balance and showing a well-defined structure. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

2004 Chateau Grand Corbin-Despagne (St-Emilion)

Acceptable quality St-Emilion GCC, with deep ruby colour. Fairly light on the nose, showing simple and developing aromas of blackberry, plum, cloves, smoke, oak, green bell pepper and meaty. Medium in acidity, with rough and silky tannin. Medium in body and fairly light also on palate, showing blackberry, plum, oak, prune and leafiness. Finishing with a rather short length, it feels unripe and quite disappointing. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 2-3 years.

2005 Chateau Romer du Hayot (Sauternes)

Good quality Sauternes sweet wine with a medium gold colour, intense and fairly complex nose of honey, apricot, orange marmalade, elderflower, pineapple, butterscotch and charred wood. Sweet but not cloying, it has a medium level acidity. Full body, the wine has a fairly intense palate of honey, lemon peel, walnut, geranium and oak. Finishing with a reasonable length, it will be of even higher quality if it has a slightly higher acidity to bring in the freshness. Ready to drink now and can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

I am also revisiting the Bordeaux districts for my wine study. So I am drinking all the different major districts again to appreciate the characters and differences.

2005 Chateau Potensac (Medoc)

Good quality Medoc red with deep ruby colour and a reasonably intense and developing aromas of blackberry, prune, plum, cedar, liquorice, cloves and slight leather. Fairly complex with medium acidity, ripe and grippy tannin, the wine is fairly full body with reasonably intense flavors of blackberry, oak, cloves, plum and black cherry. Finishing with a reasonable length, it is in balance and showing good ageing potential with the ripe fruit, high acidity and tannin. Ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

2004 Chateau Phelan Segur (St-Estephe)

Good quality Medoc red with a deep ruby colour. On the nose it shows fairly intense and developing characters of blackberry, plum, cloves, cedar, oak, hints of smoke and leather, with reasonable complexity. Medium in acidity and tannin, ripe and dusty in texture, the wine is fairly full body with reasonably intense flavors of blackberry, plum, prune, cedar and cloves. Finishing with a reasonable length, it has good ripe fruit and sweet spice, typical left bank style. Smooth and in balance, the wine is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

2005 Chateau Pedesclaux (Pauillac)

Good quality Medoc GCC of deep ruby colour, with reasonably intense and complex nose of blackcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, blackcurrant leaf, graphite, cloves, cedar and savory notes. Medium in acidity, with ripe and fine-grained medium level tannin, the wine is fairly full body with reasonably intense flavors of blackberry, blackcurrant, prune, oak and chocolate. Finishing with a reasonable length, it is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-7 years.

Next week I will need to travel to Vietnam and Philippines. Until then, eat and drink well!

Wineshark Recipe - 36. Lamb Bourguignon

Ingredients:

• Rump of lamb - 2 lb
• Whole shallot - 2 oz
• Mushrooms - 3 pieces
• Tomato paste - 1 tbsp
• Stock - 1 lb 8 oz
• Red wine - 4 oz
• Carrot wedges - 5 oz
• White thickened - 1/4 oz
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/4 tsp
• Butter - 1/2 oz

First cut the rump of lamb into cubes, marinate with salt and black pepper for a while, then pan fry for a short while so both sides turn brown. Add the tomato paste and stock, when it is heated up then add red wine, carrot, shallot and mushroom to braise for 1.5 hour.

Then add white thickened, and other seasonings.

Wineshark Recipe - 35. English Chicken Broth

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1
• Water - 2 lb 2 oz
• Carrot - 2oz
• Turnips - 2oz
• Leek - 2oz
• Celery - 2oz
• Bay Leaf - 2
• Rice - 1oz
• Salt - 1tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Milk - 2oz

First clean up the chicken and cut it in half. Boil the water and put the chicken in, adding the bay leaves and cook for about one hour.

Take the chicken out and shred the meat. Chop the vegetables into small cubes. Add all the vegetables and rice to the soup to cook. When it is nearly done, add the shredded chicken back.

Add milk and the seasonings.

Wineshark Recipe - 34. Red wine and chili lamb chop, with creamy camembert potatoes

First we prepare the sauce to marinate the lamb:

Ingredients:

• Stock - 12oz
• Celery finely - 1 stalk
• Onion finely - 5oz
• Red wine - 8oz
• Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
• Worcestershire sauce - 2tsp
• Chili sauce - 1tsp

First add everything into the stock and slowly cook for about 20min. Then blend everything, using it to marinate the lamb for about 1 hour.

Pan fry the lamb chop and cook the sauce to put it back on the lamb.

For the side dish, ingredients are:

• Potatoes - 1lb
• Sour cream - 1 tbsp
• Butter - 1/2oz
• Garlic finely - 1/4 tsp
• Camembert cheese - 2oz
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• White pepper powder - dashes
• Chives finely - 1 tbsp

Peel the skin off the potato and chop into slides, then boil the potato in water for about 25min. Once dried, mash the potato and add sour cream to mix well.

Chop the cheese into small pieces, then use butter to stir fry garlic, adding the cheese and then add the potato and the other ingredients.