kiss from a rose

its kiss from a rose today, the song by seal from the batman forever soundtrack that came to mind at dinner.
this time we were having a jacob's creek shiraz rose to accompany a rather elegant chinese meal at the elegant inn in taman connaught kuala lumpur.
there was a difference. it was no ordinary wine dinner not that any wine dinner is ordinary.
this was the launch of the dining table - a group of gourmands dedicated to good food, great drinks and gregarious friends. and we started it auspiciously on 8.8.2005 with jacob's creek chief winemaker philip laffer whom i met over the weekend.
the evening started with the shiraz rose and proceeded to an array of jacob's creek's wines such as the riesling, chardonnay, grenache shiraz and the shiraz cabernet - all matched with the best hong kong style dishes that elegant inn's chinese restaurant could offer.
chef wesley ng, a young kelantanese, pulled out all stops in the show kitchen for the three tables that constituted the dining table.
claypot chicken wonton in a soup that was boiled for hours was the start and whetted our appetite for the rest of dishes that was quickly cooked in the show kitchen in front of us.
the shiraz rose accompanied the lotus meatcakes with hong kong silverfish and eggplant deep fried with garlic flakes, contrasting the wine's fruity flavour with the salty fish and eggplant and the sizzling meatcakes. nice was an understatement.
something fishy was in the air next. a steamed live tiger garoupa, with its intrinsic sweetness set in a sauce and complemented by a riesling. but the subtle wine lost out to the most excellent fish in taste.
out came the chardonnay to do battle with the next few dishes. we drank it with the hong kong style stir fried vegetables with garlic and crabs fried with salted egg yolk it ably matched both dishes though the crabs were distinctly and appetisingly in a class of their own - and the this image is but a poor and unworthy representation of a wonderful dish.
the chardonnay also ably accompanied the home made beancurd with meat and prawns. the beancurd just melted in the mouth, slipping and sliding suggestively with the wine in the mouth.
the night was still young and the circle of gourmands were swapping tasting notes when chef wesley ng put on a show in the kitchen.
he was frying elegant inn's special fried rice, swirling and twirling the rice and ingredients in a wok over high heat, and the results spoke for themselves.
the rice was fluffy and tasty and went pretty well with the grenache shiraz.
never quite got to the last dish of sweet and sour pork cheeks. well, i don't eat cheeks, just nibble them and frankly, sweet and sour isn't really my cup of tea, so to speak.
had the shiraz cabernet though. quite plummy.
that was the start and end of the dining table's first dinner. and an autographed bottle of jacob's creek shiraz rose was the souvenir of the night.
what an auspicious and unique start the dining table. looking forward to the next one!

rose, rose, i love you!

the song rose, rose, i love you is a very very old song, with chinese songstress yao lee recording it in 1940 and about a decade later, frankie laine cutting it in 1951.
why am i going on about this and what has it do with drinks or food? plenty.
i thought of the song as i sipped my first glass of jacob's creek sparkling rose, the latest sparkling wine from the australian master wine producer, at mizu, a japanese restaurant in bangsar village, kuala lumpur.
it was billed as an evening with a chief winemaker who turned out to be jacob's creek's philip laffer.
the rose was the star but laffer also brought along bottles of reserve chardonnay, riesling, shiraz and cabernet to go with some splendid japanese food.
featured here is the menu for the evening with a bowl that had miso soup - nice and as you can see, i finished it - a glass of shiraz on the left, finished the cabernet and the remnants of the rose.
the rose is great.
had a couple of glasses of this sparkling wine made from chardonnay and pinot noir grapes.
the non-vintage fermented sparkling wine is dry, combining the best of the citrusy chardonnay and the strawberry flavours of the pinot noir.
a soft appealing taste without the plumminess of red wines, the rose at 11.5 percent alcohol by volume, is great as an aperitif or with the dessert that we had, ice-cream with strawberry sauce. i did try it with some wasabi but it didn' t work out that well. guess there is a limit to both the rose and the wasabi.
having said that, the meal at mizu was quite good. it started with a sesame bean curd with a hint of wasabi combining well with the reserve chardonnay. a better combination followed after the clear soup when the reserve riesling superbly accompanied the shashimi trio of tuna, salmon and yellow tail with the wasabi and shoyu in attendance.
the riesling tangoed with the fish and wasabi, dancing in unison as i slowly savoured the complex flavours.
it was time for some red and the reserve shiraz made its appearance. the big and bold wine was paired with some foie gras delicately sitting on daikon or white radish in sauce. good stuff as the shiraz and the foie gras - featured here - held out their distinctive taste.
the cabernet heralded the start of the main course, a beef teppanyaki that was accompanied with rice, miso soup and pickles. quite good.
a great dinner to start the week.