BLANC DE NOIRS GRAND CRU "AMBONNAY", Paul Dethune
An all Pinot Noir Champagne(that's what "blanc de noir" means).
Sitting at the bar is more interesting,
you can observe what's going on in the kitchen and chat with everybody.
L'amuse-bouche
Red pepper and grapefruit mousse with mint leaves,
nice and refreshing for the season.
La Tomate
Spiced seasonal vegetables in chilled tomato.
Very good.
Take a look inside!
Hahn
A good California Central Coast Chardonnay, Dan's favorite tonight.
With a glowing golden straw color.
Les Gambas
Red Sea shrimp risotto with saffron and mixed herbs.
Excellent! The best risotto I've ever had.
The Red Sea shrimp had a very special aroma.
Felt like we were in a Monte Christo party!
Familiar brand from Alsace.
A Riesling? Grain Noble or something?
No, it's a Pinot noir.
I've never seen a Pinot Noir from Alsace.
Global warming effect?
It's a pretty interesting wine,
Not as refined as the Burgundy ones,
a bit subtle,
but paired quite well with the special meat dish below.
I'd like you to feel a bit of the aroma.
But at least, look at the color.
Le Veau
Cheek and tongue of veal in a crispy head rolled with "ravigote" sauce and fresh herbs.
Quite interesting, a bit chewy and jelly,
Lighter than most meat dishes.
Very good with the sauce and the pairing wine.
L'agneau
Roasted lamb rack with aromatic "piperade" and shallot in a sweet and sour tasting.
Pairing wine:
La Dame de Montrose, Saint-Estèphe.
L'abricot
Apricot tart and almond cream with a soft ice cream.
Fronholtz "Vendanges Tardives" Gewürztraminer
Domaine André Ostertag, 2007
A very nice sweet wine,
not sticky or heavy at all,
refreshing, clear yet complex and elegant,
a really good Vendanges Tardives.
Dan's birthday cake.
Couldn't finish it.
We brought it home,
ruined the beautiful presentation,
but still tasted good.
It was a very nice lemon tart with raspberry coulis inside.
A very sweet but interesting digestif they offered on the house.
A lot of different herbs in there.
It was the wine dinner menu above.
***
Some other dishes we've tried:
Le Caviar
Served in a Robuchon Logo round box,
with fennel mousse below.
Should use the shell spoon,
otherwise the caviar would become more fishy, and swim away.
Very good with their house Champagne.
Le Crabe
Avocado crab salad with sweet almond oil and tomato sweet pepper nut sauce.
L'oursin
The most artistic dish since their opening in Taipei.
Sea urchin is the basic ingredient.
Pairing with different vegetable mousse depends on the season
This time it was cauliflower mousse.
Open the lid and rest it beside the rose pedal,
then dig in the beautiful presentation with the caviar on top,
enjoy a perfect mouthful of caviar, sea urchin and cauliflower mousse!
La Raviole
Spinach and Ricotta inside,
butter sauce,
with wild asparagus and summer truffle on top.
Chef Angelo's improvisation for me tonight:
Risotto with Foie Gras and snow peas, very good as usual.
L'œuf Polenta
A soft poached egg wrapped inside the polenta(the yellow ball),
With caviar on top, saumon fumé and sour cream on the side.
Foie Gras Ravioli Soup
2001 Chateau Grée Laroque
80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Not very complex but nice and smooth,
Pairing OK with the duck dish.
Gevrey-Chambertin
A nice Burgundian Pinot Noir to pair with the beef.
Meursault
To match the warm lobster salad.
A bit light and boring for a Meursault.
Le Kobe(beef)
Warm lobster Salad with summer truffle.
Good but a bit boring for Robuchon standard.
Le Canard
Good but nothing impressive.
Le Ris De Veau
Veal Sweetbreads with summer truffle, asparagus, red sweet pepper and risotto.
A Robuchon classic.
Pre-dessert with grapefruit and mint.
Tasted good, and also worked well to clean your palate before the main dessert.
CREPE
Warm Chocolate cake.
Dig in and there was warm melt dark chocolate oozing out like lava.
Le Sucre
The most artistic Robuchon dessert.
What's inside the thin golden sugar crust ball depends on the season, too.
This time it was passion fruit.
Also ordered the cheese plate with Muscat De Beaune and 20 year Tawny Port before desserts.
Que c'est bon!!!
*****
W Hotel
The "Wet Bar"
After dinner, we came here. The picture they posted on the web site left me a very fantastic imagination, with a splendid pool, nicely landscaped garden and a beautiful outdoor poolside bar with a fine wine selection.
The lights around the pool were all put out and you couldn't even go near the pool area.
Drinks tend to focus on cocktails, especially Mojito. Not much other choices.
Was a bit disappointed after visiting this place.
Still quite a nice outdoor spot in the center of Taipei though,
if the weather is nice and breezy like tonight,
and of course, with the right companions!
No comments:
Post a Comment