Posted in Restaurants, Wine Tour on July 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »
How could we miss the fine dining experience in Burgundy? This is the country that defines the meaning of fine dining and also home to the Michelin Star Guide.
Le Beneton is a Michelin 1-star restaurant in the town of Beaune. The restaurant could sit about 30 people with a chic and cool ambience. Our waiter was quite proud and spoke with a very confidence tone. He was not rude but rather sure of his recommendation. (more…)
Posted in French Red, Pinot Noir, Restaurants, tagged burgundy red, chambolle musigny, dijon, les amoureuses on June 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »
We found the restaurant Le Pre aux Clercs in the Place de la Liberation in Dijon from the French restaurant guide, Gault Millau. We didn’t exactly pay much attention to what the food was, nor the significance of the venue, we had simply picked it according to the rating from the book.
The restaurant was empty when we arrived at 7:20pm for our 7:30pm reservation. The woman, obviously the proprietor simply said, “oui, tout a fait, a tout a l’heure,” basically telling us to come back later. However, our persistent pleas to have a drink beforehand resulted in a nice table on the terrace overlooking the plaza.
Posted in Italian Wines, Restaurants, Wine Tour on June 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Slow Food University
Chef's Hand
When we walked out from Guido, the Michelin 1 star restaurant in Piemonte, it was dark; the air was fresh and crisp, the stars were bright … and I was thinking “how much is a Michelin star worth?”
Guido is on the grounds of the Slow Food University. The ambience was sort of like a barn, with high ceiling, brick wall and wooden floor. The décor was quite simple but functional. (more…)
Posted in Italian Wines, Restaurants on May 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Piazza Duomo
The dining experience was quite extraordinary on the tour; we experienced dining at small family restaurants, at the Sandrone resident, and then the ultimate experience at two Michelin Star restaurants.
We started with the Michelin 2-star restaurant Piazza Duomo in the heart of Alba, followed by the Michelin 1-star restaurant Guido in the Slow Food University the following night. The moment you walked into the restaurant, the ambience and the design could probably give you a sense of the style. (more…)
Posted in Bordeaux, French Red, Restaurants, Wine Dinners, tagged Bordeaux, Chateau d'Issan, French Red, red wine on March 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »
The lights were on; we looked around and realized we were the last table at the restaurant. We looked at the two glasses of Chateau d’Issan -1979 and 1995 and thought what a shame! The wines were still closed and it would be nice if they had served the wine at the beginning of the wine dinner.
The dinner was at the Bostonian restaurant organized by Watson’s Wine. It was a week’s events highlighting Chateau d’Issan and the owner Mr. Emmanuel Cruse was in town to host the dinners and tastings around town. (more…)
Posted in Restaurants, Uncategorized, Wine Dinners, tagged Barcelona, Hotel Omm, Restaurant Moo, Spanish wine dinner on March 16, 2010| 1 Comment »
The table setting by the Restaurant Moo inside the Hotel Omm in Barcelona was a little peculiar, the man thought. There was a large, decorative plate with the basic silver setting, but no napkin to be seen anywhere.
“Would you like something to drink to start,” a female wait staff, about 5’3’’ asked the two diners, who both looked at each other and replied: “Perhaps some water, no gas, please.”
“Some water, certainly,” the waitress said and went on her way. The couple looked at each other once more. The man remarked: “why don’t we get some cava to start.” “Sure,” the woman replied. “That sounds good.” (more…)
Posted in Restaurants, tagged Hong Kong Restaurants, Pinot Gris, White Wine, Yarra Valley on March 13, 2010| 2 Comments »
The two wine dispensing machines at the bar area of SML were quite eye catching. There were 8 selections for both red and white. The restaurant was in the midst of promoting Mexican fair – chicken quesadillas, shrimp fajitas, salsa sauce, smoked salmon marinated in chili pepper and cilantro – my favorites! (more…)
Posted in Restaurants, tagged Hong Kong Restaurants, wine on February 17, 2010| 1 Comment »
Caprice with an impressive open kitchen, a showcase of fine dining with the Pastry Chef in the forefront displaying rows of tempting desserts for all the guests.
The Michelin 2-star restaurant serves contemporary French cuisine in an upscale hotel with a spectacular harbor view. The holiday set lunch offered a good selection on appetizers and main course accompanied with a glass of house wine selected by the Sommelier. (more…)
Posted in Italian Red, Italian White, Restaurants, Sweet Wine, tagged Amarone, Hong Kong Restaurants, Soave, Super Tuscan on February 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »
Domani Ristorante, with its green house façade situated between the two office towers of Pacific Place, brought the award winning Chef and menu to the gourmet scene of Hong Kong. Fine dining takes on a different tone these days, the Chef is as important as the cuisine, it’s all part of the dining experience. (more…)
Posted in Restaurants, Sake, tagged Hong Kong Restaurants on February 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »
“We opened our first restaurant in London 6 years ago” according to the Head Chef, Patrick at ROKA Hong Kong, and he has stayed in Hong Kong since the restaurant opened in July last year.
ROKA is a contemporary style Japanese Robata Grill restaurant. I asked Patrick if he’s trained as a Japanese chef, and he told me his training span across Italian and French cuisines. The restaurant has an open kitchen and you could see the chefs all busy at the grill throughout the evening. (more…)
Grape Wine Journey 