My birthday dinner was at the 3 hatted est. restaurant. Amazing meals doesn’t come cheap… that is, unless you have a staff discount. Half priced fois gras tastes EVEN BETTER than its full priced plate on the table next to you.
It was a beautiful start to the evening with a bottle of 1996 s de salon ‘blanc de blancs’ le mesnil, France
One of the most anticipated 1996 vintage Champagnes, finally arrived! It is made only in great vintages (the decade of the eighties only produced ‘82,’83,’85 and ‘88) and only from grapes from one village, the grand cru of Mesnil. This village grows the most sought after Chardonnay in Champagne. Graphite, tobacco and coconut aromas and flavors wrap around the firm spine of this elegant, powerful Champagne. Lulls you midpalate, then comes back in a wave of vanilla on the finish. Salon’s production hovers around 8,000 six-bottle cases, so the wine is always hard to come by – and worth every penny. Thank you Peggy, Charlie, Rob C and Rob Y!
And for our est. tasting menu for the night, with matching wines:
tartare of blue fin tuna, cucumber, pink grapefruit, ponzu and white sesame oil
2000 dom perignon, epemay – france
tranche of duck foie gras, shaved pear, cresses, sauternes jelly, toasted brioche
2005 domaine marcel deiss gewOrtztraminer, alsace – france
raviolo of prawns on snow peas, lemongrass and shellfish vinaigrettes
2006 bodega castro martin rias baixas albarino, galicia – spain
steamed snapper fillet, grilled scallop, leek and asparagus, shaved manjimup truffle butter sauce
2005 kumeu river (mate’s vineyard’ chardonnay, auckland – new zealand
roasted, boned squab pigeon, broad beans and morels, pan juices
2004 domaine saint prefert chateauneuf du pape ‘reserve auguste favier’, theme valley – france
pan roasted lamb rib eye, jerusalem artichokes, green peas, potato galette, salad of herbs
2005 luce della vite `lucente’ – tuscany, italy
shaved pineapple, pine nut sorbet, lime and cardamon sauce
passion fruit soufflé
2006 jaboulet muscat de beaumes de venise, rhOne valley – france
vanilla latte cotto, queensland strawberries, spice wafer
2006 wellington iced riesling, south eastern coast – tasmania
Simply divine. I’m spoilt rotten!
…and tonight – Dom Perignon tasting!
Drooolsss…
that dessert looks so good. i definitely don’t think i could afford you.
don’t eat the tuna
oh man. that looks delicious. looks like you had a fantastic birthday dinner.
@Chinkzilla - but I get so much free stuff everywhere I go!
dinners like that must be for a special occassion as your bday! It looks beautiful, delicious, and fabulous. happy birthday
mmmmm… im unbelievably jealous right now. glad you had a wonderful birthday though!
someone has a rich man huh? damn can i be ur sugardaddy sometime too?
gratuitous food pr0n, i <3 it!
It looks delicious (:
@Yosho - rich man? WHERE??
We’re a bunch of waitresses, waiters, and bartenders with staff discounts!
i love .est!.. wish they were in HK now
@siugoo - To be brutally honest, it wasn’t that good. I don’t think they deserve three hats! The desserts, I was especially disappointed with. And they used to have amazing desserts!
@Amuse_Bouche - i remember i had souffle last time, it was fantastic.. but it was a long time ago…. think Steakhouse @ intercon Hong Kong is not bad for souffle!!
@Amuse_Bouche - ooooh okaay, in that case, u can take me out to dinner sometime =]
hate expensive shitty small portioned “gourmet” food
happee burfay ami.. ^^
can see you hafing a GREAT bday dinner from those pix.. yummeeeee…
@Yosho - sure thing, when you’re in Sydney! Just give me time to flirt with more chefs….
Thanks for subscribing. That is very sweet. You have a neat page. I love it.
I’m seriously jealous of those yummies.
staff discount sure makes everything tastier, actually any kind of discount would. LOL
everything looks divine. Happy Birthday!
happy birthday! i just want to say how much i love reading your blog. i love all the pictures and descriptions and it makes me hungry every time!
how did you become so knowledgeable and good at food? and how do you stay skinny by eating all these great food?!?!
can’t wait until the next entry
-steph
looks sooooooooooooooooooooooo good… …. i want every bite of it. *drill*…
wow…looks SO GOOD!!!