28 July 2010: Last night Richard and I went to Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental for dinner. We hadn't been there for a long time. Just before dinner, I had a drink at the bar and tried a glass of 2008 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso. It was youthful, fruity, with good balanced structure and some complexity to make it a very good value wine. Made with Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio, the wine displayed a bright ruby colour. On the nose, youthful aromas of red cherries and raspberry, intermingled with Mediterranean herbs, giving an impression of the sweetness from ripe fruits. Medium body, with a good balance between acidity and alcohol, and soft tannins allowing for early drinking. The structure was almost pinot noir like. A reasonable length. Highly recommended! 15.5/20
For dinner, I took along a bottle of 2005 Lou Dumont Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-Saint-Jacques that had been sitting in my office for a while. Even with the aeration from double-decanting, the wine took almost 3 hours to open up and come together and once it did, we were able to discern its attracive nose of red fruits, sweet spices and tea leaves. It was a good match with our food, especially the chicken casserole, with shallots and garlic! A muscular wine, still with some grippy tannins, somewhat unrelenting; a well made wine with some complexity but lacked depth and concentration to justify a higher rating. Reasonable length. 16/20
Lou Dumont featured in the manga "Les Gouttes de Dieu" and the négociant/winemaker is Japanese, based in Gevrey-Chambertin. Bravo to him who followed his dreams and settled in Burgundy to put his mind to making good quality wines!
Judging by the quality of the food last night, we both felt rather bemused why Man Wah did not get any Michelin stars. Ok, the starter of barbecue pork belly was a little mediocre. Then we were suitably impressed by the star dish of the evening - deep fried sole in black bean sauce. Even the bones were edible! It was so delicious that I'm actually keen to return to the restaurant to try it again! The chicken with shallots and garlic casserole was tasty - although some bits were a little "rubbery". The Sichuan style beef was tasty but failed on authenticity. It didn't taste anything Sichuan at all - in fact I thought it had kimchi in it! I'm not a big fan of beef but I did try one piece and it was really tender....too tender for Richard who would have preferred a good chew! We finished with perfectly cooked kale in ginger sauce. All in all, a very satisfying meal and I thought it was much better than the meal I had at the China Club on Monday. The service was impeccable and the dishes were well-timeed! I have a feeling I shall be returning before too long!
For dinner, I took along a bottle of 2005 Lou Dumont Gevrey-Chambertin Lavaux-Saint-Jacques that had been sitting in my office for a while. Even with the aeration from double-decanting, the wine took almost 3 hours to open up and come together and once it did, we were able to discern its attracive nose of red fruits, sweet spices and tea leaves. It was a good match with our food, especially the chicken casserole, with shallots and garlic! A muscular wine, still with some grippy tannins, somewhat unrelenting; a well made wine with some complexity but lacked depth and concentration to justify a higher rating. Reasonable length. 16/20
Lou Dumont featured in the manga "Les Gouttes de Dieu" and the négociant/winemaker is Japanese, based in Gevrey-Chambertin. Bravo to him who followed his dreams and settled in Burgundy to put his mind to making good quality wines!
Judging by the quality of the food last night, we both felt rather bemused why Man Wah did not get any Michelin stars. Ok, the starter of barbecue pork belly was a little mediocre. Then we were suitably impressed by the star dish of the evening - deep fried sole in black bean sauce. Even the bones were edible! It was so delicious that I'm actually keen to return to the restaurant to try it again! The chicken with shallots and garlic casserole was tasty - although some bits were a little "rubbery". The Sichuan style beef was tasty but failed on authenticity. It didn't taste anything Sichuan at all - in fact I thought it had kimchi in it! I'm not a big fan of beef but I did try one piece and it was really tender....too tender for Richard who would have preferred a good chew! We finished with perfectly cooked kale in ginger sauce. All in all, a very satisfying meal and I thought it was much better than the meal I had at the China Club on Monday. The service was impeccable and the dishes were well-timeed! I have a feeling I shall be returning before too long!
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