Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons

Veggie garden salad

24 Sep 2010: We love staying at Le Manoir in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, UK. It’s one of these unique places that combines quintessential English charm and French excellence. It has this most meticulously tended vegetable and herb garden that produces the most delicately flavoured vegetables! We took the suite called Lavande which has a fireplace in the sitting area. Naturally, we took advantage of this and with a glass of Madeira in hand, it felt almost surreal!





Hen's egg ravioli



My first course was a vegetable garden salad – just a most delicious salad, beautifully dressed, surrounded by a medley of steamed garden vegetables, including carrots, beetroot, turnips, green beans, as well as baby tomatoes of different colours and artichokes. Really delicious! Richard had the hen’s egg ravioli, filled with spinach and mushrooms, with pan-fried girolles and a parsley sauce. While the filling of spinach and mushrooms was quite delicious, the ravioli itself was far from delicate and it was dry around the edges. (In fact, I had the same 2 evenings later and the result was the same and mine wasn’t even lukewarm – it was barely above room temperature.) For this course, we had a half bottle of 2007 Meursault Les Luchets, Roulot. Fabulous nose of citrus, lime, mineral, smoke, vanilla, spicy oak. Delicately creamy texture, with refreshing acidity. The wine needed aeration to round out. Would recommend decanting. 17.5/20



Delicious grouse

Piglet dish

For main course, I had the grouse, which was probably the best grouse dish I’d ever had! The meat was so moist, tender and full of flavours. The bread sauce with cabbage and bacon was a great accompaniment, as were the bruised berries. An “incontournable” dish! Richard had the piglet, which was tasty but did not have the “wow” factor!

Petrus 1970
in excellent condition

Our red wine was a 1970 Château Petrus, which had been quietly waiting in the same cellar since 1973, when it was first bought. The level was remarkable. A medium ruby core. Complex and perfumed nose of violet, rose, blueberry, cigar box, mocha, with a hint of sweet burnt cream. Fully integrated oak character, still showing some fine-grained but much mellowed tannins. Balanced and poised. Initially a hint of madeirisation was detected and the wine tasted a little dry on the finish. After 2 hours of opening, the wine completely transformed. All we could say was one harmoniously aged wine of real class, with a lingering sweet finish. Drinking at peak now and will continue to do so for another 10+ years. 19/20

We had a small platter of cheese, including some maroilles, fouget, an English cheese that tasted like Ossau Iraty and munster. A tip here: munster is just so disastrous with red wine! The Meursault was great with the fouget, as would be a racy but elegant Chablis!

We returned to Le Manoir after a wedding. For our second evening, our focus was a 2007 Chablis Les Clos, René et Vincent Dauvissat. Initially very closed, stoney, mineral, citrus and a hint of cashew. We had the wine decanted. After about an hour, the wine showed some tropical fruit character, pineapple, as well as some greengage and apple, and a touch of smokiness. The wine also took on some weight from the aeration, giving a much more rich and rounded character. It went very well with the stinking bishop cheese that Richard organized for later! 18.5/20

Cocotte of fresh veggies

We both had the same salad as first course.  For main course, I had the ravioli and as mentioned earlier, it was a rather disappointing dish. Richard had seabass with langoustine in a red wine sauce. He said the seabass was delicious but could not quite see the need to include the langoustine and the red wine sauce was appropriately lighter than the version at L’Atelier de Robuchon. However, where the restaurant really impressed us was the two cocottes of freshly cooked garden vegetables – just the sweetest and juiciest vegetables I had tasted: sweet corn, turnips, carrots, green beans and spinach soaking up all the jus and olive oil at the bottom! Almost a meal in itself!

Seabass and langoustine
in red wine sauce

Richard would always have a bit of red. So to finish off the evening, we had a half bottle of 2008 Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, Frédéric Magnien. It tasted very young, bursting with ripe red fruit.

Le Manoir is just the perfect place to relax and indulge. It has this special charm that makes you feel at home almost immediately. Don’t miss out on the afternoon tea….even if you are not too peckish….a pot of tea comes with a couple of slices of this most divine lemon cake, so lightly iced at the top and so refreshingly citrus! Breakfast is quite an affair and there is such a choice of fruit at the French buffet, an oxymoron in itself! I had a most delicious sausage and mushrooms and Richard said the haddock with poached egg and spinach was just the perfect start to the day, complete with well cooked toast!

3-Michelin Stars for Over 25 Years…..in a Little Village Called Bray

23 Sep 2010: My birthday, which I felt like I’d been celebrating all week, starting on Monday with a really yummy Thai meal at Pattara with Nick, who drove up from Henley just to have dinner with me. I felt very special!

Tuesday dinner was a treat – home-cooked supper in the kitchen of my boss’s home, with a bottle of 2006 Le Serre Nuove over a (not so) spicy spag bol. A very vivacious and velvety-textured Le Serre Nuove (second wine of Ornellaia), a rich and spicy nose of blackcurrant jam, black cherries, blackberries, figs, liquorice, black pepper, cloves, violet, cedar and mint. Still tasting very young. Drinking well now, but will continue to develop over the next 6 – 8 years. 17/20 Le Serre Nuove is about 2/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1/3 Merlot, with the balance made with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, pretty much made and aged in the same way as Ornellaia, except that the vines are much younger – so really great value to have a taste of the grand vin! Richard (my boss) served a delicious Vin Santo with dessert – 1999 Vin Santo di Carmignano, Fattori di Bacchereto, with aromas of dried apricot, raisin, orange peel, orange marmalade, grilled nuts and honey. Vin Santo is just one of these dessert wines that I find do not shock the palate as much, especially when moving away from a feisty red. It has this spicy sweetness which refreshes the palate. With a bit of age, like this example, it offers an elegant rancio character, which puts it in the same beguiling category as marmite, which is an acquired taste for the connoisseurs!

Wednesday was dinner at Kicca with Graham. The food was rather disappointing at Kicca – I had quite high expectations because like me, Graham enjoys the finer things in the gourmet world! We had a delicious bottle of Guado Al Tasso 2005, which I thought was not ready for drinking, but I could see the potential for development into a true beauty. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, that would marry well the power, elegance and character of all its composite grape varieties, when given the right amount of time. It tasted very New World and very new oak.

So when it came to the actual day, I was full of expectations! And I had every reason to be, as Richard arrived from Hong Kong in the morning and we left London to drive down to Bray about 3:30 pm. My second visit to The Waterside Inn. It is just a magical spot: the “establishment” and its riverside terrace, against the backdrop of the River Thames and the geese regaling up and down the river and the occasional boats passing by, conjure up a most romantic scene. We took the same room as last time – La Regate. I love the apple green and mauve colours of this room – so refreshing. We went for our traditional walk round the village and paid our respect to the “menu” of the Fat Duck……we’re such traditionalists that we still haven’t felt the urge to taste the food at the high temple of molecular cuisine. That day will come, no doubt! Just not today!

Paul turned 25 again, for the 10th time!

18 Sep 2010: Paul and Julie invited us and other friends to his birthday dinner at On Lot 10, our favourite restaurant, which I probably reviewed more than once! So this time I would just say simply “I’ve never had a bad meal at On Lot 10 – what I really admire is the winning formula of the consistent quality of simple but delicious bistro-style cooking, dishes for sharing by large groups and efficient service dished out with military precision. In my view, two aspects have so far firmly put On Lot 10 in the private kitchen category: the rule of two glasses per guest and the inadequate cheese selection, which you could improve by discussing with the chef in advance!)


Salad, frog's legs,
steamed artichoke, rillette, etc.

 Paul ordered a selection of starters including really delicious and very tender frog’s legs (perfectly seasoned with garlic, parsley and a squeeze of lemon at the end!), water cress salad, grilled sardines, pig’s head rillette, country pâté and foie gras.



Roasted fish with tomatoes
and Mediterranean herbs



Salt-baked seabass

Then we had the famous fish soup, which was really tasty, bursting with flavours, perfectly seasoned and well-textured, without being too smooth. We had two fish to share, one baked in a salt crust and the other baked with tomatoes and herbs. The fish was so tender for both dishes, that it readily dissolved in your mouth. If I were to choose one I preferred that evening, I would have gone for the one baked with tomatoes and herbs, as the acidity and the intense flavours in the tomato-garlic based sauce was probably a more worthy partner with the Chablis on this evening. The salt-crusted fish was delicious too but perhaps just a little too delicate when compared to those intense flavours in the fish soup and the starters.



The famous suckling pig dish



Entrecote on a bed of cos lettuce
and duck fat potatoes

Two meat courses followed, the famous suckling pig and its now famous apple sauce (as my neighbor David asked for his own helping of apple sauce as his main course), and the really sensational côte de boeuf served with potatoes cooked in duck fat and chopped up cos lettuce that would soak up the lovely jus. Paul took my advice to discuss cheese in advance with Chef David and he had ordered a lovely epoisses for us, perfectly melting…….(I went back to the Chablis for the cheese course.)

Private Kitchen Review: La Maison

17 Sep 2010 (photos to be inserted): I thought we would give this new restaurant a try while trying to decide on a venue for dinner with Jacqueline and Chris. The restaurant is in a multi-purpose building in a little cul-de-sac in Wanchai. The restaurant was completely full, with both private rooms taken, one sitting about 14 to 20 and the other about 8. I had read somewhere that the décor was French bistro-like. The menu might have read like a page taken from a French bistro menu but certainly not the décor, which if anything , resembled more that of a Swiss chalet, or at least the only wood-panelled wall, with a collection of pictures did take one’s memory to fondue and hot potatoes. The window sill that ran down the other side of the room was filled with an eclectic collection of artifacts and souvenirs from travels, including a framed picture of two teddy bears!

Beautiful seabass dish at L'Atelier de Robuchon

16 Sep 2010: Last night Richard treated me to dinner at L'Atelier de Robuchon, which is normally our treat to each other when it's either of our birthdays.....

We started with a glass of 1999 Bruno Paillard Brut Millesime Assemblage (29% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir and 29% Pinot Meunier and 9 years of ageing in the cellar, plus 12 months in the cellar after disgorging).  A glorious golden colour.  The "noir" content and the extended bottle age character are both very evident on the nose and the palate.  A marriage of floral and ripe fruit character makes up the complex and rich bouquet, bolstered by intense autolytic and smoky notes: jasmine, acacia, honey, dried fruit (apricot and persimmon), macadamia nuts, marzipan, pear tart and tobacco.  On the palate, the spiciness is more noticeable.  Full-bodied, well-textured with fine and persistent bubbles.  No question a rich style champagne, with plenty of freshness, complexity, depth, rounded character and lengthl.  I wonder whether it would be more suitable as a wine to go with food, rather than as an aperitif.  It was frankly a little too rich, and didn't offer the raciness and minerality that we typically look for in an aperitif.  18/20

I am afraid I did not pay much attention to the amuse-bouche that was brought round. I was rather distracted by the fascinating bread selection, bacon, spinach, cheese, croissant, brioche, etc!

I then had the scallops with coriander sauce and Richard had the caviar (yes, a grand evening for him!).  My scallops were beautifully cooked, to perfection, and the sauce tangy and spicy at the same time, with a very fitting lightness that paired well with the freshness and texture of the scallops, just enough to coat the succulent meat.  Very yummy!  Richard gobbled up his caviar - but one tip, he did ask for hot toast and he said it made a big difference to the dish!

A rare wine: Carruades de Lafite 1959

Tasted 13 Sep 2010:  Garnet-ruby core. A mesmerizingly sweet perfume of caramel, mocha, chocolate, violets, figs, prunes, wet leaves, tobacco, cigar box and leather. Its age more evident on the palate, showing a delicate structure, balanced and completely integrated flavours, sweet entry leading to layers of smoky, earthy and vegetal character. Reasonable length finish, perhaps a touch astringent on the finish but that's understandable given its age! A remarkable effort for a second wine with shades of the Grand Vin! An incredibly rare wine. 18/20

A Review of Two Chinese Restaurants in Hong Kong

12 Sep 2010:  This week we had dinner at two Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong: Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental and T'ang Court at the Langham Hotel.  On each of these occasions, we were joined by a couple with connoisseur taste buds for fine cuisine and wine. 

For the first evening (Friday), we went to Man Wah with Patrick and Debra.  Patrick, as usual, took care of ensuring the wine arrived and prepared in pristine conditions and ordering the food in advance so that we could focus on catching up.  Man Wah, as I commented on a previous blog, has so far not been awarded any Michelin stars by the infamous food guide.  So we wanted to try it again to understand why Michelin had bizarrely missed out on this established institution in HK given our recent rather indifferent experience at Tim's Kitchen, a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant.  Patrick had ordered some jelly fish and cucumbers in garlic, to work up his appetite as he waited for us to show up one after another, from 15 minutes later, to almost an hour later!  (Sorry, Patrick!) 

I unfortunately did not make an accurate record of the dishes we had that evening, nor did I take pictures.  However, they were all impressive and from memory: 1) the roast pork belly for which all of  the fat, crackling and succulent meat just melted in your mouth and merged into one really tasty bite,

1998 Lafleur

7 Sep 2010: We decided to try a bottle of the 1998 Lafleur to see if it lived up to its expectation, as 1998 is generally regarded as a Right Bank year.  Bright ruby.  On the nose, we found a floral and herbaceous character, with blueberries, blackcurant leaf, violets, tobacco, cedar and a hint of bell pepper.  Some initial fruit was followed by floral, mineral, spicy, smoky and herbaceous notes on the palate.  Medium-bodied, softened tannins.  A somewhat lean and mineral style, with an evident greenness about it.  Lengthy finish but with just a hint of a bitterness to the finish.  Altogether a rather disappointing experience on this tasting.  16.5/20. 

2006 Domaine d'Eugenie Vosne-Romanee Villages

6 Sep 2010: Classic burgundy, extremely well crafted, showing ripe red fruit, floral and spicy character on both nose and palate, fleshy, palate-filling, elegant, balanced, with a sweet finish. A very fine example of Vosne-Romanee Villages quality wine. Drinking perfectly now and over next 4 - 5 years to enjoy it with all its freshness. 17/20

A Spanish Wine Evening

3 Sep 2010: Dinner at Twyst with Melanie and Claude. I had underestimated the amount of rainfall and probably looked rather miserable on my slightly tardy arrival at the restaurant. Melanie's suggestion to open the Egly-Ouriet that she had brought to toast to my new job was a much welcomed one! Francis and Michel Egly (son and father) own 8.5 ha of grand cru vineyard in Ambonnay, as well as another hectare in Verzenay plus a few rows in Bouzy, all grand cru quality.  In addition, they own a plot of old Meunier vines in Vrigny, for single-vineyard bottling.  The Eglys probably make some of the finest blanc de noirs in Champagne.  The Brut Tradition Grand Cru is a rich style champagne, pinot noir-based, with a lot of honey, acacia, macadamia nuts, ripe pears, citrus peel and toasty character. Creamy, weighty, rich and well balanced with fresh acidity. Good length. 17.5/20

We started our Spanish wine adventure with 2007 Ossian from Rueda. 100% Verdejo, with barrel fermentation and maturation. Complex, well-integrated oak components, showing floral, guava, honey, nutty, subtly smokey with an underlying core of minerality. Medium-full bodied, well structured, balanced, with a fine backbone of acidity, make this a really fine example of white wine from Rueda, showcasing the weight, richness, complexity and depth normally associated with a cool climate classic variety, like Chardonnay, grown in typical terroir. This is very fine indeed and at such an attractive price-quality ratio, I give it 16.5/20

It went very well with the foie gras dish, I could tell.....as Claude and Melanie both praised the wine! It equally paired well with my pasta with anchovy with its fine acidity and slight smokiness.