6 stars in 2 days, and some very memorable bottles!

26 June 2015:
Quite by coincidence that we found ourselves dining in 2 of Hong Kong's top restaurants on consecutive evenings this week, each a holder of 3 Michelin stars, and entirely different in style and cuisine.

The beautiful stuffed crab shell - I have just made a dent in the middle to make way for the Lea & Perrin sauce!

The Lung King Heen roast chicken - half portion here.

Puntalette with minced beef in XO chili sauce

The first evening was at Lung King Heen, the temple of haute cuisine chinoise, in the Four Seasons Hotel.  We started with the famous crab shell stuffed with onion and fresh crab meat. This scored full marks for us: the balance between crab meat and onion was perfect, with intense flavours highlighting the freshness of the crab meat, with texture to give structure to the dish.  Sensational.  With just a light touch of Lea and Perrin sauce, this dish went beautifully with the 2001 Ramonet Montrachet.  The suckling pig dish was another highlight - I could not taste any fat at all - all I tasted was the crispy skin with tender succulent meat and a layer of fluffy rice-flour pancake.  I loved the wok-fried prawns with organic black garlic and dried chili, even though it might not have been the best match for the white wine.  The Lung King Heen roast chicken was a classic - beautifully roasted chicken, moist and tender, topped with wafer-thin skin so crispy and light, with such brilliance and hardly any fat underneath.  It was divine.  Our red wine was 1990 Clos de La Roche, Hubert Lignier.  Our wok-fried Australian beef tenderloin with spring onion, garlic and black pepper might have paired better with a spicy wine but both wine and food was so exceptional that it didn't matter so much.  Finally, a new dish that we had not tried before, fried puntalette with minced beef in XO chili sauce - an East meets West dish packed with bold flavours and al dente textures, tasty to the last grain!  I had to make room for this! 

2001 Montrachet, Ramonet

An utterly divine white Bourgogne, with incredible power, intensity, depth, density, structure and ageability.  Still very much in its youth. It's austere but the intensity of the flavours (floral and spicy) is mouthstaining, and the richness lifted by vibrant acidity.  The palate is shaped by the breadth of flavours and the strength of crystalline minerality from beginning to the very long finish.  A wine of immense dimensions, that will benefit from further years of cellaring.  Decades of life ahead in an ideal cellar.  19.5+/20

1990 Clos de La Roche, Hubert Lignier
A wine in its prime and totally deserving of superlative descriptions. Mouthcoating richness, full-bodied and velvety texture, with incredible length and depth. Layers of complexity include game, sous-bois, mushroom and nutmeg. Drink now, but the robust structure will endure 15 - 20+ years of cellaring. Classy and sensual. 19/20

To finish, Bernard Chan, the Senior Sommelier, introduced us to a gem in his wine list.  We had a glass of the 2009 Ambonnay Grand Cru Les Crayères, Champagne Marguet.  Only 2,459 bottles made.  62% Chardonnay and 38% Pinot Noir.  Zero dosage. 45 - 50 year old vines.  32 months aged on lees. Disgorged in March 2014.   Beautiful definition, great detail.  The material was so rich and ripe that dosage was not necessary at all.  Long finish.  This is available by the glass.  I hope he will still have stock of this the next time we visit!

Conversations with Bernard revealed his passion about his métier and wines.  He has managed to put his own stamp on the wine list, such as the Marguet champagne as well as a tasting flight of wines called "A Taste of Asia" consisting of 6 interesting wines and spirits, all made in Asia, and all chosen to go with the food at Lung King Heen. The current selection includes a white (Grace Vineyard Tasya's Reserve Chardonnay from China), a junmai daiginjo genshu from Japan, a 10-year-old Hua Diao (Chinese yellow wine), a Bordeaux blend from China (Château Bolongbao from outside of Beijing, tiny production), rice-based spirit from Korea (Hwayo 41 degrees) and a lychee honey dessert wine from Taiwan.  At HK$600 for a flight of 6, it almost seems a bargain compared to the very steep corkage charge!  At HK$ 750 corkage charge a bottle, this had to be the most expensive corkage charge in Hong Kong!  Still worth it I suppose, depending on the bottle you wanted to take.

Chateau Bolongbao from just outside of Beijing city

Hwayo Korean rice-based spirit

The following evening, we went to Otto e Mezzo by Chef Bombana.  We did not catch a glimpse of Chef Bombana but this had not affected the food quality at all.  All the dishes were perfectly executed.  The lobster salad with truffle was a definite hit and it went beautifully with the white wine that was recommended to us: a 2009 Quintodecimo Exulte Fiano di Avellino. For main course, I had a relatively simple dish but it was packed with flavours and utterly satisfying - the lamb and mushroom pappardelle.  The veal milanese was an all-time favourite. 

Lamb and mushroom pappardelle

2009 Quintodecimo Exultet Fiano di Avellino
A singular expression of Fiano di Avellino from a single cru vineyard at 570 metres altitude, on clay-calcareous soils in Lapio. Long pressing before fermentation, for which 70% in stainless steel tanks and 30% in small new French oak barrels. Ageing for 8 months on fine lees, with regular racking. Quintodecimo believes in biodiversity and that man, nature and vines must all be at one to produce great wines. The name Quintodecimo pays homage to the number 5: the vine's flower has 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 stamens, and 5 nectars. The leaves are pentalobate, with 5 parts and 5 veins. We have 5 senses, etc.

This is extremely elegant, with tight minerality running through its backbone. Lightly aromatic, with acacia, herbal, honey and a core of yellow stone fruit. Harmoniously presented and finishes extremely long. 2009 vintage seems just perfect now but can easily be cellared for another 8 - 10+ years. This wine requires bottle age to deliver its potential and could appear a little austere if drunk in its early youth. (Thank you, Marco for recommending to us!) 17.5/20  

(I feel I must try the Greco di Tufo and Falanghina by Quintodecimo very soon while the Greco is still fresh in my memory!)

1986 Lafite
A rich wine that keeps evolving in our glasses over the course of our meal. Initially a little closed. With aeration in the glass, we are able to admire its fleshy richness, intensity and bold structure. A substantial wine with the hallmarks of monumental greatness, and one that can expect further bottle evolution, and a very long life ahead, 30+ years. Today, it could have benefitted from 2 hours of decanting time but it was fascinating to see how it kept evolving in the glass. 20/20

1996 Margaux
Fine and elegant, with its signature aromatics. Sinewy and delicate when compared to the fleshy and mouthcoating Lafite.  A delightful wine that should be enjoyed now and over the next 10 - 15+ years. I didn't find the wine showing marked improvement with aeration in the glass. 17.5/20