A Pre-Xmas Dinner @ Je Suis Gourmand.

Tech (a.k.a., Maritess) & Jamie, and, Mich & Ron are in town for the holidays, so, the Doc and I, together with our wives, had our regular dinner get-together with them last night at old favorite, Je Suis Gourmand. Earlier that evening, I stopped by The Goose Station for a quick drink (or 5) with the Usual Suspects (which will be subject of a subsequent, short post).

L-R: My wife, Mrs. Doc, Doc and Ron

Jamie, Tech, Mich and my wife

Mrs. Doc, efficient as always, had already ordered up an assortment of appetizers (two orders for some of them) for sharing by the time I arrived:

Marc Aubry's signature Terrine of Duck Foie Gras w/ Salad & Melba Toast

Tarte aux Oignons Alsacienne

Flammenküche (a.k.a., Tarte Flambée)

Os à Moelle (a.k.a., Bone Marrow)

Portobello with Oeuf Cocotte

With these, I opened a bottle of dry German riesling recommended to me by J-Lab (the Usual Suspects' official German wine expert).

2007 Dr. Loosen Bernkasteler Lay Riesling Kabinett - My bottle, from Germany's famed Mosel Valley. I had never tried this before, but brought it along because: (1) I know 2007 is an excellent year for German rieslings (upon release, Berlin-based chef, Martin Barz (Zwick), enthusiastically recommended them to me); (2) Doc, Mrs. Doc and my wife like German rieslings (plus Doc favors kabinetts for apéritifs); and, of course, (3) J-Lab assured me it was good.

The wine was, indeed, well-received. It's fresh, light, bright, playful, off-dry, low alcohol peach, apricot, quince flavors infused with precise minerality were made bright by healthy acidity. Good focus, very quaffable and, thus, an ideal apéritif, particularly with the rich foie gras and the salty lardons of the flammenküche.

For my main course, I had the always pleasing and wine-friendly old reliable, Beef Onglet with Frites. It was Doc who turned me on to this dish - before then, I generally eschewed hanger steaks. Marc's version, however, is robustly flavored, nicely gamey, a bit chewy yet tender, well-caramelized and topped with deliciously savory-sweetish caramelized onions. Aside from Doc and I, it is also a favorite of the Stockbroker, J-Lab, Keiichi and Miguel.

Beef Onglet with Salad and Frites

With this, I enjoyed two reds:

1995 Dunn Vineyards Napa valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Magnum) - Doc's bottle. As stated in my post on the 2005 Long Shadow Vintners "Feather" Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (also made by Randy Dunn): "I became aware of (Randy Dunn) because of Tina Caputo's short documentary entitled "Robert Parker's Bitch" (nb: made for Vineyard & Winery Management Magazine), where Dunn bravely lambasted the US Emperor of Wine...."

Dunn was very outspoken against Parker in that "documentary". In this connection, however, I've read comments by old Napa cab hands to the effect that Dunn's wine-making style is actually in the same style he complains that Parker has, because of his vast influence, caused to become prevalent. I don't really know about that, but I do know that Dunn's wines, in the past, have enjoyed hefty scores from Parker. Whether or not that high-point regime ended with the airing of Dunn's comments is unknown to me.

In any event, this wine is smooth, velvety, dark, with a serious/somber character in its quietly full-bodied, somewhat brambly, well-ripened blackcurrant, crème de cassis, bit of black cherry, cigar tobacco, and underlying black coffee flavors. Toffee/cinnamon/toasty oak-vanilla notes are more readily apparent towards the back and in the finish, but are not at all obtrusive. Nice balance. This is a very good Napa cab - one I definitely liked and that went very well with the beef Onglet - easily matching the dish's power, yet in a subtle manner. Good show.

1999 Bodegas Olarra Cerro Añon Gran Reserva Rioja - My bottle; one I really like and have been drinking a lot of lately. My last notes are very recent, from just 6 days ago, at the Alabang Group's Christmas Dinner 2009:

1999 Bodegas Olarra Cerro Añon Rioja Gran Reserva - my bottle, of which I, unfortunately forgot to photograph. I've written about this a few times, the last being at a WSCP event on the 28th October 2009. Last night's bottle I decanted for around 1-½ hours before serving.Willy admired its "complex nose" and noted scents of licorice, violets, cedar and vanilla in its dark fruit. On the palate, he described this shades-over-medium body Rioja as "complex and graceful". I couldn't have put it better myself. I purchased the last case of this from Terry's Selection. JC de Terry now has a new vintage of this wine available, but I've yet to try it out. Rest assured I shall post on it when I do.

For dessert, Mrs. Doc ordered a couple for everyone to share: French Apple Tarte and Strawberry Cheesecake (sorry, I forgot to take photos of them). For myself, I had an order of Dark Chocolate and Walnut Ice Cream - not sweet, not overly rich, very understated but definitive dark chocolate and walnut flavors. Loved it.

As always, Tech kept us all in stitches with her animated stories, quips and antics. She's a show unto herself. I imagine Jamie and their kids really don't need cable tv with Tech at home.

It was a fun night. Great to see Jamie & Tech, Mich & Ron again; and, of course, always a pleasure dining with the spouses Doc. Until the next....

Saturday Pre-Christmas Family Dinner @ Dad's.

My brother, T, and his wife, C, will be spending the holidays in Tokyo with C's family, so, last night (the 19th December 2009), my dad held a small dinner for us. It was just us 9 (as my other sis and her family, as many know, live in the US) - just the usual dinner at my dad's: seafood, some roast meat, a salad, pasta and dessert. The evening always starts with pica-picas (Parma ham, cheeses, chicharrón, etc.) and beers in his balcony.

You can see the male Ermitaño blood in that the men, for some reason, never smile for pictures.

I prepared the Roast Racks of Lamb that my dad got at Terry's - they have this special kind of lamb there - not the usual ones in the chiller (which are also very good) - these are around triple the price of the usual - they are quite lean, but very tender, juicy and fragrant. Other dishes were some Green Salad, Grilled Giant Freshwater Prawns (i.e., Macrobrachium rosenbergii, locally known as "Ulang") and Vegetarian Spaghetti (no photo though).

For dessert, there is always some fresh fruit and some sort of cake. This time, the cake was a Chestnut Cream Bûche de Noël with Macarrons Glacés - a gift from Marc Aubry.

Green Salad

Grilled Ulang (these were huge with the heads bursting with fat)

After the salad, we had the Grilled Ulang with Vegetarian Spaghetti (no photo, unfortunately) and a bottle of young, chilled Soave - the year and maker of which I have completely forgotten. I'm never really on "blogger mode" in my dad's place - where wine is, and has always been, looked upon as a "mere" beverage one has with meals (as well it should be).

Like us siblings when we were growing up, the children are allowed glasses of wine with their food - if they want - at a relatively early age. My two teen-agers usually ask for a glass each of white and red, but my youngest (10) doesn't.

I picked out a 1998 Château de Fieuzal from my dad's cav to go with the young lamb as I haven't had this vintage of de Fieuzal yet and because, in my experience, Graves/Pessac-Léognan seemed to have fared quite well in this vintage (nb: for Bordeaux, 1998 is commonly known as a good right-bank vintage - far overshadowing the Médoc and Graves/Pessac-Léognan). 1998 Pessac-Léognans have, in my experience, been pretty good - the wines of Châteaux Haut Brion, Domaine de Chevalier and Smith Haut Lafitte (though I'm generally no huge fan of SHL's reds) immediately come to mind.

The '98 de Fieuzal is still showing very young. Though already enjoyable with the racks of lamb, I think it needs a couple of years to fully "come together". Very concentrated/extracted (probably too much remontage), smoky black currant, crème de cassis, plum, bit of cherry, dash of kirsch, cedar, violets, are (overly) generously infused with dark minerality, "tar", tobacco, anise and wood - the latter 5 too obtrusive at this point for me. Tannins are a bit rough and somewhat drying in the finish.

My verdict at this point is that, though it will never be as good as the '95 or '96, the '98 shall probably improve in 2-3 more years.

Chestnut Cream Bûche de Noël with Marrons Glacés from Marc Aubry

After dessert, some fresh fruit, cups of coffee (for the adults) and many stories, my youngest, normally a ball of energy, fell asleep at the table and had to be roused by his eldest brother when we moved to the living room.

They all perked up, though, when they received their advanced gifts from T & C, their US-based uncle and aunt, and the iPod Nanos from my dad.

The Christmas season is really for kids. It sure is fun to watch them enjoy it though.

The Usual Suspects' Christmas Lunch @ JSG.

Lunch on Friday, 18th December 2009, was the Usual Suspects' Christmas Lunch at old favorite Je Suis Gourmand. As we were planning via e-mail over a week ago, I suggested a German Christmas meal of whole roast goose with dumplings and red cabbage (this is what Tito Hans, Mrs. Doc's late father, used to make for family Christmas lunches and I really miss them). Everyone was enthusiastic and I was tasked to arrange the menu with JSG chef Marc Aubry. That was really easy as Marc is so versatile - a few text messages was all it took.

We were complete by a little past 1pm due to the season's traffic. We were 9 in all with a great deal of bottles and big appetites.

We started off with glasses of J-Lab's Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Rare Champagne NV. I had this a little over a month ago at our vintage Port dinner at Ciçou on the 10th November 2009:

Piper Heidsieck Cuvée Rare NV - J-Lab's bottle. Very nice in a straightforward, bready and evidently tropical-fruited way. More of a rounded and pronounced middle than the previous bubbly, the fruit notably riper and sweeter, the feel is creamier as well. Not as fresh, clean, edgy, minerally or complex as the '99 DP, but more amiable and readily pleasing. Very nice non-vintage. Doc liked it as did I.

Consistent with that last bottle. Very nice - its sweetish fruit and creaminess made it pair well with the first course of Warm Duck Foie Gras Gâteau with Roasted Scallops & Pan-Seared Duck Foie Gras. Miguel, Rene, Santi and I had this dish by Marc at our 2008 Christmas lunch and I wanted the others to try it. Naturally, we who had had it before were more than willing to enjoy it anew.

It's a good thing we decided to forego our usual starters of escargot bourguignonne, roasted bone marrow, etc., as this was quite a hefty/hearty first course - sinfully indulgent foie-on-foie. Absolutely delicious, the scallops adding a nice, somewhat smokey counterpoint to the fatty goodness; the arugula lending a somewhat guilt-suppressing textural contrast.

Rene must have inhaled his, because I just took 2 bites and, by the time I turned to him, his plate was clean and was busy pouring the first of the reds. Within a few minutes, Marc presented to us our main course before carving, uttering the classic line...

"Gentlemen, your goose is cooked!"

Roasted Stuffed Goose with Herby Stuffing, Sautéed Potato Dumplings and Red Cabbage Confit

As mentioned earlier, we had a lot of reds (we always do, so I now tend to think more of bringing whites or dessert wines when eating with these fellows), but J-Lab brought, what was for me, by far the best (as well as the regional/traditional) pairing wine for this absolutely delicious goose:

2003 Gunderloch Nackenheim Rothenberg Riesling Spätlese - J-Lab's bottle. I immediately recalled that I had tried the 2005 version of this wine at a Riesling Dinner at Lemuria on the 24th March 2009. This subject, more mature version was similar in its sweet peach, candied apple and honey-lemon drop notes, but cleaner, purer and more focused and lifted by brighter acidity and minerality. There were notes of honeysuckle as well in the nose. Excellent, excellent pairing - certainly one of the best wine pairings I've had this year - if not the best.

It reminded me of the plum sauce ubiquitously served with roast goose in Hong Kong; and, with the giblet gravy, reminiscent of foie gras and sweet wine.

The reds, however, were each events in themselves.

1999 Château Trotanoy - (pronounced: "trot-tahn-nwah", softly rolling the "r") The Stockbroker's bottle, the bottle that won the crown for the Vigneron at the Grand Crew's recent Blind Bordeaux Challenge XIV. My notes then were as follows:

Wine #4: This wine took the longest to open, but, when it did, it just kept gaining darkly quiet, smoldering power, depth, body and roundness. Rich, deep, complex, dark plum, cherry, cassis, violets, leather, spice - what struck me most about this wine was its astounding balance of power and elegance. I had no choice but to rank this the best wine of the Challenge. It was the Vigneron's 1999 Château Trotanoy.

Again, a wine that makes one sit up and take notice. Again, very impressive in itself and especially for the vintage.

1999 La Granja Remelluri Rioja Gran Reserva - El vino de Miguel, naturalmente; one I've been wanting to try for a while. Notes of somewhat smokey cedar, blackberries, dark cherry, bit of dark plum, licorice, hint of cigar ash, underlying tobacco leaf, slightly creamy vanilla/oak with a topnote of orange peel. Soft, smooth, medium-bodied, fair structure, nice balance. The structure could be firmer, but I enjoyed this and it was very easy to drink.

2001 Peter Thustrup Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru - Keiichi's bottle, purchased in Tokyo. Charmes-Chambertin is a grand cru in Gevrey-Chambertin, the wines of which are known more for finesse than heft and muscle; I am not familiar with this producer. This wine showed mild cherry, bit of cola, damson, bit of raspberry and violets. Medium-bodied, average structure, decent finish. Nice, for sure, but it didn't make a big impression.

The next, for me, was the red wine of the lunch - the only fully mature Bordeaux on deck.

1990 Château La Fleur de Gay - Aaron's bottle, a generous treat for us all. Notably ripe, velveteen dark plum, black cherry, hint of kirsch, raspberry, mocha, smokey camphor, cedar, subtle dark minerals, underlying leather, violets. Nice concentration and extraction, but not over-done. The fruit is deeply-veined, indicating older vines. Admirable harmony, a bit low in acid but that, I find, is a vintage trait. Over-all balance superior. I enjoyed this wine a lot. Thanks, Aaron.

Lest I be misunderstood, this was, by no means, a quiet or somber lunch. The guys were a riot - J-Lab seated between "Boom-boom" Greg and the Stockbroker's staccato laughter, he feared for his eardrums, and, perhaps, his sanity as well...

...and with good reason.

The Cheese Course with Walnuts followed, with which I had the rest of the '01 Charmes-Chambertin and the last of the '99 Remelluri Gran Reserva, the latter going nicely enough with the Tomme de Savoie.

Yet another red was opened...

2001 Château La Tour Haut-Brion - Rene's bottle. I heard that the vineyards of this estate have been folded into those of of La Mission Haut-Brion. A quick check showed that the label was discontinued after 2005 and the fruit from the vineyard has since been used in making the second wine, La Chapelle de La Mission Haut-Brion.

Good enough in structure, slightly over medium-bodied, this presented black currant, a dash of cassis, minor cherry and raspberry, all infused by bit of "tar", dark gravel and hints of dried herbs and violets. Decent length. Very correct and shows typicity.

All shamelessly bloated with the food and all the wines, some of us asked for a short break before dessert. Marc obliged and I took this as an opportunity for a cigarette break. We returned for another gastronomic indulgence of...

Chestnut and Butter Cream Christmas Log with Sauce & Marrons Glacés

This was absolutely rich, creamy and delicious. We intrepid fellows who finished this generous helping truly lived up to the restaurant's name as dyed-in-the-wool gourmands. With this I paired...

1998 Léon Beyer Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles - My bottle. I brought this wine specifically for this dessert as I recall my 2004 Weinbach Gewürztraminer Furstentum Ventanges Tardives paired well with this same dessert during last year's Christmas dinner at JSG with Rocky & Apple. Though Beyer really has a drier style than Weinbach, I figured a Sélection de Grains Nobles ("SGN", botrytised, the equivalent of a German auslese) would have enough "oomph", flesh and sweetness to stand up to our indulgent Bûche de Noël.

This was actually a pretty darn good wine (if I do say so myself) with sweet, vaguely spiced, honeyed lychee, peach and slight apricot with, towards the back and in the finish, a base of slightly candied orange rind. However, as noted by J-Lab, and I agree, it simply lacked the stuffing to stand up to this opulent dessert. Oh, well...sometimes the runner stumbles.

In any event, alone, it added a sweet note to yet another fun and wine filled lunch with this happy group. A million thanks to Marc yet again, for always masterfully accommodating my many special requests - and, to the Usual Suspects, as I will be unable to join you for the Christmas dinner on the 21st, I'd just like to say I have thoroughly enjoyed eating, drinking and laughing with you all this year; and, cannot wait until the next.

Have a very merry Christmas!!!

Alabang Group Xmas Dinner 2009 @ The Goose Station.

With the recent opening of Rob & Sunshine's The Goose Station ("TGS"), this year's venue for the Alabang Group's Christmas Dinner 2009 was a definite no-brainer. I booked the group for Wednesday, the 16th December 2009, through Rene; we were complete this year - all 8 couples, 16 in all. I unhesitatingly recommended TGS to the group, for, having attended a few of Rob & Sunshine's past Gourmandise dinners, I knew well that they turn out many memorable dishes. Since many of the Alabang Group attended the Final Gourmandise Dinner on the 25th April 2009, every one of them immediately agreed to the venue.

Willy Chiongbian, Toñico Climent, Boozze Fandiño, Yvonne Climent, Maricel Abad (face turned), Sylvia Ramos, Minnie Chiongbian and Johnson Uy.

Kenny Quintal and Johnson Uy

Johnson Uy, Tonji Ramos and Maxy Abad

We brought our own bottles of wine, naturally, 8 in all, and Tonji said we'd just order off the wine list if more were needed.

Complete by around 7:30pm and started choosing our dishes (15 chose the 9-course Signature Menu and 1 chose the smaller Express Menu) while sipping pours of well chilled...

NV Bestheim Crémant d'Alsace Brut Prestige - Johnson's bottle, a 100% pinot blanc (a.k.a. "klevner" in Alsace) bubbly from Westhalten in Alsace (near Colmar). Bright, crisp, lean, fresh and nicely dry green apple, citrus, lime and white-minerally flavors, generous mid-mouth frothiness with a very clean, bracing acidity and finish. Very nice as an apéritif, it certainly cleansed and primed our palates for the multi-course meal to come (available at Terry's Selection).

Sunshine busy making the Keller-esque appetizer Foie Gras Cones, each topped with a single hazelnut for added flavor and texture. Everyone loved this. I over-heard Kenny Quintal comment: "I can eat 8 of these for my appetizer". Enough said.

Foie Gras Cones, some of the guys snatched some off the rack before I could take a photo. With this, we had pours of...

2006 Saintsbury "Brown Ranch" Estate Bottled Carneros Chardonnay - My bottle; I keep a stock of this at home (purchased from Premium Wine Exchange) because my wife likes it. My last notes were from her birthday lunch at Antonio's:

My wife likes the fuller, buttery style of good California chards, so a bottle thereof at her birthday lunch was definitely in order. Anticipating this lunch, I picked up a few bottles of this in Premium Wine Exchange after this past Tuesday's Rosés and Reds lunch.

Pretty typical Cali chard, the dominant flavors are lightly buttery, baked apple, pear with a light touch of ground hazelnut, spice, bit of vanilla/oak and discreet white floral notes. Not as big and opulent as, say, the Beringer Sbragia Limited Release, Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay or Ramey Hudson Vineyard, but with marginally better acidic balance in my opinion. It went well with the foie and chanterelles, the steak tartare, and reasonably well enough with the raclette.

This bottle showed particularly well, it's lacing of oak/vanilla very well-integrated. Notable balance. Tonji seemed to like this as, having studied and lived in California for several years, he, like my wife, enjoys the bigger, richer style of chardonnay.

Next came our "Snacks" of Peanut & Jelly, Ham and Cheese, Onion & Potato.

2003 Cuvaison Napa Valley Chardonnay - Tonji's bottle. I recall vividly that I first tried Cuvaison's chardonnay was also from him during my impromptu birthday lunch on the 1st May 2001. There was a declared state of rebellion at the time so I cancelled all my plans to celebrate. My brother wouldn't have it, however, so he and his wife made a summer lunch for me, family and some friends at our place.

Good, typical Napa chard, with slightly tropical character to its pear, apple, hints of lemon custard and melon, slightly toasty oak/vanilla/buttery notes. I sipped this wine through the next 3 courses. Some others enjoyed glasses of Johnson's bottle of 2008 Bodegas Marco Real Homenaje Rosado of which I have described countless times before.

Roast Squash and Chorizo Bilbao Soup with Sage Butter

This was well received by the group. I particularly enjoyed it as I favor anything with yellow squash.

Sylvia Ramos, Minnie Chiongbian, Candy Uy, my wife and Margarita Fandiño

Beet Garden Salad - Textures of Beetroot, Orange, Goat's Cheese, Candied Walnuts, Leaves, Aged balsamic, Lightly Pickled Vegetables

The immediately above dish was also a stand-out - very creative, playful, whimsical and it did taste very good indeed.

Eggs Benedict 2007 - Poached Egg, Hollandaise Foam, Bacon Tuille, Fleur de Sel, White Truffle Oil

Many of us had this at the last Gourmandise dinner and were more than happy to enjoy it anew. As before, this truffled spin on eggs benedict was one of the evening's favorite dishes.

Seared Foie Gras, Roasted Pumpkin "Pudding", Gingerbread, Blueberry-Tarragon Jus, Toasted Brioche, Sweetened Chestnut and Micro Mustard.

The immediately foregoing dish paired well with the 2003 Cuvaison Napa Chardonnay. Thereafter, I switched to reds beginning with a bottle of 1999 Bodegas Olarra Cerro Añon Rioja Gran Reserva - my bottle, of which I, unfortunately forgot to photograph. I've written about this a few times, the last being at a WSCP event on the 28th October 2009. Last night's bottle I decanted for around 1-½ hours before serving.

Willy admired its "complex nose" and noted scents of licorice, violets, cedar and vanilla in its dark fruit. On the palate, he described this shades-over-medium body Rioja as "complex and graceful". I couldn't have put it better myself. I purchased the last case of this from Terry's Selection. JC de Terry now has a new vintage of this wine available, but I've yet to try it out. Rest assured I shall post on it when I do.

With the next course of Chicken Roulade - Bacon, Port Jus, Sweet Red Mung Bean and Pistachio Stuffing, Roasted Shimeji & Morel, Sweet Potato Foam and Red Cabbage, we enjoyed...

2004 Château Lascombes - Kenny's bottle. This is only the 3rd vintage of the new owner/management of Lascombes that I've tried (though I've had many of its older vintages). Since the new owner/management took over in 2001, the wines of this 2nd growth from Margaux have shown generous toasty new vanilla/oak in its low-acid, concentrated/extracted ripe dark fruit, cassis, dark plum, bit of cherry, bit of chocolate, cedar, gravel and "tar". Maculine, a bit top-heavy for me, but still quite enjoyable.

Willy opined that it was somewhat Napa-reminiscent, and I agreed it was quite modern. Many liked this and Willy noted that it's modern slant helped it pair well and stand up to with our steak main courses topped with thinly-sliced, crunchy onion rings.

8-Ounce Flame-Grilled Black Angus Rib Fillet, Thin Onion Crisps, Red Wine Jus, Buur Schublig atop Mashed Potatoes.

I and most all the guys opted for the bigger 8-ounce steak (at an added cost), mine very rare as usual. With this I had a couple of pours of...

2003 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve - Boozze's bottle of course, confirmed Napa-head that he is. I've had several vintages of BV's Georges de Latour ('91, '93, '94, '96, '97 and '98 come immediately to mind) and have always found them to be one of the better-structured, more Bordeaux-esque Cali cab-blends (the '96 was softer, riper and denser than the others when I had it around 1-½ to 2 years ago).

This was notably more modern and extracted than I recall their older vintages, but maybe it's due to youth. Lashings of chocolate and creamy vanilla/toasty oak were very evident in its very ripe black currant, bit of kirsch, crème de cassis, licorice and cedar. I had this with my steak.

Dessert was decadent.

Chocolate Candy Bar - Everyone who likes chocolate should try this. Decadent and delicious, yet not too heavy.

Chocolate-Merengue petits fours, an espresso, several stories and a few cigarettes later, we called it a night. Excellent meal, Sunshine and Rob. We had a great evening and will surely be coming back.

The Chiongbians had already left for home when this shot was taken.

To the Alabang Group, thanks for sharing your wines and precious company. Until the next.