Thursday Night Smashed.

Acquaintances sometimes express surprise when they find out I enjoy alcoholic beverages other than wine. While it is true that I drink wine most of the time, I have been enjoying craft beers more and more over the past couple of years, and, though I do indulge in whiskey on the odd occasion, those occasions have tended to get, well,...too fun, as of late (read: Alex Tiu's fault).

To begin with, since I was much younger, I looked to whiskey (and other hard drinks, excepting cognac and brandy) for oblivion rather than taste. And so it was this past Thursday, the 13th September 2012, when all three beverages of choice came together in unplanned devastating amounts.

After a long working day, I called Alex for a quick dinner at Ristorante Caruso before we were to meet up with Jimmyton , Miguel, et al. at Jim's Global Beer Exchange Tasting Corner at l'Incontro. Alex arrived as I was halfway through my usual Campari Soda aperitivo. We then halved a Pizza Napoletana between us for our first course, and, thereafter, had a platter each of Grilled Lamb Cutlets, Roasted Potatoes and Vegetables, with which we enjoyed...

...Alex's bottle of 2002 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon - Sweetly truffled, deeply ripe, crème de cassis, licorice, pinch of sweet pipe tobacco, chocolate. A very stylish, showy Montelena. Expansive. Generous. Full, pliant body. Molten tannins. Ready and eager to please. It didn't last long between us - but, then, again, nothing really does when Alex is in charge of the pouring.

We then crossed the street to Jim's Tasting Corner at l'Incontro to meet up with the guys for some  smooth, just off-dry, and, consequently, easy to slug down Rogue Single Malt Whiskey and various craft ales, among which were...

...Unibroue La Fin du Monde which Miguel was finally able to try, and...

...The Lost Abbey Serpent Stout from Jim's personal stash. In Jim's own words: "Very deep, viscous, syrupy, hindi pang araw araw" ("not for everyday drinking"). I slugged down my share all too quickly.

The Araneta boys were out in force that night, the get-together occasioned by Jim's brother, Frank's, being in town from Barcelona. Naturally, their other brother, Iñaki, was also there, as was their cousin Santi as well.

Others there were longtime friend Edwin Hermoso, and, the night's impresario, Bert Buenavista, who treated everyone at l'Incontro that night, plying us all with bombers of, among several others, Unibroue Maudite and Trois Pistoles. Later on, upon Santi's suggestion, we moved on to Draft in The Fort.

Santi + Alex + single malt = a dangerous combination at best.

Thereat, burgers, fries, chicken wings, etc. were ordered, as well as some beers, and, of course, at Alex's behest, a couple more bottles of single malt - a Glenmorangie 12-Years Old, and, thereafter, a liter of Macallan 15-Year Fine Oak if (by now hazy) memory serves.

We were all in various stages of tipsy and drunk by then. Poor Edwin thought to shift down to some white ale, but Alex spiked his mug with single malt, resulting in Edwin having to take a quick, recuperative nap on the table (as Miguel clowns around). Way too much fun that night, such that I was unable to focus on work the next day. The only consolation was that Alex felt just as debilitated (or so he claimed).

Alex: "Mission accomplished". Until the next!

The Rizal Menu by The Goose Station's Rob Pengson.

Last night, the 15th September 2012, Rene & Aimee Fuentes treated Miguel & Ria Vecin, and Catha & I for dinner at The Goose Station, in commemoration of their 20th year together (not quite a 20th wedding anniversary as they are still too young for that). We took the opportunity to try out Rob Pengson's new Rizal Menu, the dishes revolving around significant phases of the Philippine national hero's life.

The Rizal Menu

Our little party of six dined at the restaurant's cozy, private Wine Room, one of the walls of which is adorned with framed plans and sketches of Rob & Sunshine's current and intended restaurants.

The evening started off with some Champagne Krug Grande Cuvée Brut from our gracious hosts. Young, vibrantly fresh, citrusy, slightly bready, still a bit linear and tightly-wound. There is something underneath, however, that suggests it will flesh/round out and gain some weight and depth with more years in bottle.

Nice as an apéritif and with the signature Foie Gras Cones.

The night's reds wait patiently.

Rob personally helps serve every course...

...with a concise explanation of each...

...and a playful touch of humor as well.

Bacalao, Tuna, Coffee, Hearts of Palm...

...Green Olive, Jamón.

...with Rene's zippy, bright, super pure and focused 2010 Dönnhoff Riesling Qba.

Aimee dutifully read out Rizal's quotes that corresponded with each course.

Scallop, Shrimp, Pumpkin, Fennel, Spiced Bisque, Squid Ink, Cauliflower, Peanuts.

Delicious, a virtual menagerie of flavors skilfully tied in and balanced. I could easily polished off three of these. By then, we had moved on to some 2010 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese from me (the bottle of which I forgot to photograph) - typical light-footed, lean, dancing, light-bodied, slatey, peach, tangerine, sweet yellow apricot. Nothing exciting, but it did its job well enough.

Foie Gras Taho, Pedro Ximénez, Tapioca. A dish that symbolizes Rizal's being more than "just a simple" Filipino during the Spanish era - like the dish, his modest facade belying a wealth of inner talent and merit. Have this with some nice German riesling kabinett or spätlese for added lift and brightness.

Squab Inasal, Kadyos, Beetroot, Dragon Fruit, Atchara "Russa". With this we paired the traditional, leather-lined, cedar, violets and balsamico-laced 1998 Riojanas Viña Albina Gran Reserva. A dramatic, darkly thought-invoking rendition of a dish foreshadowing Rizal's demise, which, because of the squab and beetroot interplay, to me, brought to mind traditional Burgundian cuisine.

Bistek, Bitter Onion, Dinuguan Black Pudding, Carrot, Sweet Potato...

...paired with Miguel's 1990 Château Gruaud Larose. This dish is grounded in Rizal's Dapitan incarceration, the slightly bitter nuances of which were brought out in charred onion - the dinuguan black pudding adding depth and complexity to the distinctively local bistek flavors. This, amongst the others, was, to me, the most intellectual. The wine has smoothed out over the years, still decidedly masculine and savory with distinctive sanguine and meaty nuances in its slightly over medium-bodied, midnight fruit, slight asphalt, ceps, cedar, and violets. Evidently leaner than the 1982, but with a somewhat similar  firm/rigid structure as well.

Tres Leches, Sampaguita, Raspberry, Rhum...

...the initially hidden raspberry sauce bleeding out into the serene whiteness, symbolizing Rizal's dawn martyrdom. The beauty of this dish lay not only in its successful and well conceived and crafted flavor interplay, but also in the visual, historical and symbolic aspects.   

Petits fours

Pastillitas de Leche of Pandan, Queso and Ube. Brilliant. I normally eschew pastillas de leche, but these I liked very much. I love how everything was given an extra local touch.

Rob joined us for a brief glass of red and a chat before heading off to meet some people. If I had to distill the menu into a few words, I would use "intellectual", "inspired", "dramatic", "precisely and well-executed". Many thanks again to Rene & Aimee for such an enjoyable and stimulating dinner.

¡Adios cena adorada! ¡Hasta la proxima!

Lorenzo's Birthday 2012.

Last night, Friday the 14th September, was Lorenzo's birthday. Around a week before, he had already told me that he'd like Chef Cyrille Soenen's cuisine for his birthday dinner and so had chosen Impressions as the venue for his birthday dinner. It was a simple matter of a couple of brief Facebook messages and a confirmatory SMS message or two with Cyrille, and our reservation and menu were good to go. We were six in all as Lorenzo invited one of his best buddies, Rafael, to join us in the celebratory dinner.

2002 Dom Pérignon for the Crabmeat amuse bouche...

...and fresh French oysters flown in the same day: Fine de Claire oysters and no less than the designer Gillardeau oysters from Normandy. I cannot say enough how wonderful they are. Definitely beyond comparison to our local ones. I've had fresh ones from Arcachon and elsewhere in France while in Bordeaux,  Paris, and the Loire, and these were every bit as good and even better than many of those.

As regards the above-depicted champagne, I refer you to my notes on the same from a few weeks ago:

As regular readers may have noticed, I've lately been pulling out the 2002 Dom Pérignon as a champagne of choice. I've found it to be, though barely 10 years from harvest, quite an openly pleasing, precocious charmer. With some breathing time in bucket, it shows moderately creamy and toasty nicely ripe chardonnay, slight brioche, a developing biscuit nuance, and discreet underlying white chocolate (the pinot noir influence I'd say). It's medium-bodied to me as far as champagnes go, with a pleasantly rounded mid-palate. Not a particularly deep or notably complex vintage of DP (well, not yet anyway), but definitely readily pleasing. Very enjoyable.

Renzo loves fresh oysters and ordered a second round of the same.

Catha isn't fond of raw oysters, so Cyrille quickly whipped up some cooked ones for her.

A champagne toast to the birthday boy.

All together now.

Special mention again must be made about Cyrille's mini baguette, my favorite baguette in the country by far. When in Impressions and Brasserie Ciçou, I cannot help but eat at least three of these before anything else is served. With its delicately flaky crust, beautifully moist, soft middle, I find them absolutely irresistible...

...especially with their excellent French butter.

Next was a Duo of Foie Gras de Canard Terrines: one was the Marbled Terrine of Pan-Seared Foie Gras & Unagi with Teriyaki Glaze (an old favorite from Cyrille's former Restaurant Ciçou in Makati), and the other was Foie Gras with Ox Tongue. Both were excellent, as well as a feast for the eyes. They tasted every bit as good as they look.

The fish course of Seared Cod on Spinach Risotto followed.

Meanwhile, the night's red had been breathing in bottle...

The 1985 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande is not a birthyear wine for Lorenzo, but it is most significant for him and our family nonetheless. Though Catha and I knew each other before then, we were just friends/groupmates and I'd hang around more with her brother, Joey, back then. Sometime in mid 1985, though, Catha and I started dating, wound up going steady - and remained together since. If not for 1985, I explained to the boys, none of them may have been born. It can't get more significant than that, to my mind.

The wine itself was not as masculinely robust as several previous bottles over the years since I first had it. This bottle was markedly more refined, leaning to the feminine side, with a discreetly truffled bouquet of violets, warming cassis, deep dark molten damson, cedar, and touches of pencil lead shavings and sweetish pipe tobacco. These notes were mirrored on the palate on a silken, halfway from medium to full body. The finish was moderately long. Beautifully balanced, elegant wine. Lovely stuff...

...which paired wonderfully with our main course of earthy, succulent, perfectly medium-rare Seared Magret de Canard with Foie Gras & Chanterelles atop Roasted Pumpkin Purée, Carrots and Brussel Sprouts. Superb. Bravo, Cyrille. Of course, we sent Cyrille a glass of the celebratory red as a small token of deep appreciation.

Mignardises after a while...

...followed shortly by dessert. Cyrille knew that Lorenzo is very fond of lemon soufflé, and so presented us all with Lemon Soufflé with Vanilla Sauce and a Trio of Fresh Berries (gooseberry, blackberry, and raspberry). Delicious. I finished mine in a trice.

Cyrille, however, was not done yet...

...and had sent, adorned with a sparkler as a candle...

...a luxuriously rich Chocolate Mouse Birthday Cake for Lorenzo.

Happy birthday again, Renzo, and, of course, many thanks again to Cyrille for making my son's birthday dinner as memorable and wonderful as it was. Until the next!