Last week, we were privileged to be invited to the exclusive wine dinner at Tatsu Japanese Restaurant, InterContinental KL, held in collaboration with Vina Maipo winery of Chile. I was very excited as Tatsu serves really fantastic Japanese food, and I couldn't wait to taste what Chef Tadashi Inose had paired with Vina Maipo wines.
The prestigious Chilean wine producer Vina Maipo holds a rich history and excellent growth performance since 1948, and now exports to over 70 countries. Vina Maipo's new winemaking strategy focuses on Syrah, the premium line to its range of superior quality wines. Hosting the dinner was wine connoisseur, Catherine C. Wong, Certified Specialist of Wines (CSW).
The 6-course wine dinner kick-started with a beautiful trio of sushi, sashimi and cucumber spider roll. This was paired with the Vina Maipo Varietal Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay blend, Casablanca Valley. Easy on the palate, with hints of goosebery, delicate citric notes and aromas of apples and tropical fruits.
Next up was the silky smooth chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) with Hokkaido sea urchin, served with the Vina Maipo Vitral Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley. This white has a wonderful fruity aroma, and is ideal paired with seafood.
One of my favorite dishes of the evening is this Himalayan salt and sansho roast duck breast, served with grilled Japanese eggplant, baby bok choy, and Haccho honey sauce. The meaty duck was cooked to a beautiful pink, and was paired with the Vina Maipo Gran Devocion Carmenere Syrah, Maule Valley. The wine showcases the unmistakable character of Carmenere, with its intense colour and cocoa, sweet spices and tobacco aromas, and is enhanced by Syrah’s juiciness and red fruit aromas, creating a bright and deep wine, with good body, soft tannins and complex finish.
The oven-baked yuzu teriyaki salmon also surpassed my expectations, am not usually a fan of cooked salmon but I happily finished the whole plate. It was served with kani (crab) cream croquette, charred kyuri cucumber and topped with crispy puff rice. And two pieces of deep fried crispy fish skin which was sooooooo good! This was paired with the Vina Maipo Gran Devocion Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah, Maule Valley, a bright and warm blend with strong, round tannins.
The dish I was looking forward to most was this chargrilled Australian Black Angus beef, served with king brown shimeji mushrooms, sugar peas, and truffle oil topped with spicy miso. Delighted that my steak was beautifully cooked to a medium rare. The miso was slightly overpowering for the steak, but overall I had a wonderful time devouring the steak. We enjoyed the steak with the limited edition Vina Maipo Syrah, Maipo Valley which has a complex nose and a smooth, persistent finish.
The five Vina Maipo wines we had during the wine dinner
For dessert, we had the Japanese green tea panna cotta with chocolate soil, red bean, lychee jelly and vanilla bean ice cream. The panna cotta was beautiful, wobbly and smooth, the perfect end to a lovely wine dinner.
Petronas Twin Towers, all lit up at night - just a stone's throw away from InterContinental hotel in Kuala Lumpur
The Vina Maipo wine dinner took place on 29th October 2015, and was priced at RM280 nett per person. For future dining promotions, please check out InterContinental KL's website.
Opening times: Lunch 12pm-2.30pm; Dinner 6.30pm-10.30pm.
Location: Tatsu Japanese Restaurant, Level 1, InterContinental Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 165 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 03-2782 6118
Website: http://kualalumpurdining.com/restaurant/tatsu-japanese-cuisine
GPS Coordinates: 3.160249, 101.717584
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Oh? I thought it was going to be a Japanese dinner. Just the starter (love the presentation) and soup? Or that main that looked like western was actually Japanese too? I had panna cotta that day too, in my post today...but not green tea.
ReplyDeleteThe chef uses lots of Japanese ingredients in his dishes such as miso, Japanese eggplant, and yuzu.
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