Thanks to a dear friend of ours, we got invited to a special, secret gathering that happens once to twice a month, organized by the reputable O'Gourmet at Bangsar Shopping Centre (BSC).
According to thesaurus, Soiree is defined as an evening (Soir in French means evening) party or other gathering given usually at a private house, esp where guests are invited to listen to, play, or dance to music. But this Secret Soiree was a gathering to enjoy the pairing of quality food and quality wine from all across the world.
It was certainly a privilege and an eye opener to attend the event as we certainly learnt a lot about how wine is supposed to be paired with certain dished to bring out the flavors in the food, whether it is sweetness, spicyness and more. Not to mention the lovely people we met there and bumped into.
*Do you know that pairing the right cheese and white wine, can actually bring out such sweetness in white wine that you actually would not believe that you are sipping on wine? Yes it does and with the right recommendations, be prepared to be blown away!

When BSC first opened O'Gourmet we were oblivious to the fact that they sell premium wines, beef selections and even have Malaysia's only cheese room (yup, we found out a lot, all in one night), all we ever did was buy the lovely cakes from Just Heavenly, especially the chocolate brownie that melts in your mouth after each bite.
So when we were taken to a private area near the wine section, with a long table arrangement and 5 different wine glasses, I must admit I was impressed. Ling the person incharge mentioned that this Soiree happens on a monthly basis, sometimes up to twice a month - we were like WAH! I didn't know that. It is rather interesting. Even more when she mentioned that you can even call up to cater for parties of like 20 pax at as low as RM 50 per person. For a dinner party like that was actually not too bad, given the selection of food and wine we were served with.
For each Secret Soiree there would be a guest sommelier to explain on each and every wine provided and its origins and why the pairing of the food and wine. This round we had 2 guest sommeleir, which was Didier Richer and Sebastian (the consultant for Mezze, Damansara Heights)
** A sommelier is a wine steward, that is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching. The role is more specialized and informed than that of a wine waiter.
For this series, the winemaker we were introduced to was Michel Rollands collection.
We were started with some introduction by Didier and our first glass was filled with Chateau La Grande Clotte Blanc (which was a white wine) Didier explained that Michel Rolland didn't do much white wine. He only produced a few thousand botles a year which was very little considering the fact it was distributed worldwide.
Of cos the initial stage before the wine started to kick-in and do the talking we were all rather quiet. But after a while, it was like taking a ride down memory lane.
Then the food arrived (it was labeled as Secret Menu so most of us didn't know where the food came from until the end of the evening) it was the pairing of green and white asparagus. White asparagus is rather rare and cost more than green asparagus and for those who doesn't fancy bitter vegetables you would feel the pairing for the green asparagus blends better with the white wine as green asparagus is sweeter. With white asparagus it brings out a bit of bitter taste to the wine and not everyone would fancy that - Malaysians are more of a sweet tooth compared to the French people.
The second pairing was Mariflor Pinot Noir together with spicy crab rissole with basil oil with guacamole and salsa dips. Each of which you will be surprised when dipped individually brings out a different and unique taste to it. At first I only dipped it with guacamole and found the taste of the wine on the mild side and Sebastian recommended me to try the latter dip, which I did of cos. And I discovered that it actually brought out the spiciness that this wine was supposed to bring out as it is spicy based.
And we went back to Bordeaux, France, the Chateau Bertineau Saint-Vincent which was aged in one-year old barrels paired with mini burger aux foie gras. When I first saw the foie gras burger I thought about The Daily Grinds foie gras burger (a bit disappointing when you pay over RM 50 for foie gras burger you would expect more substance, but let's not go there) I was not disappointed at all. Although it was a mini burger but it was a generous amount of foie gras bound to satisfy your taste buds =)
The 4th was the 2006 Chateau Fontenil Fronsac, which is aged between 12 to 15 months in a 60% new oak barrel. This red wine was paired with a scrumptious lamb cutlet marinated in basamico.
The whole collection of wine served for the night =)
To end the beautify course dinner was the Argentina Yacochuya one of the most sophisticated Malbecs ever produced. Bound to make your taste buds spark! It was so heavenly to be paired with mini roquefort quiche - which was blue cheese. It was so shocking that blue cheese could actually taste so good! Makes me crave for more (however it is sadly not available at Mezze, as it is only specially produced for this dinner)
Each and every dish was picked and matched perfectly with much consideration and discussions between the head chef and the 2 lovely sommeliers. Thank you so much for the lovely time! :)
To enjoy this lovely dinner, there will a session open to the public next Thursday, on the 21st of April 2011 - at 7pm til 8.30pm, at RM 50 per pax this tickets can be purchased at the O'Gourmet food hall. Hurry! As there is only availability for 12 pax.
If you decide to purchase the wine, there will be a special promo of 6 bottles and another bottle free.
