King Crab with mussel and prawn paelotto and gazpacho buillion

Members of the Worldwide Gourmet Club, Chaine de Rotisseurs Manila Chapter were treated to a memorable evening at I’m Angus Steak House recently. The dinner was entitled “The Viking Experience” and winner of the prestigious Bocuse d’ Or 2009, a world grand prix of chefs, Geir Skeie executed a dinner using freshly flown  specialties from Norway,  putting his Norse signature on the other dishes served that day.

It was already exciting for me even before dinner started because as generous rounds of Champagne Taittinger  Brut Reserve and Tyrrel’s  Premium Brut with a fragrant Eldeflower Cordial were passed around, my lift had already started with the citrusy, lightly musky, dry combination of champagne and some very fresh fin de Claire oysters that seemed to have just come out hours ago from the cold sea.

The apple horseradish topping gave the briny flavors a rich complement as the cold, soft, juicy shellfish was squeezed in between my palate and chased down by the teasing bubbles of champagne.

Never mind the Seared Tuna with sesame-Ponzu  or  the Nicoise style monkfish. My pile of oyster shells and a few glasses of that Brut Reserve got the evening going.

Dinner commenced with a pouring of a Chardonnay Brut Charles de Fere a sparkling French wine with very fine bubbles. It had complex honey aromas with ripe apple spice flavors and a creamy texture and long finish. This wine had been a worthy complement to the richness of the first course which was a Salmon Carpaccio served with a ruccula and parmesan.

The Chardonnay had truly enhanced the creamy oiliness of the salmon that was astonishingly termed as carpaccio as it had been sliced quite thick to highlight its richness, having been anointed with an infused herb oil and serving it with sharp peppery and nutty ruccola leaves with shavings of parmesan.

The next course did well also with the freshness of the wine as a single pan fried scallop with coriander seeds in a soy ginger butter with a heavy caramelized flavor was served with three nuances of pumpkin: a smooth puree, pickled pumpkin and roasted pumpkin seeds that presented flavors and textures on a well thought recipe.

A last-minute decision to cancel an Italian Gavi di Gavi and to change it to an Austrian Riesling Kamptaler Terrasen 2007, Brundlmayer by Mimi Reyes, our acting Sommelier for the night and  familiar wine personality of several restaurants,  was one good call. The fresh acidity of the dry riesling with its light spicy petrol, flowery and herbal aromas with light mango and yeasty flavors stood up to the acidity of a gazpacho broth that surrounded a mussel and prawn paeletto that seemed to be in between paella and risotto.

The acid turned the broth rather sweet. Of course, the piece de resistance was the hunk of King Crab on top of the dish that was cooked to moist accuracy, keeping its briny crustacean character as its pieces exploded on every bite.

Everyone’s favorite for the evening, which was also the choice dish of Chef David Pardo de Ayala of Discovery Suites, was an Atlantic Cod baked in spice oil “Bocuse d’ Or,” obviously Chef Geir’s winning entry with baked beetroot, grilled leek, smoked prawns, and Riesling Sabayonne. I could only say that when I had tasted that sabayonne sauce, it provided an absolute velvet and richness on the palate.

That could only start from a good ingredient and I know that our Chef did not use a domestic  grocery shelf butter. Doing justice to the cod that pristinely and just softly flaked with its creamy precious oils was a Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc 2008 by Craggy Range of New Zealand. This was rated 93 points by Parker and is a greenish straw colored white with lots of tropical fruit such as guavas, passionfruit, nectarines with pomelo  peel, and minerals. Having stayed on the lees for three months with 12% of the wine in French oak, the complexity was fully enjoyed with this world -class dish.

For our main course, an absolutely tender and pink Rack of Australian Lamb grilled with fennel, garlic and  baked fennel, tomatoes, and polenta was first paired off with a Soleon 2005, a Bordeaux  style mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. This wine with an expressive nose of wood, herbs, and dried fruits and aged in oak for 18 months stood up to the richness of the lamb.

What gave more smiles to the already happy diners were two surprise wines which were served for us. An Enartis Dominio de Susar 1999 from Marques de Griñon, a wine from our host Werner Berger’s Collection, a “Super Rioja” blend of Tempranillo, Syrah, Cabernet, Merlot that stayed 18 months in oak was super soft and velvety and was screaming that it had to be consumed because it was fully matured.

There was not a trace of heat or alcohol and needed contemplation to appreciate the black fruits and brown sugar upfront flavors with the plumminess and wood of the wine.

For dessert, a terrine of cloudberries served with basil and anis and a sorbet was married off well with a last wine which to me was the wine of the evening. The wine came from our Confrere Klaus Koppenhoffer, a Rittersberg 2005 made in small quantities in Strasbourg, France.

This Alsatian Gewurtztraminer shouted off fruits with its density and concentration of flavors having only low yields of 20 hectoliters per hectare on minerally granite soil that stresses the grapes and gives the power of flavor and acidity. The fully organic wine with no pesticides and fertilizers was a total show off. It evoked perfume, baby cologne, rosewater, and vanilla custard on a creamy palate and light pepper finish.

Dinner ended with everyone consuming the remnants of the surprised wines as frozen aquavits were being served. As a self respecting hedonist, I really should have stayed for more wines and drinks, if it were not for the dining companion in slinky black dress who insisted on leaving. I missed the rest of the wines.