Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: A Mezze-Ing Christmas And New Year Spread... At Mezze , Medan Damansara

Monday, December 07, 2015

A Mezze-Ing Christmas And New Year Spread... At Mezze , Medan Damansara

After this A MEZZE ING Christmas spread, somehow the lyrics of this Christmas song reverberated through my head...
....Haul out the holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stocking (in this case, wine glass)...
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now
....We need a little Christmas

I always know when an invitation comes from Ann Lee, it will be a great night, and I normally prep by skipping lunch, and also attempt working out ...which proved not enough, for I really should have fasted for a week prior to this.

Nothing like bubbly to further effervesce my already bubbly disposition...LUNA ARGENTO PROSECCO as a welcome drink.

Duck Foie Gras Dumpling with Cappucino of Pumpkin soup with Roasted Cumin - XMAS
PAIRING WINE : PINOT GRIGIO RUSSIZ SUPERIORE - Elevating the humble pumpkin soup to heights of decadence, the foie gras dumpling melts in the mouth while the rest of the palate is treated to that wonderful thick creamy pumpkin soup. Superb, is all I can say. Ann described the pumpkin soup as lyrical warmth... whatever the heck that means.

Prawn Bisque, served with sides of rouille, cheese and infused croutons - NYE
PAIRING WINE : COTES DE PROVENCE ROSE LES DOMANIERS. I'm a rouille virgin, and have never tried this wonderrrrrful fish paste, that you eat with the croutons and cheese, which totally enhances the bisqueful experience. This is a New Year eve dish. And yes, Ann made us eat from BOTH the Christmas menu AND New Years Eve menu. How evil is that!

How to eat the Rouille...

Xmas Pork Sausage, stuffed with beetroot & kale, with side serving of house-made sourdough - XMAS, PAIRING WINE : RIESLING BIO EVIDENCE 2012. Well, if sausages are deemed to be unhealthy, here we go, stuffed with beetroot AND KALE!!!! The new wonderfood of the century.... I loved the texture and complexity of the sausage, with its myriad flavours.

House Spice-smoked Foie Gras, served with chutney and fig bread. (NYE) I always thought pan seared foie gras was the only way to eat foie gras, I mean, pates are nice and all, but pate is pate, and who knows what else goes in there...but this pure unadulterated slab of foie, has the best of the pan seared version and pate. You just have to go, FWAHHHHHH!!!!!!That's good.

Citrus-cured Salmon Gravalax, with sides of walnut raisin sourdough - XMAS... I'm not a fan of gravalax, or anything salmon related unfortunately, except perhaps for sashimi, and I found it a tad too salty for my liking....but I think that will be rectified by Xmas as that saltiness was a unanimous view.

Refreshing Tuna Tartare with Moroccan eggplants and Cumin Mayonnaise - NYE...Ah, this is more like it...raw tuna, with a wonderful combination of eggplant, though I can't really tell the difference between Moroccan or Malaysian eggplants...So it seems a waste for me if I needed to fly them all the way from Casablanca. A kiss is still a kiss in Casablanca, so likewise, an eggplant is still an eggplant as well... But I digress, a lovely combination.

Baked Atlantic Cod with a Clam Chowder reduction and topped with bacon bits - XMAS. A very tasty dish, but somehow I felt that the rich chowder totally upstaged the bride, in this case, the Cod, and there should be no other Cod before me, but a Cod which is plain and pure. However, that clam chowder reduction IS very good, and has a whole lot of things going on.

FESTIVE COCKTAIL : DIAMONDS + PEARLS
A delicious concoction of blackberries and coconut with Hendrick’s Gin & Lillet Branca, nicely shaken. I never knew or heard of Lillet before, but it's a sweet aromatised wine. A gal's drink for sure... It was way too sweet for me.

Crabmeat Lasagna with Lobster Cappucino and Champagne foam - NYE
PAIRING WINE : PINOT GRIGIO RUSSIZ SUPERIORE

Lamb Rump crusted with Black Olives, served on bed of Couscous with Christmas Chutney Rolls - XMAS, PAIRING WINE : BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR ILE DE PATIRAS 2011
Lamb, I find, as I get older, becomes less agreeable with me, and I can only take it in small doses, ...BUT, this lamb was beautifully done. And I loved the christmas chutney rolls.

The wines thus far had been all perfectly paired. I particularly liked the Alsace Riesling, which to me tasted almost like a Sauvignon Blanc.

Roasted Stuffed Turkey with traditional Pork & Chestnut stuffing, with side serving of maple-glazed carrots, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts and cranberry sauce – XMAS
PAIRING WINE : ARTAZURI NAVARRA 2010. For turkey lovers who do not want the rigmarole of carving and risking a breast drier than the Sahara, this is the ultimated solution. Moist and delicious turkey meat, easy to eat, complete with stuffing.

Premium Australian 100% Angus Tenderloin with Foie Gras and Black Truffle - NYE, PAIRING WINE : BORDEAUX SUPERIEUR ILE DE PATIRAS 2011 - My kind of dish, simple, majestic and decadent... fantastic cut of meat, seared perfectly, enough blood to tantalize, but not to much that the beef was still mooing...

Sous vide Duck Breast with Porcini reduction - NYE - Okay, maybe on its own, it might have been rather good, sous vide-ed and all, but seriously, juxtaposed against that entire banquet we just had, this didn't quack me up.