Last Friday of the Month Wine Pairing Chef Dinner at LAFITE, Shangri-la Kuala Lumpur

Some invitations are a travesty to reply with regrets, ....one such invite is for any meal at Lafite, Shangri-La Kuala Lumpur.  And when it's for a wine pairing dinner, all the more so, it becomes the highlight of one's dull humdrum week, the light at the end of the tunnel, and a real Thank God it's Friday kinda situation.

Anyway, I was lucky enough to be invited to their First Sunday of the Month Champagne Brunch and was chuffed to be asked back for the Last Friday of Month Wine Pairing Dinner, priced at RM290 nett per person.  First things first, although it's for the last Friday of the month, this will not be happening in November, (perhaps a build up to the Yuletide and festive season), so the next such event will be at the end of December. (29th December)

The pairing is country thematic, ie, featuring wines from a certain country, for that particular night.

Guest get to do a wine tasting at the Bar area.... as a "warm up", also for them to feature the wines available for sale.  The featured wines were a selection of Red and White Spanish wines, although the dinner itself is paired with Italian.

A specially curated menu by Executive Chef Olivier Pistre to pair with the bottle of wine.  Each couple dining is entitled to a bottle of either white or red.  For the inaugural session, the menu was paired with Italian Wines, namely the Tasca d' Almerita Regaleali Bianco (White) or the Tasca d'Almerita Regaleali Nero d'Alvola (red) featured below.

The romantic setting of Lafite for the wine pairing dinner...

Our table

An exquisite Seared Hokkaido Scallop and Sunchoke Veloute...with a most unique accompaniment of a squid ink cracker.  The rich thick broth, the perfectly seared scallop, a glass of white in hand, and the company of good friends....bliss.  That cracker is really good, and I wonder if it's a regular feature in their menu accompanying their soups.

Slow Cooked Spicy Lamb Shoulder, 48 hours sous vide... how did people cook before this sous vide thingie came about. The lamb was lovely, tender, juicy, everything that one can hope for in a cut of meat.  Just the right amount of fat, banana stuffed onion, (which interestingly enough, made it look like a  mini "jantung pisang" or banana flower), garlic gnocchi.

Okay, I have to say, when I first saw the menu, I thought to myself, fantastic as the meal sounded, in typical Malaysian fashion, the mental thought bubble came, "enough to eat meh?" but after finishing the first two courses, and of course the lovely breads, I was regretting my earlier evil thoughts of going for hokkien mee after.

After a few drinks, Lex (KgBoy of KgBoy CityGal) is an expert wine pourer, living on the edge.

Chocolate Liegeois Revised "Caraibe Valrhona 66% Grand Cru" - Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Chocolate Sauce, Chocolate Syphon, Sable Breton Crumble.  One of the most video-ed desserts I reckon.  You can't really go wrong with Valrhona, and chocolate sauce and good quality Vanilla Ice Cream, and with such a visually titillating presentation, how could it not taste good.

For the next menu, on 29th December, do check www.shangrila-la-speicals.com

For reservations, call 03-2074 3900.

Lafite
Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur