Sunday, 26 July 2009
Culinary and vinous delights...
Just spent 5 eventful days with a group of North American Incentive buyers. Delighted to find a higher than normal proportion of foodies (and winos) in their ranks and we had several memorable meals together in both Auckland and Queenstown. Dine at the Sky Grand in Auckland was an absolute standout. I thought of Von (and indeed all vegetarians) as I hoovered down my entree of twice-cooked crispy Pork Belly with Grilled Ox Tongue. How could one deny oneself such a treat? The contrast in textures between the pork and ox tongue was a highlight as much as the fantastic flavours. Unusually for me I had the beef as a main - 300-day grain-fed Angus fillet on a roast Artichoke puree with roast portabello mushrooms. The beef, which came exactly as ordered (horns cut off and bum wiped), was simply the best piece of fillet I have ever tasted (I'm normally a rib-eye fan by preference). Dinner had been preceded by a tutored wine-tasting. There were no ordinary wines in the line-up but the truly stellar were the '04 Vinoptima Gewurtztraminer Reserve, the '02 Stoneyridge Larose and the very rare '05 Providence Syrah. I've been priveleged to drink a reasonable amount of first growth Bordeaux in my time and the best the Rhone has to offer and these wines are right up there (at a fraction of the Froggies' cost). More on my palates adventure to come....
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1 comments:
Damn, that meal sounds good. I have stayed at Sky Grand a couple of times and have endured the repetitive torture of walking past the restaurant on the way to the lifts to the guest floors. I press my face against the kitchen window and drool before skulking off to my room to eat a lamb and mint pie or the complimentary tea bags.
I have always been a bit suspicious of the "dine by Peter Gordon" thing to be honest. It is a bit like "Squier by Fender" and "Epiphone by Gibson" in the guitar world. Good guitars but it isn't the same as owning a Stratocaster or a Les Paul. If you are eating at a restaurant whose reputation is tied to a famous chef, should that chef not be cooking there? It is without doubt a great restaurant so it should stand tall and just call itself "dine".
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