Wednesday, December 03, 2014

Allegrini Wine Dinner At Villa Danielli

Recently we revisited Villa Danielli, which incidentally has got to be one of the OLDEST restaurants in town by now, it's been there like since forever...at Sheraton Imperial to sample the Allegrini Wine Pairing Dinner.

The Allegrini family of Valpolicella has been around since the 16th century,  and has passed on the culture of wine-making from generation to generation.

Valpolicella, one of the most prestigious wine-making regions in Italy, has been dedicated to wine-making since ancient times, as the etymology of its name suggests: "valpolis cellae" means, in fact, "the valley of many cellars ". It is located in the eastern part of Veneto, between Verona and Lake Garda, with its boundary demarcated to the north by the Lessini mountains.

How exotic.  I do wish I'll have the opportunity to explore these places some day soon.

Lovely homemade breads with an olive tapenade.  Of course, give me butter any day, but in the absence of, this is a pretty darn good alternative.




Polenta Crostini with Caramelized Wild Mushrooms  paired with Allegrini SOLOSOLE Vermentino Bolgheri DOC 2013;  the mushrooms were flavourful, but I felt the polenta was a bit too thick, and unnecessarily filling.  Half that height would have sufficed.

Allegrini SOLOSOLE Vermentino Bolgheri DOC 2013

I seem to be hanging out a lot with Ciki these days...

 Fried Oyster served with Salsa Verde Ceviche and Cured Prawns paired with the same wine as the previous dish.  The pairing worked well, as the white complemented the seafood by giving it that citrusy tang,

As the old Malay proverb goes, "ada udang disebalik ...rocket"

Is there an oyster there somewhere?  Somehow lyrics from ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK ...and the world's your oyster...spring to mind.


Wild Mushroom Soup paired with the Allegrini La Grola Veronese IGT 2010, a full bodied red, which went well with the soup, which was rather good.  A hint of truffle oil, cepes and enoki...(which some instagram followers commented looked like a worm)...My favourite dish of the night.

Check out my pepper spray...

Green Pea Risotto with Crispy Beef Strips and Parmesan Cracker paired with Allegrini Palazzo della Torre Corvina Veronese IGT 2010, same as the one with the wild mushroom soup.  The risotto was satisfying, cooked aldente just right.

Allegrini La Grola Veronese IGT 2010 paired with Stew Grouper fish in Cream with Grilled Asparagus, Fennel and Mashed Sweet Purple Potato

The grouper I felt was  abit overcooked, hence tough.

Grilled Beef Ribs with Sage Butter, Spinach Gnocchi, Endive and Natural JusThe beef looked good, falling off the bone kinda good...

Me, Chef, Ciki and her guest, that guy from the cover of the recent Flavours magazine, of Chyuan Tiffin underground supperclub.

Unfortunately as of press time, the wine pairing dinner is over, but it costed RM220++ for the meal, and RM150++ extra for wine pairing.  Look out for the next such offer by Villa Danielli.


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