Asian Dinner

Last Sunday night, we had a small dinner at home with a couple from Sid's office. I decided to give Sid a challenge with the wine list, so I chose an Asian-themed menu to see what Sid would come up with. The menu was:

1. Vietnamese Spring Roll (recipe)
2. Pan Fried Shanghainese Wontons
3. Cantonese Shredded Chicken Salad
4. Thai Chicken Green Curry
5. Satay Beef Wok-fried Rice Noodles
6. Mango Pudding

Sid opened a bottle of rose to start the evening. We had brought this bottle back from Chile from our last visit. We had tried this Cousino Macul 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon at the vineyard and I really liked the flavour - like fruits (red ones, not bananas, pineapples, or durian) bursting in your mouth! Strangely enough, we had actually bought this bottle in 2005, so I guess this wine does not need to spend much time in the barrel. (fresh from the vine to my mouth - hence the explosion).

Actually, the southern hemisphere is slightly different as the harvest period is in the first quarter of the year (rather than 3rd quarter in other parts of the world). Actually, the wine did not have very powerful aromas but tasted excellent. Given the unseasonably warm temperatures, it was a good start to the evening. During dinner, Sid chose an Argentinean Sauvignon Blanc from Santa Rita (Reserva 2005). Again, fresh from the vines - almost like we had to pick the grapes ourselves. The wine had a very interesting (actually not very interesting, as it was very pale) colour. I can't remember anything about this wine as the first wine had already left me slightly light-headed. Sid said that the wine was refreshing and had good acidity - actually went well with the green curry and the spring roll. He also said (for R$ 45) - it was a good buy!

After desserts, we had opened a box of swiss chocolate thins but had completely forgotten about the beautiful hand-crafted chocolates from Curitiba that our guests had brought. Check out these chocolates - each one was individually hand painted and they were totally yummy. (Cuore di Cacao, fone: 3014-4010)