French food and wines make it a night at Lafite

We all need a night out on the town, for a dinner treat in an elegant setting without being too expensive. I would consider the once-a-month Wine & Dine at Lafite in the Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur where fine French food rules. The three-course French dinner (at RM320 nett) begins with wine tasting and canapés, with a bottle of wine poured for two when dinner is served.

Seared Hokkaido Scallop & Sunchoke Velote with artichole Barigoule, squid ink cracker, truffle oil

We were at the Wine & Dine at Lafite, billed “A Night with Chef Olivier” last October and Spanish wines were tasted and served. Chef Olivier Pistre is Executive chef of Shangri-La. A pre-dinner tasting of four wines together with canapés got us to a happy start.

Slow Cooked Spicy Lamb Shoulder with Pomegranate gel, Galic Sable, Banana Stuffed Onion, Parmesan Gnocchi

Seared Hokkaido Scallop & Sunchoke Veloute was a richly flavoured creamy soup touched with truffle oil and turning up a luscious sweet scallop. Bits of artichoke in the soup and the squid ink cracker made this a stand-out.

Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali Bianco (white) and Tasca d’Almerit Regaleali Nero d’ Alvola (red)

Slow Cooked Spicy Lamb Shoulder rocked with bursts of five spices, cumin, ginger and thyme in the sous vide lamb. The meat was tender and juicy, well matched with pomegranate gel. We loved the trimmings on the platter too, the best of which was the banana stuffed onion, which squirted delicious fruit as I took a bite. The Parmesan Gnocchi was not bad too.

Chocolate Liegeois Revised Caraibe Valrhona 66% Grand Cru

This is the second time I’ve had the Chocolate Liegeois Revised “CaraibeValrhona 66% Grand Cru” , with vanilla ice cream, hot chocolate sauce, chocolate siphon and sable Breton crumble. But I still love to capture that moment when the hot chocolate sauce is poured over and melts this chocolate-covered ball of vanilla ice-cream.

A romantic setting for dinner at Lafite

With four of us at the table, we could share both a bottle of white and a bottle of red wine — Tasca d’Almerit Regeali Bianco (white) and Tasca d’Almerita Regaleali Nero d’Alvova (red).

Altogether it was a pleasurable evening with fine French food and wines. Since Chef Olivier took over, there’s been a beat to Lafite in its menu makeover and gourmet events.

Wine & Dine at Lafite is on the last Friday of every month (26 January, 23 February and 30 March) and showcases a different menu and wines each time. It’s Australian wines for January, American wines for February and Chilean wines for March.

Here’s the menu for 26 January. To book, go to this link: https://www.shangri-la-specials.com/promotions/promo83.aspx