Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Since early 2007, I have been wanting to gear my future travels towards visiting more locations which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are so many amazing places around the world to see!

Here is the list that I have already visited so far. Click on the links to see pictures from my Picasa albums.

Total count: 51 sites in 18 countries

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 9: Faire le pont

My last full day in France, and it happens to be the Monday that's right before a holiday - All Saints Day.  Finding things that are open these last few days have been particularly difficult, since many French people have the habit of "faire le pont"... literally to make a bridge, but in essence taking a long weekend.  We had that problem on our trip to Burgundy last year.

Got up this morning and was determined to go grab some breakfast at Blé Sucré.  It's within walking distance from my hotel, and I was dying for some kouign amann.  I had one on my trip last year and have been thinking of it ever since...

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 8: Enfin, Paris!

Another early start to the day, as I get ready to leave Switzerland and go back to France.  B very kindly made us a huge breakfast, and I joked that the spread is about half the size of the 5-star luxury hotels that I had been staying at during the past week...

After getting dropped off at Nyon, I took the local train into Gare Cornavin in Geneva, and boarded the TGV to Paris.  I was wondering why it would take 3 hours for us to make the journey, then it all became clear as we snaked along the river gorge during part of the journey... Can't exactly travel at 200 km/h given this kind of terrain!

The train pulled into Gare de Lyon, and I quickly checked into Hotel Mercure Gare de Lyon - rising above one corner of the train station.  I dropped my luggage quickly and ducked into the Métro below.  I was already late for my lunch appointment with the Specialist and her friends.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 7: 3-star detour

I'm on the road again... After less than 24 hours in Lyon, I got up early this morning and headed for Gare Lyon Part-Dieu to catch the train to Geneva.  I'm headed for one of my favorite restaurants in the world - Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville in Crissier.  I was here around the same time 3 years ago, and met my friend B for the first time.

Once I arrived at Gare Cornavin in Geneva, I took a local train to Nyon.  B picked me up in her black SLK... new since my last visit.  My giant Rimowa barely fit in the trunk...  We dropped off my luggage at her house, and Mr. B drove us all to Crissier.

It was a beautiful day around Lake Geneva - blue skies instead of gray 3 years ago.  We met up with another couple who had come in from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.  Lunch for 5 would be a lot of fun.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 6: Bicycling in Lyon

The roadtrip was over and we went our separate ways this morning. A few of us took the car back to Lyon, and after a quick drop-off at Saint Exupéry Airport, the car took me to the Hilton Lyon where I would be staying the night.

Checking in was a breeze at the hotel, and soon I was able to drop my luggage in my rather spacious room. Too bad my room didn’t come with a view of either the beautiful riverside or the adjoining Parc de la Tête d’Or, but that’s what happens when you book through one of those hotel booking websites…

It’s lunchtime and I’m hungry again. I venture out of the hotel and decide to rent a bicycle from a station just outside the hotel, one of hundreds citywide. Instead of getting frustrated like I did in Paris 2 years ago, this time I found the process incredibly easy. Soon I was on the bike going down the biking/jogging path right next to the Rhône River, heading into town looking for lunch.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 5: The best of Chateauneuf

Got an early start this morning since we had 3 appointments before lunch.  First stop was at Clos Saouma, the new property from Mounir Saouma and Rotem Brakin of Burgundy's Lucien Le Moine.  Details of the visit are here.

Our next stop is with an MNSC old friend, at Château de Beaucastel.  Details of the visit are here.

Our final stop before lunch is at the legendary Domaine Henri Bonneau to meet the man himself.  Details of the visit are here.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 4: Pope and Avignon

We left Maison Pic early this morning and said goodbye to northern Rhône, heading down south to focus on Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Our first visit was at Domaine Roger Sabon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape this morning.  Details of the visit are here.

Next we headed to Tavel and visited Domaine de la Mordorée.  Details of the visit are here.

Fabrice very kindly treated us to lunch at the restaurant in La Mirande, the hotel in Avignon where we were staying.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 3: two giants in northern Rhone

Our morning visit having been cancelled, our day was a relatively easy one, and I got some much-needed sleep.

The first item on our agenda today was a visit to M. Chapoutier in Tain l'Hermitage.  Details of the visit can be found here.

Michel Chapoutier hosted us for lunch inside the main office.

Salade d'andouillette grillée et de pommel de terre – made from pigs raised by Chapoutier, Michel prefers to cut open the casing and just pan-fry the pieces. As an andouillette lover, I was totally in heaven. So happy that I didn’t have to look for it on this trip…

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 2: Two vignerons in the north

After a rather sleepless night, the focus this morning was firmly on breakfast.  Breakfast at Troisgros is a serious affair, and I was certainly not going to miss it!

The basket of pastries included the brioche aux pralines, which was as fragrant from the hazelnuts as it was sweet from the sugar.  The savory selections included three different sausages: a boudin noir with beef tongue, another boudin with pig’s ears, and a saucisson.  Doesn’t take much to make me a happy man in the morning…

We bid farewell to Maison Troisgros, and headed south into Rhône valley to begin our tour of the domaines.

MNSC Rhone Trip Day 1: Back at Troisgros

So here we are... at the start of another MNSC road trip.  The region we have chosen this year is Rhône, and for the second year in a row we are starting the trip with a full day spent with the Troisgros.

Two of us arrived at Charles De Gaulle Airport early in the morning, and after grabbing a simple cup of coffee with a pain au chocolat, boarded the TGV and headed to Lyon.  After getting picked up at Lyon Part Dieu station, we picked up the rest of the crew at Saint Exupéry Airport and the connecting TGV station.  Within one hour, the Viano was full and we headed north for lunch.

Floral capital

I had a free day in Taipei today, and finally had the chance to visit the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition today, some 5 months after the expo opened.  My last few trips back home had always involved weekends and public holidays, which are never the best times to visit expos unless one wishes to fight the crowds and line up for hours.

Upon entering the grounds, I lined up to get into the EXPO Dome (爭艷舘) as it seemed the logical first stop.  There was a long line and it took me a while to get inside.  Unfortunately this was a pretty big waste of time.  I wasn't impressed at all with what was inside - there was too little and mostly of poor quality.  I did appreciate a couple of set-ups where they tried to show people some environmentally-friendly way of beautifying the concrete jungles we live in.  I walked through the building in a hurry, not wanting to stick around.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 8: cutting the cheese

My last meal in France.  I got up this morning and took the metro to a familiar neighborhood for breakfast.  Somehow I'd never made it to Eric Kayser before, and I was determined to see if their croissants and pastries were all that.

I arrived around 9ish and sat down with a croissant, pain au chocolat and a canelé.  The croissant was pretty good, but nothing really inspiring like what I had at Blé Sucré yesterday.  The canelé tasted alright, but was kinda soggy...

But the real reason I'm here is actually across the street... Androuet has a shop here, and I continued to hang out in Maison Kayser after finishing my pastries, waiting for the cheese shop to open.  They finally did at 9:40am - only 10 mins after the official opening time.  I was their first customer of the day.

I was in heaven the second I walked in.  They weren't 100% ready, but I already spotted most of the stuff I wanted to bring back home.  I took the medium-sized Vacherin-Mont d'Or (for some reason the shop called it "grand modèle"), the Epoisses from Gaugry, the 30-month Comté, the 24-month Mimolette Extra Vieille, and finally the Cabri Ariégois.  I  asked for them to be packed sous vide, and packed them into my suitcase.  Hopefully they'll be ripe in a week's time...

I checked-in my very full suitcase, filled with jars of jam and unpasteurized soft cheese... coming in just under 29kg.  With my bag of Pierre Hermé macarons in hand, I boarded my flight and headed home.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 7: 25-nen buri

I have one last day in Paris and this was my day to run errands.  I had flat out refused to entertain any pleas to help secure Hermès handbags or anything of the kind.  The errands would all be food-related.

I pinged the elves in the morning, and Legolas Jr suggested that I check out the kouign amann at Blé Sucré.  It was a little out of the way for me... east of Place de la Bastille.  But the pictures on David Lebovitz's website looked interesting enough, so I hopped on the metro and went looking for breakfast.

I took a kouign amann, a croissant, coffee and sat down outside.  The pastries were cold, but still delicious.  The layers of the kouign amann were sweet and interesting.  Pretty good, I would say.  The croissant was really good... the type where the layers were stiff and brittle, which would break instead of bend under pressure.  Absolutely loved it.  Good job, Legolas Jr!

Next stop was Mora in Les Halles, to get some copper canelé molds for a friend in Taipei.  Unfortunately the shop was out of stock today, and I didn't find what I wanted until my third shop... and at twice the original budget.  Oh well...

Lunch was at Spoon Food and Wine, with my old friend Ralph.  Ralph and I went to school together in Tokyo, and haven't seen each other for close to 25 years.  I missed the opportunity to catch up with him last year, so I made sure to book lunch with him early this time around.  I had wanted something light so this was the perfect place for us.

Herbes et salades de nos maraîchers, concombre et yaourt - this was alright, although the yogurt threw me off a little.

Légumes et fruits d'automne cuisinés en cookpot, panais à croquer - this was pretty interesting...slightly heavier than a salad but it was all veg and nice. 

I'm starting my detox program so I didn't have any wine. 

It was good catching up with Ralph, as we each talked about what we've been up to since our teenage days in Tokyo.  I'm sure I'll have a few more food and wine encounters with him in the coming years...

A quick stop at the Virgin Megastore after lunch to get my Mylène Farmer fix, and I'm off to get my next fix at Pierre Hermé.  Guess what?  STILL no Ispahan macarons!  What do I have to do to get my hands on some?!

I pick up a bunch of small gift boxes for my friends back in HK, and proceed to get 2 boxes of the truffe blanche & noisette.  Ralph had told me about these babies and I was ecstatic to see a whole bunch of them.  I had apparently bought enough to earn a free macaron to taste in the shop, and I of course asked for the white truffle... What a wonderful creation!  The fragrance of the white truffle was so upfront...

Next I moved over and picked up 10 jars of confiture, made specially for Pierre Hermé by Christine Ferber.  Most of these were signature macaron flavors, such as Ispahan, Satine, Envie...  Can't wait to try all these babies!

A few hours later I sat in my hotel room pondering about my last dinner in France.  I was solo and didn't want a big and elaborate meal... and I actually contemplated going to McDonald's...  I read about "Crêpe Alley" just a couple of blocks away from the hotel, and trek up to see if I can get into Crêperie de Josselin.  Unfortunately there was a big group of people waiting outside, so I walked a few more steps and lined up outside Le Petit Josselin.

I didn't want a big meal, so I asked for the Andouille de Guéméné as a simple instead of the regular couple.  I just love the burnt taste of the blé noir galette... and of course find the pungent flavors of intestines irresistible. I was in heaven.

A perfect way to end the day.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 6: back to Paris

Our final day in Burgundy started with a visit to Lucien Le Moine this morning.  Tasting notes can be found here.

We had lunch with Mounir and Rotem from Lucien Le Moine at Caveau des Arches. 

I started with the salade de roquette to keep things light.  This was pretty good as it had Parmesan, cauliflower, carrots...etc.

Magret de canard, griottines - the minute I saw the word "griottines" I knew I was done.  These wonderfully sweet cherries were perfect to go with the duck breast.  The duck was perhaps a little bit more done than "rosé", but still very tender and delicious.  The sauce was just unbelieveable... red wine reduction together with the sweetness from the cherries.

2007 Coche-Dury Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - mineral, flint, a bit ripe, high acidity on the palate.  Later on became ripe and sweeet on the palate, with rounded, buttery notes while still flinty.  Honestly this was a little muted for a Coche-Dury...

2006 Rousseau Chambertin - sharp and alcoholic, mint, a little Chinese medicine, root-like, black cherries.  Much later on the nose was really really sweet, but palate kinda died and turned pretty disgusting, like drinking bleach…

A pretty enjoyable lunch, and certainly much better than dinner last night...

We took the long ride back to Paris after lunch, and it rained the whole way.  At one point I noticed that all the animals grazing on pasture were white:  sheep, horses and cattle.  Our driver told me that the cattle were of the famous Charolais breed - which some of us had enjoyed at lunch earlier.

Back in Paris, I checked into the Hotel Concorde Montparnasse and immediately ran some errands before heading out to dinner.

We regrouped at Il Vino d'Enrico Bernardo to celebrate Lord Rayas' birthday.  Even Juliano, who missed out on the entire trip to Burgundy, flew in to join the party.  The lovely wives of Lord Rayas and Juliano also graced us with their presence, so we finally had ladies at our table for the first time in quite a few days...

The restaurant was established by Enrico Bernardo, formerly of Four Seasons George V who won the title of Best Sommelier of the World back in 2004.  The concept is refreshing, and really takes food and wine matching to heart.  There was no food menu.  The diner chooses the wines from the list, and the kitchen sends out dishes to match the wines.

The amuse bouches:

Cream of beet root

Tempura of Parmesan

Rabbit Terrine

2007 Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - big, explosive toasty nose with flint, minerals, fresh lemon.  The acidity was a bit high.  Drunk together with fish, the acidity disappeared completely, leaving only ripe, sweetness and a round and lovely wine.  Better than the Coche-Dury at lunch today.

Tartar of sea bream with wasabi crème fraîche, chives and caviar - this was pretty good, and the wasabi wasn't too strong to detract from the wines.

2006 Roulot Meursault 1er Cru Perrières - really sweet, lovely and beautiful... decadent.  Sweet straw, honey, nectar, buttery corn.  Smooth and round on the palate.  Absolutely awesome.

Pan-seared scallops with broccoli sauce, topped with konbu and orange - the scallops were done very well here.  The broccoli sauce was a little bland, but the piece of konbu (昆布) was incredibly salty.

Tagliolini with butter and white truffles - this was simply awesome!  The tagliolini was done very nicely, with plenty of yummy butter.  Of course white truffles made the dish, although we were a little surprised that they chose to shave the truffles in the kitchen and not at the table.

1996 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée Aux Brûlée - nice and open, with a bit of smoke, black fruits, herbs and spices, sweet fruit, a little preserved prunes.  Medium acidity at first but later more acidic, and a bit tannic on the finish.

We celebrated with a birthday cake, which I no longer had the space for in my stomach...

The food was excellent, well-deserving of the restaurant's macaron.  This was definitely a good way to wrap up our Burgundy trip.  I was glad to be able to celebrate Lord Rayas' birthday with him in Paris.

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 5: gang of four

Two big domaine visits this morning.  First stop was at Domaine Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier in Chambolle-Musigny.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Next stop before lunch was at Domaine Ponsot in Morey-Saint-Denis.  We finally got to pick and eat a couple of grapes left hanging on the vines before going in to visit.  The grapes were really ripe, sweet and delicious.  We later found out that the grapes actually didn't belong on Ponsot land... Oh well.  Tasting notes for the Ponsot wines can be found here.

Laurent Ponsot joined us for lunch at Castel de Tres Girard in Morey-Saint-Denis.  I didn't go for salad today, and went for the menu Bourguignon instead.

Amuses bouches

Les œufs meurette du Castel de Très Girard - I didn't really like the alternative version I had on my first day here, but these classics were absolutely awesome!  The thick, rich red wine sauce, together with caramelized onions and strips of smoky lardon, just made for a perfect combination with the soft, runny eggs.  Soaking everything up with toast was just about the best thing ever.  I didn't exactly pull a Dyson, but my plate was pretty darn clean...

Traditionnel boeuf bourguignon, carottes, oignons, champignons et tagliatelles fraîches (boeuf origine France) - OK so this was another touristy dish I needed to check off...  The beef itself was not bad, pretty tender.  The carrots were tasty, as were the strips of lardon.  It probably wasn't the best idea to finish the pasta...

Fromages frais et affinés de chez Gaugry à Brochon - the minute I see the name Gaugry I knew I wanted some cheese no matter what.  They are the only house that still make Epoisses from raw milk, and how could I come to Burgundy and not have some?  I asked for a slice,  which wasn't quite as ready as I'd like.  The slice of Comté was sweet and decent, though.

We were amused by the name of the dessert - Shake’s pear très Bourguignon - but were too full to stick around and find out what it was.

As our numbers dwindled, so did the number of bottles consumed at our meals.  First came the 2007 Mugnier Musigny, which was sweet, fruity, almost jammy with blackberries.  Fragrant and really beautiful.

1997 DRC La Tâche - really smoky, minerals, vegetal, smelling of stems, sharp alcohol and green pepper.  Second pour was much better.

Our first stop after lunch was Domaine des Lambrays in Morey-Saint-Denis.  Tasting notes can be found here.

We had a little gap in between appointments, so I asked for a detour to do something really touristy - to stand in front of the famed cross of Ligier-Belair erected in front of La Tâche.  We even managed to pick a bunch of grapes from La Tâche to taste them...

Last stop as the sky dimmed was at Domaine Marquis d'Angerville in Volnay.  Tasting notes are here.

Now down to just four of us, we headed to La Régalade for dinner.  Pineapple hadn't been here in a while, and it's clear that the standards have gone down.

Our amuse bouche was a little bit of carpaccio de St Jacques aux truffle.  This was OK.

I took a large green salade to start, and finished with the œuf brouillade aux truffes.  Unfortunately this was way too runny, and the truffles were also of lesser quality.  I don't think we'll be coming back to this place.

We had drunk far too much wine at this point, and the wine list wasn't exactly inspirational, so we made do with one bottle for the four of us.

2004 Robert Groffier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - fragrant and lovely, with grilled meats, mint and smoke.  Fairly smooth and elegant on the palate, but the finish was a little short.  Lovely nose.

We headed back to the hotel, where a couple of the boys tried to pick out a bottle from the hotel's wine list...

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 4: memorable oldies

We started the morning with a visit to Domaine Bruno Clair in Marsannay.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Our second stop of the day was Domaine Dugat-Py in Gevrey-Chambertin.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Lunch today was at Chez Guy in Gevrey-Chambertin.  I had some trepidation when I saw the words "and family" written in English...

Two amuse bouches: the mushroom soup was very salty, but I guess that's not surprising.  The artichoke cream was not bad.

I had a spoonful of the truffled eggs, which were pretty delicious.

I wanted to keep things light, so I asked for a green salad.  The waitress seemed puzzled that I didn't want anything substantial, and asked if I wanted to have some pork terrine with my salad.  I agreed to her suggestion and ended up having jambon persillé maison, câpres à queue, cornichons et petits ongions, mesclun à l'huile d'olive...  Instead of having terrine with my salad I ended up having a small pile of greens on the side of big chunks of terrine.  Argh!  At least the terrine was pretty decent...

As I didn't get enough greens the first time around, I asked for a second, much bigger plate of greens.  Much happier.

I did have dessert.  Figue rôti au Mas Amiel, jus à boire, sorbet figue framboise sounded good, and also tasted pretty good.

2003 DRC Echezeaux - an obvious bargain on the wine list.  Initially a little tight, funky, savory, smoky, spices with fruit underneath.  Palate was a little flat.  Second time around the finish was longer and the wine was more concentrated, with game meat notes.

2006 Méo-Camuzet Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru Aux Cros-Parantoux - nose was a little closed, with sharp alcohol.  A really concentrated wine.

2006 Bachelet Charmes-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes - soft, open and fragrant, with mint and a bit of sweet fruit.  Round and lovely.

First stop after lunch was Domaine Jean-Jacques Confuron in Nuits-Saint-Georges.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Next stop was Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux in Vosne-Romanée.  We were treated to a lovely bottle of '71.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Our final visit of the day was Domaine d'Eugénie in Vosne-Romanée.  I had tasted the 2007s and 2008s in Hong Kong a week ago, and this was a chance to try the 2009s and see the progression.  Tasting notes can be found here.

Dinner tonight was at Ma Cuisine in Beaune, just a short walk from the hotel.  The restaurant is well-known for its solid food as well as its wine list, and is a regular hang-out for many of the winemakers and others in the trade.

Salade de St Jacques poêlées - these were really, really good.  The scallops were big, fat and juicy.  Perfect execution.  The pile of greens in the middle also helped keep things light and balanced.

We shared a few orders of œuf brouillé aux truffes, which were the best we've had so far.  The consistency of the eggs were just perfect - not too runny - and there was plenty of black truffle shavings on top as well as in the eggs.  Every mouthful was fragrant ad lovely.  Each of us could have easily gobbled down a plate or two of these...

The pigeon entier rôti au jus was the best I've had that I can remember, and I've had a few pigeons in my time.  The pigeon was plump and incredibly succulent - oozing with juice and flavors emenating from within each bite.  Lightly spiced with pepper and herbs outside, and the mushrooms played their supporting role well.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't the alcohol talking when I was overcome with emotion while savoring each and every little mouthful of heaven.

The wine list was pretty extensive for a restaurant of this size, and there were a number of gems we unearthed tonight.

1996 Leflaive Chevalier-Montrachet - sweet, honey and buttery...so rich and creamy, with a bit of minerals, a hint of acetone.  Color was golden yellow.  Acidity was quite high on the palate, even though it was hot and burned a little on the finish.  Later on the nose showed a bit of grass, oak, more minerals, flint and toast.  An incredibly lovely wine.

1961 Henri Sorrel Hermitage - none of us had ever had the privilege to taste this wine before, although the name Sorrel is a distinguished one in Hermitage and one can't exactly go wrong with a '61 Hermitage!  Really nice and amazing.  Lots of herbs and spices, a little turpentine, sous bois, black olives, soy sauce, smoke and mushrooms.  The wine still had reasonable body for its age, but slightly high in acidity and burned the back of my throat on the way down thanks to the alcohol.  A real treat to be able to drink this!

1972 Guigal La Mouline - the second bottle of red just had to be this one, with so many fans of La Mouline present and also being Dayliao's birth vintage.  I'm sure I am biased when I say that I found this more enjoyable than the '61 Sorrel.  Lovely, huge nose with floral, bacon fat, grilled meats, violet, sweet and ripe fruit, prunes.  Soooo explosively sweet it was amazing.  After more than an hour the floral and sweet nose started to fade.

Yet another wonderful evening...the third in a row!  This would be our last evening with a full crew on this trip, and what a way to finish!

MNSC Burgundy Trip Day 3: Le Montrachet and La Tâche

Got up this morning and had a fantastic breakfast at Maison Troisgros.  Pineapple told us that the bread and pastries here were well worth having, and he wasn't wrong.  Surprising the croissant was a little soggy, but the rest of the items in the bread basket - including the wonderful sweet brioche - were awesome.  I also nibbled on some saucisson and blood saucisson...

Our first visit was Domaine Michel Niellon.  The tasting notes for the wines can be found here.

We had a little time before lunch, so we drove around to take a look at the most famous of all white Burgundy vineyards - Le Montrachet.  It's really not that big, and one can see that the different growers who own or lease plots of land in the appellation put up their own gates or markers with pride.

Lunch was at Le Montrachet in Puligny-Montrachet.  Against my better judgement, I did not have salad and took the set lunch instead.  I would regret this later in the day.

We were served some pretty yummy amuse bouche, including jambon persillé.  A pretty good start.

Vichyssoise with salmon - this wasn't bad at all, although interestingly it was green, probably from the parsley.

Les escargots de Bourgogne «en persillé», fraîcher automnale - I thought I'd get the touristy thing out of the way and order the escargot, since we are in Burgundy after all.  Turned out to be a little disappointing... Maybe my expectations were too high, but these weren't that big...  Flavor-wise they were pretty decent, and each was stuffed with a tiny piece of bread to soak up the sauce.

Le quasi de veau rôti, brochette de shiitake au lard et pomme de terre - I could see that the veal has been overcooked, which ruins this supposedly tasty cut of meat.  It's actually part of the loin, which explains its texture.  Fortunately not all the pieces were dry and a couple were still pink and moist in the middle.  The thick cuts of bacon sandwiched between potato slices were tasty, though...

Velouté d'ananas rôti et citron - the roasted pineapple at the bottom sure was tasty...

Le tartelette sablée aux noix et caramel salé - very nice and sweet, with gin and tonic sorbet on the side.

As we are dining at a restaurant called Le Montrachet, it is only fitting that we enjoy a bottle from the famed vineyard.  The 2004 Sauzet Montrachet had a good, buttery nose with toasty oak, flint, minerals, lemon citrus, and honey.  Ripe and a little hot on the palate as well as the finish.

2003 Roumier Bonnes Mares - minty, lots of fruit, pine needles, sweet, very beautiful... lots of minerals and almost a little iron.  A bit hot on the palate and very sweet.  The finish was a little grippy towards the end, and after a while the palate pretty much died.

Next we visited Domaine Hubert de Montille/Domaine du Château de Puligny Montrachet.  Tasting notes on the wines are here.

Our final visit of the day was with Domaine Michel Magnien.  Tasting notes on the wines can be found here.

We checked into L'Hotel de Beaune and rested up a little before dinner, which was just next door at Le Bistro de L'Hotel.  Thankfully we could order à la carte and cut down on the intake.  I was only a little bit hungry...

A simple little ham and cheese sandwich to start us off.  Very good.

A little cup of butternut squash cream soup was really thick and sweet.  Left half of it as it was pretty filling.

We took the chef's suggestion and started with papardelle au beurre et truffles d'Alba.  The papardelle wasn't the best, but the white truffle shavings and butter was just amazingly fragrant.  Thank you sir, can I have another?

Côte de boeuf grillée «Black Angus» (1.2kg) - this was supposed to be shared by two people, but it was so huge we thought it would feed a party of four easily.  The kitchen sent it out bleu without asking us how we wanted it done, and it was promptly sent back.  Fortunately the kitchen did a perfect job and didn't overcook it the second time around.  It's a damn good piece of beef, with a good amount of fat to make it oh-so-tasty.  I don't eat steak all that often, but this is how I want my beef done!

We were served a pile of frites maison in a bamboo steamer basket.  Interesting...

Poularde de Bresse de chez mieral rôtie entière - also shared between the 6 of us.  Bresse chicken is really the best in the world for me, and this was just about perfect.  I got one of the drumsticks, and loved it.  The meat was so tasty, especially with the fat of the chicken dripping all over it.  The skin was crispy and awesome.  Absolutely heavenly.

The restaurant sent out some rice and some creamy mashed potatoes.  Lord Rayas was already craving for a bit of home, and I could see his joy as he drizzled chicken oil from my plate over some rice...

Now onto the wines.  We have had a lot to drink and taste today, so decided to skip the whites and went straight to reds.  Once again Pineapple outdid himself and set us up with a kick-ass set of wines.

1993 Mugnier Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses - a little bit dusty at first, with stewed prunes, grilled meats, a little smoke and leather.  Sweet and grassy.

1998 Mugnier Musigny - sweet fruit, mint and ripe melon.  Very nice and lovely.  Nose kinda showed a little oxidation later on.

1978 DRC La Tâche - O-M-G.  This was an awesome wine, and such a privilege to drink!  Amazing amount of sweetness in the nose, with sweet grass, bacon, farmy, floral and fragrant, minty... Just absolutely lovely.  Mind-blowing.

1985 DRC La Tâche - the other wine in the pairing could only be the '85. A little more muted than the '78, with some mint, sweet fruit, a little ripe with leather notes.  Also a little sharp at the beginning.

The evening could only be summed up with one word: AMAZING.  With a line-up of legendary wines, and some simple yet wonderfully delicious food.