Restaurant Caleb – Degustation

We had a great night out dinning at Restaurant Caleb ( formerly,  The Corner Italian) with a great degustation 5-course menu prepared by chef Caleb Azuka, that tantalised every sense we could have over a meal. Feature the month of September, the degustation menu is related to Earth and Nature.

A degustation with your own wine, grab a wine off the shelf or from your home cellar and bring it along to make your dinner a memorable one.

Dish 1: Heirloom tomato salad

Ingredients: heirloom tomato, black olives, truffle tartar, dill with chef’s special broth.
A fresh and juicy salad. Any fresh, crisp wine will do. A crisp sparkling wine, something light and fresh. The acidity of the wine will liven the tomatoes and olives like a vinaigrette. This will also open the appetite and make the start of the dinner a celebratory moment.

We paired this dish with Moët & Chandon Champagne.

Dish 2: Burrata
Caleb’s handcrafted burrata, truffle cream, 24-year-old balsamic de Modena, edible flowers, basil & paprika emulsion

This is a creamy dish, the burrata and the truffle cream will work nicely with either a rosé that will pair well with the flowers and the balsamic vinegar, or an aromatic white wine like a Viognier that will contrast the intense flavours while still delivering a WOW factor.

We paired with a Paul Nelson Wines 2019 Viognier. Its vibrant acidity cuts through the burrata while mirroring the berry and vinous aromas of balsamic vinegar. A nice contrasting pairing to clean the palate after each bite letting the food shine.

Dish 3: Land & Sea
Crispy pancetta, rustic scallop, 1 hr slow confit pork belly, creamy mascarpone polenta, hollandaise sauce.

Scallop, pork belly and the pancetta. On the other hand, mascarpone cream and polenta call for white wines. A wine that can match the fatty white pork meat, creamy-starchy elements and seafood is a Rhone white, in this case a Marsanne-Roussanne blend or the likes, preferable if it has an oxidative character that comes from time in an oak barrel. Also a Margaret River Chardonnay will pair beautifully.

We paired this dish with Yangarra 2015 Roussanne paired well with the pork fat, complemented the dairy and starchy components and played well against the hollandaise.

Dish 4: Duck Cognac
Duck breast, Cognac d’Orange, sultana quinoa, parsnip, beetroot, berries jus

This plate screams Bordeaux. Duck and Bordeaux pairings are classic. Cognac comes from almost the same region and the berries juice will pair nicely with the red fruit in wine.

A nice Bordeaux, or Bordeaux inspired red wine (Cabernet-Merlot) will work a charm.

We paired with Fudding Cup a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River. Black, currant, coffee notes and dusty tannins makes this Cabernet an old-world style wine, while still on budget. The tannins played nicely with the duck fat and its rigid character shone with the sultanas and the berry jus.

Dish 5: Dessert Madness
Chocolate, icy gelato ball, coulis, crumbs.

We paired this decadent desert with  Sambarino Chocolate Liqueur. The dominant flavour here was chocolate, and played beautifully with the vanilla ice-cream cantered with coconut ice-cream.

If you’re feeling adventurous you can pair this dish with a coffee-based after dinner cocktail. Like a Carajillo (a shot of Spanish Licor 43 and a shot of espresso, shacked and poured over ice in a short glass).

This dessert will pair well with any brown spirit too, like brandy, cognac or even an aged rum.

Have you been to any fascinating degustation lately? Share with us your experience here in the comments.