Yesterday evening, we attended a beer appreciation dinner by San Miguel called, L’art de la Gustation. Basically, it’s a 6-course meal, created to match 3 of San Miguel’s iconic beers, San Miguel Premium, San Miguel Super Dry and Cerveza Negra. Basically it’s to introduce beer as the perfect companion to fine dining. Interesting concept, and here’s the menu:
The event was held at La Regalade with chef Karen Martin as captain of the ship. Here goes:
Rabbit Rillette with Dijon Mustard and Cornichon
Terrine Maison with Onion Marmalade and Pearl Onion
Tuna Carpaccio with Ten Spice Rub
(matched with San Miguel Premium)
Calamari and Chorizo
(matched with San Miguel Super Dry)
Goat Cheese and Pear Salad
(matched with Ceveza Negra)
Snapper with Rosemary Butter
(matched with San Miguel Premium)
Lamb Navarin with Couscous
(matched with San Miguel Super Dry)
Cremé Chocolat
(matched with Cerveza Negra)
It was such an adventure in gustatory exploration. By the end of the meal, we would’ve gone through 6 bottles of beer. I tried my best not to finish each bottle, to reserve enough space to accommodate all 6 courses. And if a course is finished, they take away whatever beer was left, and replace it with the nicely chilled beer for the following course.
The highlight for me was the Fried Goat Cheese on a bed of Spinach Leaves with Sauteed Pears. There were three distinct flavors, all wonderfully playing around in my mouth, each one as delightful as the other. It was light, refreshing and full of flavors. It was such a satisfying salad, I’d say even for non-salad eaters. The other highlight for me, and which was on top of most of the other RX jocks’ lists, was the Dark Belgian Chocolate Custard served with Almond and Coconut Tuille. The interplay of the nutty taste of the Tuille and the sweetness of the chocolate was heavenly in the mouth. And I just realized that both favorites were the dishes matched with Cerveza Negra. This was actually the very first time I ever tried Cerveza Negra. It’s got an interesting malty flavor that I found surprisingly perfect for meals. I also found interesting that the two strongest dishes in terms of taste, the spicy calamari and the distinctive lamb were both matched with the more robust San Miguel Super Dry. Of the three beers though, my favorite was the San Miguel Premium. Mainly because it’s so smooth. But don’t be fooled, smooth as it was, it was nevertheless potent.
The experience was very interesting, my first time to have different beers matched with fine dining. And for sure, it won’t be my last.