Spring reaches full bloom just in time for Le French GourMay, and the regional theme for this year’s festival is particularly apt. Alsace is a living symbol of spring nestled between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine, a land bordering both Germany and Switzerland that pulses with vibrancy and inter-regional culture. La Table de Patrick and Chef Patrick Goubier, one of the city’s longest serving and most beloved French chefs, have created a delectable 4-course menu to salute Alsace and Le French GourMay. Much like the diversity of the region itself, Chef Goubier’s menu is a convergence of ingredients from different cultures united by classic French gastronomy and technique.
Served from May 2nd through the entire month, the 4-Course Alsace French GourMay 2016 Menu begins with a classic Escargot on a Bed of Comfit Red Cabbage, an enticing dish of delicate balance with comforting sautéed garlic and onion, sweet notes from apricots and raisins and finished with a developed pinot noir sauce and a dash of cinnamon. Chef Goubier’s mastery of foie gras is on full display in the next course, a Home-smoked Foie Gras and Black Pudding Parcel topped with sauerkraut foam flavoured with Alsatian beer. Beech-smoked foie gras is a perfect complement to the savoury and robust black pudding, accented beautifully with the natural partnership of tangy sauerkraut and German-influenced Alsatian beer.
Chef Goubier’s main course, a Braised Pork Cheek with Morels and Riesling Sauce, is pure satisfaction. Served with Münster and potato gratin, it’s an instant delight that hits all the right notes on the comfort scale. The aromatic Riesling sauce is the result of two days of fermentation, lifting the slow-cooked braised pork cheek to a succulent high with earthy morels soaking up all that gorgeous flavour. For dessert, Chef Goubier has prepared a spring-laden Alsace-style Rhubarb and Apple Tart, perfectly paired with a delicious scoop of gingerbread ice cream.
It wouldn’t quite be Le French GourMay without a celebration of both food and wine, and Chef Goubier duly delivers with four exceptional vintages from Alsace. The Josmeyer Fleur de Lotus AOC 2013 ($98 per glass, $528 per bottle) is a beautifully balanced wine with a floral bouquet of spring bloom, accented by hints of coriander and white pepper. It transitions flawlessly to notes of clove and liquorice on the palate with a gorgeous finale of spices that linger delicately. Or, enjoy the Josmeyer Riesling Le Kottabe AOC 2013 ($108 per glass, $578 per bottle), a perfect warm weather wine with an exotic blend of lemon drops, honey and apricots on the nose followed by a juicy, stony mouth feel lifted by a glimpse of acidity that accents the orange and lemon notes throughout. Josmeyer Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives AOC 2016 ($158 per glass, $888 per bottle) is pure Alsace with a white flower bouquet, honey and flowers on the palate with a balanced, rich structure that’s perfect for pairing with many desserts. And the red wine selection is the Josmeyer Pinot Noir Herrenweg AOC 2012 ($128 per glass, $688 per bottle), a soft and alluring vintage that owes its silky mouth feel to grapes grown from the unique soil conditions of the Herrenweg area in Turckheim.
The 4-course Alsace French May menu is priced at $598 (+10%) per diner, delivering a harmonious union of Alsatian culture, French technique and spring flavours in one delectable menu.
La Table de Patrick
6/F, Cheung Hing Commercial Building,
37-43 Cochrane Street (entrance is on Gage Street), Central
Tel: (852) 2541-1401
