De Bortoli Wines’ Head Chef Whips Up Special Pairing Menus At Favola

VALLEY OF THE WINE

Savour the flavours of Australian terroir with a limited wine pairing dinner at Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur’s Italian restaurant – Favola. Guest chef Ben Levene, the head chef of Locale Restaurant in Victoria and De Bortoli Wines’ de facto gastronome, creates two special pairing menus this September 18 to 20.

Exclusive to the four-course dinner menu (RM350 nett with wine pairing) is a pillowy duck tortellini, served with caramelised pear, walnut pesto and parmigiano reggiano, complements the rich flavours of the winery’s Riorret Balnaring pinot noir 2015.

What the three-course lunch (RM120 nett, without pairing, and RM200 nett, with pairing) has in common with the dinner menu is the Chardonnay cured Kingfish, served with macerated grape and roasted hazelnut, and paired with a De Bortoli Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2016. Also on both menus – potato gnocchi, spiced lamb shoulder ragu, cherry tomato and whipped ricotta cheese – paired with a single vineyard section A8 syrah 2013.

To finish, there’s chef Levene’s famous tiramisu – mascarpone, savoiardi, coffee, Noble One semillon wine and crostini – paired with the very wine infused in the dessert.

READ MORE: Hennessy X.O reveals a seven-course pairing menu with Saint Pierre KL

De Bortoli wines is a third generation family wine company established in 1928 from an Italian couple who migrated to Australia. Their emphasis on careful site selection, vine maturity and high input viticulture has marked the winery’s reputation for premium wines, including their well known Noble One dessert wine.

Le Méridien Kuala Lumpur