I didn’t blog yesterday because I was recovering from an amazing – but very late – night at a fabulous place called Le Salle Dining by Bar Chaplin.
I was invited as a guest of Chef Patrick Dang and co-owner Ederlyn Oloresisimo and I took my sister along as my plus one.
Tucked away in the back streets of Surry Hills, the intimate space seats around 14 people. The reservation-only dining experience feels more like you’ve been invited to a dinner party at a friend’s home than a traditional restaurant outing.
Patrick has trained and worked in kitchens around the world with big names like Gordon Ramsay and Luke Mangan.
Watching him prepare each of the courses was incredible and so was the food!
We enjoyed a 5-course menu paired with nine French wines curated by Ian Barr, who’s with an importer called Euan McKay.
We kicked off with a Champagne that was sooooooo delicious, from a small producer called J. Lassalle. Ten out of 10, totally recommend for special celebrations.
There were so many fabulous courses, we were very full by the end of it.
I also managed to be a complete wanker throughout the night, as I know a fair bit about wine (theoretically rather than critically) from all my years as a drinks journo.
I also spent a weird amount of time in my youth holidaying in wine regions.
In fact, I took my sister to the Barossa before she was even legal … don’t tell anyone, it was in the 80s when things weren’t quite so policed.
I returned to South Australia with my ex in my yellow jelly bean car, the Mazda 121, where we proceeded to visit the Clare, Barossa, McLaren Vale and Coonawarra and managed to cram 10 cases of wine into its Tardis-like boot.
An ill-fated trip followed to Chateau Neuf de Pape in France that saw us buy a case of wonderful wine, which was later stolen from the car in Valencia. Sob.
These days I am not so interested in wine holidays, I much prefer to be wildlife spotting than Cabernet sipping at cellar doors.
But my history means I can nod knowingly about Charles Melton’s Nine Popes wines being inspired by those at Chateau Neuf De Pape and wax lyrical about Turkey Flat being the frontrunner of Australia’s amazing roses and agree that St Emillon is a gorgeous, golden spot to sip and stay …
I’m sure you’re getting the idea about how insufferable I was …
But what a fabulous treat on a Tuesday night.
Yep, that diet I am supposed to be on is going SO well.
Song of the day: Alex Lloyd “Amazing”
housegoeshome 
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