In the kitchen today was Milan Thapaliya, the head chef of the Brick Lane restaurant, the group who also operate the Royal Exchange. Milan was serving fusion Asian dishes of Indian/Nepalese with a few other influences.

Canapes

Milan served us two canapés to kick off the day. The first was “chicken poppers”, chicken thigh fillets diced and marinated overnight with ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom and then flame-grilled. They were served with sweet cardamom-infused yoghurt. Delicious but sadly only one per head!

Next up was a vegetarian dish, onion bhaji served with tomato chutney. The Indian fritters made with onions were beautifully spicy and crispy.

Aperitif wines

Chilly Hargrave served us two KT Wines, the 2016 Riesling and the 2015 Riesling. KT Wines are located in the Clare Valley and have over the past few years developed an excellent reputation for their Rieslings winning many awards and medals. Both were typical Rieslings reminiscent of their birthplace. The 2015 seemed to have more lively acid to be enjoyable now whilst the 2016 was closed and a little dumb which is probably a reflection of its youth.

Main course

The main today was a goat curry which Milan ensured was all meat, having removed the bones, a gesture I wish all Indian restaurants replicated. The goat was cooked in a rich tomato sauce with garlic, ginger, chilli, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves and served with a zesty slaw of carrots, cucumber, cabbage, spring onions and coriander. This Indian/Nepalese dish was served with rice and Milan had ensured that it was warm rather than too spicy for many of our constituency.

A tasty satisfying dish with a number of my table wishing they had an extra portion.

The wines

Selecting wines for such a meal was not for the fainthearted, but Chilly Hargrave was up to the task.

Tyrrells Steven Semillon 2007

Under screwcap, this Semillon showed a cleanness and balance whilst being a substantially flavoured example of typical Hunter Valley Semillon. Citrus was evident and it will age further, without the worry of cork failure.

Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2012

A light typical Australian Pino showing substantial browning on the meniscus. The fruit was fading, and the wine is a definite drink now prospect.

Saltrams Mamre Brook Shiraz 2012

This well-known Barossa Valley Shiraz surprised no one with its rich, though somewhat jammy finish. A commercial wine, it was medium to heavy and one-dimensional. Not my favourite.

Bests Bin No. 1 Shiraz 2012

Bin 1 was introduced by the Thompson family at Bests to provide a cheaper commercial alternative to the scarce Bin No 0. The results have been stunning. At 7 years of age, the wine was showing a very slightly brown meniscus and a typical spiciness from the area. A very good value commercial wine.

Cheese

James Healey bought us back to Australia today with a perennial favourite, the Maffra cloth aged cheddar. In line with the theme of the day, the cheese was served with riata with cucumber, yogurt and turmeric. The Maffra from Gippsland cow’s milk is a very good example of what Australia can produce. Many picked the cheese as being English.

Coffee

Whilst Spencer was absent today he supplied us with Rwanda coffee. Spencer advises "coffee bean growing was encouraged by the Clinton Administration after the civil war. It is better than when presented a year ago but still does not reach the great African or South American coffees" Nonetheless, I thought it a strong performer.

 A very enjoyable lunch from Milan. We were reminded that he will be cooking for us again at the Melbourne Cup lunch as he did in 2018.