Being invited to a Becasse degustation dinner was an exciting invitation indeed. Not just because it came directly from the Becasse chef Justin North but also because this was my first degustation there. Becasse holds degustations every month matching different wine regions with food and this one was the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France and tonight’s dining companion is Rebecca.

Canape: Sardine mille feuille

I did like the strong sardine flavour but I should confess now that I didn’t fall head over heels in love with this. I thought the puff was a touch dry because it was so voluminous compared to the sardine and longed for something in the centre of it.

Bread: Green olive and lemon thyme olive bread served with 2005 Caves de Sieurs d’Arques, Blanquette du Limoux, Roussillon (a mix of Chenin, Sauvignon and Chardonnay)

The green olive and lemon thyme bread is like an olive foccacia with a light lemon flavour. It comes with the olive oil gel with black salt and really comes into its own with it. We adore it so much that when they ask me if I’d like more, after some initial hesitation at excess carb ingestion, I nod a resounding yes.

Amuse bouche served with 2005 Caves de Sieurs d’arques, Blanquette du Limoux, Roussillon

Our amuse bouche is an Oyster with lime caviar. The lime caviar is made with molecular gastronomy techniques and is the exact size of ocean trout roe. Inside the liquid is more viscous so there’s less of a liquidey pop than you get with roe but more a slow oozing onto the tongue. And it’s good, oh so very good.

Assiette Montpellier served with mas des Bressades, Cubee Excellence, Costieres de Nimes

Our Assiette Montpellier was escalopes of marinated rouget and scallop with rouget jelly, carrot emulsion, carrot and orange sorbet, sesame filo, petite herbs and Spring flowers and radish sprouts. Now I knew this one would be interesting with the quenelle of carrot and orange sorbet with the fish and tiny scallops. Whilst Rebecca initially hesitated with the differing temperatures, I thought it was wonderful, especially when the sorbet had melted a little and became a cool sorbet “soup” with glistening rouget jelly, soft scallops and rouget. Texturally this was heaven. I did need a spoon to scoop it up though once it melted and we used the bread to mop up the last precious drops of this. This wine was interesting with almost a blue cheese aroma and it was very creamy on the tongue. It was 70% Roussane, 20% Viogner and 10% Grenache Blanc.

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Christie and I are a touch frightened. It’s raining and there’s a note under the windscreen wiper. We’ve just attended the opening of the new Essential Ingredient store in Rozelle and we were just about to find somewhere around here to eat when we go to feed the parking meter and find this note. It’s wrapped in cling wrap and says “Wayne 04xxxxxxx Call me, Cute yellow car”. It’s so random and so doesn’t make sense – we don’t have a yellow car and there’s no yellow car around. Because it’s a sinister looking dark and stormy night, we abandon plans to eat locally and high tail it out of there wondering why and how someone cling wraps a note like that and sticks it under a windscreen wiper? And what kind of person carries around cling wrap? The kind that has human heads in their freezer? Yes, let’s get out of here, we agree.

I check my book for places to eat. Apres jumps out at us although it is in busy 1 hour parking only Potts Point. We ring and ask whether at this lateish hour we can  secure a table and they tell us that the kitchen closes at 10pm but they’ll keep it open until 10:15pm if we just want one plate. Done. We arrive and by some miracle find a park and arrive. It’s in a gorgeous Art Deco style building with ruby shaded velvet boothed seating. The manager is friendly and leads us to our table. When he asks us what we’ve been doing that evening thus far we tell him and he remarks how their sister place La Grand Bouffe is near there. Doh! Except that we did want to leave the area pronto of course in case a human head hunter was after us. There is a 3 course set menu but we’re not hungry enough for that and we’re too late for that. Entrees are $18.50, mains are $29.50 and desserts $14.50.

Amuse Bouche: Escargot

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