Our very first event was at the Nanning Marriott Hotel where Bailli Eric Ko and Bailliage officers welcomed everyone with a glass of Rosé “Aix” from Provence, ranked among the best rosé wines internationally. Paolo Basso, 2013 Best Sommelier of the World, described it as “having a beautiful personality and representing the new wave of serious rosés”. The wine’s freshness was perfect on a hot summer night and an excellent pairing for the Guangxi-style canapés.

We enjoyed a typical Nanning traditional dance called ‘Tinik Ling’ which was a real challenge for ladies to pass through the obstacles with their beautiful high heels. The laughter created a happy start to the evening!

Marriot Executive Chef Rock Deng and his team prepared a menu themed “South of France”. Before the journey started, Chef Rock introduced his gastronomic menu. Specially sourced for the night were French cèpes, Boston lobster and exclusive Italian Extra Virgin olive oil.

Félix Napoléon from M Chapoutier brought a fine selection of wines from Domaine de Bila Haut in the south of France.

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Squid ink bread, garlic pepper mini baguette
nutmeg beetroot soft bread, butter

Boston lobster
with a seafood tartare trio of
red tuna, Hokkaido scallops, Norwegian salmon
sour cream sauce, light horseradish coulis
Côtes du Roussillon Blanc
‘Les vignes de Bila-Haut’ 2017

Sealed Atlantic salmon
grilled Mediterranean vegetables, lemon butter sauce
Côtes du Roussillon Blanc
‘Occultum Lapidem’ 2016

Lemon sorbet

Grilled lamb medallions
pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant timbale
roasted figs, feta cheese, rosemary sauce
Côtes du Roussillon Villages Rouge
‘Les Vignes de Bila-Haut’ 2017

Pan-fried Australian grain-fed beef tenderloin
porcini mushrooms, wine gelatine
Côtes du Roussillon Villages Rouge
‘Occultum Lapidem’ 2016

Chocolate mousse
Banyuls 2015 - Banyuls Rimage AOP
Vin doux naturel

The sold-out gathering was delighted with superb courses each paired with outstanding wines and a great feeling of brotherhood and friendship. Everyone agreed it was a wonderful evening at Nanning Marriott Hotel.

Félix Napoléon declared “a wine pairing dinner is a marriage between the food and the wine; tonight, the wedding was a great success”. The Banyuls was a perfect example of this celebration of culinary love, with a powerful shifting between black fruit, red berries and dark chocolate, perfectly accompanying with the chocolate mousse, a real ecstasy for our gastronomes!

At the end of the dinner Hotel Sales Director Cathy Pan with the kitchen and service brigades gratefully accepted a plaque from Bailli Eric Ko to commemorate the event.