Food 9 - The Tasting Room

This restaurant is well known downtown in London (Ontario) and is conveniently located near to  the Grand Theatre.  I visited, recently, having planned (for some time) to experience the lunch menu of appetizers coupled with a ‘flight’ of wines.

There is an extensive variety of appetizers.  I chose the Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps and the Duck Wings, each described by the server as ‘finger food’, something that I was about to regret later.

For wine, I selected the Sauvignon Blanc Flight comprising four 2 oz glasses of wines from South Africa, Chile, and New Zealand.

Duck Wings and Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps

The Duck Wings, described as;  a confit, crisped and tossed with an Asian chili [sic] sauce (that removed any crispness) with meat that should have benefited with additional slow cooking … although duck would rarely be described as succulent, however cooked.  Firstly, I tried the Roojberg wine from South Africa, and found it basically tastless, or earthy, on both nose and palate, i.e., not “packed with … fruit flavours” as described.  I also tried the Chilensis wine from Chile, and just found it correctly described with having “citrus fruit” aromas.

Next, the Shrimp & Pork Lettuce Wraps, described as;  including charred corn, pickled onions, cilantro and piquillo pepper salsa wrapped in Boston bibb lettuce.  All together, these ‘wraps’ were absolutely delicious.  BUT, they were not wrapped (as one may expect spring or cabbage rolls to be wrapped) but open, which meant that the lettuce became salsa-saturated, limp, and incapable of holding anything … even with two hands.  The finger-dipping bowl hardly satisfied the continual need.  I suggest putting this on a children's menu.  I tried the Mount Fishtail wine from New Zealand here, correctly described with “lush tropical fruits … and a touch of sweetness.  I finished with a wonderful, fruity (expensive) Map Maker wine, also from New Zealand, making New Zealand the go-to country for Sauvignon Blanc wine … at the moment.

Finally, after washing my hands, I ordered a coffee.