Un Beau Soiree Avec Madame Carol Duval

If nectar is the drink of the Gods, then champagne should be the drink of the high society.

Recently, Kuala Lumpur’s bubbly lovers and socialites gathered in a beautiful soirée at Bistro 42, Bangsar Village, in conjunction with Madame Carol Duval’s visit to Malaysia.

Now, you may be asking who Madam Carol Duval is. Well, Madam Carol Duval is the president of Champagne Duval Leroy – a notable champagne brand based in Vertus, France. What’s more, the house was founded in 1859 and has been present in the winery business for 148 years.

Back to the event itself. As it is a well-known fact that champagne is often associated with classiness, dressing up to their nines was what the guests did.

Amidst the free-flowing brut rosé champagne and delicious canapés during the pre-dinner cocktail, guests from various walks of life – society movers and shakers, CEOs, celebrities and selected members of the media – were enjoying themselves, mingling and quaffing the champagne.

A privileged few also had the opportunity to speak to Madame Carol Duval herself, who was accompanied by her son Julien and Monsieur Thomas Bepault of Champagne Duval-Leroy.

A lavish three-course dinner ensued, starting with spring salad – a symphony of fresh garden vegetables laden in cream. Post salade (the starter), Madame Carol Duval, Julien and Msr Thomas took over the microphone and gave a brief speech.

Second course of the meal continued with cannelloni (a type of pasta) stuffed with trio of mushroom.
Of course, guests too enjoyed the free-flowing “companionship” of the vintage Femme de Champagne 2000. Now, everyone can say that all champagne tastes the same.

Au contraire, Femme de Champagne, or literally translated as Lady of Champagne boasts complex notes of a lively maturity: brioche (the bread, hello?), vanilla and wood aromas alternating with citrus fruits such as lemon and mandarin.

Done with the cannelloni, the dinner moved on to the main course du soir – pan-seared crispy barramundi fillet with salsa. To be honest, the barramundi was perfectly seared and the refreshing taste of the salsa at the bottom of the fillet went perfectly with the fish.

In the end, le fin du course was the luscious chocolate fondant topped with vanilla ice-cream and fruity compote. Blogger Rebecca Saw was right; the chocolate fondant was ambrosial indeed and served as the perfect ending to such a great dinner.

Thus, une mille mercis à BIG Group et aussi à Carol Duval et fil Julian et Thomas for such a lovely evening.

 *Photos courtesy of BIG Group.