A. Lange & Söhne at Quay Restaurant, Sydney

Two days before our departure for Geneva we received an invitation to the A.Lange & Söhne 2015 Novelty Tour. This event, to be held at Quay in the Rocks, was organized by Watches of Switzerland and A. Lange & Söhne 

The day of the event was an early taste of summer with temperatures in the mid 30’s. As a matter of fact the first few days of October were more like summer than spring. 

We were a little disappointed when arrived at Circular Quay to see a cruise ship docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal. Thankfully we soon learnt that it was due for departure around the same time as the event started.

As the boat backed out from the dock, the sun set giving a brilliant display of light over the Opera House.

The dinner was held in the Tower room of Quay which comfortably seated the 30 of us. The special guest for the evening was Mr. Wilhelm Schmid, CEO of A. Lange & Söhne was able to make the long flight down under to join us.  Our host for the evening was Mr Eric van der Griend, managing director of Watches of Switzerland, Australia.

Scattered around the perimeter of the room were several display boxes with the novelties for 2015.

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Butter was artfully presented, beats the standard square, triangle or round presentation.

Menus for the evening.

I chose the raw smoked Blackmoore wagyu, horseradish, soured cream, fermented rye crisps and raw funghi. Quay has a delightfully, unique way of preparing and presenting food. I was suitably impressed with my entrée and the flavours in it. Very much a modern reworking of steak tatare.

Vikki contemplated the Marron dish but wasn’t too sure about Dory caviar. So she decided to have the vegetarian entrée of spring ewe’s milk curd, broad beans, caper and freekah crumb, apple, nasturtium and purslane.

The roasted grass fed beef fillet, morel cream, braised mushroom, roasted ancient grains caught my eye. A nice tall fillet topped with all the extras. The flavours were great and the beef was nice and tender. A little bit healthy as well with the addition of the ancient grains.

Vikki has been wanting to try the pork jowl ever since she saw it on the menu when looking at Quay’s website. She was delighted to see it on our menu for the evening. Smoked and confit pig jowl, scallops, shiitake, Jerusalem artichoke crackling. The meat was so tender, the scallops really went well with the pork, a touch of mushroom flavor and the Jerusalem artichoke crackling was pleasing both visually and flavor wise. 

Of course we had some sides to share, mixed leaf salad, super creamy potato puree and fresh beans.

Prior to desserts being bought out we were able to try some of the watches on display. My Datograph Up/Down alongside the Datograph Perpetual.

For our final course, Vikki and I both chose one of Quay’s signature desserts, Quay’s  seven texture Valrhona chocolate cake. Yes the one that has appeared on MasterChef. So rich and tasty.

Inside the seven textures of chocolate.

Vikki got to try on the Little Lange 1. Avery elegant watch in either pink or white gold with mother of pearl dial.

Datograph Perpetual, Datograph Up/Down in pink gold and the Zeitwerk minute repeater.

Looking out of our tower to a fantastic views of the city and bridge.

We would like to thank Watches of Switzerland and A. Lange & Söhne for inviting us to be a part of this very special and fun evening.

J. Farren Price, Vacheron Constantin Harmony Presentation Dinner

We recently received an invitation to attend the Sydney launch of the 260^th Anniversary Harmony Collection watches from Vacheron-Constantin. The evening was to be held in the Kent Street Kitchen at The Langham, Sydney. Of course we couldn't say no!

The Langham, Sydney was formerly The Observatory Hotel, a hotel we had wanted to go to but for some reason never made it down to the Rocks to stay there. Upon walking through the front doors we were suitably impressed. Very luxurious! Cream walls, marble and wood floors, in some areas the rugs were recessed in to the marble. Beautiful soft pastel shades on the furnishings, wood, marble and glass topped tables, consoles and coffee tables abounded and everywhere gorgeous floral displays, polished brass highlighting everything. Vikki commented that she misses polishing brass sometimes.

We made our way into the Kent Street Kitchen, where we were met by the staff of J Farren-Price in a reception area decorated with historical images of some of the vintage watches used as inspiration for the Harmony Collection special editions. A video of the watches and components being constructed and designed was also playing. Very fascinating to see the level of craftsmanship and detail that goes into high end luxury watches.

After canapes and a couple of glasses of Dom Perignon, we were taken through to the dining room where a display table with the Vacheron Constantin 260^th Anniversary Harmony Collection was set close to the dining table.

A long communal table was dressed elegantly in a crisp black cloth, white linen serviettes, a variety of white flowers and foliage in sparkly crystal and gleaming silver ware.

A relaxed seating/lounging area was also adjacent to the dining area.

Looking at the menu, we saw an interesting and delicious array of food planned for our dinner, with some French wines that we were eager to sample. 

First course was smoked ocean trout, escabeche, rocket, lemon pearls, pumpernickel. A very light yet flavoursome entree. The pumpernickel was done as crumbs, rocket presented as a puree with little crispy bits of skin served like crackling. This was served with a Domaine Christian Salmon Sancerre from the Loire Valley in France, a nice crisp wine that matched the fish perfectly.

Two main courses were offered with the first being butter poached West Australian marron, burnt onion and shellfish risotto. Vikki was a bit unsure about the risotto as she said that sometimes a seafood stock can be quite strong, however she was very pleasantly surprised as it was a gentle seafood flavor. The nasturtium leaves gave a nice peppery hit to the dish. Our wine with this course was Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose from Provence, France. The Bandol Rose was a blend of Mouverdre, Grenache, Cinsault and Carignan, some varieties that we aren’t too familiar with here in Australia.  

During dinner there was ample time to chat away with those near you or to examine up close the Vacheron Constantin 260^th Anniversary Harmony Collection. I love the contemporary cushion shape of the whole collection. We were fortunate to see most of the collection including:

• the Harmony Chronograph Tourbillon Calibre 3200 – which combines a manual winding chronograph with a tourbillon regulator
• the Harmony Chronograph Calibre 3300 – with a brand new in-house chronograph movement
• the Harmony Chronograph small size Calibre 1142 – the ladies edition with the old Lemania-based chronograph movement
• the Harmony Dual Time Calibre 2460DT – the simplest edition of the collection with a second time-zone indication. The engraved rotor is just divine

My absolute favourite is the Harmony Mono-pusher Chronograph Calibre 3300 as has a very classic (but marvelous) design which took its inspiration from a historical Vacheron Doctor's chronograph from 1928.

This is the first Vacheron to have an in-house chronograph movement. It was time for Vacheron to have its in-house chronograph movement, replacing the Lemania-based movements used up to now. This Calibre 3300 will certainly not only be seen in this 260-piece limited edition of the Harmony but serve as a base for the new standard manually-wound chronograph calibres. For the 260th anniversary limited edition the balance cock is hand-engraved with a floral fleurisanne motif that will be absent on the regular production Harmony to be launched in 2016. This makes this current watch even more special and important in the evolution of Vacheron. 

We were told that the conception of the Calibre 3300 started in 2008. Developing a chronograph movement is long as it is certainly one of the most complicated architectures possible, as multiple gears, levers, brakes, clutches and wheels have to be designed and assembled very precisely.

In my view this reconfirms the place of VC amongst the top which includes Lange and it’s more obvious rival Patek .

Second main course was a twice cooked beef short rib, marrow gelee, parsnip puree, Brussels sprouts. The beef ribs were so tender, the parsnip puree very smooth and creamy, and the Brussels sprouts cooked but still firm, several of the Brussels sprout leaves were nicely crisped, and the bone filled with a herbed crumb. Really a delicious course! Our wine was of course a very nice red, Chateau St. Georges, St. Georges-St. Emilion, France. At 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc it was a great pairing with the richness of the rib.

Dessert was apple mousse, honey cremeux and chocolate crumble. Very cute dessert and it was a shame to eat it. Tasted delicious, the green outer glaze concealed the apple mousse, so when you put your spoon in to it, it looked like a Granny Smith apple.

It was a truly wonderful event, in very elegant surroundings, with wonderful food and wine. We would like to thank J. Farren-Price and Vacheron Constantin for inviting us to be part of the night.

Reflections on Rebellious causes

Being invited to a rebellious cause will stir emotion in most of us, as we all have dreams of lashing out our creative energy into our passions. I suspect that the reason why most of us fail in this endeavor is our inherent need to often seek the approval of others. 

En masse globalisation is standardising value systems and the mega brands increasingly seem to have the same look and feel despite their best efforts to instill the ‘disruptive mantra’.  Maybe it’s a symptom of the fact that corporate marketing departments like to play it safe by developing watches the current trends suggest rather than taking a risk creating a potential object of desire.

Now and then there are glimmers of hope, like this year’s Patek Philippe Pilot Watch controversy which got the world talking, but more on that later.

It was with particular joy to find out that I was invited to join in the celebrations of three rising independent watch brands, namely, De Bethune, MB&F and Urwerk.

I have to say that watch events in Singapore are of a different league in terms of standard and level of sophistication not just from the organiser but also the end collectors.

The knowledge base is astounding, as is the uncompromising critique when a new piece is launched. The HM6 Space Pirate is one watch that manages to spark in instant reaction from people, the initial reaction is confronting which is then followed by fascination and a deep respect of the craftsmanship and design complexity.

Ironically even Max thought that I would never buy a HM given that my watch collection is very classic. Intriguingly I’m drawn more to the Horological Machines now despite my earlier and most would think more rational preference for the Legacy Machine particularly given Kari Voutilainen’s input into the movement.

The HM2 is my personal favourite machine I just had to have one.

A true mechanical sculpture unique, technically complex and with strong elegant lines. I suspect that even H.G Wells and Leonardo Da Vinci would approve.

A good friend of mine remarked on the fact that, “for a watch to have true inherent value to the collector, it must be an object of the highest quality, rare and relevant”. The last point is of particular interest as the vintage pieces that achieve auction records are all historically ‘relevant’ icons.

A large number of these now considered ‘ classics’ were not that popular when first produced as they were often ahead of their time. This makes it even more exciting to be part of these pioneer’s journey and watch them create the horological icons of the future.

Vacheron-Constantin Harmony Chronograph and Champagne Lunch at Black By Ezard

In a lucky roster rotation, Vikki got another Sunday off. Making the most of it, we decided to head into the city and stay at the Hilton again. After checking in we headed over to J Farren-Price to have a look at a new arrival from Vacheron Constantin, the rose gold Harmony Chronograph. This is a limited edition of 260 pieces in celebration of Vacheron’s 260 anniversary. Taking inspiration from a historical Vacheron Doctor's chronograph from 1928, this piece is certainly vintage inspired with its cushion shaped case, mono-pusher activation, and pulsation dial.

This watch is a beautiful piece and well finished. The 42 mm cushion case that houses the caliber 3300 movement is very elegant and not too large on the wrist, yet has a nice weight to it. The white dial features blue hour markers, and the chronograph markings in black and red. I love an oversized crown and this was a nice example without being annoying when moving your wrist around. 

The rose gold case is paired with a brown Mississippi alligator strap and rose gold deployant clasp.

While the Vacheron-Constantin Harmony Chronograph is a lovely watch, it sadly doesn’t quite fit with the other pieces in my collection.

After our visit  it was time for lunch. A quick discussion, found us heading across the Pyrmont Bridge to Black by Ezard, at The Star. 

Sunday at Black by Ezard is Champagne lunch day, with three courses and free flowing Moet and Chandon Champagne for $125. There are a couple of options that attract an extra charge but that is to be expected when you get such a great offer. Sunday lunch crowd is always buzzy and makes for good people watching.

There is nothing like a view of the city, water and luxury yachts while you dine. A sunny but partly cloudy day also helps.

After being seated, ordering and having our first glass of champagne poured a delicious mini loaf of house made brioche was bought to the table with Pepe Saya butter and Hawaiian black sea salt. Hawaiian black sea salt seems to be making an appearance everywhere as we also had it when we dined at Il Ristorante Luca Fantin in Tokyo.

I ordered the open ravioli of ox tail, smoked potato, walnut gremolata, bone marrow and watercress salad. A huge but tasty entrée that had me asking if it was my imagination or had food in Sydney improved a lot?

Vikki ordered the sautéed Spencer Gulf prawns, sweetcorn puree, watermelon, red onion, tomato, coriander, jalapeno peppers and crispy pancetta. Very colourful and Vikki said it was very tasty.

For my main I ordered the grass fed Angus fillet, roasted cauliflower and pearl onion salad with gremolata. A selection of mustards, sauces along with café de Paris butter accompanied the steak. Of course we had to order some chips with garlic, parmesan and rosemary salt.

Vikki ordered the roasted duck breast, Dutch carrots, spiced fennel chutney, Sichuan pepper sauce. I enjoyed this immensely. Vikki was very happy with her main, and slipped me a little taste,the fennel chutney was amazing with the duck, and the Dutch carrots done two ways was also very tasty. The fennel salad went well against the fattiness of the duck skin. Vikki was happy to see nasturtium leaves being used in a meal.

When the desserts came out we were really happy with our choices. I chose the cheesecake, lavender honey, blueberry sorbet and sable crumble.  The colour of the sorbet was astounding!! Deep and dark it looked like a jewel sitting on the cheesecake.

Vikki chose the coffee parfait, mascarpone mousse, orange crumble and spiced caramel. Vikki and I swapped plates for a bit so we got to try each other’s desserts.  The flavours were amazing and the dried orange pieces, a real textural and flavor loaded sensation when you popped one in your mouth.

We know Sydney has some great restaurants and many have had a long reputation of greatness, but somehow in the past year or two things seem to have really stepped up a notch or three.

We really enjoyed visiting Black By Ezard again, and look forward to returning for another visit in the future.