“Spirit of Conquest”, the first Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows event for the year takes guests on a specially crafted journey of the past, present and future of the original cognac.

I feel privileged to be invited to such a prestigious event, featuring the elegant and complex Hennessy X.O and Chef Lee Anne Wong’s modern-global fusion cuisine.

Dinner was as impressive as the cognac itself, beginning with the Parisian Regalia, a foie gras flan with duck confit, green apple and Frisee lettuce. The flan and duck confit was a match made in heaven – sensuous and simply, exquisite.

Equally good was the Oriental Enchantment, a golden crab and corn soup with caviar, lime and coriander accents. This smelt terrific and the soup – dense from shreds of crab meat – was sweet and richly flavoured.

Western Allure is another outcome of Chef Lee Anne Wong’s modern-global cuisine that paired well with the golden brown liquid, Hennessy X.O. The salmon, nested on the cowboy-style peanuts, was a lovely composition of colours, textures and flavours.

Ravioli is tricky to prepare especially in larger sizes, but the Venetian Ambrosia seemed like an easy feat for Chef Lee Anne Wong. The pasta was smooth with still a good bite, filled with chicken and porcini mushrooms and topped with truffle-flecked parmesan cream.

Dinner was held on a stunning floating platform on water at Chin Woo stadium, and it did feel like I was dining on a sailing ship that took me on a journey across oceans and to different continents – Paris, Shanghai, New York, Italy, Russia and Japan.

The Mazurka Splendour was a pretty composition of Syrniki cheese curd fritters, sour cream and dark fruit sauce. Syrniki is a farm-cheese pancake of Russian origin, chosen to mark Hennessy X.O’s presence in Russia in 1898.

And finally, the Nihon Grandeur, a dish to celebrate Hennessy X.O’s arrival in Japan in 1900. The Grapefruit Gelee with Cream, Grapefruit Ice and Sesame Brandysnap tasted as delicious as it looked. Very well balanced in sweetness, and I liked the crunch from the brandysnap.

We also tucked into squares of dark chocolate ganache, marking the end of a wonderful dinner.

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About Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows Event

With appreciation comes true knowledge; quality cues are discovered and connoisseurs created. This is true of luxury products, including cognac and Hennessy X.O. This journey towards understanding the quality of Hennessy X.O begins with Hennessy X.O Appreciation Grows – a series of events related to gastronomy, where at every stage the potential connoisseur will further his understanding of the making of cognac, the understanding of the history of the Hennessy brand and the quality of Hennessy X.O, a result of which would be his greater appreciation of Hennessy X.O.