BLENDING CULTURES

ACCORDING to an outlook by Vinexpo Hong Kong and the International Wine and Spirit Research, China became the largest red wine market worldwide in 2014. Although wine making and Chinese cuisine evolved apart from each other, it is a reflection of a heavily globalized world where American wines and Chinese dishes can come together in one dinner, as hosted by Marco Polo Ortigas’s Lung Hin on Nov. 9.

Prepared by chef Raymond Yeung from Hong Kong, his Chinese dishes were paired with wines from American wine brand Ménage à Trois. The meal kicked off with mini wantons and crispy Japanese tofu, paired with a 2014 California White Wine, which had an almost creamy, buttery taste. The second course: steamed shrimp dumplings with a translucent skin, steamed vegetarian pink dumplings, and roasted US Duck with plum sauce, was paired with a 2013 Chardonnay. The wine had a pronounced note of citrus with a young, fresh character and a bit of a metallic aftertaste. It was excellent with the dumplings, as the metallic bite, while it might be considered a handicap, elevated the shrimp by cleansing away it’s base, fishy flavors. The vegetarian dumpling also benefits from it by highlighting the crispness of the vegetables, while with the duck, which came with a tiny lobe of foie gras, the wine eliminates the duck’s earthiness and caresses the subtler flavors of the foie gras. A medicinal, meditative double-boiled chicken consomme with mushrooms did not, however, benefit from the vibrant flavors of the wine.

Next came deep-fried king prawn with mango salsa and sweet chili sauce, paired with the same Chardonnay. Now this one was quite memorable, as the pronounced citrus flavors of the wine made the flavors of the fruit and the chili, and the firm flesh of the prawn, virtually explode on one’s tongue.

There were high expectations for the wine brand’s 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon as it had a scent like tanned leather, a tannic bite on a peppery nest. It lived up to expectations, going well with a pan-fried US Angus Beef with a Black Pepper sauce, for it married easily with the sauce, while unchaining the beef’s flavor.

Next came a bowl of fried rice with bits of chicken, mushrooms, and Chinese sausage. Who knew rice had a flavor profile suited to a wine, which would be, take note: Zinfandel. The Menage a Trois’s 2013 Zinfandel had a floral, rosy bouquet, with a slight tannic tinge that disrupted an otherwise fruity flavor. It was heavenly with the sweetish sausage and chicken rice, for it accented the earthy flavors of the mushrooms and the sweetish sausage.

The wine pairings were conducted by Mirko de Giorgi, the hotel’s Director for Food and Beverage. “I would not say that wine doesn’t match with Chinese food, because Chinese food is very interesting.

“The taste is very intense; very strong,” he said, describing the character of Chinese cuisine. “I chose the wines because American wines, especially these ones, are very heavy.”

He gave a tip for those planning to meld cultures by pairing Eastern food with Western wines: “If you know the wines, you have to taste the wines [first], and then you create the menu.” —