GIVEN A CHANCE
This is not to say that such encounters are without unique complications. Writer and career wine geek June Lee will be the first to point out that while it seems perfectly apt on paper to have bubbly with chicken rice, there’s the matter of just how much of that tangy and garlicky chilli accompaniment to the dish you tend to prefer to keep in mind.
“Hawker food is considered tricky to pair with wine for a reason,” says Lee, noting the spice levels and flavourful sauces that can vary from hawker to hawker, and dish to dish would affect the pairing. “Many chilli sauces tend to cause good champagne to have a metallic or bitter aftertaste when paired together,” she recalls. “From personal experience, champagne works best with crispy morsels, such as prawn rolls, ngoh hiang and other customary pickings from the fried fritters stall, as it does with fried chicken from the nasi lemak stall.” Even a moist, seafood-filled dish such as Hokkien prawn noodles, she adds, pairs nicely, but is quick to reaffirm the importance of going easy on the sambal chilli.
Sometimes, though, as Simone Macri eloquently asserts, it is exactly the idea of “a beauty and the beast” pairing that is quite enticing. A trained sommelier himself, the general manager of Jaan by Kirk Westaway and Skai thought hard about it and posits how champagne and chilli crab might actually be a pairing he would relish. “But you’ll need a rich rosé to balance the flavours,” Macri clarifies, adding how a Krug rosé with its floral notes alongside a palate of berries, would be a great match to ginger. “Usually, you’d think about aromatic whites like a riesling or traminer to be a good pairing with spicy food, or even some shiraz from Australia,” he continues. “But we must also be curious and try new things,” he insists with a laugh.
Indeed, the only way we can truly appreciate the advantages of an unexpectedly complementary pairing is to approach the possibility with an open mind and a sense of wonder. Here, several industry experts walk us through their recommended hawker dish-bubbly pairings, and we are definitely surprised, for good reason, by some suggestions.
CHAMPAGNE
“Char kway teow is a complex and intense dish. To pair it with champagne, you might need a similarly complex and satisfying bottle. This non-vintage rosé from Eglyouriet contains 65 per cent pinot noir and 35 per cent chardonnay; 90 per cent of its base wines is from grand cru in Ambonnay, which is famous for topquality pinot noir, ensuring an intense representation of pure fruitiness. It is also aged on lees for over 60 months, with completely no malolactic fermentation.
This results in an extremely complex product, while still retaining enough acidity for a fresh and crisp aftertaste. The considerable amount of chardonnay in the blend also contributes sharp minerality and roundness to this champagne. While robust enough for all occasions, I think it is a great pairing for many intensely flavoured dishes like char kway teow and even satay.”
Jack Cheung, family sommelier and beverage director of Parkview Group