Matching wine and food is like trying to solve the meaning of life, or determining which hawker makes Singapore’s best chicken rice: it’s an endless argument with no correct answer, but that doesn’t stop us from trying.
Restricting the food to Southeast Asian cuisine hardly helps limit the options, such is the multiplicity of styles, ingredients and flavours on offer here, from popiah to laksa, mee goreng to chicken rice.
Furthermore, many different dishes are often served simultaneously, and there’s no way to find a single wine that will match everything on the table. Believe me, I’ve tried. However, there are a few golden rules that can help guide us towards an optimal experience.
PARTNERS IN WINE
For the first rule, we need to define what an ideal wine and food match actually means. Simply put, it is finding the most complementary partnership of flavour – which therefore makes it a subjective and personal opinion. One person’s harmony can be another person’s misery, so the first rule is that we should be confident with our own preferences.
Even so, other rules offer guidance that should be universal. One of the most pertinent for Southeast Asian cuisine relates to spiciness. Supercharged chillies are a knockout blow for most wines, especially traditional European reds. Not only does the heat of the dish overcome any nuance of wine flavour, but it can exacerbate tannins, leaving your palate feeling astringent and unrefreshed.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August - September 2021 من Epicure Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August - September 2021 من Epicure Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Holiday Feast
Celebrate this joyous season with classic fare from Wolfgang’s Steakhouse
Savour the season
Gather your friends for a joyous celebration at Pan Pacific Singapore's Pacific Emporium - one of the best spots, we think, to indulge in a festive afternoon tea.
Plant-Powered Paradise
Exploring Seoul's Burgeoning Vegetarian Food Scene
Brewing tradition, bottling innovation
Chunpoong Brewery is safeguarding a cherished Korean beverage, makgeolli, while embracing innovation for a new era.
Home is where the heart is
The best memories are often made at home, something which Hideaway, Nae:um Group's latest venue featuring a cosy design inspired by nature, is venture, aims to recreate.
The Life Aquatic
On board Oceania Cruises' Riviera, a luxurious two-week voyage along the Southeast Asian coastline delivers on its promise as a food lover's paradise at sea, offering an array of specialty restaurants, thoughtfully re-inspired menus, and a state-of-the-art cooking school.
Bright lights, big city
Going to Bangkok for an extended weekend? We've narrowed down a few places for you to swing by.
Sun, sea and banh mi
NOX Beach Club in Central Vietnam is a balmy haven for daytime escapes and after-dark events. Plus you will never go hungry here thanks to the collection of six restaurants and bars.
Laneway stars
Melbourne shines bright with its bevy of dining gems and new luxe hotels. It's time to revisit this well-loved destination.
Spiced and praised
These spice-centric East Indies Gins from Spice Island Distilling Co. have been acclaimed for their authentic excellence.