The Best Food and Wine Pairings: Which wine goes well with which dish?

Both chefs and food lovers would agree that a dish must be relished and people should be able to appreciate the food’s different flavours, and wines have often been a trusted way to bring out a dish’s optimal taste. Case in point, many tasting menus created by fine dining restaurants will serve a glass of white or red that would complement the dish on the plate.

While you can pair food with a drink from your personal wine collection or the one you newly bought from the store, some of these connoisseur-picked food and wine combinations will certainly impress your taste buds.

Peking Duck and Pinot Noir

Food enthusiasts have different opinions when picking a wine bottle that matches perfectly with this popular Chinese dish, but the most common pick has always been Pinot Noir. This is because Peking Ducks have a rich salty and savoury taste to them due to the hoisin sauce that is added to the crispy duck meat. So, a wine like Pinot Noir which has a relatively high amount of acidity to it balances out the roasted duck’s intense flavours, making this one of the most favoured food and wine combinations.

Shellfish and Japanese Koshu Wine

This wine variety that originates from Japan has subtle notes of fruitiness allowing people to feel the refreshing taste of white grapes and apples in each sip with the Koshu wine being produced at a specific altitude and temperature. Such flavours, in combination with its low acidity, make this white wine variety a perfect drink to pair with shellfish dishes, which are often cooked with a thick layer of butter, as the food and the wine balance each other out. To enjoy the best of this wine pairing, you may want to try the Michelin-starred restaurant Arcane’s Lightly Cured Hokkaido Scallops with a glass of the Grace Wine Gris de Koshu 2021 which Chef Shane Osborn has featured in Arcane’s limited-edition menu in collaboration with CulinArt 1862 that is exclusively only available on the 17th and 18th of May.

Raclette and Burgundy Chardonnay

Another food and wine pairing that has been recommended by top chefs for the light texture of the wine to balance out the heaviness of the dish is the Raclette paired with a glass or more of Burgundy Chardonnay. For those unfamiliar, the Raclette is a classic French dish that is made by melting the Raclette cheese and eaten in combination with boiled potatoes, meat, pickles and spices. With the dish obviously being packed with calories and rich in flavours, a French wine like Bourgogne blanc has citrus notes and a subtle saltiness that make it go well with something heavy like a traditional Raclette.

Wagyu Steak and Rioja Red Wine

Red wines have often been voted as the best wine to be paired with steaks, and apparently, there is a scientific reason for it. Red wines have a substance called tannins, particularly strong in the younger wines, which has a molecular structure that helps to melt fats, thus when paired with a dish like steak, it brings out the taste to the fullest by cutting into this thick layer of meat. True to this technique is Chef Stanley Wong’s recommended pairing – Binchotan-Grilled Australian Wagyu Striploin with Finca La Emperatriz Las Cenizas 2018 which can also be enjoyed at CulinArt 1862’s six-course tasting menu that has been created alongside Arcane.

Rare Hiyama Kuroge Wagyu now available at newly-open Wagyu Vanne

If you haven’t heard of Hiyama Kuroge Wagyu beef, you’re probably not alone. However, while its reputation may not yet have reached Hong Kong’s shores, it is renowned in its homeland of Japan as being one of the finest sources of beef, with its marbled structure and melt-in-your-mouth flavours placing it firmly on the to-nosh list of any beef aficionado. The good news, though, is that this rare meat is finally available in the city, courtesy of the recently-opened Wagyu Vanne.

Located in Causeway Bay’s Tower 535, the swanky new cuisinary is wholly-dedicated to all things beef. The brainchild of famed Japanese celebrity chef Vanne Kuwahara, this intimate venue – whose interiors include a dedicated Hiyama Wagyu beef wall display – offers a uniquely Western interpretation of the traditional Japanese yakiniku experience.

On the occasion of our pre-opening visit to Wagyu Vanne, the tasting experience kicked off in fine style with the Fresh Chopped Tomato Salad, a refreshing palate cleanser that served as the perfect opening act for the dishes to follow. Next, we sampled two appetisers, the A5 Wagyu Toast and a piece of Wagyu Sushi with Sea Urchin, both pleasingly bite-sized and packed with umami accents.

Then came the first true yakiniku experience, a sampling of the Hiyama A5 Wagyu sirloin, grilled to perfection table-side by a dedicated yakiniku specialist. Smooth and succulent, the fabulously-textured morsel simply burst with flavour, leaving us yearning for more.

Scarcely had we blinked when the next dish – Wagyu Daily Special in “Shabu Shabu” Style with Truffle, arrived at the table. A delightfully interactive plate, the slice of beef was first swirled in a shabu shabu broth before being placed lovingly atop an egg yolk and topped generously with shavings of black truffle. It is then up to the diner to stir the mixture until a soft foam appears, before tucking into the deliciously creamy concoction.

Next up was one of Chef Vanne’s innovative East-meets-West creations – the Wagyu Pappardelle Bolognese. Here, the Wagyu beef was transformed into a true-to-grandma’s-original-recipe bolognese sause that paired wonderfuly with the al dente homemade pappardelle pasta.

To end this scrumptious meal, the Wagyu Vanne chef opted for subtlety over showiness with a Homemade Yuzu Sorbet. Served in a small glass – just the right portion, considering our already-tightened beltlines – the tartness of the yuzu sorbet acted as a delicious digestif to cleanse the strong flavours of the preceding beef dishes, and the perfect conclusion to a truly gastronomic meal.

Japanese Celebrity Chef Vanne Kuwahara helms the newly-open Wagyu Vanne

Wagyu Vanne by Gosango. 1/F, Tower 535, No. 535 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay. (852) 2885 0533.

Heartwarming dishes and fiery showmanship liven up winters at Uoharu

From the time it opened in October last year, Uoharu – the first overseas branch of the popular Tokyo-based izakaya – has been clear in its mission of recreating a slice of Japan in the heart of Central. Indeed as you take in the dimly lit interiors after entering through a door with a deliberately low ceiling (so that you have to bow down to enter, thereby showing respect in Japanese culture), you’d be forgiven if you thought you had accidentally been transported to an eatery in Kyoto’s famous Gion district.

Now with Uoharu’s winter menu, which introduces five new heartwarming dishes, the feeling of being embraced by Japanese tradition is even more heightened than ever. But even before we taste-tested the new additions to the menu, our interest was already piqued by the first appetisers, the disarmingly simple platter of seasonal fruits and vegetables called Otoshi, served with a warm savoury anchovy sauce that blended perfectly with the slightly sweeter flavours of the veggies.

Eager to try the rest of the dishes, we then dove into the next dish Karubi with bone – a thoroughly meaty affair slow-cooked for three hours to give you that exquisite melt-in-the-mouth sensation.

But our tryst with meaty matters was far from over with the next dish – Wagyu Foie Gras Sukiyaki – which featured A4 Wagyu beef from Kagoshima and Hungarian Foie Gras as the star ingredients – proving to be a delectable combination of tender and tasty sensations on the palate.

Seafood lovers would also have much to look forward to at Uoharu, with the Crab Croquette Rice and the Premium Seafood Steamed Egg both turning out to be creamy affairs packed with marine flavours. However, the show-stealer in the ‘seafood’ category was undoubtedly the Grilled Whole Tai with Japanese Arima Sansho Pepper, a whole sea bream grilled with house-made soy sauce. Thanks to the light pepper seasoning, the full flavours of the fish were enhanced even further, creating a veritable tango on our taste buds.

At Uoharu, the showmanship is far from over though. On certain evenings, the guests are treated to a ‘fish grilling performance’, a visually stunning performance in which the head chef flash-grills a fish in an otherwise darkened room, while being cheered on by his colleagues and assembled diners alike. Indeed, if you’re planning to visit Uoharu anytime soon, don’t be alarmed if the lights turn off suddenly, instead grab your phone and turn on Instagram Live, because the action’s just about to start…

Address: 7/F, M88 Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street – Central
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay