Asian pairs Discriminating diners find good selections of wine, beer to match with food choices
Tuesday at Mattawan's Chinn Chinn Asian Bistro sat owner
and chef John Tsui sampling both types of beverages with some of his
favorite dishes.
It was 3 p.m., and the dinner rush wouldn't start until 4:30 -- just
enough time to taste, talk and compare, he said. He chatted with
Jenny Parker, sales representative of Kalamazoo's Imperial Beverage
Co., and Fred Bueltmann, of New Holland Brewing Co., a brewery in
Holland, Mich.
It is seldom that Tsui has the opportunity to talk to a wine sales
rep and a beer sales rep together. But Parker and Bueltmann happened
to be together on their way to a company function.
Tsui also had a chance to privately enjoy his culinary creations --
teriyaki-grilled salmon on tempura onions, fried salt-and-pepper
shrimp, Korean bulgogi and a platter of filet mignon and roasted
scallops.
Wine flowed, and dishes were passed. Soon the table was cluttered
with plates, bottles and more glasses than one could count at a
glance. The meeting underscored a challenge shared by chefs and
customers alike at Asian restaurants: With so many wines available,
which ones are good with specific dishes such as kung pao chicken or
pad thai?
Lychee wines and plum wines from China are terribly sweet and not on
the level of French, German and California wines. And who wants to
get sauced by 55-proof Chinese mao-tai on a regular basis with a
meal?
Beers aren't bad either, Tsui discovered. One just has to have the
patience to sample them.
``If you're looking at it from your palate's point of view, you want
to have as many choices as possible,'' Bueltmann said.
Advice on food- and-beverage pairings
These general suggestions on how to pair Asian food with wine or
beer are from Jenny Parker, of Imperial Beverage Co., a distributing
company at 4124 Manchester Road, Kalamazoo:
v Chardonnays with strong oak flavors are not good with foods that
include ginger, cumin or coriander. The wines make those ingredients
taste bitter.
v Merlots and cabernets do not pair well with Asian foods because of
their concentrated tannins.
v Wines with flavors of jam and fruit, such as petite syrahs, which
don't have great tannins, go well with Asian foods.
v White wines with some sweetness, such as Rieslings, go well with
Asian foods.
v Many restaurant customers drink beer with spicy Asian foods
because beer has enough acidity and backbone to stand up to the
spicy heat.
Possible pairings at area restaurants
Here's a look at three Asian restaurants in southwestern Michigan
and some suggested pairings of food and wine, based on discussions
with the chefs and, for Chinn Chinn, Jenny Parker:
Chinn Chinn Asian Bistro
Location: 52885 Main St., Mattawan. Phone: 668-7667.
Background: The restaurant opened in 2004 and got its liquor license
about a year later.
Fare: Asian. The menu and daily specials include Chinese, Japanese,
Thai, Vietnamese and Korean dishes.
Beverage sales: Owner John Tsui has tried to encourage wine sales by
displaying a wine list in a two-sided glass picture frame on tables.
He also offers special glasses for beers.
Notable pairings: Try the Vouvray Domaine Locquets, 2003 ($6) or
Gruner Veltliner by Wachau, Austria, 2007 ($6) with teriyaki-grilled
salmon on tempura-style onions. The low level of tannins in these
wines aid the pairings. Also try Claude Val Vendanges, a red wine,
with Korean beef bulgogi, zucchini and kimchi pancakes.
Background: The restaurant opened in 1992 and got its liquor license
about a year later. In 2006 it added a noodle bar.
Fare: Chinese-American cuisine, noodle soups and Cantonese-style roast chicken, duck and pork. The restaurant also specializes in
Szechuan cuisine and has a separate menu for that.
Beverage sales: For the past two years, the restaurant has offered a
Chinese New Year meal with wine served with the various courses.
Management also arranged wine training for employees.
Notable pairings: Light reds worked well with the restaurant's fiery
Szechuan cuisine, some of which features the distinct flavor of
Szechuan peppercorns. Try the Firesteed pinot noir ($6.95 per glass)
with the Szechuan lamb with pure cumin powder Xinjiang-style, or
Little Penguin's shiraz ($5.95 per glass) with the boiled beef in
Szechuan sauce.
Sprout Asian Bistro
Location: 236 S. Kalamazoo Mall. Phone: 345-1750.
Background: The restaurant opened last year with a high-end eclectic
menu using a molecular-gastronomy approach, then changed to an Asian
menu this summer.
Fare: Asian classics prepared by co-owner and chef Robb Hammond
using locally grown and fresh ingredients.
Beverage sales: When Hammond changed the focus of the menu, he
slashed his selection of wines from 47 to six and dropped the price
of wine by the glass from $10 to a range of $6 to $8. The restaurant
also sells seven beers.
Notable pairings: Try the Barton & Guestier Beaujolais-Villages,
2005 ($6 per glass) with the No. 5 With A Smile, rice noodles
stir-fried with ginger, onion and zucchini and tossed with a red
curry coconut sauce. The St. Christopher Riesling, 2006 ($6 per
glass) works well with the pad thai.