It’s a treat to be asked to record my views on matching Singaporean food with wine. My experience Asia-wide has been that each country tends to match wine easily with every cuisine but their own, so there’s little I don’t know about pairing Tiger Beer with Hawker cuisine!
Thanks to its unique central location as a trading centre, Singaporean food marries together a unique combination of different Asian cuisines. I enjoy being told about the different origins of dishes, and how they vary from nationality to nationality. The imprint these different cultures leave on food is not at all unlike the influences exerted on winegrapes by different terroirs. One of the things I most enjoy about wine is the challenge presented by each bottle to comprehend its aromas, flavours and textures, and then to identify the various causes and influences behind each of them. Singaporeans have that opportunity every day with their cuisine.
I have been lucky to be a regular visitor to Singapore for well over a decade, and its cuisine is part of the reason I genuinely feel that it’s a second home. Not that I’m an expert on it, mind, but I need little encouragement to find my way to a hawker market or to meander off to the East Coast Park for one of the world’s great seafood experiences. Funnily, my memory tells me the only time wine has been involved in these occasions has been with other Australians (or one particular American), quietly served under the guise of some other beverage. For some time, Singaporean residents would typically raise a curious eyebrow whenever I’ve been sufficiently optimistic to suggest that wine might actually improve the experience of local food.
Now, it’s clear that the wheel has turned, and not before time! Here are some thoughts from a distance about a range of Singaporean dishes and how they might be paired with wine. Not for a moment do I expect these ideas to be definitive, but I’ll be happy if they add something of value to the emerging discussion. Santé!
Thanks to its unique central location as a trading centre, Singaporean food marries together a unique combination of different Asian cuisines. I enjoy being told about the different origins of dishes, and how they vary from nationality to nationality. The imprint these different cultures leave on food is not at all unlike the influences exerted on winegrapes by different terroirs. One of the things I most enjoy about wine is the challenge presented by each bottle to comprehend its aromas, flavours and textures, and then to identify the various causes and influences behind each of them. Singaporeans have that opportunity every day with their cuisine.
I have been lucky to be a regular visitor to Singapore for well over a decade, and its cuisine is part of the reason I genuinely feel that it’s a second home. Not that I’m an expert on it, mind, but I need little encouragement to find my way to a hawker market or to meander off to the East Coast Park for one of the world’s great seafood experiences. Funnily, my memory tells me the only time wine has been involved in these occasions has been with other Australians (or one particular American), quietly served under the guise of some other beverage. For some time, Singaporean residents would typically raise a curious eyebrow whenever I’ve been sufficiently optimistic to suggest that wine might actually improve the experience of local food.
Now, it’s clear that the wheel has turned, and not before time! Here are some thoughts from a distance about a range of Singaporean dishes and how they might be paired with wine. Not for a moment do I expect these ideas to be definitive, but I’ll be happy if they add something of value to the emerging discussion. Santé!
Chicken Rice
It’s not possible for me to think of chicken rice without thinking of cricket. Partly because I’m the textbook cricket tragic, partly because the best I’ve had is found at the Singapore Cricket Club. I’m looking here for a wine with fragrance and a lift of spice, with a fresh, penetrative flavour but also a crispness and brightness. That’s why I’m thinking of a bright, fresh, racy young riesling with perfume and spice, from places like Germany, Tasmania, Austria and New Zealand. My choice would be for a drier style, but sweeter could also work. Either that or a very young, crisp and heady gewürztraminer from Alsace, Marlborough or Tasmania. A viable alternative might be an early-harvested marsanne/roussanne that has yet to develop fatness or weight.
Chilli Crab
The wine requirement here is for intensity, spice, acidity and some richness, but without excessive flab or oak. So perhaps a Cru Chablis, a gruner veltliner or a musky riesling from Great Southern (Western Australia) or Alsace. An easy fallback is of course Champagne! Here I’d choose a finer, less vinous and more focused style. If, however, you’re dipping some sweet bread into the sauce, you could even head towards a sweet riesling – even up to auslese level if your tooth is sweet enough! Your call here – I take no responsibility for this…
