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!
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…
Char Kway Teow
This delicious dish needs something pretty generous but not overly textural to handle its richness, depth of flavour and fattiness. So I’d head for a cooler climate shiraz, packed with pepper and spice, perhaps also with charcuterie-like complexity and finishing with a savoury note. It could come from St-Joseph, Cornas (not too heavy, mind), or Great Western, Sunbury or the Yarra Valley in Victoria. Or Great Southern in WA. I’d also think about a Piedmontese barbera – quite seriously, in fact! White drinkers could opt for a full-bodied viognier (not too old, mind) or something I’ve always wanted to find an interesting match for – Barossa Valley semillon.
Bak Kut Teh
Very spicy, potentially sweet, certainly meaty, this dish works with a couple of wines from the Loire Valley that bring plenty of fruit, something of a mineral texture and a savoury aspect. I’m thinking here of Vouvray and Pouilly-Fumé, from chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc respectively. Red fiends will find solace with lighter New World pinot noirs from Oregon, the Mornington Peninsula or Martinborough.
Laksa
If it’s not a light, fragrant cool-climate pinot, it simply has to be white, tight, fresh and focused. That’s why I’m thinking Austrian, Eden Valley or Clare Valley riesling, Awatere Valley sauvignon blanc from Marlborough or a toasty, nutty and only slightly developed blanc de blancs Champagne. You just have to keep it simple here – too much happening in the wine and it just won’t fizz for you!
Carrot Cake
Let’s assume fried Singapore style here. So if it’s white carrot cake you might try a racy, crisp Chablis (or a fresh, lightly oaked New World chardonnay) for richness and focus. Perhaps even a dry, fuller riesling or young, grassy and slightly oaky Californian sauvignon blanc. They’re safe options. On the other hand, if you’re looking to counter the greasiness sometimes found in the dish, take a more adventurous step with a richer, even structured pinot. Black carrot cake needs a juicy, spicy and savoury red, so think perhaps of a bright, youthful young Tuscan sangiovese, Rosso di Montalcino perhaps…
Hokkien Mee
Again, we need to keep it tight and racy, but perhaps a fraction sweet if wanted. Perhaps a young focused sauvignon blanc (Loire Valley) to touch with fresh lime, or a nervy young Chablis. A marginally sweet Alsatian gewürztraminer with a spicy, floral and musky perfume would complement the spice, rather than cut through it. Walking on the wild side, you could even think of sparkling Australian shiraz, while Champagne provides a reliable fall-back option.
Satay
An oaky, rather nutty and chewy chardonnay has the texture, intensity and sweetness needed here, while a bright fresh albarino or even a fragrant, spicy viognier could handle this sauce – a true favourite of mine. A left field choice is rosé Champagne, while a truly adventurous option might be a juicy, almost jammy cabernet sauvignon from the Barossa Valley or the Napa whose texture can work with the richness of the dish without any conflicting spiciness. I’ve signed a disclaimer here, however…
Nasi Lemak
Its preparation in coconut milk lends this dish an immediate association with wood-matured white wines. Given that ginger is not uncommonly added to contribute fragrance, this wood-aged white simply has to be chardonnay – but here we’re looking for a fuller, rounder style such as a Puligny or a Margaret River. Those seeking sweetness might opt instead for a fresh, relatively youthful but drier expression of German riesling, while a genuine alternative might well be Gavi di Gavi from cortese. Enjoy your breakfast!
Roti Prata
Assuming for the moment that we’re talking about a typical Singaporean curry with roti, two totally contrasting wines come to mind. One is a dry riesling, with loads of intensity and fruit, while another is that uniquely Australian phenomenon of sparkling shiraz. There’s no wine in the world that handles egg better than this.
Rojak
This sweet, prawn-based fruit salad needs richness, fruitfulness and perhaps an accompanying touch of sugar. That’s why I’m thinking Vouvray – but a sweetish variant thereof, an oaky Californian chardonnay (plenty of calories there!) or else a tight, bright and translucently intense New Zealand pinot gris, most of which carry just enough sugar for this dish. The universal fallback? Champagne again!
Sambal Stingray
Ok – we’re now seeking a wine for a meaty, tender but slightly sweet and spicy dish invigorated by chilli and lime. I’m now looking for a richer, rounder, more mature white Burgundy or Hunter Valley semillon. But that’s playing it straight. More adventurous options might be an albarinho or a New Zealand pinot gris, whose richness, intensity and brightness of fruit come with a suggestion of spice and a defined, clean finish. A left-of-centre notion, provided the sauce is rich enough, might just be a fiery, almost bloody malbec from Argentina. It’s a wild idea, but it comes from someone I have learned to trust!
