It was yet another fun-filled evening for the members of the Bangalore Wine Club….but this time with a difference. Instead of the more common sit-down dinner and wine-and-food pairing, the Sunday evening of 16th August saw a ‘sushi and wine sundowner’ on the terraces of the recently-launched OKO, the elegant Pan Asian rooftop restaurant of the Lalit Ashok, Bangalore. This evening, the accent was on sushi, dimsum and grills – all with wine instead of the more usual sake! reports Ruma Singh
This experiment is not the first the BWC has undertaken…last month saw the unusual pairing on Kerala food with wine, an endeavour which paid off. By setting up unusual food-and-wine experiments, the BWC is trying to create new interest in pairings beyond the tried-and-tested classical ones.
This Sunday, the format for the event, Sundown Soiree, was casual and relaxed. Chef Nimish Bhatia had put together an interesting menu – a combination of sushi, dimsum and grills, winding up with Pad Thai and Thai Green Curry. As the event was scheduled early Sunday evening – 6.30 to 9.30pm – and preceded by a lively and interactive sushi-making demo, it was a good opportunity for members and their guests to arrive in time to enjoy the sunset — and the wines!
The wines served also kept to the ‘sunset theme’, going from ‘light’ to ‘dark’ themselves (white, rosé and red). Pairing suggestions were kept fluid and left to the members to pick and choose as they saw fit. Members were seen enjoying the platters of sushi, toning down the use of wasabi and soya so as not to interfere with the wines.
(Left: Parmeshwars and Kiran Chainani)
Many enjoyed the shiitake mushrooms with the pleasingly aromatic Opstal Viognier from South Africa. The John Dory satays along with the other grills were declared a hit with the white, too. The Pink Elephant rosé from Portugal, an easy-drinking wine with fruity aromas of strawberry, saw great popularity especially with the ladies. However, the Bouchard Languedoc Merlot with its soft, elegant tannins proved most popular, going well with the wok-flipped beef.
For the vegetarians, the hit dish was the zucchini satay with lemongrass and chilli. All this proved that experimenting with wine and food can only yield interesting options and make for fascinating discoveries!
