TMG Blog

A thick seared ribeye resting on a wooden board with juices pooling beneath and a carving knife laid across it — The soft red wastes a good steak
Food Pairing

With steak, the soft red is the wasteful choice

You have a ribeye resting on the board and two bottles on the counter: a...
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A roast goose leg, glazed char siu strips, a soy sauce chicken and cubes of crispy roast pork belly on a chopping board — Siu mei is four dishes, not one
Food Pairing

Siu mei is four dishes, not one, and the wine has to cope

The goose arrives chopped, skin up, plum sauce in a saucer on the side. Someone...
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Dried red chillies and whole Sichuan peppercorns scattered across a wooden chopping board beside a bowl of chilli oil — Alcohol makes chilli burn hotter
Food Pairing

Why alcohol makes Sichuan food hotter, and what to drink

Someone ordered the mapo tofu, the dry-fried green beans and a plate of kou shui...
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A whole steamed fish on a plain plate, a dish of fried prawns, raw oysters on ice, and three glasses each holding a different white wine — One white never fits all seafood
Food Pairing

Steamed, fried and raw seafood want three different whites

There is a steamed garoupa in the middle of the table, a plate of prawns...
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A wine glass and bottle beside a wooden sushi geta board holding unmarked pieces, a dish of pickled ginger and an empty soy dish — Four things decide sushi wine
Food Pairing

Wine at the sushi counter: four variables that decide the match

You are at the counter, the first piece of hirame has arrived, and the wine...
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A copper hotpot ring with simmering broth beside a single wine glass and bottle, chopsticks resting on a small dish — The spice decides, not the broth
Food Pairing

What hotpot does to your palate, and what survives it

You brought the good bottle. It is now sitting on a table with a gas...
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A stack of bamboo steamers beside one wine glass and bottle, a row of empty small saucers fanned across a marble table — One wine, fifteen dim sum plates
Food Pairing

One bottle against fifteen dim sum dishes

The trolley has been past three times, the table has har gow, siu mai, cheung...
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A lazy Susan holding five empty sauce dishes and mismatched chopsticks, one champagne flute sweating onto dark rosewood — Champagne fades by the fifth dish
Champagne

Champagne with Chinese food works until the fifth dish

The bottle is excellent with the first two dishes. By the fifth it has turned...
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A plate of sliced pork in mustard sauce beside a glass of white wine — Pair the sauce, not the meat
Food Pairing

Mastering the Match: Advanced Wine & Food Pairing Principles for Every Occasion

Two working principles: match like with like, or let opposites balance each other. Then the...
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