Does Japanese food goes well with White Burgundy?When my customer invited me to supply some wines to his restaurant, obviously I happily obliged. I almost fell off my chair when he told me he wanted me to recommend white wines for his Japanese restaurant Sushi Mitsuya! I was taken aback with this proposal, as I never had any experience pairing white wines with Japanese food, I do not even know if the food and wine is a match! So I told my customer, hang on to your order, let me bring some white wines over and we do a blind tasting over your Japanese food with white wine pairings. So after some further communications, we decided to have four blind bottles and six judges, four of them are restaurant owners and the chef himself.To me, I’m very traditional with Japanese food, the choice of drink is always sake, so it’s a challenge to pair Japanese food with white wines. However, we will find the verdict soon.The moment I entered the restaurant, I was greeted by my very friendly customer with a big “sake” smile on his face. He immediately brought me to his cellar to pick something to drink. My eyes quickly glanced through and found a lot of gems to pick ….. lots of champagne from Ruinart to Dom Perignon to Cristal, then I saw a lot of white wines as well, from Leflaive Puligny Montrachets to the white wine “Y” d’Yquem (at this point, in my mind I said “phew, they have not carried what I brought today”).Of course there are tons of sake as well. So I was with my old fashioned mentality, picked a bottle of "Bijyohbu Junmai Ginjio Kochi Prefecture.55 % polishing" sake to start off with while the service staff prepares the white wines I brought.While we chatted and drank our sake, the appetizer was ready. A very simple dish made of Tsukemono (Burdock Root) and white radish. I took a sip on the randomly picked white wine, hey, it goes well. I went back to sake, a bit heavier on the palette. Now I certainly prefers the white wine to go along with the appetizer.The next dish was very interesting – baby sardines with grated radish. These baby sardines so fine and small. They’re the dried version, which gives a lot of concentrated flavor on the palette. Again, I savour the dish with white wine #2.The skill of chef Harada San climaxed with a dish called Sayori marinated in kelp. Sayori is a “Needle Fish”, long like a marinated anchovy. He managed to “tie” the needle fish into a ribbon! What a presentation with fine craftsmanship! No doubt, this fish goes well with white wine #1.At this point, I prefer to reveal the labels of the wines to my audience although we did not have the judgment call till end of the dinner. The line up I brought:Wine #1: Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2005 (white burgundy)Wine #2: Larrivet Haut Brion 2005 (Bordeaux blanc)Wine #3: Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2005 (white burgundy)Wine #4: Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2003 (Australian white)I picked a mix of these white wines for many reasons – a grand cru to pitch against a premier cru in burgundy, to see if they make any difference in a different class. And then a Bordeaux white to see if it can stand up against the famed white burgundies. The Australian wine is one of the better white wine label in Australia, so I wanted to see how receptive are drinkers towards Aussie whites. I did not bring the top range of white burgundies like Chevalier Montrachet or Batard Montrachet as I feel that they are in a different league, so it may not be fair to compare. Perhaps in another blind tasting session I would love to field the higher grading white burgundies. So I thought my line up was quite reasonable. Back to the food, chef Harada San served up a grilled female Shishamo. We normally have these grilled Shishamo in Japanese restaurants selling for a song, and normally I get a plate with three pieces of Shishamo. I was a bit disappointed to find that I only have one lonely piece tonight. Never did I know that this lonely fish is going to change my mind about Shishamo completely. Had a bite, the mouth feel is completely, totally different from those run of the mill Japanese restaurant! This is the best Shishamo I have ever eaten! Chef Harada San explained that these Shishamo are from Japan and they are only in season for 40 days annually which is very different from those we eat whole year around. And I was further told that the male and the female tastes very different! Well, I’m going to come back and try again in the future when they fly in the male pieces. If you liked Shishamo, you really gotta try Sushi Mitsuya’s grilled Shishamo. This dish goes well with wine #2, Larrivet Haut BrionWhile sipping my white wines, I was served with another shocker – a three color rice featuring Ikura, Bonito and Uni. Normally these chirashi bowl in normal Japanese restaurants, while adequately filling our stomach, does not give a lot of memory. Wait till you try the rice in the bowl presented here – it’s the BEST rice I’ve ever had! You mean there are different grade of rice?! Resounding yes, and these rice are so different from the daily Jasmine rice we consume. Every bite gives a bouncy, chewy feeling, I savvy every single bite, and make sure not one grain is left. Sushi Mitsuya uses Aged rice instead of new rice. Aged rice are typically one year old and can only be found in Japan. Its less moist and hence allows diners to taste each and every grain of the sushi rice! The fish, coupled with the rice, is a magical combination, and ends with a big-bang effect when you sip a glass of Larrivet Haut BrionThe signature creation of Sushi Mitsuya is undoubtedly their Otoro Miso Egg. I really got no idea what I’m eating, but the Miso Egg literally melts in my mouth and gel so well with the Otoro fish fats. Now I prefer a sip of Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne to go along with this dish as this wine has more acidity to go along with the fats.A brief description of the white wines:Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne 2005 – A bit smokey, hickory wood nose. Palette is slightly muted but with slightly elevated acidity.Larrivet Haut Brion 2005 – Nose has substantial lemon peel. Palette is light, pleasant, easy drinking and slightly buttery.Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2005 – Nose has a blend of lemon and butter. On the palette, a bit sharp and acidic.Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2003 – Nose with fairly strong buttery lemon mix. Palette is sharp and highly acidic, a bit dry on the finish.The wine of the night according to 6 votes:Larrivet Haut Brion 2005The three other white wines have votes spread all over the place with very close margins. Henri Boillot Corton Charlemagne 2005 and Louis Jadot Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2005 are tied 3rd, while Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2003 was just a hairline away from 3rdposition.I was actually pretty shocked at the result, as it hardly happens that white Bordeaux has defeated white burgundies with a resounding victory! Although Larrivet Haut Brion is quite a decent label for producing white wines, it cannot be compared to leagues like Haut Brion Blanc or Pavillon Blanc du Chateau Margaux. However, in terms of price range, its truly value for money. I personally liked this Larrivet Haut Brion a lot, as I find that it does not have a lot of eleveated acidity like all other white wines fielded, which makes pairing with Japanese food a pleasure.For the discerning Japanese foodies who liked Omakase style (eat whatever the chef prepares for you), if you have not tried Sushi Mitsuya’s excellent food coupled with chef Harada San’s excellent craftsmanship, you should book a session immediately. Tell them you want the grand stand seat which is directly in front of Harada San’s chopping board, you will witness his ultimate swordsmanship display like going to the concert in Carnegie Hall. Just don’t hold me responsible once you’re hooked to their food, I bet you the next time you visit xxx Sushi place you will criticize the not-so-down-to-earth Japanese food! Just don’t forget to order a bottle of Larrivet Haut Brion 2005 from them :)
