I am so excited to host my first tablehopper event in New York! Coming up on Tuesday June 7th is the second in my series of Asian family-style dinners featuring wines from Portugal’s Vinho Verde. I asked chefs to cook their soul food and favorite dishes they enjoy at home for these special events in New York and San Francisco. We’ll be at New York Vintners, known for hosting all kinds of wine tasting and food events at their great space in Tribeca.
Our chef for this event is Mei Chau (Aux Epices), who has a charming French-inspired Malaysian restaurant on the edge of Little Italy and Chinatown (you’ll want to move in). For our event, chef Mei will be cooking dishes from where she grew up, a small fishing village on the eastern shore of the Malay Peninsula. Prepare to taste dishes you won’t find on her restaurant’s menu (or many others for that matter!), and she will tell us the background of the dishes and Malaysian cuisine and ingredients too.
We’ll be pairing many refreshing and versatile wines from Portugal’s Vinho Verde, and sommelier Betsy Ross (recently at The Progress, San Francisco) will be sharing insight about the wines and region. (So excited to have SF in the house!)
Chef Mei’s menu includes an array of starters: Chwee Kuah (steamed rice pudding cakes topped with salty pickled turnip), Sotong Sumbat (stuffed squid with spiced potatoes and spicy sambal sauce), and Pulut Kuning (turmeric sticky rice with coconut pulled pork), paired with two wines from Vinho Verde.
Next, we’ll enjoy a laksam course, featuring homemade steamed rice noodle rolls topped with mixed herbs, bean sprouts, and julienned cucumber, served in a coconut milk and minced fish soup, with wines from Vinho Verde. (Mei is known for her many laksa dishes at Aux Epices.)
The main course is a double play, with Otak-Otak (steamed fish mousse in banana leaf with coconut milk, curry, lemongrass, galangal), served with purple rice, and Daging Masak Serai (slow-cooked lamb with lemongrass and spices), paired with two wines from Vinho Verde. And for dessert, the finale is Bingka Pandan, a custard cake of baked screw pine (pandan).
These unique dishes should be pretty unfamiliar to most, and Mei is going to be bringing the flavor. I can’t wait to learn more about these dishes, and Betsy will have plenty to teach us about Vinho Verde!
Vinho Verde wines are like no other in the world. Located in the northwestern part of Portugal, the lush green landscape lends itself to the production of young, refreshing wines that are extremely versatile partners for all kinds of food, which is why we wanted to show you how well they will pair with a multitude of dishes. Best known for white wines, Vinho Verde also produces reds, rosés, and sparklers—all of which offer one of the best wine values on the market. Get ready to discover something new!
Tickets are $80, and you can purchase them here. This is a sit-down dinner, and there won’t be a reception, so please arrive on time at 7pm!
The wines of Vinho Verde. Photo: Erin Conger.
Event Info
Tuesday Jun 7, 2016 7pm $80 Tickets New York Vintners 21 Warren Street, New York
