The Chocha whisky pairing menu pairs the Benriach 10 Year Old was paired with a trio of starters, and it worked very differently with each one. — Photos: MICHAEL CHEANG/The Star
Most whisky pairing dinners tend to involve multiple expressions of the same brand. With Chocha Foodstore’s collaboration with Brown Forman, however, the menu is paired with four very different whiskies across three brands – Benriach, Glenglassaugh, Glendronach – making this a great way to try a few new drams while also enjoying a nice dinner at the same time.
The menu consists of sharing plates for four pax (it can be customised for two pax too), and showcases Chocha’s unique approach to local Malaysian ingredients.
We started out with the Benriach 10 Year Old, aka 'The Original Ten', which is matured in three casks for at least ten years – bourbon barrels, sherry casks and virgin oak. The result is a rich Speyside malt with lots of fruity, honey malt notes, and a hint of smoke.
The whisky was paired with a trio of starters, and worked very differently with each one. The sweeter fruitier notes of the whisky enhanced the herbaceous notes of the Tempura Kadok; while it also complemented the jackfruit flavours in the Lamb Temosa.
It did spike up the spiciness of the gulai for the Cherry Valley Duck Leg Confit, but otherwise complemented the duck meat quite well.
Glenglassaugh Sendend went well with the Umai (bottom right), and the Grilled Beans with petai, asparagus, winged beans and okra.
The next pairing with Glenglassaugh Sendend was more adventurous. Inspired by the crescent beach of Sandend Bay where the distillery resides, the whisky is matured in bourbon, sherry and manzanilla casks, and boasts tropical sweetness, infused with a crack of sea salt.
The 50.5% ABV whisky was quite fruity with maritime notes, and worked surprisingly well with the unique Banana Blossom With Gulai Tempoyak.
The Grilled Beans was a fun dish – well, at least I had fun picking out the petai and asparagus to go with the winged beans and okra. I did find that the slightly raw, herbaceous notes in it and the Dried Squid Ulam dish clashed a little with the tropical fruit notes of the Sendend.
There was no such issue with the next dish, Umai, as the whisky went really well with the citrus cured red snapper and laksa sarawak paste.
For our main course paired with Glenglassaugh Portsoy, we went with Baked Fish in Banana Leaves.
For our main course paired with Glenglassaugh Portsoy, we went with Baked Fish in Banana Leaves.
Portsoy is named after the distillery's neighbouring harbour village of Portsoy, which inspired the deep maritime flavours of this richly peated single malt. Matured in sherry, bourbon and port casks, it is a full-bodied whisky with a rich coastal character.
The whisky’s heavy maritime notes matched the fish and Bunga Kantan notes in the dish. (The other main is Smoked Salted Chicken which is apparently quite good too).
Dessert was Glendronach 12 Year Old paired with Chocha’s take on the kueh Bahulu.
Last but not least, was The Glendronach 12 Year Old, which is matured entirely in Sherry casks, making for a rich, fruity whisky that was paired with Chocha’s take on the kueh Bahulu, with some gula apong and coffee foam that contrasted nicely with the sherry-heavy notes of the Scotch.
For me, this was a fun experiment in matching whisky with unique local ingredients and flavours. Worth checking out even if it’s just for the two Glenglassaugh whiskies!
Michael Cheang is amazed at how well whisky goes with tempoyak and ulam. Follow him on Instagram (@mytipsyturvy) and Facebook (fb.com/mytipsyturvy).
