For readers who have been following my blog, you probably read about my
blog post on wine pairing dinner at
Portico Prime.
I was invited back by
Portico Prime this time round for Sake Pairing Dinner on 16 Dec 2016. Portico Prime has won my heart since the last visit where glorious food was well matched with different types of wine from champagne, white to red wines.
So this time round, I had set a higher standard than before. Will the food taste as awesome as the last round? Will it be even better? How will the sake be matched with the food? Will it be perfect matches for each dish? Sakes are hardly used to pair with western food. Will Portico Prime be able to achieve a breakthrough?
Read my blog post to find out my verdict on the sake pairing dinner specially organised by P
ortico Prime and Wakka Singapore.
As it was nearing Christmas, a beautiful Christmas tree greeted me near to the reception counter.
Something notable to mention is that Portico Prime was one of Singapore's Top Restaurants 2016 by WINE & DINE.
I supposed food quality will be guaranteed since it has won this award.
I went around to check out Portico's setting since I reached there much earlier and it was still bright and sunny. It was a great opportunity to take a look at the alfresco seating.
I am super in love with the alfresco seating area as it makes great #ootd background, amidst the colonial house structure.
I had actually took a fair bit of photos of the interior and featured in my earlier
blog post on Portico Prime so this time round, I will just show a photo of many people's favourite spot... the island bar counter.
That's where you can order a few drinks and food and sit around to enjoy people watching or just chill out there.
I am not an alcoholic but my eyes brightened up when I saw the different types of sakes which will be paired with the food.
We were given a warm welcome and introduction regarding the sakes before food was served.
My stomach was growling... couldn't wait for the food and sake to be served.
Sake Pairing Dinner on 16 Dec 2016, 7pm
The first sake to make its appearance was Kitano Roman (Hokkaido). It is known to be a very dry sake. Nevertheless, there is a slight fruity and mani taste of rice. It is best to drink when it is hot.
Momotare Tomato was the first dish to be served and it consisted of oba leaves, slice damon ham, mix mesclun salad, extra virgin olive oil and balsamic foam.
This combination was refreshing to the taste, with a nice crunch provided by the fresh vegetables, with a tinge of sweetness and saltiness by the ham, well balanced by the sourness from the balsamic foam.
Yes, the dinner was off to a good start!
Next up was Kitano-Nishiki (Hokkaido). It received gold award at Sake competition held in Japan. It has a fruity and mild rice taste. It is best paired with any kind of Japanese Washoku cuisine especially with vegetable.
A lot of people know that I am a huge fan of foie gras. So when this dish named simply as Pan-seared Foie Gras, consisting of caramelised banana, inure, roasted chicken yuzu jus, my heart melted. It was love at first sight.
A bite of banana with a bit of foie gras on top of the crunchy base sealed the deal. Never could I imagine foie gras can be matched with bananas. I wished I could ask for a second serving!
The third dish was matched with Maruta (Hokkaido). It is a dry sake containing polished rice as Junmai Daijin-jo (50%). It is best match for meat dishes such as Yakiniku and Wagyu.
The Portobello Mushroom dish deserved special mention as everyone at the table all agreed that this was the best dish served so far.
It also consisted of parmesan espuma, cauliflower floret, lemon vinaigrette as well.
If you look at the ingredient used in this dish, they were pretty down to earth vegetable and mushroom but yet the chef was able to combine these two ingredients together to create something that tasted so amazing. I believed that the chef gave a lot of thoughts in coming up with this dish by creating different texture to it.
Next dish was paired with Shodai Taizo Shochu (Hokkaido). It is made from Shochu rice. It has a flavourful taste and a sweet scent just like Ginjo Sake. It is also popular with local people who likes strong shochu and local sake.
Everyone was waiting for this dish as it is Kagoshima Wagyu Beef A4 Grade with blistered US asparagus, natural beef jus and smoked strawberry puree!
The beef simply melted in my mouth with every bite... no kidding! To be frank, I am someone who doesn't really take beef cos of that 'cow' smell and taste. But trust me, this beef is a class of its own... no such smell and taste. It was so easy to go down and well paired with the sake.
Just look at my happy smile! I hope I don't look drunk in this photo after a few glasses of sake... lol.
Final dish of that day was of course Cotton Cheese Cake with fresh mix berries, home made watermelon sorbet and oat crumbs. What a better way to end on a sweet note, yet light and fluffy too.
The cake was not 'jelat', meaning it wasn't heavy unlike the New York Cheese cake style. It went well with the icy sweet sorbet, while the oat crumbs provided a certain light crunch to it.
What better drink to go with dessert than Jyunbai Shu (Okayama) Umeshu? So I had a full glass of it to make my night even sweeter.
It contains no artificial additives and it is made pure from one of the best fruit match of Umeshu, Ousyuku bai. Emcee is usually made from Shochu but this is made from Sake. It is made from very famous rice known as Akaiwa Omachi Rice.
All the ladies invited had so much fun that night chit-chating and savouring the dishes together with the sakes available from Hokkaido.
This Sake Pairing Dinner was one of the events organised by Portico Prime. Instead of waiting for the next event, I strongly encourage everyone to just book a table and try out their regular menu for lunch and dinner.
The quality of the food combined with the nice ambience is so perfect for celebration of special occasions, business meetings over food and of course, just for chill out to have a nice lunch or dinner.
My verdict for this dinner is that the food tasted as awesome as the last round, super impressive indeed. Sakes were perfect matches to the food as they heightened the flavours without over shadowing the taste of the food.
Portico Prime really deserves to be one of Singapore's Top Restaurants!
Portico Prime is located in the heart of Dempsey Hill, 10 Dempsey Road, #01-20.
Monday - Sunday(Mon -Bring Your Own Wine)
Lunch:
11:30am – 3:00pmLast Food Order at 2:30pm
Weekdays 6pm to 10:30pm (Last food order 10pm)Weekends 6pm to 11:30pm (Last food order 10:30pm)Open for drinks at 5pm
Do call in advance to make reservations though as it is getting very popular and I heard that walk-in customers sometimes do get rejected due to the restaurant being fully packed.
If you do not want to be disappointed, call +65 6474 6427 to make your reservations.
