White night
A complicated menu pairing at trendy Cafe Gray Deluxe proves to be memorable, experts tell Annabel Jackson
The dishes in Cafe Gray Deluxe are every bit as fabulous as the girls in the fashionable bar - but the food is quite complicated, says the restaurant's glamorous chef sommelier, Yvonne Cheung. Chef Chris Grare likes to use ingredients that are not necessarily the natural friends of wine, adds Cheung, who proceeds to list the umami-rich ingredients that are a wine's 'worst nightmare'.
And so we gather, in one of the restaurant's lovely little alcoves, to see how Cheung would rise to the challenge of enhancing a dining experience through wine pairing. My companions are Debra Meiburg, a master of wine and gorgeous woman who needs little introduction; J.C. Viens, who appealingly styles himself as a gourmand and storyteller; and the rather more serious Sarah Wong, who has a well-developed palate and wears quirky shirts.
As we sit down and check which wines are to be tasted, we are pleasantly surprised to see three whites. What, in 'Red Town'? Meiburg says that, particularly in summer, she prefers white wine and Wong adds that it is usually lower in alcohol than red, making it doubly suitable in the heat.
We are soon chatting excitedly about wine number two, the Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg 2001. This is a fabulous demi-sec Vouvray, made from chenin blanc, from a top producer; a honeyed, mineral wine that really should be a decade old before consumption.
Cheung pours the Champagne, Cedric Bouchard Inflorescence Blanc de Noir 2008, and the first dish arrives from the open kitchen. It is actually a trio of dishes served in spoons balanced in grooves of a specially created wooden stand. And my, are we confronted with umami! Seared gnocchi with a tomato reduction and Parmesan foam, beef tartare and spicy chicken wing on pickled lotus root.
We are amazed how the Champagne cleanses the palate between three very different but intense gourmet experiences and how the bite-sized portions bring out the acidity in what is a rounder, heavier style of Champagne than a blanc de blanc. Wong comments on how the Champagne could stand up to the mustard and spice, while Meiburg loves the way the bubbles become more 'prickly' with the chicken.
