Becky’s 1 Minute Summary:
What: Kronenbourg beers matched with Western/Italian cuisine
What to order here: Meats.
Overall experience: A light, easy to drink beer like the Kronenbourg goes pretty well with any food. The only one I don’t quite fancy is the Asahi since I do not like dry beers.
For the long story, read on. 🙂
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Beer and food pairing. Something uncommon? Not really! I have had beer pairings meals before and I had enjoyed it. Think about it, people had been drinking beers with their meals since the olden days. Recently, we started to get sophisticated and chefs begin to craft their menus carefully to ensure excellent pairing beers meals.
Both the Kronenbourg 1664 and the Kronenbourg Blanc are light, crisp beers, the former sweeter while the latter has a rich, yeasty maltiness; all in all making both surpremely drinkable.
We started with Creamy Organic Salmon Mousse; a dome of smoked salmon enveloping salmon mousse. This is as fishy as it gets (no, I don’t mean in a bad way) and the fruity, refreshing Somersby gave the acidity and zest to wash it all down nicely.
The amber pond of richly flavoured seafood broth was matched with the Kronenbourg 1664. Like I mentioned earlier, the Kronenbourg 1664 has a pronounced sweetness that I favour, which goes well with the sweet, oceanic flavour of the broth.
I find both the Kronenbourg 1664 and Kronenbourg Blanc pretty well carbonated, which it quite noticeable with its mouth-feel. That seems to hint that it works with seafood, or so the Chef must have thought so, since our meal was predominantly seafood that evening.
But the switch to Asahi Super Dry for the scallops and fish fillets was a surprise. I enjoyed the food, and tried my best to sip on the Asahi to comprehend the pairing better. My guess is that the chef wanted to counter the creamy rich sauce from the dish with a dry beer.
We moved back to the Kronenbourg with the Kronenbourg Blanc for the beef. My Chargrilled Beef Medallion topped with Foie Gras and Truffle, Aged Balsamic Vinegar and Figs was superb and all around the table I got the same wave of approval. Since I like both the Kronenbourg beers, the Kronenbourg Blanc which bears all the hallmarks of a wheat beer; citrusy, cloudy and malty couldn’t have displeased me. It does goes well with game and I can imagine it being passed around at a BBQ party.
Dessert. A cheesecake that I won’t recommend.
The pairing of both beers and food seems harmonious as a whole. Since my beer palate and knowledge aren’t superior, I couldn’t really say it enhanced or complement each dish. However I enjoyed my cider and beers with my food, and sometimes that’s all that matters. Now, more Somersby please! 😀
Svago KLCC
Lot G45B-136, Suria KLCC
Food style: Refined continental cuisine with Italian twist
Mon – Sun: 12:00 pm – 12:00 am
03-2163 0188
More Beer stories by Rebecca Saw:
The launch of Grimbergen, a Belgian beer by Carlsberg Malaysia & Luen Heng!
Refreshingly Different – Dinner @ Garibaldi, Bangsar with Crystal Beer by Tiger
quite cool to read about how these beverages complement the food (and vice versa, hopefully!). and it helps that even without the booze, all the dishes look tasty already 😀
Hmm, the last time I learned about beer pairing was at the Grimbergen beer launch in Kota Kinabalu last year.
But I totally forgot about it now. Haha. 😛
What a lovely meal. I’ll say the Somersby would work with anything, it’s a like sparkling apple juice!
goddamn this looks good.
one these days i am just gonn slap on a sticker with your name on it on my chest and expect to be served stuff like this. thherve me the bethhhssshhh meal in the houthhhhhh.. lol . too far? ok
Very beautiful photos Rebecca. I’m proud that you use Sony, a Japan brand!