The Tatler Bar Sake & Food Pairing Experience

Published - 05 July 2021, Monday
  • The Tatler Bar

Hero Image: Andre Chalson managing director of Singapore-based Mead Pte Ltd

In a year where travel is off the table, I have been seeking out gastronomic experiences that transport me to my favourite destinations. And nothing evokes my memories of Japan more than sake and sashimi.

So, what a thrill it was to be part of an intimate sake and food pairing dining experience at the The Tatler Bar, located within the trendy enclave of Bukit Pasoh Road. Being guided by sake sommelier, Andre Chalson of Mead, our taste buds tingled with joy, as the sake and the wonderfully fresh sashimi and sushi danced down our throats.

We were presented with three premium award-winning sakes from two different brewers in Nagasaki - Fukuda Brewery and Yokoyama Brewery. Each sake was distinct in character, offering balance and harmony to the flavours of the seafood.

I truly enjoyed all three sakes, and appreciated the differences between them. I was even happier to find out that these are available for purchase as a set through The Tatler Bar's online store. Truly, the perfect sake set to see you through the Holiday season.

Tatler Singapore, the country’s leading luxury lifestyle media brand covering best of power, influence and style, has launched a series of digital platforms to offer the Tatler community a chance to purchase specially curated pieces online, the latest of which is a specialist drink website called TheTatlerBar.com

Driven by the pursuit of the finer things, Tatler Bar's list of class pours is carefully assembled to cater to both enthusiasts and collectors—helping them discover prized finds while ensuring they get only the very best. Let's take a deep dive into Sake to understand the process required to produce with National Japanese Treasure.

The Tatler Bar

Expat Choice Singapore contributors Elika Tesker, Miriam Walter Feiler & Rebecca Assice attending The Tatler Bar Private Sake & Food Pairing Experience

TheTatlerBar.com is a result of Tatler Asia’s ongoing strategy to expand its digital services to complement its existing comprehensive luxury lifestyle offering. This initiative is in addition to the recent launch of the digital platforms Tatler Homes Curates and Tatler Style in August and September respectively. 

Andre Chalson who hosted the above mentioned Sake and Food pairing event at The Tatler Bar is the founder and managing director of Singapore-based Mead Pte Ltd, which specialises in the import and distribution of craft sake and shochu, quality Japanese produce, seasonal seafood, and wagyu.

Mead provides exclusive sake, shochu, and fresh ingredients from Japan to progressive restaurants in Singapore, including Tippling Club, Lerouy, Odette, Burnt Ends, La Dame De Pic, Butcher's Block, Restaurant Jag, Adrift, and Spago, as well as coveted Japanese eateries like Sushi Kou, Shoukowa, Jinjo, and Takayama. His passion for absolute premium quality beverages drives him in his pursuit to search for top quality sake brands and to discover the stories behind them; introducing the brand stories to drink lovers in Singapore. 

Andre started his sake journey under the tutelage of 3rd generation sake meikiki, Hironori Hayashi of Sakenomise Hayashi in Fukui, Japan in 2017. He is accredited as a certified International kikisake-shi (sake sommelier) by the Sake Services Institute in Japan and was one of 25 people nominated internationally for the prestigious Sake Samurai (2019) Award/Title in Japan.

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Comments

John Gordon

  • 778 comments
  • ELITE
RATED 7.5 / 8

Fabulous experience. The Tatler Bar is for invited clients only. Start your buying journey online and be in line for a private session. 

Richard

  • 3716 comments
  • ELITE
RATED 7.5 / 8
In a year where travel is off the table, I have been seeking out gastronomic experiences that transport me to my favourite destinations. And nothing evokes my memories of Japan more than sake and sashimi.

Elika

  • 27 comments
  • CONTRIBUTOR
RATED 7.5 / 8
The day I discovered why I really love Sake.

Have you ever wondered why something resonates so deeply within your being, yet you’ve never really stopped to question why? This is how I feel about Japanese culture.

I love the food, I love the drink, I love the simplicity of life and have taught many of my clients Ikigai – the Japanese way of valuing life which can be applied to doing the work you love. Then to top it all off, my name Elika is Japanese.

Japan has been built up in my mind to be such a glorious country that I’m even nervous to go now. It's home to one of the many blue zones I have researched (places where the most centennials live in the world). Whether Okinawa will be one of my first touch points to Japan, I’m not sure.

Especially now Andre Chalson supplier of premium Japanese produce, and a bespoke collection of Sake for The Tatler Bar has introduced me to the idea of visiting seasonal produce.

Well, I experienced high quality produce incorporating all the elements within the fermentation process of Sake in this food and Sake pairing curated by The Tatler Bar and hosted in their beautiful new event space in a restored shophouse on Keong Saik.

Jon-Jon manages The Tatler Bar’s physical and virtual bar offerings. His passion for its success will ensure you have a wonderful experience either as a guest of The Tatler Bar or buying direct from their online shop with all the ‘hard to find’ premium drinks on offer.

We were introduced to Okoyama Goju White - from Omoya Shuzo the lone sake brewery on Iki Island in the Nagasaki Prefecture. Yamada-nishiki rice is grown on the island for the sole purpose of brewing a sake that required eight years of careful sourcing for water of the highest quality. With a sweetness akin to biting into a fresh muscat grape, this elegant sake rounds itself out with a nice and gentle creaminess.

The Yokoyama Goju Black Sake is ripe with notes of apple. Each mouthful of this sake is coloured by bright, fruity notes. Polished 50%, If the rice has been polished to 50% or less, the sake which results can be designated as “Daiginjo”. Many regard these sakes a ‘premium’ or ‘best’ sake. Sake which does not fall within these categories are more traditional.

Then finally trying Fukuda Tokubetsu. This sake is balanced and well-rounded. A rich creaminess comes from a rice polished at 65%. This is met with a subtle sweetness that lingers on the palate.

Paired with fresh tuna sashimi and a selection of sushi sourced direct from Toyosu Fish Market.

Being hosted at The Tatler Bar is an extraordinary experience. I left fully understanding why Japanese have been one of my go-to rebellions for healthy ‘guilt-free’ food & beverage.
The Tatler Bar is a curated online platform made for the drink connoisseur featuring a hand-picked selection of premium whiskies and spirits as well as limited-edition collaborations, all paired with expert insights into the world of the quality drinks.

Driven by the pursuit of the finer things, The Tatler Bar list of class pours are carefully assembled to cater to both enthusiasts and collectors—helping them discover prized finds while ensuring they get only the very best.

Rebecca

  • 160 comments
  • CONTRIBUTOR
RATED 8 / 8
Like many seasoned expats, these days are much more about finding new and unique local experiences to enjoy now we are all stuck on the little red dot. Whether it be for client events or special birthday occasions in our intimate groups of five, I’m always on the lookout for something with that “je ne sais quoi”, the x-factor so to speak.

One such experience has recently launched in the trendy Tanjong Pagar street of Bukit Pasoh – located in the shophouse address of Tatler Asia’s offices. Of course we have all heard of Tatler - curator of Singapore’s leading luxury lifestyle magazine – the place to be seen for society’s elite. But now we can all experience a little of the chic Tatler lifestyle via their very own in-house food and beverage pairing experiences. The bar is an upscale and intimate setting with a luxe metallic table providing the perfect vantage point for the wall of premium spirits showcased behind. It exudes a classy and exclusive ambience sure to impress even the most sophisticated VIPs.

Our experience involved a Sake and Food pairing and Andre our debonair Sake sommelier took us on an enlightening journey of this pure and often underrated premium beverage. We sampled three different top quality sakes, all from the Nagasaki region of Japan (on Japan’s most southerly main island of Fukuoka). We discovered that sake is made from only four ingredients – rice, water, yeast and koji (a type of fungus) – making it one of the purest and least processed forms of alcohol around (perfect for those trying to lead a healthier but not too restrictive lifestyle). We also discovered the quality of sake is determined according to how “polished” the rice is (how much of the rice husk is milled away during the production process). Sake polished so that only 60% of the rice remains is known as “Ginjo” sake while the top-shelf “Daiginjo” has had at least 50% of the rice polished away.

All three sakes were outstanding to taste, light with elegant flavours ranging from the sweet muscat grape of the Yokoyama Goju White, to the ripe apple fruitiness of the Yokoyama Goju Black to the more creamy subtle sweetness of the Fukuda Tokubetsu where 65% of the rice is polished away.

To accompany these fine sakes, we were served a delectable platter of Japanese sushi, sashimi and pickled dishes – each expertly paired with one of the sakes to more fully bring out the flavours of both.

This is indeed a classy, high-end experience that is well worth consideration for a unique, informative and delectable event for clients, colleagues or even those oh so hard to impress expat friends.

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