Compendium Volume 9 English

MORE SHRUB THAN PUB THE

MORE SHRUB THAN PUB THE BEST PLACES FOR COMPLEX, ALCOHOL-FREE DRINKS PAIRINGS 1 1 NOURI, SINGAPORE The eclectic menu at sleek, stylish Nouri, the Michelin-starred restaurant in Singapore’s Chinatown, stems in part from chef/patron Ivan Brehm’s mixed background (Italian, Brazilian, German and Spanish), but he throws in flavours and ideas from other cultures, too: “crossroads cooking”, as he calls it. The Raw and the Cooked, for example, features a carabinero prawn’s head filled with its intensely reduced coral, alongside a tartare of prawn with tamarillo, spiced prawn floss and finger lime, while a bourride of turbot replaces aïoli with garlic skyr and gets an extra umami boost from black sesame paste. His wine list boasts wines from the “Old World”, “New World” and – intriguingly – the “Ancient World”: wines from Georgia, Lebanon, Croatia and Hungary, including a clutch of orange wines. A dozen sakes are also on offer. But Brehm is particularly proud of his nonalcoholic drinks: “We clarify whey, the by-product of cheese and yoghurt-making in the kitchen, and mix it with kimchi brine and pear juice. It makes a delicious, savoury drink that can stand on its own, but is also versatile enough to be used as a pairing.” And don’t miss Brehm’s latest project, Appetite, a research kitchen, private dining room, art gallery and vinyl-stacked “listening room”, upstairs from Nouri. 54

2 3 4 PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JENI AFUSO, CLAES BECH-POULSEN, © NIXTA TAQUERIA, © RAW, SUZAN GABRIJAN; OPPOSITE PAGE: © NOURI 2 KATO, LOS ANGELES Jon Yao’s Michelinstarred Taiwanese restaurant in Downtown LA has plenty for drinkers to enjoy, including a great wine list and an Old Fashioned trolley, but – thanks to bar director Austin Hennelly – it also boasts a terrific non-alcoholic list. Dinner might kick off with a cocktail of Korean cucumber and bitter melon with peony tea, then move to a de-alcoholised German riesling paired with caviar, and a Spanish tempranillo/syrah blend from alcohol-free wine experts Studio Null, matched with Yao’s famous wagyu beef with oxtail and black garlic. 3 GERANIUM, COPENHAGEN As three Michelin stars and the San Pellegrino 2022 World’s Best Restaurant award will attest, Geranium is a powerhouse of New Nordic cuisine, built on Rasmus Kofoed’s (pictured) sublime interpretation of local and seasonal ingredients and front-of-house Søren Ledet’s masterful service skills. There is an encyclopaedic wine list, but also an inventive non-alcoholic drinks menu that has been running since Geranium opened in 2007. Crafted with the same ethos as the kitchen, you might find a smoky mackerel dish paired with a cocktail of green apple, cucumber and dill. 5 4 NIXTA TAQUERIA, AUSTIN, TEXAS At Austin’s highly acclaimed Nixta Taqueria, there’s no problem finding a michelada to wash down the superb, house-made tacos and tostadas from James Beard Awardwinning chef Edgar Rico. There is even a list of low-intervention wines, and Nixta is one of the very few Mexican joints to serve pulque, wild yeastfermented agave beer. But there are also plenty of booze-free choices: Austin Beerworks “Hop Water”, for a beery tang, and a range of aguas frescas, made with local and seasonal produce, maybe prickly pear, or horchata, made with rice and spiked with cinnamon. 6 5 HIŠA FRANKO, SLOVENIA Ana Ros’s restaurant in Kobarid, northwestern Slovenia, goes from strength to strength: awarded both a third Michelin star and a Green Star for sustainability in 2023, the menu still champions produce of the Soča valley, from foraged mushrooms to marble trout, and wild herbs to indigenous Drežnica goats. The lengthy wine list is a treasure trove of Slovenian wines, but there are also imaginative non-alcoholic pairings, including the “Juicy” pairing, from fruits and vegetables grown in its biodynamic farm, and kombuchas and lactofermented tonics made in house. 6 RAW, TAIPEI “Bistronomy, Taiwanese style” is how chef/owner André Chiang describes his two-Michelin-starred Taipei restaurant, decked out with filament bulbs and bare wooden tables. A huge pine sculpture frames an open kitchen, from which emerge eight-course, seasonal menus, precisely cooked and intricately presented. Chiang pioneered non-alcoholic pairings at his former restaurant in Singapore, and they feature strongly at RAW, too, with pairings of four drinks thoughtfully composed to complement each menu: the cocktail of bitter gourd, jasmine tea and sorbic acid is especially popular. 55