Tannic Teeth

Skirting around the faux pas food–wine matching, Shiraz and Asian is an unlikely combination. But it’s a folly well played.

I know food and wine matching goose-steppers would resound crisp Riesling or Sem Savvy Blancs with Asian food, so it was with stubborn denial that I ventured with a friend to Hawker’s Cuisine with a McLaren Vale Shiraz in tow. The aim was to see what dishes this rickety bee-hive of a restaurant had to offer.

Upon first impressions, this restaurant looks like any grime encrusted eatery in China Town. If the jittery queue of people trying to get in is anything to go by, they would sure be blind to this fact. We were assured our table would be ready in 10–15 minutes. No biggie. I wouldn’t have expected a place bursting at the seams to accommodate anyone as a table walk-in.

After having a stroll around Northbridge to kill some time, we entered Hawker’s Cuisine again, bumbled around inside for a few more minutes, then sat at a table. I would imagine everyone goes through this triage in order to dine. Our waitperson scurries off with an order. Wine time.

While at Steves earlier on that day, I had bumped into a young winemaker, Tom Stransky. A graduate from UWA’s Viticulture and Oenology, his curious intensity lead him around the world in 13 vintages to almost every wine producing region bar Spain.
He has delicately made small-batch wines from McLaren Vale fruit, and had them emblematically labelled. The Mo’ Shiraz it’s called. Profoundly, it has a Mo’ on it.

Tom was to save the only spare bottle he had that day (the gold mo’s are apparently for family) to give to his uncle, but he graciously gave it for tasting. [Tasting note at the end]

We ordered Spicy Squid Tentacles (they apologised and brought out sliced squid tubes instead), Beef Rendang and Tofu Veggie Claypot. Aside from the squid being a little too oily with a thin batter, the flavour of intensity were commanding. The Rendang espically married the wine, a soft sweet fruit immixed with the star ainse based beef. The tofu came out on a little tea-light burner to keep it hot, was as expected in quality and mass.

This is a place for a no frills midweek meal. The service is edgy but effective.

Like most people dining outside, we disregarded the cockroach crawling up the wall in favour of a steaming bowl of Asian love. Really hits the spot.

Thumbs up for Hawker’s.

The Mo’ Shiraz 2008 (Mt Compass, McLaren Vale, Clarendon)
If supple could be used as a descriptor in wine, this red is a Russian contortionist. It has a chunky fruit-jube character on the nose, it’s a ripe temptress. Slurped with gusto over the tongue, The Mo’ is lighter than expected in tannin profile. This gives two impressions. One a bendy, flexible nature to it — a fleshy skinned plum cheek. The other, it’s not as tapering or elongatedly thread-like. It ends solidly with ample fruit weight. 17.1

So the Dead Arm Shiraz has a bit of a name for itself. If you don’t know the history of the wine, there is a certain fungi (Eutypa lata) that renders part of the vine dead, hence the ‘dead arm’.  Apparently it also makes the quality of grapes on the remaining half of higher quality. Apparently.

Well in all intents and purposes it DOES deliver a good wine. Though one may achieve this though drought stress, canopy management, fruit thinning to achieve a higher quality crop and thus resulting wine.

The instant character fresh from lively decant is a splattered array of blackcurrant and reduced red fruits. Though over time the nose grows a hairy animal belly and locks itself behind something akin to a leather suit case. Hints of succulent berry do poke though, but you’re going to need your beagle with you to find them. Flavourful and giving on the palate with a good punchy long lasting end. There could have been more fruit sweetness but you can’t have everything in one glass. As expected for the price. RRP $60

d’Arenberg ‘The Sticks and Stones’ 2005 [McLaren Vale] 14.5% (Screwcap)

‘Some what of a hotch-potch of Southern European grape varieties, d’Arenberg’s ‘The Sticks and Stones’ gives much in the way of textural wine with a twist. Comprising of more or less half Tempranillo (48%), Grenache (42%) and Shiraz (10%), it’s a wine that sits comfortably in the gamy earthy spectrum initially, with distinct leather strap and damp earth. It may not sound attractive however there are underlying layers of sweet fruit, strawberry and currant. Definitely not rich cassis or reduced plums in this batch. Tactially it feels larger; spreading deep diving tannins pucker, adhere and rasp your tongue and lips. Though not enduring, the sensation is somewhat transient, only to be replenished with another sip. Finishes in decent time and length. Would compliment game or other strongly flavoured meats.’