Tuna Tartare & Shrimp Curry at Malai

Red Wine Flight at Malai

White Wine Flight at Malai

I had the pleasure of joining some of my Dallas Wineux friends for lunch at Malai Kitchen. The Thai-Vietnamese restaurant was trying a new wine flight program.

Normally don’t drink wine with a lot of Asian dishes because sake is always my first choice. However, I was delighted in the selections for Malai’s wine flights.

Here is the list:

Whites:

2014 Selby, Sonoma County, CA. Sauvignon Blanc (with a small bit of Semillon).
Profile: Apricot, Asian Pear, White Flowers with a light acidic clean finish.

2014 Chateau Routas, Provence, FR. A rose’ blend of Cinsault, Grenache & Syrah.
Profile: Strawberries, green herbs, earth, mineral with a crisp finish.

2012 Les Vignes d’Alexandre, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone, FR. A blend of white grapes – possibly Grenache Blanc, Roussanne & Viognier.
Profile: Apricot, Peach, light floral with a bit of black tea finish.

2014 Kessler “R”, Rheingau, Germany. Riesling (Kabinett in style “light”).
Profile: Ginger, Peach, Lemon, Lime with a bright acidity that made for a light palate cleanser.

Reds:

2006 Chateau Compassant, Bordeaux, FR. A blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc.
Profile: Ripe Cherry, earthy with a bit of a smokey finish.

2014 Bodegas Filon, Aragon, Spain. Garnacha aka. Grenache.
Profile: Raspberry, Cherry with a bit of a “gamey” quality and ripe tannins.

2011 Renwood “Old Vine”, Amador County, CA. Zinfandel.
Profile: Lush ripe black fruit, Vanilla, smooth tannins.

2012 Bell, Sierra Foothills, CA. Syrah.
Profile: Rich ripe plum & Figs. Mocha and black pepper finish.

The Food:

Vietnamese Meatballs.     Ahi Tuna Tartare.              Curry Shrimp.
Red Curry Cod.                Pan Seared Snapper.       Drunken Noodles.
Coconut Soup.                 Mango Sticky Rice.           Coconut Cream Pie.

There was more…but I was getting lost in all of the dishes & wine that I forgot to take notes on everything! So here are just the highlights (or what I can remember):

The Selby wine was a stand out with the Tuna Tartare. Actually the Selby was a good with a lot of dishes.
Kessler “R” over powered the tuna, but added another layer of herbs to the Curry Shrimp.
Bodegas Filon brought out the aromatics in the Snapper dish.
I really liked both Renwood & Bell with the Mango Sticky Rice.

It was a roller coaster for the taste buds for sure!
I highly recommend trying out the wine flight. Also, the wines by the glass are really great too.
Have fun and play with the food at Malai Kitchen. You won’t be sorry.

Thank you to Yasmin, the Proprietor at Malai. You were a fantastic hostess.

Thanks to Dallas Wineaux Peeps:

Melanie – Dallas Wine Chick
Terry – Texas Wineaux
Ryan – Vino Mosaics
Michelle – Rockin Red Blog
Samuel – Redoux Wine