Flying fish cutters and Banks beer

A week without wine might sound like hell for wine lovers but to be honest in Barbados why would you drink anything else? Wine is expensive and there’s not much choice whereas beer is cheap and ubiquitous.

Even though we tried some craft beers we kept coming back to the island’s national beer Banks, a full-flavoured lager of 4.7% which invariably hit the spot. (You can read more about on the Beers of Europe website and buy it from them too if you’ve been to Barbados and are getting withdrawal symptoms)

It goes brilliantly with the flying fish ‘cutters’ - a fried fish sandwich or bun that you find on practically every menu and with the equally popular Bajan fishcakes which are actually more like fish balls and should always be freshly fried.

Of course you *could* also quaff a rum punch but I find most a tad too sweet though my mate Fiona Sims* (pictured above) makes an excellent one deviating slightly from the classic formula (one of sour, 1 1/2 (rather than two) of sweet (sugar syrup in her case), 3 of strong (we used Mount Gay rum) and 4 of weak (water rather than fruit juice). Mix, pour over ice-filled tumblers, then top with a good drizzle of Angostura bitters and a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg. Hits the spot every time!

*Author of The Boat Drinks Book if you want other cocktail inspiration!

Panko-fried yellowtail with truffle honey and sparkling sake

I honestly didn't know which dish to pick out of this extraordinary pop-up at The Dead Doll’s House Islington last week, hosted by wine importer Bibendum PLB who now also bring in a wide range of sakes. So I’m going for this one because it was the first and one of the simplest.

The meal was prepared in a corner of the private dining room by Endo Kazutoshi, former head sushi chef at Zuma and was one of the most spectacular Japanese meals I’ve ever had.

The dish was a couple of slices of incredibly fresh yellowtail tuna coated in panko crumbs, deep-fried and served with truffle honey and citrus zest.

Deep fried foods are always good with effervescent drinks and this gently sparkling Atago no Matsu sake from Nizawa Brewery was no exception. I knew umami was the perfect foil for sake but the sweetness of the truffle honey with the slightly sweet sake was a revelation.

The Nizawa brewery which was founded in 1873 was badly affected by the Great East earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and had to relocate but now has a state of the art new brewery with equipment that can apparently polish a rice grain down to 8% of its original size!

Apparently Atago no Matsu means ‘waiting love’ which is rather charming. Turns out it’s available on Amazon though at rather more than the prices you find in the states. Good sake has still to become affordable in the UK.

Apologies for rubbish pic. Very low light and a communal sharing board which made photography particularly difficult. (Excuses, excuses ... )

I was invited to the pop-up as a guest of Bibendum.

Fried sprats and grower champagne

A reminder this week of just what a perfect match champagne and fried fish is - with a twist. The fish was one of the cheapest of catches, the humble sprat.

It made no difference at The Scallop Shell in Bath, a restaurant I’d been hearing great things about and finally got to last Thursday. This was one of two starters we ordered - perfect, crisply fried, spankingly fresh little fish served with some excellent tarragon and chive mayo. The other was the plump, garlicky mussels you see in the photo. And of course we had to roadtest their fish and chips, which again was exemplary - a huuuge portion of haddock in a crisp, lacy batter.

We wouldn’t have normally ordered champagne but we were *researching* (honest!) a ‘Fish & Fizz’ event on which I’m collaborating with the restaurant on Sunday October 9th, the last day of the Great Bath Feast. Details to follow on social media on the restaurant’s own Twitter account @thescallopshell and mine, @winematcher, but it will basically be a fabulous 3 course lunch with a selection of different sparkling wines.

The champagne was a cracker from grower Chartogne-Taillot, a rich, creamy but perfectly balanced non-vintage cuvée called Sainte Anne. It’s supplied by Fine Wines Direct UK which sells it online for an incredibly reasonable £27.99. Unsurprisingly it’s out of stock at the moment but if and when it comes back in I’m tempted to buy some myself.

You might also enjoy reading 6 of the best matches with fish & chips.

Seafood tapas and Txakoli

Despite its almost unpronounceable name Txakoli (pronounced chackoly) is the new kid on the block for anyone who likes a crisp dry white wine.

It comes from Spain’s Basque country and is a clean-as-a-whistle, super-sharp white with a slight spritz that’s brilliant with any kind of seafood.

I had a glass of the 2013 Ameztoi Txakoli at the latest branch of Barrafina in Adelaide Street last week which was particularly good with the deep fried fish dishes such as ortiguillas (sea anemones) and with a delicious fresh-tasting salad of fennel, radishes and pears. They pour it with great ceremony from a bottle held high in the air - a bit like they serve fino sherry in Jerez.

You can buy it from Highbury Vintners for £13 - they also suggest anchovies as a good match which sounds a good call.

I made another Txakoli my match of the week back in September so you can see I'm slightly obsessed with it at the moment. If you're a fan of Muscadet, Picpoul and Vinho Verde you’ll love it.