Last month, alcohol suppliers from around the world gathered at the China International Alcoholic Drinks Expo to showcase their products. The event also attracted many sake breweries from Japan to Beijing. The appreciation of this spirit is still in its nascent stage and Taka, the owner of Sake Manzo is one of the main proponents in bringing sake appreciation to the capital city.
With gradual steps to introduce the Chinese market to sake, Taka organised one of the largest sake events in Beijing on July 2 this year, featuring up to 100 kinds of sakes and 33 brewers. The festival featured many “Ginjo” sakes, a higher grade of sake and premium sake “Dai Ginjo” that boasts a fresh and rich fruity fragrance like that of apple, peach, banana and pineapples.
According to Taka, ”the knowledge of sake in Beijing is still very limited and the perception of it here is that it’s cool, as a result, not many really know how to appreciate it. The largest misconception is that sake has to be drunk warm, on the contrary, the top grades of sake are meant to be enjoyed cold.”
While most sakes in Beijing are locally produced by the “Fong Zhu Mei” brand, they lack the quality of sake imported from Japan.
“At Sake Manzo, we carry quality imports from Japan. As part of sake education, I also do sake pairing dinners and have done it for Morio J restaurant as well as Haiku at Block 8. There are several other restaurants that carry a good selection of sakes in the city, one example is Bei at The Opposite House, that has a small collection of good quality sake.” Says Taka.
Two interesting sakes you might want to try is the Tengumai yamahai junmai ginjo and okunomatsu junmai daiginjo, both available at Bei.
Cross-posted on Housevibe
