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Lisa Cam

Which dishes go best with wines from China’s Ningxia region? A recent gastronomic event at high-end mall Harbour City, in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood, aimed to find out.
The 818 The Seafood x Ningxia Wineries Pairing Dinner featured six premium wines from four Ningxia wineries and a menu curated by chef Francis Chong Wui Choong.
Among the diners were former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying and Ningxia winery representatives.
The evening highlighted wines from the region in northern China that has risen to become one of the country’s viniculture heartlands, and showed how well they pair with Chinese food.

The meal began with three appetisers – almond-crusted crispy chicken skin, marinated Scottish razor clams, and sea urchin tofu with century egg sauce – paired with Fei Tswei Reserve Chardonnay 2019.
The white wine was crisp, with notes of citrus and stone fruits. The wine teased out different notes in each dish.

The stand-out dish of the dinner was slow-cooked wagyu oxtail in red wine, paired with Chateau Huahao Marselan 2019.
The choice to pair Marselan with the dish was a calculated one.
As highlighted in a 2024 article in Club Oenologique magazine, the Marselan varietal has recently been making waves in the Chinese wine world as the grape that thrives best in Ningxia.

A cross between cabernet sauvignon and grenache – also known as garnacha – Marselan was developed in France in 1961, initially for cultivation in the Languedoc region.
This mid- to late-ripening variety, which is resistant to heat and disease, was introduced to China by the Sino-French Cooperation Demonstration Farm (now Domaine Franco-Chinois), which brought cuttings from France to Huailai in Hebei province in 2001.
The winery’s chief winemaker at the time produced China’s inaugural Marselan wine from the 2003 vintage. The wine quickly garnered the attention of numerous emerging wineries, sparking a surge in plantings.

Marselan was initially grown on only 2.75 hectares (6.8 acres) of land in China, but today is grown on 4,000 hectares – around 3.8 per cent of the country’s total vineyard area.
This makes China the world’s second-largest producer of Marselan by vineyard area after France.
The Chinese Marselan served at the dinner was full-bodied, fruity and dry, and balanced the richness of the wagyu oxtail.

The event was designed to educate and inspire, with presentations by winery representatives who offered insights into Ningxia’s unique terroir.
Chef Chong introduced each dish, and explained the inspiration behind the wine pairings, to create an immersive and educational experience for diners.


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Food and Drinks

Wines from China’s Ningxia region get perfect food pairings at exclusive Hong Kong dinner

Fei Tswei Reserve Chardonnay 2019. Photo: 818 The Seafood

 Bottles of Fei Tswei Reserve Marselan 2019 at the recent Harbour City event that celebrated wine from Ningxia through delicious food pairings. Photo: 818 The Seafood

Chef Chong’s appetisers (from left) marinated Scottish razor clams, sea urchin tofu with century egg sauce, and almond-crusted crispy chicken skin. Photo: 818 The Seafood

Fei Tswei Reserve Chardonnay 2019 was chosen as the pairing for Chong’s appetisers. Photo: 818 The Seafood

 Bottles of Fei Tswei Reserve Marselan 2019 served at the dinner. Photo: 818 The Seafood

Chong’s slow-cooked wagyu oxtail in red wine was the stand-out dish at the dinner. Photo: 818 The Seafood

Guests at the pairing dinner applaud Leung Chun-ying’s opening speech. Photo: 818 The Seafood

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Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Chardonnay with chicken skin, Marselan with wagyu – how Ningxia’s best wines go with food is focus of event celebrating rising wine region


Chardonnay with chicken skin, Marselan with wagyu – how Ningxia’s best wines go with food is focus of event celebrating rising wine region.


Wine and Spirits

Chinese cuisine