Our February fixed menu, fixed price tapas evening falls on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, the Year of the Swine, and will feature Chinese New Year specialties.

You bring your wine – or beer -- of choice.

Tim will introduce and discuss the dishes as they are served. Tim and his wife Christina, who grew up in Thailand, together lived 7 ½ years in the heavily Chinese-populated city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They will discuss some of the symbolism of the traditional foods we will be serving, including money bags (dumplings and wontons), gold coins (candied carrots, red barbecued pork slices, almond cookies), new growth (bamboo shoots, bean sprouts), and long life (noodles).

Please note that New Year dishes traditionally include a lot of meat, which for ordinary people was limited and reserved for holidays, especially New Year. Then, starting out “rich” was hoped to carry on throughout the year. Thus this evening it will difficult to substitute non-meat dishes.

The specialties will include: Crispy fried wontons with sweet-sour sauce; Honey-barbecued “Char Siew” pork; Steamed dumplings; Red-cooked pork with bamboo shoots; “Lo mein” noodles; Candied vegetables plus almond cookies. 

Tim’s preference on wines to pair with this variety of dishes would be a well-chilled dry rosé or a Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Albariño. For a red, if you prefer that, Pinot Noir. Beer would also go with these dishes, and would be much more common than wine in Chinese communities in Asia. Low-hops, lager-type beers are the most common in East Asia. Try “Tsing Tao” from China or “Singha” or “Chang” from Thailand.

Or -- for a great wine pairing at a modest price, see Uncommon Gourmet (1087 Baxter St, telephone 706 353-3107). Tim frequently teaches cooking and wine classes at the Uncommon Gourmet, and Anne Wells selects wines to go with Tim’s style of cooking.

Thursday, February 7th, 2019. Donderos’ Kitchen, 590 No. Milledge Avenue. First course served at 6:30 PM.

Price $30 person. Corkage fee is $2 per couple.

Seating is limited. To assure a place, please register in advance.