Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/615999
left: Tea sommelier Percy Cheung. above: Golden Flower's tea bar. Tea is also central in the dining room, available to guests first rather than last. A meal often begins with a pot of Golden Flower's unique signature blend of chrysanthemum-infused oolong tea to ready the palate. Then Cheung will suggest a tea that complements the quali- ties and flavors of each course. "Tea is a subtle beverage in general, not having a strong character like alcohol or coffee," she says. "Tea plays a role on the dining table of cleansing and balancing the pal- ate, assisting the natural flavors of each dish to come through." Green tea, one of the most delicate, can enhance the freshness of seafood, for instance. High in amino acids, green tea creates the earthy umami taste and can be as sweet as chicken soup. It pairs excellently with dishes such as Golden Flower's steamed fish with chicken stock "Tan style," stir-fried scallops with marinated ginger, and stewed fish maw with crab claw in chicken broth. For meatier dishes, Cheung may suggest a vintage pu'er tea. A large-leaf varietal, pu'er has high levels of polyphenol and tannin, which neutralize the oils from heavy meats and aid digestion. "Its mel- low, sweet, full-bodied texture can clear up our palate instantly," says Cheung, who also suggests pairing it with braised, deep-fried, or crispy dishes, like spiced roasted yellow croaker, braised abalone in brown sauce, or braised pork ribs with pineapple and osmanthus honey. Tea also figures in the dishes themselves. On the menu is a Sichuan tea-smoked duck and a dish featuring fresh clam and jas- mine in chicken soup. "The scents of the jasmine flower are released by the heat as it floats on the clear chicken soup," says Cheung. For the cold months, Cheung is recommending Wuyi oolong, red tea, and brown pu'er tea: "These teas are highly fermented, which carries a warming effect and boosts the circulation to our body." The pu'er teas, grown in the Yunnan province of southwestern China, are aged between five and 30 years, with their large leaves often pressed into balls that blossom in the water. Like wine appreciation, tea appreciation has a bit of a learning curve, but Wynn Macau offers classes in which students can acquire this new vocabulary of taste, texture, aroma, color, and aftertaste. "Tea descriptions are more or less related to the herbaceous," Cheung explains. Some descriptions will sound similar to those used for wine: buttery, full-bodied, complex, bold, chocolaty, smoky, fruity. Others less so: umami, vegetal, wheat, salty. And then, of course, there's the magic, which is hard to put into words. n Wynn 69