It wasn’t a mistake to accept two lunches in a single day. Both were not to be missed.

 

Let me tell you about the second lunch where I naturally arrived late—everyone had finished eating when I came down to the lower section of Sage restaurant in Makati Shangri-La. Gladly, chef Tareq Taylor and his smiling face banished my embarrassment.

 

I had known Taylor only through snatches of his fast-paced cooking show viewed on my computer.

 

My interest on this Swedish chef was partly due to my memorable experience of visiting his country twice and sampling its cuisine.

 

I remembered chef Billy King’s word to expect excellent cooking in Stockholm.

 

In Sweden I enjoyed reindeer meat, lots of salmon, pickled herring (which Taylor in his show said he never used to like) and pears that grow inside bottles and which would hold peach liqueur.

Taylor—who sports casual clothes or strips down (wow muscles!) after a diving stint— wore his chef’s whites at Sage because he cooked that day.

 

I was thankful that the first course of beetroots and potato cake with lots of goat cheese, plus honey, vinegar, greens and walnuts was waiting for me.

 

Taylor, whose father is Palestinian while his mother is Swedish-English, represents the new Sweden—no longer the blond, blue-eyed Vikings of yore but a mix of races that has enriched its culture and food.

 

What I like about his show, “Nordic Flavors,” is that he goes to places in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) where the food differs compared to typical urban areas.

 

The Asian Food Channel brought him to Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, which is why I just couldn’t miss this lunch with Taylor.

 

While savoring his perfectly cooked lamb with lovage and dried apricots, we talked about “Wallander,” the TV detective series set in Sweden; savored in our minds the great hotdog with fried onions in Copenhagen; and had a laugh about Stockholm street art that involved toilet bowls planted to flowers.

 

The first lunch

 

Rewind now to the earlier lunch. What better combination than choice wines from Spy Valley with good food from Sala in Makati where Colin Mackay himself was cooking that day? Lester Harvey of wine distributor Zenasia organized it, attended by friends and familiar faces in the wine and food societies.

 

Spy Valley global sales manager Peter Rawlings had an intriguing story while introducing his wines. He says that in Marlborough, New Zealand, where the vineyards are located, Americans built a satellite station in what became a valley of spies.

 

Other wine stories begin with the terroir, however. Still in Marlborough, adds Rawlings, the weather is hot in the daytime and then gets cold at night—which makes it conducive to seal in the grapes’ flavors.

Rawlings asked me to try the Pinot Rose 2013. He said it’s produced in the style of Provence, light in color and drier in taste and a hit in the UK market.

 

Next came the Envoy Riesling 2009 and the sparkling Envoy/Chardonnay 2008, great for first tasting but lethal when hungry. (Thankfully we were asked to sit for lunch soon after.)

 

Spy Valley’s Sauvignon Blanc is a favorite and the 2013 didn’t disappoint. It was cool and extra smooth, paired with the goat cheese and a multitude of South Asian flavors—tomato jam, spiced cauliflower, apricot chutney and the little Indian onion bahji (fritters).

The Envoy Chardonnay 2009, Spy Valley’s premium label, produces only a few hundred cases a year. It was paired with grilled octopus and tiger prawns plus mussels with white beans.

 

The duck confit was anticipated; we loved its crispness as well as the fine taste of the Pinot Noir 2012 that accompanied it.

 

But the conversation was not only about eating and drinking, but also touched on politics and business—all friendly banter because a good meal will make that happen.

 

A Gewürztraminer 2012 was served with a little apple and almond cakes with burnt butter ice cream—perfect blend for the ending.

 

It was just the right time to do a French leave for the short walk to the second lunch, an opportunity to clear my head and make me just a little bit hungry again.

 

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