Club Culinaire of Southern California

Club Culinaire of Southern California is an association of French Chefs & their admirers. Club is famous for its annual Picnic des Chefs which is in its 34 year & is an outdoor French Food & Wine Festival presently in Agoura. The rest of the year, club presents French food events in various French restaurants. You need not be a member to participate. Contact
to be on their e-​mail list.
Club Culinaire Menu de Gustation by Chef Kimmy Tang of 9021PHO & Special Sake (sah keh) Pairing Event by Yoshi:
Chef-​Owner of 9021Pho, Kimmy Tang, brings us a fabulous six-​course dinner and sake pairing on her new patio at 9021Pho at the Glendale Galleria.
1) Grilled Shrimp on a bed of Garlic-​Cilantro Quinoa with a side of Lemon Aioli
(Paired with Mango Shooter)
The quinoa seemed to be cooked in a chicken broth for light Umami. The aioli was a mayonnaise infused with pureed Myers Lemon which has a mild, sweet orange aroma & flavour that added a fruitiness.
The fruitiness was continued with the pairing of mango juice & Sho-​chu– (Japanese low alcohol vodka).
2) Poulet à la Moussavo Chicken Skewer served with Avocado Mousse
(Paired with Hot-​and-​Spicy Basilnade)
Lightly brined chicken breast was soft & moist, & whipped, herbed aguacate could be applied to the breast for even more unctuous richness.
Sho-​chu– infused with Jalapeño Chile & basil made for a green herbal pepper taste intensified by spicy heat.
3) Hawaiian Toriball: Chicken Meatballs over Pineapple Mint sauce
(Paired with Not-​So-​Virgin Coolada)
The Toriball is one found in Japanese Yakitori~ya or specialized chicken BBQ establishments. The lightly seasoned Chicken meatballs are called Tsukune (Tsoo koo neh). This time a tropical Vietnamese variation of having an offset of crushed pineapple & mint added a contrasting sweetness & mintiness.
The pineapple/​coconut flavoured Sho-​chu– was again a continuation of tropical fruit flavours.
4) Lycheelicious Scallops: Pan Fried Scallops on a bed of Coconut Rice, topped with Lychee Chutney (Paired with Kamaya Orizake Sake)
Lychee chutney added a sweet fruitiness to the coconut flavoured rice. The giant scallop was atop the mini mountain of rice & barely cooked to create a smooth, velvety texture.
The Kamaya Orizake was a Nigori (Née goh ree) which means cloudy. Most Nigori Sake tends on the sweet side, but after the initial dulcet note, Kamaya Orizake turns to a dry note in order to refresh the palate from the sweet coconut & lychee.
5) Mango Chicken: Chicken Breast Stir-​fried with Onion, Bell Pepper, Mango and Basil, Lemongrass Rice (Paired with Tempuichi Sake)

The stir-​fry of vegetables seems to be in a bit of oyster sauce with the addition of Nuoc Mam or fish sauce for subtle fish Umami. The pleasantly contrasting flavour ingredient was the Thai Basil which is a highly pungent combination of basil with a sharp anisette note. The subtlely lemon grass infused brown rice was chewy, nutty, earthy comfort food.
In order to clean the palate for the next bite, Tempuichi Sake was clean, astringent, neutral.
6) Poached Asian Pears: Asian Pears poached in sweet Mirin sake
(Paired with Kuroro Sake)
Poire pochee was poached for a short time to not over cook the pear in Mirin (Japanese sweet Sake) with a strawberry & heavy drizzling of chocolate syrup.
The Coffee/​condensed milk infused Sho-​chu– was a way to introduce elements of Vietnamese style coffee to pair with the pear & chocolate as explained by Sake/​Sho-​chu– Sommelier, Yoshi.
This event was a fantastic way of showcasing the culinary ability of Kimmy Tang & Sommelier Yoshi. You could tell there was a great deal of collaboration between the two culinary experts to arrive at a harmonious, complementary scheme to elevate the interaction of food & drink with such positive synergy.
PS None of the above is on the regular 9120PHO dinner menu