Taste with KJ – Miyagi Junmai Ginjo with Taiwanese Fare
A little bit of fate and inspiration led me to this month’s Taste with KJ pairing collaboration of Junmai Ginjo sake from Miyagi and Taiwanese fare. Not far from where I live in the East Bay, there is a secret gem restaurant called Good to Eat. It was started by Chef Tony Tung and Angie Lin as a dumpling pop-up at Original Pattern, a beer brewery in Oakland, CA. Through their limited menu in the early days at the brewery, they were able to share food they grew up with and became very popular. With a strong community following, they eventually expanded to a spacious restaurant with a full menu and patio in Emeryville, CA. In their words, they explain what inspired them to share Taiwanese food culture in the Bay Area, “Flavor-wise, our goal is to represent the beauty of traditional Taiwanese cuisine—the kind of dishes that are deeply nostalgic for us, but rarely found in the U.S. We want to introduce these flavors to our guests in a thoughtful, seasonal, and chef-driven way. We also wanted to create a space that not only celebrates diversity in flavor, but also the mindset and hospitality that make people from different backgrounds feel welcome and connected through food.” To this day, they continue to build the community of their dreams by offering traditional Taiwanese dishes; some from night markets, some from roadside banquets and some from grandma’s kitchen.
Angie & Tony, owners of Good to Eat
I’ve become a regular and a friend over the past few years and know they have a great affinity for sake and tea over other beverage options. I wondered what sake from our shop would work best with their dishes. I was drawing a blank, so I asked my coworker Zoe, who is also from Taiwan, what sake in the store would be a perfect match. She chose Hakurakusei Junmai Ginjo ‘The Connoisseur,’ a sake I admittedly quite often overlook. When I arrived at GTE that evening, I was surprised to discover that Hakurakusei was one of the 7-8 sake selections they offer on their beverage menu! Zoe knew exactly what sake would pair best with her traditional home cooking and Angie & Chef Tony seem to agree!
Zoe & Hakurakusei
Because it’s such a friendly gathering spot, I decided to visit twice this month to try as many dishes as I could with Hakurakusei. On the first visit, I brought a bottle from True Sake as corkage with my friends Jackie and Davey. The second visit was more of a date night with my partner Mike. Both visits revealed nuances I wouldn’t have acknowledged had I not been there with like-minded foodie friends.
My friend Jackie (who is also Taiwanese and very close with the GTE staff) always brings amazing and rare sake when we meet for dinner. She tends to bring sake that is unavailable in the US and will make my pairings work hard to stand beside her brews. Luckily, Hakurakusei had already been vouched for by both Zoe and the GTE owners as their go-to sake pairing, so Jackie’s special brews were in good company! Angie explained how Taiwanese food has a lot of umami which has to be acknowledged when pairing a beverage. This is why sake tends to be a natural choice for their restaurant.
They also provide incredible sparkling teas, both Oolong and Oriental Beauty as non-alcoholic pairing options. Both teas are thirst-quenching and very high in quality. The Oolong provides earthiness, a slight bitterness and balance, while the Oriental Beauty emits deep tea leaf notes and honey. I can’t visit GTE without ordering BOTH sparkling teas, one after the other, while also pairing sake with each dish. The subtle, yet addicting quality of all of the beverage components work in such harmony together. It’s a very satisfying experience!
At Good to Eat, sake and tea are the drinks of choice. With Taiwan known as a country producing high-quality tea, their inclusion on the list is a given. But I was curious why sake took the mainstage over wine with the beverage offerings. When I recently asked Angie why they prefer sake over wine for the menu, I was intrigued by the answer, “When it comes to alcoholic beverages in Taiwan, beer and sake have always been more popular than wine. Wine—especially in earlier days—was mostly reserved for Western-style dining and often felt less approachable due to its price and formality. Because Taiwan is very close to Japan geography-wise and ingredient-wise, it is easy to access almost all of the sake options from Japan. That's another reason it's natural for Taiwanese to be very familiar with sake and see it as one of the major alcohol options. At GTE, We’re very particular about our sake selections. We only choose bottles that match our dishes not just in flavor, but also in acidity, aftertaste, and mouthfeel. Traditional Taiwanese cuisine has a strong foundation in umami—that savory depth that often comes from fermentation, pickles, dried seafood, and mushrooms. Also, unlike some other Southeast Asian cuisines that are known for heat or intense spice, Taiwanese flavors—while deeply savory and umami-driven—often carry a subtle sweetness. That sweet-savory balance makes sake a natural pairing. It’s delicate, nuanced, and complements our flavor profiles beautifully. It’s thoughtful—just like our food!”
As for the food pairings, we enjoyed the following:
Taiwanese Golden Kimchi with napa cabbage, fermented tofu, organic apple cider vinegar
Dou Bao which are flaky, layered tofu sheets served with house pepper salt
BBQ-Fried Chicken Cutlet with sweet potato flour breading, fried then grilled
Before adding all of the delectable elements, we made sure to take a moment to taste the Hakurakusei by itself in its purest form around 50F; similar to cellar temperature for a full-bodied white wine. The sake was smooth in texture with an overall mellowness. Its dryness and delicate papaya notes jumped from the glass. On the palate, additional aromas of salted ume and powdered sugar were dominant. The finish was sharp and refreshing, which is great when preparing for another bite. I knew this sake was about to create exceptional partnerships with the food patiently waiting for us.
When paired with the golden kimchi, the sake enhanced a subtle bitterness in the dish, which created dimension against the apple cider tartness. The Dou Bao tofu skins are like little savory french toasts, with a flaky texture and slightly chewy interior. Hakurakusei highlighted the pleasantly crispy fried oil flavor and almost reminded me of pairing dry Junmai Ginjo with gourmet popcorn! White strawberry-scented popcorn to be exact. By the end of the pairing, we were left with a mouthfeel similar to clarified milk. As for the fried chicken cutlet, one of my absolute favorites at GTE, the flavors of deep umami and soft sweetness from the sweet potato flour breading were completely refreshed by the sake. This combination helped me understand Chef Tony and Angie’s concept of using silky, dry sake to cut through umami rich foods, while respecting a balance with sweetness. All of these pairings were a success!
Our friends ordered the grilled squid and Pepper-Numbing chicken which were recommended by Chef Tony and Angie as ideal partners to Hakurakusei. They say the lightness and elegance of this sake pairs well with the soy sauce-based flavors, spice and umami. The grilled squid comes with house-made Taiwanese BBQ sauce, which has layers of umami derived from dried seafood, mushrooms and toasted nuts. Notes of pomelo in Hakurakusei opened up the flavors and revealed complexity of the grilled squid. The touch of spicy heat coming from the Pepper-Numbing chicken worked wonderfully with Hakurakusei’s refreshing lift which cleansed the palate for the next bite.
Their other favorite dish for this sake is the Lu Rou Fan (braised pork rice). They say the deep savory umami of their braised pork rice is a beautiful match with the sake’s crisp texture; balancing the savoriness and creating a silky, round body that is truly satisfying.
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On my second visit, we ordered carafes of Hakurakusei and tried the following:
Eggplant Noodle with soy-glazed eggplant and GTE chili crunch
Fried Tofu Block served with Táishì Pàocài and garlic soy sauce
Spicy Sauce Fried Chicken Wings with GTE chili vinegar
On this visit, we ordered two carafes of Hakurakusei which were served a touch colder, around fridge temp at 45F. This serving temperature resulted in a more water-like texture, with notes of unripe pineapple and white gummy bear. It remained smooth and my partner said he tasted sweet and sour bamboo shoots, which was his way of identifying the sake’s delicate umami notes.
With eggplant noodles, the sake played the role of contrast partner. It refreshed the palate after some chili heat and the salty-sweet base of black bean soy sauce. This dish’s garlic brought out more acidity in the sake and the slight astringency of the Hakurakusei continued to reinvigorate our palates. My favorite dish on the menu is the fried tofu block and I was excited to see how diverse the experience became with this pairing. This dish is soft and crunchy, coated with sweet potato flour and topped with a delicate savory/sweet soy sauce and scallion. Again, GTE uses sweet potato flour for their fried items, making them gluten-free and a touch sweet. The use of this flour makes all of their fried dishes fully addicting! When pairing the sake, my partner discovered notes of key lime rind. With the Taiwanese pickles on the side, the sake provided the same effect as when paired with the golden kimchi. It created refreshment and mellowed the sourness of the vinegar in the pickles.
The fried chicken wings at GTE are confident and not overly doused in sauce. They are served perfectly fried and plain, with an outstanding dipping sauce containing chili spice and pineapple. I thought this pairing would be challenging for an elegant, dry sake, but the fact that the flavors of the sauce were in a way reflective of the aromas in the sake (pineapple & bright acid), the sake was able to bring out the fruit notes in both itself and the sauce. This was an incredible pairing and the texture became a bit more lush and smooth.
We knew we had to indulge in the ‘order ahead’ Taiwanese doughnut, a soft, braided funnel cake of sorts. It is vegan and the dough is cultivated in-house for 3 days prior to frying, which makes it extra special and not always available. Because the dessert wasn’t too sweet, it still managed to pair pleasantly with what was left of the Hakurakusei. Even though it was chilled and bubbly, the tea was a complex and wonderful option with the doughnut course.
Even with two visits to GTE, I was not able to try every single item on the menu. But regardless, all of the dishes we did try were full of flavor and soul-nourishing. When dining at GTE, it feels like visiting friends and family for a home-cooked meal of gourmet quality.
Towards the end of our meal on the second visit, I was surprised to hear Angie introduce Kirinzan Junmai Ginjo, a tanrei karakuchi style from Niigata Prefecture. This sake is part of their ‘secret sake menu.’ This sake appeals to drinkers who only want very dry sake to pair with. I sell this sake quite regularly at the shop, but it was interesting to revisit in a restaurant setting. Angie pointed out the sake’s fresh acidity and gentle aromas of sakura blossom. The cool thing about this secret menu and GTE’s corkage policy is that all guests can request a pairing option that may not be visible on the main menu and that corkage is allowed and encouraged. There is a fee, as is common for most restaurants, but this allows the super sake geeks to bring a sake of their choosing and pair Taiwanese food to their heart's content. Here are some other ideas of sake from True Sake that would pair incredibly with Taiwanese food:
Kirin Hizoshu Daiginjo “Treasured Sake” - This sake’s delicate, round and smooth body with aromas of brazil nuts and soft sandalwood will support the weight of some of GTE’s toothsome offerings and will complement their soft umami and textural depth.
Shishi no Sato Shun Junmai Ginjo "Moments" 2025 - Shishi no Sato will serve a similar purpose as Hakurakusei Junmai Ginjo, but slightly more ethereal. At a -1 SMV and 14% alcohol, the sake’s notes of melon, ginger and green grass will pair nicely with starter dishes like Dou Bao and golden kimchi.
Azumaichi Junmai "Eastern Legend" - as featured in ‘Azumaichi: The Great Sake Peacemaker’, this sake has all the touchstones a sake would need to pair fantastically with umami-driven food with a hint of sweetness. Azumaichi leans on the neutral side when super cold, then reveals vegetal nuance as it grows in temperature. Azumaichi also has the perfect amount of soft acidity (1.2) and dryness (+1 SMV) to pair with every dish, even the fluffy Taiwanese doughnut at the end of the meal.
If you like what you’ve been reading and want to experience more, Good to Eat hosts Ja Ban Bae, an elaborate Taiwanese tasting menu on select Sundays. The title of the tasting menu translates to ‘Have you eaten yet?’ Check here for more information!