How to Pair Malaysian Fare with Fine Wine Like A Sommelier

As Malaysians, we love our food. And rightly so.

So why should we exclude it when it comes to curating a pairing with the world’s best wines?

It may most often be associated with Western cuisine, but choosing the right wine to go with your sambal only takes a little thinking and imagination.

And, perhaps, a WSET diploma in wines.

“When it comes to curating a pairing, really any pairing, the goal is to bring out the best flavours of each component, and not to let either side dominate,” says Tiffany Gwee, commercial director of Muihua Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia’s leading importer and distributor of premium wines and spirits.

“For Malaysian or Asian food, it’s not as simple as, say, you get a white wine when you’re having seafood, or you get a red wine when you have meat. You have to think about the unique flavours of each dish. We have more sweet and sour dishes, spicy dishes, and salty, umami dishes, and those flavours are more pronounced. So, the flavour profile of a dish, instead of its components, should be of greater concern when picking a wine to go with it.”

In February 2026, Gwee was awarded the WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines, an expert-level qualification covering all aspects of wine, completing the course in record time nationally.

When it comes to the traits of a wine to assess when curating a pairing, Gwee lists four key aspects: acidity, tannin, body, and sweetness.

“High-acidity wines are extremely versatile with Asian cuisine. They refresh the palate and balance the heavy flavours of a dish, like oiliness, creaminess, or even fried textures. This is why champagne and white burgundy pair so well with fried dim sum and chicken rice.”

When it comes to tannins, Gwee notes that wines higher in tannins could be good when paired with the richness of, say, wagyu beef or a tandoori lamb, making for a “less heavy” composition, but would generally go for low-tannin wines due to how they clash with spicy foods, often leaving a metallic or bitter aftertaste.

As for the body, “the weight of the wine should match the weight of the food.

“Light dishes pair better with lighter-bodied wines, while rich braises or heavily spiced dishes need wines with more structure and concentration.”

For the lighter-flavoured steamed fish with soy sauce, Gwee suggests a chablis—a lighter-bodied chardonnay from the northern part of Burgundy with more acidity and minerals, which greatly complements the delicacy of the dish.

Lastly, when it comes to sweetness, a slightly sweeter wine like an off-dry riesling can calm the heat central to a lot of Thai and Indian dishes, while sweet, dessert wines like moscato and sauternes are still best paired with desserts, even local delicacies.

Muihua