The kitchen and bar at Chin Chin are locked in tight. Chef Benjamin Cooper’s vibrant Southeast Asian flavours have long extended beyond the plate, reflected in the cocktails of on-site sister bar Go Go. “We’ve found great use [for] lemongrass offcuts and the citruses and herbs that we use in the kitchen,” says Cooper. “You can take the stem from Thai basil and use it in Thai basil syrups and things like that.”
The idea forms the basis of a new one-off menu that takes the symbiosis even further – only this time, the drinks are all no- and low-alcohol. Cooper and the Chin Chin bar team have designed a date-worthy matched menu for a one-night-only event on September 6. A Date With Angostura Bitters at Chin Chin will provide an ideal setting, with a collaborative no-and low-alcohol menu that weaves Angostura Bitters through seven dishes and three no and low-alcoholic cocktails, playing off aromatic ingredients like lemongrass, Thai basil, citrus and herbal bitters.
When matching his food menu with drinks – alcoholic or otherwise – Cooper leans towards flavours that balance each other and sit comfortably together. With this menu, herbal bitters temper that classic Chin Chin heat. “Bitters is one of the few flavours that’s strong enough to overpower the bite of chilli,” says Cooper. This is evident in a dish like duck pancakes with Orange Bitters and smoked chilli sambal. “The chilli is really warming but with the richness of the duck and then the freshness of the salad, it really shines and the heat pulls back the richness.”
Elsewhere, the chargrilled Angus beef with laab and aromatic herbs uses Cocoa Bitters for its tenderising properties while playing off the classic beef and cocoa flavour profile. Cooper’s dessert uses the chocolate-tinged bitters again, this time in a panna cotta with espresso syrup. “An espresso coffee syrup and Cocoa Bitters sort of sound like they’re meant to hang out together and so we introduced them and they got on like a house on fire,” he says. “That’s what you want on a date night.”
For his matched cocktails, bar manager Nicolas Escobar borrows flavours from Cooper’s menu, blending lemongrass, yuzu, grapefruit and Orange Bitters in the Angostura Bitters Serenity Spritz, while the punch of Thai basil melds with the bite of ginger and chilli in the Chin Chin Thai Lemon Lime & Bitters Swizzle. The latter cocktail is a play on a classic Swizzle that really ramps up spice and aroma levels, sans alcohol.
“To give it a bit more punch we’ve pumped up the syrup,” says Escobar. “We use the long scud chillies from the kitchen – they use them in a lot of the sashimi and the wagyu striploin as well, just to give it a bit of a punch. Thai basil is fresh; we make that syrup in-house and then we just add a bunch of fresh lime juice and ginger ale. It’s a bit of a spicier kick to a Swizzle and the Angostura Bitters balances out the spice. It’s a nice refreshing drink.”
For those heading along to the evening, Cooper isn’t being overly prescriptive about matching individual drinks to dishes. Rather, everything slots in with everything else, leaving more time to get to know your date. “To be honest, I would be happy drinking any of [the cocktails] with any of the dishes,” he says. “They sit really beautifully. They’re delicious and refreshing and zesty and bright. The bar team has done a really phenomenal job.”
Chin Chin Thai Lemon Lime & Bitters Swizzle
Makes 1 serving
Preparation time: 5 minutes, plus 20 minutes cooling time
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
Thai basil chilli syrup:
20g of Thai basil (chopped)
20g of green chilli or similar, sliced (add more if you like it spicy)
1L of tap water
1kg of caster sugar
100ml Strangelove ginger ale (or a similar spicy ginger ale to give it more of a kick)
30ml Thai basil chilli syrup
30ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
4 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters
Method:
To make the Thai basil syrup, add the Thai basil, green chilli, water and caster sugar to a pot over an induction cooktop. Simmer while stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then let it cool down. Once cool, strain out leaves and chilli before bottling up to store.
For the Swizzle, add all ingredients to a highball glass over ice, stir well and top with a crushed ice crown. Garnish with lime wheel and lime leaf.
This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Angostura Bitters.