Wu tau goh - taro cake - is one of the many festive foods eaten around Lunar New Year. Taro is at its peak in the winter, its heavy, rib-sticking qualities best appreciated in the cold weather. Yet steamed taro cake is far from being a stodgy, powdery mouthful. The cubes of cured meats give the taro a new twist, extending the depth and richness of the brown flavour notes of the root. When wu tau goh is crisply pan-fried, it gains a new texture and the brown notes are enhanced. The best wine with taro cake should have depth and richness comparable to the taro and cured meats. Nutty French oak and some charred barrel caramel tones will go a long way in linking and extending the taro cake. Wine also needs a fair whack of balanced tannins to round out the palate. Anything less than a full-bodied wine will leave a void after a mouthful of taro cake.

Cape Mentelle Cabernet 2003, Margaret River, Australia

This is a benchmark cabernet. The vineyard, situated in the temperate southwest region of Western Australia, benefits from a cool Indian Ocean sea breeze in the late afternoon and night which ensures that the cabernet grapes enjoy a much-deserved rest from the hard work of ripening and developing flavour during the day. This wine has well-integrated, spicy, nutty oak that blends into the background of the taro cake's nuttiness. It's powerfully full bodied and matches the taro texture seamlessly. The fragrant cabernet fruit gives the combination new aromatic depth and lingers well with the cured meat for a rich finish.