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[dropcap size=small]T[/dropcap]his festive period, celebrity chef David Myers of Adrift offers a taste of beer and food pairing at his restaurant. Adrift is the first outlet in Marina Bay Sands to carry Suntory draft beer, and this is also the first time Suntory is collaborating with a non- Japanese outlet in a luxury hotel.

From now until February 2017, every purchase of a Suntory beer entitles you to a plate of yakitori at just $5 – perfect for after-work drinks and bites.

“Suntory is one of the great Japanese beers. It’s the first beer that I put in my cafe in Tokyo six years ago, and it’s one that I particularly enjoy with yakitori,” Myers says, adding that he eats yakitori at least three times a week, when he’s in Tokyo. The chef enjoys the classic Suntory beer with its deep, rich malty flavour.

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“Sometimes when I land in Narita after a long flight from L.A., before I get on the train to go into the city, I’ll stop at a little kiosk and grab a Suntory. It perks you up. The beer’s creamy head of foam is also a trademark of Suntory,” he says.

This foam is an important aspect of the drink’s freshness and taste. It prevents the fragrance and carbon dioxide from escaping, forming a lid to stop the oxidisation of the beer. The creaminess also adds a pleasant texture, and the taste of the foam balances the bitterness of the beer. Adrift’s yakitori creation for this particular promotion consists of grilled chicken skewers with a Japanese bent to it.

“We use Okinawan sea salt for the chicken and we create a traditional teriyaki-style marinade. The sauce’s flavour keeps developing over time. You dip the chicken skewers in the sauce, and get them on the grill,” says the chef.

Having beer with food is fairly common in Japan and a ritual that Myers is a fan of, too. “In Japan, it’s typical that, when you get to a restaurant, you always start with a beer. A beer is a really great way to kind of break the day. I know a number of great sushi restaurants where you always start with beer.”

More photos from Adrift.

As for whether he had any challenges when matching beer with his menu, the chef reveals that, in general, beer works really well with most foods, especially Suntory beer, which has a rich taste and a flowery aroma.

“It works great with sashimi, as well as something chargrilled – it holds up to that quite well. So it runs the gamut of working well in champagne-oriented pairings to full, heavy red-wine pairings. And when it comes to dessert, you can probably go for the darker Suntory, to have a bit of that sweetness to it,” he says.

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