Craft sake using traditional Hong Kong dessert flavours is 3 women’s passion project

Three women have created sake drinks based on sweet potato and red bean soups using traditional Hong Kong flavours and Japanese ingredients

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(From left) Eummie Chik, Keita Wu and Kiu Au of the Three Sisters Sake Brew Project - an endeavour focused on creating craft sake using traditional Hong Kong dessert flavours and Japanese ingredients - at Sake Bar Chu Chu in Causeway Bay. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 1:30pm, 6 Nov 2024

Hongkongers love all things Japanese, from going on frequent trips to Japan to queuing up for hours at the myriad of sushi restaurants in Hong Kong.

Not only did such a love chart the careers of Keita Wu, Eummie Chik and Kiu Au – which all have to do with Japanese culture – it also brought them together for a women-led craft sake project incorporating traditional Hong Kong flavours with Japanese ingredients.

“The project began when the three of us were having drinks together, getting a bit tipsy and chatting about the potential of doing this together,” says Wu, a sake consultant and kikisake-shi (certified sake sommelier) who leads the Three Sisters Sake Brew Project.

Much like how the global craft beer phenomenon of recent years – which has also taken Hong Kong by storm – elevated the brew, craft sake attempts to go above and beyond the commercial, mass-produced versions of the popular Japanese rice wine.

A bottle of Three Sisters’ sweet potato soup sake at Sake Bar Chu Chu in Causeway Bay. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Aside from honing the traditional method of fermenting rice, craft sake typically sees other ingredients added to create unique flavours.