It’s a given that a meal at Alan Wong’s will be amazing. But initially I didn’t intend to attend this one — I’m a luckless soul whose constitution won’t tolerate alcohol. Why occupy a precious seat at a wine-pairing dinner if you can’t have wine?

Thank goodness the lure of the cuisine drowned out that sensible reasoning.

Turns out I could take a valid place at the table during a dinner last week, thanks to wine director Mark Shishido. He created mocktails so that folks like me had something fabulous to pair with each of the five courses. Every beverage brought something to the dish at hand just as wines do, even while they stood deliciously on their own — just like wine.

First up was a sparkling pomelo, lilikoi and pineapple concoction meant to stimulate the palate for the meal to come. It was a perfect mix of bitter and sweet, embellished with the aromatics of mint and tarragon. Very adult, “not tutti-frutti,” as Shishido would say.

A range of drinks followed. An understated, almost viscous tea-based offering was rich with cherry flavor, while a denatured IPA (alcohol is boiled out) was emboldened with tamarind, cardamom and anise. And, of all things, there was a sweet-potato lemonade, accented with kicks of kaffir lime and lime juice.

But my hands-down favorite was a sparkling flavor bomb of denatured sweet sake called Amazaki, livened with yuzu juice and ginger. It was paired with an elegant butter-poached Keahole lobster served in truffled ham stock. The combo took me back to small-kid days, sitting at the table over a bowl of saimin and a cold glass of 7UP.

I was almost embarrassed to admit this to Shishido, but when I did he broke out into a smile. The best food experiences elicit fond memories, he said. His regular childhood haunt: a saimin stand, where he enjoyed his bowl with a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Based on the positive reception of the beverage pairings at the Loosen dinner, the restaurant will now feature a pairing with one dish on the menu. Currently, Shishido’s Amazaki drink is paired with ginger-crusted onaga.

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