mbarker | Spice Catalysts?

Odd lunch today. The school cafeteria offered kara age - fried chicken, but not breaded - with a bit of what looked to me like salsa on it. Turned out to add a bit of spiciness to the basic fried chicken bits. Not much. But I also had zarusoba, cold buckwheat noodles, with it. I like these, but they are a bit bland, just dipped in tare - shoyu-flavored stock, basically. However, when I tried eating the noodles after a bite of the chicken, thinking they would provide a cool contrast - WOW! Somehow the noodles or the tare woke up the spices and gave me a whole extra bite of sensation. Very surprising effect for me, although it was quite tasty once I knew it was going to happen. Have a bite of chicken, chew and swallow, feel the mild spiciness, then dip and eat some noodles - and there's that second-bite of spiciness.

Now I wonder what else combines that way. Never would have expected this one, although a friend suggested that the two go well together.