One of the  great things about New York City is that you can eat at the bar counter at many great restaurants.   As I travel a lot for business, I often end up in some cities during the weekends with no business meals. And that, my friends, is a real luxury indeed.

I enjoy walking around, discovering or re-discovering old neighbourhoods in any city.  In particular, I love to walk into a good restaurant to have dinner at the bar.  No reservations needed.  And the best thing is that you can watch everything and everyone from the bar, while having a drink and hopefully, a fantastic meal.

Recently, while in New York City, I walked into Gramercy Tavern, in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. Under chef Michale Anthony (and owned by Danny Meyer, the famous NY restauranteur of the Union Square Hospitality Group), the Tavern has become a New York institution, known for its creative and consistent New American cuisine served in a casual and lively atmosphere. It has been a long time since my last visit and the Tavern has not lost its magic.

I had a light but spectacular meal and some amazing wines. First, I started with a kale and cabbage salad (pictured) that was crunchy and delicious (why can’t we find this particular type of kale in Singapore?).  The great thing about Gramercy Tavern is that you can order wine in small, tasting portions. With the salad, I had a fantastic French white, a 2001 Viognier from Chateau Grillet, in the Rhone Valley. It is so rare to find a Chateau Grillet served by the glass that I just had to try it.  It was lightly floral and nicely mineral. It was a perfect accompaniment to the earthy salad.

Thereafter, I tried the baked Long Island clams (also pictured), which I had with a very nice glass of Chablis.  On the whole, it was a light and leisurely meal at the bar on a Saturday afternoon, and I think I drank more than I ate.  But – that is exactly what I consider a good meal! And by the way, if you feel like having your meal at the table, then you better ensure you make reservations in advance. Of course, you can also arrive early and wait in line to try your luck.

Gramercy Tavern
42 East 20th Street
(between Park Avenue South and Broadway)
New York, NY10003
Tel: +1 212 477 0777
www.gramercytavern.com

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I was very fortunate to be in Tokyo recently, at the height of the sakura season. But the highlight of my visit was not the blossoming sakura but the simply sublime sushi at Kanesaka in Ginza. You may know that the well-known Shinji at Raffles Hotel in Singapore is actually a branch of Kanesaka in Ginza.  I thought I should go straight to the mother restaurant  in Ginza to check out the Kanesaka experience.  I had a fabulous time and I would certainly make another visit, this time with my family.  Some of my friends declare that Shinji  in Singapore is better but I think one cannot beat the feel of actually being in Ginza itself.

Like many famous sushi restaurants in Tokyo, Kanesaka is tucked in the basement of an ordinary commercial building and does not look particularly impressive from the outside.  But once I descended the stairs and settled into the very small dining room, I had the cozy feeling of being in the chef’s home.  I chose the smaller of the two lunch menus but I could hardly finish the twenty something items that were served.  The sushi chef who served me had actually worked at Shinji in Singapore.  He spoke good English and kept me entertained with his insightful commentary about the various dishes.

I am not going to describe every dish I had at Kanesaka because that will take the mystery and magic out of the experience. But here are some highlights.  The menu began with  an ice-cream-like Hokkaido uni served on thinly sliced sweet cuttlefish.  This was followed by abalone and octopus steamed with sake and seaweed, which was soft and succulent. Then came slices of mackerel, which I was told was aged for three days in a “secret” sauce.  After this, the chef took out a huge Hokkaido scallop and served me just two slices. It was very crunchy and sweet.  I wish I could have had more but then came the sushi, in rapid succession. The highlight was three different types of tuna: lean tuna, which was red and shiny, followed by medium fatty tuna and then a very marbled fatty tuna. It was like a vertical tasting of tuna! The climax was the uni sushi (I can never have enough of uni) I also enjoyed the horse mackerel, served with chives and also the unagi. Actually, frankly, everything I had at Kanesaka was subtle, sublime and superb, and I would certainly return the next chance I get.

Sushi Kanesaka
Misuzu Building
8-10-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo 1040061
Telephone:  +81 3-5568-4411

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I have a sweet tooth and Tokyo is a well-known dessert haven. When I was in Tokyo over the recent Christmas holidays, I could not resist the many sweet temptations abound in the city. I am a huge fan of anything made with sweet red beans, so not surprisingly,  I had an overdose of delicious taiyaki, which is the waffle-like, fish-shaped snack filled with thick, gooey, mashed red beans. As if this was not enough, my wife and I, plus our two boys, decided to check out one of the Pierre Hermé dessert boutiques in Tokyo.  

We went to the chic outlet on Aoyama-dori, which is just next to the United Nations University.  Like the main store in Rue Bonaparte on the Left Bank in Paris, the Aoyama outlet is designed like a high-end fashion boutique (sorry folks, no photography was allowed of the interior. You have to visit it to see it yourself).  There is a small tea room on the upper floor and we managed to get a nice, cozy sofa after a brief wait.

Well, the wait was definitely worth it.  My children ordered hot chocolate and half a dozen macarons. I tasted the macarons and I would declare that Pierre Hermé’s macarons are consistently exquisite.  Sure sign of a well-trained team in Tokyo.   The hot chocolate was thick and flavourful.  My boys declared it the perfect drink for a very cold winter day.  My wife had the “chocolat et emotion gourmande”, which is a large chocolate ball melted by pouring hot chocolate over the dessert.  I had the Christmas special,  curiously named “Fetish Montebello”, an assortment of special creations with a red and green theme.  My favorite was the millefeuille with pistachio and raspberry cream topped with fluffy pastry (main image).   After our hot chocolate and desserts, we walked out feeling very warmed up. I would certainly go back there, even if it is not winter in Tokyo. You can say that my family is now a big fan of Pierre Hermé.

Next stop: Pierre Hermé in Paris in June! Meanwhile, Happy New Year to everyone out there.

Pierre Hermé
La Porte Aoyoma
1st and 2nd Floor, 5-51-3, Jingumae
Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150-0001
Telephone: +81 (0)3 5485 7766
(Closest Metro station is Omotesando)

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“Zabar’s  is New York …..New York is Zabar’s.”  So goes the tag-line of one of the most exotic gourmet food stores in New York.  Located on the Upper West Side at 80th and Broadway, Zabar’s is the place to go for, well, almost everything.  But it is hands-down definitely the best place on the Upper West Side for smoked fish, olives, cheese, bagels, fresh bread and coffee beans.

I think most tourists end up going downtown and rarely make it to the Upper West Side.  So, if you have a Sunday morning to spend at leisure in Manhattan, I would recommend that you be contrarian.  Just stroll uptown along Broadway, from Columbus Circle to 80th, till you reach Zabar’s where you can stop for a bagel and coffee.  It is a very colourful and vibrant part of town and you will not be disappointed.  On the weekends, you can also catch the famous flea market, on 77th Street and Columbus Avenue.

I used to go to Zabar’s every Sunday when I lived in New York many years ago.  When I popped by recently during a business trip, I was pleasantly surprised that the place has not changed much.   It has kept all the quaint charm that has made it a New York institution.

Zabar’s is essentially a family run business and the service is very friendly.  The place is cluttered with unusual produce from around the world and there is an old world feeling about the place that you don’t get at Dean & Deluca, which is the other famous New York institution.  I particularly like the extensive cheese section at Zabar’s as well as their coffee corner, where the Zabar’s house blend is very good and very robust.  Their kitchen store is on the upper floor and often features some great bargains.  The good news is that Zabar’s now has an online service. If you are feeling extravagant, you can have your bagels shipped by UPS!

Zabar’s
2245 Broadway (at 80th Street)
New York, NY 10024
Tel: +1 212 787 2000
www.zabars.com

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In the heart of Harlem, a new restaurant called Red Rooster is quietly making waves. During a recent visit to the Big Apple, I decided to make the journey uptown to Lenox Avenue to check out the comfort-food restaurant launched by Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit fame.  I was hugely impressed, both with the quality of the food and the total experience.

I have been a big fan of Samuelsson, who has had an extraordinary career.  He was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and moved to New York City afterwards.  Soon, he took the culinary world by storm as Executive Chef of Aquavit and then became the youngest chef to receive a three-star review from the New York Times.  Much to my pleasant surprise, I got to see the chef in person, greeting guests in the dining room and supervising the kitchen.  In many ways, the Red Rooster marks the renaissance of Harlem.  It is drawing people to Harlem and is making Lenox Avenue an increasingly cool and trendy place.  And thanks to Samuelsson’s rich heritage and experience, the Red Rooster captures the spirit of Harlem by cleverly combining modernist cuisine with African-American soul food.

I really liked the cosy and warm ambience of the Red Rooster.  The main dining room was crowded and abuzz with conversation as I entered.   I sat at one of the large communal tables, which gives the restaurant a nice feeling of being in a cosy family kitchen.  I also noticed several nice modern paintings with a Harlem theme (they apparently have an active art programme to acquire works from emerging New York artists).  The service was prompt and very friendly. I must confess that I had trouble choosing from the simple menu.  They had numerous interesting and intriguing dishes that I wanted to try – like fried chicken Caesar, shrimp and dirty rice, fried yard bird and crab cake.  I started with the white bean and Asian pear soup, which was served with some delicious kale.  The soup was thick, nutty and very flavourful. The sweetness of the pear and the bitter taste of kale was a nice combination.  For the main course, I had the blackened catfish served on grits and salad. The catfish had a subtle touch of Cajun spice and the white fish was moist and succulent. In particular, I loved the grits, which is basically ground corn cooked like thick porridge.  The salad came with chorizo and caper berries.  It was delicious and I wiped the plate empty. For dessert, I could not resist what everyone else around me was enjoying – tiny doughnuts with sweet potato filling!  It was a good judgement call.  The sweet potato filling was a creamy, nutty liquid and the doughnut was soft and lusciously sugary.  A very special dessert, I must say.  I sat at the bar for my espresso and soaked in the atmosphere.  I also noticed a small boutique selling some souvenirs and the chef’s newest book entitled “Yes, Chef”.

As I was leaving, I learned that the restaurant does a Sunday gospel brunch in its basement, a place called Ginny’s Supper Club.  That would be lovely, I thought.  I will let you know when I get around to doing that.

 The Red Rooster
310 Lenox Avenue, New York, NY 10027
United States
(Between 125^th and 126^th Avenue, in Harlem)
Tel: +1 212 792 9001
www.redroosterharlem.com

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When in Germany, eat French?  Well, that is exactly what I did.  Berlin is not a big city like Paris.  But it has a nice buzz and I always enjoy my visits there.  The history of the city is overwhelming and increasingly, so is the arts, culture and dining scene.  

On a recent visit in July, I checked out a restaurant called Facil on the roof-top of the chic and elegant Mandala Hotel in Potsdamer Straße.  A friend had recommended it and I was not at all disappointed.  As it turned out, the restaurant had a “birthday” degustation menu to celebrate its eleventh year of operation. It was a real treat.  Michael Kempf, the chef, may be a true-blue German but his style is built on a solid foundation of French cuisine.  His style is light and he allows the ingredients to speak for themselves.

I started with several rounds of amuse bouches.  The first item on the menu melted my heart because I am a great fan of fresh sardines.  The meal started with a beautiful filet of fresh Breton sardines served on a pastry of shallots.  This dish transported me from Berlin to Bretagne instantly.  The black cod that followed had German and Asian touches, with sauerkraut-like radish and a touch of coriander in a savoury broth.  An interesting blend that worked well with the cod  The seafood was followed by some serious meat that exceeded my expectations.  First, there was saddle of venison on a bed of fennel and pistachio.  Game meat like venison is usually served in autumn but I was happy to be eating it in summer.  It is not easy to get good venison and this was nicely cooked medium-rare.  Unfortunately, I found the fennel to be an odd combination for venison and it did not marry nicely.  The last main course was cheek of bison, served with cabbage and turnips.  The bison cheek was much more flavourful than beef cheek and tasted like savoury molten chocolate.  The meal ended beautifully with several rounds of dessert, a la Française.

For the wine, the sommelier recommended several glasses of German wine to go with our meal. The one that I particularly enjoyed was the Weingut Schnaitmann Lemberger 2010.  It was medium-bodied, and full of berry flavours and a strong hint of spice and cinnamon.  I was extra pleased to try this particular wine as I’d been trying to find the Lemberger in Singapore with little success so far.

FACIL
Potsdamer Straße 3
(Entrance through The Mandala Hotel)
10785 Berlin, Tiergarten
Germany
Tel: +49(0)30 590 05 1234
www.facil.de

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The day I arrived, I had a quick lunch in a small snack bar patronised by the locals.  Rio is full of hole-in-the-wall bars known as boteco or botequim.  They are like the “kopi-tiam” (local “coffeeshops”) of Singapore.  That’s where you really feel the pulse of the city.  I ordered a savoury and high-calorie meat-pie that looked a lot like a “Old Chang Kee” curry puff you find in Singapore but without the spice.  I washed it down with a freshly squeezed orange juice and finished that off with a Brazilian expresso. All in all, an authentic Rio experience and a great antidote for jet lag.

Fortunately, I had a light lunch that day because that evening we headed to a churrascaria, which is a fixed price, all-you-can eat barbecue restaurant. In my humble opinion, a visit to Rio is not complete if you don’t make it to a churasco restaurant.  But be duly warned – it is not for the light-hearted because a lot of grilled meat will be served and even imposed on you.  The good thing is that there is a vast salad-bar to balance your diet and ease your conscience.  I went to the Porcão, one of the most well-known Churrascaria chains in Brazil.  They have several branches, but I went to the one in Flamengo, which overlooks the world famous Sugar Loaf mountain.  If you want the view, get there early, before sunset.

In a churrascaria, the trick is to start with the meat and then proceed to the salad bar, if at all.  I think there is no point going to a Churrascaria for an overdose of salad!  Soon after we settled at our table, a brigade of waiters came around, each armed with a skewer with a different type and cut of meat.  They come at regular intervals, bringing the skewer straight off the charcoal grill.  For a restaurant that serves over 20 types and cuts of meat, that means a constant stream of waiters who proceed to tempt you with their skewers.

I started with beef, with a nice big slice of rump steak.  It was incredibly moist, soft and very tasty.  How did they get it so soft?  Then came a skewer with filet mignon, which was nicely medium rare and very tender.   I am sure they have a secret marinade.  The seasoning was generous and even a little on the salty side – but that’s the Brazilian way.

Frankly, it was difficult to keep up with the waiters.  I tried some chicken drumsticks that came neatly arranged in the skewer.  My goodness, it was delightful.  Very crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  I suspect all the meat is grilled with generous amounts of fat and lard that makes them moist and tasty.  Then I switched to sausages, both the small ones and the large one coiled around the skewer.  As I was contemplating a brief pause, a waiter arrived with a skewer filled with one of my favourite items…chicken hearts.  It was just a tad dry and almost crunchy, but with a chewy texture and a nice salty taste.  It reminded me of the chicken-heart yakitori I tried in Tokyo one time.  Each skewer must have had at least a hundred chicken hearts.  Where do they get it from!?

After a brief pause, I went for the lamb.  I tried the rack of lamb which was excellent and I would highly recommend that.  The exterior had a nice brown crust and and a herbal and salty taste.  It reminded me of the crispy lamb ribs at One on the Bund in Clifford Pier in Singapore.  Then I tried the leg of lamb, which was savoury and tender.  Then came a trolley with beef ribs, with a nice brown crust.  It was simply impossible to resist.   And then came a skewer with roast beef covered with cheese.  It was a very unusual combination but tasted better than it appeared.  Just to be safe, I dipped the cheese-flavoured beef into some Tabasco filled with a local variety of small, red chillies which looked and tasted just like chilli padi (bird’s eye chilli).  After yet another pause, I went back for some more lamb and some sausages.  Finally, I definitively flipped my token from green to red, which is placed next to each diner.  This was the signal to the waiters that I wanted no more.  It was time to surrender.

To ease my digestion, I made a reluctant trip to the salad bar.  But it had more than salads.  There were plenty of cold cuts, including some nice jambon, seafood and even sushi.  I settled for some simple green salad and some grilled heart of palm, which is not easy to find in Singapore. I must confess I had to skip dessert but finished what was left of the house wine made especially for Porcao by a vineyard in Portugal.  It was a decent wine that went nicely with all the meat.  I slept very well that night.  The next morning, I woke up early and ran five kilometres along Copacabana beach.  At the end of my run, I felt much lighter.  I was ready for another heavy dinner in Rio de Janeiro.  And indeed, a few more heavy dinners were had.  I will spare you the details, but here are some delightful restaurants to check out when in Rio.

Porcao (Churassco Restaurant)
Avenue Infante Dom Henrique,
Aterro do Flamengo
Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
Tel: +55 (21) 3461 9020
www.porcao.com.br

Zuka (Contemporary cuisine, with a Brazilian Touch)
233b, Rua Dias Ferreria
Leblon, Rio de Janeiro
Brazil
Tel: +55 (21) 3205-7154
www.zuka.com.br

Gero Barra (Modern Italian)
Avenida Érico Veríssimo, 190
Barra da Tijuca
Rio de Janeiro, RJ 22621-180
Brazil
Tel: +55 (21) 3523-5700
www.fasano.com.br/gastronomia/restaurante/25

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Each time I am in Paris, I am torn between trying out a new restaurant (and thereby discovering a potential gem) or returning to one of my old favorites in the city. On my most recent trip in May, I decided to succumb to my old habits in a city I have come to know well. It was a bright and warm spring day when I arrived from Brussels in the late morning at the Gare du Nord train station. I headed straight for Le Comptoir du Relais bistro at the Hotel Relais Saint-Germain  on the left bank in the 6th Arrondissement and  got there shortly before noon. A small queue had already formed outside the door (the best thing about Le Comptoir is that no reservations are required on a Sunday. For weekday dinners, the waiting list can stretch for several months in advance). Luckily, I managed to get a table inside the small and cozy 24-seater bistro. There are also seats on the sidewalk but nothing beats the cosy intimacy of the bistro’s ambience inside.

For me, a visit to Le Comptoir is almost like a culinary pilgrimage. Yves Camdeborde, the chef of le Comptoir who is in his fifties, was considered the pioneer of a new wave that transformed traditional French bistros into chic, fashionable, and fun ones which became instant hits with hip Parisians. In fact, he had given up a successful career working for Michelin-starred chef Christian Constant at the legendary Hotel Crillion to start his own bistro, which then led to the start of this trend that swept rapidly across the city.

My meal started with a generous serving of crusty, brown country bread–it was quite difficult not to overdo the bread. For my first course, I selected a chicken consommé that was perfectly clear and very savoury. It was amazing how something that appears so thin and transparent can be so thick with its intensity of taste and flavours–that is indeed the mark of an excellent consommé. For the main course, I devoured the milk-fed lamb from the Pyrenees, served on a bed of mashed green peas. Spring is the best season to eat milk-fed lamb and the meat was indeed incredibly tender. The portion was a generous one but I gobbled it up with a vengeance. Finally, when in France, I never hesitate to order dessert. I ordered the traditional thin-crust appletart which comes with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream–it was sublime. I could easily have had a second serving but decided to be prudent. The total bill for my three-course meal, plus a few glasses of wine, was about 60 Euros. A very reasonable price for a culinary pilgrimage, I must say.

Le Comptoir de Relais (at the Hotel Relais Saint-Germain)
9 Carrefour de l’Odeon
6e, St-Germain-des-Prés, Paris 75006
France
Tel: +33 1 4427 0797
Mondays–Thursdays, Sundays 12 pm–12 am; Fridays-Saturdays 12 pm–2 am

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