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Sunday, December 13, 2009
A friend of mine said something really interesting the other day. He asked me if I’d ever noticed that while Bali has several stunningly beautiful restaurants, with gorgeous views and great design, and some great local restaurants, that serve both fantastic Balinese and other regional Indonesian dishes, it was pretty much impossible to find a restaurant that combines all of the above. The more I thought about it, I realized he was right. It was hard to name a restaurant that could offer breathtaking vistas, a cool vibe with great style and design, and really sumptuous, authentic local food. The combination was only logical. Why wouldn’t some smart restaurateur design a restaurant like this? Why shouldn’t there be a place as cool as Ku De Ta, or as pretty as Mozaic, that offered really delicious Balinese fare? After all, when I travel somewhere, I want to explore and learn about the local cuisine. I want to tuck into really well-prepapred authentic (and not touristy) dishes. But I’m also a slave to style and I’d like to not have to always be eating such food in less than chic environments.
Enter The Warung at the new Alila Villas Uluwatu resort. This swanky casual restaurant at this glamourous new property, perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean on Bali’s southern coastline, delivers the total package. And I know I was just recently waxing lyrical about another Alila property, but I have good reason. These guys, at least at the Alila Villas level, just seem to be able to get things right. And that’s worth shouting out about. The Uluwatu resort, an ultra-luxe (and yet also sustainable) development designed by Singapore starchitects Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassel of WoHA, is strikingly chic. All clean lines, bright colors, and natural materials, Alila Villas Uluwatu is the kind of place you’d expect to see movie stars and billionaires sunning, sipping cocktails and trading secrets. (Keep Reading)        Posted by Chubby Hubby 3 comments 
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Southeast Asia’s Lion City is often called a foodie’s paradise, with good reason. Singapore is the most ethnically diverse country in the region with a core population made up of Chinese, Malays and Indians. It’s also a highly cosmopolitan country in which one fifth of the nation’s residents, almost 1.2 million people, are expatriates. The food here understandably reflects the population’s multi-ethnic make-up. There is a wealth of wonderful, traditional Asian foods, cooked in both street stalls (we call them “hawker stalls”) as well as chi-chi, modern restaurants. Similarly, foods from the rest of the world are also readily available, in equally humble or high-end establishments. In Singapore, no one goes hungry. The only challenge facing the hungry diner is deciding what and where to eat. For years, friends (and strangers) from all over the world have asked me what they should be eating when they visit. That, to me, is a really tough question and I often give different answers to different people, depending on what I know of their culinary preferences. That said, there are some things that every visitor should try. And I’ve realized that while I’ve penned those answers for countless friends for years on emails and even in SMS messages, I’ve never put that list up on this blog. So, for ease of use (and so that I have this on record somewhere) here are ten utterly delicious things I think you should eat when visiting, in no particular order. I should say that there are lots of other great things to eat not on this list (like oyster omelette, satay, nasi lemak, etc). In a place with as much good food as we have here, it’s pretty tough to choose just 10 great must-eats! I have also decided to limit this to rather accessible places. While I do consider visits to some of our high-end restaurants, like Iggy’s or Jaan par Andre, de rigeur for serious foodies, not everyone wants a fancy dinner when travelling or can afford to splash out on such culinary experiences. This list then is something pretty much any traveler should be able to feel pretty comfortable following. (Keep reading) Posted by Chubby Hubby 16 comments
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Friday, November 27, 2009
So you’ve finally amassed enough leave days (and moola) to plan that dream vacation. She’s been pestering you about escaping the cold weather for weeks now. And you want to surprise her with something really stunning — so special that all her friends’ husbands and boyfriends are going to be hating you for months to come. You’ve scoured travel magazines and surfed the right websites and you’ve made your decision. You’re going to bring your hunny bunny to Alila Villas Hadahaa in the Maldives. It meets all of your requirements. It’s the first (and currently only) Green Globe certified, sustainably built resort in the country. Eco-responsible travellers? Check. It’s also the first (and again only) resort to open in this part of the country. Desert island paradise? Check. Alila is fast becoming synonymous with personalized luxury, so you know she’ll be well-looked after. Pamper her into a romantic stupor so she’ll reward you with passion and affection? Check.
Sure, it’s a bit of a bitch to get to (you catch a short 55 minute flight from Male after an annoyingly long layover, after which you take a 75 minute speedboat ride), but if it were easy, it wouldn’t be so special. And if anything, Alila Villas Hadahaa is special, not just because of its stunning architecture, the unparalleled diving, its sustainable practices, the surprisingly fabulous food, or the postcard perfect views, but because the staff are passionate about ensuring every guests’ stay is an unforgettable experience. (Keep Reading) Posted by Chubby Hubby 19 comments
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
When you think about great foodie travel experiences, there is perhaps none more quintessentially synonymous with Sydney than having breakfast at bills. For many of us, a trip to Sydney just isn’t complete without having tucked into the best scrambled eggs in the Southern hemisphere or a bite of bills’ fantastically fresh corn fritters. Bill Granger started bills back in 1993 at just 22 years old. When I was 22, I was still in university, spending my nights hanging out in dive bars and my days pompously debating political philosophy with classmates. I can’t even imagine the cojones it would take to strike out on one’s own and start a business at that age. Yet Bill did it, and has not only succeeded but become a culinary legend in the process, not just in his native Australia but worldwide. On my most recent trip to Sydney, I did what I always do in Sydney. I had breakfast at bills. My greedy, gorgeous wife S and I inhaled some scrambled eggs, an order of corn fritters, and a plate of ricotta hotcakes. We visited the Darlinghurst branch, Bill’s first and still my favourite. As always, it was fantastic. Great fresh, simple and delicious fare, served in one of the most charming and casual dining rooms on the planet. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Bill. The interview follows. (Keep reading) Posted by Chubby Hubby 9 comments
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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Sometimes it takes a great chef to come up with the simplest and most elegant solutions. Like blowtorching a prime rib before slow-roasting it at low heat for several hours. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me backtrack a bit. As you all know, my voraciously literary wife S and I are avid cookbook collectors. For the both of us, there’s perhaps nothing better than spending an afternoon browsing the shelves at one of our favourite bookstores, especially if that store specializes in cookbooks. On a recent visit to 25 degree Celsius, Singapore’s only cookbook specialist, S and I went a tad nuts, picking up several fantastic hardbacks, including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck Cookbook and Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home. (Keep reading) Posted by Chubby Hubby 9 comments
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