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The Siam, Bangkok (part 1)

Over a decade ago, my next door neighbor, a stunning half Chinese, half British gal from Hong Kong met an equally handsome Thai rock star and fell in love. A number of years later, Kriss (the rock star, now also an actor) led S and me on a fun, rather amusing tour of his favourite old buildings in Bangkok, which culminated in us being chased out of the former Russian Embassy by security guards at two in the morning. Another couple of years later, Kriss showed us an amazing plot of land, on the river and in the old part of the city, that had been in his mother’s family for decades. He told us how he wanted to build a truly stunning, riverside, five-star urban resort there – something that would fit within his mother’s hotel company but that would also embrace his love of antiques, architecture, vintage glamour and luxury. That dream would eventually become The Siam, one of the most stunning hotels in Asia and easily the most significant new property to open in Thailand this year. Continue Reading →

Make your day with shoes – from boot to brain inside George Cleverley

Women are spoilt for choice when it comes to buying great shoes. I know I can rattle off over a dozen names of amazing designers that create gorgeous kicks, ranging from elegant ballet flats or electrifying stiletto heels. The very best designers make shoes that are a both a joy to wear and that make us gals look simply sensational. Unfortunately, for the boys, the choices are a little more limited. As the devoted girlfriend to a metrosexual hunk, I admit that I devote quite a bit of my free time sussing out cool designers that I can introduce to my sartorially-inclined beau. Being in London for a summer of leather accessories courses at the London College of Fashion meant that I recently had the delightful opportunity to meet George Glasgow, owner of cult bespoke shoemaker George Cleverley. Continue Reading →

Zen and the art of cold brew coffee: Review of the Hario Cold Water Dripper

I’ve been fascinated with cold brew coffee since I read about it a couple years ago. Being a caffeinehead in Singapore means drinking a ton of iced coffees – the weather is often too hot for regular coffees or espressos, even in the air-conditioned comfort of my office – and I’d always felt that the conventional method of simply pouring steaming hot coffee over ice compromised the flavour profile of the beans somewhat. The cold brew method, which favours a slow steeping process over the shock therapy of adding boiling water, seemed a lot more elegant; but I’d never been able to find a product that satisfied both my vain predilections and my cold caffeine curiosity. That is, until I discovered the Hario Cold Water Dripper. Continue Reading →

Some great kitchen gear

Like a lot of guys, I’m really into gadgets and gear. And much to my darling wife’s chagrin, because I have (in her opinion) way too many interests, this means I’m constantly oohing and aahing over all kinds of new toys, from the latest smartphone to a custom-made bicycle part to, of course, all kinds of awesome equipment with which to fill our kitchen. Fortunately, this last category is one in which S also shares a passion and hence allows me to indulge my urges to buy shiny new things.

Over the last half year, we’ve picked up a number of nifty items, some of which I like so much that I feel compelled to write about them. Some are simple everyday tools; others are more specialized. All are pretty darned cool and stuff I am sure you will also love.

Lacor Home Vacuum Packing Machine

S and I spotted this small and portable vacuum packer on an early morning trip to Sia Huat, Singapore’s best industrial kitchen supply store. We were surprised by how affordable the unit was. After the ubiquitous Sia Huat discount, given, from what I can tell, to everyone who walks in the store, the vacuum packer was just a little more that SGD$70. With a price like that, we couldn’t help but pick it up, with several packets of Lacor vacuum packing bags. As soon as we got home, S went on a packing spree, vacuum packing nuts and chocolates and a dozen other edible and perishable items that we had lying around our walk-in chiller. The machine has two settings. You can “vacuum & seal” or just “seal”. The latter we have found handy for sealing sauces and cooked foods, which we can then toss into the freezer for later use. (Keep reading)

New West Knifeworks

Regular readers of this blog know that I have a real weakness when it comes to well-designed, beautifully-made kitchen knives. I count myself super lucky to be the owner of a real Bob Kramer knife (as opposed to the Kershaw/Shun ones from Sur La Table). I also count the Japanese knives in my collection among the best I have ever worked with. And, like any obsessive collector, I’m always on the lookout for new names and exciting new designs.

So, when I was contacted by the fine folks at New West Knifeworks, I was extremely excited. I had a read a few snippets about their forged knives over the past year but doubted I’d get my hands on one anytime soon (the range of brands available in our local stores here in Sillypore being sadly limited). I both admired the philosophy behind New West’s approach to making knives as well as their artistic flair, exemplified best in the colourful handle designs in their Fusionwood line. Of the two lines, the Phoenix Knives and the Fusionwood, it was hard for me to decide which was more appealing. To be completely honest, the Fusionwood knives had an immediate visual appeal because of the gorgeous handles, made by infusing hardwood veneers with penetrating dies and engineering-grade phenolic resins. They reminded me of artworks one would see travelling through the American Southwest. On the other hand, the Phoenix Knives had more immediately applealing blades. The Fusionwood blades are cut from high-carbon Swedish stainless steel and then ground and finished in Seki, Japan. The Phoenix blades, on the other hand, combines a tool steel core and layers of Damascus steel. Sixteen layers of Damascus steel are forged together and the forge-welded onto the extra high-carbon stainless tool-steel sheet by master knife makers in Seki. The result is a gorgeous, thin but durable blade that can keep a very finely honed edge. (Keep reading)

Milo agar-agar Buddhas

Okay, I’ll admit right from the start. This is a pretty silly post. (It’s also a post that may really upset some very devout Buddhists out there but I’ll take that risk.) Last year, some rather crazy but always fun friends gave us a set of some of the wackiest jelly / pudding molds I have ever seen. The Il Buddino molds, as you can see, allow slightly deranged foodies like me to make Buddha-shaped desserts. (keep reading)

Professional Food Styling Classes in Singapore

Photo by Jon Edwards

Last year, local food legend Violet Oon invited me to attend a one day workshop being conducted by one of America’s most famous and most talented food stylists. Having never had any real food styling training previously, I eagerly accepted. The class was amazing. I learned things that I never knew before and some shortcuts to making food look great which are pretty mind-blowing. I do have to admit that I don’t actually use most of them — mostly because I usually try to eat anything I shoot at home — but if I ever started to take on more professional photo assigments, I would most definitely find the tricks I learned invaluable.

Denise Vivaldo, who led the course, is coming back next month to teach two more 1 day Master Food Styling Classes. These courses are geared towards culinary professionals, chefs, publishers, ad agency personnel, bloggers and culinary students with an interest in food styling for print, television and film. In other words, these are pretty serious, professional level courses. And if you fit into the above categories, the investment in one or both would be money well spent. (Keep reading…)

More kitchen pix

I’ve been very delinquent with blogging recently. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been running around like mad, both here in Singapore and also overseas, where I am working on helping a new client create a stunning 470-seat bar and restaurant. I’ll post more details on that establishment when I am allowed… the one thing I can say is that we’re trying to open it by the end of March 2009.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share a few more pictures of the kitchen that S and I have built in our new home. As mentioned previously, this is, for us, a dream kitchen to work in, and one we’ll probably spend many (many) months paying off. (Keep reading…)

Dream kitchen

I had a small spot of free time this weekend (which is not normal) and finally got around to taking a few pictures of our new place. And since I promised to post one of our new kitchen, here it is. The kitchen is approximately 4 metres wide by 6 metres long. As you can see, it is all white with black and white hexagonal floor tiles and an island in the middle.

Some of you emailed and left comments asking what S and I consider essential in a well-equipped kitchen. Honestly, all a good kitchen really needs is counter space, pretty good storage space, a hob (gas or induction) with at least 4 zones, good exhaust, an oven, a fridge, and sufficient power points to run a variety of tools and appliances. With these, a good cook should be able to whip up any number of delicious meals. (Keep reading…)

The White Rabbit

S and I both love good restaurants. We love all aspects that contribute to a great place to dine, including delicious food, top-notch service, well thought-out menu and collateral designs, chic uniforms, gorgeous interiors, a good wine list and an equally yummy cocktail list, a sexy and soothing soundtrack, smart lighting, a great and unique location, and a chic and attractive clientele. Of course, not all restaurants are able to offer all of the above. Some succeed by being outstanding in just a couple areas, like having a super-sexy crowd and awesome cocktails for example. Some can even get by with amazing food and nothing else. But when all the elements come together, that’s restaurant magic.

One of the services offered by the lifestyle consultancy that S and I run is F&B development (our other company is a media consultancy; it is through the media arm that we’re publishing The Miele Guide). This means that we occasionally get to have the enormous pleasure of helping clients create new restaurants. Our latest project, The White Rabbit, opens this week. The White Rabbit, owned and managed by the very cool cats behind Loof, is situated in the very beautiful, old Ebenezer Chapel on Harding Road, in the very trendy Dempsey Road area in Singapore. The chapel has been gorgeously restored. A new roof has been put in (to replace the old asbestos roof that was threatening to cave in); a large wooden deck has been built out back; new stained glass windows have been commissioned for the space; and new grass has been put down around the building. (Keep reading)

An itty-bitty Venice guide

I know I promised to write about the amazing tonkotsu ramen I had in Fukuoka, and I will get to that within the next few posts, but I thought It would be fun to share something that I had created for a friend with all of you.

A really good buddy of mine told me a couple months ago that she and her husband’s family were going to be heading to Italy this Spring for an extended vacation. One of their stops was going to be Venice, which long-time readers will know is one of my all-time favourite cities in the world (seriously, top 5). She asked me to email her a list of recommendations. More specifically, she asked me, if I only had a couple days, which restaurants would I visit?

The answers, to me, were pretty clear. Emailing her a simple list would be easy. But I wanted to create something that she and her husband could slip into their pockets and carry with them as they travelled through La Serenissima. So, late one night, while watching TV, I spent a couple of hours fiddling away on Adobe InDesign and cobbled together an itty-bitty — well, technically it’s A7 — dining guide to Venice.

The guide should be printed on a sheet of A4 paper. You’ll need to print on both sides of the same sheet; there are instructions on how to feed the paper into your printer so that the alignment is correct. There are also some instructions on how to fold the paper up so that the guide reads properly.

Anyway, I’ve uploaded the guide to my server. You can download it here at http://www.chubbyhubby.net/blog/downloads/venicedining.pdf. I had fun putting this together. And I was really stoked that my friend liked it. I hope you guys do to.