Some things in life are a necessary indulgence. Shinji by Kanesaka (of famed two-Michelin starred chef Shinji Kanesaka) which exemplifies the best of Edomae-style sushi, essentially falls into this category. In particular, when one is bestowed the privilege of having Master Chef Koichiro Oshino cut for you. The evening was made even more special as some friends brought along some rare wine gems for us to pair with the sushi.
It’s no secret that Gunther’s, affiliated with Roberto Galetti’s Garibaldi group, is one of the best restaurants in town. The Miele Guide 2011/2012 ranked it the 14th best in Asia, and The Peak magazine recently gave it a nod for Outstanding Service. Five years after the restaurant first opened its doors—and five years after it was featured on this very website—people still rave about chef Gunther Hubrechsen’s flair, and the depth of his cuisine. My entire family swears by his cold angel-hair pasta with Oscietra caviar.
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. Continue Reading →
I first discovered Japanese mousse cake savant, Hidemi Sugino (along with many of his other fans within the blogosphere, it seems) through Keiko’s gorgeous blog. I found myself repeatedly returning to her beautifully precise renditions of his recipes in Le goût authentique retrouvé. And when I finally had the opportunity to taste the master’s work in Tokyo, I was enthralled by the lightness of his creations, as well as the subtle and sophisticated layering of complementary and contrasting flavours. They were simply the best mousse cakes I’d ever tasted (here’s Nick’s superb dissection of some of Sugino’s entremets). I promptly bought a copy of Le goût authentique retrouvé on that fateful first visit in 2007—disregarding the fact that the recipes were all in Japanese. I somehow figured that I would be able to decipher them based upon the ingredients listed in French despite the fact that I don’t speak French either! Continue Reading →
For our second night attending the Noosa International Food & Wine Festival, S and I chose to attend a guest chef dinner at Embassy XO, a small but chic local East meets West restaurant. In addition to the one we went to, there were four other guest chef dinners happening in town, plus a massive eight course, eight (celebrity) chef Mediterranean Degustation experience held at Berardo’s restaurant and bar. S and I had chosen the Embassy XO dinner because the guest chef in question was Teage Ezard. Continue Reading →
My greedy, gorgeous wife S and I have been to many food and wine festivals, in many different places, over the last decade and a half. We’ve attended festivals as speakers, as working journalists and as members of the public. Some festivals are rather high-brow. Others try hard to connect with the everyman. Many others fall in between, offering a mix of small, exclusive (which means expensive) dinners coupled with affordable experiences that can accommodate large crowds. This can be a hard formula to get right, and many festivals are still struggling to find the right balance. A few others, however, seem to have discovered the magic formula for food festival success.
A few weeks ago, S and I found ourselves attending such a festival. Not only has the Noosa International Food & Wine Festival (held in the small holiday/retiree town of Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast) perfected the balance between luxury and accessibility, it’s done so with a laid-back sense of humour that is utterly infectious. Before Noosa, I had never attended a food and wine festival in which everyone–the chefs, producers, participants, even the festival staff–seemed to be having so much fun. And for that alone, I would definitely consider going back again and again. Continue Reading →
This is one of those recipes that I reckon works for both papa and toddler. I’m constantly trying to find snacks for T (and CH) that aren’t packed with sugar. These savoury madeleines from Patricia Wells—inspired by Anne-Sophie Pic of the century-old Maison Pic in Valence, no less—fit the bill. They are an easy-to-make treat that T can’t get enough of.
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Yesterday afternoon, I had the great pleasure of attending the local (Singapore) launch of the Singapore International Culinary Exchange (SPICE for short) and the unveiling of the Singapore Takeout. The Singapore Takeout is a custom-fabricated shipping container that, with the push of a button, transforms into a pop-up kitchen. This flying kitchen has been engineered so that it can be used for both demonstrations as well as a proper, working pop-up restaurant kitchen. Continue Reading →
Hola! I have just returned from a jam-packed week in Madrid, Spain. My colleagues and I were there to organize a super-cool culinary event that was also used as the launch pad for a whole series of even cooler food initiatives.
The event was titled A Night in Singapore and was the opening event (the welcome cocktail) for this year’s Madrid Fusion. Madrid Fusion, now in its 9th year, is quite simply one of the world’s most important culinary conferences, attended each year by 500 or so of the planet’s most talented chefs, restaurateurs, and food media.
On my recent trip to Hong Kong, my lovely wife S and I had what was easily one of my best meals this year. We had both heard a lot about Chef Alvin Leung from Bo Innovation over the years. Some good, some not so good. Some outstanding. Which is often the case with chefs trying to push the envelope, i.e. trying to do new and very different things to familiar and classic foods. They’ll win over some very loyal fans who are totally blown away by the chef’s new ideas and his or her abilities to turn these concepts into delicious food. But this kind of chef will alienate just as many customers. And, of course, a good share of other diners will be impressed without really understanding what they’re eating. Alvin Leung is most definitely this kind of chef. And I very much belong in the first camp; that is, I am total fan. (Keep reading)
My darling and always hungry wife S and I are big Thai food fans. Which means (quite automatically) that we’re big, big fans of Chef David Thompson. No chef has done more to teach us non-Thais about really good, authentic Thai food than David. So, when we heard that David’s latest restaurant, Nahm, located in the always chic lobby of The Metropolitan Hotel in Bangkok, was finally opening its doors last Saturday, we jumped at the chance to be among its first guests.
We flew up to Bangkok on Friday via a very crowded Cathay Pacific flight. We were originally going to be quite boring and stay in that night, ordering up some room service (to say we had a very long week at the office would have been a gross understatement). But to our great fortune, David was able to extract himself from the restaurant for a few hours and invited us, along with a few other friends, to head out to a street stall just a short walk from The Met. I love David’s Thai Street Food . It’s a book I just love flipping through. So there was no way (no matter how tired we were), either S or I were going to turn down the offer to head out on the streets of the City of Angels with the book’s author.
We had a fabulous meal. One of the dishes I enjoyed most was a lovely plate of grilled pork neck–one of my all-time favourite cuts of what I’ve previously declared is my favourite type of meat. (keep reading)