Eating my way across various parts of Asia
Yes I've had the pleasure. From Spicy Frog in a hotpot restaurant in Chengdu and red hot Beef Rendang in a Mamak joint in Kualalumpur, to sizzling Pig's ears in Manila and Cabbages with Condoms in Bangkok. From Prawns in coconut sauce in my hometown Kolkata and Scallop in Orange in Shanghai to Rabbit Wonton broth in Melbourne and Erdinger beer in Singapore ...
Recent posts
Eating Asia
'Lost' whisky distilleries of Scotland
Bacon and Chocolate
Schmap Melbourne Guide
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Lost distilleries of Scotland
History, geography, economics, politics and romance are all distilled together in this fascinating story of the Lost Distilleries of Scotland.These are a bunch of small, charming , much-loved, often remote distilleries in Scotland that once all produced their own distinctive brands of single malts , but were closed down in the 1980's due to a variety of geographical, economic and political reasons and were therefore 'lost' to posterity.
But all was not lost.Some of the old stock of these now 'silent' distilleries have been carefully preserved , and are occasionally bottled and released, much to the delight of single malt afficionados. The remarkable quality of some of the vintages, the story behind them, the rarity of the bottlings and the dwindling supply, all add to their charm and their rising prices.
The whole fascinating story is beautifully detailed and turned into a profitable business by The Whisky Exchange
Based in London, The Whisky Exchange sources these lost vintages from manufacturers and bottlers and sells them online. The user-friendly design, easy payment process and the expert guidance notes makes ordering from the site a breeze and a pleasure. It takes 3-4 days for an order to be processed and delivered to Hong Kong. No doubt delivery times in the UK and Europe would be shorter.
In the last three months I have ordered four bottles from The Whisky Exchange, two for my friends and two for my own collection. I intend adding to the collection over a period of time.
Rosebank 1991 / 16 Year old / 53.9% / 70cl
Glenglassaugh 1973 / 34 Year old / Bourbon Cask / 52% / 70cl
Port Ellen 1982 / 25 Year old / 52% / 70cl
Brora 1982 / 23 Year old / Sherry Cask#2294 / 50% / 70cl
Needless to say, I will take great care of these bottles and hopefully watch their prices rising. But will I be able to overcome the temptation of drinking them ?
All pics sourced from http://www.thewhiskyexchange.comRecent posts
Eating Asia
'Lost' whisky distilleries of Scotland
Bacon and Chocolate
Schmap Melbourne Guide
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Bacon and Chocolate
While walking around the chocolate section in
Whole Foods, Union Square, New York City,
I spotted Mo's Bacon Chocolate Bar. Bacon
and chocolate ! Wowee yumm yumm ! But how ?
This is what it said on the back of the package:
" I began experimenting with bacon + chocolate at the tender age of 6,
while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in Aunt Jemima syrup,
as children often do. Beside my chocolate laden cake laid three strips of
sizzling bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. And then,
the magic - just a bite of the bacon was too salty and I yearned for the
sweet kiss of chocolate and syrup, so I combined the two. In retrospect ,
perhaps that was the turning point; for on that plate something magical
happened, the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that
it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it - chocolate. "
Peace, love+ chocolate
Katrina
Obviuously after this I couldn't resist checking out what
seemed like a mad combination on the surface, but
somehow made tremendous sense when you really
thought about it. Or when you bit into it.
Milk chocolate ( 41% cacao) with applewood smoked bacon and alder
wood smoked salt. "The lust of sweet and salt" as the package
describes it. I brought a few bars back to Hong Kong and
enjoyed the lust for a long time.
The website http://www.vosgeschocolate.com/ also lists other fascinating combinations that I am itching to taste
Red Fire: Mexican ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate
Wouldn't mind a shot of Tequila with this. Or perhaps an icecold vodka. Maybe a Guinness.
Black Pearl: ginger + wasabi + black sesame seeds + dark chocolate
Not sure if I should drink a warm sake with this. Or lemongrass infused vodka.Goji: goji berries + pink Himalayan salt + deep milk chocolate
Thinking of a dark rum or a cognac as an accompaniment.
The one that I would probably give a miss
Naga: sweet Indian curry + coconut + deep milk chocolate
And just for a full-on, no holds barred chocolate experience
Creole: New Orleans style chicory coffee + cocoa nibs + Sao Thome
bittersweet chocolate. Definitely a cognac or a peaty single malt from
Islay or a Chimay Belgian Trappiste beer to drink with this.
And an espresso.
Recent posts
Monday, August 11, 2008
Schmap Melbourne Guide
My photo of Melbourne airport got chosen to be included in the newly released fifth edition of the Schmap Melbourne Guide.
I took this shot with my Sony Cybershot DSC-T7 through the aircraft window just as the flight landed in Melbourne at dusk.
The photo on Schmap Melbourne Guide
This is a pretty cool Guide, available also on iPhone
Schmap on iPhone
Recent posts
Eating Asia
'Lost' whisky distilleries of Scotland
More such pics in " Shots from the Sky" on my Flickr
Other shots of Melbourne
http://goodfood65.blogspot.com/2008/03/melbourne-australia.html
My 7 course degustation meal in Taxi restaurant, Melbourne
http://goodfood65.blogspot.com/2008/03/7-course-degustation-menu-taxi.html
Saturday, June 7, 2008
wd~50, Wylie Dufresne, New York City
Molecular in Manhattan
During my trip to New York City last month I finally achieved something I've been planning for a long time - a meal at chef Wylie Dufresne's wd~50, one of the most critically acclaimed, talked-about, blogged-about and hotly debated restaurants in the world today.
My friends and I had the 12 course tasting menu ( US$ 125 per person without wine), but before I get into the meal, a few words about chef Dufresne and his " mad science"
Molecular gastronomy, pioneered by superstar chefs like Ferran Adria of El Bulli in Spain and Heston Blumenthal of Fat Duck in UK, delves into food chemistry and uses creative techniques to alter and enhance ingredients, textures and flavours. While other molecular gastronomists use liquid nitrogen and lasers to do their thing, Wylie Dufresne makes use of hydrocolloids - proteins and starches that basically turn liquids into gels.
Cornstarch thickener is an everyday example of a hydrocolloid; so is gelatin. The hydrocolloids chef Dufresne uses are a little more exotic - things like xanthan gum and agar-agar. An entire wall of his hi-tech kitchen is lined with little white bottles that would not look out of place in a chemistry lab.
Xanthan Gum ( C35H49O29 )
Combine the wonders of chemistry with endless hours of experimentation, add extraordinary creative flair and large doses of imagination, the curiosity and courage to push the boundaries and a certain indifference to critical opinion... and you get Wylie Dufresne's cutting-edge, whimsical take on food. Diners either love it passionately or hate it with a vengeance - there's no middle ground of reactions here.
For example take wd~50's Eggs Benedict. It contains all the elements of the classic dish - poached egg, hollandaise sauce, English muffin, bacon. But deconstructed and then put back together into a neat minimalist hypermodern form that has become chef Dufresne's most famous creation. The poached egg is presented as concentrated columns of egg yolk, the hollandaise sauce is deep-fried with the help of hydrocolloids and shaped into cubes and coated with English muffin crumbs. The accompanying Canadian bacon is wafer-thin and super crisp. A tongue-in-cheek dinner interpretation of a breakfast classic.
The science behind this dish - that apparently took almost a year to perfect - is impressive. So is the thought that goes behind creating something that is extraordinarily different yet retains the essence of the original. Does everyone love it ? No. Does it fill your stomach like the classic eggs Benedict does ? No, but it is not meant to. Remember it is part of a twelve course tasting menu. It is also indicative of the direction chef Dufresne has taken, a direction that not everyone can or should follow.
The ingredients of the Eggs Benedict (top) and the finished dish (below). Pic courtesy New York Times
Now, to our much anticipated meal. Twelve courses eaten for over two hours in a dimly lit and relatively spare interior, at a table looking directly into the kitchen. Dishes timed perfectly, and served and explained expertly.
Pic courtesy Foodplow
Sweetbreads, rhubarb, roiboos, hazelnut
Tiny sweetbreads served with a scrape of rhubarb sauce. An amuse-bouche. Gone in 5 seconds leaving a slight tart taste in the mouth. Incidentally 'roiboos' is an African tea herb. Who knew ?
Pizza pebbles, pepperoni, shitake
Droplets of shitake mushroom and a pepperoni paste in between tiny 'pebbles' of pizza dough. You get the dough, sauce and toppings, all the ingredients of a pizza, repackaged in a pranksterish wd-style. You can almost see the chef winking through this dish. I found the pebbles very dry and 'dough-y' but then I generally don't like pizza or the taste of dough. I learnt later that this dish is almost universally disliked by both fans and foe.
Knot Foie This is where the meal starts getting interesting. A slab of foie gras is turned into an elastic strand with the help of hydrocolloids like xanthan gum and konjac flour, and then tied into knots. Served with rice krispies which make a crunchy counterfoil to the foie paste and is also, I think, the chef's whimsical way of making us eat an expensive delicacy with something as basic as a breakfast cereal. Oh and the rice krispies were alternated with golden raisins for sweetness and kimchi puree for a little kick.
Hamachi tartare, wakame, sake lees tahini, grapefruit-shallot sauce A tuna sashimi that looks a bit like tuna sashimi but doesn't quite taste like tuna sashimi. It has somehow taken on dimensions and texture that tuna sashimi does not have. That's because chef Dufresne has played with it, first grinding the hamachi coarsely and then putting it back together with meat glue ( transglutaminase). He's served it with a sweet-tart marmalade'y grapefruit sauce and a tahini made of sake lees, which is a left-over of the sake filtration process. SASHIMI WITH SAKE , of course.
Eggs Benedict Egg yolk 'gel', fried cubes of hollandaise sauce coated with English muffin crumbs, superfine Canadian bacon. All the flavours of Eggs Benedict in one bite. Enough said.
Crab tail, soybean noodle, cinnamon dashi Soybean 'noodle' sheets - another product of chef Dufresne's science - resembling ravioli skin but firmer and more elastic, over a piece of crab, resting in a fragrant cinnamon dashi broth and sprinkled with basil chiffonade.
At this point, take a breather and review what we've had so far. Sweetbreads, pizza, foie gras, tuna, eggs, crab. What next, you wonder. Well, chicken !
Chicken liver spaetzle, pine needle, radish, cocoa nib The spaetzle, which is typically a German egg noodle, was in this case a rich mixture of chicken liver, meat and skin. The cocoa nibs lining the bowl provided a bitter counterpoint and the raw radish discs helped cut the rich taste of the chicken. A marvellous dish, though where was the pine needle or what was the pine needle I do not know.
Lamb belly, black chickpea, cherried cucumberLamb belly is the 'meat of the moment' among New York City chefs this season. It is essentially lamb bacon, rich salty and crunchy. Here it came accompanied by black chickpeas, both toasted and pureed. And the surprise wd element - 'pickled' cherry-flavoured cucumber.
Think of that for a minute .
We coudn't think too long as it was time for dessert , created by pastry chef Alex Stupak who has worked before in the other temple of molecular gastronomy - Alinea in Chicago. Here he brings concepts learnt at Alinea and marries them to wd's cutting-edge techniques and philosophy. The results are outstanding.
Wintergreen parfait, avocado puree, chartreuse gelee, candied walnuts
A little amuse-bouche; a dessert starter.
Toasted coconut cake, carob, smoked cashew, brown butter sorbetWarm toasty coconut-y cake with coconut foam. Caramel-ly brown butter sorbet sitting on smoked cashews. So many different textures, different temperatures, different flavours but making delicious sense together.
Soft white chocolate, white beer ice cream White beer icecream ! Why didn't someone think of this before ? ! And with a soft elastic ( hydrocolloid again) strand of white chocolate and malt powder. A beer lover's dream turned into a dessert. Wait, it isn't malt powder but potato chips coated in malt !! And there's also some beer jam which is different from the beer ice cream but beer all the same but not quite the same. Forget it. It was fabulous.
Chicory ice cream, chocolate and coffee
The finale: The suitably hefty bill, coffee and bittersweet chicory ice cream balls covered in chocolate. And little chocolate 'pillows' that we took home.
Was this the best meal I've ever had in my life ? Possibly not. Was this the most interesting meal I've ever had ? Absolutely yes. Does it make us rethink the concept of food ? Well that depends on your point of view, on how much you are inclined to rethink the concept of food. You may not care at all, and that's fine. There are many other fabulous restaurant options in NYC and Hong Kong to choose from.
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Not everything tasted great, not all the dishes made sense. Some were outlandish. But in its totality, the beautifully paced and expertly portioned twelve course dinner was outstanding in conception and execution. Add to that the pleasure of having experienced something that is very avant-garde, immensely creative and cutting-edge. That sort of thing stimulates me, so I'm glad that I had the chance.
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And go back I definitely will, as I know that chef Dufresne is continuing to experiment in his 'laboratory', trying out new magic tricks and continuing to push the boundaries
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My only regret: I didn't go to the restroom which I believe is as " out there" as the food !
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Frank Bruni's review of wd~50 in New York Times
An illuminating article and brilliant slideshow on the science of molecular gastronomy in New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/science/06food.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/science/06food.html?_r=1&ref=dining&oref=slogin
wd~50 discussions on Yelp
wd~50 discussions on Chowhound
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wd~50
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In a funny way this meal compares with the other " totally out there" experience I had in New York City this time - artist Cao Guo-Ciang's exhibition of exploding cars, gunpowder art and immersive installations at The Guggenheim http://senargha.googlepages.com/nycartbeatmay2008
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Other posts on recent gourmet experiences
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sichuan home cooking: an evening to cherish
I was fortunate to have been invited to a Sichuan dinner last week at my colleague' s house in Shanghai, cooked by her mother visiting from Chengdu - an experience I will cherish for a long long time. An unfussy, uncomplicated, homely meal, crafted with care, served with grace , and reflective - it seemed to me - of the history and culture of Sichuan province and the Sichuan people in a few simple unadorned bowls.
Our hostess and chef: Mrs Huang
And her labour of love
Ten wonderful dishes. A beautifully choreographed yin-yang of meat and vegetables, hot and cold, sweet and spicy. Using fresh ingredients, and pastes that had been put together painstakingly. Unique cooking techniques that have probably been passed down generations. Evocative of everything home is about.
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The Star Ingredients
* 4 kinds of chillies: chillies preserved in salt, chillies with
hot bean paste, dry red chillies, fresh red chillies
* Sichuan Peppercorn: the tongue-numbing, slightly
metallic tasting, strangely addictive Fa Chiu
* Sesame oil: the last-minute flavour enhancer
* Garlic, Star anise, 3 day old ginger, chicken powder , pork fat
* The meats: pork, rabbit, frog, duck
Sichuan Chilies preserved in salt for a week in a big claypot
Mrs Huang's favourite brand of sesame oil
Home-made hot bean paste with chillies
French chefs call this mise-en-place.
Mrs Huang simply calls it her " material"
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The Cold Dishes
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The Cold Dishes
Fried Peanuts
A simple dish with an unusual twist. Peanuts mixed with
salt and sugar and lightly fried in an egg and flour batter.
Sweet and salty, crunchy and with a little eggy aftertaste.
Cold Rabbit with chilliesChopped rabbit on the bone, cooked with three day old ginger, garlic, dried red chillies, soy sauce, chicken powder, star anise and a white Chinese herb that got lost in translation.
Sichuan Salami
Cured pork from a small town near Chengdu
Beancurd Salad
An edgy 'hot n cold' salad of beancurd,
cucumber and red peppers - all sliced fine - tossed with
sugar, soy sauce, home-made chillie sauce, preserved chillies,
hot bean paste. Few drops of sesame oil drizzled
at the end for extra flavour.
An edgy 'hot n cold' salad of beancurd,
cucumber and red peppers - all sliced fine - tossed with
sugar, soy sauce, home-made chillie sauce, preserved chillies,
hot bean paste. Few drops of sesame oil drizzled
at the end for extra flavour.
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The Hot Dishes
Rabbit with Lettuce The killer dish. Fresh rabbit meat imported from Chengdu,
cooked with generous doses of hot bean paste, red chillies
and Sichuan peppercorn.
Served with lettuce stalks , crunchy
and sweet and a wonderful counterpoint to the otherwise hot dish.
Frog with PeppersSmall chunks of frog meat cooked with red and green peppers,
garlic, Sichuan peppercorn, chicken powder, hot bean paste
and preserved chillies. Great flavour and texture
Duck with PeasA dry dish cooked with finely chopped red chillies, preserved chillies,
hot bean paste, 3 day old ginger, chicken powder and
Sichuan peppercorn. Lots and lots of peas, a little firm to the bite.
A Huang family dish
Pork with PotatoesRough-cut chunks of pork and potatoes sauteed in
peppercorn-infused oil and cooked with a little soy sauce and star anise
-------------------------------------------
Rice and Soup
Sweet Sticky Rice
The rice is brushed with a little pork fat and steamed
with dates, raisins, candied pineapple, star anise, and
dried orange peel. The ladies then mixed the cooked rice with
sugar at the table and served it hot with
fried sweet potato balls.
Egg and Tomato soup, a light, sweet n sour, cleansing finale
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I have had fabulous meals in Sichuan restaurants in Chengdu, Guangzhou and Hong Kong before, but this was different. This wasn't as searingly hot, didn't have as much oil, and was bereft of any fancy restaurant flourishes. It was more wholesome, more interesting and much more satisfying at a deep personal level.
Mrs Huang didn't speak English; I don't speak a word of Chinese. Yet there was a connection. It was not only the language of food, but also the language of love that a mother speaks.
Other recent food posts
Recent posts
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Made in Manila
Favourite Filipino Food
Pic courtest www.yehey.com
Gising Gising ( which I believe means 'wake-up wake up') a spicy combination of ground pork and very very finely chopped green beans, cooked in coconut milk spiked with chilies and fish sauce. I absolutely loved it.
Pic courtesy www. Yehey.com
Lechon Kawali. Pan-roasted pork - in this case the belly of suckling pig - boiled and then pan-fried till the skin makes a crispy crackling and the inside is soft and sweet. Served with a broth of soy sauce and vinegar, over a bed of kangkong greens
My only decent pic from the lunch. Other shots didn't work well, so I had to borrow the other images from www.yehey.com
My first taste of the Filipino classic Kare-Kare. Rich, creamy, peanut sauce stew of oxtail and tripe, cooked with eggplants, okra, and banana flowers. The thick creaminess comes from a mixture of peanut butter and ground roasted rice. Nutty and delicious. Served with Bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste which frankly was a little unncessary.
A nice photo-review of Recipes restaurant
http://www.yehey.com/Lifestyle/Recipes/index.htm
I have never understood why Filipino food is not so popular outside the Philippines.
Everytime I go to Manila I find the food delicious, the dishes varied, the cooking earthy and innovative, the ingredients fresh and often pleasantly surprising. Pinoy cuisine certainly deserves to be much more well known around the world than it is today.
Here's a great meal I had last week at Recipes restaurant, SM Megamall, Trinoma, Manila.
A tiny, unpretentious restaurant serving local classics that had me and my Filipino colleagues licking our spoons.
Pic courtest www.yehey.com
Gising Gising ( which I believe means 'wake-up wake up') a spicy combination of ground pork and very very finely chopped green beans, cooked in coconut milk spiked with chilies and fish sauce. I absolutely loved it.
Pic courtesy www. Yehey.com
Lechon Kawali. Pan-roasted pork - in this case the belly of suckling pig - boiled and then pan-fried till the skin makes a crispy crackling and the inside is soft and sweet. Served with a broth of soy sauce and vinegar, over a bed of kangkong greens
My only decent pic from the lunch. Other shots didn't work well, so I had to borrow the other images from www.yehey.com
My first taste of the Filipino classic Kare-Kare. Rich, creamy, peanut sauce stew of oxtail and tripe, cooked with eggplants, okra, and banana flowers. The thick creaminess comes from a mixture of peanut butter and ground roasted rice. Nutty and delicious. Served with Bagoong, a fermented shrimp paste which frankly was a little unncessary.
A nice photo-review of Recipes restaurant
http://www.yehey.com/Lifestyle/Recipes/index.htm
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Next day over lunch I was introduced to some more delectable dishes at the top floor of Serye Restaurant & Cafe in Eastwood City, Libis, a restaurant with a bit of old world charm and a menu laden with many delights.
Laing: a mixture of chopped taro leaves and pork, stuffed into little bundles of whole taro leaves, and cooked in coconut milk.
Inihaw Bangus: A simple grilled milkfish, the fish very fresh, the grilling just right.
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One restaurant I never miss is Lasa, at G/F, Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center
Hearty al-fresco dining, cheap San Mig, and lots of local specialties.
Chicken and Pork Adobo: chicken and pork stewed in vinegar and garlic, a dish that carries both Spanish and Mexican influences like many other things in Philippines
Mechado: beef stewed in tomato sauce
Pic courtesy http://fireflyzephyr.livejournal.com/tag/podium
Bicol Express: sauteed pork strips cooked with coconut cream, shrimp paste and chilies
Pic courtesy; http://fireflyzephyr.livejournal.com/tag/podium
The ubiquitous Sisig: pig ears and liver, onions, garlic and pepper, all chopped up and cooked till crunchy and served on a sizzler plate. Once you start you can't stop.
Chicken Inasaal: barbecued chicken marinated with citrus and anatto seeds. A specialty of Bacolod ,a small town in the Visayas region of Central Philippines.
Pata: crispy, deep-fried trotters
Sinigang: tamarind soup broth that seems to be served complimentary with most meals at Lasa
Lots more to be discovered, so looking forward to my next trip to Manila.
Meanwhile I found this fascinating blog http://www.pinoycook.net/
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My recent food posts
Sichuan food in Cheng du
7 course degustation menu, Taxi, Melbourne
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