Crave 1 March 2013

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BEST of ASIA Crave features chefs from the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants

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ASIA’S BE

David Thompson prepares the robust searing hot jungle curry

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants kicks off its workshops from the top chefs. Photog

Searing hot jungle curry with Kanom Jin noodles

THAI STREET FOOD “Thai food is one of the most extraordinary cuisines in the world, “ says David Thompson.

The Australian born chef is widely regarded as an authority on Thai food. He runs Nahm restaurant in Bangkok, ranked number three in the 2013 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Thompson also shed some light on the origins of the vibrant Thai street food culture. “Thai street food is a recent phenomenon that started in the 1950s and 1960s, as it became more industrialised. “When I first came in the 1980s, it was con-

sidered as a shame if you ate on the streets as it meant your home was not good enough,” he says. The Chinese migrants are said to have spearheaded the change, bringing in their food culture. “They brought in the spring rolls andnoodles,” he says. Nowadays, the Thais cook and eat the street food.

“It’s cheaper, delicious and you don’t have to wash up,” says Thompson.

For a truly Thai taste, the Kanom Jin noodles is the best choice. “It’s the only indigenous Thai noodles I have traced back

to the fourteenth century, “ says Thompson. The noodles are said to originate from the Mon tribe who lived in central Thailand. Kanom Jin noodles are the only noodles the Thais eat with curries, whether it is a green, red or even a fiery jungle curry. Originally, the white silken skeins were only reserved for Buddhist ceremonies, as it was labour intensive or as Thompson puts it simply, “a pain to make”. The process involved steeping rice grains in water, pureeing the soft dough, which is blanched, kneaded and extruded to form strands, that is cooked in boiling water.

About 30-40 years ago, Kanom Jin noodles started to be manufactured in factories, hence its spread has become wider. In Nahm, the chefs laboriously make their own Kanom Jin noodles.

Thompson likes to pair the noodles with a searing hot jungle curry, mitigating out the heat with a sweet prawn curry. The rustic jungle curry contains no coconut milk to mask the fiery effect of the abundant amount of dried chillies and the bird-eye chillies.

The chef also recommends, pairing it with fresh vegetables, steamed eggs or salted beef to alleviate the heat.

According to Thompson, the traditional way is to eat it with nahm yaa, made with a type of wild ginger, turmeric and ginger.

And for Thompson, he admits to be a faithless cook, who prefers his noodles is many ways: fresh herbs or sweet prawn curry.

set out to lighten the food, frying the papdi crackers in canola oil instead of the traditional ghee.

“I broke down the gastronomy into small processes to make it lighter, fun yet filling food,” he explains. You see it in Gaggan’s kulfi – whipped up in a few minutes, with a whiff of smoke from liquid nitrogen to create a creamy mass that melts in the mouth. Gaggan also tinkers with tandoori lamb chops, cooking it sous vide versus the traditional way with yoghurt or tenderiser.

This method gives you the real taste of the meat and spices.

Despite Gaggan’s modern approach to the classic cuisine, he still upholds time-long traditions, like not serving beef, which is regarded as taboo by Indians. “I promised my mother, no beef in our restaurant even though it’ll earn me more money,” he says.

Nahm Restaurant, Metropolitan Bangkok, 27 South Sathorn Road Tungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok, Thailand.

Alvin Leung’s take on t classic cha chan teng to

X-TREME FLAVOURS Hong Kong’s Alvin Leung dabbles in X-treme Chinese Cuisine at his restaurant Bo Innovation, ranked 15 in the 2013 Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants. His take on the cuisine, includes marrying Chinese street food items, with modern cooking techniques. “It is all about experience, exotic, erotic and hopefully expensive, “ says Leung. He envisions it as pushing the boundaries, yet with a base comfort level. He does caution, that unlike street food, it’s not something you can eat every day. “It is like sex, you can probably do S&M once in a while but you can’t do it everyday, “ he says.

Leung turns street food on its head, like his oyster omelet, interpreted as an egg waffle, one of Hong Kong’s iconic street food.

Or for a more audacious interpretation, he presents the oysters in a crispy batter on bottarga roe cream, topped with expensive ingredients like caviar and gold leaf. With another classic cha chan teng (coffeeshop) item, such as toast, he reinvented it as butter toast ice cream, served with condensed milk foam, and a pandan flavoured marshmallow inspired by kaya jam. Leung who headlined the television series, The Maverick Chef is no stranger to street food, having

PROGRESSIVE INDIAN TIME Magazine once labeled Indian chef Gaggan Anand, as “Captain Kirk of the cuisine”.

The Calcutta-born chef twists Indian classics with molecular wizardy to create what he calls, “progressive Indian cuisine”.

“I used to listen to progressive rock music,” says Gaggan when asked about his inspiration.

Gaggan first made his mark, cooking for numerous heads of state, including Bill Clinton and Abdul Kalam Azad, former president of India. He was inspired following a stint at Ferran Adria’s El Bulli that pushed him down this path. “Ferran taught me to deconstruct and reconstruct,” he says of his cuisine. This led him to open his own restaurant, Gaggan in Bangkok, which hit the number ten spot in the 2013 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants.

One of Gaggan’s signature dishes is the Chowpati, his take on the papdi chaat, a crunchy street snack popular in India.

“I use the principles of modern gastronomy like the spherical method from El Bulli to create an eggless looking egg,” says Gaggan. That method, with sodium alginate transforms yoghurt infused with chat masala spic-

es, into a delicate sphere that pairs well with the crispy crackers or papdis. This is topped with green chutney foam, that is made from a herb extract.

“The recipe is my gratitude to El Bulli, that one restaurant which changed so many chefs’ lives,” says Gaggan.

The young chef is also mindful of Indian food’s weakness. “A food critic in Bangkok once told me that eating Indian food is like a brick in the stomach since it is so rich,” he says. Hence Gaggan

Gaggan, 68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road, Lumphini, Bangkok, Thailand

Lamb chops cooked sous vide

Calcutta born Gaggan Anand loves to play with liquid nitrogen

Gaggan Anand demonstrates to Wild Rocket Willin Low how to make kulfi with liquid nitrogen

Papdi chaat reinterpreted

FRIDAY 1 MARCH 2013

BEST CHEFS

inaugural awards in Singapore with a series of graphy is courtesy of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Bo Innovation Alvin Leung with his sous chef, Devil

the oast

turned chicken rice or even Taiwan beef noodles, to new forms.

Our classic nasi lemak was also transformed into an unexpected delicious dessert – coconut milk set in a cone topped with a white chocolate sambal dressing, deep fried ikan bilis and peanuts. In future, Leung hopes to explore more street food items in a second series of the Maverick Chef. In the meantime, the chef is busy with his latest opening in Mayfair London, but hopes to open two more outlets in Taipei and Shanghai.

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ECO-WARRIOR CHEF Taiwanese-born Andre Chiang first came to Singapore about four and half years ago en route from France, having trained under French masters such as Pierre Gagnaire, Joel Robuchon, Jacques and Laurent Pourcel.

Since then, the trailblazing chef owner of Restaurant Andre, ranked number fifth in the 2013 Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants, is known as the hottest place to eat in the island for its Mediterranean accented cuisine with French techniques. His 30-seater restaurant serves cuisine that is influenced by Andre’s nouvelle cuisine training, as well as inspiration drawn from fresh produce.

Andre uses fresh vegetables every day in the restaurant, such as wild roots (celery, coriander).

For him, foraging for the freshest produce is incredibly important. Rather than just importing everything from France, Andre is tapping into what Asia has to offer. “A lot of produce that exists in Asia is not available in Europe and we have a wider selection,” he says. Sometime last year, he obtained a large piece of land in South Taiwan to grow the restaurant’s vegetables. “This March, we will be planting different vegetables for the restaurant and

Vegetables blanched in konbu with cured egg, kelp coulis and seawater foam

they will ship it to us,” he says.

Taiwan was chosen as the site for its high level of agriculture and four seasons climate.

One of Andre’s issues, has been championing the plight of the disappearance of rainforests. “When I first got to Singapore, there was a period of haze of Indonesia. Most people took it for granted but I wanted to know what was behind it,” he says.

He came across a documentary on deforestation and decided to visit Borneo to understand it for himself. What he found was shocking on how fast the rainforest was dissapearing. Shaken by the Dayak tribe in Borneo who was holding on to the remains of their forest, Andre returned to

Singapore to conduct a special dinner inspired by the rainforest jungle to raise monies for the villagers. In that dinner, he presented an orangutan salad.

“It’s a dish we made from vegetables that the orangutan would eat. They’re not from West Kalimantan, as we did not want to consume the rainforest, when it is in danger,” he says. Instead, similar produce was sourced and served in the inspiring dinner, which Andre is doing on his part. “For me, I am doing this for myself and my next generation.

But for the villagers, they are fighting for their life, “ he says.

Restaurant Andre, 41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore.

ASIA’S BEST HONOURED

Oyster omelet is married with egg waffle

Bo Innovation, J Residence, 60 Johnston Road, Hong Kong

PERFECTING JAPANESE CUISINE Seiji Yamamoto, the chef who heads Nihonryori RyuGin, ranked number two in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, is a prime example of a chef seeking for perfection. Trained by master chef Hirohisa Koyama, Yamamoto is best known for integrating traditional Japanese cuisine with modern kitchen methods. That dedication saw him sending an eel for a CT scan to better understand its anatomy, for its intricate preparation. Yamamoto also picked up the Chefs’ Choice Awards in Singapore. His three-Michelin starred 24-seater restaurant is often the holy grail for foodies who try to book a spot there.

Yamamoto delved into Japanese cuisine as he wanted to showcase his country’s offerings. “Japanese cuisine exists as one of the symbols of Japanese history, tradition and culture. And for me, it is the reflection of rich natural environment of my country and I express traditional seasonal ingredients from the place,” he says. One of the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine is dashi or what Yamamoto calls, “a living thing and more than just

THE MALAY MAIL

a stock”. Its life span is probably only two to three minutes, as you breath in the flavour, which Yamamoto describes as a taste of wind.

Revered chef Seiji Yamamoto

Balance is also needed between umami (the glutamate) and flavour, which is like a vapour and aroma. “One cannot have either one of this,” says

Yamamoto. In his restaurant, Yamamoto slices a three year old Katsuo Hon-Karebushi (dried fish) with a modern slicer, to obtain thicker shavings, which is doused in the kelp broth to extract its flavour effectively. Yamamoto’s dedication also sees him preparing seasonal dishes like a wild duck, using various techniques to extract the best of the ingredient.

One of Yamamoto’s iconic dishes, he first introduced in 2005, is the apple candy prepared at -196C with liquid nitrogen. According to Yamamoto, he drew inspiration from the apple candy usually found in festivals, and wanted to create a taste nostalgic to many.

“You can move the customers if it is part of their life,” he says. That playful spirit, sees him recreating a strawberry candy in the same method — encasing a sugar art strawberry filled with the berry milk powder and drizzled with strawberry jam cooked sous vide.

Nihonryori RyuGin, First Floor, 7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo restaurant Narisawa topped the rankings of the inaugural Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants announced on February 25 in Singapore. The restaurant that champions sustainability gastronomy, had been earlier recognised by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for four consecutive years, and picked up Acqua Panna Best Restaurant in Asia award for three consecutive years. The award are a regional spin-off to the prestigious World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards that will be unveiled in April. William Drew of William Reed Business Media said: “We launched Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants program to recognise

the region’s growing restaurant industry and diverse gastronomic landscape. The list is a reflection of Asia’s culinary talent and showcases individuals that share a passion for excellence.”

China, Singapore and Japan dominated the list with 16, 10 and 9 restaurants listed respectively. The highest ranked restaurant in China was Amber who topped the scales at number four and also picked up the Best Restaurant in China award. Restaurants from Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Hanoi and Bali were also selected, but no restaurant in Malaysia made the cut. Award winners also included, Asia’s Best Pastry Chef that was picked up by

the talented Janice Wong from 2am:dessertbar. Japanese chef Seiji Yamamoto also picked up the Chefs’ Choice Award, while Singapore’s Jaan that serves modern French cuisine with sweeping views of the city was also selected as the “One to Watch”. Paul Pairet walked off with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Duangporn Songvisava of Bangkok’s Bo.Ian was announced as Asia’s Best Female Chef.

The awards are sponsored

by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, whereby the list is compiled from votes by chefs, food critics and luminaries from the culinary world.

For a full list, see http://www. theworlds50best.asia/

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants chefs with their awards in Singapore

EDITORIAL NOTE

by Lee Khang Yi

|

Crave Editor

This Monday, saw luminiaries from all over Asia being honoured in the first ever Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. The restaurants on that list, will be well regarded as the food lover’s bucket list of must-eats in Asia.

Sadly, no restaurant in Malaysia made it. While this will be a wake-up call to our restaurants to strive for excellence, it is clear that Malaysia should just stick to street food, which we excel. Let me know what you think, by emailing me at khangyi@mmail.com.my

ADVERTISING SALES Rajan Gopal Senior Manager, Direct & Classifieds Direct line: 03 74951282 rajan@mmail.com.my

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FRIDAY 1 MARCH 2013

In the Kitchen

with Eu Hooi Khaw EVEN before it was known that oranges contained Vitamin C, people in ancient civilisations were using them as cures for fever and colic, and protection against poison. They have been regarded as a healing fruit against respiratory disorders, thanks to their abundant stores of Vitamin C, beta carotene, folate, thiamin and potassium, and some calcium and magnesium. When you eat an orange try not to peel off all the white pith as this contains fibre or pectin which helps to stabilise blood cholesterol. The pith is also rich in bioflavonoids which help maintain capillary walls and prevent easy bruising, nose bleeds, brain and retinal haemorrhages, and bleeding gums. It’s good for those with varicose veins. Oranges originated in China thousands of years ago, and Confucius has made a reference to these in his Five Classics. From here orange seeds and plants spread to the southern seas, through Africa and to the Mediterranean. Christopher Columbus was believed to have brought orange plants to the Caribbean where his ship

stopped by, and subsequently sailing ships on a long journey would stop by the islands to replenish their stock of oranges as they not only prevented but also relieved the symptoms of scurvy.

In many ancient civilisations oranges were used as offerings to the gods. There are many different varieties of oranges, such as the usually available navel oranges for both eating and juicing, Valencias with their smooth thin skin and Jaffas which are from Israel and are similar to the Valencias. The less common ones are the blood oranges or Maltese which I have eaten in Italy, which have ruby red flesh and juice, and the Hamlins from Florida which are practically seedless and are good for juicing. We’ve also just eaten a lot of mandarin oranges during the Chinese New Year. For some reason these are considered heaty by the Chinese and eating too much of these will cause you to have the runs. If you like your orange juice be sure to keep a toothbrush handy as the citric acid in it can do damage to your teeth.

THE MALAY MAIL

BAA-RILIANT LAMB MEAL

Fall off the bone delicious Lamb Yakni Pulau

Mild tomato based Chicken Kerahi

YOU KNOW YOU’RE on to a good thing at Restaurant Khan Baba, when the friend who recommends you this place, is there almost every other day.

This non-descript restaurant located in the Taman Tun Dr Ismail suburbia, serves an array of Arabic, Pakistani, Western and BBQ items on the menu.

It is a spin-off from its original outlet in Gombak, a place famous for its value-for-themoney Ramadan buffet.

My friend Amran highly recommended their lamb dishes, which is served in a few varieties. High on the must-eat list was their Lamb kebab (RM12.90), delicious juicy lamb mince with spices and chopped green chillies, which is grilled on the skewers.

This came in a Western style platter, with French fries, tomato ketchup and mint yoghurt sauce. For a more substantial meal, move towards their rice

Soft garlic naan

dishes — fluffy wonders made with Basmati rice. The Mandi lamb (RM16.90), an Arabian classic is now commonly found in every Middle-Eastern restaurant. We were all impressed with this version’s fall-off-thebone delicious meat, and the rice lightly flavoured with spices. Plonk some tomato sauce on the rice and it’s a dish you want to eat all night long. For a more pungent paprika infused lamb dish, look for the Lamb yakni pulau (RM16.90). The meat is probably cooked the same way as the Mandi lamb, except it has an extra dosage of paprika. For a milder taste, the Special lamb Rajasthani Pulau (RM17.90) is a good choice. It is topped with mixed dry nuts and tender lamb pieces slathered with mild gravy. If lamb is not your thing, the restaurant also serves chicken dishes, such as the mild tomato based Chicken

Refreshing tabouleh salad

kerahi (RM10.90) with spices that goes well with rice.

Balance the hearty meal with a selection of vegetables such as ladyfingers or Bendhi (RM5), cooked with onions and spices. Or go for the Aloo Palack (RM5), spinach and potato cubes cooked with their spices. The vegetables alleviates some guilt for consuming the hefty portions of meat.

They also serve Tabouleh salad (RM6) — parsley, tomatoes, bulgur wheat and onions — all tossed in a refreshing lemon and olive oil dressing. We were also introduced to the unusual baked sesame seed naan or Lahori kulcha (RM2.50). It may resemble a crispy pizza, but the texture of the flatbread is soft and fragrant with the

sesame seeds. The restaurant also does other types of naans, like a Garlic naan (RM3), butter and a Kashmiri version baked with raisins.

Dining here means good food at prices that won’t pinch your wallet. And for lamb lovers, this is definitely the place to get the delicious meat well cooked and marinated. Will we return? We reckon so, since it ticks all the boxes as a price friendly joint that serves authentic Middle Eastern and Pakistani dishes.

Restaurant Khan Baba, 36 Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

Tel:03-77315134. Open: 12pm to 10.30pm. Closed on the first and third Monday of the month.

Juicy lamb kebabs

ORANGE MUFFINS 220g self-raising flour, sifted 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted A pinch of salt 80g caster sugar 125ml orange juice 125ml milk 1 tablespoon orange zest 100g butter, melted and cooled 2 large eggs, beaten

Fluffy rice and tender Mandy Lamb

Lamb Rajasthani Pulau Baked Lahori Kulcha

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a muffin pan with paper cups. Combine the sifted ingredients, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Pour into the dry ingredients, and stir quickly to just combine with a wooden spoon. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Cool on a wire rack.

Bendhi

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