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January 2018 $8.50 epicureasia.com

FRONT COVER OF ThE yEaR 2017

New

life’s refinements

(CONSUMER) GOLD

hotel openings, fad ingredients and the other trends to watch

ci t deli s o m T h e a í b ow l s aç

F

h s e r

ous

FOR

2018 t r S t a able-

e ge t f r o m v e v s fa Yo u r r d r e c i p e a fo r w

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ni l e h c i t w o M d e tt e tarred O

CONTENTS

JANUARY 2018 Restaurant 3

Food 46 Top Toque Darren Teoh of Dewakan 52 WHAT To eAT AND DRINK, pLuS WHeRe To TRAveL To NoW The hottest movements to look out for this year

72 CeLLAR CHoICe Toast to the New Year with homegrown flavours

92 MASTeRCLASS Nose-to-tail recipes: crispy pig’s head and pig’s skin tagliatelle

73 TIppLe TIpS Ace of Sours

Travel 98 CHeF’S TRAveLoGue Is Turku the next foodie hotspot?

Entertaining 64 CoCoA CHeMISTRY Why Bali is a well of untapped potential for cocoa

76 YouR 2018 MeNu: pLANT-FoRWARD DISHeS Meatless morsels with uncompromised flavour

Wine & Drinks 68 vINe eXpeCTATIoNS Enrique Tirado from Don Melchor 70 RAISING THe BAR An online haven for vinophiles

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88 HoMeToWN HeIRLooMS Jacky Yu, founder of Xi Yan Group

102 RoMANCING THe NeW RIGA Where old meets new in the heart of Latvia 106 FRequeNT FLYeR Tim Hartnoll, executive director of Bawah Island resort

The B&B Italia Bend Sofa

by Patricia Urquiola, from Space Furniture

Regulars 4 eDIToR’S NoTe

26 GLoBeTRoTTING epICuRe New tables in Dubai, Italy and more

15 epICuRe LoveS Les Aviateurs

36 epICuRe LooKBooK Capella Shanghai

16 epICuRe’S Top 10 Açaí Bowls

40 STYLe Buzz Ultra Violet hues in light of 2018

18 epICuRe NeWS Start 2018 right with brunch and a good brew

48 epICuRe RevIeWS Restaurant Lerouy 108 FooD TALK The dirty truth about clean eating

110 SToCKISTS 112 epICuRe’S CHoICe The things we crave this month

Gik Blue Wine

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E D i to r ’ S N ot E

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Adeline Wong Group Managing Editor

e

We love to hear your feedback. adeline.wong@magsint.com instagram.com/adelinewongcy

pantone image pantone.com

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his is the time when the best or worst lists of 2017 have passed and the predictions for the new year are in. International colour authority, the Pantone Color Institute, has declared Ultra Violet as the Pantone colour of 2018.

Yes, the blue-tinged purple shade – Pantone 18-3838 – puts a royally chic spin on statement coats, pendant earrings and velvet boots, which according to Pantone is a “dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade” and “communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future”. The Internet has been abuzz about the unexpected choice, describing the hue as bold, spiritual and cosmic.

I love the colour, but it’s certainly not the first shade one thinks of when decorating their home. (And since we are stepping into January, a little décor upkeeping beckons.) Also, as home décor trends take years to filter through, a bold colour makeover isn’t a practical decision. But if you are embarking on small changes, we have singled out four furniture items in Style Buzz (page 40) that sport this cool shade. And for domestic goddesses, a KitchenAid mixer in Boysenberry adds an irresistible pop of glamour to an all-white kitchen.

On the F&B front, what are the trends that will shape 2018 in a sustainable fashion? There’s an increased emphasis on vegetableforward cuisine and we thought of no one more apt to espouse this culinary philosophy than chef Julien Royer of two Michelinstarred Odette, who was super game to share the recipes of such dishes he served last year (plus one new one). Flip to page 76 for the full story.

As usual, epicure will have one ear to the ground for the latest news and updates on the local and global gastronomic scene.

Happy reading and 2018!

USHER IN AN AUSPICIOUS LUNAR NEW YEAR WITH

REFINED LOCAL CHINESE CUISINE Book your reunion dinner, please contact HA152@sofitel.com or +65 6428 5000 9 Wallich Street (Enter via Peck Seah Street) Singapore 078885

life’s refinements PUBLISHER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GROUP PUBLISHER GROUP MANAGING EDITOR SENIOR LIFESTYLE EDITOR WINE EDITOR DIGITAL EDITOR ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR DIGITAL WRITER STAFF WRITER CONTRIBUTING WRITER EDITORIAL INTERN

Cecilia goh (cecilia.goh@magsint.com) Ho Sum Kwong (sk.ho@magsint.com) Adeline Wong (adeline.wong@magsint.com) Justina Tan (justina.tan@magsint.com) June Lee (june.lee@magsint.com) natasha Venner-Pack (natasha.vennerpack@magsint.com) Eunice Lew (eunice.lew@magsint.com) Victoria Lim (victoria.lim@magsint.com) Jessica Chan (jessica.chan@magsint.com) Priyanka Elhence (priyanka.elhence@magsint.com) Jolene Saw (jolene.saw@magsint.com)

ART DIRECTOR DESIGNER DESIGN INTERN

Jenn Chew (jenn.chew@magsint.com) Elliott Chan (elliott.chan@magsint.com) nazurah Rahim (nazurah.n@magsint.com)

CONTRIBUTORS

Eddie Teo, Edmond Ho, Eve Tedja, geraldine Lee, Julien Royer, Oliver Hyde, Paulyn ng

BUSINESS MANAGER BUSINESS MANAGER PUBLISHING ADMIN MANAGER IT & DIGITAL MEDIA DIRECTOR PUBLISHER, INDONESIA ASSOCIATE BUSINESS DIRECTOR, BALI SENIOR BUSINESS MANAGER, JAkARTA CORRESPONDENT, JAkARTA

Jack Ang (jack.ang@magsint.com) Serena Bakshi (serena.bakshi@magsint.com) Siti Haneymah (siti.haneymah@magsint.com) Jun Evangelista (jun.evangelista@magsint.com) Robin Pho (robin.epicure@poncoss.com) dewi Prasodjo (dewi.epicure@poncoss.com) Rama Andhika Modjo (rama.epicure@poncoss.com) Refa Koetin (refa.epicure@poncoss.com)

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epicure is available in print and online (epicureasia.com) ON THE COVER Photo Edmond Ho Art direction & styling Jenn Chew Videography by Elliott Chan Assisted by nazurah Rahim Recipe by Julien Royer Shot at Odette Tableware Studio Pieter Stockmans dAuW collection, Fuluxe

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Copyright by the Publisher. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the Publisher is strictly prohibited. Views and opinions expressed in epicure are not neccessarily those of the Publisher and the Editors. Although every reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of the information provided in this publication, neither the Publisher, editors and their employees and agents can be held liable for any error and omission, nor any action taken based on the views expressed or information provided within this publication. You should always seek your own professional advice. All prices are in Singapore dollars unless otherwise stated and exclude miscellaneous taxes.

Lunar New Year Feasting at Escape Restaurant & Lounge With a spirited and auspicious toss of our One Farrer Signature Yu Sheng at Escape Restaurant & Lounge, welcome in the Year of the Dog with a Woofy Pow Wow spread of Lunar New Year dishes – Salt Baked Baby Chicken with Chinese Herbs, Roasted Suckling Pig with special sauce, Steamed Tilapia with fermented chilli and garlic, White Pepper Crab, traditional home made Gula Melaka Nian Gao and many more.

Interactive Kitchen Festive Spread 15 January 2018 - 2 March 2018 Lunch - $62++ Dinner - $75++ (Sunday to Thursday) Dinner - $78++ (Friday, Saturday, Eve of PH & PH) Pricing includes free flow of gourmet coffee, tea and soft drinks.

For reservations and enquiries, please call Escape Restaurant & Lounge at 6705 7828 or email escape@onefarrer.com

Lunar New Year takeaways/goodies available at orders.onefarrer.com 1 Farrer Park Station Road, Singapore 217562 T (+65) 6363 0101 E enquiry@onefarrer.com W onefarrer.com

C o n t r i b u to r s

JuLien roYer started his culinary journey under the legendary Michel Bras in Laguiole, then moved on to work with Bernard Andrieux (a Maître Cuisiniers de France) and Antonin Bonnet.

In 2011, he joined Swissôtel The Stamford’s JAAN as chef de cuisine for four years, before the opportunity arose to work with Wee Teng Wen’s The Lo & Behold Group to open his own restaurant, Odette. The modern French establishment has maintained two Michelin stars since the guide’s 2016 launch in Singapore. When chef-owner Royer is away from Odette, his right-hand men – senior sous chefs Levin YOuR 2018 Menu PlAnT-fORWARd Lau (left) and Adam Wan (right) – helm the dishes kitchen.

With nutritional benefits and a sheer range of natural hues to play with, top chefs have gone gaga over plantforward dining. Take it from Julien Royer of two Michelin-starred Odette on how to this cooking style mainstream.

What are you up to this year? “i’ll be taking three members of my team to the st. moritz gourmet Festival this month – it’ll be a completely new experience for them to cook in snowy conditions at -10 to -15°C temperatures and an altitude of 3,000m. in late January, Belgium’s most highly regarded chef, gert de mangeleer of three michelin-starred hertog Jan, will be cooking with us at odette. and in February, we’ll be working with dominique Crenn in san Francisco. all in all, an exciting start to the year!”

vocado | pumpkin seeds, Braeburn apple, verjus The first course of Odette’s vegetarian menu is a clean yet punchy dish.

Apple and pumpkin seeds add texture, while a verjus sorbet provides seasoning and acidity.

Text Eunice Lew Photos Edmond Ho Styling and art direction Jenn Chew Recipes by Julien Royer, chef-owner of Odette

Serves 8 Prep time 1 hour + overnight straining + overnight freezing Cook time 1 hour pumpkin seed butter 500g pumpkin seeds fleur de sel, to taste crème fraîche, strained overnight » Roast pumpkin seeds in the oven at 140°C for 20 minutes. Let them cool slightly, then blend 400g pumpkin seeds until a butter is obtained, about 7 minutes. Season with fleur de sel and blend again quickly. » Roughly chop remaining 100g of roasted pumpkin seeds. Combine with the butter. » To finish, mix together equal parts crème fraîche and pumpkin seed butter. avocados 4 avocados, halved, pitted and peeled avocado oil (available from Culina, Cold Storage or FairPrice Finest)

AvocAdo | PumPkin SeedS, BrAeBurn APPle, verjuS royal Plate divA, Fuluxe

Videography by Elliott Chan Assisted by Nazurah Rahim Shot at Odette

» Slice avocados using a mandoline, then trim with a size 11 ring mould and layer in alternate layers (left to right) on top of the parchment paper. » Once a large enough piece of avocado carpaccio is obtained, punch out with the same ring mold, and brush with avocado oil. Cover with another piece of parchment paper, place carefully into a small

vacuum bag and seal just before it reaches a full vacuum as avocados are delicate. » Reserve in the fridge. verjus sorbet 40g sugar 4g pectin NH 60ml liquid glucose 45g trimoline 150ml water 300ml verjus (available from Culina) » Combine sugar and pectin in a bowl and whisk to mix thoroughly. » Combine glucose, trimoline, and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. When liquids come to a boil, add the sugar and pectin mixture. Whisk to dissolve thoroughly and continue to boil for at least 30 seconds. Strain and cool over an ice bath. » Hand-blend cooled pectin base into verjus. Freeze in a Pacojet tin and process when needed. garnish freeze dried apples, sliced fleur de sel, to taste » Pipe 1 tsp of pumpkin seed butter on a plate and surround with apple slices. Top with avocado carpaccio, then finish with fleur de sel. Place a quenelle of verjus sorbet on the side.

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76-87 JAN | cover story.indd 76-77

22/12/17 9:59 PM

Your 2018 menu: plant-forward dishes, page 76

eddie teo has a passion for photography that can only be rivalled, arguably, by his love for food.

Nothing gives him more satisfaction than performing his craft amid fine, delectable morsels. On his regular days, he busies himself with interior, product and lifestyle shots, which, of course, bring in the dough, but he would rather be working in the presence of saliva-inducing materials. Socrates may have quite aptly described Eddie when he said: “Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.” masterclass

Mastering… crispy pig’s head and pig’s skin tagliatelle Chef-owner Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Patruno of Dehesa shows Priyanka Elhence how alternative cuts used in nose-to-tail cooking are just as delicious as their more popular counterparts.

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hen it comes to nose-to-tail cooking, Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Patruno, chef-owner of Dehesa is clearly an authority. After all, his Spanish restaurant specialises in alternative cuts and offal delicacies. Patruno’s cooking is synonymous with hearty flavours and he is able to combine Spanish ingredients with classical French cooking techniques.

“I grew up on a farm, so it is normal for me to use the entire animal as best as possible. My normality may seem alien and unconventional to some, but it is part of my childhood and who I am as a person.

Nose-to-tail eating isn’t supposed to be fashionable or trending. In fact, it’s about going back to the basics and making use of every part possible. For example, there is a lot more to a (white) pig than just bacon and ham, because every part of it is edible except for its bones, teeth and nails,” says Patruno.

And that is exactly what he proves with his first dish, a Dehesa crowd favourite – Crispy Pig’s Head Dehesa Signature, a spectacular crispy braised pig with capers and topped with a soft egg yolk. Inspired by Europe’s traditional pork terrine, Patruno puts his personal spin on the dish by breading the croquette and giving it a crunchy twist. When preparing the pig’s head, it is essential to completely burn off all the hair using a blowtorch or even a disposable razor, so that the first layer of tough skin can be removed. “Brining the head is also important to reduce the meaty flavour and to get rid of the blood, so the

2.2

1.1

longer you brine, the better,” advises Patruno.

Likewise, the red wine in the braising is important for disinfecting the bacteria in the head. Aside from the tongue, every part of the head is used to make the terrine, which surprisingly tastes like a smooth steak tartare, despite its varied textures.

Patruno’s second dish, pig’s skin tagliatelle, was the happy result of a family experiment.

His dad, an Italian chef, had to make pasta to go with his ragù, but decided to try out the noodle strips using pig skin instead. “It’s important to keep the skin completely submerged in salted water to keep it soft, and also to further soften the noodles in hot water before using for the normal al dente bite,” he shares. The texture of these noodles is so similar to normal pasta that the strips can be rolled out using a pasta machine, or are simply handcut. “And there’s no need to add any bacon to a pasta carbonara using this pig’s skin tagliatelle recipe, since the pasta is already bursting with the essence of bacon,” smiles Patruno.

2.2

CRiSPY PiG’S HeAd

photos eddie teo VIDEoGRAphY NAZURAH RAHiM

What was your favourite moment from this month’s photo shoots? “Working with an entire pig’s head for the first time during the masterclass. seeing sheets of pig skin being transformed into tagliatelle was quite amazing, and the end result was so flavourful. i now have a new-found respect for nose-to-tail dining.”

2.4

2.3

braising

2.2 In a large rectangular dish, braise the

Serves 12

½ bottle of red wine

pig’s head with red wine, all the vegetables

Prep time 24 hours brining + 2 hours and

2 carrots, roughly chopped

and enough water to keep the head

40 minutes

1 leek, roughly chopped

submerged. Braise in the oven for 3 hours.

Cook time 4 hours

3 onions, sliced in half

2.3 Remove the pig’s head from the dish,

1 head of celery

and set the vegetables aside.

pig’s head

1 bunch of fresh thyme, chopped

2.4 Using gloves, pull the braised meat off

1 pig’s head (available from huber’s Butchery)

1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

the bones. Use a knife to chop up the skin

4 litres water

3 cloves, ground

and ears, and to break open the skull to

600g sugar

1 star anise, ground

extract the brain.

400g salt

3 tbsp whole grain mustard

2.5 Roughly chop up the set aside

1 tbsp paprika

vegetables and mix in together with the

1.1 Clean and burn the pig’s head using a blow

1 tsp pimentos, chopped

meat, with a large ladle serving of the

torch to remove all the hair.

pinch of black pepper

braising liquid.

1.2 Mix sugar and salt into the water, and

20g salt

2.6 Add in herbs, spices, mustard,

2.1 preheat oven to 120°C.

season to taste.

wholegrain, paprika and pimentos, then

brine the pig’s head for 24 hours to remove excess blood.

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92-95 JAN | MasterclassPE.indd 92-93

22/12/17 9:59 PM

Mastering…crispy pig’s head and pig’s skin tagliatelle, page 92

Watch our behind the scenes video on youtube.com/epicureasia

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Behind The SceneS & cheF PhOTO elliott chan

What Went on during this month’s Cover shoot

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e p i c u r e lov e s

Photo The image gaTe

Les Aviateurs Swiss luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen expanded their flagship boutique with Les Aviateurs, a pilot’s bar reminiscent of the roaring twenties. After browsing through the exquisite collection of handcrafted Pilot’s Watches at Globus, the region’s high-end department store, guests can saunter over to enjoy delectable tipples dedicated to these iconic timepieces. French pilot and author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, is not only recreated in a thematic tobacco brown calfskin and midnght blue dial in Mark XVIII Le Petit Prince, but also in Rose (CHF26/S$35.60), a delectable mix of Aviation American gin and Champagne Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé, inspired by the story’s iconic rose motif. It can be enjoyed in the comfort of Timothy Oulton’s retro yet sophisticated Chesterfield sofa and the alluring interiors of fine aged wooden floors and the sleek metal bar. Rue du Rhône 48, 1204 Geneva.

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epicure’s

Top 10 Açaí bowls

O

riginating from the Amazon rainforest, the humble little dark purple açaí (pronounced ah-sigh-ee) berry brims with antioxidants, amino acids, high fibre, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and contains 10 times more antioxidants than its blueberry cousin. Given the fact that it was almost unheard of a few years ago in Singapore, the açaí berry has exploded in popularity, thanks to the trend of healthier eating options. What better way to try the Brazilian superfood than through açaí bowls, perfect as a healthy kick-start to 2018 after all the indulgent Christmas feasting?

We selected deliciously rich açaí bowls, consisting of a frozen açai pulp base replete with toppings including fresh fruits, nuts, granola, superfoods such as cacao nibs and chia seeds, and drizzles of honey or nut butters. The combinations are endless. Fad or fantastic? You decide.

THE CAFE BY HIC Using only açaí berries and bananas (no fillers or syrups), The Cafe by HIC’s serves a full-bodied and fruity base and a dose of toothsome house-made coconut gula Melaka granola with almonds and sunflower seeds. There’s great texture and a caramelly, nutty flavour in each spoonful. Topped with banana slices, coconut flakes, chia seeds and goji berries, the Classic Açaí is a satisfying, guilt-free dessert fix. #01-104 The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road.

Tel: 8223 6766

STRANGERS’ REUNION It’s akin to having a dessert, except that the Açaí Smoothie Bowl at Strangers’ Reunion is completely guilt-free. The creamy, frozen superfood base of açaí, mixed berries and coconut water, is topped with honey granola, pepitas, coconut flakes, goji berries,

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and fresh seasonal strawberries and blueberries, making it a rainbow fiesta.

The granola and seeds add a right amount of crunch, while the other toppings balance the sweetness of the berries perfectly. This is one açaí bowl we will happily have again and again. 33-35 Kampong Bahru Road. Tel: 6222 4869

COOCAÇA A perfect pick-me-up is the Sao Paolo Super Bowl. The cacao and soy milk give the blackberry-like flavour of açaí an addictive nutty and bitter aftertaste, complemented with generous toppings of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, chia seeds and homemade granola. A dollop of house-made almond butter, made from freshly roasted American whole almonds and sea salt, adds a delectably savoury note and a boost of good fats.

#01-03 Orchard Building Singapore, 1 Grange Road. Tel: 8511 9923

PARALLEL From the folks who brought us Common Man Coffee Roasters comes Parallel, a kiosk serving everything from speciality coffees and smoothies to açaí bowls in the bustling business district. We like that the Antioxidant is devoid of added sugars or sweeteners and comes with a delightful array of strawberries, dragon fruit, toasted coconut flakes and dried goji berries for an added crunch. Ask for a complimentary swirl of Australian raw organic honey if you prefer it sweeter. #B1-34, 1 Raffles Place. Tel: 9750 8997

PROJECT AÇAÍ This Top 10 round-up will not be complete without Project Açaí – Singapore’s first dedicated açaí café. Using the world’s first and only Fairtrade verified and certified organic açaí from the Amazon rainforest, these antioxidant-rich berries are blended throughout the day to achieve the freshest batch of açaí base - thick and creamy in texture with hints of graininess. We like their picture-perfect Original Flower Bowl, which is a wholesome combination of banana, granola, strawberries and chia seeds, topped with a heaping amount of bee pollen, cacao nibs, goji and coconut shavings. Holland Village, 27 Lorong Liput.

AFTERGLOW A crowd-pleaser at this farm-to-table vegan restaurant is their açaí bowl, which appeals with its gorgeous presentation – served in a wooden bowl and with a matching spoon.

Enjoy their fresh banana and açaí base atop house-made raw muesli (rolled oats, raisins, cranberries, coconut oil, pumpkin seeds and cashews), which is then liberally drizzled with salted tahini caramel sauce and sprinkled with coconut crackers. This results in a cohesive burst of flavours and textures.

24 Keong Saik Road. Tel: 6224 8921

SEED AND SOIL This cold-pressed juice and smoothie bowl joint tucked within Tanjong Pagar Plaza doles out a thoroughly nutritious and textural açaí creation, topped with dragon fruit and strawberries.

The drupes are procured through Selva, a supplier that sources the best organic, Fairtrade and sustainable açaí from the Amazon jungle. What gives this bowl a nourishing boost is the addition of Seed and Soil’s Superfood Sprinkle, comprising a protein-, fibre- and omega-3-rich mixture of homemade Rawnola (oats, dates and coconut), pumpkin seeds, goji berries and buckwheat. This is what we would reach out for post-workout. Available in Grab, Regular and Large sizes. #01-22, 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza. Tel: 9644 0752

PARK BENCH DELI We normally wouldn’t peg gourmet sandwich purveyor Park Bench Deli as a healthy food establishment, but surprisingly their açaí bowl is as wholesome as it is delicious. The refreshing organic Sambazon açaí concoction is balanced with apple juice and bananas for a rounder flavour, then punched up with chopped fresh fruits such as berries, grapes, and stone fruits – whichever is in season – and their homemade honey almond granola. The mix was inspired by Andrei Soen’s (one of Park Bench Deli’s founders) go-to breakfast after a surf session while growing up in California.

179 Telok Ayer Street. Tel: 6815 4600

THE GOOD BOYS The new kid on the block in the Tai Seng industrial hub, The Good Boys serves a hearty açaí bowl that will also satisfy your sweet tooth. Bananas, strawberries and coconut water join organic, raw pasteurised açaí to create a delightfully creamy açaí base. Teeming with toppings, there truly is a play of textures in this bowl, with chewy honeyed dates in the açaí base and a house-made toasted muesli and seed mix. Throw in coconut flakes and fresh berries and you’ll have yourself a super-sized breakfast-dessert. #01-26 The Commerze Building, 1 Irving Place.

Tel: 8130 1083

THE DAILY ACAI If you’re looking for something more indulgent, try the Chocolate option. Rich with a velvety mouthfeel, the açaí base is complemented by dark chocolate notes and a crunch of cacao nibs and almonds.

They also serve a refreshing, fruity Classic bowl topped with blueberries, mangoes, red dragon fruit, and chia seeds. 1 Lower Kent Ridge Road. Tel: 9829 6888

epicure paid for its own reviews. the establishments chosen are not in order of merit.

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EPICURE NEWS

Brunch done right Spa aficionados would have heard of SO Spa, a wellness haven tucked away deep in Sentosa.

The sprawling two-storey colonial bungalow (a heritage-listed 19th century building) also houses The Garden, which is a great spot to jumpstart your year on a healthy note.

Botany printed wallpaper and wood furnishings set the idyllic environment at The Garden. What’s new is the organic buffet brunch menu, available on every last Saturday of the month. Go for the New Zealand Free Range Organic Eggs, Whole Wheat Asian Wrap with Organic Kale, Barbecue Tofu and Mango Chutney wrap, and the delicious Mix of Salad comprising pesticide-free local greens, protein-packed quinoa and sweet-tangy pomegranate dressing.

For heartier dishes, choose from the Hot menu, which includes Organic Australian Braised Short Ribs Beef paired with truffle parsnip purée, and the house-made conchiglioni giganti stuffed with ricotta, then served with locally farmed Japanese bok choy. $98 with free-flow organic wines and juices, $78 with free-flow organic juices. SO Spa, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, 30 Allanbrooke Road. Tel: 6708 8364

Perfect Origin Following Shangri-La Hotel Singapore’s Tower Wing revamp is the launch of Origin Grill & Bar. Chef de cuisine Heidi Flanagan joins bar manager Adam Bursik (previously from The Library) to create two menus.

The restaurant’s décor scheme is an eye-catching contrast of natural wood and peacock blue accents. What we love: customised cuts of beef, notably the Williams River Beef ($88). This mouthwatering slab of 400 days grain-fed tenderloin is served with Tuscan kale, potato gratin and confit shallots in red wine jus, and makes a perfect pair with 2016 Amy’s Cabernet Merlot, Moss Wood ($90). Over at the bar, which opens from 5pm until late, order The Pearl ($26), a floral concoction of Monkey 47 gin, silken tofu, barley sochu and elderflower topped with sea grapes, and served in an iridescent shell. Or order a glass of Leaf the Curry ($23), a sweet yet tart cocktail of rum, curry leaf, tamarind and green cardamon.

Lobby Level, 22 Orange Grove Road. Tel: 6737 3644

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Sea-ing gems In the same sprawling compound as the newly opened Novotel Singapore on Stevens and Mercure Hotel on Stevens, FiSK Seafoodbar & Market boasts brightly lit and airy retail and dine-in spaces. Opened by the people behind seafood distributor Snorre Food, the retail section is where shoppers pick from seasonal cold water seafood, both live and chilled, to a large selection of Nordic produce such as Norwegian Kit Kats, butter, and cold-pressed juices.

FiSK is also one of the first places in Singapore with their own fish smoker. Attached to the market is the seafood bar for dining in. What we love: the Gin & Tonic-inspired Raw Hand-Dived Scallop ($26.50) with a juniper and calamansi dressing; and Hot-Smoked Greenland Halibut ($35/person, minimum for two) of fluffy pearl couscous with tender smoked halibut fillet, and drizzled with rich zesty trout roe and horseradish sauce. #01-01, 30 Stevens Road. Tel: 6732 0711

A few gOOd brews With tea being the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, the demand for this beverage continues on an upward trajectory. Brands like Dilmah, which pioneered the concept of single origin tea, have been hard at work launching new products to cater to consumers. Its unblended, fresh Ceylon tea leaves are picked, perfected and packed at origin. As a result, Dilmah’s teas contain 10 more naturally occurring antioxidants than broccoli. Dilhan C. Fernando, chief executive officer of Dilmah Tea, explains: “Because our teas are handmade and completely natural, they have been proven to help emulsify fats and process sugars, aiding in digestion and enhancing capillary function to protect the body against dementia and heart disease.”

Fernando also sees an increasing trend for tea pairings among the younger generation, complementing anything from red meat and seafood to durian and desserts. Tea lovers can look out for Dilmah at the Food & Hotel Asia 2018 forum in April, during which the brand will be launching 15 biologically active and caffeine-free infusions using herbs and spices including turmeric and Ceylon cinnamon, as well as a new selection of natural, organic teas. dilmahtea.com

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A taste of abundance It’s goodbye Christmas turkeys and hello bountiful yu shengs as the feasting continues. si chuan dou Hua

Si Chuan Dou Hua has given the traditional yu sheng a different spin with its fugu versions. The Bountiful Blessings Yusheng with Fugu is served with thinly sliced pufferfish sashimi shaped in the likeness of a dog ($178) or a crane ($198). Directly imported from the capital of pufferfish, Shimonoseki, you can expect fugu at its freshest possible. The Lunar New Year salad also includes seasonal vegetables like daikon, telegraph cucumber, edible flowers and fruits – fresh and cured – to complement sliced abalone and raw flounder. Available from 15 January to 2 March. sichuandouhua.com Executive chef Eric Neo of Man Fu Yuan has come up with five reunion menus (from $128/person) that weave in themes of longevity and prosperity. The Fortune Menu’s ($2,888 for 10 persons) highlights include Treasures Yu Sheng, a lavish salad filled with delicacies such as abalone, salmon sashimi and Hokkaido scallops; Signature Chinese Tea-smoked Duck with Dang Gui; and Braised Bird’s Nest Soup with Deer Antlers. The biggest star, however, is the Suckling Pig. Fatty and crispy to the bite, it encases a satisfying filling of glutinous rice. Available from 1 February to 2 March. Level 2, InterContinental Singapore, 80 Middle Road.

Tel: 6825 1008

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escape restaurant & Lounge

A healthier version of the traditional yu sheng can be found at One Farrer Hotel & Spa’s Escape Restaurant & Lounge. The deluxe Norwegian salmon yu sheng ($88 or $108) includes caviar and generous helpings of fresh lettuce to add crunch to each bite. The hotel also offers a Prosperity Feast buffet spread ($62 for lunch, $75 for weekday dinner and $78 for weekend dinner) featuring the likes of Salt Baked Baby Chicken with Chinese herbs; Roasted

Suckling Pig paired with house-made tangy sauce; and Steamed Tilapia with fermented chilli and garlic. Available from 15 January to 2 March. One Farrer Hotel & Spa, 1 Farrer Park Station Road. Tel: 6705 7828

Carousel is beefing up its international buffet for the festive season. Items offered in the restaurant’s Chinese New Year pineapple-themed spread include homemade tomato soup with smoked lobster claw and pineapple purée, and the spring roll-inspired Golden Rolls of Fortune (deep-fried chicken and roasted bell pepper with curry pineapple sauce, rolled with a coriander wrap).

Available on 15 ($56 for lunch, $48 for high tea, $98 for dinner), 16 ($65 for lunch, $48 for high tea, $83 for dinner) and 17 ($65 for lunch, $48 for high tea, $83 for dinner) February. Lobby Level, Royal Plaza on Scotts, 25 Scotts Road.

Tel: 6589 7799

Mitzo is offering a collection of decadent menus to welcome the Year of the Dog. Opt for the eight-course Yu Sheng set ($988 for a table of eight), which includes premium Chinese fare like Truffle Ee Fu Noodles with lobster claw, Golden Prosperity Salmon Yu Sheng, and Stir-Fried Dried Oyster with Roasted Pork Belly. Round off the auspicious meal with Mitzo’s house-made Koi Fish nian gao. Available from 1 to 28 February. Level 4, Grand Park Orchard, 270 Orchard Road. Tel: 6603 8855

Hai tien Lo

Hai Tien Lo’s executive chef Lai Tong Ping’s Wealth and Health Yu Sheng ($128 for four to six persons, $188 for seven to 10 persons) is a sight to behold, with the lo hei ingredients assembled to resemble a canine. What’s included: julienned carrots, cucumbers, daikon, Imperial Swiftlet’s Nest, Boston lobster and baby abalone. Available

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from 22 January to 2 March. Order at least three days in advance. Level 3, Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard.

Tel: 6826 8338

Hold your annual family gathering by the Singapore River at Ellenborough Market Café. The Peranakan-International buffet restaurant offers a bountiful spread of creations like the Hong Kong Style Steamed Garoupa, Dried Oyster with Black Moss in Tianjin Cabbage, and Stir-fried Asparagus and Scallops in XO sauce. For classic Cantonese roasts, make a beeline for the Roast Station and tuck into their selection of chicken, char siew, duck and siew yoke. Save room for the restaurant’s all-time classic – the legendary Durian Pengat. $68/person for lunch, $80/person for dinner. Available from 5 February to 2 March. Swissôtel Merchant Court Singapore,

ellenborough Market café

20 Merchant Road. Tel: 6239 1848

Master chef Mok Wan Lok continues to serve up creative interpretations of Chinese dishes at Szechuan Court. His festive offerings include the DoubleBoiled Soup ($68) braised with Korean ginseng, fish maw and sea cucumber; the money pouch-shaped Saffron Seafood Wealthy Pocket ($9.80 for three, only available for lunch); and the crowdpleasing Sautéed Australian Scallops and Maine Lobster in XO Chilli Sauce ($68).

Available from 1 February to 2 March.

Level 3, Fairmont Singapore, 80 Bras Basah Road. Tel: 6431 6156

Usher in a bright new year on an indulgent note with executive Chinese chef Chan Shun Wong’s specially created dishes at Xin Cuisine. Start off with a twist on traditional lo hei with his new Salmon Yusheng with Fish Skin and Passion Fruit Yoghurt Dressing (from $78), in which the tangy dressing adds refreshing notes to the symbolic dish. Indulge in the

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szechuan court

perennial favourite – the Barbecued Suckling Pig with Foie Gras, Yam and Japanese Cucumber ($38/portion) – and take home the D24 Durian Nian Gao ($58/box) for the perfect sweet ending of creamy durian filling enveloped by a thin, crispy layer. Level 4, Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, 317 Outram Road.

Tel: 6731 7173

Beat the crowds and dine at home.

We recommend Jia Wei Chinese Restaurant’s festive takeaways. Using head chef Victor Lee’s signature herbal

Jia wei chinese restaurant

broth, The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a surefire hit with the family. Opt for the set ($499 for medium/five persons, $989 for large/10 persons), which includes The Buddha Jumps Over the World and other dishes like the Prosperity Abalone Yu Sheng, Fried “Yuan Yang” Glutinous Rice with Preserved Waxed Meat Wrapped in Lotus Leaf, plus a bottle of Réserve St. Martin Cabernet Sauvignon (for medium set) or Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve (for large set). Available from 15 January to 4 March. Level 2, Grand Mercure Singapore Roxy, 50 East Coast Road. Tel: 6340 5678

The theatre of Teppan The newest addition to Resorts World Sentosa’s stable of celebrity chef-fronted restaurants is Teppan by Chef Yonemura, Masayasu Yonemura’s first outpost outside Japan. Here, the Kyoto-born toque, who also helms eponymous one Michelin-starred restaurants in Kyoto and Tokyo, masterfully blends East and West with his kaiseki menus (five courses for $168, eight courses for $198). With the theatrics of teppanyaki dining applied even to cocktails – a yuzu liqueur-based cocktail is set ablaze at the start of the meal – you can expect a good show from the counter seats in both dining rooms (eightand 13-seater).

Yonemura’s Western influences are evident from the get-go. Among the starters, Parma ham wraps kombuflavoured flounder, and a perfectly executed mushroom croquette is paired with beef stew sauce (concocted from A4 Miyazaki sirloin beef and red wine). But the highlight is, of course, the teppan theatre. The chefs put on a dramatic show of searing slabs of Japanese A4 Miyazaki Wagyu beef fillet steak to melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

The unctuous meat is paired with turnip, zucchini and simmered deep-fried shallot, and two dips – Yonemura’s housemade peanut butter sauce and ponzu sauce. Level 1 The Forum, Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway.

Tel: 6577 6688

tHriLLs Of tHe griLL The folks behind NUDE Seafood have followed up their restaurant’s success with two new concepts – NUDE Grill and NUDE Chill. By day, the latter is a straightforward coffee house that serves Papa Palheta brews and Tiong Bahru Bakery baked goods; by night, it slings out farm-to-table and classic cocktails, plus beers from local craft brewery Brewlander.

Mimicking their culinary philosophy at NUDE Seafood, the team at NUDE Grill infuses recognisable Asian flavours into their dishes, whether it’s Beef Tartare ($19) with chye poh, green mango, ponzu and bird’s eye chilli; or the appetisingly savoury-sweet Foie Gras Parfait ($14) with longan glaze and passion fruit gel. The winning house special of Friendship ($69) – A4 Kagoshima Kuroge Wagyu zabuton with rojak flower jus and a side of potato dashi – hints at how the new concept came about: it all started with a fateful visit to Kagoshima Wagyu dealers in 2015. #01-22 Marina One, 5 Straits View. Tel: 6581 9306

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10 minutes with...

JEffEry SUNG, co-founder HugProperty and senior vice president of DBS Bank What is the business model of HugProperty?

HugProperty combines deep local knowledge with data science to help users buy prime district real estate in Singapore, similar to how a sovereign wealth fund thoroughly analyses a building before deciding to buy. HugProperty does that for each user, taking into account every personal requirement. The resulting HugReport is based on data-driven facts and an unbiased analysis of each condo development, unlike the masstargeted property marketing brochures.

We also provide potential buyers with a personalised HugReport when they engage a local Hug-accredited property agent to assist with the purchase.

How has your experience as a private banker complemented your venture into the property market?

Singapore has always been a popular destination for real estate investment, with attributes in safety, education and rule of law. I have been exposed to the good and bad of property purchases, especially in prime districts, and know for a fact that diligent property advisors who provide a strong and unbiased analysis are rare.

So it was a golden opportunity when DBS launched the start-up accelerator program.

We created a comprehensive property platform that we’d want to use ourselves, and were one of the nine finalists out of 250 competitors to receive DBS’ $25,000 seed grant.

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What’s a good local restaurant to splurge on and why?

Ristorante Da Valentino at Turf Club.

There is something special about their lobster linguine. The combination of the texture of the pasta, the striking red colour of the perfectly cooked lobster, and the creamy sauce is just sublime.

Add in a bottle (or two) of expertly matched Italian wine, and you’ll feel like you’re Michael Corleone from The

Godfather, escaping the busy city for the rustic peace and calm of the old Italian town of Sicily.

Tell us about a recent overseas meal that has left a lasting impression.

It has to be Somboon in Bangkok. It’s a complete feast of the freshest seafood using different cooking styles. Their musttry Curry Crab is a less saucy but equally flavourful version of the famed Singapore chilli crab. Barbecued live river prawns and squid are crunchy on the outside and juicy inside, so be prepared to order more than you initially expect. It’s not Thai fine dining, but it’s definitely a place to bring friends and family to for seafood, cold beer and tons of laughter. The joint is popular with Thai celebrities and royalty as well.

What’s an underrated eatery in Singapore?

Zai Shun, a popular tze char stall in Jurong East. The owners have been running the business for around 20 years and the food standard has remained consistent. You have to try their steamed fish. They come straight out of the docks each morning and are really fresh and succulent. They are steamed to perfection with the right amount of flavour. But the fish dishes are usually sold out by noon.

READING LIST J In his second book,

AKELAŔE: New Basque Cuisine, Pedro Subijana shares his fervour and take on the concept of flavour.

The featured creations are also a visual treat, with classic dishes turning into post-nouvelle innovations. Published by Grub Street Publishing. Available from Kinokuniya. $57.90

J Through the pages of

Downtime: Deliciousness at Home, by Nadine Levy Redzepi (wife of renowned chef René Redzepi) reveals tips on how to entertain guests without burning out at your next soirée. A guidebook for home entertaining, Downtime is a curated repertoire of sophisticated starters, mains, and desserts to make your guests feel right at home.

Published by Penguin Random House. Available from Kinokuniya. $49.95

J Dean Brettschneider,

New Zealand baker and award-winning author, and founder of artisan bakery and food store Baker & Cook, is back with a new book that tells of how the business grew from its humble beginnings to a popular chain today.

Peppered with tips and tricks throughout, Baker & Cook reveals the essentials of artisanal baking, along with a collection of the best bakes to add to your repertoire.

Published by Marshall Cavendish.

Available from Baker & Cook and selected bookstores. $56

High steaks Here’s another spot to add to your ever-growing steakhouse list. 665°F is Andaz Singapore’s premium chophouse located on the 38th floor of the hotel. Boasting a bird’s eye view of the city, the 30-seater restaurant is inspired by the design of a vintage tailor shop. Think plush armchairs, glossy wooden tables and cream-coloured curtains. Our top picks among the selection of sustainable seafood and halal-certified meats: scrumptious grilled Boston lobster ($80) served with fine herb salad and thermidor; refreshing Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche ($39) and crisp Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes ($32) paired with a spiced pepper dip.

The highlight of the menu is the perfectly done Australian Lamp Chops ($55) succulent till the last bite. Steak aside, a good selection of desserts is available – including the massive Baked Alaska ($28) with passion fruit and raspberry sauce. Level 38, Andaz Singapore, 5 Fraser Street. Tel: 6408 1255

Put tHe MeAt On Situated in a stunning glass structure surrounded by lush gardens on the fourth floor of of Marina One is WAKANUI Grill Dining. The renowned steakhouse offers premium quality dry-aged Ocean Beef, succulent Spring Lamb and a selection of seasonal seafood from the coast of Wakanui in South Canterbury, New Zealand. Executed

by Japanese executive chef Ryohei Kenyoshi, the prime meats are grilled over a bincho-tan to retain the perfect balance of flavours and juiciness. Must-tries include the WAKANUI Spring Lamb Chop ($8) – the single chop appetiser is seasoned with Christmas Island salt and Australia pink pepper, seared on high heat for the coveted grill marks and then finished over the bincho-tan to succulent perfection. And savour the finest cuts of meat during dinner with the WAKANUI Selection Board, which boasts Ocean Beef bonein ribeye, a Canterbury grass-fed fillet and the WAKANUI spring lamb, served with a selection of sauces and baked banana shallots ($229 for two or $289 for four). #04-02 Marina One, The Heart, West Tower, 5 Straits View. Tel: 6384 2665

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g lo b e t r ot t i n g e p i c u r e Yo u r f o o d i e n e w s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d

Dubai’s grand star Along the scenic Dubai Water Canal sits the grandiose Renaissance Downtown Hotel Dubai, which is heating up the culinary scene of the city’s thriving Business Bay district. Award-winning chef David Myers leads the pack with hearty Italian fare at BASTA!, and a plethora of wood-fired dishes such as the King Crab Leg (AED240/S$88) and Dry-Aged Bone-In Ribeye (AED490) at Bleu Blanc. The latter, a Southern French farmhouse-inspired restaurant, features an extensive collection of Old and New World wines, alongside cocktails by renowned bartender, Sam Ross. Over at Bhar, chef Mohannad Al Shamali – previously from Qbara – highlights traditional Syrian dishes, including Baked Seabass in a walnut and herb crust (AED128) and Camel Milk Panna Cotta with pomegranate and rose jelly, hibiscus broth and a saffron pashmak (AED34), against the stunning backdrop of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper. Finally, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto elevates the rich culinary history of Japan with western techniques in a series of omakase menus at Morimoto Dubai. Marasi Drive, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Tel: +971 4 512 5555

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Hot new eats

24 hours in

SEVILLE It’s a gastronome’s dream come true at FICO Eataly World. Touted as the world’s largest agri-food theme park, the 100,000 sq ft space offers a comprehensive selection of Italy’s sumptuous food and wines. Get your hands on Proscuitto di San Daniele, the coveted ham produced only in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. Through a series of guided tours and cutting lessons, you can also indulge in hearty pasta classics from one Michelin-starred trattoria, Amerigo, or exquisite truffle dishes from Osteria La Fontana. Oenophiles can look forward to sampling regional wines such as the Alta Langa DOCG, an artisan spumante, during weekly masterclasses organised by award-winning winery, Fontanafredda. Via Paolo Canali, 8 – 40127 Bologna.

Italy. Tel: +39 051 372727

Dr. Winston Lee, medical director of South Bridge Aesthetics Clinic

» 9AM: Wake up to the gorgeous aroma of freshly baked breads and pastries at Pan Y Più. it serves superb cappuccinos to go with buttery croissants, perfect for loading up before an intense walking trip. Calle Cabeza del rey Don Pedro, 15, 41004.

Tel: +34 954 21 93 48 » 10AM: Visit the Catedral de sevilla, a unEsCo World heritage site that dates back to 1172 A.D. it spans 11,520 sq m, and serves as the burial site for famed explorer Christopher Columbus. The adjoining Giralda Tower is best for enjoying the captivating expanse of the seville. Av. de la Constitución, s/n, 41004. Tel: +34 902 09 96 92 » 11AM: Just next door is the magnificent Alcazars of seville. immerse in the palatial interiors, touted as one of the best examples of Mudéjar architecture, and its captivating gardens, which still serve one of the oldest royal families in Europe.

Complete the trip with a photo by the fountains, surrounded by the lush greenery and Moorish-influenced exterior. remember to purchase your tickets online to avoid the queue. Patio de Banderas, s/n, 41004.

Tel: +34 954 50 23 24 » 1PM: Do it like the spaniards and reward your weary feet with a leisurely tapas lunch at Bar Catedral, Tapas en sevilla. order a pitcher of sangria or its many wines, and pair it with plates of fried calamari and meat croquettes. Calle Mateos Gago, 5, 41004. Tel: +34 954 21 21 74

Take a trip to Beijing, Korea, Mexico and more through one dinner experience at S.K.Y. The 80-seater restaurant by Stephan Gillanders, former corporate chef under JeanGeorges Vongerichten, will feature influences from his Filipino heritage and the many cuisines he enjoyed during his travels.

Enjoy the Foie Gras Bibimbap (US$24/S$32.30) with charred vegetables and mushroom bulgogi, or his take on Beijing’s shrimp dumpling soup, the buttered Maine Lobster Dumplings (US$14). Not to be missed is the Hamachi Sashimi (US$14), in which Gillanders simmers sesame seeds to create a gratifying pop in the mouth. 1239 W 18th St, Chicago, IL 60608, U.S.A. Tel: +1 312 846 1077

» 3PM: Feast your eyes on the intricate ceramic tiles featuring various spanish coat-of-arms, or enjoy the extensive compound by horse-carriage, cycling or canal-canoeing at Plaza de Espana. Av de isabel la Católica, 41004. » 5PM: satisfy your inner shopaholic at the Calle de Alfonso Xiii, a lively shopping district in seville’s old Town. Expect to find everything from their vibrant fashion to floral ceramics. Calle Alfonso Xiii, 41012. » 8PM: The night begins at Alameda De hércules. Mingle with locals and fellow travellers on tables packed with tapas and vino in the restaurants lining the square, before heading over to the many bars playing host to jolly patrons having rounds of beers till 2am. Alameda de hércules, 33, 41002.

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g lo b e t r ot t i n g e p i c u r e indonesia

Just a 40-minute drive from Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport and nestled among Uluwatu’s rural landscape in Bukit Peninsula’s crown is Indonesia’s first ever Radisson Blu resort. Opening this month, the resort, which is located on the southwestern tip of the island, offers Bali’s best surf on its doorstep, with many pristine shores and panoramic hangouts. Radisson Blu Bali Uluwatu features 111 deluxe rooms with private balconies on upper floors and private sundecks on lower floors, while the resort’s 14 suites come with stunning rooftop terraces overlooking the blue ocean horizon or the pool. For palate pampering, there is all-day dining restaurant, Artichoke, and authentic Italian eatery Filini, Radisson Blu’s signature restaurant concept, which offers dishes with a Mediterranean bent.

Three distinctly different bars complete the F&B offerings: tapas and cocktail at Lookout, poolside quenchers at Choka and cleansing juices at Lucid Liquids.

Jl. Pemutih, Labuan Sait, Uluwatu, Bali 80364.

Tel: +62 361 300 8888

Many Australian restaurateurs have taken the plunge and launched their ventures in Bali in recent years. The latest to do so is Mamak, a popular Malaysian restaurant hailing from Sydney and Melbourne. Mamak Bali offers the same comforting Indian-Malay street foods with bold flavours.

Diners will be greeted by the sight of chefs flipping roti at the open kitchen located at the entrance. Come famished and in a large group as the generously portioned dishes are meant to be shared. The food is executed with aplomb from a plump chicken satay (Rp48,000/half a dozen) with sweet and spicy peanut sauce to a sinfully rich roti kaya (Rp38,000) with pandan and coconut jam filling. Take it all down with a long slurp of ice teh tarik (Rp30,000).

Special mention goes to the tasteful nasi lemak (Rp42,000) that comes with the familiar ensemble of sambal, peanut, crispy anchovies, cucumber, and a hard-boiled egg. A dish that will ensure return visits is the ayam berempah (Rp68,000), a richly seasoned and crisply fried bitesized chicken pieces. Jalan Kayu Aya No.4b, Seminyak. Tel: +62 361 934 5934

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After working at several prestigious restaurants around the world, such as Joel Robuchon’s L’atelier in Paris, Mirazur in Menton and At.mosphere Burj Khalifa in Dubai, chef Fernando Trump recently joined Karma Group as executive chef. The Argentinian born chef got busy right away as he crafted the festive menus for the group’s resorts.

Trump is expected to add several new dishes to Karma Kandara’s Di Mare restaurants, including his signature Braised Short Rib with Potatoes and Bone Marrow Toast. Jl. Villa Kandara Banjar Wijaya Kusuma, Uluwatu, Bali 80362. Tel: +62 361 848 2200

Padma Resort Legian’s The Spa is now officially operated by the resort’s own team of therapists and healing experts.

The wellness haven also offers new treatments inspired by Asian rituals, such as the signature Frangipani Warm Oil Massage (Rp720,000/90 minutes or Rp610,000/60 minutes).

The Spa continues to use Elemis, one of U.K.’s most popular spa brands, for their facial treatments line. What’s next: a unique treatment called Singing Bowls, which combines a massage with the calming sounds of singing bowls that purportedly reduce stress, heal pain, and create a deep sense of peace. Jl. Padma

Herb Library at Alaya Jembawan is all about giving the best to its health-conscious guests. Expect carefully sourced, sustainably grown vegetables and salads from Bali’s central mountain farms transformed into appealing, healthy dishes without compromising on flavours.

Among the plant-focused dishes are the Pharaoh’s Koshari Herbivore Bowl (Rp100,000), which puts together vermicelli, brown lentils, rice, chickpeas, a number of oriental spices and tangy tomato & onion sauce. The More-Roccan (Rp78,000) salad comes with chickpea, chervil, mint and coriander couscous, za’atar tempe, spiced almonds, red pepper, grated carrot with preserved lemon dressing. A great way to jump-start your eat-well journey. Jl. Jembawan, Ubud, Bali 80571.

Bali 80361.

Tel: +62 361 908 3289

Tel: +62 361 752 111

No. 1, Legian,

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Since Marriott International launched its first Aloft brand in Indonesia late last year, it has introduced its brand of tech-forward staying experiences with vibrant design to complement modern Jakartans’ dynamic lifestyles. Aloft Jakarta Wahid Hasyim is located at the city centre and offers 180 locally influenced design-led rooms; each is fully equipped with Aloft’s ultra-comfortable plush bed, custom amenities by Bliss Spa, and fast and free Wi-Fi and flat screen televisions. Local artists Nugraha Pratama and Nur Cahyono illustrated Jakarta’s rich culture and heritage through artwork and vibrant murals, which are reflected in the guest room interiors and communal spaces. The hotel’s signature restaurant, Nook, serves authentic Indonesian and international favourites such as the succulent Ayam Bakar Seruni (Rp69,000) of grilled marinated chicken with coriander sweet soya reduction, chilli relish and vegetables; as well as the 3 Peppers Fillet Mignon (Rp239,000) served with mushroom cannelloni and balsamic jus. Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No. 92, Jakarta 10340. Tel: +62 21 2918 688

Combining a fantastic grilling experience with a stunning 46th floor view, Altitude Grill is a modern grill concept led by executive chef Gary Eng. Eng is an expert when it comes to the seasoning, marinating, smoking and grilling quality cuts to perfection. The restaurant menu offers an array of starters, side dishes and various cuts of meats. Grilled signatures include imported Ohmi A5 Tenderloin (Rp1,800,000/200g) from Shiga Prefecture, Japan, and the Australian Sher Long Boned Ribeye Wagyu MBS 8/9 (Rp1,100,000/500g). To match its culinary ambitions, Altitude Grill boasts an extensive wine collection, an in-house sommelier and exotic list of cocktails. The Plaza, Level 46, Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Menteng, Jakarta 10350. Tel: +62 21 2992 2448

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Opened last November, Blue Terrace café offers health-boosting dishes, juices and pastries. According to chef Johan Kusnadi, Blue Terrace aims “to provide a convenient gateway and an ample opportunity for guests to experience total mind-body connection”. Enjoy the relaxed garden setting or air-conditioned comfort at the dining room while tucking into signatures dishes like Wrap the Duck (Rp90,000) with baby lettuce, kyuri, peanut, coriander, tamarind; and Green is Back (Rp75,000), a vegetarian dish that plates broccoli, chilli, pumpkin seed, goji berries and lemon. Accompany your meal with a choice of juices, smoothies, infused waters and ‘tea tails’. For desserts, guests can even expect vegetablebased creations as well as gluten-free and dairy free options. Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 10-11, Jakarta 10220. Tel: +62 21 251 0888

Bearing the motto ‘Always fresh, always healthy’, Shabu2House recently reopened after a revamp that sees a new, brighter interior in addition to five new VIP rooms.

Shabu2House is famous for its nabe chicken collagen cooked over eight hours to achieve a tasty broth. In addition to chicken collagen, the à la carte shabu shabu establishment offers five other kinds of soup: spicy miso, tomyum, sukiyaki, miso and kimchi. Create your own shabu shabu from a fine selection of beef, or better yet, go for the Australian Wagyu set (Rp385,000). Plaza Indonesia, Level 1, Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Gondangdia, Jakarta 10350.

Tel: +62 21 2992 3677

Harlow is a new brasserie concept located in Kuningan, South Jakarta, that offers a melting pot of flavours using farm-to-table ingredients.

Occupying the mezzanine floor of the H Tower in Kuningan, Harlow exudes a chic Scandinavian interior, while the dining area is decorated with skylights and pine trees. House specialities include the Roasted Chicken (Rp109,000) glazed with mustard sauce, mashed roast potato, edamame, red bean and white bean; or Tong-Shank (Rp228,000), which serves 625g of bone-in lamb shank cooked in traditional Indonesian Tong Seng style. With space to accommodate 150 diners in the main dining area, Harlow is great for bachelorette parties and larger events such as product launches. The H Tower, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, Karet Kuningan, Jakarta 12940.

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best of indonesia

On the road to kale Eve Tedja discovers raw food cuisine, plant-based restaurants and the personalities behind them who are driving Ubud’s culinary scene.

Made Janur and I Made Runatha

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Pauliina Salmenhaara

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Shanti Allen

hether raw or heated, plant-based cuisine is here to stay. With more restaurants incorporating raw, vegan or plant-based dishes on their menus, plant-based cuisine is expected to garner an even bigger following this year as the lifestyle for green living and eschewing animal-derived products goes mainstream. Meanwhile, flexiterianism, a practice of eating mostly vegan or plant-based fare while still occasionally indulging in a perfectly grilled steak is also on the rise.

Ubud, an artful small town in the central of Bali, is no stranger to alternative lifestyles, and when a raw food restaurant opened there seven years ago, nobody batted an eyelid.

Hence, Alchemy was born, later unleashing a wave of organic salad bars and vegan cafĂŠs.

Nowadays, along with yoga classes, having an infused kombucha drink and a tasty jackfruit taco are just some morsels of the ultimate Ubud experience. I talk to four talented figures behind raw and plant-based cuisine establishments to learn more about the challenges of creating tasty dishes with vegetables.

Alchemy A hotspot for vegan and raw food enthusiasts, Alchemy was the first of its kind in Ubud. Located in the leafy village of Penestanan, Alchemy offers a soothing retreat, with chic white furniture inside an open-air thatched roof pavilion. Shanti Allen, the co-founder of the restaurant, grew up eating mostly homegrown organic vegetables back home in Sweden. “Alchemy was created to provide an alternative solution and a place that makes it easy to succeed with health. I’ve always found vegetables delicious, nutritious, and inviting. With my background as a chef, I explored the possibility of what can be consumed raw from organic and locally grown vegetables,” says Allen, who has since created a bestselling cookbook and launched a raw food academy.

The result is astounding. Picture a colourful salad bar where only raw or minimally processed condiments are served in their most nutritious and freshest forms, or a fruity bar where cold-pressed juices and smoothies are available in a dizzying variety. And then there are the raw chocolate and dessert options that include an impossibly delicious Banoffee Pie or a dark chocolate Brownie that can put baked versions to shame.

Allen admits that adopting a raw food diet is easier in Indonesia than in other countries due to its vast land and entrenched agriculture. The organic produce that Alchemy uses is grown in Jatiluwih, a fertile farmland 40km away, while the rest are planted at the grounds of the Alchemy Academy nearby. With the availability of tropical fruits and vegetables all year long, there is no reason not to eat a bowl of salad as one of the meals. “Eating plant-based dishes is not a mundane diet choice. Focus on adding healthy things to your diet and not so much about what to eliminate,” advises Allen.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting ethical animal treatment are some of the personal reasons why Allen remains vegan. She calls veganism a compassionate act. “Nobody got hurt, nobody died.

The increasing amount of people going vegan plays an important role in saving our planet. Each and every personal choice matters and does make an impact, especially now, more than ever.” Jalan Penestanan Kelod No. 75 Sayan, Ubud. Tel: +62 361 971981

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Moksa Imagine a thick, slightly dehydrated portobello mushroom. On top of it is baby spinach, a drizzle of pesto sauce, sweet caramelised onions, heirloom tomatoes confit, kimchi cashew cheese, as well as avocado and corn pico. The tasty vegan burger is nourished with three different sauces: a savoury curried miso, acidic balsamic raisin emulsion, and raw shallots in a fragrant, tropical herbs-infused olive oil. Umami is the closest description that I can conjure up after a big bite of those intoxicating layers of flavour. And it is all raw, a fact that me and the other Moksa’s devotees often forget after a bite of chef I Made Runatha’s dishes.

Moksa is big on flavour. The plantbased restaurant and its adjoining permaculture garden is the fruit of labour by Made Janur and I Made Runatha. Here, Runatha creates raw and heated plant-based dishes, expertly infusing the techniques of Western cooking with Eastern flavours, as unique as the chef’s wide reference of flavour that comes from his Balinese background and experiences working abroad.

His expertise in creating raw dishes was years in the making.

“I studied about raw food in the States in 2009 and since then,

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have continuously experimented with different ingredients and techniques. The key to a plantbased diet is to always learn and be creative about nutrition or ingredients and how to combine them well in a dish,” explains Runatha, who just finished trying out a new recipe of fennel with Balinese spices.

The restaurant setting perfectly captures the food’s intimacy with nature. It is off the beaten path and snugly surrounded with rice fields and tall coconut trees – even the trip to reach the restaurant is enjoyable in itself. Since opening its doors almost two years ago, Moksa has been a source of energy and happiness for its two founders. Janur admits that Moksa has been a dream come true. “We find joy in teaching, organic farming, cooking, and making sure that what we do here is sustainable for the land and the community,” he explains, proudly adding that most of the kitchen waste is turned into compost for the permaculture garden.

“I know it takes extra work to be healthy and to make sure that you eat the right food for your body, be it raw or heated. But trust me when I say that you’ll be grateful for it in the long run,” he adds when I ask him about his experience as a vegan.

Banjar Kutuh, Sayan, Ubud. Tel: +62 813 3977 4787. moksaubud.com

Living Food Lab It is time for lunch when I arrive at the casual bamboo hut that is the Living Food Lab. Located on the grounds of the Green School, 30 minutes away from Ubud, the café is swarmed with ravenous students, some of their parents, and vegans who simply love their daily dose of the Spicy Mexican Burger. The salad bar offers various components, from lettuce to kale chips, and serves up big bowls of vegan delights with tasty dressings that delight even omnivores.

“Kids love our sesame garlic and miso mustard dressings,” says Pauliina Salmenhaara, the Finnish ‘magician’ behind this vegan laboratory in the jungle school.

It’s refreshing to see that children can get excited over a salad bowl and I ask Salmenhaara about her secret. “As with any food, if you want to encourage kids, it has got to be fun, entertaining, touch the senses, and taste good. Involve them, educate them, and get them making their own foods – that’s the best way,” says the vegan chef. The Mango Wrap that I’m enjoying is visually pleasing.

Salmenhaara successfully recreated a sweet and sour flavoured mango wrapper to snuggly envelop freshly cut raw vegetables.

Bland is not in her dictionary.

Salmenhaara made Bali her home in 2017 after living in Shanghai and Singapore for several years. Her husband and two daughters are often her yardstick when she evaluates her creations. The question that she constantly asks herself: is this something that I would feed my family at home? She believes in the importance of food in stimulating mental clarity, uplifting one’s mood, and elevating one’s energy to become active. “I’ve come to realise that the more peaceful we are as a person, the longer and the better we will live. I know very few aggressive vegans and take care not to become one of those vegans who are opinionated, discriminatory and judgemental,” says Salmenhaara, who is going to open another outlet in Canggu soon. Jalan Raya Sibang Kaya, Abiansemal. Tel: +62 361 469875. livingfoodlab.com

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lo o k b o o k

Step back in time when you enter one of Capella Shanghai’s shikumen villas.

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The resort’s unassuming entrance belies the luxury that awaits within.

Living the lane life

Shanghai may boast diverse architectural styles, but the bustling metropolis’ East-meetsWest shikumen residences remain its most emblematic structures. Indulge in a luxe version of traditional lane style living at Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li. By Justina Tan

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estled amid Shanghai’s bright lights and towering skyscrapers are charming enclaves of traditional Shanghainese architecture. Known as shikumen, these alleyway complexes are so-called because they’re framed by stone gateways. Accessed by narrow lanes, a shikumen cluster comprises two- or three-storey townhouses – each with a modest front yard enclosed by a high brick wall.

A marriage of Western and Jiangnan architectural styles, these historical residences used to make up 60 percent of the city’s housing in the early 1900s. But by the 1990s, many had been bulldozed to make way for high-rise apartment buildings.

The former French Concession is the only area where shikumen structures have been preserved, and it is in this quaint district that

Capella set up shop four months ago. It also marks the luxury hotel group’s virgin foray into China.

Paris of the East One of the city’s most well-preserved foreign concessions, the French Concession does Shanghai’s epithet ‘The Paris of the East, the New York of the West’ justice with its tree-lined boulevards, hip eateries and bars, art galleries, antiques stores, and prolific Art Deco and European architecture. Hence, it provides the perfect backdrop for Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li. Coinciding with Shanghai’s heyday, the original Jian Ye Li estate was built in the 1930s by French real estate company Foncière et Immobilière de Chine. Located within the

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The 1930s French-Chinoiserie interiors are influenced by Shanghai’s golden era when Eastern and Western cultures merged.

Feel at home in the Capella Library, which is tastefully filled with Asian and French tomes and antiques.

cultural preservation zone of Xuhui District, Jian Ye Li is one of the last remaining shikumen quarters in Shanghai. Previously cramming more than 200 two-storey townhouses into 22 lanes, Capella has whittled the accommodation down to just 55 shikumen villas and 40 serviced residences. The 247,570 sq ft compound also houses meeting facilities, Capella’s award-winning Auriga spa, a traditional French bakery, and Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire – a casual French dining joint by celebrated chef Pierre Gagnaire – which is Gagnaire’s first restaurant venture in China.

Time capsule In a country that’s constantly forging forward as an economic and tech superpower, it’s priceless to discover a tranquil haven that harks back to a bygone era. Walking through Capella Shanghai’s arched entrance transports travellers to Shanghai’s romantic past.

“Because of the historical nature of the site of Capella Shanghai, the concept was to create a beautiful house or compound for a very cultivated Asian gentleman or lady who had been living in France or Europe, or Europeans who have lived in Shanghai for a long time. The design was also influenced by Shanghai’s golden era of the 1930s when Eastern and Western cultures merged,” shares Tan Yee Pin, chief designer of Blink Design Group, which was responsible for the resort’s exquisite interiors.

Designed to create a sense of living in a traditional Shanghainese home (as opposed to a hotel), every villa is

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essentially a self-contained terraced red brick house that has one, two or three bedrooms. From the lobby, guests have to walk along narrow alleyways flanked by red brick on either side to reach their villas. Each accommodation is accessed by a wooden gate (that unlocks with a key card), and upon entering, there’s a small courtyard and patio – typical of shikumen residences.

Like any multi-storied lane house, the bedroom, parlour, entertainment room and bathroom are spread over several floors but connected by a central stairway. Highlights include traditional redwood-framed windows, a marble-clad bathroom, and soaring ceilings. There’s even a tiny rooftop terrace with outdoor seating and views of Shanghai’s old neighbourhoods. The pale green and dark wood interiors showcase true mastery of seemingly disparate styles; bespoke French-accented furniture is placed alongside Chinese-inspired artwork and yet there’s a seamless congruity and timeless elegance to the spaces. It’s 1930s French-Chinoiserie at its finest.

Even common areas like the Capella Library and the Secret Garden evoke a sense of being in someone’s home rather than a hotel. The former was designed like a salon during the impressionist period to reflect the era that Jian Ye Li was built, while the latter is a serene 94m-long outdoor sanctuary where guests can sit and admire over 20 types of flora and fauna while being lulled into relaxation by a gurgling fountain.

Tan’s favourite part of the property, however, is the restaurant.

Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire’s main dining room is an airy space with high wooden ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows.

“The most successful space, in my opinion, is the dining room of Le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire. For us to create the sense of dining in a ‘conservatoire’, we installed floor-to-ceiling windows to open the space. The stone mosaic tiles give character, while specially commissioned photos add to the personalisation,” she shares.

Perhaps, the most symbolic structure in Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li is the Water Tower – it used to serve as a water source for residents and now functions as a light and signal service tower. The tallest point of the estate, it almost seems to beckon weary travellers to seek respite from the hustle and bustle of the world’s most populous city.

e

A landmark within the Jian Ye Li estate, the Water Tower now serves as a light tower.

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St yle buzz

Violet tendencies

Change is on the horizon as dictated by Pantone – the guru of colour has decreed 2018 as the year of Ultra Violet. Spice up your abode with these four must-have furnishings in the sumptuous hue. By Justina Tan

From Fritz Hansen – the makers of the iconic Egg chair – comes the Favn (Danish for ‘embrace’) sofa. Featuring the Danish brand’s open yet rounded curves, the couch makes an inviting spot for almost anything: work, relaxation, and entertaining. The violet hue, in particular, creates a focal point and adds chutzpah to any space. $15,120 from W. Atelier.

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Seeking inspiration from the wide open spaces, shrubland, ancient mountains and breathtaking gorges of Languedoc – a former province in Southern France – French glass designer René Jules Lalique created the Languedoc Crystal Vase in 1929.

This present-day violet-hued iteration features a cactus leaves overlay design in satin-finished and re-polished crystal. $1,760 to $10,400.

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Interpreted in a majestic amethyst hue, Poltrona Frau’s Archibald King in Nest Leather Ametista is crafted in the brand’s buttery soft Pelle Frau Nest leather and exquisitely finished along the edges and external surfaces with contrast stitching.

The brainchild of renowned French architect, inventor and designer, Jean-Marie Massaud, one of the armchair’s most distinctive features is the large rounded, enveloping headrest that spreads out like a classic wing chair. $11,480, available at Proof Living.

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A true design marvel, the ClassiCon Bell Table Coffee Table in Amethyst Violet by Sebastian Herkner defies the odds by resting a solid brassframed tabletop on a glass base. Hand-blown using traditional methods, the sculptural silhouette of the tinted glass base and the brass frame are reminiscent of an elegant church bell. $5,160, available at Space Furniture.

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Forged with finesse

A trailblazer in haute horlogerie, Blancpain has shared an intimate relationship with the culinary world for almost three decades – a union that’s perfectly embodied in the friendship between Blancpain’s Vice President and Head of Marketing Alain Delamuraz and chef Joël Robuchon. The dynamic duo reveals the strong bonds between horology and gastronomy.

Long referred to as the watchmaker of gourmet cuisine, Blancpain’s earliest ties with the world of haute gastronomie date back to 1986 when Blancpain presented Frédy Girardet with a specially engraved watch after he was named ‘World’s Best Chef’. Three years later, the watch brand confirmed its commitment in similar fashion when the Swiss chef, along with Paul Bocuse and Joël Robuchon – three towering figures in French cuisine – were named ‘Chefs of the Century’ by French restaurant guide Gault et Millau. The three chefs were each gifted a hand-engraved Blancpain watch as tribute. “It was the first time I had such a high value watch,” shares Joël Robuchon with a wide smile.

In 2009, the brand took up the mantle of official timekeeper at the prestigious Bocuse d’Or (a biennial world chef championship), and even awarded the winner its iconic L-evolution GMT Alarm watch.

While the commanalities between Blancpain and the culinary arts are undeniable, the strongest horologygastronomy partnerships have been forged from the friendships that blossomed during chance encounters and from a common pursuit of perfection, precision and savoir faire – elements that are highly valued in both watchmaking and haute cuisine.

One such serendipitous encounter was when Joël Robuchon and Alain Delamuraz, Blancpain’s Vice President and Head of Marketing, met in Monaco for the first time. It marked the beginning of a close friendship and partnership that has spanned many

special feature years. “After we were introduced to each other in Monaco, we agreed to work on something together. But when I broached the topic of money, Joël said, ‘If we start talking money, we must talk contracts. If we talk contracts, we must bring in lawyers. If we bring in lawyers, we are going to fight.’ Hence, our collaborations have never involved contracts. We’ve always worked together based on trust,” says Alain Delamuraz.

Last month, this trust was further reaffirmed during a dinner hosted by chef Joël Robuchon at his three Michelin-starred restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa for Blancpain’s most valued clients and associates. Alain Delamuraz gave Joël Robuchon carte blanche to craft a menu that paid homage to Blancpain’s anchoring collections: Villeret, Women, Fifty Fathoms, and Le Brassus. Featuring premium ingredients like Imperial caviar, white truffles from Alba and Kagoshima beef, the result was nothing short of spectacular. Once again, the inimitable bond between haute horlogerie and the culinary arts was brought to the fore.

What does time mean to you?

Alain Delamuraz: To me, time is the ultimate luxury in life.

Joël Robuchon: Time is a synonym of sharing. It represents the moments that I share with the people I love, and that I dedicate to my passion. Time is also very important in the world of cooking because the perfect timing is necessary. It’s the most important ingredient.

What is the connection between watchmaking and gastronomy?

Alain Delamuraz: I see a parallel in both métiers – both are hidden professions. The watchmaker works in the atelier while the chef is in the kitchen. However, both Joël Robuchon and Blancpain are alike because we are willing to showcase these two hidden métiers to the public. For example, we bring our master-engravers to different countries to share our passion and meticulous work.

Joël Robuchon: Both métiers require an eye for detail, and are always in pursuit of excellence, perfection, precision and refinement. In both fields, we’re also constantly challenging ourselves.

Alain Delamuraz: Art cannot survive if it’s not continuously challenged. Respecting heritage and tradition does not mean that you have to repeat exactly what your ancestors did, but you have to reinterpret it with a respect for the brand DNA and without losing its roots. Having an eye for detail means that not only the lobster main course has to be cooked to perfection, but even a potato side dish should catch your attention. It’s the final touches and details that make a difference – it’s the same for both our prestige timepieces and haute cuisine.

How do you envision horology and fine dining evolving over the years to come?

Joël Robuchon: In both fields, we are constantly in pursuit of modernity and innovation. However, I believe that today’s trend

sees a return to something more classic, more timeless, more original, and more vintage.

Alain Delamuraz: Today you see a lot of modern innovations, like molecular cuisine. But I don’t think it’s a threat to tradition.

In fact, it’s a positive thing for brands like Blancpain and Joël Robuchon that have a strong heritage and proper roots because we get to show more of our DNA. What are the most memorable moments you have shared with each other?

Alain Delamuraz: For me, it was when Joël Robuchon visited our manufacture, and after that we went together to Geneva and met the mayor of the city and some other important people. Joël said to me, “Alain, this is a sign that Blancpain is a big and important manufacture because all these important people are here with us today.” Another memorable moment was when I was in Joël’s restaurant kitchen with Frédy Girardet and Philippe Rochat. It was an honour to be surrounded by all these great chefs.

Joël Robuchon: The first moment was when I visited the Blancpain atelier. And for the second, I also share Alain’s sentiments about the time when we met Frédy Girardet and Philippe Rochat in my restaurant kitchen. I feel a bit sad now talking about it as Philippe has already passed away. But gathering with Frédy, Philippe and Alain – we are all from different generations – evoked so much warmth and positive emotions.

Why is Blancpain known as the watchmaker of gourmet cuisine?

Alain Delamuraz: Because Blancpain has a history of working with chefs. There now seems to be a trend of watch brands collaborating with chefs, but we’re not followers. Blancpain already started collaborating with chefs almost 30 years ago, so we actually set the trend.

There are so many watch brands. Why is Blancpain special to you?

Joël Robuchon: Besides being the first watch brand to be interested in the world of gastronomy, Blancpain is special because of my relationship with Alain. I am also impressed by Blancpain’s movements, which are very precise. When I visited the atelier, I witnessed the precision first-hand. I have so much respect for the craftsmen because they work with their hands, just like me. It’s the same with me. Some dishes take hours to prepare and cook and all those steps involve precision.

to p to q u e

Going native Known for modern Malaysian cuisine, Darren Teoh has been one of the strongest champions of his country’s indigenous ingredients.

The chef behind Dewakan restaurant tells Eve Tedja about the state of gastronomy and locavore moment in Malaysia.

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hen I met chef Luke MacLeod and found out that he has been a huge proponent for locally grown (Balinese) produce, it struck me that it was synonymous with what I enjoy doing as well. That’s why we’ve come together for a collaboration,” says Darren Teoh about his recent guest chef stint with MacLeod, former executive chef of The Legian Bali. The Four Hands dinner was a remarkable study of how indigenous herbs and spices could heighten the flavour of locally grown produce such as the bangkal hitam pork shoulder or a ruby snapper.

A dedication to Malaysian culinary traditions and indigenous ingredients is what drives Teoh, chef of Dewakan, one of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in Malaysia. Incidentally, the 36-year-old chef used to be a molecular gastronomy lecturer at KDU University College where Dewakan is sited, a decision he explains is part of the tertiary institution’s effort to bridge academia and entrepreneurship.

Teoh was born to love food. His grandmother famously used to sun-dry spices on rattan-weaved baskets, pack them into old bottles, and bring them to an old flour mill along Ipoh Road to be ground into a spice mix for curries. This memory and his family’s reverence for ingredients eventually formed the framework for his creations.

After toiling at Kuala Lumpur’s top French establishments, he moved to Singapore to work at Les Amis and Au Jardin before heading further afield to apprentice at the Michelinstarred Noma and Restaurant Amador. His vision for Dewakan brought him back to his country. “We want to cook very creatively and constantly, for people to have a good time, enjoy what our country has to offer, both as a foreigner because it’s a novel and exciting adventure, and also as a Malaysian, to feel a sense of connectedness to where we are,” he shares.

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What role does Dewakan play in the evolution of modern Malaysian cuisine?

First, you’d have to define modern Malaysian cuisine. I don’t know if Dewakan contributes to the evolution of modern Malaysian cuisine; we’re just a restaurant that uses ingredients that are indigenous to the Malay archipelago. One of the things that we strive for is to find a sense of place and time as a restaurant, where we are as diners and chefs in Malaysia. I used to think that modern Malaysian cuisine would be new interpretations of how we use our ingredients through

enthralled by its beautiful floral and distinct flavour. I use various parts of the plant, from the stalk right up to the petal and the fruit as well.

How has your upbringing influenced your interpretation of Malaysian cuisine in Dewakan?

The dishes that come out of Dewakan are not restricted only to my upbringing; there are so many influences that we take from. There are chefs whom I have worked with, such as Kristian Baumann from Restaurant 108, Tom Halpin, and Andrés Lara, for instance – and friends who are also chefs, as well as places I’ve eaten at.

I can’t pinpoint an exact time in the chronology of my life, because one point would impact another, which affects how I might decide a dish should or would be, or where the influences for Night prawn salad with green sambal a menu might come from.

We serve mango curry that’s been on the menu from the a cultural lens. I don’t necessarily think so anymore; I’d even say beginning; it’s a dish that’s very close to my heart. It’s a signature that’s a very incomplete picture, because the identity of Malaysian and simple Keralan dish of one my grandmother’s friends. It was a cuisine is also very incomplete and fluid. process of learning to make that dish the traditional way. Combined There are three pillars that we should build on, first of which is with the cooking techniques I picked up, such as using the siphon the ingredient; and second of all, the cultural, traditional lens which to make espuma, I was able to combine the experience to produce a we see cuisine through; and the third, a creative, innovative way of different dish. approaching the cuisine. If you put those three things together, you’d have a framework for modern Malaysian cuisine.

Kuala Lumpur is still largely known for its street food than gastronomy. What can be done to put the city on the global Has it been a challenge to go locavore in Malaysia? culinary stage?

Malaysia is an agricultural country; you’re able to shop a lot of In the 90s when there was a big financial boom, a lot of restaurants produce that are grown in our farms here, so it doesn’t make sense were popping up, and after that, there was the recession, and that to import. The challenge is not so much about eating local or to stunted a lot of social growth. Chain restaurants then went on a rise. use local produce; it’s more about sustainable farming and fishing.

There have been many illustrious, talented cooks who have tried Twenty years ago, you could go into local markets and see a variety opening restaurants in Malaysia but failed because the market wasn’t of fishes that you’re not able to see now. Although they’re very ready. I still feel that the market isn’t mature enough to support local abundant in our waters – there are a lot more species of fish – but talent. because the market only buys certain fish, the rest get thrown away.

The market would have to make some tough decisions about There should be diversity in the ingredients that we use. what is it that they want. When you eat in a restaurant, you don’t just pay for food. You’re paying for real estate, salaries, and for the What local ingredients have you recently discovered? farmers and fishermen. If the Malaysian market is not willing to put We’re constantly looking. Our menu is at least 80 to 85 percent local down money for it, then at what point will we be able to attract produce. I’ve found the kulim, the buah kelubi and have used them talents and core producers? in my menus. I love working with ginger torch flowers – I’m always

e

e picureasia .com 47

epicure reviews O ur team go es unde rcove r to suss out th e latest and most talke d about restaurant s in town .

RESTAURANT LEROUY

Food: 8/10 Service: 7.5/10 Ambience: 8.5/10 AverAge dinner bill For two, with drinkS: $380 muSt-trieS: grilled focaccia with lardo, salt dough baked sliced cabbage, white chocolate beetrootwasabi lollipop

#01-01, 3 stanley street. tel: 6221 3639

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After stints at Alma by Juan Amador (which led to a Michelin star) and DSTLLRY Par Christophe Lerouy, Christophe Lerouy is back again with his eponymous Restaurant Lerouy. The elegant platform, which opened last November on Stanley Street, showcases modern French cooking tempered by an Asian and Middle Eastern flair.

While Lerouy is the man behind the overall concept, menu and food, his silent partners are Willin Low (Wild Rocket) and Gwen Lim (Patisserie G). The former helped with the design of the minimalistic, industrial-chic space. Fuss-free white hexagonal tiles outline the kitchen walls. There are small touches elsewhere that reference Lerouy’s home; the restaurant wall bears a concrete outline of the border between Alsace and Germany, while stork footprint logos on the back of staff uniforms pay homage to Alsace’s native bird.

Stepping into the cosy 150 sq m space, you’ll see a single 24-seat wooden counter snaking around the entire length of the kitchen. Only counter seating is available, to enable Lerouy to prepare the food while interacting with his guests. The dinner unfolds with

anticipation as he and his team construct and inject life into each plate on a metal table in front of you, under operation theatre-like lights. There are no shouted orders or harried movements; rather, everyone works like an orchestrated symphony. It’s a pleasure to watch, and by the time you are presented with your dish, it feels like you too are already part of the show and have somehow been involved with its construction.

Don’t expect elaborate or descriptive menus here.

Each service offers a choice of two Petit and Grand carte blanche menus – lunch is either a three-course ($38) or five-course ($55) affair, while dinner offers a five-course ($98) or seven-course ($128) option. Both our lunch and dinner started off with Lerouy’s signature jute-wrapped sourdough, served with salted French butter and homemade charcoal butter. Look closely and you’ll see another proud stamp of Lerouy’s heritage with his name etched on the back of each butter knife.

The same goes for the Laguiole steak knives, a token of Lerouy’s tribute to his grandmother, who was instrumental in setting him on his culinary journey.

Though his menu changes every three weeks or so depending on availability, diners can expect some of his signature dishes at either service.

A crowd-pleaser is his simply torched focaccia lined with a semi-melting, paper-thin layer of lardo, crème fraiche and a generous topping of chopped chives. If anyone can turn four simple ingredients into a culinary artwork, it’s Lerouy. Likewise, his sliced cabbage course is baked in a classic Provençal-style salt-dough crust for 12 hours, halved in front of you and generously drizzled with a sublime emerald green lardo-anchoïade, with perfectly balanced hints of garlic and citrus notes.

I’ve never been a big fan of white chocolate, but that quickly changed when I tried Lerouy’s white chocolate lollipop, embedded with dollops of puréed raspberry, and sprinkled with wasabi powder. The sweet chocolate base is the perfect bed to absorb the excessive sharp heat of the Japanese horseradish, while the raspberry adds a playful touch to the creation. The dessert’s creative surprise is indicative of the kind of experience that will await you at Restaurant Lerouy.

PRIYANKA ELHENCE

Sweet O’le California Raisins Whip up a decadent yet light dessert brimming with the full flavours of California Raisins.

Dried in the warm California sunshine, California Raisins are naturally sweet, fruity and full of flavour. As they do not contain any added sugar, they are an ideal and healthy ingredient in any recipe, adding their intrinsic sweetness to your creations and allowing you to reduce your reliance on refined sugar. Pastry chef Sam Leong of Racines at Sofitel Singapore City Centre says, “The natural sweetness and earthiness of California Raisins add depth to flavours and their fruity aftertaste perfectly complements any dessert.” To help you indulge without the guilt, Leong shares his recipe for a refreshingly light, herby honey rosemary California Raisins parfait, accompanied by an apricot coulis and pistachio, matcha and fleur de sel crumbs.

special feature Honey Rosemary California Raisins Parfait with Apricot Coulis and Pistachio Matcha Fleur de Sel Crumbs Serves 10 Prep time 20 minutes Cook time 20 minutes + 3 hours in the freezer rosemary-infused California Raisins 200ml water 80ml honey 10g fresh rosemary 250g California Raisins, plus extra for garnishing • In a small saucepan, combine the water, honey and fresh rosemary and bring to a boil.

• Add in the California Raisins and set aside for the flavours to infuse. rosemary California Raisins parfait 400ml cream 100ml honey 250g rosemary-infused California Raisins 80g sugar 40ml water 120g egg yolks 80g white chocolate, melted 6g gelatine • Whip the cream until soft peaks form using a hand blender.

• In a small saucepan, bring the honey to boil and add in the rosemary-infused California Raisins.

• Combine the water and sugar together and cook until the mixture reaches 112°C on a pastry thermometer.

• Put the egg yolks in a mixer bowl and pour in the cooked sugar syrup. Whisk the mixture until thick and mousse-like.

Add in the honey and California Raisins mixture.

• Fold in the whipped cream, chocolate and egg yolk mixture with the gelatine and mix well.

• Discard the rosemary. Pour the parfait mixture into silicon moulds and freeze for 2 hours. apricot coulis 250g apricot purée

30g sugar 1g gelatine • Cook the apricot purée together with the sugar and bring to a boil. Mix in the gelatine until smooth. pistachio matcha fleur de sel crumble 60g flour 60g ground almonds 50g sugar 4g matcha powder, plus extra for garnishing 2g sea salt 70g butter 50g pistachios, chopped • Preheat the oven to 180°C. • Combine all the ingredients together except for the pistachios.

• Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Pour the mixture into the tray and back for 15 minutes.

• Mix in the chopped nuts. soft chocolate ganache 135ml water 155ml cream 145ml glucose syrup 285g dark chocolate, melted 50g butter, softened • In a small saucepan, add in all the ingredients except for the butter and bring to a boil.

• Mix in the softened butter. mango sponge 200g eggs

150g egg yolks 75g sugar 2g salt 80g mango purée 50g butter 50g flour • Blend the eggs, egg yolks, sugar and salt together until smooth.

• Slowly add in the mango purée, butter and flour. assembly • Liberally dust the reserved matcha powder onto one side of a plate.

• Leaving enough space for the California Raisins parfait in the centre of the plate, place the mango sponge, apricot coulis and the crumble equally around the reserved space.

• Place the California Raisins parfait in the reserved space and garnish with a quenelle of the chocolate ganache.

• Garnish the plate generously with California Raisins as desired.

“I wanted to create a dessert that is balanced, light and exudes novel flavour and texture, which is everything that California Raisins are renowned for.”

– pastry chef Sam Leong, Racines, Sofitel Singapore City Centre

For more information and recipes on California Raisins, please contact the Raisin Administrative Committee. #02-129, Enterprise Hub 48 Toh Guan Road East Tel: 6515 6113 Email: caraisins@lieumktg.com.sg www.calraisins.org www.caraisins.com

eat and drink, plus to where to travel now what to

ILLUSTRATION elliott chan

Chefs, restaurateurs, tastemakers, hoteliers and the world’s youngest master of wine weigh in. by euniCe lew

52 epicureasia.com

baCk to

basiCs “There’s been an extraordinary return to the basics. When molecular cuisine exploded onto the scene, these apprentice sorcerers were playing with chemistry more than food. But it’s not the future for diners. Remember that food is an essential, even if you were cooking as my great-grandfather Auguste Escoffier had, for kings and the rich and famous.

– Michel Escoffier, great-grandson of world-renowned toque Auguste Escoffier and president of the Auguste Escoffier Foundation and Museum in Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice

“After elBulli burst onto the scene, we were given the tools to create an amazing world of combinations and flavours. Some used it for molecular cuisine, but others took it ‘backwards’ – to become more traditional, such as at Mugaritz. At Can Jubany, I give prominence to Spanish ingredients, without unnecessary frills and thrills.

I have a big vegetable garden on-site at Can Jubany. We’re trying to bring back older methods of planting seeds that were phased out because the crops didn’t have enough yield. One example is calçot, a green onion that has a flavour in-between spring onions and leeks, and is available seasonally from November to February.”

– chef Nandu Jubany of Can Jubany in

Barcelona and FOC by Nandu Jubany in Singapore

& supporting

loCal

“In the early 70s, chefs in Germany organised car pools to drive to France just to buy herbs, crème fraîche and so on.

At that time, I started to integrate regional products into my dishes, such as offal, fish from the nearby lake, or sweet bread. People threw figurative stones at me.

Today, regional food is fashionable.

There’s an awareness that natural resources are neither inexhaustible nor capable of indefinite exploitation.

The industry is slowly learning to manage resources more carefully, find sustainable solutions to safeguard harvests, produce and consume food more sustainably, and reduce wastage.”

– Eckart Witzigmann,

named the ‡Chef of the Century’ by Gault & Millau in 1994 and founder of IKARUS restaurant at Hangar-7, Salzburg Airport

“Now, chefs give more attention to the story behind ingredients. Modern diners are more interested in the philosophy behind the food and where the tastes, ingredients or dishes come from. If we don’t take the opportunity to showcase our local Indonesian cuisine now, we will gradually lose it. Indonesia is a huge country – from Sabang to Merauke – and it’s full of stories. Cooking programmes aren’t enough to show people what our cuisine is; you need to taste it for yourself in a proper Indonesian restaurant.”

– chef Mandif Warokka of Teatro Gastroteque and

BLANCO par Mandif, both in Bali epicureasia.com 53

are inseCts the food of the

future?

Commonplace in some cultures’ cuisines but still largely eschewed by the majority of the world, insects have been uttered as the next big thing since Alex Atala presented Amazonian ants on pineapples (not something unheard of to the natives of the region). But true change is slow in the F&B industry.

There are, however, sparks of hope that this trend is on the fast track. In 2015, the Belgium Pavilion at Expo Milano showcased pasta made with mealworm flour and sauces with mealworms for added protein. The Nordic Food Lab (established by René Redzepi) premiered a documentary called Bugs in 2016, showing what the Fresh house-made cricket pasta, from Insects in the Backyard

watCh your

diet “What we’ve seen in the last year is that, increasingly, conventional chefs, whether from a Michelin-starred restaurant or a straightforward steakhouse, are catering to vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free diets.

Chefs used to get angry about having such restrictions, but now consumers are driving trends. We pick up on it and think outside the box. 2017 was

54 epicureasia.com

the start of it, but in 2018, it’ll surely be bigger.

What I do at Grassroots Pantry is plant-based cuisine, which looks at the nutrient density of dishes and uses sustainable ingredients.

Already, you see chefs doing plantbased burger patties, for example, to

cater to the vegan/vegetarian crowd, making sure that it’s chock-full of protein as well. Smith & Daughters in Melbourne is one eatery that’s really doing good with this movement – transforming dishes from different cultures into vegan creations. The chef, Shannon Martinez, really has a talent for using raw foods.”

– Peggy Chan, executive

chef and owner of Grassroots Pantry in Hong Kong

China rising

Green goddess wild greens salad with pan-fried crickets and grasshoppers, from Insects in the Backyard

communities that already eat creepy crawlies have to say; the institute published their On Eating Insects cookbook the next year. Last July, Thailand’s first fine dining restaurant with an insect-centric menu was unveiled. Insects in the Backyard serves dishes such as crab and giant water beetle ravioli, tiramisu with silkworm powder, and grilled grouper with ant ‘caviar’.

Aspire, an automatic cricket farm and startup, opened in Austin last year. Locally, Vijay Mudalier of NATIVE bar forages for ants to add to his tipples.

“Insects are definitely the way to go,” agrees the Paris Pop-up team, when asked what’s the food of the future. But as their sommelier Laura Vidal points out, “They’re very hard to source – there’s barely any supply chain, which means that even if chefs wanted to, they usually still can’t find the insects they want to put on their menu.”

She adds, “But that’s definitely where food is moving towards. People trust what is served by chefs and restaurants, so we have the responsibility to serve them if it’s the more sustainable option – and tastes good too.”

The exploding Mainland China market: Although Hong Kong’s 2008 de-regulation of wine imports transformed it into the world’s biggest wine auction market and Asia’s fine wine hub, Mainland China’s wine market has since come dramatically into its own.

In the fields of online and social commerce, China is clearly ahead of Hong Kong and even the U.S. and Europe. However, the wine distributed through these channels tends to be sold primarily on its brand and its label, so this isn’t yet a channel that favours hot new regions or boutique, handcrafted wines. That said, the continued commitment of internet giants like Alibaba to wine should encourage a more diverse range of brands to focus on communicating their brand stories more effectively.

On the prime demographic: Because young women are already used to shopping for beauty and fashion items based on key opinion leaders’ recommendations, they are the ripest demographic for influencers and microinfluencers – non-professionals, compared to critics and retail buyers. This could prove a powerful ‘democratising’ force, allowing small brands to micro-target interested customers. But brands could also be spending without meaningful returns because the purported influencers don’t have any durable influence – only time will tell.

The next hottest vinos in Asia: I see evidence of growing interest in categories like natural wine, high-end Chinese domestic wine, plus more casual, pleasure-driven styles like Rosé and sparkling wine that were previously spurned in favour of prestige-oriented reds. Again, this is most likely driven by younger consumers who are actually paying for the wine themselves (rather than consuming it indiscriminately at official functions or receiving it as a gift), and thus have more interest in learning about and enjoying what they are drinking.

- Sarah Heller, the world’s youngest Master of Wine at 29 years old epicureasia.com 55

01. Nobu Hotel Marbella, March Offers easy access to Marbella’s dining quarter 02. The Langley, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Buckinghamshire, June Former estate of the Duke of Marlborough built in 1756 03. Monkey Island Estate, May A countryside escape in Bray-onThames, Berkshire 04. The Principal London, March A grande dame in London’s most literary neighbourhood, Bloomsbury 05. Vintry & Mercer, March 92 bespoke rooms and suites inspired by the historic trading guilds of Vintry and Mercer 06. Le Relais de Chambord, March Comes with gardens designed by Christian Fournet 07. The Barcelona EDITION, midyear Part of boutique hotel developer Ian Schrager and Marriott International’s collaboration 08. Hotel TwentySeven, spring A suites-only boutique hotel in an over 100-year-old building

afriCa 11. Anantara Tozeur Resort, midyear A prime location to embark on Saharan escapades 12. One&Only Nyungwe House, spring A Rwandan retreat within a verdant tea plantation 13. The St. Regis Cairo, January A seductive, 39-storey tower overlooking the Nile 14. andBeyond Tengile River Lodge, December Nine delicate floating suites in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve with magnificent river views 15. Zuri Zanzibar, May A tropical oasis with a sustainability programme 16. Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island, March A rejuvenating, secluded paradise

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17. The Bodrum EDITION, mid-year 18. W Tel Aviv - Jaffa, March A former convent and hospital that’s now a chic stay 19. The Setai Tel Aviv, early-year This refuge offers a Turkish hamam.

20. Six Senses Shaharut, November Perched on a dramatic cliff in the Negev Desert 21. The St. Regis Amman, May Bespoke luxury in Jordan’s capital 22. W Amman, January In Amman’s financial district 23. Al Manara, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Saraya Aqaba, April A seaside sanctuary with traditional Jordanian architecture 24. The Alexander, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Yerevan, April A lavishly decorated property with gilded accents, near Charles Aznavour Square in the city centre 25. The Abu Dhabi EDITION, lateyear 26. W Dubai - The Palm, June Located on the iconic Palm Jumeirah

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MAP cONcePT elliott chan

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09. Hotel Vilòn, summer A centrally located, 16th century Roman mansion 10. Parklane, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Limassol, March On a 100,000 sq m plot of lush gardens on the beachfront

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south ameriCa 05. Montage Los Cabos, May A shorefront Mexican abode 06. Solaz, A Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos, March 128 modern rooms and suites 07. Zadún, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, early-year An oceanfront hideaway that combines the beauty of the desert and the Sea of Cortez 08. The St. Regis Kanai Resort, Riviera Maya, December An exclusive beach enclave in Mexico 09. The Santa Maria, A Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort, Panama City, February 182 rooms with access to an 18-hole golf course 10. W Panama, January A sleek tower in the heart of Panama’s financial district

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01. The West Hollywood EDITION, lateyear 02. Perry Lane Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah, March Southern hospitality in a Savannah abode 03. Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, Q3 A minimalist accommodation atop the Comcast Technology Center 04. The Times Square EDITION, mid-year

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11. Four Seasons Hotel São Paulo at Nações Unidas, Q3 The group’s debut property in Brazil 12. Anantara Maraú Bahia Resort, mid-year Authenticity-focused luxury in the Bay of Camamu

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australia 01. The Tasman, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Hobart, December 128 luxe rooms and suites in Tasmania’s capital 02. The William Inglis Hotel, MGallery by Sofitel, January A boutique hotel housed in 800 repurposed horse stables 03. W Brisbane, March Right in the middle of the Brisbane CBD 04. The Westin Brisbane, November A sleek retreat steps from the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 05. The Calile, mid-year A resort on James Street, Brisbane

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01. Dhevanafushi Maldives Luxury Resort, Managed by AccorHotels, late-year Bask in the natural spendour of the Maldives on the private island of Meradhoo.

02. Six Senses Fort Barwara, late-year Right on the site of a 700-year-old fort previously owned by the Rajasthani Royal Family 03. Four Seasons Hotel Bengaluru, mid-year A mixed-use development, alongside the Four Seasons Private Residences Bengaluru 04. Six Senses Bhutan, August Five intimate lodges across the Thimphu, Punakha, Gangtey, Bumthang and Paro regions 05. Capella Bangkok, Q4 A Thai-influenced property 06. The Bangkok EDITION, mid-year 07. W Kuala Lumpur, June With world-class entertainment and shopping at their doorstep 08. Four Seasons Hotel Kuala Lumpur, April Part of a mixed-use development in the Golden Triangle neighbourhood 09. Pullman Luang Prabang, April Minimalist guest rooms in northern Laos 10. Rosewood Luang Prabang, Q1 Luxe tents and villas immersed in nature 11. Six Senses Krabey Island, August 40 pool villas on a lush, 30-acre isle in Cambodia 12. InterContinental Phu Quoc Long Beach Resort, April Glamour and Vietnamese charm on a tropical island beachfront 13. Rosewood Phnom Penh, Q1 Occupying the top 14 floors of 39-storey Vattanac Capital Tower One, with a panoramic view of the Mekong River 14. Anantara Quy Nhon Villas, mid-year 25 private pool villas spread across 7.2 hectares of landscaped tropical gardens

15. The St. Regis Zhuhai, May Waterfront living in Zhuhai’s most prestigious address 16. Rosewood Hong Kong, September A new landmark on the Victoria Harbour waterfront 17. Fairmont Wuhan, Q3 An upscale property where guests can enjoy traditional treatments at Willow Stream Spa 18. Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing, Q4 Landscaped courtyard suites 19. Amanyangyun, January A preservation project that breathes new life into a village of Ming and Qing Dynasty homes and a forest of camphor trees 20. Anantara Minhang Shanghai Hotel, end-year The brand’s first city property in China, the hotel is conveniently located in the Minhang District.

21. The Shanghai EDITION, mid-year 22. Shangri-La Hotel, Jinan, April 2018 Part of a mixed-use complex in the city of springs 23. The Sukhothai Shanghai, June 170 elegantly designed rooms and 31 luxe suites 24. The Anandi Hotel and Spa, January This Zen accommodation has an innovative wellness centre.

25. The Middle House, Q1 Next to the fashionable Nanjing Road in Shanghai 26. IRAPH SUI, a Luxury Collection Hotel, end-year Located on Miyako islands, a scuba diving hotspot 27. Pullman Tokyo Tamachi, Q4 Provides easy access to the JR Tamachi Station

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Indonesia 01. D Varee Solitaire, Gading Serpong, Q1 A stone’s throw from the largest Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) space 02. COMO Uma Canggu, February A beachfront destination in Bali’s up-andcoming district 03. Six Senses Uluwatu, March A clifftop property that oozes tranquility 04. Capella Ubud, April Extravagant tented accommodation with rice paddy fields and untamed rainforest 05. Hotel Kempinski Nusa Dua Bali, Q2 A seaside sanctuary of Indonesian-inspired interiors on the south Bali peninsula

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06. 7 Secrets Resort and Wellness Retreat, February A haven of modern and traditional architecture in Lombok 07. AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach, August The first and only five-star resort on Labuan Bajo, a scenic oasis in West Flores

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it’s shaping up to be a big year for expeditions off the beaten traCk and experiential travel. we hear from two personalities who have their fingers on the pulse.

“Travel has evolved from the adage of taking only photos and leaving only footprints,” says andBeyond chief executive officer Joss Kent. “The wild places of this world need us to do better than that. Now it’s about taking memories and leaving a legacy.” Indeed, if we simply look at the number of openings in the recent years, there’s been a spike in hotels, resorts and lodges opening in farflung locales that focus on sustainability.

“The game lodge of the future has a light footprint and uses 100 percent renewable energy,” says Kent. “It uses no plastic, has a zero carbon offset, a sensitive ecological footprint and a sensitive design, with a strong sense of place. It is small and community centred. Conservation

andBeyond’s Botswana mobile camp

and volun-tourism activities form part of the daily routine and many more activities are offered, such as walking, cycling, canoeing and riding. This is what we are hoping to work towards in our future plans,” Kent adds.

With andBeyond’s recently launched Small Group Journeys, each expedition will offer just a handful of travellers access to experiences off the beaten track, such as a private jet itinerary for 12 guests that traverses the vast expanses of Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Such unique experiences also point at another trend that’s been going strong: curated, bespoke vacations.

“Today’s travellers are looking for authentic and memorable moments, where travel is aspirational and immersive, and luxury is defined by the ability to enjoy experiences that are tailored to their personal life and style preference at a specific time in their lives. A myriad online and social media channels has given almost anyone in the world the freedom, tools, and curated opinions for research and decision-making as they plan their own travel itineraries,” says Lindsey Ueberroth, chief executive officer of Preferred Hotels & Resorts (a collection of the world’s finest independent luxury hotels and resorts).

Another case in point: ultra-luxury cruise line Silversea Cruises unveiled the refurbished Silver Cloud in November. An ice-class vessel designed for expedition cruising, Silver Cloud will collaborate with China-based luxury travel brand, HH Travel, to take travellers on a poleto-pole voyage from 2 September 2018. The journey will cover the Arctic, North America, South America and the Antarctic over 88 days.

epicureasia.com 61

A star-studded culinary stage Guangzhou is poised to become the world’s cuisine capital by playing host to the Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 2018 competition.

special feature Come May 2018, GL events and Lingnan Group are jointly bringing the world’s top cuisine competition, the famed biennial Bocuse d’Or’s Asia-Pacific leg, to Guangzhou for the first time. Marking the upcoming 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Twin Cities of Guangzhou and Lyon, the joint collaboration is pivotal in positioning Guangzhou as one of the few cities to have the rare opportunity to host this prestigious cooking competition, dubbed the culinary Olympics of the world.

Slated to be held in the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center on 8 and 9 May, the event will throw the spotlight on Guangzhou as one of the world’s culinary capitals, simultaneously boosting the international development of catering, exhibition and tourism industries in the city. Says Philippe Pasquet, managing director of GL events Exhibitions: “The Bocuse d’Or is not only an arena for top chefs, but it is also an innovative stage for the fusion of the world’s different culinary cultures.” With the collaboration between the Guangzhou-based Lingnan Group, a company with rich resources of tourism, hotels, restaurants, exhibitions, food industry chains and GL events; the organiser of the Sirha trade show; and Dîner des Grands Chefs, China and the cuisine of Guangzhou in particular will dazzle with the international fame garnered by

the Bocuse d’Or. Named after Paul Bocuse, one of world’s most renowned French toques, the world-class cuisine competition started in January 1987 and has been held every two years since then.

Replicating the codes of major sporting events, Bocuse imagined a platform to showcase cooking and chefs, hence giving birth to this revolutionary gastronomy contest. His vision was to bring together 24 young and talented international chefs, deemed to be among the most promising talents of their generation, and have them prepare superb dishes within a time frame of five hours and 35 minutes in front of a live audience and judged by an international jury composed of some of the world’s most illustrious chefs.

As part of the selection process, Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific is a unique competition gathering 12 teams composed of the very best chefs of the region. The participating countries this year are Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The Singapore team comprises of chef Noel Ng and commis chef Wei Ming Leong.

Thereafter, the Grand Finale will be held in Lyon on 29 and 30 January 2019 to showcase the top contemporary culinary talents of today, as well as their diverse cuisine heritage and capacity for innovation. Out of the 12 teams, only the top five chefs will win a ticket to represent their respective countries in the Grand Finale, which will be held as part of the Sirha Lyon France trade exhibition.

Bocuse d’Or Asia-Pacific 8 to 9 May 2018 Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center Made by

I n par t ner s hip wit h

f e at u r e

1. Vincent Bourdain and Julien Desmedt speaking with Ketut Windia, who owns over two hectares of land, of which one-and-a-half is allocated for 1,200 cocoa trees. Windia had started ‘renovating’ (renewing) his fields to make way for a new batch of Lindak cocoa trees in 2012, before Valrhona approached him. Afterwards, he side-grafted five new clones onto his crop, such as Sulawesi 1, Sulawesi 2, Penter or BLB. At the entrance to the farm and before the neat rows of clones, he rears four cows, which are fed emptied cocoa pods. This in turn produces biogas and fertiliser.

64 epicureasia.com

Cocoa chemistry Velvety smooth texture, a rich taste, and unique aromatic profiles representative of their ‘terroir’ – not unlike wine. It’s what Valrhona strives to accomplish with each of their Cuvées du Sourceurs chocolate, and last year, they finally did it in Bali. Eunice Lew embarked on a tour of the less-trodden Jembrana region to discover the story behind the chocolate.

I

ndonesia has long been one of the world’s top cocoa producers, but outdated and unrefined processes and low quality yields mean that most of the commodity ends up as in the local market as powders or butters. As the industry leader in luxury chocolate manufacturing, Valrhona is looking to change that with the first limited edition Cuvée Bali 68%, proving that the country is a well of untapped potential when it comes to high quality chocolate.

In 2013, Julien Desmedt, a sourcing professional for Valrhona’s cocoa partnerships, took his first trip to Bali and through a serendipitous encounter, met members of Kerta Samaya Samaniya (KSS), a cocoa co-op based in the least populated, rugged and lush regency of Jembrana in West Bali. The fledgling organisation had already put in place fermentation and drying processes in an attempt to improve their cocoa’s quality, but it went unrecognised.

And that’s where Desmedt stepped in, convincing about 50 out of over 500 farmers from KSS to work with Valrhona and helping them to better manage their logistics, ensure the cocoa’s quality, and building business plans (such as different buyers for the various grades of beans). The persuasion process was no piece of cake – the farmers didn’t understand what was a chocolatier and what Valrhona was trying to do. It took a few tries and open minds from the producers before they were convinced of the importance of quality, consistency and being able to cater to a specific audience.

“Valrhona’s expansion to Bali stemmed from demand in Asia. We have lots of partnerships in the Carribean and South America, but there’s a large gap on the map when it came to our APAC strategy.

Fermented and dried beans that are ready for shipment

We needed a new pawn on the map,” Desmedt explained. “We checked out Vietnam and the Philippines, but in the end settled on Bali because of our commitment to support small organisations such as KSS. The climate was also ideal – typical tropical conditions with dry and wet seasons.” It would’ve been so easy for Valrhona to buy cocoa off big players, but they stayed true to their global strategy and philosophy dubbed Live Long, which emphasises support for producer communities, sustainability and gastronomy, as well as reducing their environmental impact, in countries such as the Dominican Republic, Peru, Madagascar and now Indonesia.

It was a gamble that paid off. In early 2017, Valrhona unveiled Cuvée Bali 68%, made of one old – Lindak – and five new varieties (also called clones) of cocoa trees. The taste profile is of a slight acidity with fruitiness, followed by intense chocolaty notes and a subtle, barely-there bitterness. “It’s the chocolate of my childhood – there’s no aggressiveness, and it savours of the fruits from its country of origin,” said Vincent Bourdain, regional pastry chef of Valrhona.

The cuvée represents the culmination of Valrhona’s partnership for the last four years and is the product of the first international cocoa export by KSS – just one container’s worth of processed beans to Valrhona’s headquarters in Tain-l’Hermitage, France, after the 2015 harvest. Desmedt stressed: “We don’t dictate what and how much cocoa the farmers grow. They are our partners, not our dedicated producers.”

We saw it for ourselves during a short expedition last year, during which the two farms we visited practised mixed crop production. This means that cocoa trees are interspersed with banana, cloves, vanilla, flowers, and even durian plants, all of which provide supplemental income for the farmers. This holds true even in Latin America, Desmedt added. 90 percent of cocoa production worldwide comes from small fields run by families, who diversify their crops as they cannot solely rely on the twice-yearly harvests for their daily bread and butter.

At the moment, the Cuvée Bali 68% is available for use by professionals in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thaïland, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan, and will be launched worldwide in April.

This writer’s trip was made possible by Valrhona.

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2. Windia snipping off a cocoa pod from a mature tree. Cocoa trees takes two to three years to grow its first pod and matures at around seven to eight years old. They can be maintained for up to 25 years. A tree is ready for harvest six months after it flowers.

3. A mallet is used to split the large, ripe pods in half, revealing 30 to 40 cocoa beans.

4. The inside of a cocoa pod – which varies in colour from yellow and green to pinkish red and russet – looks like a mangosteen.

5. Troughs beside the trees are filled with fallen leaves and fertiliser.

6. Sorting the good dried beans from the bad – cracked, broken, or flat

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3

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5

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PHOTOS hugo de piccoli / adifferentstory.fr

7. Raw, wet beans are transported from farms to a simple processing facility where the beans are stored in small bins and covered with banana leaves and gurney bags to ferment for two days.

The sugar content of fresh beans speed up the fermentation process. The bins are hot as the process creates heat – the temperature needs to reach 45ºC. 8. On the third day, the fermenting beans are mixed using a paddle before being transferred to a second bin. This exposes them to oxygen, which is required for alcohol fermentation to take place, like with wine. By the sixth day, the beans – which now possess a distinctly more chocolaty aroma – are ready for drying.

9. The beans are spread out in a thin layer on a dryer to get their humidity levels down to six to eight percent, which takes up to five days.

The mark of a well-fermented bean is brown interiors that resemble the wrinkly, grooved texture of a brain. Flat beans are sorted out for lower quality uses as they have no oils within.

Once the fermentation and drying processes are complete, the beans are put into bags and transported to Valrhona’s headquarters in Tainl’Hermitage, a trip that takes three to five weeks.

The atmospheric conditions for transport are kept at 18 to 20ºC, with low oxygen levels – this is so that most foreign organisms won’t survive the journey.

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v i n e e x p e c tat i o n s

Don and only

Of Don Melchor’s 30 harvests, Chilean winemaker Enrique Tirado has been at the helm of 20. June Lee explores the allure of Concha y Toro’s icon wine and its stoic guardian.

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nrique Tirado calls it his true obsession. In fact, the lean and charismatic 51-year-old winemaker can hardly talk about anything else. I enquire about his twin brother (also a winemaker), upbringing and hobbies, but the talk always swings back to Don Melchor like a pendulum restored to its equilibrium.

It is the second time I meet Tirado, who’s back in Singapore for his celebrated 8 Parcels travelling masterclass. It’s a special milestone for Tirado, who joined Concha y Toro in 1995 and became Don Melchor’s lead winemaker in 1997. Don Melchor was created in the mid 1980s and debuted its first vintage in 1987.

Those 30 years parallel the rise of super-premium wines in Chile, giving credence to the New World Wine industry that’s at once young but also timeless.

A noble beginning The company’s founder was a lawyer, businessman, prominent politician, and also the Chilean Minister of Finance at one point.

The noble title Marques de Casa Concha had been bestowed by the Spanish King in 1718, and Don Melchor de Santiago Concha

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y Toro was the seventh Marques. He entered the wine scene in 1883, by taking seeds from Bordeaux and planting it in Pirque in the Maipo Valley. His great-grandson, Mariano Fontecilla de Santiago Concha, is the current company director and also a career diplomat. This is to say, a wine named after the great Don himself cannot be anything less than superlative.

In order to succeed, several factors come into play. From the start, the legendary Jacques Boissenot and now his son Eric Boissenot, has consulted on the project, with the final blend being decided in Médoc each year. The terroir of the Don, Puente Alto, is also considered one of the best 25 in the world – it’s particularly well suited to Cabernet Sauvignon with its poor soils and stony drainage that encourage the vine’s roots to reach deeper for nutrients and water. And also, Concha y Toro employed its prePhyloxera stock planted on its own roots not grafted for a more cohesive relationship between plant and soil.

Even then, when Tirado first joined, he undertook several huge tasks – irrigation, soil and nutrition studies, replacing the raulí wood tanks with stainless steel, adding new crushing and

pressing systems, and ultimately, mapping the 127-hectare terroir and establishing very small parcels that are vinified separately.

Fine-tuned palate

Don Melchor 2014

TrivenTo eolo Malbec 2013

Grape variety: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc Taste: The latest vintage is also its most highly rated to date. A cool harvest contributed to a great concentration yet mineral freshness and velvety tannins.

Easily cellar for 20 years, or decant and enjoy and with game meats, terrine or dry cheeses. $175 (estimated), check availability at 1855thebottleshop.com

Grape variety: 100% Malbec Taste: This magnificent Malbec exudes its notes of black tea, cinnamon and ripe black fruit. It spends 18 months in medium toast 70% new oak barrels.

Big tannins and layers of fruit make this ideal for cellaring up to 10 years. $110 from Fairprice Finest

Tirado was born in Santiago, Chile’s capital, and is the youngest of nine children. Both he and his twin brother, Rafael, attended the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, where Tirado’s interest in the vine also led Rafael to switch his studies midway and delve into wine-making. During Tirado’s final thesis year in 1992, he was invited to a blind tasting where he picked the 1989 Don Melchor as his top wine. He smiles enigmatically, as if to say you can’t fight fate. Needless to say, he joined Concha y Toro immediately after graduation.

Tirado gets pretty emotional about Puente Alto, a terroir that he knows intimately after 20 years. “Each vineyard has its own particularity. I know which parcel gives black fruit, and which the tannins. Thanks to satellite imaging, I also know the conductivity of the soil, where it receives more heat,” he muses. “With all this information, and tasting the grapes and walking the vineyards, I can make a more ‘feeling’ decision, such as when to pick the grape – which is still all manual – and get the best expression for each year.”

Tirado is not averse to working with other grapes, and in fact was co-winemaker of the debut vintage of Almaviva, a joint venture with Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1996, as well as co-winemaker of Viña Trivento, Concha y Toro’s Argentinean winery, since 2001. There he finesses Malbec for the flagship Eolo, co-made with Victoria Prandina on the other side of the Andes.

He also mentions in a tone of friendly rivalry his brother Rafael’s success with terroir-specific, mouthwatering Sauvignon Blanc.

Tirado uprooted his family – which includes his four kids – to Bordeaux for a year in 2011, where he deepened his experience with Cabernet Sauvignon. There, he alMaviva 2014 observed his youngest, Grape variety: 68% Alberto, take a keen Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Carmenere, 8% Cabernet interest in wineFranc, 2% Petit Verdot making. Now living Taste: Likewise with Don Melchor 2014, Almaviva in Pilque, where they received its highest score are located just five with the 2014 vintage.

This is precise French minutes’ drive from wine-making on Chilean the original, historic soil, presenting a blend that’s full-bodied, Concha y Toro winery, heavy with chocolate, Tirado observes, “We blackcurrants, smoke, cedar and spice. One for live beside the wine, the cellar. $191 from and it’s a very much oaks.com.sg part of our life.”

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raising the bar

The next big thing Vinophiles know that magnums and other large and rare formats are the ideal size for ageing wines, be it Bordeaux, Champagne or Rhone. La Cave du Château has launched the world’s first dedicated website to assist customers with sourcing, packaging, and shipping these precious large bottles, with complete provenance transparency. You’ll find the likes of Vieux Château Certain 1988 (€500, magnum) and even spirits like Tesseron Lot No 29 (€775, 1.75 litres). bigfrenchbottle.com

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GettinG hot and Bordeaux-ed The Bordeaux Wine School in Singapore welcomes its third accedited educator, veteran sommelier Daisuke Kawai, who joins Roderic Proniewski and Malcolm Tham in bringing workshops and events focused around Bordeaux wines. At a recent event, they worked with Justin Quek of Bordeaux wine gastrobar, Grignoter, to showcase adapted local pairings like a Chateau Laville AOC Sauternes 2009 with prawn curry and bleu cheese ice cream. bordeaux. com/wschool/us/wineschool

WiLD LARDeR While foraging has been all the rage elsewhere, it seems impossible in Singapore – or maybe not. Native’s Vijay Mudaliar takes on the urban foraging challenge to showcase The Botanist Gin.

You might think that you can’t forage in the city, but within 1km of Native, you can find belimbing, ginger flowers, tamarind, turmeric leaves, chiku, cinnamon leaves, wild sorrel, fern tips, pink jasmine, jackfruit, betel leaves, and betel peppers.

Wild sorrel was one of my first finds and it’s also found in a lot of countries like South Korea. What we try to do at Native is champion local flavours and ingredients.

It’s important to practice responsible foraging. Take only what you need, and ensure you leave enough behind so that the plant stays healthy and continues to produce.

No one taught me how to forage. I was naturally interested to know about edible plants and learnt through trial and error.

You can also Google, or ask people who know. Some guidelines include taking a small taste and waiting for any countereffects before tasting it again. Practice caution and try to identify poisonous plants before starting out.

The Botanist Gin contains 22 foraged island botanicals from Islay, and some are familiar to us such as hawthorn, lemon balm and thyme. I used the tangy flavours of tamarind, belimbing and jackfruit to pair with The Botanist in two cocktails, Foraged Jackfruit Negroni and Pink Jasmine & Belimbing Spritzer.

Called to the bar Andaz Singapore offers two worthy new bars, Mr Stork and Alley on 25. The former is a whimsical, teepee-dotted rooftop space open to the elements, and therefore its cocktails are on the refreshing side. Think Ginseng, with elderflower and grapefruit, or Rhubarb, with strawberry, lemon and sparkling wine. At the latter, 10 signature cocktails correspond to different dining concepts. Gong Xi surprises with its sophisticated play on Fair quinoa vodka and kumquat liquor, while Kuro Napue rye gin and cranberry make an appearance in the Best G&T In The World. All cocktails $16 each. andazsingapore.com

On its second anniversary, Smoke & Mirrors has revealed The Playful Eye, a daring new menu by head bartender Yugnes Susela and team. Culinary techniques and artful presentations go

hand in hand, such as in M.C-N.L ($24), where Pu’er tea ‘soil’ interacts with cacao-infused vodka and cinnamon basil garnish served in a flower pot. Pushing it further is Kurokawa ($22), a Rausu Kombu creation featuring gomasio (macrobiotic sesame salt) and housemade ponzu tincture, with sea grapes and micro tomatoes in a customised masu cup. A good selection of artisanal spirits adds to the lineup. #06-01 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St. Andrew’s Road.

Tel: 9234 8122

Joe Schofield, fresh from his Top Ten International Bartender award at Tales of the Cocktail 2017, has been working on gummy bears for 10 months. So eat up, literally, at Tippling Club, where the world’s first edible cocktail menu, dubbed Dreams and Desires, takes the shape of 12 gummy bears ($24 each). Each represents a dream or desire, so your taste buds may take you to Happiness or even Revenge – a mouth-puckering lemon drop or ‘blood’ and carraway respectively. Holiday tastes like coconut, pineapple and rum, while Supercar exudes ‘petrol’ (truffle oil, white wine, butter and gin). 38 Tanjong Pagar Road. Tel: 6475 2217

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cellar choice

Ring in 2018 with a taste of something new, from local mead to Pét-Nat. Christoph Hoch Kalkspitz NV From Austria, winemaker Christoph Hoch discovered that his soils were similar to the prized chalky terroir of Champagne’s Grand Cru. He spent time at Champagne Tarlant, which provided barrels to this biodynamic producer after losing a bet about the stability of the wine. The resulting Kalkspitz (kalk means chalk, and spitz is acidity) comprises Grüner Veltliner, Zweigelt, Sauvignon Blanc, Blauer Portugieser and Muskat Ottonel at 11% and atmospheric pressure of just 3atm.

Without distraction of aggressive bubbles, you’ll find a pure creaminess underlined with crisp acidity and savoury yeastiness. Try it with soft cheeses and white meats. Leave the bottle standing before pouring if you prefer less sediments. $45 from Ampelia

WHaT iS PéT-naT? A sparkling wine made in the Méthode Ancestrale way is also known as Pétillant Naturel, or Pét-Nat. Unlike Méthode Champenoise, Pét-Nat is not disgorged for second fermentation in bottle.

The must is allowed to naturally ferment, with residual sugar still present, and is then bottled and sealed with a crown cap.

Fermentation is completed in bottle and there is no disgorgement, and thus the yeasts remain in the wine. This combination of yeast and carbon dioxide helps to preserve the wine and retain its freshness.

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Gik BLue Wine Launched in 2016, Gik Blue Wine finally hit Singapore with Chikin yakitori bar one of the first to serve it. The Spanish creators of Gik claim that the wine is made from a mix of red and white grapes (such as Syrah, Grenache and Macabeo), with indigo and anthocyanin (from grape skins) used to colour it. At just 11.5%, the wine is a vivid, clear blue that may look more like a cocktail in your glass (Chikin uses it for jellies and cocktails too). On the palate, it’s lightly sweet with a slight dryness, and citrusy fruity flavour reminiscent of chewing gum or watermelon. $20/glass or $90 (dine in) from Chikin

Rachelle the Rabbit Meadery Double Kick 2017 Kudos to homegrown Rachelle the Rabbit Meadery for producing the first Singaporean mead – made in Tuas.

This ancient elixir is given a modern touch by the partners, who work with a single source of wild honey which is co-fermented with spices and fruits, a process that gives finer control over the final flavours. Of their current editions, the Double Kick has been the crowd favourite, with its complex layers of cinnamon, cloves, floral notes, and of course, a touch of honey. Fresh acidity and 15% ABV keep it from getting cloying. $50 (500ml) from rachelletherabbit.com WHaT iS HoneY MeaD? Sometimes refered to as honey wine or honey beer, both are technically incorrect. It’s made by fermenting honey with water, and can range from 3.5 to more than 20% ABV. The majority of the beverage’s fermentable sugar should be derived from honey, which can result in a still, carbonated, or naturally sparkling wine.

Mead that contains spices is called a metheglin, one that contains fruits is a melomel, and one that’s fermented with grape juice is a pyment.

Movia Lunar 2013 This Slovenian orange wine is biodynamically farmed and naturally vinified, with gravitational racking at full moon – hence its name. Ribolla grapes are treated with minimal intervention, with no pressing, filtration or added sulfur. The living sediments are part of the evolving nature of this amber coloured beauty, with an incense and fine herbs nose and dry, full bodied palate. For new drinkers of orange wine, expect some honeyed sourness, bruised apple oxidation and nuttiness. $77 from dellarosawine.com

tipple tips

Bartender Ace Molano at Club Street Social welcomes 2018 with a rosy twist on the New York Sour.

Ace oF SourS

• Place all ingredients into a

60ml Código Reposado

shaker except Angostura bitters,

15ml Esprit de June

and do a dry shake to achieve

15ml Madeira

a creamy texture with the egg

1 barspoon of Luxardo Maraschino

white.

cherry liqueur

• Add ice into shaker and do a

1 barspoon of homemade sour

hard shake to chill through the

cherry compote

ingredients.

15ml fresh squeezed lime

• Strain the drink into a fizz glass

20ml fresh egg white

with a clear ice ball, drop a few

3-4 dashes of Angostura bitters

dashes of Angostura bitters, then

Tequila rising Artisan-made tequila is 2018’s hot new trend, and Código 1530 is one to watch.

Their collection, aside from the Blanco, is aged in Napa Valley wine barrels, giving a tint more colour and a sophisticated dry finish from red grape tannins. This grapebased cocktail riffs on the tequila, creating a New York Sour that’s much fresher and aromatic than you’d expect.

serve.

For cherry compote (800g) 1kg frozen cherries 250ml Port wine 1 vanilla pod 1 cinnamon stick 50ml sherry vinegar 100ml white sugar • Poach cherries with the rest of the ingredients, and cook until it becomes a syrup.

• Let cool and store in a glass

PHOTOS EDDIE TEO

jar in the fridge up to 1 week.

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E N T E R TA I N I N G

» When vegetables step

photo edmond ho styling jenn chew

into the spotlight » Foshan’s comfort foods » Nose-to-tail recipes: crispy pig’s head and pig skin tagliatelle

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Your 2018 Menu

AvocAdo | PumPkin SeedS, BrAeBurn APPle, verjuS royal Plate divA, Fuluxe

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PlAnT-forWArd

dishes

With nutritional benefits and a sheer range of natural hues to play with, top chefs have gone gaga over plant-forward dining. Take it from Julien royer of two Michelinstarred odette on how to take this cooking style mainstream.

vocado | pumpkin seeds, Braeburn apple, verjus The first course of odette’s vegetarian menu is a clean yet punchy dish.

Apple and pumpkin seeds add texture, while a verjus sorbet provides seasoning and acidity.

Serves 8 Prep time 1 hour + overnight straining + overnight freezing Cook time 1 hour pumpkin seed butter 500g pumpkin seeds fleur de sel, to taste crème fraîche, strained overnight » Roast pumpkin seeds in the oven at 140°C for 20 minutes. Let them cool slightly, then blend 400g pumpkin seeds until a butter is obtained, about 7 minutes. Season with fleur de sel and blend again quickly. » Roughly chop remaining 100g of roasted pumpkin seeds. Combine with the butter. » To finish, mix together equal parts crème fraîche and pumpkin seed butter. avocados 4 avocados, halved, pitted and peeled avocado oil (available from Culina, Cold Storage or FairPrice Finest)

Videography by Elliott Chan Assisted by Nazurah Rahim Shot at Odette

» Slice avocados using a mandoline, then trim with a size 11 ring mould and layer in alternate layers (left to right) on top of the parchment paper. » Once a large enough piece of avocado carpaccio is obtained, punch out with the same ring mold, and brush with avocado oil. Cover with another piece of parchment paper, place carefully into a small

Text Eunice Lew Photos Edmond Ho Styling and art direction Jenn Chew recipes by Julien Royer, chef-owner of Odette

vacuum bag and seal just before it reaches a full vacuum as avocados are delicate. » Reserve in the fridge. verjus sorbet 40g sugar 4g pectin NH 60ml liquid glucose 45g trimoline 150ml water 300ml verjus (available from Culina) » Combine sugar and pectin in a bowl and whisk to mix thoroughly. » Combine glucose, trimoline, and water in a medium pot and bring to a boil. When liquids come to a boil, add the sugar and pectin mixture. Whisk to dissolve thoroughly and continue to boil for at least 30 seconds. Strain and cool over an ice bath. » Hand-blend cooled pectin base into verjus. Freeze in a Pacojet tin and process when needed. garnish freeze dried apples, sliced fleur de sel, to taste » Pipe 1 tsp of pumpkin seed butter on a plate and surround with apple slices. Top with avocado carpaccio, then finish with fleur de sel. Place a quenelle of verjus sorbet on the side.

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arrot | saffron reach for carrots in their myriad hues to whip up an eyecatching creation. The Middle eastern touch of saffron-infused ‘mayonnaise’ rounds up the flavours of this pretty dish.

Serves 8 Prep time 4 hours + overnight pickling Cook time 2 hours 10 minutes carrot purée 900g carrot 250g butter zest of 2 oranges, blanched 3 times xanthan gum salt, to taste » Steam the carrots en sous vide at 100°C with the butter and orange zest for about 1 hour, until they have fully softened. » Blend until smooth, adding a little xanthan gum to stabilise and salt to season. carrots 2 purple carrots, cut into wedges purple carrot juice 2 orange carrots, cut into wedges orange carrot juice 2 yellow carrots, cut into wedges yellow carrot juice salt, to taste » Combine carrot wedges with their respective carrot juice, enough to cover the wedges in each vacuum bag. Season

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lightly with salt. Sous vide at 100°C for about 15-20 minutes, until soft. saffron emulsion 330ml orange juice, strained through a chinois 1g saffron 1 egg, soft-boiled 250ml grapeseed oil » Reduce orange juice with saffron to 85g.

Blend at full speed. » Add a soft-boiled egg and blend to combine. Emulsify the grapeseed oil into the mixture. candied citrus zest zest of 1 orange, with the white pith removed and julienned thinly 100g sugar 100ml water 1 stick of cinnamon 1 star anise 2 cloves » Boil and refresh orange zest thrice. » Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Cool over ice, then pour over the orange zest. Marinate overnight before use.

pickles 100ml white balsamic vinegar 100g sugar 1 white Cévennes onion, peeled and petaled 100g sugar 25g salt 500ml Japanese rice wine vinegar 500ml iced water 2 purple carrots, peeled and sliced into thin strips » Bring first 2 ingredients to a boil and pour over onions immediately. Cool, then portion into thin triangular petals. » Warm sugar and salt in rice wine vinegar.

Once dissolved, add iced water to cool fully. Pickle the carrots in this liquid overnight. garnish coriander leaves red-veined sorrel leaves blood orange segments orange segments dried raisins, rehydrated in warm water until plump » Assemble according to photo or as desired.

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eetroot ‘variation’ | stracciatella ‘artigiana’, honeycombs one of royer’s favourite ingredients, the humble beetroot has starred in multiple iterations since the chef ’s stint at JAAn. As the vegetable isn’t always to everyone’s liking, royer showcases its versatility, whether roasted, juiced, puréed, or as ice cream or jelly.

Serves 8 Prep time 1 hour 50 minutes + overnight straining + overnight drying + overnight freezing + 1 hour infusion Cook time 1 hour 35 minutes + 4 hours in oven + 20 minutes for wine jelly base setting/cutting beetroot 1 red beetroot 1 yellow beetroot 1 white beetroot 1 chioggia beetroot rock salt 120ml olive oil 100ml white balsamic vinegar 100g honey zest of 1 lime

» Put all the ingredients in a pot and reduce to a syrupy consistency. » Set aside in a squeeze bottle with a fine tip. Allow to cool fully before testing its consistency. beetroot sorbet 75g glucose 380ml water 7.5g pectin 170g sugar 3g xanthan gum 650ml beet juice 100ml lime juice » Combine glucose and water in a pot. » Hand-blend pectin, sugar and xanthan gum into the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Let the mixture cool. » When cool, blend into beet and lime juice.

Freeze overnight and process in a Pacojet.

» Brush and wash beetroots, then wrap them in foil with rock salt and cook in the oven for about 4 hours at 170°C, until tender. Leave them to cool in the foil. » Cut beetroots into eighths and punch into semicircles with a size 5 ring mold.

Trim the base so that the beetroots can stand. » Make a dressing with the olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and honey. Dress the beetroot slices with this dressing and some lime zest.

» Strain the stracciatella di bufala overnight. » The next day, blend the strained cheese, combining a portion of it with horseradish to taste.

beetroot reduction 1.3 litres beetroot juice 500ml Port wine

beetroot meringue 160ml red beetroot juice 30ml water

creamy stracciatella di bufala 400g stracciatella di bufala finely grated horseradish, to taste

9g egg white powder 3g xanthan gum 30g sugar yopol (yoghurt powder) » Hand-blend all ingredients except yopol until the sugar crystals have dissolved. » Transfer mixture to a kitchen mixer and whip until stiff peaks form. The mixture should become less red and more pink and it reaches the right stage for piping. » Transfer to a piping bag and pipe meringue rounds. Dust with yopol using a small sieve. Dry overnight in a dehydrator. wine base and jelly 200ml red wine 200ml Port wine 1 clove ½ orange, peeled 50ml brandy 100ml beetroot juice 1 stick cinnamon 125g honey 25g maple syrup 25g ginger, sliced agar agar gelatine sheets » Combine all ingredients except agar agar and gelatine sheets in a pot, bring to boil then infuse covered with a cling film for 1 hour. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. » For every 400ml of liquid, add 6g of agar and 2 bloomed gelatine sheets. » Pour onto a hot rectangular plate to your desired thickness and allow to set. Cut with a size 5 ring mould. beetroot discs 500ml white balsamic vinegar 500g sugar 1 red onion 1 white onion beetroot powder (to enhance the colour of the pickled red onions) pink beetroots (candy stripe or chioggia),

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sliced thinly with mandoline olive oil pearls » Warm vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves, then cool. » Peel onions and separate them into petals. Blanch the petals in batches in boiling water for 10 seconds, then cool quickly in an ice bath. » Vacuum seal onions with cooled pickling liquid and leave overnight. » Punch out circles from the pink beetroots using a size 5 ring mold. Blanch them in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then chill quickly in an ice bath. Dry them with paper towels before sandwiching horseradish flavoured straciatella between two discs. Top with olive oil pearls.

beetroot crumble 200g flour 200g cold butter, cubed 140g beetroot powder 120g almond powder 100g sugar » Combine everything in a food processor and blend until a sandy texture is obtained. » Bake in a flat layer in the oven at 130°C for 15-25 minutes. Allow to cool, then process quickly again in a food processor to obtain a sandy texture. Reserve. beetroot purée 3 red beetroots rock salt 250ml Port wine, reduced to a shiny glaze

utumn garden | root vegetables, chestnut This creation evolves through the seasons, but what stays the same is the idea to offer a hearty, root vegetable-based dish. In this variation, you’ll find salsify, parsnips and Chinese artichokes; as the season turns, add chervil roots, parsley roots and black truffles.

Serves 8 Prep time 10 hours + 30 minutes infusion + 24 hours setting + 24 hours pickling Cook time 4 hours chestnut purée 250g brown butter 5 cardamom pods, toasted 800g cooked Ponthier chestnuts (available from Culina) 100g vegetable stock salt, to taste » Infuse toasted cardamom pods in brown

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butter for 30 minutes. » Remove cardamom pods, then add chestnuts and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste. parsnip purée 2 large parsnips, peeled, halved and sliced roughly 100g butter salt, to taste » Combine parsnips and butter, then cook on low heat until softened. Blend until

sherry vinegar and salt, to taste xanthan gum » Salt-bake the beetroots in the same way as the beetroots earlier. » Peel beetroots, then blend with a Port reduction and sherry vinegar. Season with salt if needed, and a small amount of xanthan gum for binding. garnish 8 pieces of sunflower cress (available from Edible Garden City) 8 blue pea flowers 50g honeycomb 50g pomegranate » Assemble according to photo or as desired.

smooth, then season to taste. parsley sponge 240g parsley 10g salt 8g instant yeast 60g butter, melted 100ml water 4 eggs » Combine everything except eggs in a blender. Blend on full speed until smooth. » Blend in eggs. Pour into a cream siphon and charge twice with nitrous oxide (cream chargers). » Dispense into a plastic microwavable cup and cook on high for 30 seconds. » Remove container and invert the cup until fully cooled. Remove and tear into organic shapes. root vegetables 2 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled 1 parsley root, peeled 2 salsify, peeled (available from Culina or

Autumn gArden | root vegetABleS, cheStnut Porvasal Plate ona, Fuluxe

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SNACKS (clockwise from left) Corn | cumin caramel; Pita | eggplant, yoghurt; Caramelised Onion and Shallot Financier | smoked crĂŠme fraĂŽche.

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Cold Storage) 1 parsnip, peeled olive oil and salt vegetable stock butter » Vacuum seal separately each type of vegetable with olive oil and salt. Steam at 100°C until cooked through. Chill immediately in an ice bath, then portion into organic chunks. » Heat vegetable stock to a simmer. Whisk in a bit of butter, until the mixture is emulsified, to obtain a glaze (beurre monté).

Use this to glaze the root vegetables and warm them thoroughly before serving. grilled chestnut slices 2 whole chestnuts, shelled » Burn the outer layer of the chestnuts, then slice thinly. pickled Jerusalem artichokes 100ml white balsamic vinegar 200g sugar 300ml water 2 Jerusalem artichokes, unpeeled, sliced thinly with a mandolin » Bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil and pour over the Jerusalem artichoke slices.

Allow mixture to cool fully before using.

and discard mushrooms. » Combine all dry ingredients (gellan gum, salt, sugar and xanthan gum) in a bowl, and wet ingredients (600ml mushroom liquid, vinegar, soya sauce) in a deep saucepot. » Bring liquids to a boil, then add dry ingredients and combine with a hand blender. Bring to a boil. » Pour into a large tray and leave to set in the fridge overnight. Once set, blend on full speed in a blender until smooth. Transfer to a squeeze bottle for storage. truffle dressing 80g black truffles 4ml Port wine 15g balsamic vinegar 30ml red wine vinegar 30ml olive oil 35ml grapeseed oil 3.8g salt 3.8g pepper 0.5g xanthan gum 75ml water 7.7g black truffle paste 7.7g black truffle oil » Blend everything together until smooth.

Transfer to a squeeze bottle.

pickled shiitake 4 shiitake mushrooms, washed 1 head of garlic, halved 50g muscovado sugar 90ml sherry vinegar 125ml olive oil 4g salt 1 sprig of thyme 1 bay leaf grapeseed oil » Pour just enough grapeseed oil to coat a non-stick frying pan. Sear mushrooms and garlic in the pan until golden brown. » Add remaining ingredients to the pan and bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. » Leave to cool fully. Transfer to a container and pickle for at least 24 hours. garnish nasturtium and kinome leaves red oxalis red chicory leaves salsify chips (sliced thinly and fried in oil at 160°C) Jerusalem artichoke chips (sliced thinly and fried in oil at 160°C) » Assemble dish according to photo or as desired.

nacks

mushroom ‘ketchup’ 1kg button mushrooms 600ml water 600ml mushroom liquid 10g low-acyl gellan gum 10g salt 200ml Chardonnay vinegar 80g sugar 50ml soya sauce 5g xanthan gum

Corn | cumin caramel

» Blend mushrooms with water and strain through a fine sieve overnight. Keep liquid

Makes 20 Prep time 1 hour 10 minutes Cook time 1 hour

Vegetarian snacks are the most inclusive when it comes to catering for guests’ dietary restrictions.

With each morsel, there’s an emphasis on texture and mouthfeel, such as the crisp exterior and creamy fillings of the Pita and Corn. spiced brik pastry 4 sheets brik pastry (available from Phoon Huat or Culina) maple syrup and melted butter, combined in a 1:1 ratio cinnamon and icing sugar, combined in a

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1:1 ratio » Preheat oven to 160°C. » Brush both sides of each sheet of brik pastry with the maple syrup-butter mixture. Dust one side of 1 sheet of brik pastry with the cinnamon and icing sugar mixture. Place the other sheet on top, then cut into rectangles of 5.5 x 4.5cm. » Roll pastry around cannelloni molds and wrap with a piece of aluminum foil cut to the same length as the mold. Bake for 7.5 minutes, until browned. whipped corn mousse 100g butter 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced 5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 500g corn kernels 2 sprigs of thyme milk, warmed 2 gelatine sheets, bloomed in ice water » Melt butter over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic until softened but not coloured. Add corn kernels and thyme, then sauté until softened. » Remove thyme and blend mixture until smooth, adding just enough milk to allow the blender to run. » Add gelatine sheets when the purée is smooth and blend further. Pass through a chinois and cool over an ice bath. » Pour about 300g of the purée into a whipping cream syphon and charge once with a cream charger. corn powder 80g microwaved popcorn 45g freeze-dried corn 125g brown sugar 125g corn syrup 80g butter 5g baking soda salt, to taste » Preheat oven to 130°C.

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» Blend popcorn and freeze-dried corn to small crumbs. » Melt brown sugar and corn syrup followed by butter on medium heat. » Add baking soda and whisk until foamy. » Mix well with popcorn. Transfer coated popcorn to a baking paper-lined tray » Bake for 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Leave to cool, then blend into a rough powder. Season with salt to taste. cumin caramel 160g cream 30g cumin seeds, toasted until aromatic 20ml water 60g sugar 20ml white wine vinegar » Bring cream and cumin seeds to a boil, then set aside in a warm area. » Bring water and sugar to a dark caramel in a deep saucepot. Take off heat and strain cumin cream into the caramel. » Add white wine vinegar. Reduce mixture until it is sufficiently thick. assembly » Pipe mousse into brik pastry rolls with a whipped cream siphon. Flatten ends with a spatula, then coat with corn powder.

Finish with a drop of cumin caramel.

Pita | eggplant, yoghurt Makes 30 Prep time 1 hour 40 minutes + overnight straining Cook time 2 hours 30 minutes ‘pita’ dough 145ml milk 5.5g instant yeast 235g flour 2g fine salt

» Weigh milk and yeast directly into KitchenAid bowl and use a hand blender to blend the mixture. » Add flour and bring dough together using a hook attachment. Add salt only when the dough is starting to form. » Knead dough until it is elastic, portion into 2 portions, wrap in cling film and proof in a warm place for 45 minutes. » Preheat oven to 205°C with a tray inside. » Roll out dough on pasta machine, progressing from 10, 7, 5, and 2, going through setting 2 twice. Cut into 4 x 4cm squares. » Lay onto a tray lined with a silicone mat dusted with flour, then bake for 4 minutes at 205°C. » Lower the temperature to 160°C for another 2 minutes. Drill a hole through the bottom of the pitas and reserve. baba ghanoush 1 bulb of garlic salt and pepper, to taste olive oil 1.3kg eggplant Japanese white sesame paste, to taste salt, to taste parsley, to taste lemon juice, to taste » Slice off the top of the garlic, then season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place on a tray, then cover the entire tray with aluminium foil. » Bake in oven for 1 hour, then cool before extracting the garlic cloves. » Roast eggplant over charcoal until charred, then transfer and bake in the oven at 160°C for 1 hour. » Remove skin and seeds of eggplants.

Leave flesh to dry by putting on a paper towels- or cheesecloth-lined tray overnight. » Blend eggplant and garlic to a smooth purée, then add sesame paste, salt, parsley and lemon juice to taste.

mixed herb yoghurt 200g yoghurt chives, chopped and to taste mint, chopped and to taste parsley, chopped and to taste chervil, chopped and to taste tarragon, chopped and to taste salt, to taste » Drip-dry yoghurt in a sieve lined with paper towels overnight. » Once dry enough, mix in chopped herbs and season with salt.

garnish cucumber discs roma tomato discs micro coriander » Fill pita with baba ghanoush through drilled hole. Invert and place on plate. » Pipe a drop of herb yoghurt on top, followed by a disc each of cucumber and tomato. Finish each pita with a leaf of micro coriander.

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Caramelised onion and shallot financier | smoked crème fraîche Makes 20 Prep time 1 hour + overnight resting + overnight straining + overnight drying Cook time 4 hours 8 minutes financier batter 90g butter 45ml canola oil 6 onions, peeled and julienned black shallots 33g butter 33g butter, room temperature Set A 40g sugar 8g salt Set B 2 eggs Set C 95g onion and black shallot paste 65g crème fraîche 4ml soy sauce Set D 130g ground almond 1.5g baking soda 1.5g baking powder Set E 90g flour, sifted » To make onion and black shallot paste,

heat butter and oil over medium heat in a wide sauce pot until butter is melted. » Add onions and cover with a lid. Cook covered, stirring every 5 minutes, for about 1 hour. » Remove lid and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are very dark and dry, about another 2 hours and 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature. » For every 60g of caramelised onions, add 35g of black shallots and blend to a paste in a Robot Coupe. » Brown the first portion of 33g butter in a small saucepot, then cool to room temperature. » Combine browned butter with 33g room temperature butter and whip in a mixer with paddle attachment until light and airy, about 3 minutes. » Add Set A and continue to mix for another 3 minutes, scraping down the sides halfway through. » Add Set B, one egg at a time and beat on low. The mixture will look split. » Add Set C and beat further.

» Add Set D and beat until incorporated.

Stop mixing at this point, scrape down the sides and the paddle. » Add Set E and mix on medium-low for 20 seconds. Pack batter into 4 piping bags and rest overnight; they will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. » Preheat oven to 160°C, fan speed 3, humidity 100%. » Pipe batter into hemisphere molds, ¾ full.

Flatten the tip of batter with a damp finger. » Bake for 8 minutes. Make sure to release steam once at the start. The financiers are done when a testing needle comes out clean. If not, bake for a further 30 seconds. smoked crème fraÎche 500g crème fraîche » Strain crème fraîche over cheesecloth with a weight on top to expel as much liquid as possible. » The next day, smoke crème fraîche with wood chips (available from BBQ Grill Culture) 3 times for 10 minutes each, making sure to mix through the crème fraîche at each interval. onion powder 2 white Cévennes onions » Dry onions overnight in an oven at 65°C. » Blend to a fine powder and pass through a sieve. garnish micro chives (menegi, available from Meidi-Ya) » Pipe a drop of smoked crème fraîche on top of each cake, then dust with onion powder and finish with a sprig of micro chives.

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check out epicure on Youtube for a behind-the-scenes look at what went on during this month’s cover shoot.

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H o m e to w n H e i r lo o m s

Simple does it

Melomakarona Festive Cookies

Celebrity chef Jacky Yu’s childhood food memories may not be the stuff of an epicurean’s dreams, but the three family dishes he shares with Adeline Wong speak volumes about his humble upbringing in Foshan.

B

If anything, Yu recalls sticking to a humble diet. “The Foshan I lived in was a much smaller city and lacked produce. Meat like chicken and duck was expensive, and seafood was seldom eaten as the city was not located near the sea. Fish like grass carp as well as steamed vegetables were the staples for family meals, prepared by my mother.”

Neither were Yu’s parents illustrious chefs; his father was a national volleyball player, while his mum was a primary school teacher. Together with his younger sister and brother, his family migrated to Kwai Chung in Tsuen Wan New Town, Hong Kong, when he was 11.

At 17, he joined an advertising agency as a graphic designer and started his own firm eight years later. As many of his clients were restaurants and hotels, working with them sparked his late bloomer interest in cooking.

Friends whom he often invited over for dinner would urge him to open a restaurant, but without experience in the F&B industry, he never acted on it. The decision to open Xi Yan in Hong Kong took root after his firm shut down during the 1997 financial crisis, forcing him to look at other options. “Cooking was the only skill I felt confident in. I decide to start Xi Yan by adapting the idea of private home dining. I would decide on each day’s menu,” he shares. The concept worked and Xi Yan quickly rose to prominence with four restaurants at its height of its popularity in 2010.

These days, however, Yu busies himself with TV appearances, consultancy work and product endorsements; he has since closed his restaurants in Hong Kong when the leases ended, though two outlets – Xi

photos EddiE TEo

y all odds, Jacky Yu, founder of Xi Yan, a Chinese private dining restaurant, would not have become a chef. His hometown, Foshan, was hardly a playground for creative cuisine. The prefecture-city in Central Guangdong Province in the 60s and 70s when Yu spent his childhood was better known for Cantonese opera and Ming Dynasty ceramics; it subsequently became popularly associated as the birthplace of Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man.

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Yan and Xi Yan Shaw – in Singapore remain. The youthful-looking 53-year-old can often be seen dishing out advice on cooking shows in Hong Kong (most recently as a judge on Chef Minor).

This schedule has also allowed Yu to invest more time in his own kitchen in Taikoo Shing cooking for his family (in particular his nieces and nephews) as well as hosting friends in the food and beverage industry such as seasoned pastry chef Tony Wong. Visits to wet markets three to four times a week – his favourite is Wan Chai Market - are de rigeur for him.

While Yu can’t credit his family’s influence for his chef ambitions, he certainly recalls his favourite dishes, three of which he recreated for our photo shoot. Foshan residents are known for their love of gao dian (pastries) and he is no different, citing yau gok, deep-fried peanut puff dumplings; jian dui, glutinous rice balls; and dan san, crispy egg roll, as some of his favourites. Oil was a precious commodity back then, so having the chance to enjoy these deep-fried goodies was a rare treat. His mother’s signature dish is a pan-fried classic, what he fondly calls Mum’s Carrot Cake. The second recipe is Rice Dumplings in Ginger Broth. This after-meal favourite is an extension of the Cantonese’s love for tong sui (warm soup or sweet custard). Yu’s cooking tip? Use only old ginger

as it imparts a more aromatic flavour to the dessert. His recipe differs from the version most Chinese families follow today as the dumplings are typically filled with sesame, red bean, and lotus paste. “The filling I used is yellow sugar and the broth is simply cooked with ginger and sweet potatoes. As children, we thought this was the best thing ever to eat,” he quips.

The third recipe, Yu laments, is one that can hardly be found in Foshan and Hong Kong now: Steamed Perch with Pickled Starfruit and Bean Paste. Yu’s mother would use affordable freshwater fish, and starfruits grown in his own backyard; the latter were more sour and suitable for pickling. “Every home-style dish has an emotional attachment to it. For one to last this long, it’s certainly worth preserving,” he adds.

RiCE dUMPLiNGS iN GiNGER SoUP Makes 15-20 dumplings Prep time 15 minutes Cook time 35 minutes

soup 160g old ginger with skin on, rinsed

potato and sugar, then boil for about 30

1 litre water

minutes until you get the ginger fragrance.

200g sweet potato, sliced into pieces

• To make dumplings, cut the Chinese brown

STEAMEd PERCH WiTH PiCKLEd STARFRUiT ANd BEAN PASTE

2 slices of Chinese brown sugar

sugar into cubes. on a flat surface, add

Serves 4-6

glutinous flour and knead into a dough. Add

Prep time 30 minutes + 3 weeks marination

dumplings

more water if the dough is too dry. separate

Cook time 11 minutes

1 slice of Chinese brown sugar, to taste

dough into smaller pieces. Wrap sugar into the

200g glutinous rice flour, as desired

dough (as a filling) and form small balls.

starfruit marinade

200ml water, as desired

• In a pot, add dumplings into boiling water.

1kg starfruit

When the dumplings float up to the surface,

2 pieces of Chinese licorice

• To make soup, flatten ginger using the flat

boil for another 1–2 minutes. Remove from

250g yellow sugar

side of a knife to release the aroma.

the pot.

30g coarse salt

• Fill a pot with water. Add old ginger, sweet

• Serve dumplings in ginger soup immediately.

juice from 1 lime

epicureasia.com 89

marinade.

spring onions as desired

• When ready to

pinch of salt

prepare the dish,

vegetable oil

wash and clean the

Xo sauce (optional)

perch. Make two to

three knife cuts into

• Wash radishes and pat dry. Remove the skin

the fish (to cook it

and slice into long strips. Blanch daikon strips

quickly).

in boiling chicken stock until translucent. Drain

• Place ginger slices

and reserve the chicken stock. set aside.

and spring onions on

• Wash and mince chye poh. Set aside.

a plate, followed by

• Steam dried scallops until soft. Using your

the perch.

hands, peel the flesh into strips. set aside.

• Remove the

• Submerge dried shrimps in water for about 1

container from the

hour. Drain off the water. Set aside.

fridge. Mix starfruit

• Wash and soak mushrooms in water for

marinade and sliced

2-3 hours. Drain off the water and slice the

young ginger with

mushrooms. set aside. (the water from

soya bean sauce.

soaking the mushrooms can be used for soup.)

spread starfruit and

• Rinse the lap cheong before slicing.

soya bean sauce on

• Add radishes and the rest of the ingredients

the fish and steam

(except vegetable oil and XO sauce) into a

for 10-11 minutes over

giant bowl. Add glutinous rice and rice flour,

high heat.

then add chicken stock slowly. stir as you pour

• Remove the fish

in the chicken stock to mix the ingredients

from the steamer.

together, until it turns into a thick paste.

scatter spring onions

• In a frying pan, add vegetable oil. Scoop up

on top. Add a little

the mixture with a spoon and add into the pan.

600g perch

hot oil over the fish. Garnish with sliced fresh

pan-fry each side until it turns golden brown.

sliced ginger and spring onions, as desired

starfruit and serve.

Repeat this step until radish paste is used up.

• Serve radish cake with XO sauce.

oil, as desired 2 tbsp soya bean sauce sliced starfruit, a few (as pictured)

MUM’S RAdiSH CAKE

Serves 8-10

• Wash starfruit and pat dry. Slice off the head

Prep time 20 minutes

marinated young ginger, to taste

and peel off the edge of the skin of the fruit.

Cook time 50 minutes

then slice into strips, taking care to remove

the core and seeds. set aside.

2 white radishes

• Mix starfruit, licorice, sugar, coarse salt

2 litres chicken stock

and lime juice evenly in a container, then

chye poh, to taste

refrigerate.

dried scallops, to taste

• Discharge the water from the container the

dried shrimps, to taste

next day. Give the ingredients a good toss and

6-8 shiitake mushrooms

put the container back into the fridge. Repeat

1 lap cheong

this step every 2 days until the sugar and salt

(Chinese preserved sausage)

completely dissolve into the mixture. Keep it in

450g glutinous rice flour

the fridge for about 3 weeks. this will be the

300g rice flour

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special feature

More to sip and savour With a new menu and wine pairing programme, Me@OUE is set to take dining to new heights.

Set against a stunning backdrop of Marina Bay, Me@OUE is Singapore’s only open-concept restaurant serving up Japanese, French and Chinese cuisines all under one roof. This year, executive chef Sam Chin will continue to impress his patrons with new dishes using rare and exotic ingredients to deliver the harmonious balance of flavours that his plates are well known for. Chin is also committed to sourcing seasonal produce from local suppliers as much as possible, presenting diners with exciting menu options. “To meet the demands of our younger, well-travelled and discerning clientele, we have created menus which can be complemented with a superb selection of wines, whiskies and sakes,” he says.

A highlight of the new year will be sommelier Joel Lim’s comprehensive Wine By The Glass pairing option, which consists of a sake, a Champagne, three

whites, three reds, one Rosé, a dry German Riesling, two Spanish sherries, and a late bottled vintage Port wine from Portugal.

Says Lim, “More and more wine producers are taking the more traditional approach to viticulture and the natural vinification Marcel Lapierre.” Sake lovers can process to showcase the best of their also look forward to Lim’s sake list crops. Apart from stocking wines featuring only artisanal sake brewers, from producers like A.A. Badenhorst to complement the Japanese cuisine (South Africa) and Philippe Bonard offered at Me@OUE. (Jura), wine aficionados can also look forward to more elegant bottles of Beaujolais from producers like Jean Louis OUE Bayfront Rooftop, Dutraive and 50 Collyer Quay.Tel: 6634 4555

masterclass

Mastering… crispy pig’s head and pig’s skin tagliatelle Chef-owner Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Patruno of Dehesa shows Priyanka Elhence how alternative cuts used in nose-to-tail cooking are just as delicious as their more popular counterparts.

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longer you brine, the better,” advises Patruno.

Likewise, the red wine in the braising is important for disinfecting the bacteria in the head. Aside from the tongue, every part of the head is used to make the terrine, which surprisingly tastes like a smooth steak tartare, despite its varied textures.

Patruno’s second dish, pig’s skin tagliatelle, was the happy result of a family experiment.

His dad, an Italian chef, had to make pasta to go with his ragù, but decided to try out the noodle strips using pig skin instead. “It’s important to keep the skin completely submerged in salted water to keep it soft, and also to further soften the noodles in hot water before using for the normal al dente bite,” he shares. The texture of these noodles is so similar to normal pasta that the strips can be rolled out using a pasta machine, or are simply handcut. “And there’s no need to add any bacon to a pasta carbonara using this pig’s skin tagliatelle recipe, since the pasta is already bursting with the essence of bacon,” smiles Patruno.

photos eddie teo VIDEoGRAphY NAZURAH RAHiM

W

hen it comes to nose-to-tail cooking, Jean-Philippe ‘JP’ Patruno, chef-owner of Dehesa is clearly an authority. After all, his Spanish restaurant specialises in alternative cuts and offal delicacies. Patruno’s cooking is synonymous with hearty flavours and he is able to combine Spanish ingredients with classical French cooking techniques.

“I grew up on a farm, so it is normal for me to use the entire animal as best as possible. My normality may seem alien and unconventional to some, but it is part of my childhood and who I am as a person.

Nose-to-tail eating isn’t supposed to be fashionable or trending. In fact, it’s about going back to the basics and making use of every part possible. For example, there is a lot more to a (white) pig than just bacon and ham, because every part of it is edible except for its bones, teeth and nails,” says Patruno.

And that is exactly what he proves with his first dish, a Dehesa crowd favourite – Crispy Pig’s Head Dehesa Signature, a spectacular crispy braised pig with capers and topped with a soft egg yolk. Inspired by Europe’s traditional pork terrine, Patruno puts his personal spin on the dish by breading the croquette and giving it a crunchy twist. When preparing the pig’s head, it is essential to completely burn off all the hair using a blowtorch or even a disposable razor, so that the first layer of tough skin can be removed. “Brining the head is also important to reduce the meaty flavour and to get rid of the blood, so the

2.2

1.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

CRiSPY PiG’S HeAd

braising

2.2 In a large rectangular dish, braise the

Serves 12

½ bottle of red wine

pig’s head with red wine, all the vegetables

Prep time 24 hours brining + 2 hours and

2 carrots, roughly chopped

and enough water to keep the head

40 minutes

1 leek, roughly chopped

submerged. Braise in the oven for 3 hours.

Cook time 4 hours

3 onions, sliced in half

2.3 Remove the pig’s head from the dish,

1 head of celery

and set the vegetables aside.

pig’s head

1 bunch of fresh thyme, chopped

2.4 Using gloves, pull the braised meat off

1 pig’s head (available from huber’s Butchery)

1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

the bones. Use a knife to chop up the skin

4 litres water

3 cloves, ground

and ears, and to break open the skull to

600g sugar

1 star anise, ground

extract the brain.

400g salt

3 tbsp whole grain mustard

2.5 Roughly chop up the set aside

1 tbsp paprika

vegetables and mix in together with the

1.1 Clean and burn the pig’s head using a blow

1 tsp pimentos, chopped

meat, with a large ladle serving of the

torch to remove all the hair.

pinch of black pepper

braising liquid.

1.2 Mix sugar and salt into the water, and

20g salt

2.6 Add in herbs, spices, mustard, wholegrain, paprika and pimentos, then

brine the pig’s head for 24 hours to remove excess blood.

2.1 preheat oven to 120°C.

season to taste.

epicureasia.com 93

2.7 shape the mixture into a large croquette

breading

using a ring mould. Rest in the fridge for at

3 tbsp flour

least 3 hours or until the gelatine has set.

3 eggs, lightly beaten and seasoned 200g breadcrumbs

red wine sauce

vegetable oil, for deep-frying

50g butter

2.7

1 carrot, diced

5.1 preheat oven to 180°C.

1 leek, diced

5.2 Dust the pig’s head croquettes with flour

1 celery stick, diced

and cover in the egg wash before rolling in

2 cloves of garlic, diced

breadcrumbs.

1 green apple, diced

5.3 Deep-fry to golden brown before putting

10g thyme, chopped

it in the oven for 5 minutes.

1 clove 1 tbsp tomato purée

garnish

1 bottle of red wine

1 egg yolk

1 litre veal stock 30g chorizo, cubed

6.1 spoon mashed potatoes onto the centre

1 onion, diced

of the plate.

6.2 place the croquette on the mashed

6.2

3.1 Melt the butter and sweat the vegetables,

potatoes and slide an egg yolk onto the top.

garlic, apple, thyme and clove until mixture is

season.

golden brown.

6.3 Drizzle over with red wine sauce.

3.2 Add tomato purée and cook until a crust forms at the bottom of the pan.

3.3 Deglaze with red wine, and reduce the

PiG’S SKiN tAGLiAteLLe

mixture by half.

Serves 8

3.4 Add in veal stock and reduce the mixture

Prep time 1 hour 30 minutes

by half again.

Cook time 24 hours

3.5 In another small pan, add chorizo and onions. sweat until the chorizo releases its

1kg pig’s skin (available from huber’s

oil.

Butchery)

3.6 Add the mixture to the red wine sauce

1 litre salted water

and reduce until desired consistency.

6.2

1.1 Cook the pig’s skin in salted water for 45 mashed potatoes

minutes (like cooking pasta), ensuring that

1kg Agria potatoes

the skin is completely submerged by the

300g butter

liquid.

125ml full cream milk, hot

1.2 Remove the pig’s skin from the liquid and

salt and pepper, to taste

lay it flat on a tray, ‘outer’ skin side down. set aside in the refrigerator for a few hours

4.1 Cook potatoes in salted water with the

to cool down.

skin on until soft. Mash potatoes and put the

1.3 Using a spoon, scrape off the excess fat

mixture through a sieve.

from the skin. When this is done, cut the

4.2 put mashed potatoes in a saucepan, and

pig’s skin into tagliatelle ribbons.

add butter a little at a time, followed by the 6.3

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milk. Whisk on low heat until smooth. season

ragù sauce

to taste.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 red pepper, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped 2 onions, chopped 3 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 clove of garlic 3 onions 2 chilli padi 500ml veal stock 200g cooked pork belly (or any meat scraps from deboning the pig) 2 sprigs of thyme 2 tbsp chopped parsley 1 tbsp butter pecorino Romano cheese, to taste 2.1 sweat vegetables and chilli padi in olive oil until soft.

2.2 Add in veal stock after and reduce the sauce. Add in pork belly. once the desired consistency is achieved, mix in the herbs.

2.3 toss in tagliatelle, add butter and shave some pecorino Romano on top.

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Check out epicure on Youtube for a behindthe-scenes video of this masterclass.

1.3

2.1

2.2

2.3

epicureasia.com 95

Got married here

Perched 150m above sea level, Bulgari Resort Bali is the most elegant wedding venue any bride- and groom-to-be can dream of.

Designed by architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners, Bulgari Resort Bali marries Italian sophistication with Balinese tradition. The resort’s signature hand-cut volcanic cornerstones, natural lava and palimanan stone blend in with Uluwatu’s rugged landscape, while a collection of unique Balinese antiques and art pieces add a touch of elegance and heritage to the property.

The stunning resort offers one- and two-bedroom villas and up to Five-Bedroom Mansions, which come with the same opulence found in other Bulgari properties in Milan and London. In particular, the Five-Bedroom Mansion pampers the wedding couple and their families with a spacious living room, open-concept dining room and bar, five separate bedrooms, sun decks, a gazebo with open living areas, and a private pool and garden overlooking the sea.

Cool cocktails, fine wines and light bites are the highlight at Il Bar; the fine fare is only rivalled by the venue’s spacious terrace on a cliff overlooking the ocean and gorgeous Balinese sunsets. Step into Il Ristorante - Luca Fantin and savour head chef Fabrizio Crocetta’s creative interpretations of Italian cuisine with the help of the finest local ingredients and imported produce. For all-day international specialities with

a stunning view, Sangkar Restaurant is the place to go, while the cliffside La Spiaggia is a cosy restaurant and bar where you can enjoy the freshly grilled bounty of the sea accompanied by a cool sea breeze and a magnificent view.

Couples who want to seal their union here can choose from four different themes: a water wedding set floating on the surface of the Water Pond, a classically formal ceremony at the gorgeous Bulgari Chapel, a glamorous party at The Bulgari Villa, or a laidback and intimate Beach Wedding.

The Bulgari Chapel Wedding, in particular, allows you invite up to 90 guests at the 315 sq m chapel that echoes the resort’s graceful style. Aside from two nights’ accommodation in the Ocean View Villa and a 60-minute Romantic Balinese treatment at Bulgari Spa, the package also includes signature welcome drinks, classic background music, two flower girls, and more.

Bulgari Resort Bali Jl Goa Lempeh, Banjar Dinas Kangin, Uluwatu, Bali 80364 Tel: +62 361 8471000 www.bulgarihotels.com/en_US/bali

T R AV E L

photo of Sigulda latvia.travel

» Turku: the next foodie hotspot » The beautiful story of Latvia » Bawah Island: an untouched paradise

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c h e f ’ s t r av e lo g u e

Natural flavours of Turku On a recent visit to Finland’s oldest city and former capital, Oliver Hyde shines the spotlight on the freshness and quality of its produce and how it inspired his new menu at Maggie Joan’s.

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Buffet spread at Ravintola Kipina

y cooking style is produce-driven. It is clean and light, but with strong flavors. Finnish cuisine is similar, in that it’s simple, driven by seasonal fresh produce but involves a lot of smoking, curing and fermenting elements. During my recent trip to Turku in October last year, I remember thinking that the high quality of local Finnish produce would be perfect for my menu at Maggie Joan’s, since I like to let the ingredients speak for themselves and have their natural flavours shine through each dish. I came back very motivated from this trip to create a new menu for my restaurant.

Turku’s culinary scene I was invited to Turku late last year to participate in the fourth edition of Finland’s week-long Food & Fun Festival. Chef Siggi Hall of Iceland gave birth concept of this international culinary festival

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Smoked fish

and cooking competition in 2002 in Reykjavik. The event became so popular and garnered so much international fame, it was then brought to Finland by a man named Jouni Kuru, whose father is a leading Finnish chef and well known in Finland’s F&B circles.

Needless to say, Turku plays host because of its burgeoning food scene. The idea behind the festival is to bring in top international chefs and bartenders from all around the world, and host them in local restaurants and bars where they serve up a special four-course menu to locals and other chefs, and the three most popular dishes are chosen as winners of the competition. It’s a serious matter of pride who wins the competition, but I still managed to come fourth on my first visit there.

My stint involved taking over a local favourite restaurant called Suomalainen Pohja, one of Turku’s oldest fine dining restaurants. It is located right next to the Art Museum, and you can still see some of its rich heritage and history from its interiors. Even the simple staff meals I ate there reflected the rustic Finnish home-style cooking. It felt very welcoming and makes you feel like you are eating like a local. Most of the local meals revolve around bread, meat or fish, salad and silli ja uudet perunat (potatoes). In addition to poro (reindeer meat), I also really enjoyed lamb kebabs with potatoes, akin to lihapullat and perunamuusi (Finnish meatball with gravy and mashed potato).

Produce matters

Fresh lettuce growing in neat rows in one of Turku’s indoor fruit and vegetable farms

Though the range of Finland’s local produce is somewhat limited due to its harsh climate, what the country is able to produce is good, fresh and organic. And since they are very proud of growing their own high-quality produce, the Finnish agricultural industry has invested the time and effort in research and development to develop the best ways to grow the supplies, and create as much variety as possible. In Turku, I used produce that had been handpicked or foraged as early as 4am or 5am, and then was sold at the market by 8am on the same day. Where in Singapore can you find that?

Despite the long flight from Singapore to Finland, the chef who hosted me whisked me straight from the airport to the local open-air farmers’ markets as soon as I landed, to see all the produce available. I tasted things I hadn’t seen before like cloudberries – they were a little tart and bitter. Even the cauliflower, which should be familiar to me, tasted fresher somehow. Naturally I bought back plenty of ingredients like fresh berries and sorrel to the kitchen at Suomalainen Pohja to experiment with. For example, I used the typical Finnish ruisreikäleipä, a flat, rye flour, doughnut-shaped loaf to recreate my dish of chicken livers with toast. The flavours were incredible.

If you’re going to Turku, I highly recommend visiting

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Bazaar Meat by José Andrés in Las Vegas

Communal hot tub after a sauna

Smoked whole lamb leg

Kauppatori Market Square. It’s a farmers’ market with all the freshest local produce on sale, and that’s where we bought most of the ingredients for the festival dinners. I loved being able to talk to the farmers about their produce. Even common ingredients like purple cauliflower seemed so different and amazing. I was really inspired. Also, there is an old market hall called Turunkauppahalli, where all the traditional butchers and fishmongers are based. It’s like going to your personal butcher down the road, discussing the dish you’re making and then getting the best quality meat possible from him.

All things Finnish If someone were to ask what stood out for me about the Finnish lifestyle, it would have to be their saunas. It was something I really enjoyed, and was so relaxing.

The food and produce rank a very close second. Finns are very open to new ideas in food and drink, and they eat good wholesome food, taking the time to enjoy their meals. It’s that open mindset that has propelled Turku into the culinary limelight.

As part of the festival, I also visited a special pop-up

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Judges of the Food & Fun Festival tasting dishes on the final day of the cooking competition

Antoine Braastad personally hosting the Braastad Cognac workshop

A wood-burning stove for the sauna

restaurant called Ravintola Kipina, set up by Kuru and his father, chef Pekka Kuru. It’s located on the tip of the Finnish archipelago, so you can imagine how amazing the view is. The landscape covered both the sea and mountains, and the air was fresh, crisp and cold, so it was the perfect setting for renowned Finnish saunas and cold baths. The restaurant serves as a platform where visiting chefs can cook for up to three months, and culinary schools can also host workshops and classes there.

The food prepared by chef Kuru was typical Finnish fare, with dishes like a smoked leg of lamb served with a berry jam, sour cream and thinly sliced raw vegetables; a pike mousse and reindeer ham with lingon berries. The pike mousse is typically eaten on bread and is something I found almost everywhere in Turku. Surprisingly, although there were some minor variations in flavourings in the mousse from different places, they were uniformly delicious, very light and full of clean, ocean flavours.

The reindeer meat on the other hand, tasted a little leaner and gamier than pork, but the fresh and tart lingonberries help to balance the gaminess.

The festival was also home to a Braastad Cognac workshop hosted by Antoine Braastad himself, where he displayed his full

range of cognacs and liquors, as well as some new concoctions that were still in the development stage. Safe to say, I am considering the culinary possibilities of cognac right now.

e

British-born Oliver Hyde’s interest in food was piqued by childhood explorations of woods and coastlines, and a family affinity with cooking (his father and grandma were chefs). After cutting his teeth in England at three Michelin-starred The Waterside Inn by Gordon Ramsay, he worked at the one Michelin-starred Hostellerie La Briqueterie in Vinay, France, for a year before heading to Singapore. After a stint at Pollen as sous chef, Hyde is now head chef at Maggie Joan’s.

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t r av e l f e at u r e

Romancing the new Riga On a whirlwind trip, June Lee finds herself smitten with sleek design, modern cuisine and the electric energy in Latvia’s rising capital.

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ention that you’re heading to Latvia, and you’ll likely draw blank stares. This is the enigma of my newfound crush, a republic that’s twice the size of Belgium, celebrating its centenary this year, and yet An&Angel it’s as elusive as the Latvian Blue Cow when it comes to the international stage. The country has spawned talents such as theatre director Alvis Hermanis, author Inga Abele, film director Janis Nords, tennis player Ernests Gulbis and artist Mark Rothko – a remarkable pool for a nation of less than two million people.

Walking the past and present The journey from Singapore to Latvia is comfortably achieved on

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Finnair, which makes a stop in Helsinki before transferring to a smaller plane for a one-hour hop to Riga.

At first sight, Riga looks like many other European capitals, with medieval spires, Cloud Nine cocktail bar orderly apartment blocks, park squares and wide boulevards, punctuated with its unique Art Nouveau facades, heritage wooden architecture, and increasingly modern edifices. Walking tours of the Old Town are de rigeur, to learn more about Riga’s founding in the 1200s and its melting pot culture as seen on the impeccably clean streets.

Gunars Birkerts is the architect of the country’s most magnificent contemporary landmark, the Latvian National Library (lnb.lv) or known as the Castle of Light. It draws from the

metaphor of a glass hill, and has been in the making for a number of years before achieving its final, soaring form. Pop in for a concert, an exhibition, a view from the top floor, or to behold the stunning collection of the ‘People’s Bookshelf’ – a national project in the making.

Old meets new Riga’s Art Nouveau district deserves its due, with UNESCO deeming it a World Heritage Site since 1997, recognising that Riga has the finest collection of Art Nouveau buildings in Europe.

However, what’s even more interesting is what’s now taking place in these buildings, long a stalwart of consulates, offices and residences.

A short stroll from the excellent Riga Art Nouveau Museum (jugendstils.riga.lv/eng/muzejs) are two of the city’s top bars, XIII (bar13.lv) and Cloud Nine (fb.com/cloudninelv) – don’t even dream of getting in without a reservation. The former slings out house infusions in signature cocktails amid a swanky setting, while the latter is housed in a speakeasy styled basement, with theatrical rum cocktails and hookahs for an upscale, dressed-tokill audience.

The National Library of Latvia, also known as Gaismas Pils (Castle of Light) RIIJA, a design and lifestyle boutique

The Art Nouveau district

The interior of a building in the Art Nouveau district

Still in the same Antonijas district is where I make the first dent in my credit card, at the An&Angel crystal and glass art studio (angel.lv). Its founder and designer, Artis Nimanis, is on hand to talk us through his luminescent creations made from mouth-blown glass, coated with steel using cutting-edge techniques. I end up with numerous of his Red Dot Award-

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winning tableware, knowing that chefs have also been clamouring for these incredibly sexy silhouettes for their dishes.

For modern designs housed under one roof, head to BOLD (The Best of Local Design, boldconceptstore.lv) where An&Angel is retailed alongside high-end Baltic fashion and products. Check out the fox suit from hot young Georgian designer Mariam Gvasalia, among others. Equally on the pulse is Riija (riija.lv), which brings together luxe Latvian designers with a focus on the home, including furniture and linenware as well as premium souvenirs.

Traditional treats “Contemporary Latvian cuisine isn’t about sprinkling blueberries on rye tart,” quips the gruff chef Dzintars Kristovskis. We’re having a beer-paired dinner at the ‘beer kitchen’ Valmiermuizas Embassy (valmiermuizas.lv), where as the previous head chef he “applied modern techniques to local stuff”. Fermentation, pickling and foraging are all part of his arsenal, a movement that’s built on the land and produce. In particular, he’s excited about using pine and spruce trees for everything from the green cones to make syrup, to branches for smoking and pine needles for sorbet, with the resin giving a characteristic bitterness.

As the current European Region of Gastronomy regional ambassador, Kristovskis broaches that there is no ‘authentic’ Latvian cuisine. Other than five dishes that are rooted deep in folklore, all the rest of what they eat is simply usage of ingredients. “After so many years of influence from Sweden, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan and more, their dishes were rooted so deeply that we thought they were ours,” he expounds.

The traditional dishes he refers to include a stew of black beans and smoked pork; a rye vegetable tart called sklandrausis; a sour porridge eaten cold called skabputra; another porridge called bukstinputra; and smoked fish and meats. Sklandrausis is often savoured, and we indeed find a very delicious carrot version at the Kalnciema Quarter (kalnciemaiela.lv/en/kalnciemaquarter), a weekly Saturday market held at a cluster of restored heritage wooden buildings. The market is a trove of quality finds, so bring plenty of cash for gorgeous linen fashion, handcrafted jewelry, wooden dishes and artwork. There are also food and wine vendors, along with an on-location restaurant.

Smoked fish and meats merit their own hall over at the Riga Central Market (rct.lv), one of the world’s best markets. Sprawling over 72,000 sq m and offering over 3,000 trade stands, the market is partly housed in five pavilions in historical buildings, constructed from Zeppelin hanger materials. There are produce galore alongside goods and souvenirs, as well as a farmer’s market

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Raimonds Tomsons Eriks Dreibant’s modern Latvian cuisine

Abavas winery

section where you can stumble across wild strawberries, no larger than a thumbnail. Book a two-hour guide if you’re short on time, or enjoy browsing and bantering with locals. When parched, meander over to the vegetable hall for a branch of Labietis (labietis.lv) craft beer, with eight brews on tap to quench your thirst.

Notching up the dining scene Kristovskis also clued me in about

Kalnciema Street Market

pig ears in aspic, to wild boar pate with gooseberry and pine cone demi glace. There are ‘safe’ items on the menu, of course, but who visits Riga without a sense of adventure?

For my final escapade, Tomsons has recommended me to Abavas (abavas.lv), in his opinion one of the best family wineries in Latvia. I dutifully ambush Martins Barkans at Abavas’ visitor’s centre opened early this year and discover a treasure trove of apple, rhubarb and cherry wine that’s been appearing in the city’s best beverage lists. The dry sparkling rhubarb in particular is a hit, and a tricky feat to pull off. Tasting in the warehouse with Barkans, discussing the possibilities of exporting Latvian beverages to the world, and making the final dent in my wallet as I snap up a box of cherry brandy and assorted liqueurs, feels like a fitting end to a trip that I didn’t know what to expect from at first. Like all the best romances, you just have to embrace the journey.

Restaurant 3

how the New Nordic Food initiative, headed by torques like Noma’s Rene Redzepi, inspired the Latvian Chef’s Club in 2009 to declare its own manifesto based on seasonality, locality and the environment. One of the chefs involved is Martins Ritins, who founded Latvia’s first fine dining restaurant Vincents (restorans. lv) in 1994.

Ritins, who recently retired, has handed the reins to longtime manager Raimonds Tomsons – who at 36 was crowned Best Sommelier of Europe 2017 in the typically gruelling challenge.

Tall, languid and reserved, Tomsons is preparing for the world championship in 2019 while also navigating the management changes at Vincents, where he has worked his whole career. He muses that the fine dining scene in Riga is fairly young, and that customers tend to play safe with wine choices – Champagne, Bordeaux and Italian bottles top the list, though he would much rather be recommending sake, sekt or even natural wines. Before I leave, he gives some pairing tips. “For smoked flounder which is firm yet still juicy, try older vintage Chardonnay. Pickled herring, a very popular local dish on every menu, calls for a lively fresh mineral Riesling. And for the signature dish at Vincents, which is a smoked eel with foie gras, Gewurztraminer would go well with its Asian-inspired flavours.”

Chef Eriks Dreibants, also part of the infamous manifesto, is best known for one of Riga’s most back-to-nature ateliers, Restaurant 3 (restaurant3.lv). The menu is filled with wild catches and foraged items where possible, many of which are unadulteratedly robust. I work my way through the forest platter, from the strong gamey smoked beaver, smoked goat’s cheese and

The writer’s trip was made possible by the Latvia Trade Office in Singapore.

Where to stay One-year-old hotel Pullman riga old town took a bold gamble to merge a historic stable building from 1789 with a brand new structure. The result is a personable 155-room hotel catering to conference and leisure travellers alike, with equestrian design elements and even an in-house barber. Even better is the central location, smack in the middle of old town and walking distance to main attractions. Jekaba iela 24, lv1050 Riga. Tel: +371 6781 5444 Zoltners is a surprisingly contemporary outpost located 70km from Riga, where sensitively restored 1930s buildings have been given a new lease of life in the most tranquil of surroundings, pleasantly ringed with birch, oak and linden trees. The seven-room boutique hotel, microbrewery and restaurant facility is the brainwave of retired agronomist Valters and chic wife Gunita Bruss. The restaurant drew 30,000 diners in 2016, attesting to its well-wrought modern European offerings such as battered frog’s hips, beer and mustard marinated oil fish, and perfectly seared ribeye. Kroņauce, Tērvete district, Tērvete parish, LV3730. Tel: +371 2733 1108

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f r e q u e n t f ly e r

Amazing archipelago Tim Hartnoll, executive director of Bawah Island resort, tells Priyanka Elhence how his love for sailing and nature gave birth to an island hideaway in Indonesia.

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Bawah Island

ith over 40 years of experience in the maritimeshipping industry, it’s natural that Tim Hartnoll has a deep affinity for the ocean. Born and raised in Singapore to British parents, Hartnoll joined his father’s shipping company X-Press Feeders in 1982 and successfully transformed the business into the largest independent common carrier in the world today, covering Asia, the Middle East, Caribbean, Central America, Mediterranean and Europe. Not surprisingly, Hartnoll’s hobbies revolved around the open blue waters through boating, sailing, snorkelling and diving. In 2006, after stumbling upon Bawah Island in the Indonesian Anambas archipelago, his vision of creating a hidden eco-friendly, luxury resort escape came to fruition.

expedition aboard my yacht. An overnight stop turned into a week-long stay, during which time I explored all of Bawah’s five pristine but hugely underrated islands.

When an opportunity came up three months later to buy them, I gathered a group of eight investors to embark on the exciting project with me. I am deeply passionate about nature and underwater exploration, and I love how special and unique it is, with its five pristine islands, three lagoons and 13 beaches.

After decades in the shipping business, what sparked your interest in developing Bawah Island?

The opportunity came when I had relinquished the day-to-day operations of my shipping business to the senior executives in the company, so I could have more quality family time with my wife and three children. At the same time, I was looking for a new project to get involved in. I first experienced Bawah in 2006 during an

What measures did you take to preserve Bawah’s natural environment to provide an eco-friendly experience?, Tim Hartnoll We didn’t use any heavy machinery during the construction process, so every mechanical process – from recycling stones to breaking boulders for building materials – was done by hand. Our Suites and Overwater Bungalows are

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situated against a plush green backdrop, overlooking the blue lagoon where possible, and adorned with elegant wooden interiors handmade from natural materials such as bamboo, driftwood and recycled teak, complete with recycled copper sinks and showers in the bathrooms.

All solid waste is sorted and kitchen waste recycled through a compost programme and then used in our permaculture garden.

Waste water undergoes several stages of treatment and is recycled for irrigation purposes and toilet flushing. Instead of using harmful pesticides, insect control is done J Accursio Craparo

DESTINATION HITS

Hartnoll’s motor yacht

Via Grimaldi, 41 97015 Modica Tel: +39 0932 941689

J Bawah Island Pulau Bawah, 01 Desa Kiabu Siantan Selatan Anambas, Riau 29791 Pulau Bawah Tel: +65 6322 3132 or +65 9678 8639 J Cinammon Club

One&Only Cape Town

The Old Westminster Library, Great Smith Street Westminster, London SW1P 3BU Tel: +44 20 7222 2555

J One&Only Cape Town Dock Road, V & A Waterfront Cape Town, 8001, South Africa Tel: +27 21 431 5888 J Sushi Kimura Singapore #01-07 Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road Tel: +65 6734 3520

The view of Table Mountain from Cape Town’s Victoria & Albert Waterfront

through natural passive means. The eco mindset is prevalent in the restaurants too, through the use of locally grown ingredients and a zero-waste program. Since the resort is all-inclusive, it is easier to control the produce sourcing to maintain our stringent ethical standards.

Where do you travel to get away from it all?

I used to have a motor yacht that I would sail on extensively.

Unfortunately, she caught fire and sank in March 2016, so now I just escape to Bawah and revel in the serenity of the island. I spend my time snorkelling, diving, observing the reef and the changes that are taking place as a result of our conservation efforts, and joining group yoga sessions in the morning and a private spa treatment in the afternoon.

And your most indulgent vacation thus far?

My wife and I took a holiday to Cape Town and Cape Province in 2016, and we treated ourselves to the best hotels like One&Only Cape Town.

What are your top three eating haunts around the world?

I love visiting Italy and going out with local friends to eat. Many of them have their special but inconspicuous, family-run restaurants off the beaten path which you wouldn’t usually find as a tourist. I was visiting friends in Sicily and they took me to a fabulous one Michelin-starred restaurant Accursio Craparo in Modica run by chef-owner Accursio Craparo. It was Italian cuisine at its best because Craparo showcases Sicily’s polychrome cuisine through hearty fare from both Modica and Sciacca. Some of his signature dishes include Il Carciofo (pan-fried artichokes with potatoes, fennel and mint) and Spremuta di Sicilia (pasta with anchovies, tuna bottarga, green onion, wild fennel and toasted bread).

I also like Japanese food and one of my favourite local haunts is Sushi Kimura at Palais Renaissance. Lastly, I really enjoy the fusion of cuisines at the Cinnamon Club, Westminster Library in London, a unique combination of traditional British food married with South Asian flavours.

Tell us something not many people know about you Two friends and I set up a charity to fully fund one Singapore student a year to study at my alma mater, Warwick University.

We have already sent three Singapore students from financially disadvantaged families to study in the U.K., and in all of the cases, they were the first one from their families to attend university. I get a lot of pleasure when we conduct the final round of interviews and select a suitable candidate, because you know that you have made a really positive impact on his or her life.

epicureasia .com 1 07

F O O D TA L K

The dirty truth about clean eating

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t’s the beginning of another year, a time when infinite healthy eating resolutions are made in an attempt to eat better, feel better, and most importantly, look much better. We’ve seen the passing fads of so many diets and salubrious eating trends in our quest for a glamorously svelte figure, I never know what’s in vogue or what is already deemed unacceptable. My ideas on clean eating never included rigorous systems like the Paleo or Raw Food diet, sophisticated theories on alkaline foods, or vegan or even dairy- or gluten-free meal plans. Wasn’t clean eating just about sensible moderation and eliminating junk and processed foods from our diet as much as possible? It’s no wonder that such trying resolutions are usually long forgotten before the month ends.

The term ‘clean eating’ itself is such a paradox, because if certain foods are considered clean (think superfoods), then automatically there is an implication that other foods are ‘dirty’, and thus to be avoided at all costs. A study entitled Clean Eating: The Dirty Truth published by the BBC last April cited that the term, which originally stood for natural, unprocessed fare now simply translates into a diet or short-lived fad. According to the study, in a world where everyone is so obsessed with clean eating icons like kale smoothies, smashed avocado, chia seeds and quinoa-based salads, young people are putting their health at risk with fad diets. Perhaps Alice Living, a personal trainer, cookbook author and Instagram star with half a million followers (@aliceliveing) said it best when she said, “I chose clean eating as a positive change to my health and body because it perfectly encapsulated everything I wanted to do to my own diet – clean it up, get rid of processed rubbish and begin eating real food again. I never once thought about restricting whole food groups from my diet, or placing metaphorical labels on foods and seeing them as either clean or unclean.” I agree.

On the same track, Catherine Collins, a former U.K. National

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Health Service dietitian says that the inference of clean eating is that a vegetable-based diet will make you slimmer, fitter and more attractive. But with the rise of bloggers recommending eliminating major food groups like dairy and wheat without suggesting alternatives, an easily influenced population can quickly feel under attack with such restrictions and the added social pressure if they don't consume the ‘right foods’. “Outwardly, you can look vibrant and beautiful, but inwardly your body can be crying out for nutrition,” warns Collins. Indeed. Remember 2010 when Gwyneth Paltrow’s detox resulted in her being diagnosed with early stage osteopenia, a precursor to osteoporosis, because she supposedly cut dairy from her diet?

At what point do we draw the line on what’s good for us and how do we decide on what to live without? First there was the era of sugar-free and fat-free foods. Then there was the never-ending hype about broccoli. Thereafter we couldn’t eat kale fast enough – the days of kale being revered as the It superfood are over, by the way. Watercress is considered the new kale, and cauliflower is the healthier substitute to white rice.

I was recently presented with a pack of chufa powder because the natural sugars from this nutritious tuber root were the ideal baking replacement for refined sugar. What’s chufa powder you ask? My point exactly. And didn’t coconut sugar just replace white and brown sugar as the only acceptable healthy sweetener when it comes to baking?

Rather than completely eliminating a particular food or food group, take the more practical approach of swapping deep-fried foods for steamed ones, processed for natural, and soda for water, so that the temporary resolution becomes a sustained lifestyle.

This year, instead of putting more pressure on ourselves to eat better in an attempt to be more kind to our bodies, perhaps the only resolution we should be making is one of moderation. I certainly pledge to do that. Join me, won’t you?

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image concept elliott chan

Superfoods and clean eating have their health benefits, but are we losing the plot by blindly chasing after such trends? By Priyanka Elhence

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S to c k i S t S

Restaurant Lerouy

Ampelia 294 Pasir Panjang Rd Tel: 6396 7935 / 8133 0615 BBQ Grill Culture #01-07 Serene Centre 10 Jalan Serene Tel: 6875 1657 Chikin 6 Bukit Pasoh Road Tel: 6910 2742 Culina #01-13 8 Dempsey Road Tel: 6474 7338

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Dellarosa Wine dellarosawine.com Edible Garden City 60 Jalan Penjara ediblegardencity.com Fairprice Finest 6 Scotts Rd Tel: 6636 0290 Fuluxe #05-06 Aljunied Industrial Complex 623 Aljunied Road Tel: 8436 4500 Lalique #04-45 Paragon Tel: 6100 2124

Oaks Cellars oaks.com.sg Tel: 6224 2611

Royal Selangor B2-92 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Tel: 6688 7167

Phoon Huat #01-10 1 Sims Lane Tel: 6654 4333

Space Furniture 77 Bencoolen Street Tel: 6415 000

Proof Living #04-16 ION Orchard Tel: 6509 0555

W. Atelier #01-01/02 75 Bukit Timah Road Tel: 6270 8828

Rachelle The Rabbit Meadery rachelletherabbit.com

1855 The Bottle Shop 1855thebottleshop.com Tel: 9636 1855

Antique Villa Living Room in Aman Resorts.

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Designed for bon vivants who share the belief that food is the ultimate universal language, epicure is on an enthusiastic quest to seek out the latest dining trends, sniff out remarkable wine vintages and uncover the dynamics and intricacies of the local and international culinary scene. each month, the magazine profiles celebrity chefs and winemakers, showcases exclusive recipes for entertaining as well as highlights the latest destinations for well-travelled foodies. these insightful articles are complemented by lush, captivating photos to stimulate the senses.

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Please send your cheque to Magazines integrated Pte Ltd, 85 Playfair road, #04-02 tong Yuan Building, singapore 368000. For enquiries and other overseas subscription rates, please call +65 6848 6884 or email subscription@magsint.com JANUARY 2018

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epicure's choice

To mark 2018, Royal Selangor presents their Year of the Dog Chopstick Rest ($85). A endearing pair of Chow Chows is immortalised in pewter and 24K gold, reminiscent of the traditional set of Foo dogs often used in imperial palaces as a form of protection. #B2-92, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Avenue. Tel: 6688 7167

Modelled by awardwinning actress Julianne Moore and model-activist Adwoa Aboah, John Hardy’s Made for Legends collection features unique and artfully handcrafted pieces inspired by the Balinese folklore of Naga, a lovesick dragon. The brand’s first female creative director, Bonneville Barden, recreates the symbol of love and protection in a stunning blend of ethically reclaimed gold and sterling silver.

Using time-honoured craftsmanship dating back to the splendour of Balinese royal courts, each cuff, necklace or earring (from $337.30 to $31,027.90) is adorned with gems such as sapphire and obsidian.

Available from international.johnhardy.com

Art and science collide in the most delectable manner at Nathan Myhrvold’s Modernist Cuisine Gallery. The former chief technology officer of Microsoft unites his love for physics and the intricacies of cooking in a series of cookbooks and, now, two independent galleries, featuring food photographed in nontraditional ways. High speed video and laboratory techniques and state-of-the-art digital tools turn heirloom tomatoes and slices of artisanal bread into endlessly fascinating and powerful portraits.

Visitors should pick up a copy of Modernist Cuisine before taking a walk through past and new works. Limited edition prints of Myhrvold’s art pieces are available at both Las Vegas and New Orleans locations (from US$1,000/S$1,345). The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, 3500 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109. Tel: +1 702 262 0196. 305 Royal St New Orleans, LA 70130. Tel: +1 504 571 5157

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Great food • Great drinks • Great music

The place to dine and celebrate in Singapore No. 1 HarbourFront Walk #01-98/99 VivoCity Singapore 098585 Tel: 6376 8185