Eat Between The Lines

Eat between the lines forking around by Gavin Nazareth

55 at Centara Grand With each passing day and with every new restaurant opening doors, Thailand reinforces the fact that it has matured into a fine dining destination. Dining at 55, one of Bangkok’s newest only seems to underline this assertion.

Located at the top of the Centara Grand CentralWorld, the stylish 55 (so named because it is on the 55th floor) brings together the very finest cuisine and wines in a stunning rooftop location that offers diners sweeping views of the cityscape. The focus here is fashioning an unsurpassed culinary experience and evoking memories of an earlier era when fine dining truly was focused on the quality and flavour of the cuisine and the ability of the wines to perfectly complement the dishes. And 55 does bear testament to this age with very fine china and silverware, a two-storey glassed walled home for over 200 outstanding wine labels from around the world, and its emphasis on quality ingredients.

Man in charge, Chef Sandro Aguilera’s menu is classic French and his degustation menu is sure to have foodies salivating over it. For USD 157++ per person, he serves up six plates of sheer delight paired with some superlative wines from France, Australia and Italy.

To tease the palate, his amuse bouche is a sliver of Pata Negra ham with tomato pate served on brown bread that sets the tone for the things to come. Tuscan Porcini Carpaccio (tiger prawns, white asparagus tips with a cream of smoked Idiazabal cheese) is teamed with Fleur de Champagne, Duval Leroy Brut. A cold appetiser, the fresh, clean flavours have a hint of sweetness, tempered by the slight sharpness of the Idiazabal, a pressed cheese from the Basque country in Spain made from unpasteurised sheep’s milk.

Southwest of France, the Perigord region is considered the capital

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of foie gras and truffles and Sandro’s offering is a sumptuous Perigord foie gras ravioli within a oxgyenised truffle foam and cereliac duxelles.

Decoded duxelles is a mixture of finely chopped mushrooms, shallots and herbs cooked in butter until it forms a thick paste, though here cereliac or celery root is used. The sweetness of the foie gras and the nutty truffle essence works well with the crisp, fresh acidity of the Riesling Reserve 2005, Trimbach, Alsace.

In Act three, another French culinary icon makes its way to the table – the Challans duck; this 400-year-old breed that comes from the marshy regions of Vende and Brittany was a favourite with the French kings and is known of for its robust flavour and exceptionally lean but tender flesh.

At 55, paper-thin slices of the duck are paired with a risotto made from Carnaroli rice, a white rice grown in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions of Italy, and said to be one of the finest of rices for risottos. A fricassee of chanterelles and slivers of truffles and manchego give it a bouquet of sensational flavours, while the slightly crunchy risotto gives it some texture. Add to the mix a glass of Chassagne Montrachet 2000, Louis Jadot, Burgundy and this is easily the standout dish on the menu.

Fish in the form of baked John Dory is next. A terrine of candied endives serves as the bed for the fish steak, which is topped by smooth garlic cream and a topping of Sevruga caviar.

For the last course before dessert, a soft tender pillow of Tasmanian Aurora lamb is served in a crepinette with vine tomatoes and creamy E.V.O.O Roseval potato in a simple jus.

Dessert is a simple trio of Orange compote, Manjari chocolate cream, mandarin sorbet and white chocolate with a coffee emulsion, matched with a Rigoletto Santa Cristina, Zenato, Veneto from Italy.

A lifetime of eggs-periences Few can resist the olfactory attraction of eggs sizzling in a pan, the signal of a new day. One of the simplest yet most complete foods it is the master of disguise shedding its shell to effortlessly transform from a quick snack to an epicurean delight; quite like a quick-change artiste.

Adding to its ego is its image as comforting, symbolic and celebratory.

And that it appeals to the id is also unquestionable. Freud would have most likely blamed it for the unresolved issues before man: which came first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t think anyone will figure that one out. I rather stick with the effect it has on my taste buds. So much for super-ego!

My first brush with eggs was at age five, in an egg flip, eggnog by another name. Every morning, mom would whisk one raw egg with sugar, salt, and grated nutmeg until the sugar and salt completely dissolved. She then added warm milk, before whisking again. If the temperature outside dipped a teaspoon of brandy would be added to it.

Mom promised this would give us the necessary fillip to take on the day.

Perhaps it should be called an Egg Fillip. What it was, was breakfast in a glass. A freshly baked rustic bun (called pao in my native Goa) with homemade conserve rounded off the meal.

These orbs of nourishment became an integral part of my growing years; I devoured them in sandwiches, pastries, curries, cakes… even pickle. I ate them for breakfast, lunch dinner and even with a cold beer. A boiled egg cut into wedges, sprinkled with salt and paprika, and perhaps some fresh coriander, makes for perfect Indian-style tapas. As does a spicy masala omlette cut into squares. An enduring taste memory is of an omlette laced with finely cut green chillis and onions and a dash of spice, stuffed inside a lighty grilled pao: a staple with hungry media types in Mumbai. It was a quick snack elevated to gourmet heights by the simplicity of its ingredients. It also soothed the pain away of dealing with difficult editors and pushy chief reporters wanting a pound of your flesh with each para of copy.

So many memories, so many flavours, and all it is is a humble egg.

To further delve into the mysteries of the eggs-perience I asked chefs around the region to take the egg and work with it. For more creations like the one below, turn overleaf.

egg nouvelle

By Executive Chef Oscar Perez, St Regis Bali Resort I was inspired by the great Chef Michel Guerard when I visited his restaurant Les Pre d’Eugenie in France where he had a soft boiled egg topped with caviar for breakfast back in the early ’90s.

From there I took the idea of creating a dish for the Michelin-star restaurant I was working for back then in Copenhagen Denmark. I dedicated the dish to the restaurant name Nouvelle which was the type of cuisine we were creating back then. When my journey continued to South-east Asia to St Regis Bali, and I wanted to create a dish with which our guests would remember their breakfast experience at Boneka restaurant. Only the egg shell was used and coloured with natural ingredients. It was simmered for 30 minutes with red onion peel and blue berries to absorb the natural dye creating a dark purple colour on the shell.

This reflected the theme colour of the restaurant. The eggshell is topped up with boiled lobster meat, rich lobster bisque, parsley or asparagus spears and salmon roe.

word of mouth Last month three tasty books worth a mention landed on my desk courtesy Macmillan. They inspired me to roll up my sleeves, don the apron, and proceed to make a mess of the kitchen.

With Spain’s growing reputation as the new centre of innovative cuisine in Europe, author and chef Jane Lawson’s latest delicacy, Cocina Nueva: The New Spanish Kitchen, is a timely tome. In it she pays homage to her experiences on a recent gastronomic tour of that country and what she describes as “incredible, artistic, technically perfect, fascinating dishes that tasted of focused raw passion.” From tapas plates to authentic, rustic meals, Lawson ingeniously transforms the classics with a modern flair but keeping the traditional colours, flavours and textures. Each chapter – divided into Tasca (tapas), Cocina (main meals) and Postres (desserts), the way the Spaniards like to eat – offers a variety of simple-to-prepare dishes backed up by fabulous photography. Enjoy spiced sidra over a variety of tapas dishes like garlic prawns with chorizo or chicken albondigas with saffron almond sauce. Or spoil friends with sherrypoached veal with potato and anchovy gratin, crisp cumin chicken with red capsicum jam, or the txangurro (baked spider crab) ravioli.

As a sweeteners, nothing like the sweet bunuelos with orange curd or café con leche jelly to top a great meal. Now if only I could manage to put it all together on a plate.

World-renowned chef, food authority and media personality Neil Perry considers balance and harmony as the cornerstones of good Asian cooking, which is why his beautifully produced, silk-covered tribute to Asian food is labelled so. And while it is expansively titled Balance & Harmony: Asian Food, he confesses that much of it is inspired by Chinese cookery, the flavours of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Korea also find their way in. In his foreword, explaining his passion for the cuisines of this region, Perry says, “One of the things I love most about Asian food is that it is made for the shared table, and that is how I love to eat. A bowl of rice, a few dishes, some friends and family and a nice glass of wine or two and I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening.” The book organised in the style of a cooking school progresses from the easiest steamed, stir-fried, braised and deep-fried dishes, to more challenging and intricate plates as you become more confident and competent. Celebrating the shared table ethos, the book is punctuated by a progression of banquet ideas, ranging from the simple to the memorable. Even you if you don’t cook, this one will look good on your shelf.

A confessed sweet tooth, I simply couldn’t ignore a book titled Decadence, a glorious collection of lush, and truly, decadent desserts by chef Philip Johnson. This is confection in all its dreamy, creamy, chilled, chocolatey, hot, luscious glory; the striking colour photos in this are in itself enough satisfy your inner chocoholic. And just for the record my attempt at the Espresso & Cognac mousse with shortbread looked as good as it did within the pages, and friends seemed tongue-tied after sampling it.

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Kai Look Keuy

(Deep-fried boiled egg with sweet pork and crispy shallots)

By Chef Supanut Khanarak, Spice Market, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok Ingredients One egg, 100 gms pork neck, 100 gms tamarind paste, 40 gms palm sugar, 20 gms fish sauce, 40 gms oyster sauce, 50 gms shallots sliced and deep-fried, 40 gms soy sauce, 3 tbs cooking oil, 10 gms spring onions, 10 gms red chilli, julienned.

Method Boil the egg for 8 minutes. Peel egg in cold water and set aside for a while before deep frying until crispy. Mix tamarind paste with palm sugar, fish, oyster, and soy sauces to make topping. Cook the pork neck in cooking oil, along with remaining fish and soy sauces, and palm sugar. Cut egg into half. Put the tamarind sauce on top of the egg followed by pieces of pork neck. Garnish.

Eat between the lines forking around by Gavin Nazareth

65° Poached Egg, Truffled Cream of Monalisa Potato, Charcoal Smoked Croutons

By Executive Chef Michel Breliere, Centara Grand, Bangkok

Ingredients Vegetable Broth: 200gms Monalisa potato, 50gms leek, 60gms carrot, 40gms shallot, 20gms garlic, 20cl extra virgin olive oil, 20cl white wine, 10gms truffles Cream Soup: 600cl vegetable broth, 700gms Monalisa potato, 80gms onion,100gms cooking cream, 80gms butter, 20cl extra virgin olive oil, white truffle oil to taste For the Egg: 4 pcs egg, a few drops of white truffle oil, 4 slices of black winter truffle Method Broth: In a cooking pot pre-heated with the olive oil, add all the vegetables, thinly cut. Let them sweat lightly without letting the colour fade; add the cubed potato. Add the white wine, then the water, and let it boil first and then simmer for about 40 minutes. Strain. Soup: Slice the onion and cook in a pot with olive oil. Add the diced potatoes and the vegetable broth. Cook until the potatoes are very soft. Strain the potatoes and keep the liquid aside. In a food processor, mix the potatoes with the butter and then the cream and if necessary add some cooking liquid to get a good smooth texture. Keep turning at 60° for five minutes. Egg: Cut a square of plastic film, grease it with olive oil and place the egg on it. Season it with salt and pepper; add the truffle slice before sealing the film delicately.

Poach for five minutes in boiling water. Make the croutons and keep them in a covered pan for two minutes with smoking charcoal.

Presentation: In a deep plate, pour the soup and add the egg. Sprinkle some drops of olive oil on top of it and at the last minute, add the smoking croutons and cover. Your guests will be suprised as they see the smoke arising out of the plate.

Melody of Eggs with Drunken Prawn

By Senior Sous Chef Kong Kok Kiang, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Singapore Ingredients Drunken Prawns: 4 prawns, 250ml chicken stock, 1gm Gou Qi Zi (wolfberry), 1gm Bei Qi (Astragalus), 1gm Dong Gui (Angelica), 10ml Hua Tiao Wine, 30ml brandy Melody of Eggs: 6 eggs, 150ml chicken stock, one century egg, one salted egg, a dash of sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste Garnish: Shaved asparagus, shiso cress, salmon roe Method Drunken Prawns: Bring chicken stock,

wolfberry, astragalus, and angelica to boil.

Add in Hua Tiao wine and brandy and simmer for 10 minutes. Next, poach the prawns in stock till cooked. Once ready, shell the prawns and keep warm.

Melody of Eggs: Mix the eggs with chicken stock, and pour into a soup plate. Next, add in chopped century egg, salted egg and a dash of sesame oil. Steam the mixture on a low flame for six minutes.

To serve: Place the drunken prawn on the egg custard. Garnish with shaved asparagus, shiso cress and salmon roe.

Umaki Tamago

By Japanese Head Chef Kawamura at Benkay Restaurant, Hotel Nikko Kuala Lumpur Ingredients ½ piece unagi, 4 eggs, 90ml dry seaweed (soaked in water), 20ml soya sauce, 10ml Mirin (Japanese sake), 10gms salt, Method Soak dry seaweed in water. Add in soya sauce, mirin and salt. Mix well. Put aside.

In a container; beat the eggs. Then, heat a pan and glaze it with cooking oil (preferably use a ‘tamagoyaki’ pan).

Pour the eggs in the pan. Add unagi and roll. Cut the roll into six pieces. Garnish with grated radish. Serve.

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