Australia beckons all Epicureans!

Australia is leaving none of the senses untouched. Appealing to all gourmandizers out there who will do anything for a plate of good food, Tourism Australia has launched a campaign that promotes food and wine experiences from around the country.

Dining with the tides, Orpheus Island, Queensland

Called ‘Restaurant Australia,’ the new $10 million campaign showcases Australia as the world’s greatest restaurant.  

Their research shows that, and foodies will agree with me, food and wine is a key factor in holiday decision-making and an important emotive trigger for influencing people’s destination choice.

Picnicking in the Barossa Valley with fresh local produce, South Australia

If you're planning to visit Australia anytime soon and want to get involved with this delicious campaign, click the 'Restaurant Australia' website.

Select the region you will be visiting and find out which are the top local restaurants and wineries you can indulge at!

Happy masticating!

Indian restaurant at The Venetian Macao

Many travelers are now opting to try local cuisine while traveling rather than seek Indian dishes. But for one such traveler are 100 others who still demand Indian food. This post if for them!

If you find yourself in this now-overly-commercialised-city often referred to as the Las Vegas of the Far East, you could throw in a visit to The Venetian. It is an experience. And while there, when you feel the need to fill your stomach, which you will because you will get tired walking around, look for The Golden Peacock restaurant.

This Michelin-starred Indian restaurant has recently launched a new vegetarian and non-vegetarian a la carte menu which includes:

* Sona Mor Shikampuri, made of bananas, sweet potatoes and golden apricot

* Kandari Murgh Tikka, organic chicken boiled with beetroots and served with pomegranate

* Goa-style Scallop Ambot Tik, pan-fried Scottish scallops served on spicy tomato jam

* Dal Sath Nizam, made of seven kinds of lentils, pink onion, royal cumin, tomato and Kashmiri chilli

* Badal-e-Jaam, baked Italian purple eggplants served with homemade yogurt and sour cream 

Dessert lovers will not want to miss their Assam Tea Chocolate, Sandalwood Ice Cream and Coconut Lychee Mousse.

 

The restaurant's one-star listing in the Michelin Guide to Restaurants and Hotels Hong Kong & Macau 2014 edition says “a very good restaurant in its category,” and “a place offering cuisine prepared to a consistently high standard.” 

It is also one of only nine Indian restaurants worldwide currently starred by Michelin, and the only one in Asia. Which is ironic - the only Michelin-starred Indian restaurant is not even in India. 

The ingredients are imported direct from India and the dishes are created by a team of chefs that includes 13 from India, led by Kerala-native Chef Justin Paul. 

For reservations or private events, email goldenpeacock.reservation@venetian.com.mo

The 7-year old hotel is famous for its replicas of the famous canals and architectural icons of Venice. It has 3,000 suites, more than 30 restaurants, 1.2 million square feet of convention and meeting facilities as well as a 15,000-seat Cotai Arena designed for events. 

 

Spice up your holiday with MasterChef Travel

Are you one of those who are often torn between going on a food trail and exploring a new destination for a holiday? Then this one's for you!

Coz & Kings has tied up with MasterChef Travel (of MasterChef Australia fame) to create a tour specially for foodies who love to travel. 

MasterChef Travel is Cox & Kings' brand new range of culinary holidays, focusing on the world’s most inspiring cuisines. All the tours feature local culinary experts and are accompanied by some of the most popular former contestants who have appeared on MasterChef Australia. 

These tours will offer the opportunity to discover local cuisine, explore the countries’ most interesting sights and even get hands-on experience participating in exclusive cooking opportunities! Whoa! 

The first one will involve taking an amazing tour through India this October in the company of Courtney Roulston, MasterChef Australia finalist 2010. This will include visiting the magnificent Taj Mahal, the fabulous Amber Fort, the stunning beaches of Goa and the colourful (and very crowded) bazaars of Mumbai.

Food will involve visiting the street food capital, Chandi Chowk and experiencing dinner at a local family’s home to learn some traditional home-cooked secrets.

Starting in Delhi from 8 October 2014, the 13-day tour also includes a stop at the Agra Fort then at Udaipur for a traditional cooking demonstration. 

India: A spice odyssey with Courtney Roulston is valid for sale until  30 Jul 14 or until sold out. For more details, check out the MasterChef Travel here.

Other MasterChef Travel tours for 2014
England: A rural food discovery with Alice Zaslavsky. 18-28 September 2014. 

Italy: A Culinary Journey with Kate Bracks. 2-11 September 2014. 

Mexico: A Food Fiesta with Ben Milbourne. 1-14 November 2014. 

Vietnam with Angkor Wat: Flavours & Highlights with Mindy Woods. 15- 29 November 2014.

A marwari repast

If you’re itching to bite into the local foods that Jaipur has to offer, you neednt risk a Delhi belly at roadside stalls. Instead, try the many restaurants in five-star hotels in the city that bring the local flavours onto your table in style.

There are two kinds of travellers in the world – those that demand the same kind of food they are used to at home and those that prefer local dishes wherever they go, just so they get a complete feel of the place. This is especially so when it comes to Rajasthan, which is as rich in its heritage as it is in terms of gastronomy.

The state’s largest city and its capital – Jaipur – was once also a capital for the Rajputs and other royalty. With such monarchal reputation, can it be far behind where food is concerned? The city is known for its rich and spicy food; dal baati churma, gatte ki saag and ghevar feature in the top ten foods to be had here. We sneak into the city’s five-star hotels’ kitchens to find out what is on their menu this high season.

Dal baati churma

Subrata Kumar Roy, corporate chef at Hotel Mansingh’s rooftop restaurant-and-lounge bar Hightz, recommends these local dishes: Jodhpuri gatta, papad mangodi ki sabzi, aloo pyaz ki sabzi, laal maans, palak pakodi chat, paneer kasula, and Rajasthani lamb chop. According to Chef Roy, while domestic tourists prefer to order local cuisine, international guests aren’t far behind. “Foreigners, particularly British, German, American, Australian, Malaysian, Singaporean and the French prefer local cuisine, including vegetarian dishes,” he says.  

Most chefs like Rakesh Ghai at ITC’s Sheraton Rajputana Hotel believe that Rajasthani food being largely vegetarian is a myth. “You will be surprised to know that Rajasthani food is mainly non-vegetarian.  That’s why three out of the top five local dishes that we are serving at Jal Mahal restaurant have meat:  laal mans, maans ka soola and murgh Jodhpuri. The other two are kair sangri and gatta curry,” Chef Ghai says.

Kair Sangri

The specialty restaurant at Shiv Vilas, Jaipur – Sheesh Mahal – ensures that they maintain the authenticity of all local dishes, and adjust to tailor-make it if need be. Executive chef at the hotel, Chef Anurag, lists five local dishes that have made it to the top this season: laal maans and safed maans, achari kair sangri, aloo kande ki subzi and stuffed gutta.

In unison

Those with a slightly more sensitive palate need not worry; they can tuck into the many international cuisines as well. Hotels always keep a mix of authentic Rajasthani cuisine and international offerings. At ITC, its at a 35:65 ratio with roast chicken, spaghetti bolognese, lasagna and grilled fish, roast turkey and carved ham featuring as the main dishes on the international menu. This despite the fact that heavy snowfall in Europe has hit the tourism industry in Jaipur, as around 70 percent of tourists from the European nations have cancelled their bookings in hotels.

Chef Ghai says, “We always have a fifty-fifty mix of international and local dishes. So our Oriental Bay, as the name suggests, serves Oriental food.” This includes: sayap ayam (Malay-style marinated chicken wings grilled and served with hot garlic sauce), tod man pla (Thai fish cake mixed with Thai spices, fried until golden brown and served with fresh cucumber sauce), Thai coconut soup (mild aromatic soup prepared with coconut milk, galangal, onion and lime juice), mala xia (wok-cooked king prawns with chilly flakes and Szechwan peppercorns), and chinese eggplant and string beans in flaming wok (fresh Chinese eggplant and string beans, prepared with scallions, garlic and ginger, tire-fried in chef’s special sauce).

Ashish Bhasin, executive chef at The Oberoi Rajvilas, also rates laal maas at the top of the local cuisine list, followed by murgh tikka makhani, chicken tikka, tandoori raan, shammi kebab and gutta curry. He has also churned up some interesting dishes from around the world on his menu. At the two restaurants in the hotel – Suryamahal and Rajmahal – he has Thai curries, mezze platter, lamb racks, and tenderloin steak.

Sweet tooth

Coming to what many consider the most interesting part of the meal, hotels give special attention to dessert. According to Chef Anurag at Shiv Vilas, foreign tourists find the variety of Indian desserts very exciting. “So we always have multiple choices in Indian sweets as well as international ones. Indian tourists on the other hand find foreign desserts very interesting since very few hotels in the country serve authentic foreign desserts,” he says.

Ghevar

However, Ashish Bhasin at The Oberoi Rajvilas, has kept mostly international options this season - French pastries and chocolate fondant. In comparison, Chef Subrata of Hightz restaurant at Hotel Mansingh prefers to keep mostly Indian sweets. He says, “Indians always prefer Indian sweets and almost 80 per cent of foreigners love our ghevar, gulab jamuns, kulfis and jalebees. At Sheraton Rajputana, Chef Rakesh prefers to have more of Western desserts since “foreigners find Indian desserts too sweet”. No prizes for guessing what the Indian tourist prefers – both, of course.

Glossary

Dal baati churma: Flaky round breads baked over firewood served dipped in ghee accompanied with dal (a mix of 5 lentils)

Gatte ki saag: Granflour cubes cooked in yogurt gravy

Papad mangodi ki sabzi: Raw popadum pieces cooked in split yellow gram

Aloo pyaz ki sabzi: Spicy potato and onion vegetable in garam masala

Laal maans: Spicy red meat

Palak pakodi chat: Spinach deep fried in split yellow gram flour, served with tamarind chutney

Paneer kasula: Cottage cheese dish

Maans ka soola: Lamb kebab  

Murgh Jodhpuri: A chicken dish prepared in a traditional way

Kair sangri: A dish made with three berries

Achari kair sangri: The above dish prepared in a slightly different way and eaten as a pickle

Safed maans: White meat prepared in the traditional way

Murgh tikka makhani: A chicken dish

Tandoori raan: Spring lamb leg cooked in spiced yoghurt and roasted in tandoor

Shammi kebab: Ground beef dish

Ghevar: Disc-shaped sweet dish made from oil, flour and sugar syrup

Gulab Jamuns: Sweet dish made of deep fried dough consisting mainly of milk solids

Kulfi: Milk-based frozen flavoured dessert

Jalebees: Deep-fried batter in a shape of pretzel soaked in syrup

Shiv Vilas
Near Durga Temple, N. H No.8,
Kukas, Jaipur-303101
Phone: +91 141-2531100
E-mail: info@shiv-vilas.com

The Oberoi Rajvilas

Goner Road

Jaipur – 302031

Phone: +91 141 268 0101

E-mail: reservations@oberoigroup.com

Hotel Mansingh

Sansar Chandra Road, Jaipur - 302001

Phone: (91-141) 2378771 (7 Lines), 5118771 (7 Lines)

E-mail: sales.jpr@mansinghhotels.com

Sheraton Rajputana Palace Hotel, Jaipur

Palace Road, Jaipur - 302006

Phone: (91)(141) 5100100

Stay Home: A perfect home-cooked meal

There cannot be a more honest expression of love than cooking a meal for your sweetheart. 

Traffic jams, parking problems and a 45-minute wait to get a table when you intended to have a cozy dinner with your loved one isn’t the greatest start to a romantic evening. Instead, surprise them with a perfect dinner cooked by you and you are guaranteed a perfect ending to your evening! 

Foreplay

Bruschetta with tomato and basil is simple to make and yet looks and tastes fabulous. You can choose one or more of the following: tomatoes, mushrooms and black olives. Finely chop the chosen veggies. For the marinade, you can use minced garlic (or not) and olive oil. If you feel like experimenting, use a splash of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Mix this with the vegetables so that they soak in the flavour.

Slice a baguette or similar Italian bread diagonally into half-inch thick slices. Toast them and brush one side with olive oil once they’re slightly golden brown. Top each slice with the veggies and sprinkle basil leaves and small cubes of feta or mozzerella cheese. Make sure you do it just before serving or the bread may get soggy. 

Climax

Cook up a quick spaghetti for main course if you don’t want to spend too much time in the kitchen. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a saucepan and add onions and garlic until they soften. Reduce the temperature and stir in fresh chopped tomatoes, drained mushrooms, bay leaves and oregano. 

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet) and a tsp of oil. Drain and sprinkle parmesan cheese over it before adding the sauce, finishing with a scattering of more cheese and a twist of black pepper. You can add minced meat or sliced sausages if you want. Pair the main course with a delicious Italian red wine. 

Comfort cuddling

For the most important part of the meal, you can make the easy but exotic strawberry with cream – with a slight twist. Mix strawberry pieces with powdered sugar in a steel box and freeze it for a couple of hours. This way the sugar gets absorbed by the strawberry pieces. The crunchiness of the frozen strawberries pieces when mixed with cream are a delicious combination of textures. Tip: try using fresh or home-made cream; it has more depth and creaminess. Alternately, packaged ‘fresh’ cream is good enough. 

(Note: This article was published on Burrp!. For more read here: http://mumbai.burrp.com/valentines/perfect-home-cooked-meal.html)

Women at work

Women in the culinary profession are few and far between. We feature two women chefs who cook up two diverse cuisines at Bangkok's Zense Gourmet Deck & Lounge.

Zense Gourmet Deck & Lounge, the first phase of the four levels of rooftop restaurants and bars atop Zen World in Bangkok, has a unique dining concept - it offers four cuisines from four top Bangkok restaurants: Thai by White Café; Italian by Gianni Ristorante; Japanese by The Kikusui; and Indian by Red. It has now introduced Contemporary European Cuisine.

Occupying a total area of 4,000 square metres, the restaurant seats 400 diners and has a standing capacity for another 300. Featuring a giant outdoor terrace overlooking downtown Bangkok, the restaurant is on the 17th floor of an entertainment mecca called Zen World.

Designed by one of Thailand's leading architects, Amata Lhupaiboon, the 130 million baht concept was developed by the Central Retail Corporation. The entire F&B project is called Destiny, inspired by the four elements of earth, water, air and fire. We present two of the chefs at Zense - Chef Nida Sudasna who heads Contemporary European cuisine at 'To Die For' and Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang from 'White Café'.

Chef Nida Sudasna

Chef Nida Sudasna

Chef Nida is a commercial film director and editor who is also interested in cooking. She used to cook occasionally for her make-shift restaurant at her beach house aptly titled 'Once in a Blue Moon' that served Mediterranean food and wine - opening only whenever it was convenient for her and her clients. When her friend and fashion guru Bhanu Inkawat wanted to open a more serious restaurant, he invited her to be the executive chef for his 'To Die For' restaurant that serves contemporary European cuisine. Says the 55-year chef, "It is a place where people come to enjoy good food, great atmosphere, to see and be seen."

When asked what the most challenging part of her work is, she says, "Since my food philosophy is keep it fresh and modern with an original recipe, it is difficult to come up with new and creative ideas for our special menus every other month. I believe that only the best is good enough." She uses the freshest ingredients she can find and is even very particular about the salt she uses, which comes from a certain province. Her team has tasted and approved it because "God is in the details". Today, she balances her two loves - filming and cooking. "Luckily looking after the restaurant comes quite easily because I use the same philosophy with both jobs - just try harder and pay attention to details," Chef Nida says.

Speaking about culinary trends around the world, she adds that modern Indian food is coming on strong in the global culinary world. "In the end though, I think a trend is only what customers demand, which is more and more interesting and exciting food," she says, adding that although organic food is a great trend, she hopes that chefs don't cheat on the concept.

Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang

Noo-Benya Nandakwang

A veteran in the food business with more than 20 years of experience, Chef Noo-Benya Nandakwang started right after her graduation from Thammasat University. She began her career as a proprietor-chef, and has owned various restaurants in the past - 'Blue's Bar', 'Red Bar' and 'White Café'. On the flip side, however, she has never got an opportunity to work with any other cook who wasn't her employee.

Born in 1964 to a family of artists, the creative bend is apparent in her. According to her, there are two important points in the business - one is the presentation and the other is catering to specific needs of clients. "Of course, they both have something to do with creative ideas. I'm a food stylist myself so about 90 per cent of everything is from me. After the briefing, I consider the best possible menu and presentation for each particular event," she says.

Her father was a professor of arts in Silpakorn University while her mother was the editor-owner and writer for a women's magazine. "Growing up with her has inspired my way of cooking," Chef Noo-Benya says.

Ask her what her food philosophy is and she says, "I like to feed the crowd like I am one of them. My favourite line is 'If you tell me who you are, I can cook for you.' I got into this line of business because I like food; I grew up in a family where everyone cooked and eating good food is our passion." Fortunately for her, balancing work with family life and children isn't too difficult since their main kitchen and offices are in the same compound.

For her, innovation doesn't mean more expenses. "Creativity is in your head; it is free. You just have to work harder. What is difficult to do is maintain freshness. We must design the restaurant menu to make sure that most items are used in more than one dish," she says. It is her policy to always go forward and be daring to create new recipes and techniques using different methods from both Eastern and Western cuisines.

Quick bites of Chef Nida

Favourite dish: Omelettes, Thai style Favourite restaurant: 'To Die For' of course. Most common mistakes chefs make: They don't pay attention to making simple dishes like pasta Your inspiration: Fresh seasonal ingredients and my dreams After-hours activity: Reading What do you enjoy cooking: I enjoy cooking simple food for my family at my beach house where seafood is plentiful

Quick bites of Chef Nandakwang

Motto: To always give your best shot Perfection to you is: A happy client Most challenging part of your job: It is not the cooking but understanding exactly what my client wants Favourite food: Hardboiled eggs. It is both beautiful and versatile. You can eat them with anything from caviar to sandwichs to chilli dips. It has a perfect oval shape, you can eat them hot or cold, it also travels well! Favourite restaurant: Ming Lee in Bangkok opposite the Grand Palace. It is a Chinese-Thai restaurant over 100 years old where my mother and her friends used to hang out Organic food: Is the best. It is actually going back to our roots, before science, before industrial food business A common mistake most chefs make: When you think you know better than your clients Your inspiration: I create/try a new dish when I'm bored After-hours activity: Drinking with friends

Note: This article was published in the 16-30 September 2009 issue of Express Hospitality - a hospitality trade publication. You can also read it here: http://www.expresshospitality.com/20090930/chef'splatter03.shtml

Gastronomically challenged, I

Here’s a typical scene from my dinner outings with friends. They know exactly what they want, which is usually something that was dead at one time, while I sit there scratching my…er…head and going through exactly five vegetarian options listed in the menu for the eighty-eighth time.

Most of my friends are non-vegetarians, which is fine since I have no hang-ups with people tearing away at meat, red or white, so long as it doesn’t smell like dead meat. Right enough they order something that looks pretty appetising and fulfilling. And they are completely relishing it, while my vegetarian dish is sitting idle, looking pretty.

With every bite they take, I feel as if I have been eating ash all this while and not known it! The fact that almost 90 per cent of these people are complete non-vegetarians while my personal choice has been to stop at mushrooms doesn’t escape me. It makes me wonder whether the taste of blood – so to speak – whets the taste buds.

So have I been missing out on one of the greater joys of life? At the threshold of my thirties now, I have often wondered if my lack of interest in either trying out different cuisines or a total lack of interest in cooking is something of a disorder, where instead of ingredients and their measurements on paper all I can see are dancing alphabets swimming in vegetable soup.

My social conditioning since childhood has been that, to be a loving wife and a good daughter-in-law – in short a complete woman, I have to be a great cook first. So as a child I started out by helping mother on the side with cutting salad or buttering the bread for sandwiches. I was later encouraged to watch cookery shows on the only channel there was - Doordarshan – and I soon graduated to doing my own little show in the kitchen after it closed post lunch. I became my own little celebrity chef.

So here I was, a midget version of myself, explaining to a phantom audience plastered on the kitchen wall how to make a biscuit and jam sandwich or a mixture of all that was left from lunch. Sometimes it was just how to make that perfect tea. I found a rather unwilling taster in my older brother who was nonetheless willing to take the risk. Unfortunately, he never went beyond the second bite.

Since then I have constantly heard my mother complain about my lack of cooking. And all her attempts to make me take on the ladle with equal zest as I take the television remote have failed. I do cook today, but only the basic stuff and only when I must. It didn’t help that I wasn’t even much interested in eating. I eat to live and as long as my stomach isn’t secretly eating itself, I’m alright. 

My indifference to gourmet food was to the extent that I couldn’t eat anything the time a friend took me to try a real fancy restaurant in a five-star hotel in Bandra. My food looked so elaborate that I couldn’t tell what I was eating: it looked complicated and it turned me off. Give me Nutella and cream crackers any time.    

There’s another thing that I simply love. Nigella Feasts on TLC. It is by far the most intriguing, deliciously appetising cookery shows on television I have ever seen. And I’m not even a foodie!

Nigella Lawson, a British best-selling author and host of 'Nigella Feasts' and 'Nigella Express', takes cooking to a whole new level. Described as “a delectable series from the domestic goddess herself” by Food Network, the show had me hooked instantly – like so many men all over the world. And she really made me want to cook. And eat. 

What you can’t miss about her is that she looks absolutely happy and completely satisfied simply cooking. Nigella knows how to keep her viewers interested. She doesn’t just ‘throw in’ the pomegranate in the curd but ‘gently crushes the lovely ruby drops so that the curd looks a beautiful pink’. That’s the kind of cooking she does. My favourite part is when she tiptoes to the fridge in the end to make a midnight snack. It’s good to see a celebrity cook taste their own cooking. So what if I can never get myself to do that.