Also, empirical proof that cabernet sauvignon under screwcap can age well – but will the Bordelaise embrace change
The highlight of a trip to London a few months back was an invitation to dinner from Jancis Robinson MW and Nicolas Lander, moreover the meridian for a wine and food writer; to be breaking bread with the world’s doyen of wine and the most influential food writer and restaurant critic of our time, all very humbling.
Dr Bertold Salomon, otherwise known as Bert, one of the coolest Austrian winemakers you will come across. Follow our Singapore Sommelier, Shalom Chin, vintage blog, as he does vintage with Bert in Krems.
http://www.thewanderingpalate.com/profiled-wineries/vintage-blog-from-singapore-sommelier-shalom-chin-at-undhof-salomon-krems-austria/
I was rather amused by this signage on the side of my transport to Koh Samui Airport. In case of any language issues, these clearly illustrated rules on boarding the transport ensure there is nothing lost in translation! There is a lot that one can do on this van come mini bus, but there’s also a lot of do not’s, the last one being rather explicit, if not an interesting take on a universally recognised sex position!!
In case you have not been following the ‘Duck Run’, the Wandering Palates recipe for Thai Duck Curry has been gaining momentum around the world with ducks ‘on the run’ all over the place.
What began as an approbation of Kai Schubert’s www.schubert.co.nz enormous capacity for our Thai duck curry and the subsequently posting of the secret recipe, the story continues as gourmands around the planet share their gluttonous pleasure at the Wandering Palates table or in their own kitchens cooking up the said duck curry.
We see a lot of Michael Hill-Smith MW in Singapore, here regularly for marathon tastings with Singapore Airlines as part of their wine panel. There is also his annual release of Shaw & Smith wines with a tried and tested formula of an informal tasting of the new releases with Dim Sum, religiously attended by trade for both libation and appreciation of his penetrating candidacy on the wines and insightful words on Australian wine industry.
To most of us gourmands, kitchen gadgets are a never ending fascination. For cooking professionals it’s a preoccupation and fundamental to the logistics of a working kitchen.
Like everything related to chefs, we all want to know where the pros go to source their equipment, not only out of functionality and arming ourselves with the very best kit, but also price. Invariably there is a kitchen supply wholesaler that sells direct to the public where one can save a considerable amount of money, compared to conventional large, magnetic retailers in shopping malls or small so-called specialist shops.
My only English newspaper connection with the outside world last week, on the island of Koh Samui, Thailand, was the International Herald-Tribune, which I have to say is an excellent publication, and one I read regularly whenever wandering…
What caught my attention was this piece on coriander oil, which is not only fascinating but triggered my admiration for what I feel is Singapore’s best restaurant, Coriander Leaf, www.corianderleaf.com to which I will be writing about soon.
I pulled a magnum of Calera Reed Vineyard Pinot Noir 1994 out of the cellar on August 21st that had recently come direct from the vineyard re-release program, via Artisan Cellars www.artisan-cellars.com to share a glass and opinion with Nigel Greening from Felton Road, over a Sunday lunch.
This article caught my interest last week, a concept that has enormous potential in Singapore and something that deserves a lot more attention from a global perspective. There is already a groundswell of city greening going on around the world however in high density cities like Singapore, moreover with a finite amount of land, the dynamics of turning every building rooftop in to a garden, whether it is for agriculture or purely aesthetics is profound.
With the fish stock still simmering on the stove, I’m in a right fishy mood. And we must have been on the evening of June 6th as well, as we found ourselves at the Wright Brothers Soho Oyster House, 13 Kingly Street, Carnaby, London.
Not only is the location perfect if you are going to the West End theatres, they open Monday to Saturday right through from midday to midnight, and midday to 8pm on Sundays. It does not get any user-friendlier than this for theatre goers, especially for families, like us, who arrived at 5.00pm for an early dinner and out by 7.00pm, not rushed at all, indeed a most relaxed and enjoyable meal.
