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| • Dear Food Lover |
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| Morrison and Robert scored a coup in September -- all puns intended -- while visiting Bangkok for the World Gourmet Summit. |
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| Accolades to chef Ryuichi Yoshii at the 4 Seasons gala dinner, for serving a truly ambrosial Sea Urchin Egg Cup -- runny poached yolk and dashi stock plus chunky urchin, served in its shell topped with gold leaf. Simple, yet deliciously elegant. Geoff Lindsay of Pearl in Hong Kong dazzled with Hopkins River beef fillet and his "naked" gorgonzola ravioli. |
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| Morrison was in Bangkok during Thailand's peaceful political putsch. Apart from an abrupt change on the television news, he couldn't even locate a stray tank. Bangkok citizens festooned soldiers with roses, thankful that a graft-ridden government had been ousted. A civilian caretaker has already been appointed, and troops are back in their barracks, with fresh |
| elections slated for '07. Tourism was unaffected, and we will continue offering offering pre- and post-stopover packages to Bangkok in conjunction to our Burma on a Plate food tour to Myanmar/Burma. |
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| There's still room to join our Burma trip: Dec. 29 '06 to Jan. 13 '07. |
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Highlights include a New Year's Eve gala dinner at a Swiss-French restaurants in the outskirts of Rangoon (with the best wine list we've ever seen in Asia -- and even better prices than in Europe!); plus the Ananda festival held amongst the ruins of imperial Bagan; a tea house "crawl" through old Mandalay; and bucolic life along Inle lake. Myanmar is a truly spell-binding destination. See it now, before it changes! Final reservations must close soon, and holiday flights should be secured asap. |
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• LODGINGS |
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 Bangkok's Dome at the State Tower regularly tops the "Must Do" list. Ultra chic, with prices to match, it's home to two of the city's premier restaurants: Sirocco and Mezzaluna, plus a luxury bar Distil. From the 63rd to 65th floors, they overlook the city's mightly Chao Phraya river -- which must be the world's highest open-air dining experience. (The food is also much better than at Vertigo at the Banyon Tree.) There are also plans to revamp the lower level eateries, as well, with top range Indian and Lebanese outlets. The breakfast spread at Brasserie is huge. |
| As a Thai friend explained on his first morning, "Oh, can I just sit here for a minute and look. I'm so overwhelmed." We stayed four blissful nights here in the State Tower's lebua hotel. (The lower case "l" is deliberate.) Its 198 rooms begin on the 51st floor, and guests are guaranteed seats at the ever popular rooftop eateries. As lebua was converted from serviced apartments, all its rooms are suites. www.lebua.com |
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| Hotel standards have reached a new benchmark with the opening of the Conrad Tokyo. Ensconced on the 37th floor up, overlooking Hamarikyu Garden near Tokyo's prestigious Ginza district, the rooms are sumptuously large (we loved the bathroom and its deep tub and separate shower!), the club lounge serves complimentary French champagne during happy hour, and the concierge always ready to help with local maps and advice on how to find the most out of the way, obscure Japanese addresses. There are 4 restaurants, including two from Michelin 3-star winner Gordon Ramsay. |
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• JAPAN |
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| Globetrotting Gourmet hosts a tour to Japan in June '07 |
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with masterchef and author Ryuichi Yoshii. We wrote above about Yoshii-san's stellar cooking at the World Gourmet Summit in Bangkok this September. Last year he also represented Australia at Singapore's World Gourmet Summit -- quite a feat for a Japanese chef plying his trade in a Western country! The gastronomic tour, billed as The Ultimate Japanese Dining Experience, will be filmed for an upcoming television documentary, and highlights include a $1000 per head banquet in the historic royal capital of Kyoto, plus a gala dinner at Yukari in Tokyo. Its chef Kimio Nonaga beat the Iron Chef in a duel to the finish some years ago. We'll also be visiting Osaka, lauded as Nippon's food capital. Final details and cost are still to be confirmed.
and we'll keep you posted. |
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• BOOKS |
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Culinary Cultures of Europe, is an ambitious project of "Indentity, diversity and dialogue" as its subtitle reads. And with two major |
international book awards, editor Dara Goldstein (whose previous stellar tasks ranged from a Georgian cookbook, to flatbreads, and editing Gastronomy magazine) seems once again on the right track. Unfortunately, this weighty 500-page tome is too heavy for its nimble paperback cover, and the recipes themselves have absolutely no editing consistency, flitting inexplicably between metric weights to cups (whether American or 250 ml cups is not explained, either). Not only that, are the recipes traditional (which seems the theme of this book) or modern? Luxembourg's saddle of lamb wrapped in potato crisp, for example is a recent winner of the Paul Boucuse prix d'or. But does that make it a justifiable entry? Konemann Publishers do the European food concept better in their Culinaria series -- and at a better price. From the Council of Europe Publishing, €49 www.amazon.com |
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Peranakan is one of the world's more quixotic, yet delicious cookery styles. |
| Nonya Flavours A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine is the best book yet on this hybrid Chinese-Malay culture, evolving along the Malacca straits, from Thailand south to Penang and Singapore. Includes some 150 recipes compiled from family archives. Fine photography, with excellent introductory chapters on local history, festivals, even Nonyaware crockery, this book is essential. Unfortunately, the introductory ingredients chapter fails to identify numerous uncommon ingredients featured in the book's recipes (cincalok, kedondong and eukam are just three missing examples). Compiled an edited by Julie Wong. Jointly published by Star Publications, Selangor Malaysia and The State Chinese (Penang) Association.
www.selectbooks.com.sg |
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For a comic look at Chinese cooking, literally, get Origins of Chinese Cuisine. 14 classic dishes are illustrated in comic book format -- from Buddha jumps over the wall, to Pock-marked Mrs. Chen's tofu. Compiled by Xu Shitao and illustrated by Fu Chunjiang, from Asiapac, Singapore. www.asiapacbooks.com |
| >> read other book reviews.... |
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• SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT |
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| Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport opened on September 28. Pronounced Sou-vahn-nah-poum (the final 'i' is silent), it is impressive, and Thais are justifiably proud of their achievement. |
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| Robert flew into Don Muang airport on its final day, then headed to the new airport for first day festivities. Locals parked along the highway, marvelling at the world's largest building, and inside visitors were feted to traditional music, dancing, and an incredible buzz. This $600 million dollar facility is further from the city center, but it will actually be closer to Pataya. |
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| The inauguration was surprisingly low key -- probably in deference to the change in government. Suvarnabhumi was regularly criticised for corrupt connections to the ousted government -- from King Power's monopoloy of duty free and restaurant outlets, to over-priced security scanners, and faulty construction standards. Our own gripes: floor tiles that looked old in just three days; congestion of food outlets in the centre of the duty free arena, and security delays on the C terminal, which handles Thai Air flights. (Why didn't they follow Changi's lead in Singapore with individual scanners and security checks at each boarding gate?) |
| Originally, authorities planned to bus passengers to a satellite facility, so that meter taxis could not pick up passengers directly from the terminal. This was apparently a sop to the limousine lobby, but thankfully overruled at the last minute. Consequently, taxi lines are ill organized, and delays frustrating. All together, new airport prices are set to rise: international departure tax from Baht 500 to 750 (US$13/$20); airport taxi surcharge up from Baht 50 to 100 ($1.30/$2.60); and meter taxi fares up by one third, due to increased distance. Mercifully, most of these higher charges have yet to take effect. |
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On the plus side, average taxi fare including tolls is about Baht 300/US$8, which still makes it one of the cheapest rides in the world. Three highways lead to the new airport, versus only one to Don Muang; and domestic and international facilities have been merged into the same building. Rail connections are due in two years.
www.airportthai.co.th |
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• AIRLINES |
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| I dream of the day that American, United and the other US carriers finally go bankrupt and close, and their routes are taken over by Singapore and Cathay. -- Anthony Bourdain in Business Traveller, Asia-Pacific edition |
| Our advice to the "full service" airlines: stop confusing yourself with the "budget" airline category. Instead of downgrading to save costs, upgrade for passenger loyalty. That alternative is working for Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Cathay Pacific. Thai Airlines is now in the process of updating its fleet. In the meantime, Northwest Airlines bills $15 for exit row and aisle seat requests, plus charges for alcohol on overseas flights. (Most foreign carriers do not charge for these same drinks.) Likewise, nuts are no longer supplied complimentary on some U.S. domestic airlines. And in the Great White North, Air Canada charges C$15 for advance seat assignment. In the budget airline category, Britain's EasyJet is charging £5 for first boarding, and we hear talk about charging for window shades!!! |
Flying "cattle in coach" soon? check www.airlinequality.com to see which seats to ask for and which to avoid. Green designates very good, yellow "be aware" and red "bad." The website covers more than 30 airlines.
Conversely, long haul business and first class flyers should loook at www.flatseats.com to compare the seats offered in 40 different airlines. |
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• ETIQUETTE |
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| With so many etiquette books on how to behave in your own country, it's worrying how few tourists brush up on foreign customs. After all, when visiting another land you are not only a guest, but also an ambassador representing your own nation. Help is at hand, with the World Citizens Guide from Business for Diplomatic Action, a non-partisan collective. |
The booklet can be downloaded for free, and both student and business executive guides are available -- the first 30,000 distributed for free, and after that for a nominal charge. As the ADA president notes: "Americans take 60 million trips outside the US a year. Sixty million trips is 60 million chances to make an impression. And they can be good, or they can be bad."
www.worldcitizensguide.org/index2.html |
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• KOH SAMUI |
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Koh Samui positions itself as Thailand’s recherché retreat -- especially as zoning prohibits seedy nightclubs, and its annual music festival now places it firmly on the international map. Little more than 2 decades ago, Samui was still a bucolic island with only a thriving copha and fishing industry. Today, there are hourly flights from Bangkok, and most of the jets are full. Little wonder, once you’ve experienced its white sand beaches, whose aquamarine waters are reminiscent of the old menthol cigarette ads.
The island is dotted with upmarket restaurants, but our personal favorites are the more humble eateries patronized by locals on a big night out. These are usually as simple as a coconut hut set idyllically along the oceans lap, lap, lapping waves, and the food can be pure ambrosia. Besides its abundant seafood, southern Thai food is rich in coconut cream, plus turmeric, which helps mask fish odours. We escorted our May food trip here, during our Epicurean Adventure to Singapore and Thailand with the Food & Culinary Professionals group of the American Dietetic Assocaition. CLICK HERE for our restaurant guide to Samui. |
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• MISCELLANY |
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| From three-time GG tour alumnus Helen Bauch, we received this handy hint: Scan your vital docs (passport, e-tickets, credit cards etc.) and send them to yourself by email. That way, they're always available via internet access. We also photocopy passports, then paste the Xerox to the fridge door, for easy access to friends and family. Also leave passport photocopies in the lining of your suitcase. It helps trace lost baggage. Speaking of which, the baggage tracking firm SITA reports a record-breaking 30 million bags were lost or mishandled in 2005, of which more than 240,000 were never recovered. As a result, there's now a growth in US domestic luggage shippers like The Luggage Club, Luggage Free and Luggage Forward. |
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• IN OUR NEXT ISSUE |
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| Seoul in 36 Hours Details on our June '07 Japan tour with masterchef and author Ryuichi Yoshii Phu Quoc: Vietnam's idyllic island |
Join us in Asia 2006-07!
Dec. 29 '06 - Jan. 13 '07 New Years Eve in Rangoon
upcoming:
Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka, traveling with master chef Yoshii
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| further details on www.asianfoodtours.com |
Cheers,
Robert & Morrison |
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