Archive for March, 2011
Ospitalità Italiana at Swissotel Nai Lert Park – Bangkok
Thursday, March 31st, 2011Ma Du Zi Restaurant – Bangkok
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011By Emi Kagawa
Ma Du Zi Hotel
9/1 Ratchadaphisek Road,
Klongtoey, Klongtoey, Bangkok, 10110
Tel.662 615 6400
Some of the selections Chef Yuya presented for the course lunch for this week at Ma Du Zi appear below. Everything was quite good with the exception of the risotto (overcooked), although he is forgiven as it is an Italian dish. French chefs never seem to do Italian very well and vice versa.
Les Bouchons & Les Bouchons Rive Gauche – Singapore
Monday, March 28th, 2011
LES BOUCHONS
7 Ann Siang Road, Singapore
Tel: +65 6423 0737
Opening Hours
Mon– Fri: 12pm–2pm, 7pm–10pm
Sat: 7pm–10pm
LES BOUCHONS RIVE GAUCHE
#01-01, 41 Robertson Quay
Tel: 6733-4414
(former location of River Cafe)
Les Bouchons meaning corks in French, and the singular bouchon can also refer to a type of small bistro in Lyon, although this tiny restaurant is not known for Lyonnaise cooking but for its famous ‘steak frites’ with a platter of various condiments alongside including two types of mustard, horseradish, and a jar of prepared Bearnaise sauce instead of a freshly made one. The owners also operate the restaurant Les Angelus and have recently opened a sibling to Les Bouchons called Les Bouchons Rive Gauche. The steak frites offer good value for money, and are accompanied by a basket of fresh bread and a salad with lettuce and tomatoes lightly splashed with a proper vinaigrette. They have a selection of French wines to accompany the dish.
California Wines & Wapas at Bar Su, Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit – Bangkok
Sunday, March 27th, 2011
Bistro LQ Closes Its Doors – Los Angeles
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Bistro LQ by Chef Laurent Quenioux, who took over the Mimosa space on Beverly Boulevard about a year and a half ago, has just shut its doors.
Lake House to Close May 31, 2011; Sushi Nozawa to Help Japan Relief Fund
Saturday, March 26th, 2011
Culinary Tidbits . . . Bangkok – Lake House to Close: Lake House will be closing permanently on March 31st, 2011 due to circumstances beyond their control.
. . . Los Angeles – (Saturday) March 26, 2011, Sushi Nozawa is opening to help support the Japan Relief Fund: In an effort to raise money for the relief effort in Japan, Sushi Nozawa will open its doors this Saturday for the first time in over a decade. Every dollar spent at this special one-day event will be donated to the Japan Relief Fund. Join us THIS SATURDAY from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m to enjoy amazing sushi while doing good.
Grant Achatz About to Open New Restaurant Called “Next” – Chicago
Friday, March 25th, 2011
Culinary Tidbits . . . It sounds like an attention-getting scheme to me, although next month when Grant Achatz opens a new restaurant in Chicago called “Next”, if in fact it opens, could be the most burdensome ever in culinary history. “My idea of fun seems to be more work,” he said; he will remain in charge of Alinea, his acclaimed restaurant nearby, while he is refining the new menu, which will be painstakingly reproduced from the classical French repertoire: whole lobes of foie gras baked in brioche, clear turtle soup with Madeira, duck pressed and sauced with its own blood and marrow, as served at the Tour d’Argent in Paris for more than 200 years.
These dishes, will be served for all of three months. Next will then morph into an entirely different restaurant, and again into something different three months after that.
Smoking in China at Public Places Finally Curbed – Beijing
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
In a surprise move China has put in place a smoking ban in indoor public places starting 1 May 2011. Now there is only Russia and a few other major smoking countries left without a ban, as France will have a ban in place very soon. The Chinese Ministry of Health will also bar cigarette vending machines in public places and will not allow smoking areas near to where people might pass. China is the world’s largest cigarette market.
G Four Fine Wines, New Tasting Room – Bangkok
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
G Four – Fine Wines
Kwaeng Chong Nonsee Khet Yannawa, 537/220 Soi Sathupradit 37 Sathupradit Rd., Bangkok
Tel.02-284 3055
The New Tasting Room at G Four Offices & Warehouse
Mount Gay Rum & Casino Royale – Barbados
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011
The original “Casino Royale” (1967) was made as a satire instead of the usual formula of the James Bond film series due to complications in coming to terms with the original EON Producers. It had an amazing cast including: David Niven, Peter Sellers, John Huston, William Holden, Kurt Kaszner, Charles Boyer, Deborah Kerr, Barbara Bouchet, Mata Hari, Terence Cooper, Daliah Lavi, Ursula Andress, Orson Welles, Joanna Pettet, Jacqueline Bisset, Woody Allen, Jean-Paul Belmondo and George Raft.
In the second remake of the film “Casino Royale” (2006), James Bond orders a Mount Gay rum with soda instead of his trademark Martini; this choice was not accidental or motivated by the desire for product placement gains either. Rather, it must have been Mount Gay’s reputation for producing premium rum in tandem with its distinguished pedigree. With records dating back to 1703, it’s the oldest continually operating rum distiller in the world. Produced on the island of Barbados, Mount Gay rum was originally named Mount Gilboa. When the plantation and distillery was inherited by John Sober in 1747, he appointed Sir John Gay Alleyne, as manager. When Alleyne died in 1801, Sober renamed it Mount Gay in his honor, as there was already a Mount Alleyne on the island. Although not the only rum produced on Barbados, Mount Gay is the only one produced in large enough quantites to be widely exported and well-known. Mount Gay rum is made from Barbados sugar cane at peak sweetness. Fermentation is begun by blending the molasses with the island’s naturally coral-filtered water and yeast. The rum is uniquely distilled using both single and continuous distillation. Single distillation is carried out twice for depth and richness, while continuous distillation yields a crisp, delicate rum. It is then aged in Kentucky white oak casks lightly charred to impart a smoky flavor and rich amber color. Master Blender Allen Smith creates the Extra Old from rums aged 8 to 15 years. It is a viscous rum that both tastes and smells of oak, balanced by hints of ripe banana. On the palate are caramel, vanilla and warm spice. It’s not very layered or sophisticated, but the premium rum is still best enjoyed on its own, either neat or on the rocks. For blending in cocktails or to mix with soda or tonic the Mount Gay Eclipse blend of rums aged 2 to 7 years is ideal for this purpose.
Price:
Mount Gay Eclipse 750 ml $19 –
Mount Gay Extra Old 750 ml $40 
