Former President Bill Clinton has turned into a vegan. Due to health scares he has lost twenty pounds and considers himself a vegan. “I like the vegetables, the fruits, the beans, the stuff I eat now.” However, the ex-McDonald’s addict isn’t always such a saint, admitting, “At Thanksgiving, I had one bite of turkey.”
Bill Clinton is a Full Fledged Vegan – USA
August 20th, 2011The Two Michelin Starred Ledbury Looted During Dinner; Patrons Robbed! – London
August 18th, 2011
Ledbury Restaurant
The Daily Mail reported that Two Michelin starred restaurant Ledbury came under attack as gangs of youths ran riot through London’s Portabello Road throughout Monday evening. Police advised residents of Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove and Fulham to stay indoors as residents reported seeing men carrying machetes in the road. Chefs and waiters leapt to the defence of members of the public enjoying an evening at The Ledbury, an upmarket two Michelin starred restaurant in Notting Hill, London. Thugs and rioters armed with bats and wearing hooded tops forced their way into the two star restaurant before demanding diners hand over their wallets and wedding rings.
But staff and others fought back with kitchen tools before leading customers into the wine cellar for protection.
Writing a blog about the incident, a tourist enjoying a celebratory meal, said: “Will and I were going to celebrate with a night out at 2 Michelin star restaurant The Ledbury.
“I had come to terms with the fact that it would be an expensive dinner, but boy, I had no idea how expensive. “Around the fourth dish of the tasting course, there were loud bangs outside. The restaurant staff was yelling at us to get away from the windows. Before I knew it, the front door, a solid piece of glass shattered and people came crashing in with hoods, masks, and random weapons.
“The looters were yelling at us to get down and throwing stuff all over the place. I got down and started taking off my wedding and engagement ring to hide somewhere, but unfortunately wasn’t fast enough.
“One looter came up and demanded my phone. I didn’t have it with me since it was in my purse and it was out of arm reach. I also didn’t want to lead him to my passport, so I said I didn’t have one.
“He told me to take off my rings and grabbed my hand, trying to yank them off. His friend tried to help too, but the rings wouldn’t come off and I just yelled at him that I’d take them off myself.”
After the initial attack, staff at the restaurant provided champagne and whisky to calm the nerves of diners.
But when rumours spread of the looters returning, guests were ushered into toilet cubicles and told to lock the door before being lead down to the wine cellar.
The unknown blogger added: “The kitchen staff at the Ledbury went beyond their call of duty by rushing up from the kitchen with rolling pins, fry baskets, and other dangerous kitchen tools and scared off the looters.
“Then they provided well-needed glasses of alcohol including champagne and whisky. When word came that the looters were coming back a second time, they ushered us into the bathrooms and told us to lock the doors. A few minutes later, they led us into the wine cellar and told us to lock ourselves in there.”
Short Order at the Farmers Market, Umami Burger at Grove – Los Angeles
August 17th, 2011
Short Order construction site pictured above at Farmers Market
image credit: pop sugar city
UPDATE: Sadly, Amy Pressman passed away just before Short Order & Short Cake were about to open in Los Angeles.
According to Amy Pressman, she is not concerned about Umami Burger opening a large space next door at the Grove.
Her new venue Short Order is about to open along with partner Nancy Silverton, it is completely different, a seasonal gourmet burger concept and she has said, “If he (Adam Fleischman) wants to be the new Fuddruckers, the new Johnny Rockets.” Short Order is going be a completely different experience and not to be replicated anywhere else. This gets interesting, as The Los Angeles Times quoted Fleischman as saying these two chains were examples of what he is trying to avoid, “I was focused on doing something new and exciting.”
Short Order will be “the reinvention of classic burgers utilizing all types of proteins: beef, pork, lamb, fish and tofu topped with homemade condiments like flavored aïolis, mustards, ketchups, pickles, relishes and spreads, served along side dishes, classic appetizers, salads, desserts baked on the premises, and custard-based milkshakes utilizing local ingredients…as well as artisanal beers and California wines.”
Short Order will also offer an adjacent bakery, which Pressman is naming Short Cake. The bakery will have a huge coffee component (“single origin, like Intelligentsia,” says Pressman) and will provide Short Order with custard milkshakes and other sweets.
Related Link: Amy Pressman Passes Away
Suzanne Pirret, Heston Blumenthal – London
August 16th, 2011
Suzanne Pirret is an American now living in London, and the bio in her cookbook states that she is a graduate of the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard, an “award-winning voice-over artist”, and “a graduate of the Cordon Bleu, beginning in Paris and and ending in London.” She has also claimed to have worked for Jamie Oliver as a pastry chef at his restaurant Fifteen in London. Last but certainly not least, she is currently dating Heston Blumenthal (Fat Duck & Dinner) who reportedly, even though troubles had been brewing for awhile, has left his wife for her. Pirret wrote the following words for the London Evening Standard’s ES Magazine: “Images of food and sex have become one long billboard of licking, sucking, dripping and drooling. Food porn is ubiquitous… Food and sex. Two of my favourite things, and the most powerful of all human drives. Best one after the other in either order, I’m not picky.”
She is also a cookbook author — see her 2009 The Pleasure Is All Mine: Selfish Food for Modern Life that includes advice on dinner guests, how to get a reservation, and modern etiquette. The back cover has a quote from Bobby Flay: “I couldn’t put this book down! Everyone will be begging to be a guest or even a dishwasher in Suzanne Pirret’s kitchen after reading and cooking from The Pleasure Is All Mine. She’s infectious!” (Is this the only recommendation she could find to put on her back cover? Oh well, I suppose it’s fitting.) This is comparable to an expensive pictorial magazine selling its back cover space to Timex instead of Piaget. However, it must be taken into consideration that it is a “bargain book” and can be found at Amazon selling for $10.
Following is what appears to be a promotional video for her book, released on YouTube. Although, it mentions “as seen on” The Huffington Post?
Video Link – The Pleasure Is All Mine – Suzanne Pirret:
Embattled Chef Gordon Ramsey’s Newly Opened Montreal Restaurant Evacuated – Montreal
August 15th, 2011
Laurier Gordon Ramsey, was evacuated due to a sprinkler system malfunction a few hours into the opening night of his new restaurant in Montreal. The restaurant was a well known, former landmark called Rotisserie Laurier. The newly designed space sustained little damage due to the incident and Ramsay, who is also known for his foul-mouth while appearing on cooking shows, instead offered apologies to patrons who were inconvenienced.
Banana Peels Filter Polluted Water; Avoid Artificially Ripened Bananas Using Carbide – Brazil
August 14th, 2011
Culinary Tidbits . . . A Brazilian researcher, Gustavo Castro from São Paulo State University, has found that banana peels can take heavy metals out of polluted water. They tested them on water polluted with copper and lead from Brazil’s Paraná River and the peels performed as well or better than other filtering agents such as silica or carbon. In addition, they could be used up to 11 times before they gave up as purifiers. However, keep in mind that they will not eliminate bacteria from water!
Also, avoid artificially ripened bananas using Carbide. Here is the way that you can tell: Bananas which are ripened naturally are dark yellow and there are small black spots here and there on the bananas and the stalks are black, while those that are forced ripe with Carbide are lemon yellow and their stalks are green and are clear yellow without any black spots. Carbide is a chemical that if mixed with water, emits heat and bananas that are dipped in this mixture ripen artificially.
PeraMakan Restaurant, Nonya/Peranakan – Singapore
August 13th, 2011
image credit: Peramakan
The legendary Nonya & Baba, located on River Valley Road, which used to be my favorite Peranakan restaurant in Singapore when I was living there is now sadly, gone.
They used to prepare signature dishes included Ayam Buah Keluak (which can take up to a week to prepare the nuts) and Itek Tim a soup with an interesting blend of duck and salted vegetables.
Now, I believe, PeraMakan is probably the best for this type of cooking in Singapore, although undoubtedly, their are many choices.
Level 3, Keppel Club
10 Bukit Chermin Road
Singapore 109918
(5 minutes drive from Vivo City/HarbourFront)
Tel. 65 63772829
Fax. 65 62727585
Email: kelvinlee@peramakan.com
Open daily, including Sundays and public holidays for lunch and dinner.
Lunch: 11:30 am to 3:00 pm (last order: 2:30 pm)
Dinner: 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm (last order: 9:30 pm)
For Enquiries: Call 65 63772829
Desmond Leong, Operations Manager
Tony Tan, Operations Executive
or email to enquiries@peramakan.com
We cater to vegetarians and customers with dietary requirements. Please call ahead to order your food
Cuisine: Traditional & Contemporary Peranakan
Price: Average $22 to $28 per head
Dress Code: Business, Smart Casual
Reservations: Required on PH and weekends
Restaurant Capacity: 130 guests
Patio Capacity: 80 – 100 guests
Ample parking lots at covered multi-storey car park or on white lots at Club House. many.
Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee – Singapore
August 12th, 2011
Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee
Hong Lim Food Centre #02-58/59
Blk 531A Upper Cross Street
Hong Lim Food Centre
Singapore 051531
After renovations were completed Ah Heng is back to its original location in Hong Lim Food Centre, after a year at its temporary outdoor location at Hong Lim Green. Famous for their chicken curry with Hokkien noodles, poached chicken, boiled potatoes and taupe (beancurd puffs).
Nest at Le Fenix Novotel – Bangkok
August 11th, 2011
Le Fenix Hotel Bangkok 566 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand Tel: +66 (0)2 305 4000 Tel: +66(0) 2305 6000 Fax: +66(0) 2305 6001 E-mail H7176@accor.com Website: www.novotelbangkokploenchit.com The Nest Rooftop Hours of Operation:18:00- 02:00
Nest is perched on the roof surrounded by the cityscapeNest rooftop lounge, located in the contemporary Novotel Fenix Hotel off of Ploenchit Road on Soi 11, with Q Bar and Bed Supper Club in close proximity. It is popular with both hotel guests and a trendy crowd of locals, alternatively the hotel bar Flow has an interesting array of drinks on its menu. Nest is one of the most recent rooftop venues to emerge on the Bangkok scene, it is an open-air space that takes up the roof of the Hotel Fenix with a retractable cover to enjoy a spectacular 360-degree view of the city literally surrounding you, with part of the space devoted to sandy surfaces, beach chairs and chaise lounges. Guests can sit back on couches or the nest-style wicker beds and enjoy a variety of drinks and cocktails.
I ordered a Batida de limão Leblon made with Cachaça and lime (named after a beach suburb close to Cococabana where I stayed with friends at one time). It is the best rendition I have tasted outside of Rio on one visit, and suffered on another try.
The sand-beach area “take your shoes off and relax”. Smoking is allowed at Nest!
Catalana, Tapas & Wine – Bangkok
August 10th, 2011
