Ummm....molecular gastronomy in Sydney!

Foie gras

This has been a long time coming. But the experience was too great to pass up. It’s the beautiful Four Seasons hotel in Sydney overlooking the lovely Sydney Harbour bridge and the stunning pearly white Opera House. And the restaurant is Kables, their signature restaurant. It was my first introduction to ‘molecular gastronomy.’ For me molecular gastronomy conjured up images of Anthony Bourdain’s show ‘No Reservations’ and it was an episode, I think, on Ferran Adria (of El Bulli fame) and carrot foam. (His famous words: “For the first time in my life, I am inhaling my food,” or something to that effect, but I chortled). Back to Kables. The meal lasted more than three hours. Course after course (don’t ask me what they were: each was so good to look at and to eat, and I was going ‘Ummm’ to many times that I promptly forgot their names) arrived at the table, was admired and quickly imbibed.

Sorbet

But some things really stick out in memory. Like the pasta made of chicken stock, champagne sorbet and light as rain foie gras. I can go ‘ummmm’ all over again. I can’t remember dessert, but the pre-dessert thingy sticks out: served on a little ceramic tile, it looked like a perfect bulls’ eye, but was in fact a clever assemblage of beaten yogurt and mango pulp. Oh yes, ummm.

Pre-dessert

But the highlight: the chef coming over to the table and demonstrating cooking with liquid nitrogen – it turned bread pieces crumbly, and they just melted on the tongue. The things chefs do !!

Cooking with liquid nitrogen !

When a restaurant runs out of gas......

This has got to be the most hilarious restaurant story, though at that time, it was anything but hilarious. I am a big Chinese food fan and I recently dragged hubby to a place that I insisted was fantastic. For some reason, perhaps because it was a weekday, the restaurant was deserted. And we were glad to have it to ourselves. A smiling waiter took our order: a starter and main course and left us alone in an already deserted restaurant. Meanwhile, we drank thirstily from the mineral water bottle he had supplied. For almost 15-20 minutes, there was no sign of anybody. And then the waiter came back, a very sheepish look on his face. “Sorry, but we can give you only the starter,” he said. We were confused. “The main course we ordered is not available?” we asked. “It’s not that: there’s enough gas to cook only the starter,” he supplied. For a moment, the two of us resembled gold fish in an aquarium: mouths opening and closing in stupefaction. While anger and amazement fought to overpower each other, we decided to just leave and asked for a bill for the water. And we got it: a Rs 50 bill for a Rs 12 bottle of water ! Hungry and furious, we offered to pay only the price on the bottle. Finally, a hassled manager decided to put in an appearance and offered to waive the bill; we did better and just left behind the half-full bottle. A few weeks later, I happened to go back to the restaurant, having ascertained that it had all the supplies. Sadly, both food and service have gone down the tube. And no, my previous experience did not colour my views!

Cuisine from the land of Genghis Khan and Tamburlaine

I had heard so much about Samarkand, on Infantry Road, that I was beginning to fear the expectation would outstrip the reality. But I am glad to say that was not the case. Hidden towards the back of a huge building, Samarkan’s location could be a classic case of blink-and-miss, if not for wide-eyed vigilance. At first glance, the restaurant seemed to be a poky place, and my spirits started to dip. But I quickly realised the initial feeling was probably because the subdued lighting inside was in complete contrast to the bright daylight outside. The restaurant is quite spacious, and done up in a quaint Northwest frontier sytle with faux torches and ambience.

The menu, (pix above) in the form of tabloid newspaper sheets, has interesting tid-bits of information about the name, the region and the cuisine. I was a little amused with the long, coloured breadsticks served at the table as soon as we were seated, but the food was lip-smackingly delicious. We tried tandoori salad, an Afghani fish starter, lamb biriyani, Dal Afghani, rotis and saffron rice. And I must say, every dish was lovely. I loved both the rice dishes – the biriyani was full of the gentle aromas of the spices and the tender lamb; the saffron rice was so delicately flavoured that it could be eaten without any accompaniment. The rotis were soft and fluffy and the dal, flavourful. I quite enjoyed the experience – do check it out.

A new convert to Sushi

I have never been a fan of Sushi. Well, that’s until The Sushi Book turned up in my post over the weekend. Published by ThingsAsian and written by Celeste Heiter, with some delicious photography by Marc Schultz, the book disabused me of some of the misconceptions I have harboured about Japanese food. I now know that Sushi does not mean raw fish and there’s really no need for chopsticks (my biggest challenge !!) to eat Sushi; that there’s Sushi with cooked meat and even vegetarian Sushi ! (Oh yes, you are permitted to roll your eyes at my ignorance).

I loved the book, and not just for the mouthwatering pictures (a couple are reproduced here). It is lucid, informative and almost makes you head to the nearest Japanese restaurant. I am guessing that’s the intention of the book, and does achieve its goal. Any cuisine is so much a statement about the culture it originates from, and the book provides really good insights into various aspects of Japanese tradition and culture. Next on my agenda is checking out all that’s in the book. There’s Dahlia and Harima in Bangalore – await my feedback from one them in a short while!

Fries for all seasons

Goa is like one big party – I know that’s as clichéd as they come. But it surely is, especially as it begins to get dark. And it doesn’t really end till the wee hours. I had heard a lot about Tito’s, but could not go this time as well. However, I was introduced to another lovely place, called Britto’s, which is also in Baga. More a trendy restaurant, than a partying place, it is extremely popular. With candlelit tables stretching almost to the water’s edge and lovely music in the background, Britto’s is the place for a romantic dinner for twosome or for a boisterous group to chill after a hectic day. What’s more, the service is quite quick, which is more than what I can say of most other places in Goa !! The food is yummy – superb steaks, continental, Chinese and Indian food. I especially liked the fries, which were more like the American homemade variety rather than Mac – chunky, golden, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Verrrrrrry nice !!

Kid in a candy store !!

‘Like a kid in a candy store’ had never done anything to my imagination. Partly because, I did not have much of a sweet tooth. But that was until I went to a candy store on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. And then I understood why the phrase, and why even sane, normal human beings can go ga-ga. It’s not as if I hadn’t been to one before. A cute one on Champs de Elysees in Paris and one in Berlin had opened my eyes to this fascinating world, but it was just that – fascination. The one in SF however, catapulted me altogether to a different level. The store itself was designed artistically, a rather retro-look, with barrels of overflowing goodies. But it was sheer mind-numbing variety, of candies and chocolates of every size, shape and colour that boggled the mind. I came away with so many even though I had no idea what I would do with them, but I just could not help myself. Like a kid in a candy store, alright !!

Soul food at Quilon, the Queen's neighbour

To me, London is always a fascinating place. And the only place I never tire of going back to. It is also the place where one never gets homesick. One of the things that keep homesickness at bay is the lovely Quilon restaurant, a stone’s throw from the Queen’s residence, the Buckingham Palace. A Taj property, Quilon is elegant and unostentatious. But it is the food that scores. It specialises in Indian coastal food, but with a Continental twist where presentation is concerned. The mini dosa comes on a narrow place with a conical little dosa in the middle flanked by chutney and curry; the seafood combo appetiser is delicately flavoured and brings back memories of cool, coastal evenings; and the humble kesari bhath is transformed by its elegant setting. Fish and chicken combos, with parathas or appams, mildly flavoured lemon and tamarind rice – all constitute the main course. An enduring favourite is the mango curry, eaten with plain rice.

Quilon is not pretentious about its recipes and will gladly give printouts to anybody who’s interested. Chef Sriram Aylur (pic below), a Taj veteran, has done a fantastic job and the results are there for all to see. Quilon is packed most days and patrons include many Bond protagonists, tennis star Roger Federer, British celebrities, visiting Indian VIPs and the like.