The Malaysian Insider :: Food

Playful Aduriz masters culinary mind games

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:48:08 GMT

TORONTO, May 16 — Basque chef Andoni Luis Aduriz, the culinary conjurer behind one of the top-ranked restaurant in the world, enjoys a good gag as he lets his imagination run wild at Mugaritz, set in the hills outside San Sebastian in northern Spain. An early protégé of Ferran Adria at El Bulli, Aduriz, 40, is famous for tricks such as disguising ...

Tonchin Tokyo: The real ramen experience

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:40:10 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Does one need to have ramen in Japan to enjoy it? With the number of ramen shops sprouting all over the Klang Valley, the answer seems to be an obvious “No”. However, from attempting to decipher menu choices in Japanese to slurping noodles noisily (even as your fellow diners are busily slurping theirs), there’s nothing quite ...

British chef Ramsay opens Las Vegas restaurant

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:58:36 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 15 — The British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has opened a restaurant at a casino hotel in Las Vegas, his first in the US gambling hub. Multiple Michelin star holder Ramsay, who already has restaurants in New York and Los Angeles, joins several famous rivals, including Alain Ducasse and Pierre Gagnaire, who have eateries in Las ...

Dine like a star in Cannes

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:53:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 14 – When the glitterati descend on Cannes for, perhaps, the most glamorous film festival on earth, the city’s restaurants will also be kicking into high gear as they prepare to feed the world’s biggest stars. With 316 brasseries, wine bars, and fine dining restaurants dotted throughout the city, visitors can choose between ...

Chinese wine makers looking to win back local taste buds

Mon, 14 May 2012 08:36:26 GMT

HONG KONG, May 14 – While China’s wine lovers continue their obsession with French vintages, a number of local labels are determined to lead the charge to convince them that Chinese winemakers can compete with the very best there is. Dynasty Fine Wines is based near the city of Tianjin – about a 30-minute train ride from the capital Beijing – and ...

Pinang Thaipas at the Rasa

Mon, 14 May 2012 00:20:29 GMT

GEORGE TOWN, May 14 — It’s a play on words: come to the al fresco poolside Pinang Bar at the Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa, and have one (or more) of their yummy cocktails whilst watching the gorgeous sunset in the horizon. And indulge in a few of their new Penang and Thai-style tapas dishes at the same time. Although they have only ...

French food, sans le snootiness, s’il vous plait

Sun, 13 May 2012 00:14:48 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — The indecipherable menu; the fancy bouteilles d’ eau; the fear of committing a faux pas like calling for the “mayder-dee.” These are a few reasons why many French restaurants get their snooty and exclusive reputation, which causes many casual diners from stepping into one regularly. Exclusivity and snootiness is not the ...

Italy emerges as best food destination among Brits, survey shows

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:54:03 GMT

LONDON, May 12 — Britons named Italian cuisine the best in Europe, followed by British, French and Spanish fare, according to a new poll. In a survey of more than 2,000 people in the UK, 30 per cent of respondents named Italy as the European country with the best national cuisine. Next, 22 per cent of Brits gave their own cuisine a nod. France ...

Brits fete the 250th anniversary of sandwich invention

Sat, 12 May 2012 08:49:57 GMT

LONDON, May 12 — While British cuisine may be most associated with dishes like fish and chips and and bangers and mash, the world over also has the Brits to thank for inventing perhaps the most ubiquitous food item and lunchtime meal staple which celebrates its 250th anniversary this year: the humble sandwich. Between May 12 and 19, Brits will ...

Brazilian foods get spotlight in China

Sat, 12 May 2012 02:23:48 GMT

BEIJING, May 12 — The tropical, wild flavours of South America are being given the spotlight at the largest international food and beverage exhibit in China this week, where Brazil has been named the guest country of honour — a move that signals the growing interest in products native to this burgeoning country. SIAL China, which is expected to ...

Fat sister’s delicious offerings

Sat, 12 May 2012 01:08:37 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — There’s really a “fei jay” (fat sister in Cantonese) at Restoran Fei Jay in Kepong, which is getting known for its crabs and other seafood. She’s big and friendly, and is the one who suggests and takes down your orders on what you should eat. One of these was the crabs tossed in spices, lime juice and fresh milk, the ...

Brad Pitt to star in movie about wine bottle scandal

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:57:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 10 — Brad Pitt has been tapped to star in a movie based on the controversial book The Billionaire’s Vinegar based on the true story centred around a bottle of 1787 Château Lafite Bordeaux, purportedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. The movie, which is slated to hit theatres this year, is produced by Will Smith who bought the rights to ...

Survey shows Paris sells most expensive club sandwich in the world

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:31:48 GMT

PARIS, May 10 — Paris may be known as the most romantic city in the world, but it’s also the most expensive place to buy a club sandwich — making it the priciest travel destination on the globe. That’s the conclusion of online accommodation booking site Hotels.com which surveyed 750 hotels in three to five star categories across 26 countries and ...

Most expensive club sandwiches found in Europe

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:25:46 GMT

LONDON, May 10 — According to a survey of 750 hotels in 26 countries, Paris is the most expensive city in the world for ordering a club sandwich. After surveying the price of the iconic triple-decker sandwich among three to five-star properties around the world, Paris, Geneva and Oslo emerged as the most expensive — and therefore — the ...

Pop-up version of Noma in London sells out in 2.5 hours

Wed, 09 May 2012 14:54:00 GMT

LONDON, May 9 — Tickets for Danish chef René Redzepi’s pop-up restaurant Noma in London this summer sold out in 2.5 hours, dashing the epicurean hopes of more than 6,600 gourmands who were willing to pony up £195 (RM959.40) for a meal. According to restaurant trade publication Harden’s in the UK, about 10,000 people had pre-registered for the ...

Kid-friendly Mother’s Day recipes for breakfast in bed

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:43:34 GMT

SYDNEY, May 9 — Dads, this is the one day of the year when it’s absolutely inexcusable for you not to pamper the mother of your children with a decadent breakfast in bed. Recruiting the kiddies into the kitchen to help isn’t just about enlisting child labour, either. It’s a way to let mom sleep in without a child nagging her about the whereabouts ...

Best restaurant in the US goes to ’Frisco eatery

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:33:10 GMT

NEW YOK, May 9 — San Francisco restaurant Boulevard, set in a historic building and designed in the manner of France’s Belle Epoque, has been named the best in the US. At the James Beard Foundation Awards, an event known within the hospitality industry as the “Oscars” of the US food world, chef Nancy Oakes’s eatery was named Outstanding ...

List of James Beard award winners

Tue, 08 May 2012 12:16:04 GMT

NEW YORK, May 8 — The best of the US food and hospitality industry gathered at the prestigious James Beard Foundation Awards in New York last night to crown the best chefs and restaurants in the country. Here’s the full list of winners: Best New RestaurantNext, ChicagoOutstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits ProfessionalPaul GriecoTerroir, ...

Is Korean food the next Thai?

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:43:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 8 — It was predicted to become one of the food trends of 2012. And if an appearance on the menus of family-style international eateries and celebrity-backed restaurant openings are anything to go by, all indications are that Korean cuisine is poised to become as ubiquitous around the world as Thai and Vietnamese fare. After gazing ...

Swiss-born chef wins top US chef award

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:41:56 GMT

NEW YORK, May 8 — Swiss-born Daniel Humm won the top US chef prize yesterday, with the group that hands out the most prestigious US culinary awards celebrating its 25th anniversary as interests in food and cooking scale fresh heights around the world. Humm, 35, is among the youngest winners of the James Beard Foundation’s outstanding US chef ...

A lesson in divine desserts

Tue, 08 May 2012 03:24:34 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — “I’ve waited three years for your baking class, Nigel. I tried searching online and I called a few times to see if Just Heavenly was offering classes and they told me it was coming soon,” said Jenny Choy to Nigel Skelchy, co-owner of Just Heavenly. Well, Jenny’s quest was finally answered last weekend when Skelchy held Baking ...

Curry and ‘India’s holy powder’ subject of cancer-fighting study

Tue, 08 May 2012 02:00:02 GMT

LONDON, May 8 — A team of British researchers has launched a clinical trial that will look at whether a compound found in curry can improve the drug response in patients with advanced bowel cancer — the third most common cancer worldwide after lung and breast. It’s a study that will try to improve current bowel cancer treatments that either have a ...

Recipes using ‘India’s holy powder’ — turmeric

Tue, 08 May 2012 01:40:30 GMT

LONDON, May 8 — It’s been called “India’s holy powder”. And in a slew of scientific studies, researchers have been exploring the healing properties of this mystical spice powder for everything from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. Most recently, a team of British scientists announced they would be looking at how turmeric could ...

The best French toast in town

Mon, 07 May 2012 05:05:18 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 — Finding a good French toast is like finding a lover in a city that hasn’t seen many good ones. You want one that is sweet and gentle to the touch yet also have that something special that will pleasantly surprise you. To the uninitiated, KL is a city of all-day big breakfasts and fry-ups, a town where you’d have better luck ...

After sake, is shochu the next drink trend to come out of Japan?

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:25:37 GMT

TOKYO, May 7 — Japan is planning to designate sake and shochu as “national alcoholic beverages” as it ramps up its campaign to have Japanese cuisine added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. After a recent visit to a sake brewer in Akita Prefecture, in northern Japan, Motohisa Furukawa, the state minister for national policy, told ...

Singer Andrea Bocelli launches wine in the US

Sun, 06 May 2012 01:41:23 GMT

NEW YORK, May 6 — Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has announced that he will be taking his family’s winery stateside. Though Bocelli may be best known for his soaring singing voice, he also comes from a long line of winemakers that spans three generations and 130 years. Bocelli Family Wines, which come from a small estate in Lajatico, Tuscany, has ...

Forget Happy Hour, it’s Gourmet Hour now

Sat, 05 May 2012 00:35:23 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 — At most happy hours in the city’s lounges, bistros and pubs, you would get peanuts, greasy fried ikan bilis, potato chips, or as we experienced at a hotel lounge recently, tapioca chips and deep-fried soyabeans. It’s like the wine in the crystal glass did not quite match these oily, tiddly bits. In other places, the salted ...

Thousands of chefs converge in South Korea for major congress

Fri, 04 May 2012 03:20:40 GMT

SEOUL, May 4 — Chefs from around the world have gathered in Daejeon, South Korea for the World Association of Chefs Societies this week, where more than 4,000 chefs will be discussing themes like how to feed the planet in the future and promoting what’s been tapped as the next international food trend: Korean cuisine. For the first time, the ...

How to spot a good baguette

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:32:52 GMT

PARIS, May 3 — The title of Paris’s best baguette has, for the fifth time in six years, gone to one of the bakeries situated in the city’s 18th arrondissement. And while first-time visitors to Paris may delight in any which baguette from any which bakery, not all are created equal. Here’s primer on how to tell a good baguette from a mediocre one, ...

Cocktail mix for ladies tops fastest growing spirit brand in the US

Thu, 03 May 2012 09:53:24 GMT

NEW YORK, May 3 — Despite attracting a bevy of controversy over its health claims last year, celebrity brand Skinnygirl Cocktails recorded the biggest gain in the spirits industry in 2011, according to a new market report. Analysts at Technomic say that among the top 250 spirits brands by volume, Skinnygirl Cocktails, created by US reality TV star ...

A celebratory dinner by two fine chefs

Thu, 03 May 2012 07:13:00 GMT

PETALING JAYA, May 3 — What better way for a chef to put his signature on a dinner than to present an award-winning dish? That was what the Le Cordon Bleu-trained Darren Chin did. He turned his World’s Best Sandwich into an amuse bouche, a toasted baguette slice topped with deboned organic chicken leg marinated with fresh turmeric, and garnished ...

For Chef Darren Chin, it’s all about ‘good vibrations’

Thu, 03 May 2012 04:52:59 GMT

PETALING JAYA, May 3 — The white truffle soil just melted in my mouth and exploded with flavour. It was simply divine with the mushroom duxelle. I was in the kitchen with Darren Chin and he had asked me to try the dish. He’s the winner of the Delifrance Sandwich World Cup competition in France earlier this year. Elsewhere in this central kitchen ...

Thirsty Millennials and gents drive up spirits in the US

Thu, 03 May 2012 03:18:48 GMT

CHICAGO, May 3 — While vodka remains the leading spirit in the US, a new report shows that a growing thirst for Irish whiskey resulted in the largest increase in its category last year, driven largely by men and Millennials. According to the latest report by market research group Technomic released this week, though it represents the smallest of ...

’Frisco eatery wins Webbys best restaurant website award

Thu, 03 May 2012 01:26:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 3 — A San Francisco restaurant’s single-page website has been named the best of its kind in the Webby Awards’ restaurant category. On The Beast and the Hare’s website, there are no complicated navigational bars, need for Flash Player or annoying musical soundtracks that accompany each visit. If anything, the site is stark but ...

Webby Awards names new upstart best food and beverage website

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:19:03 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO, May 2 — A web start-up which launched last year and is described as the largest social recipe network in the world has been named the best food and beverage site at the Webby Awards. In just over a year, California-based Foodily.com beat out nominees like the formidable New York Times Dining & Wining section to be named the best in ...

Australian wine grape production at 5-yr low

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:24:32 GMT

SYDNEY, May 2 — Australian production of wine grapes is set to sink to a five-year low this year after two wet summers damaged vines in New South Wales and South Australia, data today showed. Production in the 2011/12 season will total about 1.53 million tonnes, down twoper cent on last year, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource ...

Rolling Stones’ longevity marked with new line of drinks

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:29:20 GMT

TOKYO, May 2 — Half a century of musical achievements by The Rolling Stones are to be commemorated in Japan with the release — appropriately — of a new line of alcoholic drinks. Suntory Liquors Inc. is to release the new drinks on June 19 under the Stones Bar label to mark the formation of the band in London in April 1962. The drinks will bear the ...

British tea scion hopes India will embrace the bag

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:03:52 GMT

NEW DELHI, May 2 — Stephen HB Twining, the 10th-generation descendant of the Twinings tea-making family, is an unimpeachable brand ambassador. It is early afternoon and he is already on his 12th cup of the day. “My usual daily intake is about 15 cups, so I’m a little ahead of myself, but tea drinking is a huge passion with me,” he says, sipping a ...

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list to launch from Singapore in 2013

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:51:57 GMT

SINGAPORE, May 1 — In a move that reflects the growth and breadth of the fine dining scene in Asia, organisers of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants have announced the launch of an Asian version that will span the region from Bangladesh to Japan to the Maldives. It’s only slightly less ambitious, perhaps, than whittling down the millions of ...

Denmark’s Noma wins World’s Best Restaurant third time

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:16:20 GMT

LONDON, May 1 — Danish restaurant Noma was crowned the world's best restaurant for the third year in a row in an annual list, beating out top eateries in Spain, Brazil, Italy, the United States and elsewhere. The S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna World's 50 Best Restaurants, produced by Britain's Restaurant Magazine, were unveiled in the medieval ...

Cooking companions

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 03:07:10 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — There was a time when cooking involved scrappy grocery lists, splayed-open recipe books, and an alarm clock hidden somewhere in the kitchen. This is a particularly common scenario for the kitchen newbie (trust me, I know), but thankfully there are several apps out there that can help even the newbie in the kitchen get by ...

Website connects female diners who eat alone

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:45:55 GMT

LONDON, April 28 — A new website for solo, female diners has been launched to help alleviate the embarrassment of having to ask for a table for one. Created by a woman in Gloucestershire, England, the website Invite for a Bite allows frequent female flyers who travel for business, solo travellers, or even locals to post invitations and find a ...

Culinary treats from all over the globe at Chef Choi

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:07:33 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — We started with a Zucchini Salsa and crispy tortilla chips and couldn’t stop. Then the Spit Roasted Whole Spanish Milkfed Lamb was brought in, and immediately commanded our attention. It’s typical of our meals at Chef Choi in Kuala Lumpur, that it would be a combination of Western and Chinese, even Thai dishes. Its ...

Taste test crowns Subway breakfast sandwiches best

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:27:19 GMT

NEW YORK, April 27 — In a Consumer Reports survey of breakfast sandwiches from major fast food outlets, Subway’s offerings were deemed the tastiest and the most nutritious. After sampling egg sandwiches from Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway, taste testers chose the sandwich chain’s Egg White and Cheese on Mornin’ ...

Fast, fresh and absolutely delicious

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:39:25 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR. April 27 — We looked at the spread of Indian dishes before us and didn’t know where to start. There were the different curries — fish, chicken and mutton — then chilli chicken, fried chicken, fried ikan kembong and ikan tenggiri, sambal tofu, dhal curry and three types of vegetables. All had been cooked just minutes before. We were ...

For Panir, cooking starts from the heart

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:24:08 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — He cooks, the customer waits. It’s the consistently good, fresh and hot food at Panir Selvam’s stall in Bangsar that has been the draw all these years. His cooking skills got kick-started at eight, when he had to look after his mum who was paralysed. “She taught me how to cook,” said Panir. The second in a family of five, ...

How critics choose the best restaurants in the world

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:03:45 GMT

LONDON, April 26 — How does a restaurant get named the best in the world? How is it that restaurants which have been garlanded with Michelin stars land on the bottom half of the world’s best restaurants list, while others — some with no Michelin mention at all — leap past culinary heavyweights to land within the top 10? For example, where one ...

Burger King promises to use free range eggs, pork

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:44:30 GMT

WASHINGTON, April 26 — Global fast food chain Burger King will soon be serving up morsels from free range eggs and pigs, the company said in a statement yesterday. The company — which has 12,500 locations worldwide — pledged to use 100 per cent cage-free eggs in the US within five years and to only buy pork from suppliers who stop using gestation ...

McDonald’s in Germany debuts crowd-sourced ‘Pretzelnator’ burger

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:56:38 GMT

BERLIN, April 26 — When McDonald’s in Germany invited consumers to create their own sandwich, fans came up with flavors that include pretzel-bun burgers, an Italian-style chicken burger, and a curry and chili-flavoured sandwich with chorizo and jalapenos, all of which will be sold across Germany for a limited time. Tapping into the popularity of ...

Curry Night every night at the Terrace Cafe

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:36:25 GMT

GEORGE TOWN, April 26 — In the UK, Friday nights is Curry Night. To celebrate the end of a hard week of work, Brits like to go down to the boozer for a pint or two of their favourite tipple, and thence to their local curry house for a Chicken Tikka Masala, a Madras or, if they’re feeling in a particularly masochistic mood, a Vindaloo or two. That ...