Fine Dining in Thailand

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of food in Thailand? Truth be told, fine dining was not what popped into mind first. Thailand’s street food that has been celebrated for years. It’s even glorified in foodie shows like Bizarre Food and No Reservations. But fine dining? We reserve that category for restaurants in New York or Europe. Nose up. There's no room for Southeast Asian cuisine in that space.

Yet the one revelation I had from my trip to Thailand was that the country’s fine dining packs enough punch to compete with the rest of the world. Upscale restaurants in Thailand are bold. Their dining rooms are elegant. Their dishes are complex. Yet they stay true to the very flavors and ingredients that makes Thailand so unique.

Move over, New York. Get out of the way, Paris. Hang up your pans, Italy. Thailand’s fine dining scene is on the rise. Take notice.

Here are two of my favorite restaurants:

1) nahm (The Metropolitan Hotel, Bangkok)

comohotels.com

If you haven’t heard of this restaurant before, consider yourself aware now. nahm is repeatedly voted as the best restaurant in all of Asia and reached as high as the third best restaurant in the world. nahm serves ancient Thai cuisine. Expect dishes that play with and balance sharp flavors to develop a strong yet harmonious flavor.  Interestingly, the dishes are cooked and prepared by an Australian, Chef David Thompson. Chef Thompson spent several years working and living in Thailand. Inspired by the country’s flavors and ingredients, he pledged to raise the profile of Thai cuisine and eventually earned the first Michelin Star for a Thai restaurant.

comohotels.com

I recommend ordering the set menu, since you can pick specific dishes from each category. The soft shell crab with chilies, holy basil and peppercorn was my favorite. Also try the coconut and turmeric crab curry and the grilled hiramasa kingfish salad.

2) Koh Thai Kitchen and Bar (Four Seasons, Samui)

press.fourseasons.com

The Four Seasons Resort in Koh Samui opened a new restaurant, Koh Thai Kitchen and Bar. Like nahm, it serves traditional Thai food, though it focuses more on the flavors and ingredients found in Samui. With that, you’ll find many authentic Thai dishes that may not be familiar to you.

Executive Chef Alex Gares does not hold back. Dishes are on the spicier side, but they balance out the sourness of the fish sauce and the pungent aroma of the shrimp paste used in most of his dishes.  Try the Plaa Goong (prawns with roasted chili paste dressing, lemongrass and lime leaf salad), the local oysters with tamarind leaves, crispy shallots, garlic, lime and seafood sauce, and the massaman nua (beef cooked in cardamom-scented southern curry). Lastly, Koh’s tom yum goong is perhaps the best I’ve had. Ever.

press.fourseasons.com

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Why I'm Still Craving Thai Food: Take a Look

I just got back from Thailand, a place filled with vibrant dishes that dance with complex layers of flavors. While I’m glad to be back home after a long trip, I find my amateur palate still craving the wonderful tastes that I experienced in the country--the sour fish sauce, spicy chili, minty herb, coconut based curries and crunch from peanuts.

I was so captivated by the tastes, that I visited the local grocery store before I left and flew home with my arms filled with dried Thai lemongrass, Vietnamese ginger, lime leaves, chili flakes, and as many curry and soup pastes that I can find.

Thailand’s food scene has a lot to offer, which is why this is the first of three posts that I plan on doing. As the first post, I decided to show you a sample of what I tried—whether it be from the street or from a Michelin star restaurant.

Raw oyster with crispy garlic and dried seaweed

Pad Thai Noodles from the street vendor

Ayudhaya Giant Prawn Phad sauce Ma Kham

Goong Chae Narm Pla (raw prawns, lime and chili sauce)

Crab with chili

Trout with lime chili sauce

Minced pork with chili and fish sauce

Dishes from the Nahm, currently Asia's #1 restaurant

Street noodles

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Happy Diwali

We celebrated Diwali this past week. For those who are unfamiliar with the holiday, Diwali is the celebration of a new year, the fesitval of lights and perhaps one of the most important festivals in the Hindu religion. To recognize the day, I prepared the following menu:

• Rajma: red kidney beans with onions, tomato sauce and spices
• Alu: potatoes with onions and spices
• Bhindi: Okra cooked with lots of chili and spices

I garnished each dish with a lot of cilantro and served our meal with sides of garlic naan and rice. Happy Diwali. Here's to a successful and lucky year ahead! 

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Nostalgia for Tacos al Pastor

by Carlos Quesada, Amateur guest blogger from Boston, MA, originally from Mexico City, Mexico

Perhaps one of the saddest things for me when I left Mexico was knowing that I would also be leaving the easy access to these tacos made so fresh, so quick and so deliciously. When I do return to Mexico for quick vacations, the first stop I make is to any taqueria to get my hands on some tacos al pastor.

Tacos al pastor – shepherd-style tacos—are a signature dish and popular street snack in Mexico City. They are legacies, it seem, of the Lebanese natives who brought them to Mexico City in a wave of immigration in the mid-20th century. Others would argue this, as it is known that to celebrate the fall of the Aztec empire and Tenochtitlan, a dish made of pork and tortilla was served to the Spanish soldiers by the tlaxcaltecas.

They are made of pork with chili-soaked pork spit-roasted beneath a dripping, slowly caramelizing pineapple and are usually referred as the “king of the tacos”. Similar to shawarma, gyros, or any other Eastern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern preparation of spitted lamb and flatbread, tacos al pastor are prepared in a special spit marinated with pork pieces running with the amber juices of the pineapple above. The pastorero works swiftly, slicing off the hottest, crustiest pieces from the mound along with a bit of bronzed pineapple, chopped cilantro, onion and a spoonful of drippings. He quickly sprinkles on diced sweet white onion and dusts the top of the taco with finely chopped cilantro.

Pick up a taco, folding up the slides with thumb and index finger, closing the end with the forefinger. With the first bite, you should get that flavor of roast pork, the perfume of cilantro, the bite of the onion, subtle bitter aroma of chili, and the sweet heady pineapple. One more small bite and the first taco will be gone. The second and third will follow, then you will hail the waiter and ask for more.

Because the special grill and vertical spit are necessary to make the dish, no one in Mexico sees fit – or is logistically able – to make tacos al pastor at home, so they are almost always found in street stands or small restaurants called taquerias. The recipes vary from stand to stand – proprietors are loath to give away their secrets.

One of my favorite places to eat tacos al pastor is El  Huequito (which means “the little hole”), a tiny operation in this city’s Centro Histórico, founded in 1959 and among the first places in the city to serve tacos al pastor. At El Huequito the sliced meat is bathed in a moderately picante salsa of chile de árbol, enhanced with chopped onion and cilantro and rolled up in its small tortilla. Several salsas are available for serious chileros — chili lovers. The meat is juicy and succulent, the smoky grilled aroma lingering until you take the next bite. Washed down with an ice-cold horchata or agua de Jamaica, these morsels are simply divine.

Note: This blog originally appeared on Carlos's wedding website. But how could I not share good taco tips with fellow Amateur palates? Thanks for allowing me to borrow this blog!

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A Peek at Brendan Sodikoff's Chicago Establishments

After a long hiatus, the Amateur’s Palate is back! There has been a lot going on in the amateur world, and I’m excited to share some of my learning’s with you. What’s the first announcement since my last post? The Amateur’s Palate is now headquartered in the great culinary city of Chicago.

For those who haven’t had the chance to have a proper taste of Chicago, this city is an appropriate rival to New York in the culinary scene. While smaller than the Big Apple, Chicago has a cluster of Michelin Star chefs, Top Chef alums, and up and coming restaurateurs.

One restaurateur I’ve been watching in particular is Brendan Sodikoff, owner of some of the most exciting restaurants in Chicago. So far, he’s opened four restaurants and a donut shop, and a pizzeria is on its way. The dishes in his restaurants don’t try to over complicate things. They’re simple, hearty, and packed with flavor—exactly the kind of food you want to eat over and over again. It’s easy to become a regular at his restaurants. 

Here is a quick summary and a few thoughts on his establishments.

Gilt Bar

A favorite of mine, Gilt Bar has a small though strong and consistently good menu. I recommend getting the chicken, octopus and chorizo and any of the toasts.

Courtesy of Giltbarchicago.com

Image courtesy of Mega Bites Chicago

Au Cheval

Au Cheval is a dark diner with a DJ playing good music. Their burgers are so deliciously juicy, you’ll forget about all of the other diners in your neighborhood.

Image courtesy of Aucheval.tumblr.com

Image courtesy of Aucheval.tumblr.com

Bavette’s  Bar & Boeuf

Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf is a sharp restaurant that primarily serves steak. However, I’ve also had the chicken here and the special, which was a bratwurst that was half beef and half pork. Both were simply prepared but wonderfully cooked. Also, try the side of corn, which is prepared Elote style with Parmesan, chili and lime.

Image courtesy of Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

Maude’s Liquor Bar

Maude’s Liquor Bar is an elegant French bistro restaurant. The food is good, as expected, but I like to go here for the cocktails. 

Image courtesy of Maude's Liquor Bar

Image courtesy of Maude's Liquor Bar

The Doughnut Vault

The Doughnut Vault opens early in the morning and stays open until they run out of doughnuts—and that happens quickly. Lines to purchase these doughnuts circle the block during the weekends, and it doesn’t matter if it’s sunny, raining or snowing.

Image courtesy of The Doughnut Vault

Image courtesy of The Doughnut Vault

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2011 NYC Wine and Food Festival

In case you've been ignoring all things food around the city, the NYC Wine & Food Festival is coming up. I'm so excited, I'm am scouring the list over and over again like mad man. I can't seem to decide which event to attend! Also, does anyone have an extra Benjamin to spare? I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

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Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata is a wonderful, classic Italian dish. I've always enjoyed eating this dish because it has a nice, fresh tang which comes from the lemon-based sauce.

While I have ordered it several times at restaurants, I have never attempted to cook it. It wasn't until my good friend Lucille (who happens to be a fiery Sicilian) had me help her prepare it for a typical Italian family dinner. It was easy enough to cook the dish with her, so last night I decided to cook it for myself.

Here's what I did (and apologies in advance that I don't have exact measurements. I did, after all, steal this recipe from a family):

Ingredients

chicken breasts

flour

butter

garlic

white wine

mushrooms

lemon juice

parsley

capers

If the chicken breasts aren't thin enough, use a tenderizer to pound them until they are thin. Afterwards, lightly coat each side with flour. In a pan coated with butter, cook the chicken breasts thoroughly and set aside.

Throw more butter in the pan and sautee the garlic and mushrooms. Afterwards, pour in the lemon juice and white wine, letting it simmer until the ingredients thoroughly mix with each other. Both Lucille and I--on separate occasions--added too much lemon juice, and we needed to balance out the taste by pouring in more white wine. So, be sure to constantly taste the sauce!

Add more flour to thicken the sauce. Lastly, throw in some Italian parsley and capers, and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Once the sauce is done, pour it over the chicken, and serve the dish with pasta (I prefer to have Piccata with linguini).

Tip: Make enough sauce to pour over your pasta. Also, don't forget, be easy on the lemon juice.

Buon appetito!

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