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

Read more...

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

-->

Read more...

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!

Read more...

animal

You're "foie'd up!" exclaimed our waiter. We were at the trendy downtown Los Angeles restaurant, animal. Our waiter, who resembled a young Paul Giamatti, was commenting on the abundance of foie gras in half of the dishes we chose to try that evening.

We didn't plan to have so much foie gras for dinner, but Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo created a menu that used the ingredient in so many creative ways, we couldn't order just one. Better yet, the chefs' use of different parts of the animal is astonishingly unique that I wonder what inspired their dishes. They pair unlikely ingredients with proteins: think lamb neck served with fava beans and daikon, or consider veal brains with apple sauce.

Because of all of this, we couldn't cling to a salad for safety. In celebrating animal, we decided to order exactly what they wanted us to order...the wild.

Take a look:

poutine with oxtail gravy and cheddar cheese

bone marrow topped with chimichurri and caramelized onions

foie gras loco moco, with quail egg, spam and hamburger meat

foie gras, biscuit and maple sausage gravy

Read more...

Try These Restaurants In San Francisco

I was recently in San Francisco for a business trip. While most of my time there was spent in a convention center and in hotels, I was able to sneak out and try some of San Francisco's best restaurants. Here are a few of my favorites:

Flour + Water

Area: Mission District

Rumor has it that this popular hipster spot made Steve Jobs wait for a table. And I don't blame him for getting in line. Their dishes are simple, rustic and made with the freshest ingredients. Their menu is seasonal, but you can't go wrong with any of the pasta dishes. I also recommend trying the radiatore with smoked hen, pancetta, wild arugula and chili. And if they let you, substitute the hen with rabbit. Delish!

Nettie's Crab Shack

Area: Union Street

There's something so comforting about this restaurant that if I lived in San Francisco, I'd be a regular at this place. Maybe it's the restaurant's 'no frills' approach to its dining room, maybe it's the dedicated and hospitable wait staff...or maybe it's the gigantic crab roll they give you. Large globs of fresh dungeness crab are served in a heavily buttered roll. Yum.

Anchor & Hope

Area: SoMa

Anchor & Hope is a great escape from the surrounding convention center and hotel conference rooms, and it's the perfect place to pop in for a nice lunch. Fresh seafood is served daily. Try their clam chowder or one of the many seafood sandwiches they have to offer. I had a fried clam sandwich and thought it was lovely. Don't forget to order the rosemary and thyme french fries with your sandwich. They're to die for.

Read more...

Potato and Aubergine Curry

by Milesh Gordhandas, Amateur Palate guest blogger from Brussels, Belgium

I'm a Portuguese-born Indian and a vegetarian. I have been an "amateur chef" since September 2001. At that time, I left my family in Lisbon to start a new life abroad--first in London to study and work, and now in Brussels. Indian food is not cooked everyday as it takes some time and energy. Here is a report of one of those evenings where suddenly I had a lot of energy and drive to produce this amazing--yes, it tasted really good, so why be modest?--yet simple curry. It was, of course, my Mum who taught me this recipe.

This humble potato and aubergine curry serves one pretty well. You need one potato and one aubergine of these sizes, half of this onion, and one garlic clove...

In a saucepan, put some oil, heat it up, chop the onion and saute them until they are crisp brown. Cut the potato and the aubergine in cubes, and add them in the saucepan.

This is the "critical part." Spread one teaspoon of curry powder blend onto the pan. My Mum made this powder from a mix of spices. These include red pepper powder, saffron and cumin. You may get this in your local supermarket, but you'll find a better range in specialty Indian shops or grocery stores.

Cover the food in water, and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook on high heat for half an hour. Half-way through, you will need to put some tomato sauce. You can either put two big spoons of tomato sauce or--like I did--grate half of a tomato onto it. This helps to add colour and consistency. Cover it again and let it cook for the remaining time.

Have the curry with some nice, warm Indian breads, like chappatis or naans. And, of course, eat it with your hands! At the end of the dish, you can have the curry with rice.

Enjoy your meal (cooking and eating it) by listening to some nice Bollywood beats!

Read more...

Chinatown's Soup Dumplings

An absolute must during a bitter cold winter is a trip to your local Chinatown for soup dumplings--warm pork dumplings with steaming broth inside. This is comfort food at its finest.

If you're in NYC, go to my favorite joint, Shanghai Cafe on Mott Street, where you'll pay $8.00 for eight large dumplings. Another local favorite is Joe's Shanghai on Pell Street, though there is always a long wait for a table.

Stay warm!

Read more...

The Art of Cooking in New Brighton

Ah, news of me and my amateur palate is spreading. When finding out about this blog, a colleague of mine gave me a cook book that the lovely ladies from the church of his home town in New Brighton, PA created. It features fun recipes from Eastern Europe, and his Croatian grandmother contributed a few.

I received permission to share one recipe on An Amateur's Palate, courtesy of my colleague's grandmother.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Sour Cream
2 1/2 or 3 lb. whole spring chicken, cut or already cut selected choice pieces.
1 c. of diced onions
1/2 c. shortening (or butter)
1/2 c. diced green pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black or white pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper-optional
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 tsp. marjoram

Saute onions in shortening. Add cut chicken, salt and pepper. Fry slowly covered for about 1/2 hour. Add diced green pepper and saute all for 10 minutes. Add paprika, cayenne pepper, marjoram and sour cream. Keep uncovered and fry 10 more minutes. If you desire you may add about a 1/2 c. more or less of boiling water for gravy.

Give it a try, and let me know how it turns out.

This blog write-up is dedicated to Daryl G. Grecich (1966-2011).

Read more...

Bite of Brussels

I made my first visit to Brussels, Belgium, and, of course, I ate my way through the city. Here's a tour of what Brussels had to offer. Vegetarians, beware.

Lapin a la gueuze (rabbit in Brussels beer)

Mussels with white wine, onion and celery

Steak tartare

Lamb shoulder with beans and potatoes

Read more...

Foodie Tips on Bermuda

Summer is over and so is An Amateur's Palate's hiatus. The season has been great, and I had so much fun trying new restaurants, recipes and ingredients. For example, I recently came back from my first visit to Bermuda. The island is beautiful and its beaches are amazing. And since I've never heard of Bermudian cuisine, I was excited to have my first taste of the island's dishes and food. So, here's a quick round up of tasty tips for you to use when you decide to visit the island.

DO order the fish chowder. It's the island's famous dish that features seafood and Caribbean spices. Remember to top off your soup with Sherry Pepper Sauce and Rum.

DON'T expect much from their signature protein, the Rockfish. Its texture is tough for a fish that offers little in taste. If you're set on trying a local fish, try the Hogfish instead.

DO visit the Fairmont Southampton's Ocean Club. It has a beach side cabana restaurant that serves the island's best burger. Imagine a juicy patty served with ham, cheese and pineapple. Yum.

DON'T forget to bring your credit card to restaurants. Like many things in Bermuda, food is pricey. Dinner for two can easily cost more than $125.

DO try the island's favorite cocktail, the Rum Swizzle. It's basically a lot of rum with fruit juices (pineapple, orange, etc.) and a sweetener (ex. grenadine).

I hope these tips help. If you have some of your own, please share!

Read more...

Chef Mario Batali's World Cup Recipes

With the World Cup games underway, soccer/football fans everywhere are gathering in groups to watch their favorite team vie for the trophy.

If you are planning on hosting a World Cup party over the next few days, ESPN added a fun feature on their website to help you out. The feature has Chef Mario Batali sharing recipes of each participating countries' signature dish and cocktail.

For example, Team Brazil fans can enjoy sipping caiprinhas while supporters of Team Spain can chow down on some homemade paella. And for those loyal Yankee fans, Chef Batali gives you a mean hamburger recipe to be washed down with a killer martini. Enjoy!

To access Chef Mario Batali's World Cup recipes, click here.

Read more...

A Tour of How The Whole Roasted Pig Is Served Around the World

The whole roasted pig is a favorite among many, and, for most cultures, is usually served during big celebrations. Some pigs are small enough to be prepared in an oven (suckling pigs are usually slaughtered when they’re 2-6 weeks old), but you’ll receive the best result cooking it in an open fire or pit. And while I find it hard to pick my favorite part to eat, the rear and the crunchy skin are must haves.

Here’s a quick round up of my thoughts on pig worth trying:

Testaccio Ristorante in Long Island City, New York serves all-you-can-eat roast suckling pig—or Porchetta Arrosto—every Thursday. The Roman restaurant displays the whole pig on a table, and Executive Chef Ivan Beacco carves the pieces for you himself. It’s served with a variety of side dishes including lima beans, spinach and potatoes. While they compliment the pig just fine, I suggest you skip them, save yourself some room and focus on the main attraction.

Roast pig prepared for a Hawaiian luau is perhaps the most exciting process to watch. Here, the pig is covered with banana leaves and steamed in an underground pit—or imu—for hours. Digging up the pig usually requires a team of people, but the result is some of the tenderest pork you will ever have. It is rare for someone outside of Hawaii to attempt to cook pig this way. This isn’t surprising, since volcanic stones, guava wood, and banana leaves can be difficult to find if you’re not living on a tropical island.

Travel to Spain and order ochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) at the world’s oldest restaurant, Restaurante Botín. This dish has been the restaurant’s specialty since 1725. The pig is served simply; it’s dressed in its own juices and accompanied with two small pieces of potatoes. Wash down the food with the restaurant’s full and tangy red sangria.

But my favorite is the Filipino’s style of roasted pig or, as we call it, Lechón. Lechón is usually served during all major holidays and festivities. Usually, the pig is dipped in a thick, liver based sauce, which is appropriately called lechón sauce. I’ve lived in New York for almost nine years, and I still haven’t found a place that serves good, Filipino lechón. If you know of any, please let me know. I’ll be sure to try it out.

Porchetta Arrosto at Testaccio Ristorante

Ochinillo Asado at Restaurante Botín

Lechón

More links:

Lechón Baboy

The Foodista on Testaccio Ristorante

Essortment: How to Roast a Pig (for a Hawaiian luau)

Best Madrid Restaurants (Restaurante Botin)

Read more...

El Mercado de San Miguel

If you’re ever wandering through the narrow streets of Madrid and stumble upon a structure with glass walls and an iron and wood roof, you’ve come across el Mercado de San Miguel. The marketplace, originally built in the early 1900’s, was reopened in May 2009 after private investors decided to return the building to its glory. The result? A bustling venue that houses the best Spanish food and ingredients.

During the day, its vendors sell their most beautiful produce, jamon (ham), cheese and pastries. But I liked to go during the evenings, when I could grab a glass of Rioja wine and wander from one stall to another, ordering tapas made from the freshest ingredients.

When you do make your way to Madrid and el Mercado de San Miguel, have a plate of Iberico ham, a glass of champagne with raw oysters, bacalao on bread or gambas al ajillo (shrimp with garlic).

Whatever you choose to eat, give yourself a few hours to spend at el Mercado de San Miguel. You will not be disappointed.

Queso (Spanish cheese)

Gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp)

Jamón ibérico (Iberico ham)

Read more...

Depuy Canal House: A Stone House Frozen in Its Past

There’s nothing worse than seeing a legendary restaurant lose its way...attracting diners by boasting its stellar past, rather than the dishes it produces. Almost every Manhattanite will agree with me that there are many of them in New York.

Such is the story of the Depuy Canal House in Hudson Valley, NY. It is the region’s pride and joy, a stone house that has been serving food in one way or another since 1797. Located just two hours north of Manhattan, the restaurant received rave reviews from newspapers such as The New York Times and has been labeled as a “must see” in various Hudson Valley guidebooks.

Excited about its reputation for its innovative use of local products (its menu is prix fixe, changes daily), I visited the restaurant last March.

In short, the restaurant fell short of expectations. While the salmon I ordered was cooked well, the fish was drowning in a bland, orange, creamy sauce, which was said to have a “Japanese influence.” As a result of the slow wait staff, the dish was served room temperature. Perhaps more disturbing was that the same orange sauce was used to flavor my dining partner’s pasta dish. And though the dish was more palatable than the salmon, it did not deliver on the originality that so many write-ups have promised. Instead, it was reminiscent of pasta served in a sub-par Italian fast food restaurant found in the middle of Times Square.

So disappointing was the food that the slow service added fuel to our fire (we had a 20 minute wait between our appetizer and main course). In the end, with our water glasses empty, half eaten dishes sitting in front of us for awhile and an absent waiter, my partner and I decided to throw in the towel, calling an end to our dining experience at the Depuy Canal House. We paid and left the restaurant, even before our dessert was served.

One can only hope that the restaurant fixes its flaws and returns its attention to producing innovative dishes. The stone house and colonial décor are charming, but legacy can only take a restaurant so far. It must be reminded, that it’s the food—not its reputation—that’s the star.

More on the Depuy Canal House:

Chowhound
The New York Times
Yelp Customer Reviews

Read more...