The Sensory Culinary Meister – Ronny Emborg

It’s without a doubt that World Gourmet Summit attracts the best talents from all around the world and bring them together to showcase the eclectic styles that these stellar, acclaimed chefs helm from corners of the world. If anybody deserves a special mention, it has to be be Ronny Emborg.

Photo credits: A La Carte Productions Pte Ltd

Often referred to as “The Wizard’s Apprentice”, and voted by many as world’s greatest chef, Emborg is a unique rising star on Europe’s gourmet sky in the true sense of the word. His unconventional way of staging molecular cuisine, new nordic and nouvelle cuisine in one also quickly earned him his first Michelin-star WITHIN one year.

Photo credits: Restaurant AOC

He defines restaurant AOC as “the sensory kitchen” – a kitchen of pure tastiness that enhances the pleasure of dining with the full use of taste, sight, color, and smell to a higher level of gastronomical excitement.

Every weekend in AOC is experiment day. Ronny Emborg and his crew will experiment with ingredients and nature’s produce to come up with something new that is not used in AOC’s kitchen. The continual exploration and experimentation is probably what catapulted AOC to the success that it enjoys today. One of the most peculiar but surprisingly delectable creations will have to be…

FROM ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO BREAD. Yes, guys. That’s burnt bread. You’d wonder who will eat this and that immediately piqued my curiosity. How does anyone serve burnt bread and have a Michelin-star under his belt?! And this VERY, VERY lucky casual blogger got a taste of it at his workshop as part of the WGS 2012.

The bread is crispy, aromatic and does not taste burn. Not even one bit. Served with smoked cheesecreme and roasted salmon flakes, this is to die for. It takes hours to beat the salmon from its creamy, fatty fillet state into flakes. Brimming with dedication and creativity, this man deserves his bragging rights.

Restaurant AOC is now on my bucket list and I can’t wait to go to Denmark.

Here are some of the other dishes he presented at the Jam Sessions and his workshop.

Photos of dishes my own and shot with a Canon S-95.

Tea with the inspirational Vika Khanna

I’ve had the amazing opportunity to have tea with Vikas Khanna at the beautiful Song of India as part of the World Gourmet Summit which happens weeks ago.

Vikas is an inspirational man. He speaks of food earnestly and shares with us what food means to him. His mantra – “using food to create jobs, nourish the world”. Food, to him, is more than just physical nourishment – it encompasses spiritual nourishment as well.

Finger food served at the tea.

First up, the Salmon Tikka. The red comes from beetroot. Vikas chose red for it represents blood and life. Spiced with ginger and cumin, this injected life into my taste buds and awoken them from the sleepy stupor induced by the humidity and blazing sun.

Venison Gustav spiced with kashmir nuts to warm the senses. I didn’t think much of this because I’m not a fan of venison.

Panna Cotta. Here’s the twist – the little pods you see? That’s not vanilla. It’s…. BETEL NUTS. The quintessential Indian spice. One mouth of this can send jolts of memory into one’s mind. Chef Vikas’ Panna Cotta has reduced an 80-year-old man to tears for it invoked so much childhood memories one can be so detached from. Vikas has used his food to provoke emotional connection from when he first opened his restaurant in USA 5 years ago. The crew, from assistant chef to cleaners, have not changed much since opening to their first Michelin-star. And with great humility, he dedicates the accolade to everyone in his restaurant.

Promise you won’t feel a thing

I’ve been kicked right down, I’ve been spat in the face
I’ve been pulled way down o the lowest place
I’ve been lied to, shamed, I have been disgraced
Been ex-communicated from every holy place
I’ve been beat up and robbed, I’ve been left for dead
For the way I look, for the things I said

I’ve been put on the street, I’ve been left in the cold
Had my dreams held up, had them shot for holes
I’ve been laughed at, burnt, been the butt of the joke
I’ve been lit up in flames, I have gone down in smoke
I’ve been stabbed in the back while they promised the earth
Tried to keep my head high for all I am worth

Epicurean Delight – Humble House, Tung Lok, with Michel Sarran

Chef Michel Sarran, who dishes out quintessential French cuisine in his self-titled restaurant in Toulouse, France, is being hosted in My Humble House (Tung Lok Group) for World Gourmet Summit. This must strike most of us as a very peculiar pairing at first.

Toss out the stereotype of families fighting over crab claws and Asian children running into waitresses through dinner service. My Humble House opened in 2002 as Tung Lok’s first artistic restaurant. Humble House’s concept of contemporary chinese cuisine offers diners a menu that combines the private recipes of Tung Lok’s, complemented by an exceptional artistic presentation. Expect impeccable service and come dress no less than presentable.

It’s without question Michel Sarran, 2 Michelin-star chef, has found the ideal kitchen that’s befitting of his status.

And here’s my beautiful lunch date whose company I revered as much as the food.

Before lunch was served, our hostess with the most-ess, Carolyn offered us My Humble House’s signature beverage – the Green Passion. Green tea with a splash of lemon and a light hint of peppermint. Much-needed given today’s unforgiving weather.

Warm soup of duck foie gras of South West of France with an oyster

The soup was warm so it doesn’t cook the oyster. This was served with a very simple bread roll.

You must be wondering, “did I really pay this much to be served a plain bread roll?” Well, any other bread will not bring out the essence of the warm soup as well as this. The creamy, buttery consistency of the soup eliminated the need for butter. When I first read the menu, I was really dreading foie gras again but this soup tops it all. The mere creativity of using foie gras like this left my jaw unhinged.

The oysters were air-flown into Singapore for the World Gourmet Summit and shucked right before the soup was served. By far the best oyster I’ve had my entire life.

Roasted fillet of Sole with preserved yellow butter Cappelletti, stuffed with “Pas de l’Escalette”

After trying so many techniques of cooking fish – smoked, slow-cooked, raw, I finally had a fully cooked fillet from the sea. The fillet was served with a pasta stuffed with cow’s milk cheese. Really redeeming, especially after the overcooked oxtail ravioli at The Knoll’s.

Our next course is the highlight of lunch! A medley of Mont Royal Pigeon. Breast fried in kadaif and ink gravy, thigh stewed and peas fondant.

Not being a fan of any breast meat, I wasn’t all too excited about this initially but one bite and I was sold. I made a little joke about how this looks like a pigeon died in its nest.

I’ll take back EVERYTHING I said about breast meat if everyone can attain this perfection. The deep-fried shreds breaks apart finely once you send your knife through the breast and then it felt like I was cutting marshmallows. It was unbelievably soft, and I’m totally lost for words once I had a taste of it.

Pigeon thigh and peas fondant with a really cute carrot. The pigeon was wonderful paired with a glass of red wine.

Apple and cinnamon ice cream. The natural sugar of the apple caramelized to give the apple chips a really nice aroma and fragrance. The creme brulee it was served on furnished the dessert with the difference in textures.

Tarbais beans in a light old rum and coconut milk foam, frozen glace chestnuts. I loved the tarbais beans. It tastes something like a mixture of yam and azuki beans.

This last dessert we had is not on the menu so I suspect it was a surprise for us. I thought it was a chocolate with mousse and cocoa powder but the outer crust turns out to be a cookie/wafer-ish shell. The presentation was simple, and screaming – eat me! There’s nothing sexier than chocolate dressed up in a crunchy shell like this one.

Here’s chef Michel Sarran (centre) with the hosting chef and consultant of Tung Lok.

And my new friends from lifestyleasia magazine who were just wonderful company.

Cocktails @ 1Altitude (World Gourmet Summit 2012)

I spent my evening at 1-Altitude sipping cocktails and munching on some light refreshments prepared by selected chefs featured on The Miele Guide. Before I go on, I’d like to share with everyone what I received from 1-Altitude’s PR team as part of my press kit.

Yes guys. That’s a blank DVD. Thanks, but I’m on the cloud storage bandwagon so you guys can have this DVD back.

So without further ado, let’s move on from this unpleasantry and look at FOOD.

Assorted sushi. I call the one nearest to you pubic hair wrap because that’s what it kinda looks like right?

Pan fried chili crab buns garnished with sauteed spring onions.

Beef cheek buah keluak served with tom yum fried rice.

Seared scallop with ESPUMA of laksa and cucumber/pineapple salad. I call this scallop on laksa foam because 4 out of 5 people I ask won’t know what espuma is. Then again, I’m not a renowned food blogger and I don’t hang around acclaimed celebrities with gastronomic accolades to know what espuma is.

Ang moh bak kut teh with sesame brioche. Please leave this dish to the Asians. I barely touched this.

I thought it was a wonderful place to hold a sunset cocktail as part of the World Gourmet Summit. Watching the sun set so many levels above ground was indeed refreshing. Not loving Singapore’s humid weather though.

Epicurean Delight – The Knolls, Capella

I don’t know how to top this experience. After a hard day at work, it’s finally time to unwind. And this time, nothing short of stellar. Why so? Two 2 Michelin-star chefs in a 6-star resort. Stellar, indeed.

Nested in thirty acres of lush rainforest, Capella is home to 112 rooms, suites, villas, manors and three reputable F&B establishments. Bob’s Bar presents a vibrant spot with views of the hotel’s three cascading swimming pools while Cassia is a fine Cantonese fine dining restaurant designed by Hong Kong’s famed Andre Fu. Dinner was held at the The Knolls which serves up Mediterranean cuisine and Sunday Champagne Brunch.

After being ushered to our table, we prepare ourselves to be awestruck. The 6-course dinner includes:

• Crispy Nori Cone with Toro
• Foie Gras with Goats Cheese Terrine
• Low Temperature cooked Salmon and deconstructed tartar sauce
• Sorbet
• Stewed Oxtail Ravioli, wild mushroom ragout and creamy mashed potato
• Chocolate Nitro Coulant

Bluefin tuna belly diced and served as a seaweed roll. Though quality and freshness of the fish is of utmost important, the crispiness of the seaweed is one thing I’m fussy about. It’s plain heartbreaking to hold a seaweed roll up only to sink your teeth into soggy seaweed. This roll is so crispy you can hear it crackling when you take a bite. The cone is served in a bed of sesame seeds which you dip into before eating. Definitely my favorite of the night.

Up next is the foie gras goats cheese terrine. I swear the most debated question of the night and throughout the summit is – do you like your foie gras pan-seared or served as a terrine/patte. For me, I prefer it pan-seared as the rustic flavor of the pan and the crispiness of the top layer harmonizes so well with the foie gras. Nonetheless, this terrine didn’t fall too far from the tree.

The creamy texture and pungent aroma of goats cheese complements the liver so well. Served with thin slices of toasted bread, this was a hearty appetizer which awakened our taste buds for what were to come for the rest of the evening.

When the first main course was served, I was wondering for the longest time. What is a deconstructed tartar sauce and where the hell was it? After examining all that was served on the plate, it finally struck me. All the fancy little stuff surrounding the slow cooked salmon are ingredients to tartar sauce. It was a brilliant idea but I wasn’t all that impressed. The salmon, however, was divine. It was cooked to perfection. The slow cooking retained most of the moisture in the fillets. The table went absolutely silent while relishing its flavors.

I thought it was really smart to serve a sorbet midway through dinner to refresh and clean the palette before moving on to the second main course. The citrus sorbet really perked us up.

And finally, the dish our hosts at Capella was raving about all evening. The stewed oxtail ravioli. Interesting choice of stuffing. The fat in oxtail gave the stuffing many layers of texture. I wasn’t so impressed with the pasta skin enveloping them though. I thought it was overdone and not al-dente. Not sure if that was intended to contrast the dimensions of the oxtail but definitely not my favorite. I still prefer pasta to have that bite. Most of us agree the mashed potato is better.

People following me on Twitter and Facebook should have seen this little teaser photo I posted last night. First of all, my deepest apologies for keeping you guys in suspense for so long. I was at another two events earlier and got to working on this post as soon as I got home and freshened up.

If you’ve been reading, you should have guessed by now. This is Chef Paco Roncero’s famed dish. Chocolate cream “deep fried” in liquid nitrogen – Chocolate Nitro Coulant.

Here’s a video of the renowned chef preparing our dessert.

This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. To be honest, I haven’t even seen a chef flambe food in front of my own two eyes so this was really an eye opener.

And here’s dessert. The outer layer of cream on the chocolate ball was flash frozen and as you poke at it with your fork and knife, it cracks open to reveal a creamy centre. Served on a bed of crushed nuts, this eclipses the sorbet. The hard shell of the chocolate cream melts really quickly and we were told to not wait for our accompanying diners and dig in to it as soon as it’s served.

And that concludes my virgin experience of  a star-studded dinner. Don’t forget to check this space for more updates for more on the World Gourmet Summit 2012. I interviewed Chef Ronny Emborg and had a humbling tea session with Vikas Khanna today!

Photos are taken with a Canon S-95 and courtesy of Kelvin Toh.
Words by Samuel Tan 

Opening Gala – World Gourmet Summit

Baby abalones served on shell with special cream sauce.

An event is never complete without food and for an event like World Gourmet Summit, fine food is aplenty. This year’s opening gala was held at Universal Studio Singapore on Tuesday evening. From what I’ve heard, it’s the first time they’re holding this reception outdoors. To be honest, I”m not that big on alfresco events and still prefer to be adequately cooled with air-conditioning but who can say no to such glorious food?

The visiting and hosting chefs from various esteemed establishments has spent the day preparing the galore of food to satisfy the hungry event-goers. Food ranges from canapes to oysters in shooter glasses, exquisite meat on skewers to asian braised meats.

I have my little pet peeve. If raw food is served, I must eat it before I move on to cooked food. I find that eating raw food with a clean palette makes it easier to savor the clean, untainted flavors as it was intended. The first thing I picked up was salmon cubes and caviar neatly arranged into a ball. Repeat after me – SALMON, CAVIAR. What’s there not to like about this? It looks like a very simple dish but a lot of work went into presentation.

 

At first glance, these shooters don’t look at all impressive (to say the very worst, appetizing) and I was wondering for a very long time, what these were. These are oysters served in shooter glass of bloody mary (or was it virgin mary?). If you’ve no idea, this mary is a concoction of tomato juice, tabasco and spices (what goes into this is a mystery as many would be less than willing to divulge their recipes). The bloody mary includes alcohol and the virgin – none. This shooter is topped with whipped cream cheese. It goes down very smoothly in one gulp and the tabasco wasn’t overpowering as I expected. Oysters were fresh, watery and explodes when you poke at it with your tongue.

Up next, meat on skewers. This is the quintessential Japanese delight. Meat grilled on a stick served in a boat. Think very upmarket yakitori. I am a big fan of meat but these weren’t all that pleasant. I found them really mushy and prefer to have more bite in them.

After looking at those fancy, pretty food you must be thinking “this looks so meh?”. At first glance, you might have mistaken this for Dong Po Rou (braised pork belly) but no. The chef has added a marvelous twist to this dish. He used duck instead of pork. You must be wondering, then what about the fatty goodness of pork belly? It was recreated using GLUTINOUS RICE.

The glutinous rice was the perfect replacement for fats. The glutinous rice absorbs gravy so much better than fats and melts right as you send your fork into your mouth. The gooey consistency was something I never expected from rice and I was blown away.

It was so good I chucked my camera away and went at it furiously. I whipped out my phone to take this photo as it was the only device easily within reach. Pardon the poor quality as I was trying to balance my plate while holding a bottle of water and a paper bag. I am badly hung up on this right now. I want more and I need to find out where I can find this.

With that, I concluded my night at RWS and USS. More exciting posts ahead as I prepare myself for tonight’s Epicurean Delight dinner at The Knolls, Capella. Dinner will be prepared by chefs Dani Garcia and Paco Roncero. That’s 4 Michelin-stars in one night. I’m hyper-ventilating right now.