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July 2013

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If you’ve ever been to Bali’s cultural center Ubud, you’ve probably heard of Mozaic Restaurant Gastronomique.

Not only has it been recognized as the Best Restaurant in Indonesia by San Pellegrino’s 2013 list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, it’s a popular fine dining destination for Indonesian-inspired French cuisine in a beautiful oasis-like setting.

Before moving to Bali and opening his own restaurant, U.S.-born French-American chef owner Chris Salans built an impressive resume, including stints as sous chef for David Bouley at Bouley Bakery in New York and head chef at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Napa Valley.

Executive chef Blake Thornley gives us an exclusive tour of Mozaic and invites us into his kitchen to demonstrate his unique Discovery tasting menu — six courses that highlight fresh seasonal Indonesian ingredients prepared with Western techniques.

The menu changes periodically depending on the availability of ingredients. Among our favorites were the sous vide Boston lobster with ginger flower and radish puree, chargrilled watermelon and caviar and the French pigeon with black truffle tempe crumble (fermented soybean), jackfruit puree and sugar snap peas.

Mozaic Restaurant Gastronomique
Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud
Gianyar – Bali 80571
Indonesia
Tel. +62 361 975768

Editor’s Note: This video was featured by Epicure magazine

 

Amongst the hip offerings in the beach party paradise of Seminyak in Bali is Mozaic Beach Club, sister restaurant of the award-winning Mozaic restaurant in Ubud. Overlooking Batu Belig beach, the spacious poolside bistro serves gourmet tapas and innovative tropical cocktails amid a laid-back lounge atmosphere.

Co-owner and executive chef James Ephraim (his partner is renowned chef Chris Salans) gives us an exclusive tour and invites us into his kitchen to demonstrate one of his unique Balinese-inspired French dishes — chilled foie gras with mangosteen.

Mozaic Beach Club
Jl. Pantai Batu Belig
Kerobokan – Bali 80361
Indonesia
Tel. +62 361 4735796

 

Every once in while, I come across a hidden gem that reminds me of my former home — New York City. Grub is a small shack-like restaurant in the middle of Bishan Park, in the heartland of Singapore. It had just opened so my husband and I decided to head there for brunch.

The place was a little hard to find at first, but once we got there, the place was filled with Singaporeans with no expats in sight (a great sign!). There was a short wait for a table, but nothing unbearable compared to the one to two hour waits I’ve endured for Manhattan brunch spots.

We ordered the breakfast set, cheeseburger with fried egg, and belgian waffle. For drinks, we had the iced lemon tea and iced honey lime juice. It took a while to get our food, but I let that slide considering the crowd.

Once our food arrived, we found everything surprisingly delicious. A surprise — given the many misses we’ve had in Singapore despite friends’ recommendations.

The best part? The burger and the overall ambience brought back fond memories of having burgers and frozen custards at Shake Shack in Bryant Park.

We enjoyed our meal, but were slapped back into the reality of Singapore, when the servers took forever to give us the bill so we could leave. I guess you can’t win on every front.