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Bangkok is famous for its amazing street food culture, so Thai food in a fine dining restaurant may not be the first thing foodies flock to when visiting the city.

Bo.lan Restaurant makes a good argument for taking a break from the hawker stalls to enjoy classic, family-style Thai cuisine in an upscale setting.

Owned and run by two former proteges of Michelin-starred chef David Thompson of award-winning Nahm, Bo.lan is a combination of their names: Duangporn “Bo” Songvisava and Dylan Jones.

The husband-and-wife chefs have earned the industry’s respect for their authentic Thai food. San Pellegrino’s 2013 list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants placed Bo.lan in the no. 36 spot and named Chef Bo the year’s Best Female Chef. She appreciates the honor and hopes to encourage others to preserve traditional ways of Thai cooking.

The chefs find inspiration from various sources, including antique recipe books and modern-day street food. The results are flavorful dishes made with fresh ingredients, such as the Korat-style beef curry and stir-fried pork ribs with Southern-style curry paste.

Hidden on a quiet street, the restaurant offers guests a peaceful retreat and culinary adventure amid the chaos of Thailand’s bustling city.

Bo.lan Restaurant
42 Soi Pichai Ronnarong
Songkram Sukhumvit 26
Klongteoy, Bangkok 10110
Tel. +66 (2) 260-2962

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

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

 

Restaurant Andre in Singapore is so hot right now, you have to reserve a table several weeks in advance. After all, they only serve 30 people each night.

Thanks to my video for The Wall Street Journal, you can get an exclusive look inside the popular fine dining establishment, ranked no. 38 on S. Pellegrino’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2013. Chef Andre Chiang demonstrates one of his unique dishes based on Salt, one of eight elements in his “Octaphilosphy.” His food seriously looks like art!

I don’t cook at home at all. …. I don’t even boil water.

This is just one of the fascinating things I learned about Andre Chiang, chef/owner of the award-winning Restaurant Andre in Singapore.

He also opens up about the dish that changed his life, what’s in his refrigerator at home and what kitchen gadget he finds sexy.

Read my full article in The Wall Street Journal this weekend and online here: http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2013/06/27/in-my-kitchen-andre-chiang

Photo courtesy of Restaurant Andre
Chef Andre Chiang with the Restaurant Andre brigade (Photo courtesy of Restaurant Andre)

Face it. Food served in the street scares you. Where are the ingredients from? How long has it been sitting out? How clean is everything?

Ask street food advocates like TV host Anthony Bourdain and Singapore food ambassador and Makansutra founder KF Seetoh and they’ll say these fears are causing you to miss out on some of the best cuisine of the world.

While hawker culture is celebrated in countries like Mexico, Vietnam and Singapore, Americans are still trying to stomach the whole street food phenomenon. Foodies in cities like LA, NY, Portland and DC are warming up, finding street food appealing if it comes in the form of unique dishes like kimchi BBQ tacos or savory waffles served from a truck.

In this video, Bourdain tells the inaugural World Street Food Congress in Singapore how to save street food culture.

Street food, once thought of as poverty food, has reached cult status, thanks to a value-minded public coping with a global economic downtown and an empowered chef class that has made celebrities out of food enthusiasts like Anthony Bourdain.

Singapore, for one, has positioned itself as the poster child for affordable gastro-tourism, successfully promoting its street food and hawker center culture and drawing millions of tourism dollars each year.

Case in point, local street food ambassador KF Seetoh is hosting the inaugural World Street Food Congress in Singapore now through June 9, featuring a street food carnival, 2-day summit with speakers like Bourdain and China’s Johnny Chan, and master chef classes from renowned chefs like NY’s Anthony Ricco of Spice Market and LA’s Bryant Ng of The Spice Table.

While chefs in culinary capitals like France struggle with high food costs, hawkers in Asian countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia with vibrant street food cultures have begun capitalizing on this increased awareness and demand for cheap hawker fare, building brands around family recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.

On the flip side of that is what Bourdain calls the “hipster hawker,” young entrepreneurial chefs serving affordable gourmet dishes from a food cart or truck, a way of breaking into the food business with flexibility and minimal costs.

But experts say street food culture is dying. As more governments try to regulate the industry and move the vendors indoors into hawker centers or food courts, the challenge is preserving a culture that has made its name on the streets.