read: asia's 50 best restaurants

There's a list, there's a list! Asia's 50 best restaurants - but what a disappointment to see that there was nothing from KL! For a country where so many people claim to be obsessed by food - is our focused turned more towards casual and street-side dining rather than gastronomic institutions? (Not necessarily a bad thing...)

I hope to notch off as many of these restaurants as I can if/when I travel. Stay posted for reviews!

1. Narisawa, Tokyo
2. Nihonryori Ryugin, Tokyo
3. Nahm, Bangkok
4. Amber, Hong Kong
5. Restaurant Andre, Singapore
6. 8 ½ Otto E Mezzo Bombana, Hong Kong
7. Mr. & Mrs. Bund, Shanghai
8. Ultraviolet, Shanghai
9. Iggy’s, Singapore
10. Gaggan, Bangkok
11. Waku Ghin, Singapore
12. Caprice, Hong Kong
13. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong
14. Les Amis, Singapore
15. Bo Innovation, Hong Kong
16. Quintessence, Tokyo
17. Dum Pukht, New Delhi
18. The Chairman, Hong Kong
19. Eat Me, Bangkok
20. Wasabi By Morimoto, Mumbai•
21. Hajime Restaurant, Osaka•
22. Jaan, Singapore
23. L’atelier De Joel Robuchon Hong Kong, Hong Kong
24. L’atelier De Joel Robuchon Singapore, Singapore
25. 28 Hubin Road, Hangzhou
26. Bukhara, New Delhi
27. Sushi Mizutani, Tokyo
28. Indigo Mumbai
29. Sra Bua By Kiin Kiin, Bangkok
30. Varq, New Delhi
31. Aronia De Takazawa, Tokyo
32. Shinji By Kanesaka, Singapore DINED!
33. Kahala, Osaka
34. Franck Bistro, Shanghai
35. Osteria Mozza, Singapore DINED!
36. Bo Lan, Bangkok
37. Robuchon Au Dome, Macau
38. Nihonbashi, Colombo
39. Sushi Saito, Tokyo
40. Fu1015, Shanghai
41. Indian Accent, New Delhi
42. Ishikawa, Tokyo
43. Gunther’s, Singapore
44. Karavalli, Bangalore
45. Jade On 36, Shanghai
46. Yardbird, Hong Kong
47. Don’s, Hanoi
48. Fook Lam Moon, Hong Kong
49. Imperial Treasure, Singapore
50. Mozaic, Bali

From the WSJ

read: culinary intelligence by peter kaminsky

"There is a thing I call Kaminsky's Constant: namely if a man lives long enough, eats long enough, and drinks long enough, there comes a time, usually in his early forties, when his age, waistline, and IQ are the same number."

-- Peter Kaminsky

Just read this book a few days ago. Though not really ground-breaking in its contents, its nice (and reassuring) to know that food critics gain weight too, and that by eating better, and tastier you can take it off!

The advice in this book is pretty standard - don't load up on empty carbs, make sure you cook for yourself so you know what goes into your food, pick the best ingredients you can afford etc. The question is: is Kaminsky more convincing because he's saying all this from his lofty perch as a food critic, whilst quoting his contacts in the food industry? (Denny Meyer, Thomas Keller etc.)

Maybe the answer is yes, because we're too caught up in thinking that "healthy food" will taste bland, and that we have to deprive ourselves to lose weight. The book tells us that all of us are human, and are completely fallible to our stomachs, so rather than denying ourselves gastronomic pleasures, we should go ahead and indulge... in moderation. 

Want a condensed version of the book? Read Kaminsky's interview with PBS on Kitchen Careers.

read: saw this in the NYTimes today...

How many terms do you recognize? 

Taken from the NYTimes 

read: kitchen confidential

Fans of Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour or No Reservations will find the same sardonic wit in Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain's book is written in the self-deprecating, irreverent tone. While readers who have watched the series might actually find it a bit tiresome, Bourdain at least manages to inject a sense of down-to-earthiness (screw that, more like dirt slinging and dragging in the mud) into cooking. Recommended for anyone who has had enough of happy-crappy TV shows and books.

To be fair, he also approaches food very openly and without preconceptions. Despite seemingly years of chain-smoking he still manages to convey tastes to his audience. Plus, he likes durian. Anyone who likes durian has my vote.

Note: for those of you who wouldn't touch a book with a ten foot pole, there's a lite version. Check out Kitchen Confidential, the TV series with a Bradley Cooper who provides a bit more eye candy than Bourdain's smoke-and-alcohol dehydrated frame.