Bangkok Rum Cocktail Week lit up my appetite for Tiki cocktails once again and my curiosity around sugarcane (a raw ingredient used for the production of rum) came front of mind. Sugarcane belongs to the grass family and it has over 30 different varieties. It is a perennial grass that originates from South Asia and…
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Last week, I was invited to participate at “Bangkok Rum Cocktail Week.” Whilst preparing for the masterclass and cocktail menu, I learnt that the 16th August is National Rum Day. Let’s celebrate and look at a brief history of rum. It is well known, that whilst the Spanish, Dutch, French and English were conquering the…
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A few weeks ago, I was shopping in a wet market and I picked up a fruit thinking it was a tomato. I did not pay attention to it as I was in a rush, but when I got home and started cooking I realized my mistake. And so it was in this manner which…
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Recently I saw several coloured café lattes (green – matcha, orange – turmeric) and wondered how they were made. Meanwhile, I fell in love with a drink called “jamu” which consisted of turmeric juice, honey and water. Here’s to learning more about turmeric… Indian turmeric is considered to be the best in the world. The…
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It was on our last road trip to Bali, when my wife Zurina suddenly became a little girl. She was transported back to her childhood memories when she recognised a small oval fruit that looked like small young potatoes, but with a sweet fruity scent. She screamed “….. oh baby, you have to try langsat,…
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Bali is a tropical island full of amazing surprises and one of them is an amazing fruit similar to lychee called mangosteen, which was introduced to us via Komang, the young bartender from Room4Dessert, based in Ubud, Bali. Mangosteen is a sap tree and belongs to the Clusiaceae family with more than 200 species found…
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During my last visit to Korea, while drinking beer with some friends, I was introduced to the oldest Korean alcoholic beverage, Makgeolli. Obviously, I could not resist to find out more about this interesting alcoholic beverage. Where shall we start… Makgeolli is a low alcoholic beverage with a milky, cloudy color. Makgeolli is traditionally made…
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Recently it was national Orange Blossom Day. You might be wondering what does orange blossom have to do with the Indigenous bartender, well let’s take look… The Orange Blossom is the fragrant flower that comes from an orange tree, which is commonly used in the perfume industry. Some people say that it is an aphrodisiac.…
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As a little boy, I always loved to watch western movies where the Mexican cowboys always ate beans and pepper. On the other hand I always thought of chilli pepper as being associated with Asian cuisine. I’ve been in Singapore now for five years, so it is about a time I explored more… Believe it…
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In our case study about basswood trees we talked about a great natural sweetener called honey, which is not only used in culinary but also in production of alcoholic beverages for centuries. Building on that, we went on to interview Vitalii Mead who makes a honey alcoholic beverage called, surprise surprise, mead. What made…
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