Passion for flavour, respect for culture
Ray & Eelke – A Four Hand Interview There are plenty of great restaurants in major cities, and I have always admired chefs, who pack up their city lifestyles and move to the countryside and open their dream restaurants there. Recently I bumped into a friend Ray Adriansyah, from Locavore in Ubud and while we…
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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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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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When I look back in time and think of what types of citruses have been used in cocktails, I realized that you can probably count them all on one hand…lime, lemon, orange and grapefruit. But then you look at all the different cuisines all around the world, each calling for different types of citrus…that got…
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I remember that as a little boy, my parents harvested plums in our garden every year and all my brothers loved them, be it fresh, pickled, in desserts and later as a traditional plum eau de vie called Slivovitz. So imagine my surprise when I met a small grape (here in Singapore) with a flavor…
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I fell in love with cassia bark as well as many other spices and botanicals during my working experience in London cocktail bars; Graphic and Zetter Townhouse, where I learnt all about gin. One of these very interesting ingredients is the cassia bark. Cinnamomum cassia or Chinese cinnamon tree originates from Southern China where it…
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In the previous article, we talked about the history, production and origins of rice. Rice is very important to humans as a form of food and has been at the center of several different cuisines for many centuries. And so, it has naturally also found its way into the culinary segment of pleasure aka alcoholic…
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It’s spring in Japan, the time where flora blooms, creating spectacular views. It is around this time of the year that brings fans from all around the world and the most spoken about event in Japan, the “Cherry Blossom” chase! Cherry blossoms are the flowers of several types of genus Prunus trees and the Japanese…
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When I first walked through Asian fruit markets, I noticed there was a strong odour. It’s something I’ve learnt you either love or hate. The odour (in my opinion) is a combination of smelly socks and rotten meat and is known as the Durian, or the “King of fruits” as regarded by many people in…
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