The big boost that Jaan Par Andre had this year was mainly due to the culinary skill that Head Chef Andre Chiang has.  In just a short span of time, he has elevated this restaurant to a very high status as it got into the top 50 list of San Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants.  Right now, they are enjoying the 39th spot, and with his culinary skill, we are going to see more of his creations in the coming years.

Chef Chiang was born in Taiwan to parents who own a Chinese restaurant.  As a young child, one would often see him helping out in his mother’s kitchen, and he had even begun cooking some of their dishes when he was only 13 years old.  His mother noticed his natural skill in cooking Western dishes, so she decided to send him off to one of the French restaurants in Tokyo.  There, he became an apprentice and learned traditional French cooking methods.

His skills swiftly brought him success as he moved up the ranks that, in no time at all, he became known in Taiwan as one of the youngest chefs that specialize in French cuisine.  Chef Chiang also trained under some of the most famous chefs in the city, and, in fact, has worked in the city’s top dining hotspots like La Maison Troisgros as well as Le Jardin des Sense.  He even went on to work at Pierre Gagnaire’s famous Tokyo restaurant.

It was in 2008 that he came to Swissotel’s Jaan par Andre, and ever since he took the helm and became its head chef, the restaurant has received praise after praise and great reviews from some of the country’s top food critics.  His culinary skill has made the restaurant one of the must-visit restaurants when you are in the area, and his culinary skill has also given the restaurant numerous awards.  Under his leadership, Jaan par Andre became the continent’s fourth best dining spot in the whole of Asia.  Of course, he himself has won numerous awards such as making it into the best chefs list of the Relais & Chateau, which is a very prestigious French group as well as rave reviews from the Time Magazine.

Chef Chiang’s cuisine focuses more on innovative French dishes, and he knows how to play with the ingredients, using unusual ingredients and pairing them off with local produce to create astonishing and mouth-watering dishes.  His main focus is to create simple French cuisine, highlighting the natural flavors that are inherently unique to each element of his dish.  With his flair in creating artistic plate presentations, what comes out is an amazing dish that not only has surprising textures but also has contrasting flavors that blend well together, leaving you wanting for more.

Chef Andre Chiang’s Char-Grilled Wild Baby Barracuda, Poivrade “Purple” Artichoke Mousse, Crisp Sprouted Brittany Wheat, Grilled Smoked Vegetables, Rosemary Jelly and Warm Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

Fish:

• 8pcs whole baby barracuda fillets (can be substituted with sole, eel, kisu)
• 8pcs diced baby barracuda fillets, for tartare (can be substituted with sole, eel, kisu)
• 10g (each) chopped chives, dill, shiso leaves and chervil
• Salt and freshly ground Sichuan pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, for pan-searing

Poivrade Artichoke Mousse:

• 4pcs poivrade artichoke hearts
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• Olive oil
• 100ml cream
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Wheat:

• 100g Brittany wheat, sprouted
• Olive oil, for pan-frying
• 1tsp chives, chopped
• ½ pc onion, chopped
• 1pc sweet shallot, chopped
• 100ml cream
• 2tsp deep-fried chopped garlic

Rosemary Jelly:

• 500ml smoked vegetable stock
• 2 rosemary sprigs
• 3 ½ sheets of gelatin
• 2g agar agar
• 5g chopped chervil, parsley and coriander

Smoked Vegetables:

• 1kg carrot, celery, onion, leek
• 2ltr fried fish bone stock
• 200g chicken feet
• 2g lecithin

Basil Vinaigrette:

• 50g fatty tuna belly “otoro” skin
• 1tsp basil purée
• Freshly ground Sichuan pepper, to taste

Garnishes:

• Fresh pepper leaves
• Dill flower

Directions:

For the Char-Grilled Baby Barracuda Fillet Rolls: Place diced baby barracuda fillets into a mixing bowl and toss with the freshly chopped herbs. Season to taste with salt and Sichuan pepper. Spoon the resulting baby barracuda tartare onto a piece of whole baby barracuda fillet and roll up. Repeat with the remaining fillets. Heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan and sear the baby barracuda rolls on all sides until cooked. Set aside and keep warm.

For the Poivrade Artichoke Mousse: Place the poivrade artichoke hearts in a vacuum bag with a fresh thyme sprig and a dash of olive oil and seal. Cook “sous vide” at 85°C for 10 hours, or until well softened. Place the cooked poivrade artichoke hearts and cream into the Thermomix at 80°C until puréed. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside and keep warm.

For the Sprouted Brittany Wheat Compote: Boil the sprouted wheat in a pot of salted, simmering water for 15 minutes. Strain and pat dry. Divide the cooked sprouted wheat into two equal portions. Heat some olive oil in a clean sauté pan and add in the one portion of the sprouted Brittany wheat, chopped onion and sweet shallots. Sauté the onions until transparent and then braise with the cream at low heat to make a compote.

For The Crisp Sprouted Brittany Wheat: Heat some olive oil in a sauté pan and fry the remaining sprouted wheat with the deep-fried chopped garlic and chopped chives until crispy. For the smoked vegetable stock: Grill the vegetables over a charcoal grill and hot smoke them for 15 minutes. Remove smoked vegetables from the grill and transfer to a pot of fried fish bone stock. Infuse on low heat with the chicken feet for about 20 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine sieve at room temperature and reserve. Blend in 2g lecithin before use.

For the Rosemary Jelly: Bring the smoked vegetable stock to the boil and infuse the fresh rosemary for 15 minutes. Strain and blend in the gelatin, agar agar and fresh chopped herbs until smooth. Set and cut into 12×1-cm cubes.

For the Basil Vinaigrette: Sear the fatty tuna belly skin with a blowtorch and strain the oil through a coffee filter. Emulsify the resulting oil with the basil puree and season to taste with freshly ground Sichuan pepper. Keep warm.

To serve: Place a spoon of poivrade artichoke mousse in the centre of the serving plate and place one char-grilled baby barracuda fillet roll over. Top with the sprouted Brittany wheat compote. Sprinkle the fillet roll with crisp sprouted Brittany wheat and smoked vegetable stock. Garnish by arranging 3 pieces of diced rosemary jelly around each fillet roll and top with fresh pepper leaves and dill flowers. Drizzle with basil vinaigrette and serve.

Servings:  Serves 4.

Image Credit: taiwantoday.tw

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Speaking of ‘New York Grill’ brings out the following ideas- sophistication, classic, unrestrictive, dynamic in both style and taste. This is due to the popularity owned by the finest restaurants established in certain cities. And for anyone who enjoys food and great ambience while dining, there will surely be a haven just waiting. But how do we really interpret the concept behind the so called ‘New York Grill.’

Relatively, this has something to do with hefty steak meals and rich, savory dishes. Food establishments which adopt this type of cuisine brings onto the table exceptionally-made dishes with the use of the finest and freshest ingredients. They pair this up with an appetite-inducing atmosphere, teasing a diner’s palate. Prime choices for beef and meats are typically considered for chops and steaks while generous portions for seafood and other delicacies are also served. In countries like Japan where a famous restaurant is known for this type of cooking, menus also include delectable roast duck and lamb and even offer an array of high-quality wines. Truly, the concept of New York Grill has been adapted in many places that origins and its taste tend to vary with the passing of time.

The beginnings of this cuisine can be traced from the roots of American cuisine itself at a period when grilling has been the foremost concept. During those times when Native Americans adopt a number of methods in cookery, grilling meats had been a common practice. Another common method is spit roasting. Most of the time, vegetables especially the root crops were cooked this way since cooking over fires is deemed most appropriate. Another reason would be the lack of proper tools like pottery thus creating the need to develop such cooking technique. It has been said that Native Americans would heat rocks over fires, add these bricks to a water-filled pot until it boils just to cook vegetables and meats. Other methods were adopted as well like the use of empty bison stomachs stuffed with desired ingredients to be suspended over low fires and since this proves to be insufficient, heated rocks are then added to further cook the filling inside.

The tremendous display of food and culture is often felt in places specializing in New York Grill cuisine. The list of food from appetizers, salads to entrees gives us a wide variety of great dishes. It may be difficult to pinpoint which serves the best but the search remains as exciting and sumptuous so to speak. In an attempt to give form and define what constitutes this type of cooking; below is a list of food items:

Ingredients Utilized in New York Grill cuisine

Meat: Beef (for steaks), Duck meat, Veal, Lamb, Chicken, Pork

Seafood: Shrimps, Oysters, Squid, Crab, Salmon, Shellfish (clams and mussels), Lobster, Halibut

Vegetables: Mushrooms, Artichokes, Spinach, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Onions, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Potatoes, Peas, Broccoli

Berries and Nuts: Pecans, Cranberries, Pine nuts,

Seasonings and Oils: Balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, basil,

Fruits: Apricot, Avocado, Mango, Citrus fruits (lemon), Apples

Cheeses: Parmesan, Mozzarella, Feta, Bleu cheese, Gorgonzola cheese

Be reminded though that these ingredients are non-exhaustive.

The concept of ‘New York Grill’ has thoroughly changed due to factors like availability of resources, as well as standards dictated by the market. We have seen a number of restaurants aiming to exude the very substance of this cuisine, as their way of giving diners a twist and their reputation, an edge. And though the origins of this cooking seemed broad and varied, what remains is the special beauty and excellent discrimination in every known taste.

Authentic New York Grill Recipes

Grilled New York Strip Steak with Salsa Verde

Recipe Source: epicurious.com

yield: Makes 1 serving

active time: 15 minutes

total time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely crumbled firm white sandwich bread

  1 1/2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

  1 1/2 teaspoons drained bottled capers, finely chopped

  1/4 teaspoon minced garlic

  1/8 teaspoon anchovy paste

  1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard

  2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

  1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  2 teaspoons water

  1 (12-oz) boneless beef top loin steak (New York strip, 1 inch thick)*

Preparation:

Prepare grill for cooking. If using a charcoal grill, open vents on bottom of grill.

Mash together bread crumbs, vinegar, capers, garlic, anchovy paste, and mustard using a mortar and pestle (or see cooks’ note, below). Add parsley, oil, and salt and pepper to taste and stir until combined well. Stir in water.

Pat steak dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. When fire is hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above rack for 1 to 2 seconds), grill steak on lightly oiled grill rack, uncovered, turning once, about 10 minutes total for medium-rare. Let stand10 minutes.

Stir sauce and serve with steak.

* Also called “Kansas City” or “ambassador” steak.

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Recipe Source: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds chicken wings, separated at joints, tips discarded
• 1 cup Louisiana-style hot sauce
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle cola-flavored carbonated beverage
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat a grill to medium heat.
2. In a large pot, mix together the hot sauce, cola, cayenne pepper, black pepper and soy sauce. Add the wings to the sauce – frozen is okay. Place the pot to one side of the grill, so the sauce comes to a simmer.
3. Use tongs to fish wings out of the sauce, and place them on the grill for 8 to 10 minutes. Then return to the sauce to simmer. Repeat this process for about 50 minutes. The sauce will thicken. When the chicken is tender and pulls easily off of the bone, you have two options. You can dip one last time and serve for sloppy style wings, or serve right off the grill for dryer wings.

Image Credit: nytimes.com

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allrecipes.com

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Although Chef Tetsuya Wakuda came to Australia armed with a limited English vocabulary and little knowledge about the country, he has created a very big name for himself when he pushed his restaurant, Tetsuya’s, to the top with his culinary skill.  This year, his restaurant is at the 38th spot, a little low compared to last year’s 9th spot.  However, Tetsuya’s is still the best place where you can get some of the best fusion cuisine that is a perfect blending of French and Japanese influence.

Chef Wakuda was born on the 18 of June 1959 in Japan’s Hamamatsu City.  He was, as a child, a “dreamer,” and one of his dreams was to travel.  At the age of 22 years old, he decided to follow and his dream and visit Australia, and the inspiration to visit this continent came from watching a documentary.  Even though he had a little grasp of the English language and just as little knowledge about the country he is about to visit, he went to Australia without hesitation.

In 1982, he arrived in Sydney and started to look for a job to sustain his stay in Australia.  His first job in the city was a kitchenhand post in Surry Hills’ Fishwives.  After a one-year stay at the Fishwives, he found a job in another restaurant where he worked with Chef Tony Bilson’s Kinsela’s as a sushi chef.  It was during his stay at Kinsela’s that Chef Wakuda began to study French cooking style, and it was also here that he realized that his true calling was to become a chef.

Chef Bilson urged the young Wakuda to study the cuisine and make his own experiments to come up with his own culinary identity.  Chef Bilson not only nourished Chef Wakuda’s need to learn traditional French cuisine but he also fostered the latter’s drive to become who he is as a chef, encouraging him to discover and experiment with the ingredients to create unique dishes of his own.  In fact, it is through Chef Bilson that he created his very own fusion cuisine that speaks mainly of French and Japanese cooking.

In 1983, Chef Wakuda left Kinsela’s to open up his own restaurant, and together with the head waiter, they launched Ultimo.  Ultimo served as his training ground on what it takes to become a head chef and what is needed to become a good restaurateur.  His efforts paid off, and in the late 1980s, Chef Wakuda opened the eponymous Tetsuya’s.

Opening and managing his own restaurant was hard.  In fact, he taught his wife dish presentation and cold larder duties to help him in the kitchen, and they also have to make do with the limited space that their restaurant offers.  It was all worth it though as Tetsuya’s enjoyed a steady stream of clients of loyal fans that they later had to move the restaurant to another location to offer more seats as his clients and the demand for his cuisine increased.

Today, Chef Wakuda’s Tetsuya’s is enjoying numerous awards and is considered as one of the best dining hotspots in the country.  It is also enjoying a spot in one of the most prestigious lists, the San Pellegrino’s top 50 World’s Best Restaurants.

Chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s Slow-Roasted Lamb with Miso and Snow Pea Leaves

Ingredients:

• 2 medium witlof cut into quarters lengthwise
• Sugar
• Sea salt
• White pepper
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 4 small racks of lamb with 6 cutlets per rack, trimmed of all fat
• sea salt extra
• White pepper extra
• 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil for lamb
• 1 large bunch fresh Thyme
• 100 g Japanese White Miso paste
• 15 g Blue cheese
• 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon mirin
• 1 teaspoon Ginger grated
• 1 large bunch snow pea shoot leaves, blanched in boiling water for 1 second
• 1 tablespoon green onion finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chive finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon black sesame seed

Directions:

1.      Place the witlof into a small baking dish and cover two thirds of the way with chicken stock.

2.      Add grapeseed oil and season with a pinch of sugar, sea salt and white pepper. Cover with aluminium foil and cook for 1 hour in an oven pre-heated at 220C.

3.      Remove from oven when witlof is tender and set aside covered.

4.      Reduce oven temperature to 130C for lamb.

5.      Season the outside of each lamb rack with salt and pepper.

6.      Heat grapeseed oil in a frying pan until it gives off a haze, seal lamb quickly over high heat until golden.

7.      Remove lamb from frying pan and place onto an oven tray with thyme stalks under each lamb rack.

8.      Place into pre-heated oven and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked to your preference.

9.      Meanwhile, bring remaining chicken stock to the boil, reduce to a simmer and add miso paste.

10.  Stir until completely dissolved.

11.  Add blue cheese and continue to stir until dissolved and sauce thickens.

12.  Add soy sauce, mirin and ginger, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and strain sauce through a fine meshed sieve. Taste and adjust seasoning to your palate.

13.  Once lamb is cooked remove from oven.

14.  Remove the meat from each rack of lamb in one piece by slicing lengthwise along the bone.

15.  Discard bones. Slice lamb into thick medallions.

16.  To serve, arrange blanched snow pea leaves in the centre of serving plates, top with braised witlof and lamb medallions. Spoon over miso sauce.

17.  Garnish with green onion, chives and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Servings: Makes 4 to 6.

Image Credit: taste.com.au

lifestylefood.com.au

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De Librije is a restaurant known for its very simple dishes that simply burst with flavors.  Its owner and head chef, Chef Jonnie Boer, is a firm believer that, to make a very good dish, one need not add too many flavors.  The secret, he shares, is in your chosen ingredients.  The food critics and food lovers seem to agree with him as his restaurant bagged the 37th position of the San Pellegrino’s World’s Best Restaurants.

Chef Boer was born in the mid 1960s in Giethoorn, Holland.  His culinary career started when he worked as an apprentice cook at De Librije, but he left the restaurant to study in Amsterdam for three years.  However, having grown up in the country, he decided to leave the big city and go back to work at De Librije.  He admits that he is more comfortable in the country and working as a chef rather than being in the big city and seeking apprenticeship with big fine-dining restaurants.

When he was 24 years old, he became the head chef of De Librije, and a few years later, he and his wife purchased the same restaurant from its previous owner.  Using only the finest and freshest regional and local ingredients, Chef Boer created a cuisine known for its simplicity and straightforwardness.  He brings out the natural and pure flavors of each element in his dish by choosing his ingredients well and marrying them with other ingredients to highlight its natural flavors.  Pretty soon, his restaurant became known in the area, and it began attracting food critics.

It was in 1993 that he received his first Michelin star, his second star in 1999, an his third star in 2004.  Aside from this, he also received 19.5 points from Gault Millau, the highest point of which is 20.  This made his restaurant very successful, and, in fact, Chef Boer is internationally considered as the fastest rising Dutch chef.

Chef Boer says that he takes his inspiration from the Zwolle region, so he only makes use of local and seasonal ingredients in his dishes.  He is not afraid to try unusual items though, so you are bound to see some Dover sole in his cuisine.  However, be prepared for the scrumptiousness of this simple fish dish because its pure flavors will simply amaze your senses.

Right now, Chef Boer is still searching for ways to perfect his skill.  He is very much determined to make a name for his country’s traditional dishes, so you can rest assured that you can expect more from this greatly talented chef from the Netherlands.

Chef Jonnie Boer’s River Perch from “Het Zwarte Water” with Smoked Garlic Froth and Coriander Pesto

Ingredients:

• 4 x 500g river perch
• Lemon
• 14 cl olive oil
• 30 g pine nut kernels
• 20 g fully mature cheese
• 4 ripe beefsteak tomatoes
• Sugar
• Pepper and Salt
• Lemon juice (1 lemon)
• 6 cloves of smoked garlic
• Cream, milk and butter
• Curry powder

Directions:

1.      Scale and fillet the perch (mind the prickles!)

2.      Skin and deseed the tomatoes.

3.      Caramelise some sugar in a pan and put the seeds, half of the tomato pulp and the fruit juice in the pan. Bring to the boil and whisk the mixture until it becomes quite smooth. Flavour as desired with additional lemon juice, pepper and salt.

4.      Cut the remainder of the tomato pulp into dice. Add the diced tomato at the last moment to the mixture.

5.      Sweat the smoked garlic in butter and add a pinch of curry. Pour the poultry jus on this and reduce it with a dab of cream.

6.      Process the garlic mixture in a food processor. Then strain it through a sieve and whisk it with a splash of milk.

7.      Fry the fish en chemise in hot oil for a few moments and then gently cook them in the oven.

8.      Roast the pine nuts in the oven adding cheese, lemon juice and olive oil.

9.      Process the fish fillets with fresh coriander leaves in the food processor as finely as desired.

Servings: Serves 4

Image Credit: terminusdeonthaasting.nl

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