AsiaPac Archives - Page 3 of 21 - Gazing and Grazing

Les Amis is Still On Top of its Game

September 21st, 2017

Les Amis (website) remains one of Singapore's top fine dining destinations. It has been a standout for decades but I haven't eaten here in a few years and so a visit a few months back surprised me positively. The restaurant's current chef, Sebastien Lepinoy, hails from France and settles Les Amis with quality modern french cooking with a lighter touch. While Singapore's Michelin rankings may have left some surprised, I do think that Les Amis genuinely deserves its two-starred accolade. And...

Violets and More are Blue at Gardens by the Bay

May 24th, 2017

Blue is the latest feature in the Gardens by the Bay's Flower Dome. Blue Beauties, as the Gardens refers to them, is one of the least common colours for plants. As it happens to be my favourite colour, I just had to go have a look. Alas, it was an underwhelming show compared to some of the others in the past. Perhaps true blue is indeed a hard colour to find but it would have been great to see some blue irises or forget-me-nots. On the bright side, I still managed to give my macro lens...

The Art of Soy – Tofu in Kyoto

April 1st, 2017

Kyoto tofu is the best in the world - perfected by buddhist monks over centuries. Tofu here is varied - from the skin (yuba) to the squares in broth (yudofu) - but never bland and dull. And this also has a lot to do with how Kyoto cuisine has elevated the use of the soybean. On my visits to Kyoto, I will always hunt down some good tofu focused and "shojin ryori" (buddhist cuisine) restaurants and here are some suggestions. To note, all of the restaurants below, except for Seike Yuba,...

Akira Back in Singapore Melds Japanese and Korean Influences Delectably

March 26th, 2017

From his Korean roots, Akira Back blends in a Japanese reverence for subtlety and quality inputs to produce deliciously creative dishes with a nuance of America. The main foundation of the food remains raw fish (Akira is a trained sushi chef) but it has been given a twist using Korean influenced sauces and garnishing. Within all this is a decidedly modern presentation. Akira has restaurants located in Las Vegas, Seoul and Jakarta but we ate at his Singapore branch, which sits in...

Da Noi is a Slice of Sardinia in Melbourne

March 24th, 2017

Melbourne's Da Noi restaurant serves up a sunny slice of Sardinia, from freshly grilled octopus to slow roasted kid (young goat). Food like this is almost always wonderfully satisfying, where the taste of quality meat shines through with minimal garnishing. "Honest" food as some other reviewers call it. It helps that the food is cooked well. We normally just leave our meal in the hands of chef-owner Pietro Porcu and this leads to a series of seafood based antipasti,...