Champagne and bubbles: why size matters
Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible,estimates that a standard 750ml bottle of champagne contains about 100 million bubbles. And those bubbles are not just for visual or sensory impact; MacNeil says...
View ArticleA cookbook to help you rediscover vegetables
Any omnivore sceptical about reading a book on vegetables will be reassured by the introduction to John Tovey’s work on the subject. In A Feast of Vegetables, the British author writes, “I was asked...
View ArticleLooking beyond Canada’s famous ice wines
Wine, as any oenophile will declare, is all about terroir – a mystical, undefinable sense of place. When I travel, I try as many wines as possible from the region I am visiting. Over the years, in...
View ArticleThe man behind one of Hong Kong’s last tofu factories
Sitting in the office of Sun Fat Heung, one of Hong Kong’s last tofu factories, chief executive Law Mang-hing says he can custom make tofu according to a customer’s requirements, be it size, firmness...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for scallop, truffle paste and seaweed butter pithiviers
This is a recipe I thought up one night just as I was falling asleep. I was so excited about it that I got up and wrote it down, worried I would have forgotten it by the morning. It’s inspired by a...
View ArticleCookbook: Jamie Oliver’s Super Food – Family Classics
In the introduction to his latest book, Super Food – Family Classics, British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver writes, “Easy, super-tasty & packed with goodness. That’s what you guys told me you wanted...
View ArticleBritish chef Lee Westcott on Hong Kong’s taxis and crispy fish skin
What do you miss about Hong Kong? “I like the vibe of the city. When I went back to London I was excited because there was a whole new set of restaurants I’d never been to. Now that I’m back in Hong...
View ArticleHow Hong Kong got Malaysian pineapple tarts
Every child thinks their mum is the best cook,” says Wei Roberts, managing director and co-founder of Moreish, which makes contemporary Malaysian-style pineapple tarts. Roberts, however, knew his...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for passion fruit and meringue eclairs
There are occasions when I want to make a dessert that looks impressive but doesn’t need a lot of last-minute work. For this dessert, both the filling and eclair shells can be made in advance. When...
View ArticleThree standout wines from Australia’s Shaw + Smith
Michael Hill Smith is one of the most congenial and experienced characters in the Australian wine industry. In 1988, he became the first Australian to pass the master of wine exam. He is a co-founder...
View ArticleCookbooks: how to make fantastic pizza dough
Most of the hundreds of cookbooks on my shelves are there primarily for reference – I don’t actually cook from them. My Pizza is an exception – it’s in my top 10 most-used cookbooks, probably because...
View ArticleHow San Francisco got its Chinese produce
The diversity of produce at San Francisco’s popular thrice-weekly Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is a metaphor for the city itself. Jalapenos and fava beans sit alongside Pacific Sweetwater oysters and...
View ArticleThe phylloxera wine louse is back with a vengeance
The wine louse, phylloxera, is a tiny insect – an aphid, to be precise – that lives in and eats the roots of grapevines. It travels by stealth – on the soles of shoes, by crawling from vine to vine and...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for suckling pig stuffed with glutinous rice
This recipe was inspired by a friend’s comment several years ago, when we were eating a glutinous-rice-stuffed suckling pig that was the speciality of a Cantonese restaurant I no longer go to (it’s...
View ArticleFood book: How to Care for Japanese Kitchen Utensils
Anyone who appreciates Japanese cuisine will also probably love the elegant tableware it’s served on, as well as the extensive range of cookware used to prepare the dishes. Japanese culinary implements...
View ArticleWhat’s inside food writer Gloria Chung’s pantry?
Gloria Chung has an array of wine bottles displayed on her vintage sideboard but, “I don’t really drink much these days. I’ve been asking my friends to come over to taste them,” she says. Although...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for chipotle spice-rubbed baby chickens and pulled pork
Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are tangy, spicy and smoky, a useful product to have on your pantry shelf. A whole can is usually too much for a single dish, so pack the leftovers into a small...
View ArticleManila chef Mark Tan on his Japanese obsession
Where did the Japanese influences in your food come from? “My grandfather is from China and moved to the Philippines. He was one of the first Honda motorcycle dealers, so one of the perks was trips to...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for seared lamb tongue and fennel salad
Prepared correctly, tongue is a delicious meat: it’s tender, smooth and mild. Many people recoil at the thought of eating tongue, though, probably because it’s organ meat. Like other organ meats,...
View ArticleThree wines from one of the world’s oldest companies
The Family Business magazine has compiled a list of the world’s 100 oldest family companies. The wine industry represents 10 per cent of that list, with producer Antinori the 10th oldest. Established...
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