Taste Combinations

Ever notice that walnuts turn bitter with red wine? Or that bitter greens are less so if they're salted? Combining certain tastes (i.e., sweet, salty, bitter, and sour) can have a strange-but-true impact on the food you eat.


Sweet + Sweet = Less Sweet
A bite of an übersweet confection blocks any residual sugar in a dry wine, which will make the win taste more acidic (sour). This is also why dessert wines taste less sweet (and pair well with) sugary desserts like crème brûlée or a fruit tart.

Salty + Bitter = Less Bitter, More Sweet
Sprinkle salt on grapefruit and the fruit will taste less bitter and more sweet. Salting leafy, bitter green like frisee and radicchio will block some of the bite. Why? Salt tempers bitterness.


Sour + Sour = Less Sour
A sour taste, like vinaigrette, followed by another sour taste, such as an acidic Sauvignon Blanc, will flatten the taste of the wine.

Sour + Salty = More Salty
Adding lemon (sour) to a barley-seasoned fillet of fish will bring out more of the seasoning because sour enhances salt.

adapted from Canadian Living.

Food Philosophy

I've been thinking a lot about food lately. Honestly, I've been taking it for granted for most of my life. But I don't think this is uncommon.
Here's the evolution of my food philosophy.

Food is fuel
Being very practical in the past, food was a basic necessity of life. It just had to give me energy and fill me up. So I just hawked my food down. Not sure if I even chewed.

Mamak! Roti telur dua!! Banjir Kari!

Food is medicine
For the past year, I've been reasoning with nutrition and the effect food has on my body. Very scientific: choosing the most nutrient dense foods. I am heavily influenced by the Chinese Yin Yang food philosophy, appreciating the benefits of medicinal food like ginger, cilantro and bitter gourd. And I experimented with 'poisonous' food e.g. duck, beef, pork; just to see the effect on my body. I now pay attention to digestion, starting by chewing my food thoroughly.

'Let food be thy medicine, and thy medicine, food' - Hippocrates.

Food is sex
With increasing appreciation of food, I've come to realize its power. Not only does it affect the physical but also the emotional self.
I've Chinese recipes for for my physical well-being e.g. fatigue, irritable or a bit under the weather.
I'm now exploring how food affects my emotions. Everyone's got their comfort food: chocolate or ice cream when you're feeling down, good wine when stressed (but these are poison: refined sugar, artificial flavors, alcohol). That's at the basic, blunt level.
I want to learn of food that invokes curiosity, that piques my interest, that inspires. So now I eat very slowly - savoring each bite, appreciating the tastes and texture, being mindful of my emotional reactions.

'Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity' - Voltaire

Food is God
It humbles me when I think of how my food came to be: how the gifts of Mother Nature are transformed by the passion of the cook. Food connects us. Each meal is a blessing.
Now I've realized why food plays such a significant role in all the major religions.

'Eat, for this is my body. Drink, for this is my blood.' - Jesus

Food
Food nourishes us on so many levels: it makes our bodies strong, it inspires our mind, it connects us to God. We eat so many times a day, it is easy to take it for granted. My one regret is that I wasted so many years in ignorance. Today, I'm eating less but I feel so much more satisfied.

'The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor.' - Chinese Proverb

Food Review: TJ Haus

Had New Year's dinner @ TJ Haus.
Unfortunately, they had a set menu. Well, this should have set off alarms but I was in good company and optimistic considering the good reviews of this place.

So, onward with a Venison Consomme with Venison & Pistachio patties. The consomme was good, although a bit salty and the patties (3 small thumbsized ones) were flavorful. Overall, quite a good soup to whet the appetite.

I chose the Grilled Mahi Mahi (fish) main course. Served with risotto and tomato pesto. Verdict: BAD!

The fish was dry. No enough sauce either. The risotto was salty. They gave 2 cauliflower and 1 broccoli, pathetic. The tomato pesto spiced things up but again, too little of it.

Me mates had the roast lamb served with potato and brussel sprouts. One liked it, the other didn't. I can't comment much except it lacked any aroma. Probably because it had been sitting in an oven.

Damn disappointed so we canceled dessert.

Per pax came to about RM40.

Not a good first impression which is sad. I had high expectations for TJ Haus. I was looking forward to some good food from a gourmet kitchen. Instead I got bad, expensive crap. Imagine, a glass of wine cost RM12. I didn't have one but I bet it wasn't good.

Tonight, it seems TJ Haus was more about making the New Year buck. Complained to the chef, Jerry (he's the J in TJ) but he didn't seem to care. Probably had more suckers...

The Feast of Life

Ratatouille

A rat in the kitchen. How should one react -
a) scream
b) grab a broom and swat at it
c) bring out the poison and traps
d) any or all of the above?

But what if the rat is cooking?

That's basically Ratatouille: a challenge to boundaries and stereotypes. It is a wonderful premise: we limit ourselves and others with our prejudice, depriving all of the evident talent before us.

It's also a story of faith. In oneself, in the inner voice that, in spite of the nays of all around you, tells you you are on the path of destiny.

Risking it all, life and limb, to nurture the talents and love you were born with.

That is the theme. Repeated through many tales and the latest in the adventure of a talented rat named Remi.

Watch the movie: my writing skills can do no justice to this wonderful work.

The theme song of the movie is in French and the amount of French I know won't even get me a nuclear bomb on the black market, much less insight into a song's lyrics. So here's English to accompany it:

Le Festin by Camille.	In English:
Les rêves des amoureux sont comm’(e) le bon vin Ils donn(ent) de la joie ou bien du chagrin Affaibli par la faim je suis malheureux Volant en chemin tout ce que je peux Car rien n’est gratuit dans la vie	Dreams are to lovers as wine is to friends Carried through lifetimes, (and) spilled now and then I am driven by hunger, so saddened to be Thieving in darkness; I know you’re not pleased But nothing worth eating is free
L’espoir est un plat bien trop vite consommé A sauter les repas je suis habitué Un voleur solitaire est triste à nourrir A un jeu si amer je n’peux réussir Car rien n’est gratuit dans…	My hope is a banquet impatiently downed Impossibly full, now I’ll probably drown Many thieves’ lives are lonely with one mouth to feed If giving means taking, I’ll never succeed For nothing worth stealing is…
La vie… Jamais on ne me dira Que la course aux étoiles; ça n’est pas pour moi Laissez moi vous émerveiller et prendre mon en vol Nous allons en fin nous régaler	Free at last; won’t be undersold Surviving isn’t living; won’t eat what I’m told Let me free, I’ll astonish you; I’m planning to fly I won’t let this party just pass me by
La fêt(e) va enfin commencer Sortez les bouteilles; finis les ennuis Je dresse la table, de ma nouvell(e) vie Je suis heureux à l’idée de ce nouveau destin Une vie à me cacher et puis libre enfin Le festin est sur mon chemin	The banquet is now underway, so… Bring out the bottles; a new tale has spun In clearing this table, my new life’s begun I am nervous, excited; (oh) just read the marquee! A lifetime of hiding; I’m suddenly free! My dinner is waiting for me
Une vie à me cacher et puis libre enfin Le festin est sur mon chemin	A lifetime of hiding; I’m suddenly free! My dinner is waiting for me.