Joyce Huang, Author at SALT Magazine

25Jun 2018 by Joyce Huang

Coffee With Thitid “Ton” Tassanakajohn & Napol “Joe” Jantraget

A new wave of Thai cuisine is emerging, led by a band of young maverick chefs who are out to prove that Thai cuisine isn't just street food or royal cuisine. These are chefs challenging the Euro-centric notions of fine dining that many in Thailand have, by bringing to fore the spicy, bold flavours of traditional Thai cuisine, while refining dishes using modern techniques and plating. We got two of them to discuss the ins-and-outs of this nascent scene: Thitid "Ton" Tassanakajohn, and Napol "Joe" Jantraget. The 31-year-old Ton opened modern Thai restaurant Le Du in 2014, after graduating from Culinary Institute of America in New York. Having cooked in the acclaimed kitchens of Eleven Madison Park, The Modern and Jean Georges, he is reinventing and refining Thai cuisine at Le Du, where you'll find…

10Apr 2018 by Joyce Huang

Martin Markvardsen and Highland Park’s 25 Year Old Single Malt Whisky

#thursdaytipples, Boozy, Drink, Travel

[caption id="attachment_11512" align="aligncenter" width="817"] Highland Park senior brand ambassador Martin Markvardsen[/caption] Upon first impression, Martin Markvardsen hardly strikes one as an aficionado of whisky, let alone an ambassador of one of Scotland’s most famous whisky brands, Highland Park. Faced with his imposing height and bulky build, one would think he is a professional wrestler or boxer—which incidentally he was, having represented Denmark in 22 boxing matches for the national team and been Danish boxing champion twice—if not for the Highland Park-emblazoned shirt he dons. In fact, if he lost the shirt, his love for whisky and the brand would have been more obvious, as Markvardsen sports a Highland Park logo tattoo over his heart. Indeed, as we’ve come to uncover, Markvardsen’s passion for Highland Park whisky transcends his role as…

07Mar 2018 by Joyce Huang

Seven Dishes: Ang Song Kang

#featurefriday, People, Profiles

[smartslider3 slider=20] Tucked away on the sleepy outskirts of Little India, along Mackenzie Road, Chef Kang’s Private Kitchen has been quietly earning a loyal following and a reputation as a destination for great Cantonese food within the in-the-know foodie circle since the restaurant opened its doors two years ago. The man behind it, 53-year-old Ang Song Kang, however, has actually been wow-ing diners with his own brand of Cantonese cuisine for decades. His name was catapulted into the limelight earlier this June, when the restaurant garnered a Michelin star in the French food guide’s second edition. Ang says, “I am grateful for the recognition, but I do feel that there are so many more chefs out there who are better than me. Hopefully if Michelin can recognise the efforts of…

28Feb 2018 by Joyce Huang

Taking Thai Wines To New Heights

#featurefriday, Boozy, Drink, Features, Travel

[caption id="attachment_11116" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Grapes from the GranMonte Vineyard[/caption] I am on the second floor balcony of the GranMonte Vineyard and Winery estate guesthouse, sitting out the last of the midday shower. Before me, tidy rows of grapevines, with leaves heavy and glistening from the rain, guide my vision to the towering mountain range that lines the backdrop. The light drizzle has caused clouds of fog to hug the green-covered peaks. I take a while to reconcile this scenery with the fact that I am actually just three hours away from Bangkok city and not some idyllic wine region in Europe. This is Khao Yai, Thailand’s third largest National Park and home to the country’s very own promising wine region. Just 160km northeast of Bangkok, Khao Yai (“large mountain” in…

22Feb 2018 by Joyce Huang

Nic Peterkin’s L.A.S. Vino The Pirate Blend

#thursdaytipples, Boozy, Drink, People, Profiles

[caption id="attachment_10989" align="aligncenter" width="804"] Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year 2016 Nic Peterkin holding up a bottle of his Pirate Blend[/caption] Nic Peterkin, 31 years young and recipient of the Gourmet Traveller Young Winemaker of the Year 2016, takes a while to ponder which of the four wines under his label L.A.S. Vino best personifies himself. The Australian laments, “It’s like picking a favourite child!” But after a brief rumination, he concludes that it is The Pirate Blend. And when you read Peterkin’s very own winemaker’s description of this enigmatic red wine blend, it is easy to see why. “PIRATES WERE THE OUTLAWS, THE ONES WHO BROKE THE RULES, THE FIGHTERS, THE ONES WHO LUST AFTER LIFE WITH GUSTO.” Born into what some might deem as Margaret River wine…

07Feb 2018 by Joyce Huang

Drink Champagne, and not just the sparkling variety

#thursdaytipples, Boozy, Drink

Mention Champagne and immediately, images of elegant flutes of effervescent pale gold nectar are conjured. For centuries, the Champagne wine region in the northeast of France has been synonymous with sparkling white wines, the production of which have been dominated by big name Champagne houses like Mumm and Moët et Chandon. [caption id="attachment_10892" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Grower Champagne at ATLAS: Jacques Selosse[/caption] In recent decades though, there's been a bubbling interest (sic) within the circle of discerning drinkers for Grower Champagnes. Many of the big name Champagne houses do not own vineyards and actually buy grapes from small vineyard growers, then use the juices to create their own bubbly blends. The rise of the Grower Champagne movement began when these vineyard owners felt that their grapes' potential expressions were lost and…

02Feb 2018 by Joyce Huang

Seven Dishes with Ivan Brehm

Features, People, Profiles

Just a few months after clinching a Michelin star for The Kitchen at Bacchanalia last year, Ivan Brehm shocked the local dining scene when he announced that he was leaving the restaurant. With no finite plans straight after, he took the time to travel, to go back to his home country of Brazil; a welcomed break for the dedicated chef. While he shares that there were different career possibilities he was considering (“something in Tokyo, something in Brazil, and even something really sweet in the Carribeans”), he always knew he was coming back to Singapore. “Yea, because I have two cats here,” he says only half-jokingly. What it took was a phone call earlier this year in January from Loh Lik Peng, the restauranteur behind Unlisted Collection, and Brehm grabbed…

24Jan 2018 by Joyce Huang

The Best Of Both Worlds At Racines

Food, Restaurants

There are just some things that the French do better: baking pastries, charming with their accent, making beret-wearing sexy, and perfecting the art of wining and dining - or what I’d like to refer to as speaking the language of love, mon chéri. So when a restaurant is able to bring together the best of French gastronomy and Chinese cooking, and have it not only seamlessly work together but accentuate each other, it certainly is a match made in heaven. [caption id="attachment_10540" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Racines churns out bold iterations of French classics as well as comforting Chinese flavours.[/caption] And that’s what you’ll find at Racines. The all-day restaurant located on the fifth floor of Sofitel Singapore City Centre, boasts floor to ceiling windows that not only afford the place to…

04Jan 2018 by Joyce Huang

Chufa So Good

Food, Ingredients, Recipe

Small, rough, rounded in shape and earth-like in colour, chufa, otherwise known as tigernut in English, looks like a dehydrated hazelnut at first glance, but it is not a nut at all. It is a small tuber, and a super(food) tuber at that. With a slightly sweet, nutty flavour that some liken to coconut or almonds, chufa was first discovered over 4,000 years ago, and was widely used by ancient Egyptians for their healing and regenerative properties. The tigernut has since been proven to be rich in energy content, minerals, dietary fiber, and vitamins E and C. It helps prevent heart disease and thrombosis, aids blood circulation and also reduces the risk of colon cancer. [caption id="attachment_10150" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Chufala specialises in chufa products.[/caption] One-month-old local start-up Chufala specialises in…

03Jan 2018 by Joyce Huang

Tempe: Indonesia’s Fermented Superfood

#featurefriday, Food, Ingredients

[caption id="attachment_10077" align="aligncenter" width="810"] Tempe - Indonesia's fermented superfood[/caption] At the 2017 edition of Ubud Food Festival held in May, fermentation was one of the hottest topics. From festival-goers attending the soldout masterclass of Wild Fermentation with Locavore’s LocaLAB, to the standing-room-only crowd that gathered for chef Ragil Imam Wibowo of Nusa restaurant’s cooking demonstration of Indonesia’s Fermented Food, everyone was frothy with excitement for local insights into one of the culinary world’s food trends du jour. Closest to the hearts of the locals was the panel discussion of Indonesia’s Gift to the World, where the spotlight was cast on the country’s pre-eminent fermented superfood: tempe. Featured speakers included Wibowo; food science and nutrition specialist Professor Florentinus Gregorius Winarno; and founder of the Indonesia Tempe Movement (ITM), Wida Winarno. There…