the latest food and drink news

ICE ICE BABY

Ice bars are Thailand’s hottest new trend. These two freezing newbies go head to head:

What: -5 Icebar (Minus 5)
Where: Amari Nova Suites Pattaya (tel +66 (0)3 848-9488, www.minus5pattaya.com)
How cool: 5°C below zero
Chill out: In this stylish space-age bar, do as the Russians do with a range of flavoured vodkas, or try their signature Daisy Buchanan, a cocktail of gin, apricot brandy, chilled English breakfast tea and vanilla syrup.
Dress up: Winter coats and gloves (in peach for ladies and chocolate for gents) are provided. Defrost: There is one room which is kept at average air-conditioned temperature if you need to warm up. While here, enjoy tapas and select from an extensive drinks menu.

What: BarIce Samui
Where: Chaweng Lake View Road, Koh Samui (tel +66 (0)77 484-933, www.baricesamui.com)
How cool: 7°C below zero
Chill out: Beside the lake, within nine-inch-thick walls of frozen Canadian lake water (chosen for its bubble-free clarity). Forty tonnes of the stuff was imported to build the bar, which flanks the picturesque Chaweng Lake. The interiors are illuminated by state-of-the-art LED lighting with skillfully carved ice installations added for decoration, including a so-kitsch-it’s-cool life-sized ice tuk-tuk.
Dress up: Hooded jackets, gloves and furry hats are provided to keep you toasty. Well, sort of. Defrost: Move to the comfortable air-conditioned lounge or the open-air terrace to continue the party at room temperature.

ASIAN FRUIT SALAD

A quartet of exotic natural delicacies explained

Dragonfruit: White fruit with small, edible black seeds – the flesh is similar to the texture of kiwi but without the tartness.

Rambutan: Within the “hairy” red or orange skin is succulent, sweet flesh around an inedible seed. Green rambutans are unripe.

Mangosteen: Called the queen of fruits, its white segments are perhaps the most flavourful of all Asian produce.

Lychee: Under the red leathery skin, this cousin of the rambutan is a juicy, ultra-sweet favourite with a brown seed at its centre.

MY ISLAND HOME

Gerald Bergue, Executive Chef of Angsana Resort and Spa Maldives Velavaru (South Nilandhe Atoll, tel +96 (0)6 760028, www.angsana.com), has worked in the Seychelles, Mauritius and even Madagascar. Born in Malawi, Gerald started his cooking career at 17 and completed his classic French culinary training in the Hotel School of Mauritius. Here, Chef Gerald shares his love for an exotic culinary repertoire:

Describe your cooking style
I describe my style as “simple luxury”. It is usually accompanied by a mountain of flavours. My cooking style also varies, depending on where I’m based.

How do you adapt your cooking for each destination?
I constantly innovate and use fresh local produce to create the best dishes. I meet with local fishermen and farmers at 6am to see what they have to offer and try to create dishes from these fresh supplies.

Describe Maldivian food.
We have a vast undersea heritage here – lots of fish and shellfish – and Maldivian cuisine has touches of Arabic, Indian, Asian and European influences. What’s interesting is that the Indian beef biryani rice dish is practically one of the Maldives’ national dishes.

What are some of the highlights from the resort’s menu?
Velavaru Slipper Lobster Marinated in Tandoori Spices accompanied by Fresh Mango and Papaya Salad; Prawn Coconut Curry with Banana Flowers and Chapatti; Goat’s Cheese in Kadaif served with Honey and Beetroot Reduction (below). Kadaif is a fine, spaghetti-like pastry.

What is your biggest challenge when opening a new restaurant?
Satisfying my guests and building up a good reputation based on rapport and good food. Th at is why I love to come out to interact with my guests after cooking for them.

NEW AND NOTED

Four restaurants to try in Luang Prabang, Ho Chi Minh and Hiroshima:

1 River Cafe
Located in Ho Chi Minh’s upscale Riverside Apartments (53 Vo Truong Toan Street, District 2, tel +84 (0)8 744-4111 ext 707, www.riverside-apartments.com), the bistro’s new menu zeroes in on seafood such as Blackened Sea Bass with Ratatouille. Other recommended dishes include Beer-Battered Fish and Chips.

2 ARISAI Restaurant + Wine Bar
Intimate, chic, yet unpretentious, ARISAI (49-3 Sakkarine Road, Luang Prabang, tel +856 (0)7 125-5000) occupies two floors of a 100-year-old shophouse. Its superb menu exemplifies the best of Mediterranean home cooking: simple and soul-satisfying. The favourite here is Couscous with Lamb, Merguez and Homemade Harissa prepared with a special 20-spice blend imported from Morocco.

3 On the 6
Here, Vietnamese ingredients enter the kitchen and emerge in finely craft ed French dishes. Didier Corlou, Hanoi’s long-time celebrity chef, finally made his way to Ho Chi Minh, bringing the standard of the city’s fine dining to a whole new level. Auspiciously, he opened On the 6 (6 Dong Khoi Street, District 1, tel +84 (0)8 823-8822) on the sixth day of the lunar new year.

4 Organ-za
Queen of Hiroshima’s avant-garde music scene, Gotou Izumi has created a cool space in Organ-za (2F, Morimoto Building, 1-4-32 Tokaichi-machi, Naka-ku, tel +81 (0)82 295-1553, www.organ-za.com) where you can eat good Vietnamese food, enjoy a drink, leaf through books, as well as catch live shows and exhibitions.