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SPICE OF LIFE
Order a meal at Anantara Resort’s Fuddan Fusion Grill in the Maldives (Dhigufinolhu, SouThMale Atoll, tel +960 (0)6 644100, www.maldives.anantara.com) and salt sommelier Nasrulla Thoha will figure out exactly which gourmet salt you should sprinkle over your food. Here, he tells us how:
How do you correctly pair a dish with the right salt?
Natural smoked salts add a great slant to a soup or casserole. Salts from the Andalusian and Himalayan Mountains complement shellfish. Flaked sea salts that dissolve quickly and improve the depThof tastes go really well with salads and vegetables. The Cyprus black salt (below, extreme left ) that has been mixed with active charcoal is perfect for meat dishes, while grayish pink Sel de Gris is best paired with fish.
Isn’t too much salt bad for you?
If eaten in excess, yes. But we all need salt to maintain the right mineral balance in our bodies. The unrefined sea salts like the ones we offer at Fuddan tend to have higher mineral content and are all natural.
How are gourmet salts diff erent?
One of the finest salts in the world is Læsø salt. It comes from a large island off the coast of Denmark. The island’s dryness during the summer has resulted in ground water that has up to 15% salt. Salts like this have young fine crystals that form naturally on the surface of salt evaporation ponds and are then harvested by hand. Harvesting can only take place under certain weather conditions by traditional salt farmers. Other unique top-end salts are Pink Peruvian salt and Himalayan Pink Salt, a pure, hand-mined salt found deep inside the Himalayan Mountains.
IN KOH SAMUI YOU MUST TRY…
Chef Pom’s tantalising Massaman Curry at the Shambala Beach Bungalows on Big Buddha Beach (tel +66 (0)77 425330, www.samui-shambala.com).
“I make the curry paste here and get the fish and meat from the market every day,” says Geeranun “Pom” Saraniyagit, a Thai native who’s been cooking up her well-known curry at Shambala for seven years. “There’s no special ingredient. Everyone knows that the recipe includes tamarind and peanut, but it’s the quantities that are a secret.”
Enjoy the spicy dish amid Shambala’s open-air, seaside surrounds.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to Chinese folklore, your future can be divined from your table manners. Hold your chopsticks low down near the tips (right), and you will marry someone from your hometown. However, if you hold your chopsticks high up near the top (left ), it’s believed your future spouse lives very far away. Sadly, nothing similar has thus far been deduced from knife and fork use.
NEW AND NOTED
Four eateries to try in Bangkok, Phuket and Hong Kong:
1 CHEESE ROOM, BANGKOK
Celebrate the finer things in life with Flow Restaurant’s smorgasbord of international gourmet cheeses in the city’s first ever temperature-controlled Cheese Room at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok.
For 1,500 baht, tuck into a buffet spread of some of the world’s most prized varieties like Colston Basset Stilton blue cheese and Brie Royale Aux Truffles. Or try the Wine Flight (650 baht) – five pairs of carefully selected complementary wines and cheeses. Flow Restaurant, 123 Charoennakorn Road, Klongsan, tel +66 (0)2 442-2000, www..hilton.com
2 LONG TABLE, BANGKOK
Long Table takes its name from (you guessed it) the long table that extends through the lengThof the venue, urging you to rub shoulders with other diners in what’s known as “communal dining”.
Try the Wok Seared Venison Loin with Braised Kalisan and Royal Oyster Mushrooms, but leave room for the Warm Melting Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Sauce served with a scoop of premium vanilla ice cream. Plan to have drinks on the balcony – views from the 25Thfloor are fantastic. Column Residence, 48 Sukhumvit Soi 16, tel +66 (0)2 302-2557, www.longtablebangkok.com
3 THAI BRASSERIE BY BLUE ELEPHANT, PHUKET
with 13 restaurants in London, Hong Kong and elsewhere, The Blue Elephant brand has brought the cuisine traditionally served to Thai royalty to the world. Their latest incarnation has opted for a more relaxed style with a range of Thai fusion dishes. The Thai Chicken Burger, for example, is a must-try, a patty of spicy Isaan-style chicken in a classic American burger. Port Arena, Level 2, Jungceylon Centre, tel +66 (0)76 600173, www.blueelephant.com
4 SEVVA, HONG KONG
Pronounced “Savour”, Sevva dishes up comfort dishes with an indulgent edge, like macaroni cheese with shavings of black truffles, and Classic Pot Pie with Wagyu Beef Cheek and Porcini Fries. On top of their stunning cake selection (above), quality ingredients are key – the restaurant serves Australian Ionica chickens that are organically fed and chemical-free. The Penthouse, Princes Building, 10 Chater Road, Central, tel +852 2537-1388
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