My good buddy, Andrew, simply loves steak tartare. Steak tartare is usually a dish of raw beef; though in some countries it can be of raw horse meat. I think steak tartare is easy to prepare. You just have to chop the raw beef very finely and then marinate it with wine and add lots of spices like pepper, tartare sauce. Add in a raw egg and mix with onions and capers.
The first time I taken steak tartare was in 2006 in Beaune, Burgundy. We were having dinner at a restaurant (can’t remember the name but I know the location) and good old Andrew ordered the steak tartare. Me being blurrrrrr at that time, followed him. I can tell you that, goodness me, I took a long time to even complete a quarter of it. I don’t understand why he loved it. How could one eats totally raw beef????? I am okay with beef done raw, medium raw etc but definitely not “tartare” style! I remembered trying to do a Mr Bean on the tartare dish which brought smiles to the rest on the table. The chef even came to question me if there was anything wrong with the dish. Luckily we had lots of other dishes, so I told him I was very full.
Understand that the dish “steak tartare” come from the Tartar people of Central Asia. They did not have time to cook their beef so they place the beef under the saddles of their horses. By the time they finished their journey, the beef is finely tenderised.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Lunch @ Bistro du Vin
We had lunch at the newly opened Bistro du Vin today. This is part of the Les Amis Group. It is quite surprising to a number of my friends that I hardly step into any of the Les Amis restaurants. I don’t know why but I guess it may be because the prices are of the higher end and the wines are so expensive. It feels like I am not getting the money well spent.
The place was quite empty when we stepped in. I guessed it was still early. The place is quite dark for a bistro especially if you get a table inside towards the wine storage area. As more people stepped in for lunch, the place became very noisy. Too noisy for my liking.
I must say that the place is well decorated. Has to be as it was reported that they spent S$500,000 on the deco.
I was quite disappointed with the food. I think my two eating buddies were equally disappointed even though they did not openly say so. For starter, Andrew and I had onion soup and Alain ordered soupe de poisson (fish soup). Don’t know about Alain’s fish soup but Andrew and I agreed that the onion soup was a bit too salty. There was not much onion slices in it and I loved my onion soup with lots of onions.
We had a cold cut platter and a Marcos Iberico de Bellato platter to share. Both were so-so. I guess I may be very critical as I been to France and Italy to eat these. The weather and the storage may have affected the quality of these hams.
I had the braised beef, Andrew had duck confit and Alain, a fish dish. The braised beef was salty and I had to ask the waiter for one too many slices of bread to go together with the braised beef.
The saving grace was the bottle of great wine that Alain brought along. It was a 1990 Paul Jaboule Aine Hermitage La Chapelle Hermitage. Corkage was $50; which in my opinion is way too high for a bistro; be it part of the Les Amis group. No other group was drinking wine despite it being closed to a full house.
A write up of the 1990 Paul Jaboule Aine Hermitage La Chapelle Hermitage is as below by Wine Spectator.
We finished up ordering 3 double espressos and were given single expressos. Don’t think we are going back soon.
Spotlight On: Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1989 vs. 1990
The 96-point 1989 is selling for 51 percent less than the 97-point 1990
Nick Suarez
Posted: Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle is the crown jewel of the family-owned and -operated Paul Jaboulet Aîné winery. The wine has set records for Rhône wines at auction: A case of the heralded 1961 brought in $252,000 in a 2007 sale.
The auction results of the 1989 (96 points, $55 release price, $168 current auction price) and 1990 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle (97 points, $60, $343) make for an interesting comparison. In the Northern Rhône, the 1990 vintage is considered superior to the 1989, but Jaboulet made quality Hermitage La Chapelle in both years. Nevertheless, the track records for these bottlings at auction are quite different: The 1989 is currently trading for 51 percent less than the 1990.
The place was quite empty when we stepped in. I guessed it was still early. The place is quite dark for a bistro especially if you get a table inside towards the wine storage area. As more people stepped in for lunch, the place became very noisy. Too noisy for my liking.
I must say that the place is well decorated. Has to be as it was reported that they spent S$500,000 on the deco.
I was quite disappointed with the food. I think my two eating buddies were equally disappointed even though they did not openly say so. For starter, Andrew and I had onion soup and Alain ordered soupe de poisson (fish soup). Don’t know about Alain’s fish soup but Andrew and I agreed that the onion soup was a bit too salty. There was not much onion slices in it and I loved my onion soup with lots of onions.
We had a cold cut platter and a Marcos Iberico de Bellato platter to share. Both were so-so. I guess I may be very critical as I been to France and Italy to eat these. The weather and the storage may have affected the quality of these hams.
I had the braised beef, Andrew had duck confit and Alain, a fish dish. The braised beef was salty and I had to ask the waiter for one too many slices of bread to go together with the braised beef.
The saving grace was the bottle of great wine that Alain brought along. It was a 1990 Paul Jaboule Aine Hermitage La Chapelle Hermitage. Corkage was $50; which in my opinion is way too high for a bistro; be it part of the Les Amis group. No other group was drinking wine despite it being closed to a full house.
A write up of the 1990 Paul Jaboule Aine Hermitage La Chapelle Hermitage is as below by Wine Spectator.
We finished up ordering 3 double espressos and were given single expressos. Don’t think we are going back soon.
Spotlight On: Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1989 vs. 1990
The 96-point 1989 is selling for 51 percent less than the 97-point 1990
Nick Suarez
Posted: Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle is the crown jewel of the family-owned and -operated Paul Jaboulet Aîné winery. The wine has set records for Rhône wines at auction: A case of the heralded 1961 brought in $252,000 in a 2007 sale.
The auction results of the 1989 (96 points, $55 release price, $168 current auction price) and 1990 Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle (97 points, $60, $343) make for an interesting comparison. In the Northern Rhône, the 1990 vintage is considered superior to the 1989, but Jaboulet made quality Hermitage La Chapelle in both years. Nevertheless, the track records for these bottlings at auction are quite different: The 1989 is currently trading for 51 percent less than the 1990.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Dinner at Pietrasanta - wedding anniversary-27 June
It was our very first wedding anniversary on 27 June. Throughout the week, both of us were thinking very hard for a suitable place to have a small celebration together. It was made more difficult as we had recently eaten at a number of good restaurants. My wife commented that we have not been to Pietrasanta and Nicolas for quite some time and so it was decided that we would go to either of these restaurants. Nicolas was fully booked for Saturday evening and we were fortunate to make a reservation at Pietrasanta.
We made it a point to go slightly early to get a good parking space and to talk to Loris, the chef cum owner. We were pleasantly surprised that both Loris and his brother, Giuseppe recognised us as we have not been there for quite some time. We found out that the restaurant was only opened on Wednesday as they had gone back to Italy for a couple of weeks of holidays. How lucky for us!
Both of us shared the sauteed clams and aglio olio for starters. Loris does very good sauteed clams and mean aglio olio. Our food guru, Alain, told me once that to judge if an Italian chef is good, just eat his aglio olio. Loris' aglio olio always passes with flying colours. They are chewy, not too oily and simply tasty. We also had salami and blood sauages which Loris just brought back from Milan. They were simply wonderful especially the blood sausage though my wife didn't really like it especially when she discovered what they are...kekeke.
For the mains, my wife had grilled wagyu beef tenderloin and I had grilled pork neck. We always love the way Loris does grilled wagyu beef. I was, however, disappointed with the grilled pork neck. But I have to say that it was my fault as I asked Loris to grilled it thinly sliced. Result was that the pork was quite charred, hard and not juicy; unlike my wife's beef tenderloin. However, I was quite pleased with the 1997 Chianti that Giuseppe recommended to me. Must remember the name the next time I go there.
We finished the night with a melting chocolate cake and a slice of pear cake.
Overall, it was a very good dinner for us. Pietrasanta is a nice place for a good family meal. The place is friendly especially with Loris and Giesuppe around. The place is a bit noisy but in no way rowdy. The food is not refined but this is what Tuscany food is meant to be. For those who have been in local restaurants in Tuscany, you will know what I mean.
We made it a point to go slightly early to get a good parking space and to talk to Loris, the chef cum owner. We were pleasantly surprised that both Loris and his brother, Giuseppe recognised us as we have not been there for quite some time. We found out that the restaurant was only opened on Wednesday as they had gone back to Italy for a couple of weeks of holidays. How lucky for us!
Both of us shared the sauteed clams and aglio olio for starters. Loris does very good sauteed clams and mean aglio olio. Our food guru, Alain, told me once that to judge if an Italian chef is good, just eat his aglio olio. Loris' aglio olio always passes with flying colours. They are chewy, not too oily and simply tasty. We also had salami and blood sauages which Loris just brought back from Milan. They were simply wonderful especially the blood sausage though my wife didn't really like it especially when she discovered what they are...kekeke.
For the mains, my wife had grilled wagyu beef tenderloin and I had grilled pork neck. We always love the way Loris does grilled wagyu beef. I was, however, disappointed with the grilled pork neck. But I have to say that it was my fault as I asked Loris to grilled it thinly sliced. Result was that the pork was quite charred, hard and not juicy; unlike my wife's beef tenderloin. However, I was quite pleased with the 1997 Chianti that Giuseppe recommended to me. Must remember the name the next time I go there.
We finished the night with a melting chocolate cake and a slice of pear cake.
Overall, it was a very good dinner for us. Pietrasanta is a nice place for a good family meal. The place is friendly especially with Loris and Giesuppe around. The place is a bit noisy but in no way rowdy. The food is not refined but this is what Tuscany food is meant to be. For those who have been in local restaurants in Tuscany, you will know what I mean.
Starbucks vs McCafe- 6 July 2009
In a New York Times article today, Starbuck’s answer to McDonald’s McCafé $100 million dollar blitz is:
“If your coffee isn’t perfect, we’ll make it over. If it’s still not perfect, you must not be in a Starbucks.”
In the article Terry Davenport, chief marketing officer at Starbucks, is quoted as saying..
“[Competition] is trying to just commoditize coffee and take it down to a level where all coffee’s the same, and if coffee’s coffee, you might as well buy the cheap stuff. … We just don’t believe that to be true. That’s why we wanted to tell our stories.”
“If your coffee isn’t perfect, we’ll make it over. If it’s still not perfect, you must not be in a Starbucks.”
In the article Terry Davenport, chief marketing officer at Starbucks, is quoted as saying..
“[Competition] is trying to just commoditize coffee and take it down to a level where all coffee’s the same, and if coffee’s coffee, you might as well buy the cheap stuff. … We just don’t believe that to be true. That’s why we wanted to tell our stories.”
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