Monday Night Movie Night at Palate Sensations Cooking School

Monday Night, Movie Night - No Reservations - Kate's Menu

(Popcorn will be served during the cooking class)

Type: Hands On

Price: $120 per person

Date: 7-7-2008

Time: 7pm to 10pm

Chef: Philippe Nouzillat, Chef De Cuisine, Braserrie Wolf

Menu: You’ve seen the movie "No Reservations", now join in the fun to re-create the mouth watering dishes in the movie.

Philippe Nouzillat, Chef de Cuisine from Brasserie Wolf will be conducting 2 hands on cooking classes with menus from the movie.

This class is about the scene at "22 Bleecker – The Restaurant" with Kate’s menu

Pan seared scallops

(Kate serves it to her psychiatrist)

Baby quail in white truffle sauce (Kate’s signature dish)

Crème Brulee (Kate burns her apron)

Monday Night, Movie Night - No Reservation - Nick's Menu

(Popcorn will be served during the cooking class)

Type: Hands On

Price: $100 per person

Date: 21-7-2008

Time: 7pm to 10pm

Chef: Philippe Nouzillat, Chef de Cuisine, Braserrie Wolf

Menu: You’ve seen the movie No Reservations, now join in the fun to re-create the mouth watering dishes in the movie.

Linguine with pomodoro & basilico (Nick serves it to the staff as a staff meal and says his dying mother took the recipe from Italy)

Handmade pizza (Nick makes dinner at Kate’s house)

Tiramisu (Nick’s signature recipe where he convinces Kate that she will eat dessert)

Monday Night, Movie Night - Indian Bollywood Movie Class - Food inspired by Bride & Prejudice

(Popcorn will be served during the cooking class)

Type: Hands On

Price: 100 per person

Date: 28-7-2008

Time: 6.30pm to 9.30pm

Chef: Delna Boyce

Menu: Come learn the food of Punjab. The movie is focused on the colourful Punjabi culture and we will explore how food and weddings go hand in hand.

Lassi – A sweetened yogurt drink served chilled

Rajmah – Traditionally Punjabi, kidney beans simmered in onions & tomato gravy

Tandoori chicken – Chicken marinated in spices & oven roasted

Aaloo masala – Baby potatoes cooked with cumin seeds & coriander

(Indian bread & rice will be served alongside for dinner)

So log onto www.palatesensations.com to enroll under Class Schedules or call us on 6479 9025.

Lynette

4 Module Basic Baking with Chef Nan Ong

Build your baking skills from scratch with these 4 wonderful hands on workshops that will build your confidence. Taught over 2 consecutive weekends, these workshops are for those who are starting to learn how to bake and want to learn the basics the correct way.

All classes start from 11am to 2pm

Fees are $350 for all 4 modules or $100 per module.


Module 1 - 5th July - Fruit tartlets

In Module 1,we will be making fruit and chocolate tartlets.

To start off with, we will be making 2 types of shortcrust pastry - original and chocolate.

Followed by 2 types of pastry cream - original and chocolate. Finally, we will be learning to decorate in 2 ways - using fruits and chocolate ganache.


Module 2 - 6th July - Choux pastry

To start off with, we will be making 2 types of choux pastry - cream puffs and eclairs.

Followed by 2 types of filling - chocolate and coffee.


Module 3 - 12th July - Genoise sponge

In this workshop,we will be making Mascotte au Chocolate or Praline.

To start off with, we will be making genoise sponge.

Followed by 2 types of butter cream - chocolate or hazelnut.


Module 4 - 13th July - Biscuit sponge

In this workshop,we will be making Charlotte au Mango, strawberry or cream cheese.

To start off with, we will be making biscuit sponge.

Followed by 3 types of mousseline - mango, strawberry or cream cheese.


Each participant will be working individually to make and take home their own creations!

So come join us by signing up on www.palatesensations.com under Class Schedules or call us on 6479 9025.

Lynette

4 Module Basic Thai cuisine for domestic helpers

Following on from our successful Domestic Helper Series for Basic Skills - Western Techniques, we are now launching our 4 Module Basic Thai cuisine for domestic helpers by Chef Angie Law Smith.

$400 for all 4 modules or $120 per module

All classes start at 11am and end at 2pm

21. July (Module 1)

In this first module, we will be covering Curries:

• Learn about Thai ingredients and where to buy them
• Green Beef Curry with Thai Aubergine
• Curried Prawns in Coconut Milk
• Red Chicken Curry with Bamboo Shoots

25. July (Module 2)

In the second module, we will be covering Snacks & Appetizers:

• Spring Rolls
• Pork Satay
• Fish Cakes with Cucumber Relish
• Chicken and Sticky Rice balls

28. July ( Module 3)

In our third module, we will be making Soups & Desserts:

• Ginger, Chicken and Coconut Soup
• Thai Hot and Sour Soup
• Tapioca Pudding with Tropical Fruits
• Mango with Sticky Rice

01. August ( Module 4)

In our fourth module, we will be covering Rice & Noodles:

• Pineapple Fried Rice
• Fried Rice with Pork
• Thai Fried Noodles & Crispy Fried Rice Vermicelli

Call us on 6479 9025 or go to www.palatesensations.com to enroll under Class Schedules.

Lynette

5 Module Thai immersion cuisine with Chef Angie Law Smith

This is one of my favourite modules. Chef Angie and I designed this for serious Thai cuisine lovers.

Chef Angie Law Smith

$500 for all 5 modules or $120 per module

All classes start at 7pm and end at 10pm

from: www.orientalcuisinesite.com/.../thaifood.jpg

17. July (Modules 1)

Thai hot and sour soup
Green curry with chicken served with jasmine rice
Papaya salad
Mango with sticky rice

23. July (Modules 2)

Fish cake with cucumber relish
Chiang Mai noodle soup
Red chicken curry with bamboo shoots served with jasmine rice
Tapioca pudding

30. July ( Modules 3)

Ginger chicken a coconut soup
Fragrant Thai meatballs
Roasted duck in red curry
Banana pudding

06. August ( Modules 4)

Pandanus chicken
Prawn in tamarind sauce
Fried rice with pork
Stewed pumpkin in coconut cream

13. August ( Modules 5)

Thai beef salad
Chicken with cashew nuts
Pineapple fried rice
Baked rice pudding, Thai style

Contact us on 6479 9025 or www.palatesensations.com to enroll.

Lynette

Combine Healthy Eating and Fitness Training - what more do you want?

Pan seared wild ocean trout with tofu

I designed these 6 series of workshops with my personal fitness trainer Azmi and Chef Bertrand Cheo because I was getting so fat myself and needed to lose weight! I had to do something and I know there are many of you guys out there who probably feel the same.

These workshops are designed for our busy lifestyles so if you can spare 1 hour on Saturday morning and 3 hours on a Tuesday evening starting in August for 6 sessions, and if you want to get healthy with a group of others, please do join us.

The details are below:

Schedule: 6 Module Fitness Training & Healthy Cuisine Workshops

Type: Hands On

Price: 120 per person per cooking class or $800 per person for 6 cooking sessions and 6 group fitness training sessions

Date: Starts 12 August to 20th September

Time: Tuesdays for cooking class 7pm to 10pm and Saturdays for fitness training 10am to 11am

Chef: Bertrand Cheo and Fitness Trainer Azmi Samsuddin

Menu: To get the best out of your health, we are combining 6 group fitness training sessions with 6 healthy cooking classes.

Chef Instructor Bertrand Cheo

The cooking classes will be held every Tuesday evening (from 12th August to 16th September) by Chef Bertrand Cheo who designed the menus for My Blood Type Restaurant, a restaurant which focused on eating healthy cuisine according to one's blood type. Each hands on class will consist of 3 courses. Menus will be kept light and healthy.

Module 1
Celery & carrot soup
Roulade of chicken leg
Apple & banana crumble

Module 2
Curried apple squash soup
Pan seared salmon with tofu
Chocolate mousse

Module 3
Zucchini & roasted garlic soup
Steam marinated cod with spring vegetables
Orange cake with citrus icing

Module 4
Courgette linguine with lemon & mushroom
Beef & red wine pie
Apple sponge pudding

Module 5
Ricotta cake
Citrus crusted red snapper with orange cous cous
Tofu Whip with Kiwifruit & Melon Liqueur Syrup

Module 6
Gazpacho
Sweet Potato & Leek Roulade
Warm peach upside down cake

The classes are suitable for total beginners as well as more advanced cooks who are keen on developing healthy eating habits and recipes.

Fitness Instructor Azmi (known as Azminator)

The group fitness training sessions will be held at Temasek Club (next to Palate Sensations) by Temasek Club's Fitness Instructor Azmi Samsuddin. Azmi was previously a Senior Physical Training Instructor with the Singapore Armed Forces and holds diplomas from the American College of Sports Medicine and AFPA. He has a diploma in gym management and has been through the MediBall Pro Certification course. Azmi worked at the American Club, British Club, Plaza Fitness and Spa before starting a boxing studio and his own gym at Temasek Club.

The one hour group workout will be held every Saturday morning (from 16th August to 20th September). The training program includes:
Total body workout
Body toning (lose weight program)
Strength and flexibility
Body balance
Boxing.

Class size is limited to 8 participants.

So do yourself a favour and make an appointment with us today!

Lynette

My To Do List

Now that I am back, I have a huge list of things to do that I have been putting off for ages and now it's crunch time. They include:

- getting all the food photos framed and put up in the studio. We have some paintings in the studio but I have decided that we need food photos as we are a cooking studio.

- get the new website up and running. This has become very urgent as lately, we have had a few inconsiderate participants who sign up and don't bother turning up for classes. With the new website, all bookings must be prepaid by credit card so that we can avoid this issue which unfortunately costs us alot of unnecessary time and irritates our chefs.

- new corporate brochure

And a whole host of other things but these are the most urgent.

I'm feeling a little stressed and tired now that I am back as we also have corporate classes on a daily basis and guess who has to be at the classes in the evenings and also attend meetings in the mornings and write proposals and return phone calls in between. Now you know why I don't have time to get the important things done.

I am determined to make time because if I don't, it will be detrimental to the business. So I have to start handing more operational work to my assistant.

Lynette

Sushi class with Chef Bertrand

Participants laughing and having fun at our sushi class

While I was away, Chef Bertrand held a sushi making class. These photos are courtesy of Allan Fong, one of the participants. For those of you wondering when you can have the same fun, we will be holding some sushi rolling and tempura making classes in July and August for the public. So stay tuned for those on our schedules!

Chef Bertrand demonstrating how to roll your own sushi roll

Teams hard at work

Working out what they need to do

Another happy team

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 5 - Preparing to go home

It's been a wonderful 5 days in Hanoi. We stayed in the best hotel in Hanoi - The Sofitel Metropole. It's not just that the rooms are pleasant but the service is great and the location is superb. Most people come to Hanoi to either buy paintings or shop. I came her to eat, to find out abit more about the culture of the country and to relax. Initially I thought 5 days was too long as my other 2 trips only lasted 3 days and 2 nights and we didn't do very much while we were here. I know I could have easily stayed a few more days. There were still quite a few restaurants we hadn't been to such as Bobby Chinn and a whole host of local restaurants. We ran out of time and also we realised we had too many degustation menus late in the evenings so it made sleeping very uncomfortable. I would have loved to have gone back to La Verticale in a heart beat but there was just not enough lunches and dinners for us to go back for.

I've tried to balance the eating bit on this trip with trips to the gym but I know somehow it's quite futile given how much we ate! I am not much of a shopper so I didn't shop until last night when we were forced into a shop due to the rain. At Allure, a beautiful small shop of handmade fashion design & accessories on 77 Hang Trong Street, I finally gave in and bought 3 beautifully hand made silk shirts. I'm not into tourist souvenirs and these certainly aren't.

I didn't want to visit Apricot Gallery, my favourite gallery here as I know that I didn't really have USD3,000 to give them. I am not much of a window shopper so if I go into a store, it's because I want to buy something.

The best thing about this trip was that I slept like a log every night which can only be a good thing. I checked my e-mails every day but there was nothing major as April, my new assistant has been doing a superb job.

I'm ready to hit the gym one last time before we go pack up our bags and check out of the hotel. We have a corporate class going on every night this week so I'll be putting in some late nights coming up.

See you in Singapore!

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 4 - Walking tour on street food and market visit

Street vendors selling all sorts of food

The contrast between old and new architecture. Land is very expensive so new buildings are long, tall and narrow.

An outdoor kitchen on the street

This morning, we went on a walking tour about street food and visited the local central market. We started with Bun Cha at 47C Mai Hac Be Street. Vietnamese cuisine pays alot of attention to balance and in the North, the food is particularly mild.

Bun cha comprises of grilled pork and minced pork in fish sauce served with lots of herbs

and rice noodles and fried springrolls

Afterwards, we walked to the local central market which looked suspiciously like Tekka Market in Singapore. I don't like wet markets so this was not my favourite part of the tour.

Huge avocados

Sticky rice

Vietnamese watermelon which tastes like rock melon and beautiful ripe lychees

Preserved fruits

Tomorrow, we go home and I have to go straight to the school since we have a corporate class on and I should be there. Back to the old grind I guess.

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 3 - Walking cultural tour to the French Quarter and Water Puppet Theatre

The Opera House

In between lunch and dinner, we met up with An from Hidden Hanoi and she took us on a tour of the French quarters. We visited the Opera House, and walked along the streets where the French built the military quarters. We then moved to the public places they built such as the prison, court system and The Cathedral. The third part of the tour took us to the large french villas which have now been handed over to the embassies. The French architecture is beautiful but alot of it has not been up kept and with the American war, alot of the buildings have been ruined. I love history and architecture so I really enjoyed this tour. The tour costs USD$15 and lasts about 2 hours. It is worth going on the tour to orientate yourself and to give yourself something else to do apart from shopping.

Old French houses that now have a few families living in it

Another beautiful gated home

Government building. The French colours are green and yellow. Any building with this colour on it is now owned by The Government.

The Cathedral

We went to Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre after dinner. It is located at 57B Dinh Tien Hoang Street which is opposite the lake. I thought it was quite boring because there were no explanations and it was just a series of puppets jumping around the water. The puppets were also not well maintained and alot of them had scuff marks and chips on them. I guess if you have nothing better to do, give it a go. The tickets are USD$2.50 each. We booked it through the hotel and they got us front row seats.

The stage with the water puppets

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 3 - Dinner at Quan An Ngon

Quan An Ngon is located at 18 Phan Boi Chau. It's like a hawker center of Vietnamese street food. You can find it all in one place. You sit in the central courtyard and order from the menu. All the stalls are in the outer area and the waitress brings you the food. You can't book so you just need to turn up early before the food runs out. We had dinner at 5.30pm after our walking tour to the French Quarter today.

The entrance

The stall that sells the small prawn fritters (on the right)

The famous chicken noodle Pho Ga

The ladies rolling fresh spring rolls

Another store selling delicious Vietnamese cuisine

If you are lazy and don't want to walk around for street food and you want to eat in comfort, this is the place for you. The food is pretty good. The atmosphere is casual and if you are still not full, you just ask for the menu and order more. I've been to the one at HCM and this one in Hanoi and both are great.

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 3 - Lunch at Hoa Sua School

Cutting hair on the streets of Hanoi

Reading a book in the park

I've been sleeping like a log every nigh since I've been here. We don't go out to party in the evenings because we are just to tired. Usually we just have dinner and then head back to the hotel to shower and sleep. I slept well because I suspect it's partly because the cats aren't disturbing me by coming into the room to visit me at all hours of the night.

We went to Hoa Sua School today for lunch. It is located in a beautiful French colonial house and I feel like I am eating on the set of Scent of Green Papaya, a Vietnamese movie which was set before the fall of French control and the rise of American aggression. The school was set up to teach disadvantaged youth. We ordered a set Vietnamese meal which consisted of caramel pork, pork ribs & bamboo soup, fried spring rolls and fried water spinach. It was a very simple meal but it was really nicely presented and the students were very pleasant even though we sometimes had trouble with the language. We followed up the meal with creme brulees, green bean dessert and blackberry parfait. We paid a total of about USD$30 for the meal.

If you have sometime, pay them a visit as you will be supporting a good cause and also enjoying a pleasant meal.

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 2 - Dinner at La Verticale

I heard such great things about La Verticale and one of the main reasons for coming to Hanoi was to try this amazing restaurant.

We were truly blown away by the food and the ambience. The restaurant is housed in a 4 storey colonial French house that has been carefully restored. Opened in 1997, La Verticale by Chef Didier Corlou (previously Executive Chef at Sofitel Metropole) has brought a serious following of fans to Hanoi.

We had been eating like crazy since we arrived but since it was a food tour (largely for me anyway), I wasn't going to say no to a degustation menu. We chose the USD$48 menu which was really to die for. We all agreed that we would fly back just to eat here again. In fact, we are re-arranging our schedules so that we can come back one last time before flying home on Tuesday afternoon.

The meal was sublime, a mix of Western and Eastern spices and food presented so exquistely you just want to take endless photos. When they talk about fusion food, this is truly a beautiful mix of food.

We ate (and I ate every last scrap of food on the plate):

Amuse bouche

Avocado, salmon mignardises,

Peppered caramel and herb juice with ginger

Mango ravioli with foie gras,
light duck juice with lotus tea

Ocean escabeche,
light wasabi and "Tokyo-Hanoi" iodized broth

Fillet of John Dory from cold seas,
black rice crust, meat stock with Minorities spices

"Le Corlou" goat cheese in nougat
young mixed salad with herbs and black sesame
(this was my favourite!)

Bitter orange "millefeuilles"
candies eggplant, custard with lemongrass

Here we are Angeline, Chef Didier Corlou, myself and Jenny behind the front counter of the first floor of his shop house.

The service was perfect and the best part was how friendly Chef Didier was towards all his guests. He was gracious and took time out to talk to us. We bought all 3 of his cook books and he autographed all 9 copies for us.

A truly great and satisfying end to a fantastic Day 2 in Hanoi.

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 2 - Cooking Class & Lunch at Hidden Hanoi

We had a breakfast of Pho noodles across the road from The Sofitel Metropole. It cost USD$3.60 for 3 bowls of noodles, a coffee and some juice. We decided not to eat at the hotel since it cost USD$17 per person.

After breakfast, we headed for Hidden Hanoi which is about about 10 minutes away from the hotel. It is quite close to Sofitel Plaza which is in the outskirts of the town area (or where the action is).

Hidden Hanoi is run by 2 girls but the active teacher is An. It offers walking tours, cooking classes, dance classes and language classes. It is housed in a beautiful building.

The kitchen at Hidden Hanoi is both cosy and inviting

Here is An, our instructor for the afternoon

There were only 3 of us in our class so we chose the menu and did everything. Since we all know how to cook, she hardly had to show us how to do anything.

Here I am helping An to make the water spinach salad

We chose the Village Menu which is home cooked food and is not found on the streets or restaurants in Vietnam.

Water Spinach Salad

Claypot Stewed Eggplant with Pork

Ricefield Crab Soup

Tofu with fresh Tomato Sauce

The food was very easy to make and they were all so good. My favourite was the tofu with fresh tomato sauce (simple but delicious!) and claypot stewed eggplant with pork. The flavours of Vietnam are much less intense than Thai food although there are some similarities out there. The fish sauce they use is much milder than the Thai version. The secret to alot of their dishes lie in the use of caramel sauce which is basically liquid gula melaka or caramelised brown sugar.

The lunch we made ourselves

The end of the cooking class and the best part - EATING!

After the class, we checked into Qi Spa which is a Shisedo spa at Hoa Binh Hotel for a 4 hour spa session but it was quite disappointing since the service was quite terrible and the place was very run down. I had been there a few years before and had a very good experience but I guess time changes things. We are on the look out for a better spa so hopefully I can write about it.

In the evening, we went to La Verticale for dinner.

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 1 - Dinner at The Press Club

Bicycles on the street

We decided not to plunge straight into Vietnamese food by eating at The Press Club on the first evening we arrived in Hanoi. It just so happened to the opposite The Sofitel Metropole where we stayed. If you can afford it, stay at this hotel as it is the best in Hanoi. I could only afford it because I was sharing and there would be 3 of us in the room.

The Press Club restaurant is a beautiful old charm of a place. They serve Western cuisine and we decided to go for set menus. I chose the first menu and Jenny chose the second one and Angeline the third one. Their menus were wonderful while mine was clearly the wrong choice. They ran out of the vegetable tart and replaced it with fried potato samosas. The vegetable soup of the day happened to be potato soup. By the time they served the potato croquettes, I was ready to run out of the restaurant. The whole menu turned out to the potatoes and the meal was so heavy you could sink a ship. So there goes my vegetarian menu. Don't order this menu unless you ask them what the vegetable soup of the day (and it better not be potato) and if they run out of food on the menu, ask them not to give you another potato dish!

The girls told me their menus were delicious so I guess the meal was not all lost. In the deli downstairs, they serve casual Western food such as hamburgers, pastas and pizzas. They also have a huge cake selection which is 50% off after a certain time.

Menu for USD$24.50

Mediterranean Tart
with Seasonal Garden Greens and Tomato Basil Salsa

Vegetarian Soup of the Day

Green Asparagus with Fried Eggplant and Potato Cake
Tomato Salsa and Saffron Cream Sauce

Tropical Fresh Fruit Plate with Sorbet


Menu for USD$32.50

House Marinated Tea Smoked Norwegian Salmon Carpaccio
with Capsicum Olive Relish

Mushroom Consommé with Fried Chinese Dim Sum
Flavoured Port Wine Essence

Sauteed Australian Lamb Loin with Fresh Herbs
Balsamic Essence, Mushroom Polenta and Seasonal Vegetables

Tiramisu Tian with Raspberry Essence
and Passion Fruit Ice Cream

Menu for USD$36.50

Chilled Seafood Tartar Flavoured with Ciroc Vodka
Served with Toasted French Bread

Orange Ginger Pumpkin Soup
with Toasted Almonds

Fillet of Australian Beef Tenderloin with Prociutto
Breaded Potato Gallette and Carbernet Sauvignon Sauce

Cherry Chocolate Mousse with Mango Coulis
And Stracciatella Ice Cream

Lynette

Grand adventure to Hanoi - Day 0

It was not a good start to Hanoi. The following things happened:

1. Amedeo (my cat) peed inside my luggage when I was trying to pack last night.

2. This morning, I forgot which air line I was taking and hence which terminal to go to but I still got there on time.

3. I spilled food all over my clothes at breakfast at the airport.

4. Jenny left her passport at home and had to send someone to go and pick it up 45 minutes before the flight took off.

5. The airline offloaded our luggage because Angeline and I got to the gate 5 minutes before the flight took off. Jenny was still waiting for her passport to arrive.

Hence, we did not fly to Hanoi today. We are leaving tomorrow instead. Luckily everyone was accomodating and we managed to change our hotel, dinner and walking tour reservations to another day. We managed to push back our trip by 1 day.

So here I am at home working away. I am kinda glad in a way because I am so tired I needed today to sleep and rest before tomorrow.

So stay tuned for Day 1 (hopefully with no issues this time as we are taking the same flight one day later!).

Lynette

Our new white board

We installed our new white board yesterday so now the chefs can write messages and instructions for our participants. Cool huh?

This sign is for a corporate team bonding class we are doing with Google by Chef Philippe Nouzillat tomorrow

Lynette

A lovely menu at The Cliff

Whenever I think of really elegant, amazing seafood, I always think of The Cliff. We don't go there very often but when we do, we are hardly ever disappointed. We went a few days ago because we were searching for a really great meal. The menu has changed since my last visit which was more than a year ago.

We had a really really amazing meal which consisted of:

Fresh Oysters ($about 7 to 13 a piece)

Tasting of Tuna $27
Tartare with truffle sabayon, basil infused and seared with sweet corn flan

Char Grilled Monkfish $68
Picholine olive paste, shaved fennel, bouillabaisse sauce and orange dust

Sauteed "Bar de Linge" $56
Atlantic sea bass with artichokes, wild mushrooms and dried olive sabayon

A Tasting of Phillibon Melon $16
Frozen melon souffle, melon and peppercorn soup, natural

Warm Pear Tart $16
Chilled armagnac sabayon, pear jelly with kaffir infused yoghurt

The meal as you can see is not a cheap one at all but when you have been to The Cliff, you will definately pay up because it's so good. We spent about $300 for the both of us that evening with only 1 glass of wine.

Lynette

Tarot card reading.. do you believe it?

On my Facebook account this afternoon, my Daily Tarot reading said this:

The World

The World represents the completion of a cycle and the attainment of inner peace and contentment. It is time to celebrate all that you have accomplished and bask in your successes. You have achieved a heightened sense of self awareness and a new appreciation for your surroundings. While this card doesn't rule out discomfort in your life, it does indicate that many of your trials and tribulations will soon be overcome. Everything is finally starting to come together!

So I should be happy! The reality is that I am stressed out right now and far from inner peace. This is because I have been glued to my seat for about 12 hours writing proposals and answering never ending e-mails.

I am however, looking forward to visiting Hanoi on Thursday and meeting Chef Didier Corlou at La Verticale - if only I could turn off my phone and throw my computer away for those 5 days.

Lynette

New ovens

Here is a shot of our new ovens. The top left is a steam oven. The top right is a combi oven/microwave and the two bottom ones are ovens. They are all so easy to use and the chefs love it.


Lynette

Pizza making for youths

Today, we conducted a pizza making class for youths and their sponsor Goldman Sachs. We had 12 youths and 15 volunteers from Goldman Sachs this morning. They made their dough and then decorated their pizza with tomato sauce and toppings before baking it.

Everyone including the chefs had lots of fun. We have been eating pizzas all morning!

Lynette

Western Techniques skills for Domestic Helpers

6 Modules of Maids Basic Skills -Western Techniques with Chef Philippe Nouzillat, Executive Chef, Brasserie Wolf

If you love to host dinner parties at home or dine in without spending heaps at a restaurant, then we just might have the perfect solution for you!

Enrol your maid in our comprehensive Basic Skills – Western Techniques workshops and we will help to improve on her culinary skills and knowledge in preparing western cuisine.

She will be able to impress your guests in just 3 weeks!

Tue 3 June Module 1 – Knife skills, making stock

Fri 6 June Module 2 – Meat braising techniques (chicken and beef) with accompanying sauces

Wed 11 June Module 3 – Party entertainment – hot and cold canapés

Friday 13 June Module 4 – Formal entertainment – making an effortless 3 course meal

Tuesday 17 June Module 5 – Introduction to simple fail proof desserts

Friday 20 June Module 6 – Feeding children – kids meals and kids lunches



We are almost finished but the next set of modules will start in August. Check out our website for class details.

Lynette

Visit to Senso Restaurant & Bar at Club Street

I had 2 degustation menus in the past 2 days. Last night, we went to visit Chef Gabriele at Senso and he cooked us this enormous degustation menu that could have fed 2 people per dish.

We had:

Sturgeon carpaccio with rucola salad sprinkled with roe

Lobster spaghetti served in a tomato based sauce

Rabbit rigatoni served in a tomato based sauce

Rack of lamb served with potatoes and asparagus

Tiramisu

I had to roll myself home because it was that good but filling! I could barely get through my lamb. A beautiful restaurant, we sat in the al fresco court yard sipping Prosecco and wines throughout the evening while Chef Gabriele served us personally. What service heh!

The next cooking class with Senso is on Saturday August 16th since he will be on summer holidays before then. We will be doing a Sicilian menu inspired by the movie The Godfather so do join us!

Lynette

Degustation Menu at Wood Restaurant

Oh boy! I'm fat fat fat!

I went to Wood on Thursday evening with some girlfriends after watching Sex and The City. We were the last table to be seated and we decided to choose the Degustation Menu since we were already late at 9.30pm and the kitchen closes at 10pm.

Usually degustation menus come in small portions but this one got progressively larger and larger until I was totally stuffed by the time the main course came along! I ordered:

Warm wood smoked scallops with leek puree and salted black beans

Spinach salad, chinese sausage, quail egg in oriental sauce

Smoked chicken consomme with black truffle

Pacific black cod in saffron sauce

Cardamom coffee 12 hours smoked Wagyu beef brisket

Lychee granita

This is my second time at Wood. The food had a distinct woody smell which is the whole point of this restaurant. I thought they served too much food because the cod and beef were almost normal sized portions. The food is beautifully put together and presented and tasted wonderful. We all enjoyed ourselves tremendously and the food was pretty good so do duck down next time you are in Vivocity or make a special trip down there anyway!

Lynette

Chocolate Making Class

I'm a little behind in my blog posts! It's either I do them all at once or none at all! Last Sunday, we held our regular and extremely popular chocolate making class. They made orange flavoured bon bons, chocolate truffle and Nama chocolate.

The chef showing us how it's done

Pipping the chocolate to make the truffle

Getting their hands dirty rolling the truffles

Nama chocolate in individual small boxes

Unfinished bon bons

Coating the bon bons

If you love chocolate but missed out on this class, we will run it again very soon. Check out our schedule on the website.

Lynette

Private dinner with Mexican Chef Paulina Barona

Last weekend, we held a private dinner for one of our client's birthday for 12 people. They had a short cooking class followed by a Mexican dinner cooked by our Mexican chef Paulina Barona.

Here is Paulina with the Mexican Flan

The menu was:

Magherita

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Tortilla soup

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Quesadillas of Zucchini flower

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Chile Relleno de queso

(Chile stuffed with cheese served with red Mexican rice)

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Chicken Mixiote

(Chicken wrapped in paper with bay leaves and achiote)

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Home Style Mexican Vanilla Flan

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Mexican Cheese & Quince Paste

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Our dining room set for 12 people

Our little cosy corner in our dining room

If you are interested in holding a party at Palate Sensations, do contact us! We can custom tailor everything for you including the cuisine!

Lynette

Siem Reap - The Cuisine

The courtyard of Hotel de la Paix where we had breakfast every morning

We didn't attempt any street food because I find that as I get older, I get sick easily and I didn't want to take any chances since I had to hit the ground running when I returned to Singapore. Actually, I went straight to the studio from the airport on Sunday as we had a private event at the studio that evening.

It was all very crazy since some of the renovations happened while I was away and it was not completed the way I wanted it to. Luckily I was able to call the contractor and the gas man to come back and they fixed everything in the 1.5 hour gap we had before the client arrived. I shall talk about the studio renovation in another posting.

So, back to the food. We only ate at 3 restaurants. One was Meric at Hotel de la Paix which served modern fusion cuisine, AHA, a sister tapas bar owned by Hotel de la Paix and Restaurant Le Grand at Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor. All three restaurants were really world class.

Siem Reap is now a very popular tourist destination. As such, many 5 star hotels have been popping up all over the place. We chose to stay in a city hotel even though we didn't really walk anywhere or visit any of the pubs or eating houses or go shopping outside of the hotel. We were strictly 5 star tourists this time round. Hotel de la Paix is a beautiful hotel with fantastic food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It serves Khymer cuisine as a set menu for dinner.

For breakfast, we had wonderful fresh fruit, fantastic bread and great a la carte main courses such as waffles, sausages, eggs and smoked salmon bagels.

For lunch, we ate innovative dishes such as Middle Eastern beef schnitzel with coleslaw and prawn and pomelo salad with toasted coconut.

For dinner, we ate delicious lip smacking dishes such as prawn and endive salad with lime, chili, green mango and toasted coconut salad, and baked New Zealand salmon with roasted fennel sauce and salad, finished with gnocchi.

AHA is a tapas bar situated near Pub Street. It's really ultra chic in there and they serve Khmer tapas dishes. It's a great place to drink beer and wine while munching on tapas but we went for dinner and most of the food is fried so I enjoyed it less than Meric. I must say that the food was still very very good but I guess we should not have gone for dinner.

Restaurant Le Grand is really impressive. It's really old world, silver service and first class all the way! We treated ourselves to this restaurant on the evening before we left. We decided to order Khmer cuisine and we were not disappointed. Khmer cuisine is similar to Vietnamese and Thai without the heat. During the glory days, the Khmer empire actually encompassed Vietnam and most of South East Asia hence the influence in the cuisine across boundaries. We ate:

Nhoam Troyong Chek
Banana blossom salad with grilled prawns and smoked fish

Nhoam Prokit
Water lily shoot salad with chicken and fried tofu

Sach Ko Loc Lak
Stir fried beef tenderloin in kampot pepper, crispy root vegetables

Char Trakoun
Stir fried morning glory with garlic and bird's eye chili

Amok Trey
Minced steamed fish in mild spices and local hers served in young coconut shell.

The meal cost USD$117 which is the most expensive meal we had while we were there. The same would probably cost a fraction of the price outside on the streets but nothing beats the atmosphere and the service at the grand dame. It's not every day we get a chance to visit this place as well.

If you are after some really great food and don't mind spending the money, then go to these places. Otherwise there are alot of cheap food on Pub Street and the surrounding streets. I just didn't want to risk it just in case I got seriously sick and I can't afford to be at this time.

Now it's back to the crunch and I'm looking forward to Hanoi in June. Boy I really can't get my weight under control with so much indulgence!

Lynette

Siem Reap - Angkor National Museum

I've decided not to write about the temples since it's been covered so much by so many sources out there. Let's just say we did all the touristy things and went to all the main temples such as Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Preah Khan, Banteay Kdei and Ta Prohm (made famous by Angelina Jolie in the movie Tomb Raider).

Unlike most people, we never made it for any sunrise because he couldn't get up and he didn't see what the big deal was. As we went in the rainy season, it was often cloudy early in the evening so any attempt at seeing any sunsets were diminished. We took it easy on most days. We covered most of the major temples and then zipped back to the pool at Hotel de la Paix where we stayed.

The one place I strongly recommend you don't gloss over is The Angkor National Museum. It was opened fairly recently and is a great starting point for your Angkor Wat exploration. Many tourists, like us, armed with our guide books head straight for Angkor Wat but if you take some time out and go to visit the museum on the first day, it actually explains alot of history and puts alot of things into perspective so that when you start running around the temples, you can actually understand what it's all about. The day we went, the place was virtually deserted. The museum is very peaceful and beautifully put together. All the galleries go in a natural flow. You start off with the Briefing Gallery, then you proceed to the gallery with 1000 Buddha images, then the Khmer civilisation, the religion and beliefs, the kings, Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, the stones and the costumes.

We wished we had discovered the museum on the first day because we really enjoyed ourselves. It only takes about 1 to 1.5 hours to go through the whole museum. It costs USD$12 per person and it is open from 9am to 8pm every day.

Lynette

Siem Reap - Dr Beat Richner

Although the food and temples were awesome, the most memorable and touching part of my trip to Siem Reap happened on the night before we left. Everyone talked about the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital when we were there. We didn't really understand what the big deal was. We were given leaflets at the temple check points on a daily basis and even Sorn couldn't stop talking about it. He kept telling us we had to attend the cello concert given by Dr Beat Richner. We thought this guy was a celebrity or someone was trying to pull a fast one over the tourists. Anyway, after a quick check on the internet, this is what we found:

Beat Richner was born in Zurich on 13 March 1947. After receiving his medical degree in 1973 he specialised in paediatrics at the Zurich Children's Hospital. In 1974/75 he was sent through the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) to Cambodia to work at the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital. His mission came to an abrupt end when the Khmer Rouge invaded the country. Dr. Richner was forced to return to Switzerland where he took up his former work at the Zurich Children's Hospital. In 1980 he opened his own practice in Zurich, which he shared with a fellow practitioner.

Whilst pursuing his medical career Beat Richner developed the character of BEATOCELLO, an artistic role which he would slip into from time to time and which might best be described as that of a poetic and musical comedian or clown. He has given countless performances, mostly in the German-speaking part of Switzerland but also abroad. Beat Richner has also published a number of books with simple line-drawings -mostly children's book- to accompany his programs and his musical poetic stories.

Kantha Bopha I, the first hospial

In December 1991 Dr. Richner was asked by the Cambodian government to rebuild and manage the Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital which was destroyed during the war; once again, his life took a sudden turn as he accepted the job. In March 1992 he created a foundation in Zurich, moved to Phnom Penh and began with the actual reconstruction work. On 2 November 1992 Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital was back in operation. Over the following years the hospital was progressively extended and modified to meet the most urgent needs.

Kantha Bopha II, the second hospial

1995 the hospital Kantha Bopha I became overcrowded with more than 1'000 outpatients every day and over 350 Hospitalisations, the king Norodom Sihanouk offered a land in his Royal Palast in Phnom Penh to build a new hospital. On 12 October 1996 the second Children's Hospital was inaugurated in the presence of Cambodia's king Norodom Sihanouk and Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, president of the Federal Council of Switzerland.

Jayavarman VII, the third hospital

On March 9th 1998 a terrain was given by Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, initiated by H.E. Cham Prasidh, Minister of Commerce, in Siemreap near the temple of Angkor to build a third children's hospital. Jayavarman VII Dr. Beat Richner's third children's Hospital in Siemreap, annexe of Kantha Bopha I & II, was open on March 31th 1999. As well as in Kantha Bopha I & II all is free of charge for all Children. There is a big prevention and Health Education Center, a big Outpatient station and facilities for the hospitalizations and the adequate medical treatments of very sick children having to be hospitalized in order to be saved. The conception of the new Hospital is the result of the staff's 7 years experience in Kantha Bopha Children's Hospital in Phnom Penh. It could be a global model how to build and organize a Hospital facing similar conditions.

Maternity ward for HIV positive mothers

At the inauguration of the Jayavarman VII Children's Hospital, in Siem Reap, Samdech Hun Sen, prime minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, announced in the presence of King Norodom Sihanouk that the government would give additional land for the hospital. (More about it) Thanks to several specific private donations, Beat Richner was able to build and complete a maternity ward for HIV positive mothers adjacent to the hospital "Jayavarman VII" in Siem Reap Ankor. The inauguration took place on October 9, 2001, and the new ward is now in operation.

in March 2005 an Hospital's extension at the Kantha Bopha III (or Jayavarman VII ) was opened with 350 additional beds.

Kantha Bopha IV

In 2004 the hospital Kantha Bopha I in Phnom Penh was too small and two of its three buildings where in a very bad and dangerous condition. Without a new construction Kantha Bopha I could not function any longer. The construction of a new hospital started on August 3rd 2004 after having bought a land giving on the Wat Phnom. The new Children's Hospital Kantha Bopha IV was inaugurated on December 29th 2005.

Kantha Bopha V, The latest Hospital in Phnom Penh (2007). Soon after the inauguration of Kantha Bopha IV, the hospital was overcrowded and in 2006 the amount of hospitalized patients in Phnom Penh had increased by 50%. We decided to build the Kantha Bopha V which was inaugurated on december 28th 2007 presided over by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and in participation of Samdech Hun Sen and the high ranking members of the royal government of Cambodia. The new Kantha Bopha V has a prevention station, x Ray, Fluoroscopy, Ultrasound, Laboratories and 9 units with 34 beds(About 300 beds). in addition to this we have a conference room and a medical library. The costs were 9 Million USD.

Kantha Bopha has become a highly respected model for the entire Southeast Asian region of just how efficient direct medical and humanitarian aid -i.e., correct medication unhampered by corruption combined with targeted long-term training - can be in the areas of curative and preventive medicine as well as in research. Most of the hospitalís funds come from private individuals in Switzerland who make spontaneous donations for Kantha Bopha, very often straight after one of BEATOCELLO's performances.

In 15 years the Kantha Bopha Hospital treated 7,5 Million outpatients, 650'000 inpatients and did 90'000 surgical operations

500'000 children would had not survive without this hospitals.

We attended his Beatocello concert which is on every Saturday evening at 7.15pm. He usually picks up his cello and plays for about an hour and then he asks for the older people to donate money, for the younger people to donate blood and for those in between, to donate both. Through his weekly concerts, he raises about USD$5M a year.

The evening that we went to the concert, he only played for about 5 minutes since the weather was quite humid and he wanted to preserve his cello which was from Italy. He also said that it's not peak season so there were less tourists. Instead, he showed us a documentary they made about him and the hospitals which was just fresh off the shelf. He watched it together with the audience for the first time.

I was very touched by his dedication and his generosity towards the Cambodian children. With so much stress and worry, government corruption and people who generally don't care because they are just intent on pursuing their personal goals and have their own agendas, here is one man who dedicated his whole life to saving the lives of Cambodian children. He is constantly lobbying the government and through all his frustration, he says that the one thing that stays true to him is his cello.

Although my life is nothing like his and my hardship and worries are only a tiny miniscule insignifiant percentage of his daily frustrations and pain, I do understand where he is coming from. It is important to have an outlet so that you can keep going. For me, it's my cats. If I didn't have them to come home to, I don't think I could be here today.

I felt very humbled in his presence and I couldn't help but shed a few tears. I too want to find some meaning in my life. I think that's what keeps us going doesn't it? Being there that evening reminded me that each of us can make a difference in the world, no matter how small so be generous and give, reach out. I told myself the next time I get angry and frustrated something is not working out my way, there is someone else out there who is much worse off than me so I should just shut up and be happy.

If you go to Siem Reap, please do go to Beatocello which is on every Saturday evening at 7.15pm. Everyone knows where it is so all you have to do is ask or they will tell you before you even ask. Make sure you give what you can if you can.

Lynette

Siem Reap - The Driver

Sorn was recommended to us by friends who had met him on their trip to Siem Reap a few weeks back. He's the first generation to be born after the civil war in the 1970's. His parents survived the war but when we ask him about it, he says his dad never talks about it and he has no memories of the killing fields or what happened in the past. I think the new generation is only interested in looking forward and trying to enjoy their lives as much as possible.

He is a very polite driver and always on time. He will take us wherever we want to go and wait patiently until we finish to pick us up again and take us somewhere else. He doesn't know much about the ruins and quite frankly, he's not all that interested either as the most important thing for him is to pick up tourists so that he can earn enough money to feed his family. He is 26 years old and he already has 2 children. His wife doesn't work and she doesn't have much education either so she can't work in the hospitality industry which is their best bet to get above the poverty line. He speaks English well enough but he's not able to spend more time studying as he's the only bread winner.

We really liked him and we saw so much poverty in Siem Reap that I want to do my bit to help people like him. We paid him USD$20 a day and even when we did not use him for the whole day, we paid him the same price. On the last day, we paid him USD$20 to take us to the airport by tuk tuk. A taxi ride in an air conditioned car would have cost USD$5.

This guy is very enterprising and needs work so if you are going to Siem Reap, do give him a call.

His name is Sorn and his mobile number is 012 294 402 when you dial within Siem Reap.

Lynette