If food were currency, Bottarga would be as good as gold. Bottarga in Italian, Boutargue in French or Karasumi in Japanese, is the roe sac of grey mullet that has been salted, dried, pressed and dipped in beewax for preservation. It ends up looking like a flat-sided wax sausage. When shopping for bottarga look for the […]

Crab is my favorite food group so I get very excited when little soft-shell crabs come in season. Though soft-shells are available as early as April and as late as October, the peak season is now through July. It’s now they crawl out of their muddy hibernation to shed their hard shell and grow a new one. […]

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese style pancake made with chopped cabbage, green onion, batter and various toppings and sauces and like many of the world’s greatest everyday foods it doesn’t sound like much. The truth is: it’s remarkable. I don’t speak Japanese but I read somewhere the word ‘okonomiyaki’ translates into two words: okonomi, which means […]

I’ve been in a Thai food mood lately so when I got my hands on a few langoustines I didn’t think twice about the direction I wanted to take. After a little visit to my favorite Thai market on Mosco street in Chinatown and stocking up on Thai bird chili, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves I […]

I had a dish a few years ago at Pierre Gagnaire’s restaurant in Hong Kong which consisted of a layer of smooth cauliflower mousseline with a jellified beet consommé and thinly sliced marinaded scallop, not only the contrasting colors were visually striking but I still remember vividly the perfect harmony of the dish. It had […]