As much as I love traveling, staying in hotels night after night gets tiresome quickly. It’s around this time that I crave the comforts of home: like knowing how to turn off the lights, having a dock for my iPhone, and waking up in a bed that doesn’t make my back hurt.

This last trip to Singapore, was no exception. The Singapore Tourism Board flew me out to check out the booming food scene in the city-state. While the itinerary was full of fantastic sights and delicious food, the hotel they put me up in left a bit to be desired. I decided to tack on a few extra days to the trip to visit friends, and switched hotels to the Fullerton Bay Hotel.

I chose the Fullerton Bay because I’d heard that the Andre Fu designed interior was a real looker. It turns out that I was well advised as from the moment you walk through the doors to the historic Clifford Pier to the moment you arrive in your room, you’re surrounded by an alluring luxury that’s not understated but not gaudy either.

What I didn’t expect is that the rooms themselves are truly exceptional, not just to look at, but to sleep in as well. Every detail from the location of light switches, to slippers that actually fit my feet, to a Nespresso machine with decaf options was well thought out and flawlessly executed.

It’s the kind of place where you feel at home from the moment you walk in the door; except someone comes to clean your room everyday, a call to the front desk gets all your needs met, and a balcony in every room gives you a million dollar view of Marina Bay Sands.

Click the photo to view the full size panorama

In a country where service comes with a smile, the management at Fullerton has taken the care to up the ante by hiring people who genuinely want to be helpful, not because they have to be. Did the staff go the extra mile because they knew a judgmental journalist was staying with them? Probably, but you’d be surprised at how many hotels fail miserably even when forewarned.

On the roof is a gorgeous infinity pool that ends at a clear acrylic wall overlooking Marina Bay. While it makes for a great view from the pool it’s even cooler to sit at the adjoining bar and watch people swim (not that I would do anything so creepy).

Located on Collyer Quay, across from the old Fullerton Hotel, the Fullerton Bay is a short walk from the Raffles Place subway stop and while there isn’t a ton to do in the area, it’s central location makes it a short taxi ride to just about anything you’d want to get to in the city.

My only gripe with Fullerton Bay Hotel wasn’t really related to my stay. It was their unfortunate restaurant called Clifford. Named after the historic pier the hotel is adjoined to, the restaurant does mundane French bistro fare poorly.

There are plenty of hotel restaurants serving mediocre food, but the real travesty here is that the restaurant is gorgeous. With towering ceilings, subtle colonial touches and floor to ceiling glass, it’s one of the prettiest restaurants I’ve seen. It’s the kind of place where you sit down and want to love everything about it, but as course after tragic course came out, I was continually disappointed by the food.

Red Lantern, the rooftop bar at the Fullerton Bay Hotel on the other hand is fantastic. You may not be as high up as the acrophobia inducing KU DÉ TA on top of Marina Bay Sands, but it’s comfortably nestled in the middle of the action with jaw dropping panoramic views of Marina Bay Sands, the ArtScience Museum, The Singapore Flyer, and the soaring towers of the financial district.

Every drink I sampled was spot on for the balmy Singapore evening with a pleasant blend of fresh fruit and quality liquor. While they weren’t the high-proof hipster drinks I’ve grown accustomed to in NYC, these refreshing cocktails maintained a pleasant balance between sweet and sour, with just enough alcohol to take you to a happy place without the bitter faces along the way.

I didn’t order a ton of food, but the truffle fries were crisp to the last fry with enough truffle essence to put a smile on your face without punching you in the nose with the earthy fungus. The sliders were probably some of the best I’ve had ANYWHERE. With medium rare Wagyu patties the thickness of the sesame bun, melted cheese dribbling off the beef, and a sweet caramelized onion sauce that tied everything together. The beauty of these sliders is that they didn’t contain anything unnecessary, just high quality ingredients prepared flawlessly. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel I’d recommend making a reservation and heading to Red Lantern for pre-dinner drinks and a snack.

When you take into account the aesthetic, comfort, service and price, the Fullerton Bay Hotel is one of the best hotels I’ve stayed at in recent memory. It’s not that my my room was incredibly large or gratuitously opulent. It’s the comfortable feeling that I’m in a better version of home that will keep me going back to the Fullerton Bay Hotel whenever I’m in Singapore.

Fullerton Bay Hotel
80 Collyer Quay, Singapore 049326
Phone: +65 6333 8388 ‎
Book a Room

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Full disclosure: The Fullerton Bay Hotel comped my stay at the hotel. While I strive to provide you with honest, unfiltered opinions on this site, the federal government requires that I disclose this relationship with you.

We’d just gotten through an 8 course seafood dinner that included a whole chicken and whole crab when my friend Russel declared “I’m gonna take you to meet my Italian family man!” To understand the irony of this statement you should know that Russel, is literally a rockstar photographer who’s shot the likes of Michael Jackson, Naomi Campbell, and Jackie Chan; he’s also Singaporean.

We pull up to Ristorante Da Valentino, an unassuming storefront in a quiet residential neighborhood. If it weren’t for the Maseratis, Benzs, and a Rolls Royce parked outside, you’d have no idea the place was even open. By the looks of it, they were having a busy night. With my gut painfully bulging over my snug seatbelt, a small part of me was hoping Russel would decide it was too crowded and leave.

My hopes were dashed when he zoomed up the narrow cul de sac and parked in a spot that I could only assume was a parking ticket in the making. As we walked into the restaurant, Russel pointed out all the F1 photos on the wall he’d taken as well as one of F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone dining in the restaurant. I was mulling over all the celebrities that had eaten there when Papa Gianni strode towards Russel as though he was welcoming home a long lost son. “I have a table for you” he said with a Singaporean tinged Italian accent.

We were whisked over 2 doors, past sister Perla’s Pastry shop, and into the private dining room. Once seated a platter of salumi materialized on the table. I was so full I couldn’t imagine cramming anything else into my stomach, and yet there in front of me was a gorgeous carving board covered in shiny, paper thin cuts of cured meat. How could I refuse?!

The next thing I know chef Valentino is out asking us what kind of pizza we want. “è piccolo, it’s small!” he says, gesturing with his thumbs and forefingers. Unsurprisingly a full sized pizza emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later. Thin crust with delicate bubbles charred ever so slightly on top. A smattering of fresh tomato sauce, a thin web of cheese and thick slices of salame piccante topped this pizza.

The crust was crisp all the way to the center, and yet there was just enough dough above the crisp layer to remind you that this was a pizza and not a cracker. The tomato sauce was pleasantly sweet and tangy and tasted of fresh tomatoes. There was just enough cheese to bind the toppings to the dough, but not enough to be greasy or overwhelming. And the salame piccante was savory and spicy hitting all the right places in my mouth. I managed to cram down two slices, but had I been more hungry I could have easily finished the whole pie.

Just as I was wondering if it would be possible to fit another slice of pizza in my stomach, a white plate with little cream colored cylinders about the size of macaroni covered in a creamy white sauce showed up. The waiter announced that it was gorgonzola gnocchi before bending over to set it down. Before the plate hit the table, Russel’s wife Judy jumped in, wondering if it was for another table. I breathed a shallow sigh of relief, but part of me wanted to have just one bite.

At this point, I wasn’t too shocked when the waiter came back and casually placed the plate on the table, right in front of me. What did surprise me was how mild the aroma was as it wafted up to my nose. It was seductive. My hand instinctively reached for my fork and before I knew it there was a piece of gnocchi in my mouth. Each morsel was tender and yet they had just enough bite to remind you that they aren’t just mashed potatoes. The cheese was surprisingly mellow but had a deep nutty flavor that made it almost impossible to stop eating. It wasn’t long before the plate was cleaned.

I later learned from the chef that he’d perfected a technique to include much less flour than most gnocchi recipes. This made the dough difficult to work with, but made for a pillowy soft gnocchi with a heavenly texture.

Three desserts followed, a Panettone, a Tiramisu, and a mystery Panna Cotta. The Panettone, and Tiramisu were both delicious, each with a special twist that set them apart from the usual, but it was the Panna Cotta that really captivated me. When the pastry chef, Valentino’s sister Perla, brought out the Panna Cotta, she had a coy smile on her face asking us if we could figure out what flavor it was. It looked like a jiggly pyramid with its top cut off and had a thin purplish grey layer on top.

Curiosity piqued, I scraped the edge of my spoon along the top to remove just a bit of the grey gel. I didn’t get my spoon half way to my nose when the pungent aroma of white truffles smacked my olfactory senses. You see, Perla had just flown back from Alba that morning, with a fresh stash of gorgeous white truffles. Each about the size of of a large walnut with a crust of damp earth still clinging to each knobby tuber.

The panna cotta was divine. Decadent and creamy, without being cloying or overwhelming. The white truffle was assertive without having the strong gasoline-like odor that fake truffle oils often have. It was the perfect dessert to finish off a perfect meal. Helped along by a glass of grappa I nearly forgot that this was my second meal of the evening.

I have a rule about avoiding European restaurants in Asia. Most places aren’t good, and even in the rare instances when they are, I can’t help but question the logic of flying all the way to Asia to eat something that I can get at home. But for Ristorante Da Valentino’s I’ll make an exception to that rule. I only hope that I’m more hungry the next time that I go.

Ristorante Da Valentino
11 Jalan Bingka
Singapore 588908
Phone: 6462 0555

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I’m back from Singapore, and let me tell you: if you like to eat, there are few places in the world where so many culinary cultures come together so seamlessly. It’s a true melding pot where the only clashes you’ll see are between two foodies squabbling over who makes the best chicken rice.

Bak Kut Teh, is another hotly contested dish, and with two very different variations it’s easy to see why. Literally translated, Bak Kut Teh means “meat bone tea”, and was a breakfast staple keeping dock workers (locally known as coolies) energized and ready to unload the next boat that came into one of the largest ports in Asia.

The Teochew version of Bak Kut Teh served at Outram Ya Hua has a clear broth and is loaded with black pepper. It’s brimming with umami and has a peppery bite at the end. Because the soup is clear, it’s not heavy or cloying, and you might even go so far as to say it’s light. That said, the fall off the bone tender ribs will erase any inclination you might have of calling this dish healthy. Dip each piece of meat and fat that pulls of the bone in dark soy sauce with red chilies and let it melt in your mouth into a porky orgy of flavor.

There are also the ubiquitous fried dough sticks (kind of like doughnuts) that come with many soups here, which you can use to sop up every last bit of the heavenly broth. If that’s not enough to fill you up, Outram Ya Hua seems to take the name of the soup quite literally and will top up your bowl with steaming hot broth out of a kettle just as surely as they’ll refill your tea.

It’s not going to win any beauty pageants any time soon, but as I learned throughout my time in Singapore, the more homely a dish looks, the better it often tastes, and Bak Kut Teh is no exception.

My other favorite dish here was the braised pork trotters. The collagen in the trotters had melted into a jelly consistency and held together bits of meat. Each tender morsel was saturated with soy sauce and garlic and had hints of spices such as cassia and star anise.

A recurring theme I noticed with Teochew cuisine is that many things are braised. There was the braised salted vegetables, which was like a more flavorful version of the cabbage found in corned beef. The braised peanuts were tender, and they reminded me a bit of beans simmer for hours in soy sauce. The braised fried bean curd is like a sponge that absorbs all the flavors of the dark sweet soy sauce that it was cooked in with just a hint of five spice.

The vegetables were perfectly steamed before being tossed with oyster sauce and oil. That alone wouldn’t set them apart from vegetables served at any other Chinese restaurant around the world, but as with many dishes Singaporeans have managed to make it just a little better. In this case a mound of crispy deep fried shallots on top rounds out the green and savory flavors while adding a crunchy texture.

The sweet lady that owns this place has been running it for 21 years with her family, and with 8 sisters in her family, she won’t be running out of help anytime soon. Here’s a copy of the meny as of November 2011:

Outram Park Ya Hua Rou Gu Char
No.7 Keppel Road
#01-05/07
PSA Tanjong Pagar Complex
7am-3pm, 6pm-4am, closed Mondays

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I’m just about to head out to the airport to fly out to Singapore for a week long food tour. The Singapore Tourism Board was gracious enough to invite me out to check out their booming food scene and I can honestly say I haven’t been this excited about a trip in months!

Google hooked me up with a local cell phone so I’ll be posting all my updates on Google+, as it happens. Add No Recipes to your circle to get the play-by-play of my trip along with all the juicy photos of Bak Kut Teh, Chicken Rice, Laksa, Chili Crab, and so much more. In the mean time, here are a few pics from my trip last year to tide you over until I land:-)

I’m not sure if it was the price or a personal preference, but my parents always seemed to have a bottle of Kendall-Jackson sitting around. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t amazing, just your ordinary table wine. So when Brian Kraemer (the man behind the Kendall-Jackson blog) contacted me about coming out on a press trip I was hesitant to accept at first.

But after doing a bit of research I found out that they have five lines of wine ranging from their Vintner’s Reserve, to their Stature (which sells for $120 a bottle!) I also found out that all their grapes come from “cool coastal” regions of California. Being a fan of wines that come from cooler climates this sounded promising. And so I accepted.

Tonight was the first official night of the trip and we were whisked over to the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center in Santa Rosa. It’s a beautiful property complete with a vegetable garden where a lot of the produce we were about to eat was picked earlier in the day.

Upon arrival, we were seated in what I can only describe as a grand ballroom, with seven glasses of wine in front of us. We were about to be treated to their Wine and Food Pairing. Not some fancy impress-the-food-bloggers meal, or something you need to make a reservation two months in advance to enjoy. This is something anyone can do by showing up and asking for it.

If you read my other blog, you know I love food. The thought of being able to go wine tasting AND nosh on food paired for each wine is irresistible! The sweet tea brined Niman Ranch pork belly which was paired with their 2007 Highland Estates Alisos Hills Syrah was probably the best thing I’ve put in my mouth in the past month. I contemplated begging for the recipe, and then I realized the recipe is online!

Other standouts included the buttermilk panna cotta with stawberry gelee paired with the 2008 Late Harvest Riesling; and how could anyone not love caramel corn paired with a 2007 Late Harvest Chardonnay — pure heaven in a Chinese take-out box.

At this point, I thought dinner was over. Silly me! As it turns out, dinner was to follow outside. We were ushered out the doors onto a patio lit in ocre and crimson hues by the setting sun. Pizza from the wood burning oven, along with roast veggies and tomatoes from their garden was on the menu as were a few more delicious wines.

Somehow I missed out on getting a seat at the table with the meat pizza, so after knocking back a few more glasses of wine, and cramming in a generous helping of tiramisu, I headed over to the pizza oven to see if they’d let me try my hand at making a pizza.

I made this eclectic pizza, by brushing the dough with olive oil, putting down a scattering of mozzarella, layering on maitake mushrooms, artichokes, sausage, and cherry tomatoes, then finishing with chili flakes, salt, and a little more cheese. Since I couldn’t fit in another bite, I ended up taking it back to my room for breakfast tomorrow… But as I write this post at 11:48pm, I’m munching…

So has Kendall-Jackson won over a new fan? There’s still three days left, but stay tuned to find out!

Full disclosure: Kendall-Jackson covered all expenses for this trip. While I strive to provide you with honest, unfiltered opinions on this site, the federal government requires that I disclose this relationship with you.

Whether it’s booking the flight, or planning my itinerary, I like to be spontaneous about my travel plans. Sure, I’ll do some basic research before the trip, but planning out every minute detail is akin to watching all the trailers for the latest Michael Bay flick before heading to the theater, or reading CliffsNotes for Great Expectations before reading the novel.

Today I set out to visit one winery which was recommended to me by some people on Facebook, Siduri Wines & Novy Family Winery. Driving up to the “winery” was like a scene out of Office Space; it’s located in the middle of a corporate park. With only a small sign posted on the door of a beige warehouse, I gave up once and left. Still, the numerous recommendations I’d gotten about this place had me curious enough to give them a call.

As it turns out, the tastings are by appointment only, but they had room to squeeze me in right away. Walking into the sweltering office, I felt a bit like I was visiting my accountant. Did I go in the wrong door? The lady at the front desk (Catherine as I later found out) seemed to sense my unease and flashed a quick smile while she grabbed a wine glass. She led the way through a door into a giant warehouse space full of tanks, bins, and fermenters that was at least 10 degrees cooler and smelled of freshly fermenting grapes. Bingo!

The tasting took me through a flight of Pinot Noirs ranging in appellation from Chehalem to Santa Lucia and just when I started picking which Pinots I wanted (all of them), we moved onto another flight of Syrahs! Now I should first mention that I’ve never had a Syrah that I’ve liked. I tend to put Syrah’s in the same bucket as Cabernet Sauvignons as too dry and too strong. These were full-bodied, loaded with dark fruit flavor, and yet were perfectly drinkable without a blue-rare steak in front of me.

After a tour through the winemaking area, Catherine offered a barrel tasting of a few 2010 Syrahs that won’t be bottled until January. We went back into the barrel storage area with a wine thief and spray bottle of ethyl alcohol in hand. While young, I found these more agreeable than most bottled Syrahs from other wineries–something to look forward to next year!

Back in the tasting room, I was offered a dessert wine to finish things off, but it was only 11:30am and I was already feeling a bit tipsy, so I politely decline. Instead, I got a whole handful of free tasting cards at other wineries in the area along with her personal recommendations on a map of the Sonoma Valley.

As I was headed out from the winery, I spotted Rancho Mendoza supermarket. I can’t pick get things like guajillo chiles and masa harina where I live so I loaded up my basket and headed to the checkout stand. There, I got a recommendation to try out Taqueria Mendoza down the street for lunch from a lady in line who was probably wondering why an Asian dude was buying so many Mexican chiles.

Four tasty meat filled tacos later, I was on my way to check out some of the places Catherine had recommended. My next stop was Lynmar Estate, which I was told had amazing Pinot Noirs. I opted for the $20 Reserve tasting. The wine was good for sure, but for the price, I would have rather gone back to Siduri and bought a few more bottles. They did however have a gorgeous outdoor space complete with a vegetable garden that made sipping each pour a joy.

Last up was Iron Horse. I’ve had some of their Pinot Noirs before and was looking forward to checking out their outdoor tasting room which I’ve been told has amazing views. The $15 reserve bought me a flight of wines unlike any I’ve tasted before. One tasted like pear juice, another like cherry cough drops, and a 1997 sparkling tasted like canned meat. Quirky would probably be the best place to describe this place, but the view certainly didn’t disappoint.

Dinner was at SCOPA in Healdsburg, another recommendation off Facebook. I’d heard the place would be packed, and I couldn’t get through by phone to make a reservation so I showed up around 9pm to find there were still people waiting outside. Luckily they had a bar seat open. I went for a pizza margherita, local boar bolognese, and a buttermilk panna cotta for dessert. Every dish from the brittle pizza to the soft tangy panna cotta was perfectly executed. Simple, fresh food at its best.

2 trains, 1 plane, and 1 car ride later, I’m here in Sonoma, California! The sun is still warm as if clinging to the last days of summer, but the air is charged with a brisk hint of fall.

After an extraordinarily long wait for baggage at SFO, I took the convenient “AirTrain” to pick up my rental car. The cunning lady at the counter managed to sell me on a $7 a day upgrade to an SUV. What she neglected to mention is how much gas this thing drinks. To add insult to injury, there’s a large MPG display often reading in the low single digits to remind you how bad the gas mileage is.

As I headed across the Bay and up to Sonoma, I was met by the familiar sight of fog around the Golden Gate bridge. But about half-way across, I felt like an airplane emerging above the clouds as the fog suddenly thinned, then disappeared. Looking back towards the city, it was as if the Pacific side of the bridge was a giant punchbowl filled with dry ice as the fog poured over the lip of the bridge and into the Bay.

While still uncomfortably warm, the occasional cool breeze is a sign that summer is finally nearing an end here in Tokyo. The arrival of fall in Japan means that the the fish become buttery with fat, pungent Matsutake mushrooms start popping out of the ground, and people head to the hills en masse to see the leaves turn shades of vermillion.

Next week I’m off to Sonoma Valley where I’m going to spend 3 days learning all about winemaking from the team at Kendall-Jackson Winery. It should be a few days of good food and good wine, but I have to say I’m most excited about meeting Ruth Reichl, who’s book Tender at the Bone first inspired me to write about food.

If anyone has suggestions on where to eat, or what wineries I have to stop by, leave me a comment.

Choochin lanterns in resteraunteur haven Kappabashi, Tokyo, Japan Download wallpaper (2560×1704)

Coming and going in Punakha, BhutanDownload wallpaper (2560×1714)