Last weekend, I traveled 800km, deep into Isaan, to the border city of Nakhon Phanom, to spend 8 hours spread over 2 days, in the kitchen of David Okamoto, founder of David's Soft Cookies.
This is a journey not many people will be interested to take, but for me, it was one of the most exciting trips ever, because not only was I able to share precious time with a good friend, I could also be personally involved in coming up with an all-new cookie flavour in collaboration with the cookie master himself.
More importantly, I got to see for myself how passionate and dedicated David is over his craft, and understood that my faith in him over the years is well-placed.
Stranger in Bangkok doing his part.
I was very excited when David pitched the idea of working on a cookie flavour together. I love conceptualizing new dishes and flavours, even at home while cooking for my family. We eventually settled on coming up with a lemon white chocolate cookie, so here goes....
We need some green lime and yellow lemons of course.
Unfortunately, the local green lime zest tasted too unforgiving, so we could only use the yellow lemon zest.
Blanch multiple times to get rid of the bitterness.
No time to confit multiple times, so once will do for this trial batch.
The way David manipulated the dough, I think he can shape the cookies blindfolded with hands behind his back.
Into the oven!
Voila!
3 versions of the same flavour, all excelling in its own way.
I have always known that baking is a science, but this exercise convinced me that in baking, aside of talent, discipline and precision is everything. A slight tweak in the recipe (even 1 additional egg yolk for a batch of 12 cookies) will give a completely different result.
I was also shocked to note that a traditional chewy soft cookie has almost twice the amount of sugar a normal David's cookie has, though it does not taste doubly sweet at all.
In conclusion, our lemon white chocolate cookie was a major success. Everyone who tried it (albeit a small sample size) had good things to say. Then again, some fine-tuning is required, to further enhance the flavour profile as well as the outlook of the cookie.
Release the lemon cookie please?
I do not know whether David will eventually release the cookie. I only know that when he does (if he does), I will be a really really proud man, and do make sure you readers support me by ordering and telling me how you like it!
Michelle is the 7th chef in my "Follow the Chef" series. Somehow, this edition feels different. It pulls many more heartstrings.
Firstly, in my 10 years in Bangkok, I've only known 1 other Kuching native who works and lives here, that's Michelle. It's a miracle simply to find her in this crowded city, let alone realize what a talent she is. Secondly, she's 24, a whopping 13 years younger than me. I watch her capabilities in amazement sometimes. What was I even doing when I was 24?
Michelle Goh: The feisty pastry chef from Kuching.
Before I digress too much, let's move the focus back to Michelle, to her time in our native Kuching (in Sarawak, East Malaysia), the endearing little city with less than a million inhabitants, where she grew up as an opinionated lady who always felt oppressed in a traditional all-girl's Catholic school. By the age of 15, she was making and selling out 700 cupcakes a day. She quickly knew where her interests lay, and by the age of 18, became the youngest student of her time at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Sydney, winning awards for best academic studies on her way to both cuisine and pastry certificates.
She subsequently trained at Shangri-la Sydney under Anna Polyviou, at the 3-hatted Rockpool, now known as Eleven Bridge under Neil Perry (one of the only Australian chefs I know), at Pollen in Singapore under Jason Atherton, before embarking on her Bangkok adventure.
Michelle exuding a different air (of icy-cool calm encasing a ball of fire) while working.
Michelle joined Suhring as pastry chef exactly a year before they got their first Michelin star. By the time Suhring got their second star just last month, Michelle was already running the pastry team and creating new recipes for the menu. One of my major gripes with the fine dining scene in Bangkok is that desserts mostly feel like an after-thought by the chefs, which irritates me to no end. Suhring though, was one of the places which never failed to impress with their sweet courses, a testament to Michelle's capabilities.
I would hereby like to thank Uncle Peter and Auntie Nancy, for seeing the spark in Michelle and making a decision that me, as a father, might not have had the courage to make. For supporting her in her pursuit of a future that cannot be considered 'promising' in our conservative traditions. For allowing her the possibility to put Kuching on the culinary map in the near future. For giving me a sense of pride, to be waving the Kuching flag in Bangkok.
As for Michelle, her stint at Suhring has just ended.
What next?
I guess we will have to Follow the Chef to find out.
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"Follow the Chef" is a new blog series where I sit down face to face with chefs and help them tell you what they want to say, in their perspective. My inspiration for this series stems from the fast-changing dining landscape in Bangkok, which is both exciting yet confusing for consumers like us. Do we follow the restaurants, or follow the chefs? I hope I can help you make a better decision.
It's interesting how a restaurant can be remembered internationally for 1 dish.
That's what's been happening at Karmakamet Diner. They have their regulars of course, but when I ask my friends, "the nice place with the cotton candy" is the usual reply. Having dined at both Karmakamet Diner and Karmakamet Conveyance (their new fine-dining concept restaurant) recently, even if I don't love all the dishes, I feel that the depth of thought Chef Jutamas Theantae (Som) puts into every dish is often neglected at the back of the wildly-popular cotton candy dessert.
It doesn't take rocket science to figure out that most only order it for photo-taking purposes, and who can blame them?
Even I succumbed.
Did anyone sit down and gave it a thought, to whether there was any meaning behind the cotton candy dessert aside of creating a signature must-order "gimmick"?
I did. I asked Chef Som, and turned out it wasn't that much of a gimmick after all.
Chef Som recalled her days studying overseas, and how sad she was leaving Thailand at the end of every visit back home. But whenever she looked out of the window during her flight, and saw the colourful clouds in the sky, she was happy, thus the inspiration to recreate that particular memory with this famous dessert.
#thekawayiis really loved their "Banana Split in the Clouds".
I can't help but feel a little disheartened for her, that all this thought behind her "Strawberry/Banana Split in the Clouds" is usually brushed off as a shallow Instagram icon. But Chef Som explained to me that she has long gotten over that initial disappointment, because she realised that the end-product of bringing happiness has been achieved regardless. She sees the surprise, glee, excitement and even ecstasy from customers whenever a cotton candy dessert is placed on the table, and that, is enough.
Happy girl.
I looked back at the moment my "Banana Split in the Clouds" was served, and recalled gasps of pleasant surprise by customers from both tables flanking mine (total strangers), and the joy my kids had munching into the cotton candy.
It's hard to book: started with only 1 table in the beginning and still only serves a maximum of 4 tables per meal (the same as 2011). If you thought Gaggan was tough, this was tougher, and is still as tough on most weekends.
Our tables, the only 2 tables of the night, specially on Monday night as it would be impossible to secure a weekend.
It's hard to find: Most of my friends who visited for the first time struggled to locate it. I am not ready to tell you exactly where it is, because turning around in circles and waddling through the same damp dark alley makes the whole experience all the more unforgettable.
This is the biggest clue I am willing to give you.
It's interesting how now we are bringing 2 little kids to this dodgy alley with us.
It's a pure Omakase experience: You eat what Jok cooks. He buys the stuff that catches his eyes the same day/day before and the most you can do is to state your preference on the cooking style, though I don't even recommend you control what he does. Giving him complete freedom to wave his wand over the food completes the experience.
I didn't plan to revisit Jok's Kitchen. It was out of my mind for years. Thanks to Retty Thailand, who never fails to dig out the most obscure of dining locations for the local foodie community, I had to chance to go back (this time with my family, we have multiplied in numbers) without lifting a finger.
So, the food:
First starter, fried gingko nuts. Salty, sweet, succulent. Best with beer.
One of my favourites, who knew pairing pickled mustard green with fresh chilli padi would be such a delight?
The Jok's Kitchen staple, shrimp dumpling with an insane about of fried garlic, still just as good.
Deep-fried cod with fish sauce. Evokes childhood memories, a couple of my companions said. Must be good!
My favourite dish 7 years ago and still is, large shrimp just scalded with salt, only 1 per shrimp per head.
Thai curry crab, only peeled pincers served. You will leave with your hands clean.
The only vegetable dish, I didn't eat enough of it to give a verdict.
Another staple, claypot yellow noodle with gooseweb, with equal ratio of coriander to noodle!
Still the similar fried rice to 7 years ago, but this time served in a peculiar way, with lotus paste salapaos.
The ultimate dish of the night, grouper and plum soup. Top quality fish in a fruity savoury broth, 10/10.
Deep-fried yam dessert that many regulars love. It was just ok for me.
If you are wondering whether Jok's Kitchen has remained consistent for 7 years, wonder no more. In my years of eating in Bangkok, Jok's Kitchen is clearly one of the most demanding in terms of ingredient selection and most stringent in terms of rules for their guests. There is just 1 cook, 7 more years of practice will only have strengthened his skills further.
Not every dish was a win for me, but I have grown to appreciate Jok's Kitchen as it is, and my 2nd visit gave me arguably more satisfaction than my first. Don't miss it if you ever get offered the chance to visit!
PS. This meal cost us 1,000THB per head for food and hot tea.
Given the frequency of me cooking at home and the glut of cooking schools in Bangkok (even Le Cordon Bleu has a campus here), one might think I am a serial attendee of cooking classes. In all honesty, I am just someone who loves reading recipe books and watches nothing online except for football and food-related videos. Attending classes isn't really my thing.
Doing something serious here.
Half a pig prepared for the butchering demonstration.
However, my obsession with obtaining the best ingredients is real, which led me to Sloane's a few years ago, not so much for their sausages, but for their fresh pork. Therefore, when the possibility of attending a Sloane's Masterclass at Jamie's Italian popped, I pounced. A combination of meeting Joe Sloane strutting his stuff himself, at Jamie's Italian (Jamie Oliver is the single most important person who convinced me that cooking can be very simple), felt like something tailor-made for me.
Oh, how wrong was I. My ineptitude in sausage stuffing and linking brought me back down to earth. After cooking for 7 years at home churning out more than a thousand meals for the family, I am clearly still at the very beginning of my learning curve.
Joe Sloane showing his finesse. I will always remember, saw for bone, knife for meat.
The ultimate master butcher in Thailand.
The hands-on experience, as demoralising as it was, was something I would not exchange anything for. Without it, the class will be reduced to a demonstration by the master. I might take home some perfect sausages and bacon, but they will not be the imperfect ones I made myself from scratch. I wouldn't have been able to tell my kids, "These sausages were made by Daddy at Jamie's Italian!"
My bacon, which needs another week before it's ready, can't wait to eat the final product.
I would hereby like to thank the folks from Sloane's and Jamie's Italian for organising a fantastic masterclass which I loved and hated to equal measure. Please push on and organise more classes to bless more foodies like me in the future. I am already looking forward to the next one.
