niu's on silom jazz blues bar and restaurant, bkk

i have followed chef marco cammarata as he has deftly navigated his way across bangkok's restaurant scene.

i first ate marco's cuisine when he was at the sheraton grand sukhumvit hotel here in bangkok. he was there for several years and he left of his own accord, which is rare for bangkok hotel chefs. i then followed him to a new venue where he was again in charge of the cuisine at the paragon center. this last incarnation of his at niu's is by far the best, and a perfect fit.

his menus are always varied italian and always a joy to not only read, but of course to eat from. the rather extensive wine list is a perfect match as well. the surroundings, whether indoors or out are tastefully designed and well attended by his staff who are quite knowledgeable regarding what they are serving. the music is superb when it is live and the recoded music is also well chosen for this type of venue.

on my last visit i had a starter of a chilled vegetable terrine with goat cheese that included beet root, pumpkin and carrot all wrapped in a cabbage leaf. it is moistened with green apple and tomato reductions that accent it and its small side of greens perfectly. i would say it is one of the top ten things i have ever had the pleasure to eat, anywhere.

i next had a half an order of fresh oysters au gratin. again, perfectly cooked and the topping was not so heavy as to obscure the taste and freshness of the oysters themselves.

for a main dish i opted for the new zealand rack of lamb. again, simply divine and cooked to a perfect medium rare just as i like it. it is sitting in a wonderful pool of pureed potato and veggies that is indescribably delicious. i am a firm believer that certain foods must be eaten with your hands and lamb chops fall into this class for me. as i removed the meat from the bone the ever so slight char gave the meat a taste that sets niu's chef apart from the mob of italians who claim to be cooking authentic cuisine here in bangkok's plethora of italian restaurants. (Truism: just because you were born somewhere does not mean you can cook the food that comes from there.)

not only is he a chef of great acclaim, he is also one of the most gracious and generous hosts i have met in all my years of dining around the world. he makes it a point to meet and greet all guests and offer them not only his assistance in ordering, but his ego allows him to customize any dish to your taste or dietary requirement. another rare trait in chefs as far as i have experienced. his ability to match wines to the food is also great. he simply wants you to have the best experience that you can have.

rarely do i have room to make it through to ordering desert, but on the occasions that i have they have always been the perfect ending to the meal. they do all the baking and deserts on premise and all the little side dishes and garnishes are always up to the same par as the dishes themselves.

although not a cheap or inexpensive place to eat, i have to say that it is true value for money spent. a similar meal in new york or europe would cost 3 or 4 times the price, and the service would probably not be the same either.

this cuisine is not overly garnished or presented in such away as to detract from the original intent of the dishes themselves. this is what i would call nuova cucina italiana, new italian kitchen. un-muddled nor heavy handed, this food teases and caresses the willing palette with new flavors and textures. world class cuisine for sure.

as i said in the beginning, i follow this chef wherever he hangs his hat and he has never let me down.

ps - if you like risotto, try some at niu's, you will be pleased.

• 661 Floor 1-2, Baan Silom Arcade | Silom Road (between Soi 17 and Soi 19), Bangkok 10500, Thailand
• 66 2 266 5333
• www.niusonsilom.com 

originally posted here. 

here is a good example of one of marco's wine dinner menu.

i wish i had gotten some better pictures, these do not do his food justice.

shrimp & oysters w/ fettuccine in tomato cream

something i never did until i met my mentor chef ted, was to use classic marinara sauce as a base and add almost anything to it. if there is one thing i learned form him that i do more often than any other, it is that.

this dish, once all the ingredients are assembled is actually a quite simple one that yields fantastic results and ooooh's and aahhhhh's form who ever eats it. on this particular afternoon i was cooking for someone who had expressed to me that they were extremely hungry, so i used X-treme measures. if you look at the picture of the finished dish you will see what i am referring to. the dish is actually a serving platter that is 44 cm wide, which is only one centimeter shy of a foot and a half across. this should give yo a bit of scale for reference. the shrimps were fresh from the emporium's 5th floor market and each one after cooking was 6 cm in diameter. if i remember correctly they were about $6.50 USD a piece and weighed in at 325 grams each with the shell on. and those beautiful little feta stuffed peperoncini peppers (#2 in the image) were about 1.00 USD a piece. add the endangered species pine nuts to that and some pernod liquor, and this dish, although simple, is a costly one. however, value for money, it can't be beat. makes a great christmas dinner appetizer (serve one to each guest on a small nest of pasta with one pepper and a very thin slice of garlic bread) or maybe show someone special how much you really care and cook this for valentine's, the coloring is perfect for that.

like everything else i post here, the ingredient portions are not specific, use your best judgment and refer to the colors in the photos to achieve the desired results.

you will need: 

• shrimp, fresh, as large as you can find, the bigger, the moister, the more flavorful, but fresh!
• oysters, fresh shucked, in their own liquor (juice - if not available you could substitute mussels or hard shell clams i guess - or leave them out)
• marinara sauce, homemade (or store bought tomato sauce amplified with diced canned tomatoes and anchovies, basil and capers added)
• leek, minced
• shallot, fresh, minced
• olive oil, extra virgin, light, no matter, just a good one
• olive oil margarine (is there such a thing? i bet that's a misnomer, better to just call it spread)
• fresh italian basil, do not chop if small leaves, or only chop a little bit
• parsley - italian preferred, curly ok, whole and chopped
• pernod, portion some into a small glass or dish. DO NOT POUR STRAIGHT FORM THE BOTTLE INTO THE PAN UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH OR WANT TO BE CALLED LEATHER FACE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
• feta stuffed peperoncini marinated in olive oil 
• pine nuts, toasted (follow the link and check out the part titled: ecology and status)
• sun-dried tomato pesto, you will only be using the oil so do not stir it up, and if necessary,add some olive oil to the jar to provide you with enough.
• capers (if you do not have home made marinara sauce)
• anchovies (if you do not have home made marinara sauce)
• black pepper, fresh, rough ground
• paprika, a good one, not the stuff used to decorate deviled eggs 
• parmigiano cheese, grated not ground if possible (fresh is best, ground tastes like sand, especially if it is the kind from a box or jar. this type of cheese usually won't behave as you would want it too, and won't incorporate/melt into the sauce. thus leaving it with a gritty texture that will lay on the tongue. YUCK! FAILURE!)
• fettuccine, fresh if you can find it (spinach flavored is ok too and adds some more color, especially for a christmas dish) dried if not available (the link to the fett is an awesome blog i just discovered.)
• baguette, fresh (or a similar style bread, but fresh is imperative, isn't it?)
• garlic butter that has been prepared days or weeks in advance (sure you can make it right then and there, but time will show you the difference with this basic ingredient. i think i will have to do a post on this stalwart of my frig, as well as marinara)

a picture is worth a bazillion words (you can always click the pic for a larger image):

btw, i be listening to sade's soldier of love as i write this post, great mood music for just about anything. nice back on sade, isn't it? (some people and things never get older, just better!)

how its done, the method, techniques and assembly:

1. get everything you will need ready. 
2. if using dry pasta, cook it to the desired bite, i prefer al dente, shock in water and coat with a small amount of olive oil (or anchovy or sun-dried tomato pesto oil). toss with a small amount of chopped parsley, and set aside.
3. prepare the tomato sauce if you do not have marinara. simply take the best jar of tomato sauce you can find (basic tomato or flavored, with olives added is great), the canned diced tomatoes, a small spoon of capers, 2 or 3 anchovies and a bit of the oil from the jar/can and heat through. (before you put the 'chovies away, top the jar off with some good olive oil. its great for sauteing and salads too. if canned, place in a little-teenie-tiny jar or crock and fill with oil.)
4. toast the pine nuts in a toaster oven or simply in a heated, heavy bottomed pan. be very careful, good fresh pine nuts have a bit of oil in them and they will burn or scorch in a matter of a few seconds once they come up to temperature. remove them from the pan or tray and place them on a plate to avoid them cooking any longer - and getting too much color. this will also enhance their flavor 1,000,000%.
5. clean and de-vein the shrimp leaving the very last tail section on for added flavor, color and a stunning presentation. pat dry with a towel, this helps them to develop their color better when you cook them. (do this with all meat, fish and veggies and you will see a distinct difference in the taste and appearance of all your meals.) season both sides with freshly ground pepper. press the pepper into the flesh a bit with your hand to assure the pepper makes it into the pan.
6. mince the shallots and leeks. chop the parsley, and stem the basil.
7. cut the bread and shmear with the garlic butter.
8. open the cream, pesto, etc, and have the spoons for portioning ready too. this will make the assembly go much smoother, and if anyone is watching, you will look like a pro who actually knows what they are doing. a bit of performance always makes a meal taste better to your guests.
9. cook the shrimp until about 85% done and set aside in the pan or dish that you cooked them in. they will continue to cook while you prepare the sauce. (searing is best, sear all 3 sides. broiling is ok, but for me, not fast enough and you loose so much of the precious juice. if yo do broil, be certain to add the pan juices form the shrimp to your sauce.)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    just to give you some perspective, this pan is 24 cm across.
   
   
10. toast or bake the garlic bread. keep an eye on it, you do not want to burn it, but then you do not want to be having the entire dish getting cold because you neglected to start the bread.
11. moderately heat some olive oil and some olive oil spread in a pan large enough to accommodate the amount of sauce you will be preparing. use enough to moisten the amount of veggies you will be sauteing. Note: you will want to end up with about 1 cup of finished sauce per serving.
12. add the shallots and leeks and cook until clear. the proper terminology is to sweat.
13. CAREFULLY flame with some pernod, 1 to 2 tablespoons per serving. do not move the pan violently, let the alcohol burn off, do not drown it by moving the pan, this leaves a bitter taste. but, do not cook it to death either.
14. add the marinara, some of the liquor (juice) from the oysters and a bit of good paprika. shake the paprika do not spoon it in otherwise it could lump up, not tastey at all. (if no oyster juice, use a bit of clam juice), and simmer for just a few minutes.
15. add enough heavy cream to achieve the color of pink you see in the picture below, or to taste.
16. add the shucked oysters, chopped basil and parsley. simmer for 1 or 2 minutes longer, just long enough to poach the oysters and not reduce them to pencil erasers.
17. turn off the pan and remove from the heat if you are using that archaic device known as an electric stove. (the only people who like these contraptions are insurance companies.)
18. re-heat the pasta in your microwave. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO USE TOO MUCH POWER OR LEAVE IT FOR TOO LONG. YOU ARE HEATING IT, NOT COOKING IT.
19. line up the warm (not hot), pre-heated plates you will use for serving and put 2/3 of each sauce portion onto the plate.
20. arrange the pasta as shown in the picture below and top with the remaining 1/3 of each sauce portion. leave some sauce showing for the presentation FX.
21. press one edge of each cooked shrimp gently into some of the chopped parsley, and place on top of the pasta and sauce. again, presentation.
22. sprinkle some of the toasted pine nuts over the dish, as well as a very small amount of the cheese, arrange the feta stuffed peppers, garlic bread and garnish to accent the pasta and shrimps.
23. drizzle some of the oil from the sun-dried tomato pesto over the dish, the bread and around the plate. do this sparingly as you only need a bit and you do not want the balance to become up-set.
24. serve, bath in the glory, tell them there was nothing to it. accept donations, remember, this is a pricey dish.
25. boot up your computer and show them my blog. i know, shameless pandering.

needless to say, its all in the preparation, like most things in life. sure, once you start to cook it a bit of spontaneity adds to the dish, but just have it all ready. especially if you are preparing this for a large group.

further, you may think there are a lot of ingredients here, but not really. so the better the quality of each, the better your final dish will be. 

VARIATIONS: of course i am not done ranting about this dish, we can do all sorts of things to it. setting some fresh blanched asparagus on the plate so it is sticking out from under the pasta would be great. or possibly adding a bit of sliced fresh okra, or diced eggplant to the pan when you are sauteing the shallots and leeks. possibly sprinkle a few bright green peas over the dish, or a little bit of slivered sun-dried tomato. if these stuffed peppers are not available you could use some very nice greek olives on the side instead. toss them with some crumbled feta! or, spread some feta on the garlic bread and garnish that with some chopped olives. the idea is to add some accents, not to adulterate the dish with too many other flavors.

most importantly, HAVE SOME FUN, SHARE!

ps - it took me over three hours to format the pics and write this post. it should only take about 20 minutes to cook the dish. - tlg

still yet another version of cajun stew ...

i have been making this concoction since 1985. and if i am not producing it for consumption in a restaurant or venue where it needs to be consistently the same every time, IT ISN'T! that is what i like about it most, it is totally convertible to whatever my mood may be, what i have on hand, or what is available (but really try your best to get the okra in there, it makes a big difference to the viscosity of the dish).

sometimes i moisten it up with stock and cream and then shuck oysters and clams into and eat it like a soup with a big chunk of garlic bread. at other times i put it on pasta or rice, and then at other times i use it for a sauce to garnish blackened fish or meat, preferably baby lamb chops (topped with a nice soft chevre and jalapeno chili jelly). and many times i simply stuff a big baked potato with it.

sometimes i dice everything very small, and other times i cut the pieces very large, and still at other times i puree it. sometimes i will flambe the veggies with pernod before adding the tomatoes and other wet ingredients, and, as i said before, i like to lighten it up with heavy cream. a good dollop of pesto is nice to finish it off, or simply a fresh grating of a good parmesan or grana cheese. cheddar will suffice if that is all i have.

the bottom line - this stuff is bullet proof, all purpose, all weather, anything goes cuisine. i think the only thing i have not put it on is breakfast cereal.

here is a slide show of me making a huge batch that i latter bagged up and froze (note the very handy thai style funnel shown in the last pictures - awesome gadget if you can find it). on this particular day i used chicken thigh meat and chorizo sausages. i think that no matter what is used, poultry, meat or seafood - you gots to have a good sausage in there to impart its special character to the mix.

like many tomato based foods this stew does well in the deep freeze, and it actually improves if not left for too long to hang out waiting to be defrosted and consumed.

following the slide show is the recipe for the cajun spice that i season it with.

this spice is also good for blackening ANYTHING, and also makes a great dash to put on some fresh popcorn along with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. right, fusion popcorn. note: have a lot of napkins handy.

you will notice in the slide show a picture of the spices used that day. the bag of taco seasoning contains many of the same spices and so i used it that day in lieu of the full compliment shown in the recipe below. whatever you choose to do, i am sure it will be just fine if you have most of the spices and herbs listed. experiment and come up with your own blend. i have recently gotten into adding chicken masala spice to do a sort of quick tikka with it. i blacken the meat or fish with the cajun/masala combo and then use a prepared curry sauce to moisten the dish.

as promised here is the spice and dry herb proportions to prepare a massive amount of cajun spice blend. i use this stuff for everything, so i make a lot at one time. i usually prepare the list in the right column, the one on the left is for when i am working in a restaurant. this is a great item to bag or bottle up and give to friends, i have met few people who do not like it.

Cajun Spice Blend

Onion Powder	50	Grams	25
Garlic Powder	50	Grams	25
Paprika Powder	50	Grams	25
USA Chili Powder	100	Grams	50
White Pepper	35	Grams	17
Black Pepper	20	Grams	10
Cayenne Pepper	30	Grams	15
Salt	20	Grams	10
Basil Leaf	10	Grams	5
Thyme Leaf	10	Grams	5
Mustard Powder	10	Grams	5
Cumin Powder	25	Grams	12

store it in air tight containers or tightly sealed plastic bags.

KEEP IT DRY!

phillipe's on soi 39 is the epitome of a small unpretentious restaurant with a giant heart ...

i knew i was going out for a fantastic dinner on friday so i held off on lunch, noshed on some small stuff, and then went and had a fantastic meal at phillipe's on soi 39. this place is tops. great food, awesome service and a very pleasant decor. the menu is changed every few months and accented frequently with a specials listing. in all my visits there, i have only had one dish that was not up to the par of all the others, and it was tonight's trout. the fish was good, cooked perfectly, and the sauce was great too, but the garnishes were lacking. the concasse type veggie malange was over-wrought with fresh herbs and the mousse was also over seasoned with curry powder, which made it unpalatable for me. but, as i said, the fish was perfectly sauteed, as were the almonds.

we started it all with oysters that are imported from france, and they were great with just a squeeze of lemon and some spectacular vinaigrette. what makes his vinaigrette so tasty is the quality of the vinegar he uses, it is like fine wine. i then had a fois gras and duck breast salad that is always perfection. my main course, as i mentioned, was the trout. i finished it all off with a nice warm chocolate tart filled with liquefied chocolate and garnished with a small scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of awesome butterscotch sauce. i cleared my throat with a double espresso as i am known to do.

i was so ravenous to eat my oysters i forgot to take a picture. i know ... how many fekkin' times am i gonna do that? here is a very bad shot of my fois gras and duck breast salad. thank god phillipe cooks a helluva lot better than i take pictures.

one of my friend's had a frog's leg and roasted garlic app.
again, i must apologize for the absolutely shite picture.

my other friend's langostinne app with a langostine foam that was out of this world.

the langostine was followed by this highly recommend confit of duck leg.
i had eaten this dish the last time and it was exactly the same when my friend had it.

my trout with the bogus garnishes.

as you can see it is cooked to perfection.
it was a breeze for me to bone it myself and the flesh was succulent and moist,
it simply fell away from the comb with just one nudge of my knife.
too bad no one ever gives as many almonds as i do with trout,
i could have used 3 times what i had been given.

the frog legs were followed by this great braised ox tongue with baby veggies.
this is a dish i have never seen anywhere else.
the person who ate this has it every time they go to phillipe's
regardless of whether he has another main dish or not.
it is that good.

the confit was followed by an excellent crème brûlée.
as always, lucky for the diner it was better than my pic.

my utterly delightful warm chocolate.
i should have gotten you a pic of the sauce oozing out of the center,
it actually had enough body to it that it flowed like lava.

i know i harped on about the trout garnishes,
but this was a fantastic meal and including the three plates of oysters and the espresso and wine
which are not shown, it only cost 9,228 baht or $275.27 usd.
check out the actual bill.
i would think this meal would have been twice the price in nyc, or even more in london.