Progressive dining experience – do we need culinary art?

May 6, 2011

In today’s Bangkok Post a novel cuisine was described which is currently offered at the “Plaza Athenee Bangkok and Fin”, a place I have never heard of. According to the paper “Progressive dining experience” is a new gastronomic concept involving pop-up venues and somthing called “molecular cuisine”.

It promises an inventive, novel culinary adventure, something unique in Bangkok. The originators, Daniel Bucher and Axel Herz, are two young award winning chefs from Le Meridien in Hamburg.

But what is “molecular cusine”, “molecular cooking” or “molecular gastronomy”? Well, of course any cooking is “molecular” so to speak. According to Daniel Bucher it is “avant-gard culinary art combined with hard-core food science” presented in pop-up (impromptu) venues.

It is supposed to be what modern city dwellers want: sustainable, environment friendly, highest quality food for a competitive price in an environment with low overheads. It is supposed to provide creative freedom, fun and laughing and even “to make you love” food, I suppose.

The newspaer article does not provde any information about the price of the five course menu and the five wines which were part of the dinner.

Well, for an Epicurean like myself that should be the ultimate, should’nt it? If you eat for pleasure alone and not for nurishment, isn’t that the good life we are all striving for?

Despite the fact that I spent more time dwelling in big Asian cities than in rural areas, I am a country boy, and thanks god that. My type of food is not the deigner stuff you get in those modern restaurants. I want real food and not art.

You can find many of the meals I treasure here on my blog. But I am afraid that I have to go and taste for myself otherwise my criticism lacks a certain edge and the profoundness necessry to be credible.

As compensation, let me invite you to a glass of wine instead. My recommendation is, surprise surprise, a German Riesling, a ‘2009 Grans-Fassian Laurentiuslay GG’ by Grans-Fassian Estate in Leiwen, Mosel.

This is the best Riesling wine I tasted this year.

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The “philosophers fish” with a St. Urbans-Hof Riesling

April 17, 2011

I love fish in all variations. “The Philosophers Kitchen”, a cookery book by Francine Segan offers great fish recipes. The red snapper in parchment recipe you can also find in my blog entry of 2007 titeled: A philosopher’s lunch.

Fish with olive and capers

Potato wedges

I had brought from Germany a great wine for exactly such an occasion, a ‘2009 Laurentiuslay GG Riesling’ by St. Urban’s Hof Estate in Leiwen, Mosel.

Refreshing 2009 Laurentiuslay GG Riesling

This grand cru Riesling is just wonderful. It not only scores high on Parker points but is a great example what top Riesling producers from the Mosel can do with this grape variety. The 2009 Laurentiuslay Riesling GG was one of the five best Riesling wines I tasted in 2010.

I can do only one more thing: suggest to you to get a bottle, soonest I would say.

The front label

The good news is that I have one more bottle in my fridge here in Bangkok, reserved for another special lunch with great food. Unfortunately, my fridge has no “magical properties”. I will have to bring more bottles from Germany via suitcase which is not very commodious.

Address:
St. Urbans-Hof Estate
Urbanusstraße 16
D-54340 Leiwen/Mosel
Germany

Tel.: +49 65 07 / 93 77-0
Fax: +49 65 07 / 93 77-30
www.urbans-hof.de

Winery’s opening hours:
Monday – friday: 9 am – 5 pm
Saturday: 9 am – 3 pm (on appointment)
Sundays and on holidays: closed

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Posted by themanfrommoselriver