The Travelling Gourmet is a celebrated Travel, Food & Wine Writer/Editor from Asia
MY name is Lim….Michael Lim. As The Travelling Gourmet I have scoured the world for the best in food, wine and gastronomy and I found all that and more when I was privileged to attend the 1st Grand Gourmet Summit in the Middle East held in the Grand Hyatt Dubai. Over 18 masterchefs and winemakers from the 7 seas presented and taught us all about food, caviar, chocolate, cheeses, honey, champagne, and lots more. It was a culinary rendezvous to remember. Every day, I awoke from peaceful slumber and dreams of champagne and caviar in my luxurious suite on the Grand floor at 0600, to amble down to the high tech Gym. Doing my Ballet exercises while watching the sunrise over the City of Gold is an exquisite pleasure to be treasured. After my Ballet and aerobic exercises plus a swim or two in the superb ,yes, dare I say it "Grand" resort pool in the style that Haytt is famous for, with lots of luscious foliage and date palms, as well as waterfalls, it was off to the lap pool for serious swimming. The best part of every morning was Breakfast to feed the inner man in the Market Cafe. Here, I enjoyed exquisite Arabic and Indian food as well as my good friend Chef Heinz von Holzen’s Balinese specialities. The kitchens are well run to German standards of efficiency by Masterchef Max Burkhalter, whose gregarious grin is only matched by his cooking skills. He told me one day in German, "Why go to the Banana when you can come here!" The Banana is an insider reference to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. If there is one restaurant you must try here, it is the Pepper Crab where Arabian guests have fallen madly in love with food from Singapore. It is 90% authentic, which is good, as Dubai is thousands of kilometers from Asia. I loved to attend the Cooking classes held by Masterchefs in the state of the art high tech Kitchen Studio, and get this, guests are actually encouraged and invited on stage to cook Hands-On with the masterchefs. From boiling, steaming, cutting and presentation, it is a blast for the novice cook or home chef to work with great chefs of the world side by side. As I am a trained Chef myself, I can tell you frankly that the esprit de corp and camaraderis is just like that found in the Army as we work, create and bond together as one happy band of brothers. A gentle recommendation for food and wine lovers everywhere, please go to Dubai for the 2nd Grand Gourmet Summit on 6 November if you adore good food and wine. In the immortal movie Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart, Captain Louis Renault, French Prefect of Police asks Rick Blaine (Bogart), "What in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca?" Coolly and nonchalantly, Rick says softly in the style that Clint Eastwood would later adopt in his Dirty Harry movies, "My health..the waters." Louis exclaims, "Waters, what waters! We’re in the desert!" Without batting an eye, Rick says in the Godfather of one-liners, "I was misinformed." Those who think that Dubai is a scorching desert with sand, camels and not much else are…can I say it, "Misinformed." Bon appetit! Enjoy! {:-)
MY name is Lim….Michael Lim. As The Travelling Gourmet I have scoured the world for the best in food, wine and gastronomy and I found all that and more when I was privileged to attend the 1st Grand Gourmet Summit in the Middle East held in the Grand Hyatt Dubai. Over 18 masterchefs and winemakers from the 7 seas presented and taught us all about food, caviar, chocolate, cheeses, honey, champagne, and lots more. It was a culinary rendezvous to remember. Every day, I awoke from peaceful slumber and dreams of champagne and caviar in my luxurious suite on the Grand floor at 0600, to amble down to the high tech Gym. Doing my Ballet exercises while watching the sunrise over the City of Gold is an exquisite pleasure to be treasured. After my Ballet and aerobic exercises plus a swim or two in the superb ,yes, dare I say it "Grand" resort pool in the style that Haytt is famous for, with lots of luscious foliage and date palms, as well as waterfalls, it was off to the lap pool for serious swimming. The best part of every morning was Breakfast to feed the inner man in the Market Cafe. Here, I enjoyed exquisite Arabic and Indian food as well as my good friend Chef Heinz von Holzen’s Balinese specialities. The kitchens are well run to German standards of efficiency by Masterchef Max Burkhalter, whose gregarious grin is only matched by his cooking skills. He told me one day in German, "Why go to the Banana when you can come here!" The Banana is an insider reference to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai. If there is one restaurant you must try here, it is the Pepper Crab where Arabian guests have fallen madly in love with food from Singapore. It is 90% authentic, which is good, as Dubai is thousands of kilometers from Asia. I loved to attend the Cooking classes held by Masterchefs in the state of the art high tech Kitchen Studio, and get this, guests are actually encouraged and invited on stage to cook Hands-On with the masterchefs. From boiling, steaming, cutting and presentation, it is a blast for the novice cook or home chef to work with great chefs of the world side by side. As I am a trained Chef myself, I can tell you frankly that the esprit de corp and camaraderis is just like that found in the Army as we work, create and bond together as one happy band of brothers. A gentle recommendation for food and wine lovers everywhere, please go to Dubai for the 2nd Grand Gourmet Summit on 6 November if you adore good food and wine. In the immortal movie Casablanca starring Humphrey Bogart, Captain Louis Renault, French Prefect of Police asks Rick Blaine (Bogart), "What in heaven’s name brought you to Casablanca?" Coolly and nonchalantly, Rick says softly in the style that Clint Eastwood would later adopt in his Dirty Harry movies, "My health..the waters." Louis exclaims, "Waters, what waters! We’re in the desert!" Without batting an eye, Rick says in the Godfather of one-liners, "I was misinformed." Those who think that Dubai is a scorching desert with sand, camels and not much else are…can I say it, "Misinformed." Bon appetit! Enjoy! {:-)
The Travelling Gourmet 