Story & photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling GourmetTM

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The debonair, indomitable & resourceful Travelling GourmetTM visits Marina Bay Sands where TFWA is being held in…

MAGNIFICENT opulence for the very first time in MBS. Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center is huge and well equipped. The MBS hotel known fondly by its nickname as “The Surfboard” has high end very expensive luxury shopping, a 5 star hotel and many restaurants which are exports of celebrity Chefs like the excellent Guy Savoy and yummy Bistro Moderne Daniel Boulud…

Remember the classic Clint Eastwood movie in which Clint was “The man with no name”….

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly…

THE GOOD

Petrossian Caviar impressed me and now according to affable and charming Bruno Gils, Export Sales Manager, “There is no more Caviar from the Caspain Sea or Russia or Iran…now it is from Israel, France and Bulgaria and China…” Yes, there have been many changes since 1989 and the Fall of the infamous Berlin Wall and the end of Communism.

At Fauchon, I tasted exquisite macarons air flown from Paris and Fauchon’s own label Champagne! The Exhibition this year is very lavish and well organised with many stands showcasing perfumes, chocolates, wines, Rum, and much more. At the Franciacorta stand, I tasted Amaretto form the Franciacorta DOC and DOCG regione.

The BEST!

SAS Silhouette! *****

Sexy And Strong SILHOUETTE spectacles are 100% made in Austria, no China rubbish here. They have been around since 1964! They also make Adidas Sunglasses. I kid you not, these Silhouette sunglasses and regular spectacle frames too are ‘tres magnifique’!! Eighty two separate processes go into making one sunglass! I especially adore the Silhouette 100% Titanium Sunglasses which are so strong and durable and incredibly light, as well as being corrosion resistant. Moreover, they are the ONLY spectacles/glasses that are SCREWLESS!!! It is a patented process. Amazing and almost unbelievable but TRUE! I am a huge fan. The polarized Adventurer model is really cooool! These glasses are for sophisticated individuals of intelligence and very good taste. Need I say more…

When I travel the world in search of exotic food and unique wines…in the snow or ice or when skiing or ‘apres ski’ in St. Moritz or Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Italian Dolomites…

or in the hot rainforests of Le Ile Maurice with sun kissed beaches and balzing tropical heat, Silhouette is MY preferred partner!

SILHOUETTE : The Official Sunglasses of THE TRAVELLING GOURMET TM *****

www.silhouette.com

facebook.com/silhouette

twitter.com/silhouette_com

SILHOUETTE is awarded The Travelling Gourmet TM’s BEST SUNGLASSES AWARD! *****

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Tintamar – Créateur de sac intelligent et pratique ****

 The Travelling Gourmet and the Founder of Tintamar, Edith Petit

The concept : Very Intelligent daily bags for men and women of Intelligence…TINTAMAR!

Created in 2003 by Edith Petit, Tintamar has become an iconic & exclusive brand in the handbag and accessories industry with the sole aim of simplifying plus improving the quality of

daily life. Known to those in the know…

The Tintamar concept combines practicality and aesthetics through shapes, colours and materials. Fashion, hobbies, travel, jobs and family life: everything and anything is a source of inspiration to create products pairing functionality with design. The Travelling Gourmet values FUNCTIONALITY above all else!

The Tintamar universe evokes the French Caribbean island of Tintamarre, a natural reserve that has become a place of creative inspiration. Just like the animal and vegetal species which live on the island, a bag species called Intelligent Daily Bags is flourishing on Tintamar. The native bird is aber Natuerlich, the exuberant and uproarious Tintamar!

La VIP and other similar products are works of Genius! They are not for everyone…only for the discerning and intelligent few with good taste. Those who only want to show off their lack of good taste, and I mean the ‘nouveau riche’ especially those from China, will not like these bags. They will go for brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton and others which they need to bolster their chronic inferiority complex and lack of culture. These plebian ‘hoi polloi’ call the bags LV…simply because they cannot pronounce ‘Louis Vuitton’. Pathetic…Bloeder…

VIP ONE BAG Organizer

Edith’s creation of GENIUS is the hot seller V.I.P. L’Originale which I have a very cunning and clever plan in mind… This marvelous product allows ladies to CHANGE handbags for different occasions WITHOUT transferring the contents they need, like perfume, hand lotion, lipstick, cellular phone/portable, Silhouette sunglasses,etc. I do not know what else they have, because I am a gentleman and not a lady. That said, I know ladies have a LOT of stuff inside their big handbags. Truly the VIP is a work of Genius for intelligent ladies and gentlemen!

https://www.tintamar.com/quotidien/organiseurs-de-sac/organiseurs-de-sac-vip/organiseur-de-sac-vip-one-rouge-feu.html

Ingenious, lightweight, functional and tres chic too…je’adore Tintamar! The Creator and Founder, charming Edith Petit told me…”It started as a bag for cyclists and developed from there…the idea for the Vest Bag came from a fan (of Tintamar bags) in Australia and I developed the concept. C’est tres practique, n’est pas!”

18°7’7″N   62°58’48″W Tintamarre Island, St. Martin

Land Area 8 acres, 150 inhabitants

https://www.tintamar.com/who-we-are/

Tintamar is awarded The Travelling Gourmet TM’s BEST DESIGN AWARD!

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Pretty in PINK! ****

Italy’s incredible appetising women’s cosmetics “Pink Sugar” were so very gooood….The aromas can make you swoon in hunger…it did that to me! The two ravishing Italian ladies were so warm and helpful and explained their products to me so well..that ..if I were a woman, I would surely buy them for my daily use. They really smell incredibly good!Selectiva is a Company of Paglieri Group, a prestigious Italian industry estabilished more than 10 years ago and leader in personal and home care with its “authentic essence” trademark. Selectiva esports in more than 50 Countries main in exclusive retail distribution.

Selectiva S.p.A. 15122 Alesandria, ITALY

http://www.selectiva-spa.it/eng/chi_siamo

Remy Cointreau had me sampling a Moscow Mule Cocktail made with Ginger Beer, Lemon and Vodka! Who can resist Cointreau with its heady orange flavours and parfum as a ‘digestif’ after a very lovely dinner…? I can’t.

Stolichnaya also featured many unique cocktails like spicy Bloody Mary and Salted Caramel. I liked too the Raeusch Chocolates (since 1920) from Berlin with Cacao from Papua New Guinea, Grenada and other exotic locales…I like my Vodkas from Russia or Poland although many are now made elsewhere…That is Globalization. C’est le monde.

THE BAD & THE UGLY

Il Cativo in the movie…il buono, il brutto, il cativo (1966)

We do not have any samples of Inniskillin Ice wine for you!

At Stand P30 which is the Constellation Wine stand on Thursday 16 May, 2013 at 16:42:44 , I was met with a rude and discourteous, and to my mind insulting statement from Canadian Randy Dufour: We do not have any samples of Inniskillin Ice wine for you! Shocked and Suprised, I answered calmly: I did NOT ask you for any free samples of your wine. I am a personal friend of Donald Ziraldo, the C0-Founder of Inniskillin Ice Wine and I WAS thinking of writing about your wines… I have made my extreme displeasure known to friends in high places for immediate ACTION…People who are not native to Asia and have NO respect for the Asian mindset, culture and way of life have NO business trying to promote and sell and hawk whatever products they have. No matter how good your wares are, if your basic knowledge of the Asian way of life and the Asian way of doing business is ZERO, you have NO business in Asia.

There is a recent classic hot movie about Ip Man, who was the late Kung Fu Master of Bruce Lee. I always recommend to every non-Asian who wants to do business in Asia: “Watch “Ip Man” and you will start to get a little understanding of the Asian Way…as Bruce Lee put it so well…The Way of the DRAGON.

I have friends in very high and in very low places…it is not a good idea to upset…

IL Padrino della Gastronomia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIm1qMXEfNM

Enjoy! 🙂