Eating Dubai 2: Call me nomad, dining Bedouin-style

Nadine Kam photos
There's a reason I stayed covered up in the desert. The fine sand gets everywhere.

As a wayward Sagittarian, I often leap before I look, and in signing up for a desert safari in Dubai, I didn't quite know what I was getting into, as in, "How we gonna get there?"

I knew we were in trouble when our driver picked us up in a Toyota Land Cruiser fitted with roll bars, and I noticed that all of the overhead grips (the ones that help passengers lift themselves into tall vehicles) in the cruiser were broken, except the driver's. I guessed that the damage came via previous passengers holding on for dear life.

It was all going fine as long as we were on asphalt, and not knowing the desert terrain, I just assumed it might be a bumpy ride. Pretty soon we came to the end of the paved road, and what ensued was a sport called dune bashing, off-roading on sand dunes that involved drifting, sliding down and surfing the slopes in our oversized vehicles as we screamed our way through the desert. Pictures and video don't do the natural roller coaster experience justice.

Camels are quite goofy looking. A bunch of them were roaming the Lahbab desert, and for some reason, my travel companions thought we were going to eat camel for dinner.

There was order to the huge caravan of Land Cruisers because everyone had to be going in the same direction. What we didn't want was someone coming in from the opposite direction, rising to top of the same blind peaks, with the potential for a head-on collisions. Check out the video walkthrough on this dune-bashing game link for an idea of what it feels like: freeonlinegames.com/game/dune-bashing-in-dubai. Obviously I could not shoot my own video or photos because I was hanging on for dear life.

Check out our experience here:


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I checked out other YouTube videos and note that the screams are the same in any language:


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Hilarious.

Safaris Arabia photo
Depending on which company you choose, the cost of the desert safari ranges from about $40 USD for the dune-bashing experience, to about $54 for the ride plus dinner.

I felt so much better when the ride was over and we could relax on the Persian rugs that lined the ground of a Bedouin-style camp, with low tables for dining.

The English word "Bedouin" is the derived from the Arabic words "bedu," referring to those who live in the open desert, and "Badawiyin," a generic name for a desert dweller.

Although the Bedouin population—from the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt to the Sahara Desert of North Africa—numbers about 4 million today, only about 5 percent of Bedouins still live as nomads in all of the Middle East because it is becoming increasingly dangerous to do so.

In that moment, it was so beautiful being under the open sky, that I could easily see the attraction to the desert lifestyle. I would have loved to spend the night there. Throughout Dubai, I could see a fascination with the night sky in the architecture and murals. Even on our Emirates flight, there was enough empty seats on the way over so that I could lie down and stretch out, and looking up, the ceiling was full of tiny twinkling lights, like the night sky.

Eating Dubai 1: Puffy pitas at Wafi Gourmet

Nadine Kam photos
A colorful array of vegetable and meat kebabs on display at Wafi Gourmet in Dubai Mall, which specializes in Lebanese cuisine.

DUBAI, U.A.E. — While in Dubai, I thought we would certainly be eating at Saudi or Emirati restaurants, but somehow, we always ended up eating Lebanese or Indian cuisine, at malls and hotels, no less.

What gives? I put the question to one of the Dubai chefs and he said it's because the Saudis have no real cuisine, and it's only been in the last year that three Emirati restaurants have opened, in a city of 2.5 million people.

Well that was a shocking statement. In my food-centric world, every culture has a cuisine that speaks to its soul and is a point of pride to its people, such that you can't talk stink about anyone's food.

Before reaching the tables at Wafi Gourmet, we were tempted with all kinds of marketplace treats, such as a variety of olives, sweets, pastries, and below, pistachios, dried fruit and almonds.

But, it made sense. People of Saudi Arabia were descended from nomadic sheep- and goat-herding tribes, who could only eat what they could carry, such as dates, nuts, figs, flat bread called fatir, and spices that flavored meat grilled in the desert.

Dubai, on the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, started as a fishing village, making grilled fish a simple, satisfying meal.

Also, the nation's Islamic laws include restrictions against eating pork and drinking alcohol, and it's only in places where visitors congregate—malls and hotels—that alcohol is allowed.

I've never come across fresh pita like this in Hawaii. Sadly, the ones we get are already stale. They're light and puffy when fresh, and deflate when left sitting.

I wasn't complaining. Though the names of dishes are different, food in the region is similar from country to country, and Middle Eastern cuisine has always been one of my favorites, though it's sad to say, coming from Hawaii, I never knew what it was like to enjoy a warm, pillowy fresh pita. More times than not, you have to go to straight to the source.

The hummus, or hommos in their spelling, at Wafi Gourmet had a whipped, light texture and tasted less like chickpeas than we have here. Instead the chickpeas sit inside the bowl of hummus. The cost was $33 dirhams, roughly $10 USD.

Singapore Diary: Exploring Chinatown

Nadine Kam photos
When in doubt traveling in a foreign city, follow the locals. In Singapore’s Chinatown, a lot of parties were centered around this fish dish. Watch the video to see the fish cooking over fire.

BY NADINE KAM

Day 2 in Singapore saw us heading to Chinatown where we were hoping to find the nation’s famous chilli crab. Possibly because of demand, hawker stalls were out. But, in People’s Park food court, we saw a wondrous sight: people walking by with large pans carrying Chong Qing grilled fish.

It’s a variation of a hot pot dish that originated in Chong Qing, China, part of Sichuan province, which explains its spicy character and use of the tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorn. Here though, the sauce was so balanced I didn’t mind the peppercorns at all.

The fish—in this case grouper—is not really grilled, but deep-fried; layered over bean sprouts, sliced onions and other veggies; doused with the soy-sesame-black bean-ginger-spice sauce; then topped with peanuts and cilantro. It is delicious!

It wasn’t hard to spot locals sitting down for a lunch of Chong Qing grilled fish, one of those dishes you see and know you must try.

The grouper doesn’t look much more attactive when it’s alive. I took this photo at my hotel, the Marina Bay Sands.

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Another Chinatown treasure is bak kwa, which translates as “fragrant jerky.” Singapore’s sweet, tender and juicy pork jerky sells for about SG$25 per pound, or about $18.50 in U.S. dollars, at outlets like Bee Cheng Hiang, where customers can sample different varieties.

Fresh fruit is also sliced, wrapped and sold in healthful single-serve to-go style. While there I also tried bingtanghulu, or candied Hawthorn berries, for the first time. The inch-and-a-half berries are stacked on skewers and not something I would try if I just saw it on the street because I’m more attracted to savory bites than sweets. But, I was with Sean Morris who recognized them and liked them. We certainly don’t have such a thing in Hawaii, so I tried it and liked the crunchy, crackly sweetness. If you happen to go and try them, watch out for the large seeds.

Singapore’s Chinatown is so clean compared to our own. In spite of the number of seafood dishes being offered, there were no fishy odors, no sight of fish guts lying around or puddles of fish water.

In fact, everywhere we went was clean, without a scrap of paper or cigarette butt on the ground. It just goes to show you what can be done if everyone takes pride in their city and makes the effort.

Singapore’s Chinatown is beautiful. The Majestic theater on Eu Tong Sen Street had a long history, initially built as a Cantonese opera house in 1928, converted into a theater by the Shaw Brothers in 1938, taken over by the Japanese during World War II for the screening of propaganda films, then converted back into a Chinese film theater until it closed in 1998. In 2003, it reopened as a three-story shopping complex. It is now closed.

I love the colonial architecture of the Chinatown and that they have the pride to keep the buildings beautifully painted.

An overpass allows you to avoid traffic below, although Singapore is one international destination where drivers tend to be cautious because laws there can be Draconian. That’s what makes it so safe for travelers, unless you bring in drugs. If caught, you will likely be executed.

Fresh fruit beautifully sliced and packaged in single-serve to-go portions.

Singapore’s Chinatown is also known for its bak kwa, or sweet grilled pork jerky, this batch from Bee Chang Hiang. Alas, I tried to bring $40 worth of jerky home and was honest and listed it on my Customs form. And they confiscated it! So mad! Now my friends and family won’t know how sweet and juicy and tender it is unless they travel to Singapore themselves. If I thought it would be taken away, I would have saved myself the trip of going back to Chinatown to pick it up fresh before my flight. Customs should at least reimburse us if they’re going to steal our food! It’s not like it’s poisonous. I already ate it on the street!
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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Singapore Diary: A visit to Justin Quek's Sky on 57

Nadine Kam photos
Chef Justin Quek presides over Sky at 57 on the 57th floor of the luxurious Marina Bay Sands Resort, which covers 1.3 million acres.

BY NADINE KAM

Food festivals are a wonderful place for restaurant fanboys and fangirls to mix and mingle with their favorite culinary superstars, but they are no substitute for heading to their restaurants for a firsthand experience of what they can accomplish in their own kitchens with their own staff and arsenal of regional ingredients.

I’d sampled Singapore chef Justin Quek’s offerings at the Hawai’i Food & Wine Festival, but it did not leave me with a sense of his full capabilities.

An orange sunset from the 57th floor of the luxurious Marina Bay Sands Resort, which covers 1.3 million acres.

In Singapore, where he presides over Sky on 57, I got a taste of Singaporean cuisine, elevated to match its surroundings on the rooftop of the luxurious Marina Bay Sands. From the rooftop, Quek reminisced about starting his career in nearly the same spot, though 57 stories lower, in a Marina Bay riverboat galley.

He’s come a long way, and proves it via his Sky on 57 “Ultimate Dining Experience,” a degustation menu of “seasonal bespoke creations.” The cost of the meal was SG$250, but with the current exchange rate, it amounted to about $185 per person, which I felt was totally worth the price.

Here’s what Quek’s meal at Sky on 57 looked like:

The first course in his degustation menu was a parfait of Oscietra caviar over smoked mackerel. So delicious and extravagant, it set the pace for the meal to come.

Next up was an ocean salad of Hokkaido scallop, Kagoshima hamachi, French oyster and Norway langoustine with ginger flower dressing.

Foie gras xiao long bao with truffle consomme. Yup, the one in front is topped with gold leaf.

Tasmanian cod fillet with sweet sour sauce, is topped with its own crispy scales. For some reason, they don't mind scales in Singapore, so if you get the Chongqing fish in Chinatown, you'll be spitting out scales. This one is supposed to be so crispy you don't mind, but it's still much harder than the deep-fried shrimp shells we might eat at a typical Chinese restaurant.

Quek’s upscale version of Hokkien prawn mee featured lobster, and set us off to find the street version of this dish. Alas, we only found soup prawn me, which paled in comparison.

Wok-fried Kagoshima wagyu with black pepper sauce. By this time we were so full, and the richness of the wagyu made us feel we could only eat one cube, but we perservered. Could not let this go to waste.

Laksa was not part of the menu, but I had mentioned it in passing, so Quek offered up his version of the classic Peranakan (Chinese-Malay) spicy noodle soup.

"Crazy About Chocolate" finale with chocolate fondant, brownie, milk chocolate mousse crumble, chocolate tuille and Macallan 15-year-old Scotch ice cream.

How to afford such a meal on a restricted budget? Much of Singapore’s specialties are available at hawker stalls for cheap. About USD$3 will get you a huge bowl of laksa or prqwn mee, or lunch plate of fried chicken with rice, fried egg and sambal. About USD $4 will get you a plate of shrimp sauce fried chicken. Even with a splurge dinner, over six days, it’s easy to get buy on dining for $40 a day or less.
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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

Singapore culinary artist Janice Wong's sweet life

Nadine Kam photos
Acclaimed pastry artist Janice Wong in her Singapore studio.

BY NADINE KAM

SINGAPORE-Janice Wong grew up left brain with a mind for math and economics. Then, like a work of classic narrative fiction, 11 years ago, a bump on the head in a car accident awakened the right side of her brain, triggering a quest to find new outlets for her newfound visions and creativity.

Already a fan of sweets and pastries, her new direction entailed using sugar, candy, chocolate and food as media for art canvases, sculptures and installations that have brought her international renown.

The Singapore-based chef counts fashion brands such as Fendi, Tiffany and Kate Spade among her clients, and her art has won her invitations around the globe to set up exhbitions, more than 45 this year alone.

She’s won the World Gourmet Summit Awards title of Pastry Chef of the Year in 2011, 2013 and 2015, and the title of Asia’s Best Pastry Chef award from Restaurant magazine in 2013 and 2014. She’s also the author of “Perfection in Imperfection.”


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At home in Singapore, her truffles and edible paints can be found at The Shoppes in Marina Bay Sands to bring home as omiyage, while her dessert confections can be enjoyed at her 2am:dessertbar at 21a Lorong Liput in Holland Village. The dessert bar is open from 3 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, closing at 2 a.m., and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

At 2am:dessertbar, Janice Wong’s Cassis Plum, a cassis bombe with elderflower yogurt foam, Choya (ume plum wine) granite, yuzu pears and yuzu rubies.

Wong with a work of sugar flowers she created for Fendi. The peg board held lollipops for guests to enjoy.

A "living" chocolate table at 2am:dessertbar. The chocolate is under glass and the changing tremperature over the course of the day causes it to expand and contract, changing the pattern over time.

Inside 2am:dessertbar.

On the retail front, a few of Wong’s hand-painted bon bons in salt caramel (top) and whiskey and orange flavors.

At the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, you can mix and match those bon bons to bring home in her beautiful colored boxes.

You can also exercise your creativity by bringing home some of her chocolate paints.

Another of Wong’s works wrapped to travel for an exhibition in Dubai where she was heading the day after our interview.

Wong is the rare cerebral chef and I can't even begin to make sense of her notes in coming up with her dessert creations. Where others take a random, scattershot approach that shows in the nonsensical taste of a final product, her combinations manage to be both multi-dimensional and precise, without a note out of place, and a total joy on the palate. Produce enzymes are her latest passion, as a morning tonic and for the chemical reactions they bring about in the cooking process.

Andy Warhol in Wong’s studio.

Wong created her own stoneware and ceramic ware for presentation of desserts at 2am:dessertbar.

 I love green tea so loved her dessert of a Kyoto Tsujirihei matcha tart with jasmine rice sherbet and yuzu drops, $20 or about $15USD.

But my favorite of her desserts was Hoijicha Sesame, a tofu parfait with Hojicha green tea custard, pear vodka sorbet, sesame sauce and ginger.
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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.

On the road: Singapore a foodie paradise

Nadine Kam photos
In Singapore, a love of food is proudly on display.

BY NADINE KAM

SINGAPORE—I knew Singapore was a foodie destination, but I didn’t realize the extent of pride they have in their food heritage.

As soon as I got out of the plane, I came across two food sculptures lauding two of the dishes any visitor must try when they are here. In other food courts, some like People’s Park in Chinatown with hundreds of small hawker stalls, you might spot top 10 lists of must-try dishes, and murals around town also pay homage to the country’s culinary delights.

Here’s a look at Day 1 of eating Singapore style:

Getting off the plane at Singapore’s Changi Airport, I was greeted by this sculpture of Hainanese chicken and rice, one of the specialties here. Another sculpture paid tribute to roti prata.

This mural reflecting multi-cultural Singapore's universal love of food marked the site of Holland Village Market & Food Centre.

At Holland Market & Food Center, there are dozens of hawker food stalls and food is very inexpensive. These $3 plates are the USD equivalent of about $2.25.

At New Lucky Claypot Rice at Holland Market & Food Center, rice is layered with meat, vegetables and seafood of your choice, and cooked over a charcoal flame.


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I had their specialty, the Wu Wei Clay Pot filled with lup cheong and shrimp paste, or harm ha, chicken. So delicious! Feeds two or three for $10 Singapore, about $7.50 in USD.

 On Day 1, also had laksa at Katong Laksa in another area of Holland Village. Very close to what’s served at Panya, except more shrimp paste flavor and the noodles are cut up into bite-size pieces so they don’t slosh and spatter as much as noodles in the U.S. I kind of like it this way. This was $4 Singapore, or about $3 USD.

Also at Katong Laksa, a fried chicken plate with rice, egg, dried fish and spicy sambal. At lunch time, more people were ordering the rice plates than laksa.

Coca-Cola celebrated in a mural at Katong Laksa.

Spent the morning with pastry chef extraordinaire Janice Wong. More on her and her art work later. What a story she has!
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Nadine Kam is Style Editor and staff restaurant critic at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser; her coverage is in print on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Contact her via email at nkam@staradvertiser.com and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Rebel Mouse.