The world on my dinner plate

Where in the world would you be able to sample the cooking of the world’s best chefs in just one night, and try dishes especially made by chefs coming from countries like Hong Kong, China, India, Australia, the United States, Ireland, Norway, Italy, and Spain?

Where else but in Singapore!

The recent World Gourmet Summit (WGS) offered the region’s gourmets an opportunity to try the cooking of the world’s best chefs in a delicious two-week celebration. It was an honor to be part of a group of Philippine media lucky to be invited by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to the occasion, and do the rounds of Singapore’s restaurants, trying out the best cooking in the Lion City.

Truly, the highlight of our visit was the $425-per-plate World Gourmet Summit 2005 Awards Gala Dinner, a black tie event during which the island-state’s best were honored.

Indeed, for that cost, diners got to try hors d’oeuvres by chefs Bobby Lo of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, Thierry Alix of Sens and Blend in China, Yann Barraud and Didier Chantefort of Le Cordon Bleu International, Naren Thimmaiah of Karavalli in India, Joseph Vargetto of Crown Limited in Australia, and Michael Ginor of Hudson Valley Foie Gras from the USA. And those were just for starters.

The seven-course dinner that followed featured chefs Ryuichi Yoshii of Yoshii Restaurant in Australia, Kevin Thornton of Thornton’s Restaurant in Ireland, Bent Stiansen of Statholdergaarden in Norway, Alan Wong of Alan Wong’s Restaurant in the USA, Norbert Niederkofler of St. Hubertus in Italy, Ramón Freixa of El Racó d’en Freixa in Spain, and Nicolas Bernardé of Le Cordon Bleu International. Each course was paired with a wine that was especially chosen to highlight each dish.

As course after course was served, this year’s WGS awardees were called and honored in a simple program. The dinner proved to be the most delectable excuse for the awards night.

The WGS, presented by American Express, presents the diverse cultures of the world on a platter. Aside from bringing in foreign culinary talents to Singapore, the event also builds Singapore’s worldwide reputation as the gastronomical hub of Asia. This is the ninth year the event was organized by Peter Knipp Holdings and the STB.

Dinner was off with a unique aperitif, chef Ryuichi Yoshii’s uni-tama, or steamed sea urchin eggcup. The raw egg was heated lightly, just enough to warm the yolk, and served in its own shell. A sliver of sea urchin has been added to the raw egg, its salty flavor giving the egg the flavor to make it slide down one’s palate without any difficulty.

Irish chef Kevin Thornton’s sautéed king scallops, squid ink sauce, and red pepper vinaigrette followed, and it proved to be as different from the uni-tama as blue cheese is from cheese spread. The scallop pieces were a bit chewy due to their size, while the squid ink sauce and red pepper vinaigrette added enough flavor to the experience.

Chef Bent Stiansen’s fillet of Norwegian monkfish filled with langoustine and fennel, petit póis puree, crisp fried shiitake, leek croquette, tomato compote, and ginger beurre blanc was another favorite. The pureed green pea sauce added a sweetish, nutty flavor to the bland monkfish flesh, while the sliver of langoustine tail went down quickly.

The next dish featured more seafood, chef Alan Wong’s lobster lasagne. The lasagna sheet was merely an excuse to hold together a generous slice of succulent lobster tail and a timbale of vegetables, lightly flavored with a watery ragout. Once you had dismantled the lasagna sheet, the dish’s components were quickly easy to see. The vegetable timbale was dominated by fresh spinach that has been carefully cooked with a number of minced vegetables. The contrast between the vegetables and the lobster tail was a perfect match.

Chef Norbert Niederkofler’s Garganelli pasta with duck ragout, shiitake mushrooms, and spinach was another pasta dish, although its fresh flavors seemed to be a letdown. The pasta was lightly cooked in olive oil and still chewy to the bite. The duck slices were a bit dry, though.

The dinner’s main entrée was chef Ramón Freixa’s braised Australian veal cheek in red wine with apple and pear, an unusual sauce pairing for the veal’s hearty flavor. The stewed apple and pear slices served as a sweet relish to the beef, just enough to complete the dining experience.

Of the evening’s wine list, the 2001 Beringer Vineyards, Private Reserves cabernet sauvignon proved to be a favorite quaff. It was paired with the veal, along with two other reds.

The dessert wines proved to be a bright spot that dinner, along with chef Nicolas Bernardé’s chocolate macaroon, creamy orange and crisp with nibbed cocoa beans. They were the 2001 Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff, Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Eiswein and the 2002 Weingut Feiler-Artinger, Ruster Ausbruch. Both tasted sweet, one of peach and the other like honey. Chef Bernardé’s desserts did not lose out from the pairing. In fact, the macaroon proved to be a crisp choco chew, while the orange mousse was easily scooped out with a dessert spoon.

We had to beg off from the coffee and pralines by Cacao Berry, a saddening thought considering that it was a dinner experience. But we were able to gobble up all the pralines we wanted at the next afternoon’s brunch. But that’s another story.