Growing up, I've always been fascinated about my immediate surroundings, while kids would dream of flying off to the USA to see Mickey and Minnie, I look forward to saving up to see Hello Kitty in Japan. While many would think that Europe is their ultimate travel destination, I found mine in Singapore and in a bit of Hongkong. My stomach totally loves anything Asian. I love the fusion of herbs and even at a young age, it wasn't difficult for my parents to introduced strong, aromatic smelling spices to tickle my taste buds. Growing up, I content myself with a warm steaming bowl of soba or pho. I love drinking tea more than coffee and could probably eat dimsum and spring rolls forever. Needless to say, I'm definitely an asian through and through.
Then an invite came, an celebrity chef from Vietnam is coming to town. Too bad my cable package do not have the channel that carries his show, World Cafe Asia, but that didn't stop me from learning about him and his upcoming book. His name is Bobby Chin and from his website, he seems to be a talented chef with a good sense of humor. Not the kind that would make you sit at the edge of your chair as if you're part of a reality cooking show.
The book launch was held at my favorite bookstore in town. Together with my dear colleagues, we attended the event eager to meet Chef Bobby Chin in person. It took a while for the event to start as a great deal of preparations were made. There was the team from Unilever headed by Chef Paolo Sia who's busily chopping, slicing and dicing up his ingredients for the demo, there's the marketing team of Fully Booked who warmly welcomed us to the event and a lot of chefs and chefs-to-be waiting for the program to start. Here comes the Chef
While waiting, we noticed that a small group has began to huddle around a certain person somewhere at the back of the venue. Looking at their direction, there we saw a tall man with a black bonnet over his curly hair casually dressed in black shirt, denim jacket and pants.
"Oh my gosh! It's Bobby Chin!", I overhead a group of young female chefs exclaiming nearby.
My colleague and I quickly got up with our cameras and patiently waited for our chance to introduce ourselves. Finally, the time has come that we are now face to face with Chef Bobby Chin.
"Hello there! How are you doing?", he greeted us with a big smile while shaking our hands. We introduced ourselves and requested for a brief photo op which he gamely accepted.
From that short exchange of greetings, we saw the happy and easy going personality of Chef Bobby Chin. Being half Chinese and half Egyptian, we found out that he was raised in England, has lived in San Francisco and New York and is currently residing in Vietnam which he seems totally fascinated about.
In fact, he spent a good 30 minutes of his introduction sharing with us the sights and wonderful discoveries of this Asian country. Loving Vietnam so much, he has opened a restaurant in Hanoi called Restaurant Bobby Chin.
The chef and his book
Too bad, I wasn't able to chat with him for a long time. If only I can ask him what is his favorite Vietnamese dish. Being a fan of Pho noodles, fresh spring rolls and Vietnamese coffee myself, I enjoyed browsing through his new book called Wild, Wild East: Recipes and Stories of Vietnam (Php. 1499).I love the beautiful images which perfectly complemented the creative recipes of Chef Chin. Good thing, the book can easily be found at any Fully Booked store here in the Philippines.
For all food enthusiasts and kitchen gods and goddesses out there, I highly recommend his book to help you learn the basics of Vietnamese cooking.
Grab your copy now! :)
Right now, I wish to feel the soft powdery sand on my feet, while basking under the sun with a tall cool glass of Choco Banana Shake from my favorite stall in Boracay.
However, I've always dreamt of being a chocolatier someday. I wish to be able to build cute, artistic structures made out of chocolates. Heaven must have heard my prayers when an invite was sent my way. A chance to know more about the world of Chocolates and to make one too! Why not?! 
Paul and I arrived just in time for the Chocolate making workshop. Chocolatier Benjamin Pedro gave everyone a warm welcome and treated us to a piece of chocolate cluster. A cluster is actually chocolate mixed with either a nut, candy or whatever your heart desires. He made us guess what was mixed into this cluster. I took a bite and I immediately tasted something salty yet very familiar. I took another bite and closed my eyes to make it easier for my taste buds to recall. I think I got it but I'm not sure. 
"Mr. Pedro, was that potato chips mixed into the chocolate cluster?"
We rested for a little while and Benjie came out again this time with three huge jars filled with what looks like a cocoa bean, blocks of chocolates and one that has a white, milky liquid below and a dark brown powder on top. Hmmm.. interesting. I wondered what they were. 
Among the five origins, Paul and I liked Ghana the most. We love the smooth, nutty and creamy texture that isn't too strong nor was it too weak. For us, it's that perfect warm cup of chocolate that we imagine drinking this coming Yuletide season. Now, we just need a colder weather, a thicker jacket and a beautiful fireplace to complete the setting. 
This began with the mouth-watering Traditional Greek Salad that was served in a rectangular platter. It is a combination of sliced tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, a generous serving of feta cheese, a kalamata olive, capers and the crowning glory of the entire dish -- a juicy seared king scallop. What I did was to slowly cut up the vegetables and cheese and make sure that each bite has a teeny, tiny piece of cucumber, olive, tomato, cheese and scallop. Mmmm.. I love how the scallop meat just glides and melts in my mouth. I love this salad which is a big surprise considering that I am not really a big fan of olive and tomatoes.
Another Opa moment came up when we were presented with the 2nd course of our meal. It came in a huge square white platter this time. The chef calls it the Greek Mezze Platter which means appetizer in Greek. Peering into my plate, I see four different dips. The first one which is called the Turokauteri has a little spicy note in it. Perhaps it's because of the paprika powder mixed into the cream cheese dip. The second one below it is my favorite Tzatziki. I almost didn't recognized it as it came with a crunchy wafer-like cracker instead of the usual pita bread. Good thing, it still stayed close to the cool yogurt cucumber and dill dip that I love. Moving to the third item in the platter is my newest delicious discovery. It's called Dakos-tomato which is fried cheese topped with marinated tomatoes and fresh coriander. It's like eating fried mozzarella cheese with a twist. The last dip, Melitzanosalata, is a bit different from the others because it is made of Aubergine (another name for Eggplant) which is very vegetarian friendly.
Just went I'm about to say that I'm satisfied with lunch, Chef Nikolaos Lekkas, who hosted our lunch earlier had more dishes to present. More reasons to scream Opa was when our 1st main entree was served. Lamb under mustard goat-cheese crust. I am a big fan of lamb and I must say Chef Nikolaos has successfully presented my favorite meat in a new and different way. Although I would have preferred it a bit more cooked and tender for slicing. Needless to say, I was thisclose to wrestling with my fork and knife.
Shortly after, the second main entree was served. Cod fish "Spetsiota Style". After exerting a bit of muscle effort with the lamb, slicing into the softest fish meat imaginable is a true delight. I can't help but swirl my slice of fish into the tomato sauce and adding a piece of broad bean before popping everything into my mouth. The tomato sauce is sweet and flavorful which complements the freshness of the fish and asparagus. This is definitely my favorite dish for the day. OPA!
I took a close look at the small square pastry given to me. It has two layers where the top portion is a peanut butter square resting above a brownie-looking base. It's topped with the most rich and and gooey-looking chocolate fudge icing that wasn't too sweet nor was it bitter at all. 
Over our Japanese feast, we updated each other with what's happening in our lives. I enjoyed digging into the Spicy Tuna Salad despite it being uhh...spicy. The Dragon Roll, on the other hand, gave a new twist to the typical Unagi Sushi. It would have been better though if the mango was sweeter and the taste of unagi more distinct. 
The Squid Karaage feels like a perfect pulutan (beer match). The squid was chopped into bite-size pieces and served with a sweet and sour sauce. Some pieces were hard making it difficult to bite into while some were pretty ok. 
What I love the most is the Bacon wrapped Dory. I enjoy biting into the juicy, soft Dory meat tied with a strip of lean bacon. The Dory fillet is drizzled with Japanese barbeque sauce and green onions that seals in that Oriental feel. 
Peddlers pass through the barriers and enter the city. Amongst them is Mimì, coughing violently. She tries to find Marcello, who lives in a little tavern nearby where he paints signs for the innkeeper. She tells him of her hard life with Rodolfo, who has abandoned her that night. Marcello tells her that Rodolfo is asleep inside, but he wakes up and comes out looking for Marcello. Mimì hides and overhears Rodolfo first telling Marcello that he left Mimi because of her fickleness, but finally confessing that he fears she is slowly being consumed by a deadly illness. Rodolfo, in his poverty, can do little to help Mimi and hopes that his pretended unkindness will inspire her to seek another, wealthier suitor. 
Meanwhile, Marcello has joined Musetta, and the couple quarrel fiercely: an antithetical counterpoint to the others' reconciliation. 
Marcello and Rodolfo are seemingly at work, though they are primarily bemoaning the loss of their respective loves. Schaunard and Colline arrive with a very frugal dinner and all parody eating a plentiful banquet, dance together, and sing. As they were having fun, Musetta arrives with news: Mimi, severely weakened by her illness, is downstairs and has asked to be brought to Rodolfo to see him one last time. Rodolfo rushed out to get Mimi and assisted her to lie in bed. Musetta and Marcello leave to sell Musetta's earrings in order to buy medicine, and Colline leaves to pawn his overcoat. Schaunard, urged by Colline, quietly departs to give Mimi and Rodolfo time together. 
Left alone, they recall their past happiness. They relive their first meeting--the candles, the lost key--and, to Mimi's delight, Rodolfo presents her with the pink bonnet he bought her, which he has kept as a souvenir of their love. The others return, with a gift of a muff to warm Mimi's hands and some medicine, and tell Rodolfo that a doctor has been summoned, but it is too late to help their friend, who lapses into unconsciousness. 
As Musetta prays, Mimi dies. Schaunard discovers Mimi lifeless. Rodolfo cries out Mimì's name in anguish, and weeps helplessly.
