Foodle

The Waldhotel Sonnora in Wittlich-Dreis in the Eifel area has been a luxury family-run hotel since 1978. The *** Restaurant is the very heart of the property and an island of excellent cooking with the best ingredients ever. After the sudden death of Helmut Thieltges a few years ago, Clemens Rambichler, long time sous-chef (here since 2011) took over and the restaurant is brilliant as ever. We are here in one of the best restaurants of the world, where style, service, ambiance and food is hard to top. Less

Lunch last month in Bangkok at ⭐️⭐️ Le Normandie in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel which was a shadow of it’s former self while undergoing extensive refurbishment. This was a collaborative meal between chef Arnaud Dunand-Sauthier of Le Normandie and chef Maxime Gilbert of ⭐️⭐️ Ecriture in HongKong. I have been to several collaborative or take-over meals in Bangkok and had low expectations as they have mostly been shockers with European chefs attempting to transfer their cuisine and philosophy thousands of miles to a strange kitchen just for a couple of days for far more covers than they are generally used to doing. It always just seemed like bait for the wealthy locals to be seen doing this sort of thing (and me I guess?). Also, to add to this, I didn’t think the food at Le Normandie would be my bag at all. Far too classical for me based on a visit several years ago where they made me wear a jacket and tie (I have issues with this policy especially when it’s pushing 40 degrees outside) but that’s just personal taste and no fault of the chef.
Having said all that, the meal was great and I couldn’t really fault it. I think it will certainly have been easier for the Ecriture team to organise themselves coming the relatively short distance from HongKong. My only be-puzzlement was at the menu we received which instead of giving a description of the dish we were to receive just, in most cases, gave a precise almost scientific description of the main ingredient. The scallop dish was described thus:
“Scallop. Scallop is a common name that is primarily applied to any one of numerous species of saltwater clams or marine bivalve mollusks”
“Does it come with mash?” I felt like asking??‍♂️
After a bit of homework it turns out that all the dishes at Ecriture in HongKong are describes this way on their menu. Anyway, it was all extremely tasty so I will definitely look up Ecriture next time I’m in HongKong and be back for more of chef Arnaud ‘s cooking soon. Less

Lo de El Saladero (Caleta de Vélez, Málaga) es algo fuera de lo normal. En una comida organizada por la @academiagastronomicademalaga - gracias una vez más - para veinticinco personas han hecho un alarde de producto, conocimiento, precisión y mano en la cocina. Producto de la lonja de La Caleta - qué sardina, qué quisquilla, qué salmonete - con Juan a pie de las brasas y Puri en los fogones que garantizan el tratamiento adecuado y los puntos de cocción. No conozco un chiringuito mejor en la provincia. @el_saladero_caleta

Y todo esto en estupenda y cariñosa compañía recogiendo - con casi un mes de retraso - el premio Enrique Mapelli de la Academia Gastronómica de Málaga. (Foto cedida por el presidentísimo @manolo_tornay ) Less

Dinner last month at Haoma in Bangkok. Here chef Deepanker Khosla, or DK, has created an oasis in the heart of this vast metropolis and Bangkok’s first urban farm restaurant. The food is ‘Neo Indian’, so new or revived dishes that are close to DK’s heart. This might include a course that is 100% sustainable with zero carbon footprint and entirely made up from ingredients grown within a few feet of your table or a dish that is a very personal tribute to a special person in DK’s life or a modern interpretation of some street food that he ate as a child. So it is definitely cooking from the heart and you can feel DK’s passion and soul in every mouthful.
To achieve what he has in a city like Bangkok is remarkable really and I have nothing but admiration for him. He basically built the place with his bare hands and as we were shown around the property towards the end of the meal we were amazed at the extent of his efforts to push for sustainability and grow as much as he can on site including the fish that you eat during the meal.
This includes 140 metres of vertical farm made from reclaimed gutters which is hydrated using a rain water harvesting system, a tomato farm using old paint buckets that were used to build the house, young plants are nurtured in composted material in old styrofoam boxes so as to strive for zero waste. He built his own tilapia fish farm from a YouTube video and uses the fish excreted waste to then feed the plants that are then served as part of the fish dishes. The fish are fed pellets made from waste from the kitchen and the water that feeds the plants is harvested rain water so he has created a 100% sustainable eco system in his back garden, mind blowing stuff really. He has 30,000 litres of water in his well/tank (that he built himself of course) where around 1000 tilapia swim. In the above ground tanks he stores around 70 fish per tank so as to adhere to the Nordic fishing standards that say that every fish requires 5 litres of water in order to live freely and healthily. Oh, and the food is really tasty to!
I urge you to jump on the BTS and get off at Asok or Phrom Phong and take a wander up Soi 31 where you will find another world waiting for you, a world that will hopefully be the future for a lot more restaurants, homes and businesses.
Thank you Deepanker Khosla for an incredible evening that really opened my eyes ?? Less

Bogavante en tempura. Impecable por fritura, por cocción y por jugosidad.

No me canso de recomendar @elcampanarioresort que probablemente se ha convertido ya es el restaurante de producto más importante del extremo occidental de la costa malagueña de la mano de @manuel2201 . Materia prima sobresaliente y cocciones muy precisas. Además, una sala agradable con una terraza estupenda fuera, un servicio amable y una carta de vinos bien escogida y con precios razonables que invita a abrir botellas. Less

The Waldhotel Sonnora in Wittlich-Dreis in the Eifel area has been a luxury family-run hotel since 1978. The *** Restaurant is the very heart of the property and an island of excellent cooking with the best ingredients ever. After the sudden death of Helmut Thieltges a few years ago, Clemens Rambichler, long time sous-chef (here since 2011) took over and the restaurant is brilliant as ever. We are here in one of the best restaurants of the world, where style, service, ambiance and food is hard to top. Less