A Tiger In The Kitchen

Prelude to Paris

I've been thinking about Paris.

About bumping knees with Mike at the petite tables of the always-packed Bistrot Paul Bert. And wandering the streets in search of good bread. Or shoes. Or both.

So when it was announced that Recipe #4 of the Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge was brioche, I took it as a sign.

Sure, it seemed silly to be attempting to make brioche for the first time when in a matter of days, I'd be in the land of great brioche. But I wanted to understand it. Just last week, I'd made bagels for the first time, a Herculean task that helped me develop a mammoth respect for a bread I'd often overlooked at breakfast.

So, with one pound of butter and a carton of eggs in hand, I steeled my arteries and was ready to go.

A View From The Road: Hong Kong Airport Food

All airport food should be this good: Taiwanese braised beef noodles (in a broth that's heavy on star anise) with a big scoop of super-sour, minced pickled veggies at Hong Kong's airport.

Take that, McDonald's!

Breakfast in Singapore

 

Now that the temperature is down to the 50s again in New York, all I can think about is breakfast in Singapore.

I can practically smell the curries. And the tameepok prawn and pork noodles topped with sliced, super-hot chilis. And the starchy "carrot cake" (actually made of radishes) with heaps of crimson chili paste mixed in. And the...

File this under the "you always want what you can't have" category: growing up in Singapore, I coveted big American breakfasts. Those pictures of Grand Slams at Denny's restaurants showing plates of towering pancakes, bacon and sunny-looking eggs would inspire great yearning in my stomach.

And yet the moment I set foot in the land of massive, sausage-and-pancake breakfasts, all I could think of was the roti pratas and tameepoks I'd left behind.