I was surprised to see that Centro’s website really didn’t have much information on it at all.  There was no history of the restaurant, no information about the chefs other than their names and the press/ reviews section showcases an empty page.  Strange- also detrimental as some of the reviews easily accessible on-line are not the most flattering.  That being said, information is not hard to come by when you’re armed with Google and the gallery of pictures was certainly stunning.  I was surprised to see they don’t take debit but that’s not much of an issue these days.

I also have an inside scoop as several of my clients are regulars there, including a few that keep their own wine lockers.  They all rave about Centro and frankly, their opinions hold sway with me.  Not that I needed second opinions after the excellent experiences I had.

W has now taken me there twice, though I’ve yet to see a menu.  He and Chef Carter concoct elaborate tasting menus behind closed doors, with Carter applying his impressive culinary talent to ensuring an appropriate balance of flavours and tasting notes.  He doesn’t miss a single detail and each dish is thoughtful, elegant and refined.  However, Chef Carter doesn’t stop there; he goes out of his way to make sure the entire dining experience for W and his guests is exceptional.  On our first visit there, I was particularly impressed with the Chef himself coming out to greet everyone before the meal and personally ask about each person’s allergies and food preferences.  Throughout the meal, not a ball was dropped.  Despite quite a number of food restrictions, everyone’s tasting plates came out at exactly the same time catered to each preference.  The timing of each course was perfect and the generosity of Chef Carter and his team lovely; if anyone wanted anything extra, it was no problem whatsoever.  During the second visit, Chef Carter came up at dessert to ask if anyone wanted something else- fresh fruit perhaps, to go along with the most enjoyable poached pear with pecans and vanilla crumble accompanied by a vanilla glaze, buttermilk ice cream and perfect tuile cookie?  Of course there were platters of Centro’s famous freshly baked cookies being passed around as well.  Despite us being stuffed to the brim, Chef Carter decided that we needed more and no sooner had he disappeared to the kitchen than platters of beautiful fresh fruit appeared.

Chef Jason Carter thrives on personalizing each experience at his restaurant.  He makes sure that every guest is catered to and each plate a beautifully presented experience.  When evaluating the visits in order to write this post, the only critique I had was that there was actually too much food at the first visit- but isn’t that just the critique you want to experience? 

Especially when the food is of the nature Chef Carter strives to provide.  Each visit had an elaborate seven course menu, not including the extras Chef threw in for our dining pleasure.

Visit One started with a dish of smoked salmon with crème fraiche and a little crumbled hard-boiled egg, topped with a small spoonful of caviar.  A salad of delectable Burrata cheese surrounded by figs and arugula followed, the simple ingredients elevated under Chef Carter’s touch.  Burrata is an Italian cheese made of mozzarella and cream, giving it a soft, silky texture.  Indeed it is one of my favourites and I was delighted to see it come out.

The third dish was the highlight of the meal for me (although given the quality of each dish, the “highlight” competition was fierce).  Chef Carter served the tenderest octopus I’ve ever eaten.  As a general rule, I’m happy to eat octopus, but would never have considered it a favourite or first choice.  Clearly I’d just never had it cooked properly, because whatever Chef did to it transformed it and gave it a soft texture and flavour I’ve not seen elsewhere.  In fact, when I attended the International Food Bloggers’ Conference by Foodista a year and a half ago, they served octopus which was so tough to chew many participants left it on the side of their plates.  And this is a conference of foodies.  So now my list of whose octopus I’m willing to order includes just the one name.

A pea, mushroom and asiago cheese risotto followed.  For the less adventurous eaters in the group, this was a definite hit.  A pasta or risotto course is a staple of many tasting menus and this one rounded the menu nicely.

Seared halibut with bonito flakes appeared, followed by a baby rack of lamb with potatoes and sugar snap peas.  Chef had removed the lamb from the bone and presented it on the bone in a lovely nod to the original form.  This was the highlight for many around the table and I see why.  Even those who don’t usually enjoy lamb liked Chef Carter’s version.  By this point, of course, everyone was stuffed and even I couldn’t finish my entire piece.

Chef also brought a small plate of pork belly to W to taste- one of the “extras” I referred to.  It was lovely, yet I heard Chef Carter critiquing it to W afterwards.  I am always a little in awe of the perfectionism that some chefs strive to achieve.  It’s that desire to always go just a little further, reach just a little higher, that sets some apart from others.

Dessert was the perfect accompaniment to the meal, refreshing and not too heavy.  Tasting plates of berries with a honey tuile and passionfruit sorbet appeared.  I’m not much of a sorbet person- I like them as much as the next guy but it’s rare that that’s my first choice- but you can bet I finished mine.  Plates of biscotti and chocolate chip cookies made the rounds as well.

The second visit started with a purée of zucchini soup with barley, shrimp and lardons.  This was really delightful and a lovely way to begin.  A beef carpaccio drizzled with truffle oil and accompanied by arugula, frisée and a little sweet pickle followed.  This dish was very clever, with each flavour complementing and elevating the others.  It was clear that a lot of thought went into the components of this one (a lot of thought clearly goes into all of them, but these flavours really paired nicely).

The requisite pasta dish was pappardelle made in-house with a brunoise of veg and romano cheese all enveloped in a rich mushroom sauce.  In a larger portion, this would be the perfect dish to curl up with in front of a fire on a chilly Winter night.

Black cod surrounded by de puy lentils, braised endive and spinach purée came next, followed by slices of duck with brussel sprouts in a honey- chile sauce sprinkled with sea salt.  Like the tender octopus from the first meal, this sauce was the highlight of this second meal for me.  Wow.  That sums it up.  Perfect with the duck.  Chef Jason Carter could easily make a business of bottling and selling that sauce.  I’d be his best customer.

Venison tenderloin with pearl onions and roasted potatoes rounded out the meal before the beautiful poached pear dessert mentioned above- with pecans and vanilla crumble, vanilla glaze, buttermilk ice cream and tuile.  Of course, platters of biscotti, cookies and fresh fruit were passed around as well.

Chef Carter’s tremendous skill shone through, but although his expert technique was highlighted, it was his flavour pairings and attention to detail I enjoyed most.  I was also thoroughly impressed with his personal attention to each guest.  Throughout the meals he came out several times to check on everyone and make sure each person had what they desired.  There are many tasty restaurants out there; Chef Carter’s combination of amazing, creative food coupled with his attention to the overall experience make Centro stand out.  I must also acknowledge the tremendous team of waiters and staff at Centro who were courteous, funny and personable, and who attended to each guest with the utmost of care and not a single misstep.  Congratulations and thank you to the entire team at Centro for providing such a wonderful experience- twice.

I can see my technique improving, which I’m really pleased about.  I need to move faster, however, and when I spar with other students I tend to lose a lot of what I’ve learnt and bring out bad habits, such as bending over slightly at times instead of keeping myself nice and straight, which makes it harder for your opponent to hit you.  Pot has been working with me on that a lot, and will watch me during the group sessions to see what he wants to work on with me next.

I still feel that my defensive reactions are too slow, which is the main reason I’ve opted not to fight while here (foreigners are encouraged to fight as it gives experience to them and business to the camp).  I’m hoping that “slow” here will still translate to “speedy” at home, because here, the trainers are all ex-fighters with impressive stats (this one was Thailand’s #1 fighter, that one has over 230 fights, this one trains Saenchai, etc) and they all move faster than I’ve ever seen anyone at home.

I had all kinds of ideas about what I wanted to focus on when I arrived at the end of September, but once here, I realized I have so much to learn that I was thrilled to just go along with whatever they wanted to teach me.  The private sessions are the best for that, as the trainer you work with takes you under his wing and you become one of “their” students.

After watching my abysmal clinching techniques, Pot and I spent a full hour practicing clinching on Saturday- one of the most painful, tiring, and valuable hours of my training.  Afterwards, despite being bruised and thrown around, my clinching had definitely improved and when I practiced with another girl yesterday I could really see the difference.

Sunday is our day off from training, and boy, did we all need it.  A group of us spent a large portion of the day at the beach, which was rejuvenating for both bodies and souls.

That night we scootered out to the big night market.  What an interesting place!  You can get everything there- food, clothes, souvenirs, housewares, even pets (yup, there’s a stall that sells everything from meerkat-type animals to rabbits to dogs).  The most riveting part of all?  The drive to and from.  Our little “scooter gang” (thanks Aika for coining that analogy!) rode for dear life, weaving in and out of traffic and trying not to hit or be hit.  Now I know what people refer to when they say the driving is dangerous, and next time, I’m going to strongly consider cabbing over.  Fun though:)

Yesterday (Monday) was back to training.  I did the group session in the morning and then had back-to-back privates in the afternoon.  Pot worked me really hard, then a ten minute break, then an hour sparring with Bao V.  By the end of it I was exhausted so didn’t do the afternoon group session.  I think I would have keeled over in the middle of it had I tried!

After a quick shower I came back to watch the session, as you can learn a lot through observation.  There was a clinching tournament going on, where head trainer Pot had challenged everyone to see if they could throw Saenchai, one of the best muay thai fighters in the world, who trains out of Sinbi.  One by one, the students would clinch with Saenchai, and despite best efforts, Saenchai would throw each of them every time, even those much bigger and taller than him.

To avoid being thrown, Saenchai would drop his weight down into his legs and be very solid in stance and strong in technique.  For those much taller than him, he would jump up on them and glue his knees to their ribs, with his knees bent and shins resting on their hip bones, so they were carrying him much like you would a child.  He locked their neck in a ferocious clinch, and was able to continue kneeing them from that position as well, tiring them out.

I’ve only got two more days here.  I feel like I’ve only just begun, and will definitely be back.  I’m thinking March or April maybe….?

I felt like I was getting slower, not faster, and indeed I’m convinced that I was.  On Monday and Tuesday it seemed like no matter what I did I wasn’t blocking fast enough, hitting hard enough, or reacting like a proper fighter.  I suspect that’s because the amount and intensity of training had caught up with my body which was now trying to adapt and recover.  I certainly felt a little discouraged, but knew that I could push through this, and by the time Wednesday rolled around I was back up to par.

I started private lessons this week with instructor Bao V.  WOW.  The hour a day I’ve spent with him this week alone makes this entire trip worthwhile.  The camp has a policy of not letting you switch trainers for private lessons midway through a week.  At first I had intended to try different instructors each day, but this policy proved enormously strategic, as sticking with one trainer allows you to build off what you’ve done in the days before.

At the beginning of the week, Bao V worked with me on pad work, technique and some clinching, but by the end of the week we spent the full hour sparring and doing sparring drills.  Amazing.  So amazing, in fact, that I’m going to be doing two private sessions a day next week because while I do want to work with another trainer, I refuse to stop training with Bao V.  His vast experience and patience shine through, and he knows how to coax the best out of his students.

Once you start doing privates with a specific trainer, they take you under their wing.  Bao V often works with me first during group sessions, monitors that I’ve done my hand wraps correctly, sometimes wrapping them for me and sometimes checking my handiwork, and gives me tips and help as needed.  After private sessions, the trainers often give the students quick Thai massages to ensure that our muscles relax and recover properly, and I’ve learned some helpful tricks from Bao V.  It’s actually a mix of massaging and stretching, and you see trainers employing these same techniques on their fighters in between rounds of matches.

Thursday morning I woke up with a sharp pain in the back of my left heel.  I massaged it as best I could, and trained through it anyways.  Not smart, because Friday I woke up and couldn’t walk.  I wasn’t able to train at all.  When I limped out to Bao V to explain I couldn’t do my private that day, he tended to my heel by massaging a healing cream into it.  Whatever he did made a huge difference, and I felt much better by Friday afternoon, although I thought it prudent to skip the group training session anyways.

Saturday morning the pain was back, but less so.  I didn’t do either of the group sessions, but did my private with Bao V- hey, I’ve only got a limited amount of time here and I want to make the most of it- but we went lightly.  He again massaged the cream into my heel and this process seems to be working.  Sunday is the day off around here, so I’m hoping everything will be good to go by Monday.  I’m planning to do both privates regardless- training hard, if not smart, if you will.

I can’t quite figure out what it could be though.  My heel- not a joint, not a muscle, so what?  A tendon?  If that’s the case I’ll have to be very careful as tendons don’t heal easily once damaged.

Foreigners are encouraged to fight in competitive matches at the local stadium.  All fighters get paid win or lose, and the gym gets a percentage.  There are three Fight Nights each week.

On Friday night, one of our girls competed for her first time (she has some kickboxing experience but had never fought muay thai).  She lost- by a lot.  Her competitor, also a foreigner, had two distinct strategies she kept reusing through all five rounds, and our girl couldn’t seem to get around them.  The opponent would catch our fighter’s kicks and then throw her to the ground, or if they got close, grab her in a clinch which also ended with our girl being thrown. 

It was an eye-opener for me.  Training foreigners in muay thai is big business here, and from my understanding, they usually match someone’s first fight with an opponent that although may present a challenge, shouldn’t be too difficult to beat (if you stay and have several fights, the opponents get harder).  I was shocked to see this fairly grim match play out.

I found out later that they do ask the fighters if they’re ok with the opponent, and despite this opponent being much more experienced, our fighter had okayed the match.

Of course I managed to squeeze in some beach time with a few new friends, as well as discover some new delicious Thai restaurants.

On tap for Week Three?  Two private sessions daily, one with Bao V and one with trainer Pot, an extremely experienced and serious coach and former fighter.  Sparring where possible.  More exploring of the island.  Copious amounts of beach time and Thai food, and possibly getting out to some of the islands like Ko Phi Phi, where the movie The Beach was filmed.  I also have quite a bit of work to do for my job back home, a few hundred pages of readings for my Master’s, and must start writing my thesis.  The agenda also includes visiting some of the temples here and taking a Thai cooking class, but those can stretch into next week as well.

Two weeks down, two to go!

Communication here is done through laughter, gesturing, and muay thai grunts of “mmm-MMMM” and “Ooooh-AAAAAY!”.  Despite a mostly English clientele, the trainers don’t speak much English, and the few words they do take some deciphering (“lip kick? You want me to kick your lip?? Oh, you’re saying LEFT kick!”).  But it works, and the sessions are both hard work and a lot of fun for everyone.  Now that they’re used to me, they like to come over, look at what I’m doing, and laugh, but all good-naturedly.  They’ll imitate me, point out whatever they want me to change, shake their heads and say “No, bad!”  They then show me what they want and say “Yes, good!”  When I get it, cries of “Yes! See!” and “mmm-MMMM!” abound.

Cheering is also a means of communication.  When another Canadian shows up, they point to him or her, turn to me, yell “Canada!” and break into spontaneous cheering.  The day we discovered two of us are not only Canadian but also BOTH from Toronto, well, that was a celebration.

They like to laugh at how I do my hand wraps as well.  It’s now at the point that when they shake their hands and yell “rab! rab! hen rab!” indicating time to put them on, one of the trainers will inevitably yell “Mehn-di!” to bring my hands and hand wraps over to them to take care of.  It’s like a dance watching them wind the material over my wrists and knuckles.  They’re so graceful and expert even in this simple task.  Now I wrap one while the trainer watches, and he wraps the other.  Maybe next week I’ll graduate to being able to handle both!

I found the beach on Friday.  Phuket is known for its magnificent beaches and this one doesn’t disappoint.  Unfortunately I got a little sunburned, so kneeing the bag later that day with red skin hurt just a little!  I have a slight sunglasses burn too- let me tell you how attractive that is.  Despite all that, I’m going to be at the beach in between sessions on good weather days; it’s that stunning.

I finally rented a motorbike, the method of choice for transportation here.  It certainly makes life easier, as most things are not walking distance from the camp- and those that are mean a sticky, sweltering, uncomfortable trek in the humidity.

Life is getting busy here with all the training and the socializing that goes on afterwards, not to mention the work I brought that needs doing and my thesis that unfortunately won’t write itself.  When I have a few minutes I learn some Thai- it’s not a difficult language to learn, but the pronunciation isn’t natural to English speakers.  For example, there’s a sound written phonetically as either a ‘b’ or a ‘p,’ but really is somewhere in between.  My trainers and other Thais generally understand what I’m trying to say though, and they get a kick out of my efforts.  Some of my trainers have begun speaking to me in Thai, and I have to remind them that I don’t quite speak the language yet!

Training is awesome.  One morning session there were fewer people than usual, so the trainer holding pads for me worked with me for about 35-40 minutes worth of rounds.  THAT was difficult, but worth every second.  They like to start with basic moves and combos and then throw in additional blocks and techniques you haven’t done before, so ever expanding your repertoire.  I learned a back kick the other day that feels awkward now, but once I perfect it I can’t wait to whip it out!

The trainers will demonstrate the moves if you don’t pick it up from their one or two word commands.  My trainer wanted me to do a quick shuffle and then throw a kick (the advantage of the shuffle is that your opponent can’t tell what’s coming) and when I didn’t understand, his instructions were “like Saenchai! Same same!”  Definitely funny, but as I watch the training methods and then see them in action at Fight Nights, it seems Sinbi really does provide some of the better training around Phuket and Sinbi fighters routinely win.

Sunday is the one day off, so I explored the island and went elephant trekking.  I’d never done it before, but it’s not really for me.  That’s not the life these majestic creatures were meant to have.

One week down, three to go!

There’s a rhythm here in terms of how the days flow. I get up at 6am and go for a run. Morning training starts at 7:30am and lasts until 9:30 or 10. Then I stretch. Afternoon session begins at 4pm, but I like to get there a little earlier to do some of my own conditioning (push-ups, sit-ups, weights, etc). It runs 2- 2.5 hours, and then I stretch again. I start private lessons this week as well. The training is excellent and very intense. The trainers are all top notch, former or current fighters, and have their specialties, although it seems like they’re all good at everything!

Training begins with skipping or running, followed by stretching, always led by one of the students under the watchful eye of our trainers, putting on hand wraps, and shadow boxing. Then rounds of pad work with a trainer, rounds of bag work, and drills.

The trainers want you to go full speed and full power for the entire session, which is part of what makes it so intense. If you lighten up even for an instant, they tell you to do it again, and harder. Even during shadow boxing and bag work, they don’t leave you to your own devices, they walk around and correct technique.

During the breaks between rounds, some people do sit-ups or push-ups, but during the afternon sessions I like to watch Saenchai spar with the students and learn what I can from observing him.

Everything lasts longer here than at home as well. Shadowboxing is three rounds with push-ups in between, but once I move on to pad work, I’m working with a trainer for 20-25 minutes, full speed and full power. They work basic technique and combos, and throw in additional twists as we go. I see myself making slight improvements, which is cool.

After bag work, we always do two rounds of one minute each, where we do either just jabs then just crosses, or 1-2′s on the bag, full power and full speed. I was surprised at how tiring this exercise is, but it’s a great one to work on at home. They want you punching FAST (and of course STRONG, as mentioned above). Then extra conditioning. We do jacknives, core work, leg raises, push-ups, squats, etc. I find the conditioning a little light, but that’s because they expect you to do a lot of it on your own. So I come in early and do 100 push-ups, 100 Thai sit-ups, another 150-200 pieces of core work, some planking and plank walk-outs, squats with weights, and whatever else I’m inclined to do that day. I plan to start adding burpees tomorrow- specifically because I hate them

After the conditioning we move on to sparring, sparring drills and clinching. This is my favourite part of course, and the drills change regularly. They want clean muay thai technique and watch for execution.

We went to a Fight Night on Wednesday where we had three fighters on the card, two of them foreigners- one from Toronto who’s been here six months. Most people are here at least three months. Aside from two Brits, I’m definitely staying the shortest.

It’s the end of monsoon season here, and seems to pour in the middle of the day. It’s nothing like the rain we get at home- I thought we got heavy rain periodically- I take it back. We don’t get anything other than a light drizzle! However, you prefer the rain here, because if it doesn’t rain it’s incredibly hot and humid, too much so.

The trip itself wasn’t too bad.  I’m used to travel and easily sleep on planes.  I had to check a bag for the first time in three years as my muay thai gear doesn’t fit in a carry-on, but it made it through three planes plus layovers, and I didn’t even have to wait that long for it to show up.  I had packed a change of muay thai shorts in my carry-on just in case so I could train straightaway whether it arrived or not.

Before I even get to the camp itself, may I recommend that should you ever get the chance, defnitely fly Thai Airways.  I booked a business class points ticket, but it’s been my experience that the quality of service is usually the same in business class and economy, despite the larger chairs and alternate meal options.

Everything in the airplane is purple and pink, the flight attendants are dressed in traditional Thai clothing, and there are Thai options on the menu.  I like to immerse myself in the culture right away, so had the noodle soup for breakfast.  On the short haul flight from Bangkok to Phuket, they offered a vibrant purple drink made from herbs and flowers (broken English wouldn’t allow the flight attendant to tell me which ones) and it was refreshing, delicious, and zingy all at the same time.

While in the airports on layovers, I snacked on homemade trail mix.  I don’t want to get stuck eating unhealthy crap because I’m hungry, so I like to take a bag of this on lengthy trips.  Plus, with a little milk and sliced banana, it made a great cereal for lunch today!  You’ll find the recipe below.

By the time I arrived at Sinbi, I had missed the morning training session (there are two a day) so unpacked, bought water, etc, until the afternoon time slot.

The session lasted about two and a half hours.  We started with skipping and running, and some light conditioning (mostly push-ups) before jumping right into training.  The instructors rotate and hold pads for people, while other students work on the bags or spar.  I worked with one instructor for about 15 or 20 minutes straight, while he adjusted my stance and basic technique.  Then bag work, more conditioning, clinching, and technical skills work.

The highlight for any muay thai enthusaist is that this is Saenchai’s gym, one of the most renowned Thai fighters.  He not only trains there, but likes to come hang out and watch our training sessions and spar with anyone interested just for fun.  I learned a lot just watching him!

There are a few logistical details here that could use some work.  The fuses in my room blew three times today, so I’m sitting here in the dark as I type this.  I actually finished a shower in the dark after training, since the fuse blew while I was in it.  I’m not too fussed about it though, I’m here to train and after the long journey am planning to sleep soon anyways.

Travel Trail Mix

Adjust all amounts (and ingredients!) to your taste.  Nuts, seeds and dried fruit are all chockful of enormous health benefits and will keep you feeling satisfied for a while.  All ingredients are plain or roasted- no added salt or sugar.  You can find them at your local bulk foods store and buy exactly what you need.  This recipe yields a lot so cut down if desired.

1/4 cup hazelnuts

1/4 cup brazil nuts

1/4 cup pistachios

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pecans

1/2 cup peanuts

1/2 cup almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 cup dried apricots

1/4 cup jumbo dried cranberries

1/2 cup raisins

Mix all together and enjoy!

This has upsides and downsides.  On the upside, I’ve become an expert packer.  I never check bags any more regardless of how long I’m going to be away.  If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t come, and I am able to get everything I need and then some in a small carry-on.  I’ve also conquered jet lag.  It’s true- there are a few tips there but the main trick is to push yourself through the day and then go to sleep immediately after dinner.  I can maneuver in airports like nobody’s business, and can pick which security line to enter a mile away (stay away from strollers- there’s always one).  Favourite airport?  Tel Aviv.  Least favourite? Chicago O’Hare, although the dinosaur bones are pretty cool.

On the downside, it’s hard to maintain a routine at home (travel becomes the routine).  I’m involved in a lot of activities, spend time with my friends, etc, but I always seem to be packing or unpacking, doing laundry from a trip, and catching up at work.

This also means I cook less.

As much as I love to cook, I don’t want tons of leftovers or groceries sitting in the fridge while I’m gone.  I generally make something small and healthy, and subsist on that while balancing dinners out with friends while awaiting the opportunity to cook something delicious when I’m in town for at least a few days in a row.

I recently had an epiphany though.  With the amount I travel, if I don’t cook in the limited time I have, I won’t cook at all.  That scared me.  And then I thought, well, I’m always going through the fridge to finish things before I leave, so let’s see what I’ve got and turn it into something soulful.

This time my fridge and pantry revealed leftover brown rice, some thyme, garlic, and chicken breasts.  It’s beginning to get cold in the mornings and evenings, and the sun is coming up later.  Chicken soup would be perfect!  One short trip to Culinarium to pick up whatever local veg was available, and then ta-da!

I’ll be eating this right up until I leave- and I don’t mind one bit.

Notes:  All amounts can be adjusted according to your taste.  Ingredients can also be changed depending on what’s in your fridge.  Kale would make a tasty addition, as would a little minced ginger.

Cleaning Out the Fridge Chicken Soup

2 tbsps olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 pkg mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large sweet potato, chopped

1 small head of broccoli, stem discarded, separated into florets

2 carrots, chopped (I like to leave my carrot pieces on the larger side)

2 chicken breasts, chopped

chicken broth- enough to cover ingredients, approx. 2.5 litres

3 tsps dried thyme leaves

3 bay leaves

leftover rice

handful fresh basil

salt ‘n pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, mushrooms and garlic and saute 2 minutes.  Add sweet potato, broccoli and carrots, and cook just until tender, about 8 minutes.  Add the chicken breast pieces and cook until opaque at the edges, about 2 minutes.

Add the broth, thyme and bay leaves, and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and let simmer 8-10 minutes or until chicken is almost cooked through.

Add the rice and a few torn basil leaves (reserving some for garnish) and cook 2 minutes.

Season to taste.  Discard bay leaves.  Dish into bowls and garnish with remaining fresh basil.  Tuck in to a heart warming bowl of heaven.

Of all the places to find foodies, a muay thai gym is not the first location that pops to mind.  Yet, it’s a mecca of people who love to eat!  One of the instructors there, Lynne, not only is a terrific cook, but an exceptional baker who runs her own dessert business making cupcakes, cakes, gift baskets, diaper cakes, and more.  She recently decorated a cake that was so stunning it should be featured on the cover of baking magazines.

And tasty?  Let me tell you.  Her cupcakes are legendary.  In a perfect blend of muay thai and buttercream, she sells her cupcakes at our in-house demonstrations (fighters from different gyms get together and compete), and I save my calories so I can buy at least one of every kind.

I’d like to tell you which ones are my favourite, but it’s tough, as every time I try a new one my list expands.  I definitely recommend trying the pina colada, mango-coconut, apple crumble, and the much beloved doughy delight, which is basically akin to chocolate chip cookie dough in cupcake form.  So good I bought some for my office to enjoy.  Lynne even personally delivers to most areas in Toronto.

One important factor that puts Lynne’s cupcakes a notch above the rest is that the cupcake itself is part of the flavour.  Many cupcake vendors bake plain vanilla or chocolate cupcakes and then put flavours only in the icing (in a bakery that shall remain nameless, I once bought a latte cupcake and was so disappointed by the dry vanilla cake with no latte flavour, and the overwhelming coffee flavour in the icing only, that I wound up throwing it out without finishing it…)  Lynne, however, works hard to ensure that if she tells you the cupcake is pina colada, or toffee, or mint chocolate, that the flavour is distributed gloriously through both the cupcake and icing.

But no need to sit here and drool over a blog post.  Check out Originals by Lynne yourself, order something- anything, you can’t go wrong- and enjoy.  After all, summer is the perfect time for cupcake eating.

And Lai Toh Heen is a definite must-do, let me tell you.

From the website:

Experience a new form of Asian cuisine grounded in centuries-old Chinese traditions that are cleverly reinterpreted for modern sensibilities and local flair.

I must say, they hit the mark.  Beautiful decor, impeccable service, and incredible food.  Do make a reservation if you want to eat at a certain time because they fill up.  Jill and I weren’t pressed, so we walked in, put our names down, and then took a lovely long walk until it was time to head back.

The menu offers delectable a la carte options, but also groups items together for various dinner options.  I often find that when restaurants do this, the options aren’t that exciting, almost like they’ve put one or two specialties and the rest filler.  Not so here.  The dinner combinations were so appetizing that we truly couldn’t decide.  There’s also a tasting menu option- my favourite- but after reading the menu there were a few selections we wanted to make sure to try, so went a la carte.

We indulged in a glass of Prosecco each ($12 per), an excellent accompaniment to everything we ordered.

Our evening began with pan-seared foie gras glazed with ice wine plum sauce, on a bed of shredded duckling in sesame and peanut dressing ($18).  WOW.  The higlight of the meal, and yes, it tasted as good as it sounds.  The foie gras literally melted in our mouths; we stopped talking mid-conversation to appreciate the full pleasure of an amazing start to an amazing meal.

We each have our yardstick to measure Chinese restaurants.  Jill orders the hot and sour soup and I go with the won ton.  Her hot and sour came with baby shrimp and shredded chicken ($7) and my won ton, in a chicken consomme, offered a choice of shrimp or pork wontons ($7).  I’m convinced I made the right choice with shrimp because it was so tasty, but since everything was pretty good, I’m sure I’d feel the same way had I gone with option two.  Jill loved her soup as well.

We shared two mains: oolong tea smoked duck breast slices with pickled turnip and seaweed ($20) and prawn, scallop, crab claw and vegetables wok-fried in conpoy chili sauce ($19).  The presentation of both was stunning.  The duck breast slices had some inconsistency with the texture between the slices, but the taste was great, and the pickled turnip superb.  The seafood dish had a light, sweet glaze and was cooked perfectly.  The sliced asparagus underneath was actually the highlight of the dish, and we polished everything off quite nicely, along with a side of steamed rice.

I was pleased to see the dessert menu comprised of traditional Chinese flavours and sweets, as opposed to restaurants where they throw in North American cakes or ice creams.  The sesame balls with red bean paste ($4) were an easy choice for me- I adore sesame- and Jill went with the crispy pancakes with red bean paste ($5).  The paste was the same in each dessert of course, sweet, thick, and reminiscent of dates.  The sesame balls were a little greasy, but that’s to be expected of deep-fried foods, and I really enjoyed them.  The pancakes were delicious as well.  I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite.

For two people, our meal came to a total of $120.07 (before tip), including the alcohol- quite reasonable given the quality of food and the extremely high level of service.  We thanked everyone profusely when we left, and I was touched to see the pride that shone through in their smiles.  They clearly spare no effort in making sure their guests have an enjoyable experience, and I loved that they were proud of that.

I recommend you try it.  You’ll likely see me there; I’ve just added Lai Toh Heen to my list of favourite restaurants in Toronto.

Because we can.  We must…. Japan had been hit by a massive 8.9 earthquake. Over the next few days, I watched as the country was hit by one disaster after another.  My heart broke a little each time I saw the images of death and destruction, of kids being scanned for signs of radiation, of rescue workers searching for the bodies of victims, of survivors trying desperately to find their loved ones.  I sent up a silent prayer each time, but I wanted to do more…. I bake almost every week, and I know so do hundreds of passionate food lovers all over Toronto. If we all put our efforts together, can we make a difference? I really believe we can.

Through enormous effort, dedication and hard work, Heena and Niya mobilized hundreds of volunteers to bake, donate, staff, sell, collect, set up, tear down, drive, organize, and anything else we could do to run a massive two day bake sale in early April.  100% of the proceeds were donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.

The camaraderie, cooperation and enthusiasm were inspiring.  And the sum total?  We raised $30,064.67 !  Congratulations to Heena, Niya and everyone involved in this amazing cause.

On the day of, I volunteered at the Liberty Noodle, a lovely restaurant on East Liberty Street.  I was blown away by the spread and show of support.  There were so many baked goods we had displays on every table in the restaurant.  I ran the art auction and raffle, and people were flowing in and out all day.  I bought a few items to try, and especially loved Mardi’s mini macarons.

Today I’m sharing the recipe for the deep, dark, chocolatey brownies I made for the sale, courtesy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking.  I always make extra of whatever’s on the menu that week, and delivered a batch of these to my friend and neighbour Danny.  He was really pleased to get these!

Tribute-to-Katharine-Hepburn Brownies

Adapted slightly from Dorie’s recipe on p.96- 97 of Baking.

1/4 cp flour

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cp (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsps finely ground instant coffee

2 large eggs

1 cp sugar

2 tsps vanilla extract

3/4 cp- 1 cp walnut pieces, chopped

4 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease an 8-inch baking dish.

Mix the flour and cinnamon together.

Place the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  When the butter starts to melt, sift the cocoa powder into it and add the instant coffee.  Continue to cook, stirring, until butter is melted and cocoa powder and coffee are blended in.  Remove from heat and cool about 3 minutes.

Whisk the eggs into the butter-cocoa mixture one at a time.  Stir in sugar and vanilla, followed by the flour- cinnamon mixture, nuts, and chopped chocolate.  Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish.

Bake 35 minutes, remove from oven, and let cool.  Enjoy with a deep glass of milk.