The ultimate hot chocolate milk

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cup and candle

The ultimate chocolate milk.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

My pursuit of the perfect chocolate milk has a long history. Over the years in Singapore, I visited coffeeshops, kopitiams and cafés and ranked what I found as best, second and runners-up like best National, Most Photogenic, and one, well, for Congeniality.

Then a few years ago we visited the Tate Gallery of Modern Art in London. I don’t know how you feel about modern art. Personally I have a difficult relation to it since I seem to be a bit overly sensitive to strong visual communication, or maybe I get distressed about people getting paid for pouring garbage on the floor, or spilling paint on a canvas.  Eitherway, my unfortunate disposition has also made me spend quite some time in various museum cafés when I need, hot chocolate.

Among these the Tate Gallery of Modern Art in London has a special place in my heart. Their exhibitions are filled with visually strong pieces of art that could well emotionally pass as an alternative to one of those really insane roller coaster rides that tosses you upside down in mid-air and then eventually leave you hanging there head down due to some malfunction of the machinery. They are all there, Francis Bacon, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhole, you name it. A virtual crash course in mass communication and visualizations of strong and complicated ideas.

So, after a quick look around I made it to the café and in an attempt to make my stomach calm down I ordered a Hot Cup of Chocolate.

The place is called Café 2 and is actually a recent winner of the Time Out Eating & Drinking Award as the Best Family Restaurant. It is at Level 2, overlooking the Thames riverside.
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Winter’s evening indulgence

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However much we love cooking, the purpose is eventually always to get to relax a bit and to enjoy a nice meal in pleasant company. Maybe to round off a hard day’s work with a small indulgence. Luckily this could equally well be accomplished without more work than it takes to drizzle a few drops of acacia honey on top of a nice Italian hard cheese, pour the wine …

cheese_indulgence

Testun al Barolo and Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, 2006.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

… and say, Hi, you are invited down to the kitchen, to your loved ones.

Choice of cheese: Testun al Barolo, an interesting hard cow’s milk Pecorino cheese from Piemonte in northern Italy. It is matured for six months and then covered with nebbiolo grapes and matured for one more month in Barolo wine oak caskets. It’s texture is a little grainy and the cheese as such has soaked up quite an interesting flavour from the dried grapes.

Choice of wine: Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, 2006. I don’t know your taste in wine and this choice could of course be debated. Amarone is a special kind of wine and many of those who have known wine from Valpolicella being something of a joke among wine connoisseurs, love this underdog region being able to get back at the critics by successfully reviving a technique that stems from the days of the Roman empire, and makes the critics eat their words.

It’s fun and it does work brilliantly with certain kinds of food. The thing with this wine is that it changes it’s face over a few hours, from when you open the bottle. I would say the wine fits with most anything at some occasion during its lifespan. Somewhere in the middle I think I would even like to try it with fish. However, the purpose of it all is to have a good time and this Amarone certainly makes for good company.

How did it work out with the cheese? Well, honestly, who am I to decide that? If I need to say something I would say that to me, the combination felt like a big hug by a large family meeting up a cold day in front of the fire place. There are good times and there are bad times, but in the midst of it all, you know you all belong.

Christmas Table at Råda Säteri 2010

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Krister Dahl, executive chef of Råda Säteri.

With the Swedish Olympic Culinary Team Captain, Krister Dahl, presenting his version of a traditional Swedish Christmas Table at Råda Säteri.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

Previous years we had chosen to have our traditional Swedish Julbord 2007, 2008 and 2009 at Leif Mannerströms Sjömagasinet focusing very much on the produce of the sea, but this year we were looking for something different.

Admittedly it was the persistent recommendation from friends, and our own curiosity of how one of the greatest names we have in the Swedish food competitive world would deal with something as traditional as a Swedish Christmas table, that this year made us make way out to the old mansion of Råda Säteri, just outside of Gothenburg.

The Säteri itself is a large manor that dates back to 1772 while the history of the place as such dates back to Medieval times. Enlivened with expectations, we made our way there through the thick snowfall, that cloaked the lands creating a pristinely white Christmas landscape.
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Second Advent – Visiting Christmas Markets in Gothenburg, Sweden 2010

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson, Christmas Marketing at Haga, 2010.

Standing in the cobbled streets of the Haga district
Christmas market in Gothenburg, Sweden.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

During the whole of December many streets and squares in Gothenburg are turned into Christmas markets with numerous small food and handicrafts fairs, where the emphasis is on the old-fashioned, the homemade and the genuine.

The opportunity is also taken by many historical societies to show off their gear.

Since Sweden is a very secular country, traditional Christian nativity scenes are almost conspicuously absent while the emphasis is on memories of times – and Christmases – long gone.
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Rosemary Lamb Cutlets with wine, lemon and honey pears

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lamb_serving

Lamb cutlets
with garlic and rosemary fried potatoes and wine poached pears.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

Just recently I was looking for inspiration in the local food store, when suddenly some of the best cuts of lamb cutlets I have seen in a long while stared me in the face. So that was easy. Nice, thick and juicy cuts from the lower back and with the filé left in place. Perfect.

I always find cooking lamb a bit of a challenge. However we look at it, lamb is far from an everyday dish where we live. In Sweden it’s a traditional meal that belongs to the autumn and winter season and to have lamb is a little event in itself. Because of this, there are a lot of unspoken expectations surrounding these meals. One of which is the hope that it will turns out good, another the fear that it will not.

However, since this dish worked out fine, I will share what we did, not the least so I will remember it myself.

First of all, there are many traditions in which to cook lamb and ours was inspired by Italy and Greece, as in lots of garlic and olive oil, and only a vague idea about keeping tabs.
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Filé mignon on a mirror of red wine sauce

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ingredients

For an icy winter’s day, Filé mignon on a mirror of red wine sauce.
J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson © 2010

Just back from exotic Shanghai, Hangzhou and Singapore, from a balmy 28C to a -10C outdoors here in the Nordic winter with chilly winds. No doubt, the snow covered land and the white Christmas upcoming is festive and promising, beautiful in its own way, but hardly warm.

So something to go with a deep, full, red wine sauce that warmed body and soul was what we craved. One that would stand up against a good cut of beef as an alternative to all those parsley and pepper sauces. And to that full bodied red wine sauce and a good cut of beef, I wanted a mashed root celery puree to see if the combination of flavours actually worked well when served together. I had an idea it would.

A visit to the local food store supplied the ingredients for today’s dinner that was teeming with ideas. The root celery was easy enough to boil and mash, to which I then added in some King Edward potatoes, a soft cooking kind of potatoes, utterly suitable for making mashed potatoes since that is what it becomes by its merry self if left boiling on the stove for only just a few minutes too long. A few pieces of beef of the filé mignon cut and some sunflower sprouts for a fresh green salad. A bunch of fresh green asparagus looked too tempting not find some use for them…perhaps they could go with wrapped baked bacon?
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A touch of magic at Ristorante da Valentino and Perla’s Pastry Boutique

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Cheryl M Cordeiro-Nilsson with Valentino Valtulina and Perla Valtulina.

Myself, flanked on the left by Valentino Valtulina and his sister, Perla Valtulina in Perla’s Pastry Boutique.
R Di Nardo, G Valtulina and CM Cordeiro for CMC © 2010

It was somewhere between lunch and tea, that I met with Valentino and Perla in the Ristorante Da Valentino, located along a stretch of previous shophouses at Jalan Binka, nestled in the midst of a housing estate in the Bukit Timah area that to me, was quite like Opera Estate where I grew up in the East of Singapore. Here Valentino has three units, a private dining room, a pastry shop and their main restaurant.

Upon entering the restaurant I was greeted by Singaporean families decked in their most casual Saturday wear, in t-shirts, Bermuda shorts and slippers, finishing off their lunches at the pink table-clothed tables, as if they were at home in their very own kitchens. The sight and the atmosphere could not help but fill you with a feeling of warmth and sincerity. You felt welcomed right into their family.

The Executive Chef for the restaurant and this family business is Valentino himself, and on the menu you would often find dishes created by his mother, Alma. As a guest, you could expect to be greeted and seated by his father, Gianpiero.

An exciting part of this venue is the pastries and dessert shop that is taken care of by Valentino’s sister Perla, literally adding the cherry on the top of the entire dining experience at Valentino’s.
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United Nations Association of Singapore (UNAS) – Celebrating its 40th Anniversary

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Kamal Malhotra, UNAS 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Singapore.

At the UNAS 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner 2010.
The tables such as this of the Guest of Honour, Mr. Kamal Malhotra, was decorated with flags from the countries represented at the table.
Raffaele Di Nardo, Patrik Tan and CM Cordeiro for CMC © 2010

The United Nations Association of Singapore (UNAS) recently celebrated their 40th anniversary with a charity gala dinner, with the event opening with a Welcome Speech by Dr. Tham Seong Chee, who is President of the UNAS. The event was held at the Shangri-La Hotel and the purpose was to raise funds for the association’s educational and humanitarian efforts.

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At the United Nations Association of Singapore, UNAS 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Singapore. In a black and gold underlay gown by Francis Louis Ler of Amor Meus, 36 Purvis Street in Singapore.

The main goal for UNAS when it was formed was to build awareness and support for the United Nations and its ideals. As such, this event marked Singapore’s milestone in its efforts in continued support of the United Nations and their international programs.

The Guest of Honour this evening was Mr. Kamal Malhotra, UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and UN Resident Coordinator for Malaysia.

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Visiting the Geely Holding Group in Hangzhou, November 2010

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Geely headquarters, Hangzhou, China.

The Geely Holding Group headquarters in Hangzhou, November 2010
Photo: J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC © 2010

It was with great expectations that I went to visit the Geely headquarters in Hangzhou, the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd, as part of a Swedish delegation from the University of Gothenburg. Geely’s acquisition of the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo with their headquarters in Gothenburg was announced on Monday the 2 August 2010 and with that, the Zhejiang Geely corporation had concluded the largest ever acquisition of a foreign car company in the history of China.

Geely headquarters, University of Gothenburg visit 2010.

A warm sign at the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group headquarters that welcomed the visit by the Swedish delegation.

Geely headquarters, hallway.

Just inside the Geely headquarters entrance.

Having followed the Ford and Geely negotiations as well as could be done in the press, I expected this acquisition to be an important opportunity to study the process of top management knowledge transfer between modern China and the West.
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M on the Bund, Shanghai

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Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson and Yina Huang at M on the Bund, Shanghai.

Sunday lunch at M on the Bund with the Swedish delegates to Shanghai (pictured below) and Yina Huang, Associate Director, Global Local Public Relations Office, Shanghai University’s MBA Center.
Photo © Olof E Johansson, J E Nilsson and C M Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

Shanghai is a remarkable city. Considering all vicissitudes this unfortunate city has seen over the last century it was with great expectations that I recently got to visit it, and to explore to what extent this city had regained its former glory. And in many ways it has.

The ebb and flow of great fortunes being made and lost ripples through the city, constantly changing its face. What is a constant is the river, and facing it is still the Bund however much widened. Across the river on the east bank, an entirely new skyline of Pudong greets us, the new skyscraper-laden financial and commercial district that also houses the new Pudong International Airport.

River view

Pudong area, just seen across the Huangpu River. To the left, the somewhat brutal outline of the ‘Oriental Pearl’ Tower.

What better place to take in all of this but at the fashionable restaurant, M on the Bund? As one review had it:

With superb Continental cuisine, an excellent wine selection and deft service, the fashionable M on the Bund sets the standard for other haute cuisine restaurants in Shanghai. As the place to see and be seen, the much-touted eatery attracts its fair share of Shanghai’s movers and shakers. Contemporary, airy and stylish decor complements sweeping views of the Bund. The food reaches equally high heights. Diners are recommended to try the Salt Crusted Leg of Lamb and the Crispy Suckling Pig. They should also leave room for dessert—the sinfully delicious pavlova is rightfully legendary.

But however much I had wanted that to be my impression too, I am forced to say I beg to differ.

I believe that if I were living in Shanghai, M could possibly be a place where I might want to bring friends and visitors. But it isn’t a place I would find myself craving to come back to, nor a place I would get addicted to as it stands right now.
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