Author Archives: sheg4184

Purple Yam Comes Home

Posted on 18 May 2015 by sheg4184

I first came across Amy Besa in her beautiful coffee table cook book, Memories of Philippine Kitchens. A chance meeting at Enderun, a few emails, and I finally introduced myself properly at a Christmas Fair in New York, where she … Continue reading →

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The Goose Station: Reinventing Philippine Cuisine

Posted on 12 May 2015 by sheg4184

“Of all our senses, taste, such as Nature has created it, remains the one which…gives us the maximum of delight.”  ~ Brillat-Savarin Last month I had the joy of meeting Rob & Sunshine Pengson at Madrid Fusion Manila (MFM). Rob’s … Continue reading →

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Sashimi: a Japanese Cooking Philiosophy

Posted on 4 May 2015 by sheg4184

As a rule, the philosophy of cooking aims at the creation of new tastes that do not exist naturally… but Japanese cooking methods are antithetical to this philosophy. The ideal of Japanese cooking is to retain the natural tastes of … Continue reading →

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Simple Joys

Posted on 27 April 2015 by sheg4184

Tokyo. A shopper’s wonderland. My friends are green with envy at my good luck. Sadly, I am not a woman who lives to shop. Basement food halls, malls and department stores make my eyes blur with panic. Too much stuff. … Continue reading →

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Seducing the Soup

Posted on 20 April 2015 by sheg4184

Turkey, like the Philippines, is located at a geographical and cultural crossroads between east and west, right on the cusp of Europe and Asia. Turkish cuisine is a synthesis of centuries of cultural and culinary fusion: a patchwork of Mediterranean … Continue reading →

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“There is Hell Waiting Here”*

Posted on 13 April 2015 by sheg4184

The sandstone Sphynx bares its chest like a beacon above Anzac Cove. Bleak, grey, weeping seas, diluted with the blood of thousands, Johnnies and Mehmets both. No beaches worth their salt, nowhere to land, the King’s young allies culled by … Continue reading →

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The Whirling Dervishes

Posted on 7 April 2015 by sheg4184

A different city. A different dance. Not London but Istanbul. Not Sadler’s Wells but the Galata Mevlevihanesi. Not a ballet, but a timeless, hypnotic ritual dance created by Persian poet, prophet, philosopher and mystic, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi. The Mevlevi … Continue reading →

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Recapturing the Ballet

Posted on 30 March 2015 by sheg4184

Ballet classes began when I was seven years old. I loved them.  The teacher placed me in the back row where my lack of co-ordination and heaviness of foot wouldn’t distract the star pupils at the front. I was completely … Continue reading →

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An Aubergine Anniversary

Posted on 23 March 2015 by sheg4184

Aubergine is French for eggplant. The word aubergine comes from the Catalan albergínia, and the Arabic al-bādhinjān. An aubergine is a vegetable, that firm, smooth, shiny, pendular vegetable that soaks up olive oil like a sponge or grills into a … Continue reading →

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“Such stuff as dreams are made on…”

Posted on 14 March 2015 by sheg4184

Twenty five feet from the sea squats a small, thatched hut with a veranda from which we step straight onto the sand. A traveller’s dream destination, fittingly labelled ‘Play House,’ we happily make a temporary home in this cosy little … Continue reading →

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