The Week In Bites <br> 24th February 2013

Delicious Singapore

The week began with a look at the wonderful cuisine of Singapore. Famous for its street food and hawker stands, Singapore also has a vibrant fine dining scene which has attracted top chefs from around the world.

This island city-state has roots in Malay, Chinese, Indian, Arab, Indinosean and European cultures. This mosaic of inflences is reflected in its wonderful variety of food. During our tour we discovered treasures like the food in Little India, wet markets and Singapore's famous chili crab. 

All eyes will be on Singapore on February 25th as it plays host to the first-ever Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards, which are sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. The event will be held at the Marina Bay Sands resort.

Salt From A to Z

From Singapore we went on to discover many interesting facts about salt, an element essential to life and cooking.

For instance, did you know that in Japanese theaters it used to be customary to throw salt on the stage before a performance to drive evil spirits away? Or that salt controls the body's blood volume?

Another amazing fact is that animals used to lick the salty earth and create trails which, through the passing of centuries, became the modern roads we travel on today.

Want to learn more? Check out the 26 Things You Didn't Know About Salt.

Chef Ryan Clift On Conquering Asia

Energetic and boisterous, Ryan Clift is a chef you'll never forget. Although he was born and bred in the United Kingdom, he took his culinary skills to Singapore where he know owns and operates The Tippling Club.

His restaurant offers a modernist twist to classic dishes, which are then paired with cocktails instead of wine. It's the type of restaurant the chef describes as ''exciting'' and he was kind enough to share his signature carrot gnocchi recipe with us. 

On why he prefers Singapore to New York or London: ''I don't need to worry about seasons or ingredients. I can get anything I want in Singapore. I can get a delivery air flown from the market every 12 hours straight to my kitchen...this offers me a lot of freedom.''

To learn more about him, read our exclusive interview with this very talented chef.

In the blog

This week in the blog we brought you the 2013 James Beard Award semi finalists, news of chef Alex Atala's rising star and tips on making party foods for the Oscars.