Expert Advice on table Setting

Setting It Right
Time to unpack your fanciest bone china and shiniest silverware
to glam up that special night of romance

By Nadya Huang | Photo by Koh Boon Wei | Styling by Nadya Huang and Sabrina Wong
reprinted with permission from “Expert Advice” by Home Concepts Magazine

IT’S global recession and you have important guests flying in town. How would you like to entertain them? Dining at a five-star restaurant may be tasty but it certainly is not tasteful. So, why don’t you just entertain at home? If you have no time to attend a crash cooking class, you can always hire good catering service. Just remember to bring out your best china and flatware to make your guests feel truly important.

FOR A FORMAL SETTING:

1) A service plate always acts as the centre of the setting.

2) A soup bowl is placed on top of the service plate.

3) A napkin is always balanced on the rim of the soup bowl or placed on the left of the forks.

4) Forks are placed left of the plate.

5) Knives are placed on the right, with the sharp edge of their blades facing the plate.

6) Spoons are on the right of knives. From left to right: dinner knife, teaspoon, dinner spoon, soup spoon

7) Dessert cutlery is placed horizontally above the service plate.
a. The handle of a dessert fork should face the prongs of other forks.
b. A dessert spoon, if needed, should be placed above the dessert fork in the opposite direction.

8) Beverage glasses should be placed above the knives and spoons.
a. A water goblet should always be placed on the most left, closest to the service plate.
b. If you are serving more than one kind of wine, glasses are placed in service order from left to right:
| water goblet, Chardonnay wine glass, Bordeaux wine glass, and champagne flute.

9) A bread and butter plate should be placed above the forks with a butter knife lying across it.
The featured formal setting would suit a five-course dinner that includes:
a. Soup, served with warm bread and butter
b. Pasta/rice course
c. Entrée
d. Dessert
e. Coffee/Tea

RULES OF THUMB:

• If possible, all dishware and cutlery should be positioned on a placemat.

• The service plate will act as an under-plate for the dishware of all courses served before the entrée. The plate is then replaced by the entrée when it is served.

• Remember that cutlery is used from the outside in. Cutlery used for the first dish should always be placed furthest from the service plate. For example, if you have a salad and a fish course before your entrée, your cutlery should be placed from left to right in this order: salad fork, fish fork, dinner fork; dinner knife, fish knife, salad knife.

• All utensils should be equidistant from each other and their handles should be straight and level.

Source: Expert Advice on table Setting

Holidays in Germany: Great Year-Round Ideas

Reasons to travel to Germany beyond Oktoberfest
By Jimi St Pierre

Holidays In Germany

THE rest of the world may celebrate Oktoberfest October, but in Germany where the beer festival originated, it actually starts as early as September. In Munich, the provenance of this beer festival, a huge park in the centre called the Theresenwiese (locally known as the Wies’n) is transformed annually into a party central.

Half of the park is filled with amazing rides, side shows, food stalls and Schnapps tents. The other half boasts 14 beerhalls. Like everything about the Oktoberfest the beerhalls are huge, seating over 4000 people inside each one and more in the beer gardens.

Seated at tables you are served steins (1 litre jugs) of the local brew by the frauliens, entertained by Oompah bands…the atmosphere is fantastic.

But if you can’t be in Munich this year, you can always go to the microbreweries in Singapore to enjoy different kinds of beer brews.

That said, Oktoberfest is not the only time to be in Germany.

Read more about holidays in Germany.

Mother’s Day Feasts

Choose from four restaurants at Fairmont Singapore hotel when you take Mum out this Sunday

IT HAS been said that the hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world. On 11 May, the world will momentary stop rocking and spinning as it pays homage to its true, dominant rulers — the Mothers. On this special day, Fairmont Singapore hotel (formerly Raffles Plaza hotel) will elevate matriarchal power and authority to a higher level, courtesy of its multifarious culinary spectacle to remember.

With an array of indulgent offerings and a cacophony of ways for Mothers to bask in the lap of luxury even only for a day, Prego will be leading a sumptuous epicurean tribute to fête all hard-working Moms and give them a fighting chance to enjoy a heart-warming, tummy-thrilling and soul-satisfying meal — a meal they did not whip up themselves.

Read more to find the best treat for Mothers.

25 °C Is Hot

Every month, this restaurant/bookshop in Chinatown recreates a recipe from one of the many cookbooks they’re selling — this May it’s miso-steak by lifestyle guru Harumi Kurihara, regarded as Japan’s Martha Stewart
By James P. Ong

WE’VE all heard the story before: friends who love food so much they decide to open a restaurant and café. For sure, it’s not a new trend, and definitely, it’s not an original idea. But to be able to create a restaurant that’s both original and trendy — well, that’s something we’ll always welcome in Singapore.

At 25 degree Celsius in Chinatown, which opened six months ago, owners Sally Tsai and Karin Chan have hit upon a brilliant idea: a bookstore and dining outlet that also happens to be a test kitchen.

Read more on this food review.

Cooking Tips From Master Chefs for $48

Great deal for foodies and closet cooks
By James P. Ong

IF YOU’RE a closet cook like most of us, the type who regularly surfs the Web for recipes and cooking lessons, then you’ll be thrilled to hear this news: five top chefs from all over the world are holding culinary lessons this Saturday at the Singapore Tourism Board, as part of the World Gourmet Summit.

According to the organisers, “each chef will be conducting a cooking demonstration and prepare two of their signature dishes.” And taste portions of the food! This is a superb deal especially for those who were unable to attend these chefs’ private dinners because of the tummy-growling prices.

For only $48++ per class, you can “witness the best of the culinary finesse of these international master chefs.”Each chef will share their secrets to the great cuisines as well as answer he enquiries.

Read more for cooking lessons from master chefs.

Last Call For A Fab Dinner

Gourmet dinner this Friday or gourmet BBQ on Friday? Choose your pick as the World Gourmet Summit wraps up this weekend
By James P. Ong

IT’S been a fantasy-come-real week for foodies what with the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore and the select private dinners it has organised over the past few days, featuring top-rated chefs from all over the world.

This Friday (25 April) is your last chance to experience a WGS dinner, with chef Peter Thornley, whose menu inspirations, according to www.newzealand.com, “range from everyday objects like a trellise fence to the quirky, such as Donatella Versace’s handbag. Peter once served a first course in paper handbags using chopsticks as decorative handles.”

We hope he’ll be as creative and intriguing at Sistina Ristorante along Jalan Meran Sagah, where dinner will be at $200 ++.

Read more about the World Gourmet Summit.

Design Your Own Cupcakes

Learn to make cute animal faces and more at Bake It Yourself’s pre-Easter cupcake decoration classes
By Mavis Ang

FORGET Easter egg hunting. Cupcakes are the way to go this Easter. And if you’re the type who wants to design their own cupcakes, then you should sign up for Bake. It Yourself’s cupcake decoration classes where you can learn to make cute animal faces and more.

Although it targets children, adults are welcome to join the class, but only if you’re an inexperienced baker like myself (and I enjoyed it tremendously), or you might get bored while the entire class goes crazy designing cupcakes using beginner-level ingredients and techniques.

Learn more about how to design your own cupcakes.

Gourmet Ice Cream Flavours

Lavender. Chili Chocolate. Tom’s Palette offers both traditional and experimental ice cream flavours in its Beach Road outlet
By Cheryl Chia

THERE are many ice cream parlours that have been sprouting all around Singapore. Our sunny little island is known for its extreme temperatures. Here in this tiny red dot, it’s either scorching hot or cold and wet.

Whatever it is, I’ve never seen anyone complain about the lack of ice cream here. My friends eat ice cream even when the weather is cold. The same goes for me. I love ice cream and I believe that any time is ice cream time.

That explains why I’m ever so eager to try out new ice cream parlours whenever I get tip-offs from my friends and the newspapers.

I had some Thai Basil Rice for dinner the other day and was really looking for something to douse the fire in my mouth. Another opportunity to eat ice cream, I thought.

So where was I going to get my ice cream? I was yearning for soemthing freshly made, nothing pre-packaged. Then I remembered Tom’s Palette, a locally owned ice cream parlour that serves unique flavours like black sesame and chrysanthemum.

Read more about this ice cream parlour serving Gourmet Ice Cream Flavours.

North Indian and Bangladeshi Cuisine

Enjoy your meal in sovereign luxury
By Mavis Ang

Like an uncultured layman browsing through an art gallery, I was completely clueless about North Indian food and Bangladeshi cuisine when I stepped into Aangan. So like a guided tour, Aangan’s top chef introduced each of the buffet dishes to me with elaborate details on its origins and ingredients. It all ended up in a heap of jargon in my head eventually, but I’m still determined to understand the authentic North Indian cuisine in a slightly more practical way.

Read more on North Indian and Bangaldeshi Cuisine.

Arabian Nights At Arab Street

Café Le Claire, located on quaint Arab Street, serves authentic Middle Eastern Food like hummus, harissa, and even a whole carcass of lamb
By Cheryl Chia

THOUGH small in size, Singapore has plenty of gems that I’m still in the process of discovering. I don’t know about you, but I love exploring quaint streets that exude a unique essence.

Take Arab Street for example. Walking past that area allows me to appreciate the sights and smells, of course. Peppered with plenty of Mediterranean cafes and Middle Eastern restaurants, one can’t help but be enticed by the alluring scent of grilled meat and the works.

Read more about Middle Eastern Food.