It’s that time of year again, when enterprising restaurateur Fredi Schaub of
Bruno’s Restaurant and Wine Bar imports a European chef to refresh the taste
buds of the Pattaya gourmets. Following on from the success of the last two
years (chefs Luca Messina and Peter Marti), Fredi has this time brought over
chef Claudio Forti, who has been showing his culinary expertise since August
1 and will stay at Bruno’s until August 31.
Remembering
wonderful culinary treats from his previous chefs, it was with much
expectation that the Dining Out Team accepted Fredi’s invitation to meet
chef Claudio, and to try some of the different dishes that he has brought
with him.
We are presuming that surely everyone in Pattaya knows where Bruno’s is
located, but just in case... it is on the left side coming down Thappraya
Road, about half way between the Nirvana Place at the top of the hill and
Thepprasit Road near the bottom. There are ongoing roadworks, but the car
park attendant will show you that there is more than adequate parking
alongside the restaurant, as well as at the front.
Again, for any newcomer who has not dined at Bruno’s Restaurant and Wine
Bar, it is one of Pattaya’s elite fine dining restaurants, with the service
and décor that you would expect of an establishment of this caliber. Need we
say more?
To fully appreciate this new visiting chef’s culinary efforts, it does help
to know something of the man. Claudio Forti is a proud Piedmontese, a man
who decided to go into the world’s kitchens to follow the direction given
him by his maternal grandmother, herself a superb cook. Like all passionate
Italian chefs he is only too happy to discuss the merits of Italian cheeses
over the ‘inferior’ products from France and Australia, and, given time,
would be pleased to educate his listeners on the differences in the 200
types of extra-virgin olive oil. “We don’t use olive oil, we use
extra-virgin olive oil!” This man is a perfectionist in the kitchen.
We began with some starters, first off a Piedmont flan of Parmesan and green
asparagus. The flan was particularly good. It is difficult to get a good
flan and most restaurants are afraid of this delicate dish, but Claudio is
not. Since savory flans originated in Italy, this might be the reason.
Despite the asparagus not being exactly like Italian asparagus (according to
Claudio), this dish had a wonderful meld of flavors, and I liked it very
much. Our other starter was a blue fin tuna and rock lobster with a mango
salad. This had everything - taste, flavors and textures. A great
introduction to his Italian style of cooking.
The next dish was a ‘lasagnette’ (a small lasagna) with a tower of three
colored pasta, all made by Claudio, then rolled out and cut to size. This is
no béchamel sauce and stodge, but a light dish that leaves you looking
forward to the next culinary concoction.
For mains, Madame had selected the sliced pork tenderloin, and this was the
most tender pork fillet. I had the Australian Angus beef, which was tender
as you would expect, but the potato accompaniment was again a Claudio
innovation, jacketed but the ‘core’ whipped with cheese and then a cheese
topping and cooked under the salamander. The red wine sauce was also
excellent, though Claudio said that in Italy he would have used a Barolo,
but with the punitive import duty, he had to use a less expensive wine for
the reduction! Claudio, who has worked in Paris, is not an enthusiast of
French cuisine, and overpowering sauces are not his way of cooking,
deliberately keeping his sauces as merely complements to the dish.
It was a spectacular evening at Bruno’s Restaurant and Wine Bar, and you
should not miss the opportunity to experience Claudio’s cuisine. He will be
the chef-in-residence at Bruno’s only until the end of this month. Very
highly recommended. Forza Forti! (and Forza Fredi!)
Bruno’s Restaurant and Wine Bar, 306/63 Chateau Dale Plaza, Thappraya Road,
Pattaya, tel. 038 364 600-1, email [email protected],
www.brunos-pattaya.com. Open seven days, lunch noon until 2.30 p.m., dinner
6 p.m. until late. Secure parking outside.
Spicy Oyster and Scallop Soup
This week’s recipe is for those who enjoy seafood. It is
also a recipe for those who enjoy preparing dishes that ‘look’ expensive,
but the clever shopper can make this very inexpensively. The secret is going
to the local markets, and the small seafood stalls will be able to supply
the scallops and oysters. It is also a very easy to prepare soup. It is not
a quick soup, however, as it is necessary to let the soup stand to take on
the subtle flavors. If you do not have a can of chicken soup, you can
substitute 400 ml of chicken stock. It is a nice starter for any evening
meal - and one that will impress your guests!
Cooking Method:
Place scallops and butter in a saucepan and gently sauté for 2
minutes, adding the oysters after one minute. Remove scallops and oysters
and set aside.
Place all remaining ingredients in the pan and simmer covered for 10
minutes. Allow to stand for 1 hour, then remove the bay leaf, add the
seafood and bring up to heat and serve immediately.
Ingredients
Serves 2- 4
CScallops (shelled)
1 cup
Oysters (shelled)
1 cup
Butter
1 tbspn
Chicken soup
400 ml can
Medium size red chilli (sliced)
1
Celery sliced
1 stalk
Onion sliced
½
Bay leaf
1
Ginger finely chopped
1 tbspn
Lime juice from
1 lime
