Blog

1 February 2010 – Over the past few weeks, my continuous food journey took me to incredible waterfront places in two parts of the world.

First, the six islands of Aloha was a welcoming respite. Apart from tiki torches, cool breezes, glorious sunsets and miles of pearly shell white sand beaches, my fond memory of my travels there lingered on in the delectable Hawaiian luau (feast).

And what a feast it was! Apart from the wonderous home-style fare my hostess served over the three days, all that I could recall was that I ate, and I ate, until I grew physically tired from the eating even though I knew I could and wanted to eat some more! And still my hostess brought out more to the table. Such was the generosity of spirit of my friends in Hawaii.

I’m glad I managed to convince my hostess to share her recipe for one of my favourite dishes at the luau – the Kalua Pork - so that I can now share it with my friends back at Charly T’s. The Kalua Pork is so flavourful because it takes 4 painstaking hours of cooking, and I’m glad I’ve managed to bring back the authentic Hawaiian spirit with this new item on our menu.

My recent trip to Hawaii triggered fond memories of another ‘homestyle’ favourite – the Ice Cream Sandwich, which I learnt was inspired by hurried mothers who made it for their friends and family. I remembered how great it tasted when I bought it while strolling down the streets of L.A. I discovered by chance the best ever recipe for ‘homestyle’ oatmeal, fruit and honey cookies, and when it is married with a liberal scoop of our homestyle ice-cream – makes a heavenly experience out of the ice-cream sandwich. Of course I quickly added this new discovery into Charly T’s menu so you can experience it for yourself.

Next, my travels took me to Venice, Italy where I discovered Murano Island and fell in love with Murano Glass - the art of blowing glass that has been practiced on this island for more than 600 years, and is much sought after by royalties and collectors the world over.

I couldn’t help but speak to the owners, and am most pleased I managed to bring back a few beautifully hand-crafted Murano Glass wine stoppers so I may share them with friends and family. I’ve left them at the Just For You corner at Charly T’s on the same shelf as the key chains and ‘homestyle’ shortbread cookies from Hawaii. These iconic key chains were also bought by a visitor by the name of ‘Obama’ who was visiting Hawaii about the same time I was there (he was buying them for his friends and family in Washington D.C.)

Having just returned from Hawaii and Venice, I’m already investigating what place next to visit to continue my discovery of exciting authentic home-style tastes. A little hunch tells me it won’t be long before I stumble upon yet another amazing authentic recipe somewhere out there…

4 December 2009 – this day marks the start of many exciting food journeys as I open the doors of my first fast-casual dining restaurant and open the world of well-loved authentic recipes to all!

I’m thrilled that the place looks exactly the way I envisioned it to be – inviting, intimate, and inspiring.

I love the way the entrance opens up, and leads you straight to the ‘Just For You’ section which carries the specially selected memorabilia from my travels that I hope will delight you and your family and friends.  Look out for the collector’s edition of Charlee Tees designed by internationally acclaimed fashion designer Benny Ong.

When you step inside, to your right, you’ll find the counter where you can place your orders and participate visually in the preparation of the fresh food you ordered. To the left, the booth seats with vertical display screens remind me of my train rides in Europe that took me across cities, mountains and seafronts – both day and night. Straight in, the long stretch of cushioned seats are backed by my postcards from the places I visited, encased in glass and framed by bold red and wooden frames. If you look up, you’ll see the giant tiles that remind me so much of Morocco. Even the floor has some of the same euro-asian ceramics. Look out also for a unique chandelier made up of glass bottles – these bottles contain the sauces collected from my travels.

The restaurant interiors aside, more importantly, I’m excited to be able to share and serve my favourite dishes. I can’t wait to see the expressions of delight and amazement – the very same sentiments when I first tasted these recipes on my travels around the world!

I’m already thinking of the next place I’ll be visiting to investigate the authentic tastes of local recipes there, but for now, I’m sipping my Gunpowder Tea Mojito and toasting you to may exciting journeys ahead with food, travel, jazz, life and more!