Customer Reviews

Beyond Fusion: A New Look at Ethnic Influences on Contemporary Cooking

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a professional I can say this is a very honest book. I really appreciated the way the dishes were executed and pictured in real time. There is no over manipulation of presentation to impress nor over stepping too many classic boundaries whether Asian or Occidental.It seems that going "beyond fusion" is in a way a sense of going back to basics. Where the items are fused as in the book I could taste and see how each would complement, not confuse. This guy has the back ground and obviously has a respect for food. I think it is a great book and it is surely one of those thing where to get something simply done is not necessarily done simply. Congratulations. Being in a less than cosmopolitan area I shall draw on this book to stimulate ideas in the future. A good find.

The book has wonderful photography but the main beauty lies in the application of ideas. It invokes the imaginative side of cookery. After reading it, I am urged to explore cookery beyond culturally accepted norms. I feel that the whole basis is totally about the combination of western and eastern styles of cooking to produce a unique food that goes beyond traditional boundaries. Even different sub-cultures are mixed in cooking to create something palatable to all. It is truly beyond the melding of East and West. The book shows us how the combination of cooking ideas can actually work. It is creativity at its best. Wonderful.

Saw the book in Singapore airport. Said to myself not another cookery book. As an Ex Hotelier & Caterer, I could not help myself pick it up and look through it since I have had the pleasure of dining in many of Chef Rainer Hotels, The Mandarin Oriental in KL, Fullerton in Singapore. It is a really Great book, so refreshing and different. I could not put it down all the way home on the plane. It is not only a cookbook but also a little story book for each recipe. Brilliant photo's, almost like vogue style. A Wonderful gift to people who like cooking Great gift for both families or professional chef's.

" Beyond Fusion " is a beautiful , if slightly expensive , book.
This book is top of the top-end cooking books.The photography is
a delight to the eye, the recipes creative, overall an outstanding book.

This is a very nice Asian fusion book.

The photos are very good, and recipes are generally simple, straightforward, and remarkably concise...a pleasure!

Techniques are suitable for intermediate level cooks, as beginners are not likely to go for finding and assembling the varied ingredients.

Main drawback is if you live outside of Asia or away from an Asian market to get your taro, chicken feet, red dried dates, wolfberries, astragalus root, Chilean bellflower, it's going to be a long search...and that's just for making Black Chicken Herbal Broth! Don't despair, you can even start on Asian Dried Fruit Dipped in Chocolate, and make Mango and Jackfruit Spring Rolls.

I bought this on the basis of the rave reviews, and just have found other fine Asian/Asian Fusion books with similar fine qualities, for less money, and with simpler recipes.

I have many cookbooks in my library but nothing as beautiful as this! It's not merely a book, it's a work of art!

Rainer's credentials are impressive. Renowned chef Pierre Koffmann refers to him as one of the most brilliant young chefs to graduate his restaurant La Tante Claire in Chelsea (London). In addition to this culinary confirmation, Rainer has traveled and worked thoughout Asia, North America and Europe. So who better to iron out some of the wrinkles in the confusion over fusion than a chef who has first hand experience of working within a multitude of cultures and countries?

To set the scene the cookbook begins with a journey through an Asian wet market "the Temple to which the majority of Asian housewives make their daily pilgrimage for fresh food, household wares and other necessities." Wet markets offers every commodity that a cook could desire; produce, seafood, spices - even live chickens wait to be bought, slaughtered and plucked. To many chefs in Asia the pilgrimage to a wet market serves as the fuel that fires their imagination.

This well written piece puts the reader in the mood for the next five chapters of recipes. The chapters are logically categorized offering; soups and laksa (Asian noodle soups), vegetables, fish and seafood, meat and poultry and finally sweets.

The skills and techniques used in each of the dishes varies - the recipes suit cooks of every level. The Thai Red Curry Cappuccino proved to be delicious and the Kataifi Prawns is a really simple multi purpose dish that would be a good addition to anyone's home repertoire or a great snack for professional chef to add to their bar menu.

Each creation is accompanied by a brief narration from Rainer and complimented with inspirational photography courtesy of the author's friend Shekar. The lay out of the book is colorful and simple, finishing with a few "notes" from the chef. In this final part of the book Rainer explains some of his basic philosophies and credits the hard work of those who made the book possible.

To summarize - if you want to understand or love fusion food or are a true cookbook lover, Beyond Fusion will make a fantastic addition to your library.

Somebody recommended this book to me and i bought it through a friend in Singapore as it is for some reason not available here. I have heard though that they will publish it in the US and then is should be much cheaper on here. The book has great photography and is an interesting read, besides having some very creative recipes. Great.

Hi, i just found this book by chance in the airport in Singapore, doesn't seem to be in stores here in the US or at least i can't find it there. I am very impressed by the photography in this book and the recipes sound interesting although i am not a cook but i can sort of understand what it is all about, i am sure some of the ingredients would be hard to find here but that shouldn't stop you from buying the book, if nothing else it sheds light on the topic of fusion food and inspires to try new things.

What i want to say is that this book is outstanding, pictures, recipes, everything. i hope this guy will write another one like it.