A Feast for the Eyes

Sweet nectar: irresistibly pink 

Dans le Noir in Paris shrouds its diners in total darkness to heighten their appreciation of the taste and texture of modern French cuisine. But as chef Michael Smith soon discovers, in his TV series "Chef Abroad", that for some food offered by this novel dining concept, what you can't see you can't taste as well. Truly this is testimony that you feast first with your eyes.

As you well know, the Japanese buy into first pleasuring your sight big time. And, to my greatest delight, so does Malaysia's celebrity chef Wan: in his "Best Wan" cooking TV series, he dishes his piping hot squid in black ink onto a plate decorated with fiery red chillis and a generous swirl of said ink round its distinctively white porcelain edge And so transforms unassuming pitch darkness to the promise of a sumptuous affair. And in that one ingenious stroke of the ink brush, he has successfully put to rest the common mis-conception that his country's national cuisine cannot compete in the same visual league as Japanese cuisine.

But what comes through most clearly in his cooking show is this: simple home cooking can surpass passing the taste test by first tantalizing hubby with a humble peasants' spaghetti that's handsomely heaped with a cheese-infused bolognese sauce; which in turn is sparingly garnished with fresh leafy sprigs of charmingly green tarragon.

And you can even transform a curry dish from being visually mundane to an artistic inspiration by plating the fluffy fragrant rice in a ramekin, with fanned out blanched snow peas peeping seductively from a hearty helping of a spiced up, coconut-laced concoction of cherry tomatoes and thickly sliced chicken.

Then hubby will happily question the need of ever having to dine out when dining in offers an equally delightful festive feast. But when an evening at a classy restaurant is called for during say a birthday or wedding anniversary, he'll pay you the greatest compliment by not ordering from the menu what you have pleasured all his senses at home.