True Sichuan flavours in India; Khmer cuisine for global palates

Hello,

Tesla’s wild ride down in the markets just got a small reprieve. 

The EV maker’s shares rose nearly 4% after a steep fall that wiped out $152 billion in market value after Elon Musk and US President Trump’s public feud.

It might be akin to putting a bandaid on a bullet hole, considering Tesla’s already flagging sales, waning demand, and the new threat of reduced US federal incentives. Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Oppenheimer have cut their expectations for deliveries for the second quarter and all of this year, respectively. 

There is some good news on the components front, though. China said it is willing to accelerate the examination and approval of rare earth exports to European Union firms.

In other news, if you’ve been holding onto vacation plans in international destinations, now is the time to travel. While the Philippines aims to boost tourism by allowing visa-free travel to Indian nationals starting June 8, Egypt is getting ready to unveil a whole new way of viewing the Pyramids of Giza.

The plan—$30 million and seven years in the making—will overhaul the Giza Plateau, along with making the area car-free, introducing hop-on, hop-off buses, and upgrading amenities for visitors. 

You can even enjoy a fine-dining experience with a view of the pyramids!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• True Sichuan flavours in India
• Khmer cuisine for global palates
• Yellow Diary’s signature genre blends

Here’s your trivia for today: Known for its bustling trade, which city is often referred to as the "Diamond Capital of the World"?

Wine and Food

True Sichuan flavours in India

Sichuan food isn’t entirely unfamiliar to Indian palates. However, Indo-Chinese is not the real Sichuan food, which prompted Chef Eric Sifu to introduce authentic Sichuan cuisine to Indian diners through a special menu at KOKO restaurants in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. 

The Malaysian-born chef has spent years travelling, researching, tasting different dishes from the region and across Southeast Asia, and experimenting with flavours, textures, and formats. All this has led to a 14-item menu that includes sushi, dim sum, entrees, and small plates.

Traditional flavours:

• At KOKO, Chef Sifu’s culinary expertise shines through in creations such as Spicy Crab Roll, which layers the crab tempura with scallion, water chestnut, and pickled Thai chilli. Chef’s Secret Tofu and Pork Lapchong & Smoked Tenderloin Rice are also some standout highlights of the new menu. 
• While dishes like Prawns in Peppercorn Oil and Spicy Lamb, Mala Style boast typical Asian flavours of ginger and wok hei (wok-charred aromatics), there’s a noticeable deficit of heat, which in core Sichuan cuisine is so fiery that it numbs the tongue. 
• The special menu really shines when it comes to infusing flavours with theatrics, whether it is presenting lavish portions in a plate the shape of a large conk or using liquid nitrogen to bring out the oomph.

Wine and Food

Khmer cuisine for global palates

Despite its balanced and deeply-rooted traditional flavours, Cambodian food—often also referred to as Khmer cuisine—gets neglected, and is yet to make a mark on the global culinary map like its Southeast Asian counterparts. 

A chef and food writer is on a mission to change that. Chef Ros Rotanak, popularly known as Chef Nak, is one of the few women chefs around the world trying to revive and preserve the traditional recipes of Cambodian cuisine that were lost during the Khmer Rouge regime. 

Reviving forgotten flavours:

• In 2010, during a trip to the United States, Chef Nak realised how some restaurants in the States served Khmer food but called it Thai since not many diners were aware of the former. She then embarked on a journey of travelling around Cambodia to learn the rare and forgotten recipes from the elders of villages. 
• For someone discovering Cambodian cuisine for the first time, the chef recommends grilled fish with tamarind sauce, served with herbs and rice noodles; Kampot seaweed salad; and white pearl soup, a royal Cambodian recipe with a clear, elegant broth.
• Staying true to traditional techniques is important for Chef Nak, which is why she emphasises on using the mortar and pestle to make spice pastes, and makes steamed dishes in banana leaves rather than foil. She believes traditional techniques bring out flavours and textures that machines cannot replicate.

Music

Yellow Diary’s signature genre blends

Across the globe, genres usually define music artists and bands. However, Mumbai-based The Yellow Diary has broken out of that mould and made fluidity its identity. 

Founded in 2015, the music band has become a key voice in the country’s indie scene, blending genres like rock, electronic and Indian classical music seamlessly. With songs like Marz, Roz Roz (in collaboration with Shilpa Rao), and Rab Raakha, it has been able to carve out a loyal following among millennials and Gen Z alike.  

News & updates

• Market debut: Gemini, a crypto exchange run by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, on Friday disclosed it had confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, as digital asset firms seize on renewed market momentum.
• Delayed flight: NASA is delaying the earliest potential next flight of Boeing Co.’s troubled Starliner spacecraft to 2026, pushing back a key milestone for a vehicle meant to serve as an alternative to the Dragon spacecraft owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• AI leaderboard: Microsoft will start ranking artificial intelligence models based on their safety performance, with the software group seeking to build trust with cloud customers as it sells them AI offerings from the likes of OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI.

Known for its bustling trade, which city is often referred to as the "Diamond Capital of the World"?

Answer: Antwerp.

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