A review on Carol's book.

Carol Selva Rajah is a native of Malaysia, now living in the Australia shares her passion for cooking through a spectrum of " taste memory" from her childhood that greatly shaped her culinary landscape. I found the book to be rather charming. Quite conscious if my recommendation would be appear to be some what bias, since her experiences seems to reflect many of my own, therefore close to my heart.


However, for those who enjoy Asian food or just to satisfy one gastronomic curiosity this book offers a tapestry of aromatic delights that seduces the senses; both olfactory and gustatory simultaneously. You could rest assured that it won't be a disappointment and your exploration won't be in vain.

Not only does it comes with the delectable recipes, she told delicious stories as well, of a kaleidoscope of  cultures that creates those interesting and glorious intermingled of flavors. It is never easy to describe or share olfactory experience, its intangible, delicate and almost ethereal, but her descriptions reflect her sensitivity cultivated through training and practice to recognize the rich and subtle loudness of nuances in the herbs and spices, (often times one limitation is due to scantily of words in this department but I really appreciate her ability to handle this challenge brilliantly),

When she said the pandanus leaves has the subtlety of the newly mown grass scent in the introduction, I heard the voice in my head said, " Yes, Carol, you're very close almost on the money". I could never quite describe this unique scent, since it has a certain peculiar high notes of sweetness also, almost but not quite vanilla like. (later on discovered in the spice/herbs profile section, she describe it as " Vanilla of the East" the fragrance of fresh grass with hint of mint and a back notes of coconut). 

From my "taste memory" database, this complexity complement well with the scent of rose water, when use as the base for "bunga rampai", a " Malay Potpourri" , melange of aromatic tropical leaves and flowers.  This peculiar high notes of sweetness lent bunga rampai its distinct characteristic and glorified the coconut milk custard on our rice cakes. Absolutely loves they she exquisitely separates all the scent notes of the ginger flower with such elegance and sharp observation. I couldn't have agreed more. Aroma often comes second after taste buds when honing for perfection, in cooking and eating, but it's actually an important part of food experience, in the evocative of memories and in the feeding of our souls. 


Eventhough I am not a purist, I do have a longing to see more tradisinol recipe being incorporated in to see more tradisional recipe being incorporated but understood it is written for the western audience and  fusion is in style. 


Favorite quote, " Asian herbs brazenly provoke the taste buds -speaking to you in louder terms than the tyme ans bergamot of the west". Only those who know lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime and curry leaves will fully understand the meaning of the "louder term" above.