So my great mate Alp invited me to meet all his mates on their regular ‘boys boozing on a boat‘ catch up. Captain’s of Industry they were. And what an absolutely top crew they were too. Brilliant guys, superb boat, and what a cracking night. I offered up to cook due to my invite. So this little nighttime affair became ChillaxBBQ Chef Table on a Bum Boat. A first alone on a boat for me. First time on a converted bumboat. First time for a Chef Table. First time with guys only. First time in a raging storm. First time cooking on an electric hot-plate the size of a biscuit tin. Did I pull it off? Let’s have some comments shall we;
“Great night. Awesome food, Brian. Best ever on that vessel, no doubt,” said our Host, Christian
“Brian – amazing cooking. Thanks for the feast of feasts,” said Andrew
“Brian – you are a legend. Extraordinary effort in terms of planning, preparation and sublime delivery – unforgettable,” said Mike
Happy with that. And these guys are BIG foodies. So, here comes some ‘footage’ of the event. Here comes ChillaxBBQ Chef Table on a Bum Boat.
My Tomas for the day, all the way from Nebraska. Great meat Shaun at Orca, great meat fella. As usual, I reverse-seared these at 90 degrees to medium-rare, ready for then flash charring on the BBQ. Stunners.2Kg of slow roast pork belly up next. The secret recipe I created that everyone knows as I posted it once haha. Inspired by my great mate Dougy P. This was in rhe over for 4.5 hours on 90 degrees. Slow is the key to soft, juicy, meat.Japanese-style BBQ prawns. A delicious Japanese marinade recipe usually for meat, but I tweaked a tad with more citrus tones to hit the prawns. A cracking recipe.As I said to the guys. No, these are not testicles. These are Filipino Chorizo. They make them like this as little balls all connected up on strings. They are fantastic. Not spicy like Spanish can be, but surely there is Spanish influence for sure.A starter/welcome cocktail. A Gazpacho. Laced with some vodka to give to some kick. Served up in those little saucepans. Absolutely gorgeous way to start the evening’s discussions.This one is fast becoming a client favourite. Fresh fish with 4 fresh herbs and citrus served with chips.As I was at home today working I was also able to cook a quick lunch for wifey. I made tuna brick baked in home-made tomato sauce, with fresh sage, lemon and Balsamic drops. She’s a lucky girl!Reverse-seared to medium-rare perfection. Oh yes, these are gonna be good.The food keeps growing. Here is a tip. Zip-lock bags are a genius way of getting marinade all over your food. Also for storing and transporting. Just load them up and when ready tip onto the BBQ. So easy!I asked Alp what the weather was like in the city, cos over East it was grim at 1700. And the view from his window is… EQUALLY GRIMI got to Keppel at 1700 as I had two work calls to do with EU colleagues and suppliers before wet set sail. And it was pissing down continually. Oh deary me.Gradually the other guests arrive. Here is Kevin. I have never met but through chatting, we find out that we know about 50 mutual friends. The crazy small world in which we live. Like me, he is on work calls back to the UK too. Staring out at the rain.“I think we’re gonna need a bigger boat?” This is just my gear.And here she is. A converted bumboat that Christian has a share in. She is a stunner. Converted for family fun and entertaining. I loved the name too. Genius.OK, OK she is no White Rabbit that she shares the Keppel Marina with. But she is still a beautiful vessel.White Rabbit is owned by a Hong Kong billionaire named Cheng Liang. He has a Net Worth of US$ 8 billion from his company Nippon Paint. The yacht is the largest trimaran on the planet at 84m. 28 guest can join in 14 cabins, supported by a crew of 36 in 18 cabins. Built-in Australia in 2018, she can reach 18 knots and cost Mr Liang a cool US$100m. Loose change. He has about 10 yachts apparently.Goodbye Singapore and soon to be hello Lazarus Island. A much needed sheltered harbour, so all we had was torrential rain to deal with. You really don’t get the idea of the swell from this photo.Happy campers! I’ll say it again. I only knew Alp. But these guys are some of the most genuine and lovely bunch ever. I was immediately welcomed into the fold. Thanks so much, guys! Truly!After the first served in saucepans by yours truly. It became a self-serve option from then on. Good work guys! Gazpacho Cocktails were galore.Me and my BFF mate Alp. Now pitch black on the boat. Thank goodness I brought my head torches. Thanks for the invite again matey.
OK, I will apologise now for the rest of the photos for ChillaxBBQ Chef Table on a Bum Boat.
It was pitch black.
I had a head-torch on.
There was a huge swell.
It was absolutely pouring with rain.
I’d had about 40 beers, 5 Gazpacho cocktails, a few neat Rums etc… Yeah, that would do it!!!
Here is that Filipino Chorizo. Chopped up to give it some char. Drizzled with some additional honey and some fresh lemon juice. Absolutely stunning little dish. What a cracker to start.Host with the most Christian. The Viking in him clearly coming out. Thanks so much again for allowing this wannabe on your vessel my friend. So glad you had fun, I surely did.First steak up is the Black Truffle one. Weirdest thing ever. Perfectly cooked medium-rare, but instead of the usual redness of the meat, this was sort of ‘white’. Maybe it’s a Nebraska thing? Whatever. The boys seemed to love it.See what I mean re the photos. Grrrrr. OK, slow-roast pork belly with tomato and mint sauce. Absolutely delicious these little hunks of porky goodness were. The new sauce is a revelation. Something I borrowed as a concept from a very nice Tapas bar in Katong. Sublime.These were stunners!!! My plan worked. Beautiful plump prawns in that Japanese BBQ sauce recipe I concocted. Yeah, these were really good. As in really good!!!Everyone has to have a failure. Mine was this. The Vietnamese clams. Way too much oyster sauce from me, sorry guys. Looked OK, just over-powering. So the fish at Lazarus Island were lucky tonight. Like they care right? HaHa!I like a lot! This crew is an exceptional bunch of really lovely guys! Hope to get to do something with them again soon! Happy Xmas gents!!!My BFF Alp, now also slave-labour. Serving up more Gazpacho Cocktail after his swim. The hostie with the mostie???Another shit photo, but you get the idea. The absolutely perfectly cooked Tuna Tataki. A couple of mm cooked on all the sides with raw, but warm, in the middle. This is gonna be good!Yeah, I was right. Have a look at those beauties. Tuna Tataki with Fish Roe and homemade Ponzu Sauce. Sprinkled with Chives. A thing of beauty indeed!!! Very well received this one was.Alp loved this one. Fish n Chips my style. Steamed fresh Dory fish with 4 fresh herbs and citrus. It’s a cracker. Looks pretty cool and also practical as you use the chips to scoop up the fish.
As you can see I started to revert to single platters as due to the weather the boys were all sat at the table. Easy, peasy!
Just Chillaxing!!!The final dish was an adaption with the Three Cheese Fondue with Rosemary & Thyme accompanying the Kampot Pepper Toma. Yes, folks, I invented Toma Three Cheese Fondue. A new ‘must-have’ at any ChillaxBBQ. In fact, I did the very same for a Knibbs Xmas party the very next day. Yeah, this is one winning combination!!!Smiley happy faces all round. Great conversations, so many laughs, many new friendships made, much much booze consumed and hopefully accompanied by some good chow!!!And now – the end is near… Yes, it was absolutely hammering it down. Just on that. Have you ever tried to cook a cheese fondue in a frying pan, on a biscuit-tin sized hot-plate, on a rocking boat, in the pouring rain? Every time I opened the lid to stir the fondue it got full of rain. Well, every cloud has a single lining I suppose. It meant more to go round for everyone!!! HaHa.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE TO SEE HOW THE RIDE HOME WENT – 8 BLOKES, ADD COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF BOOZE = KARAOKE, of course!!!
And that was that. We began the boozy bumpy journey home. Like a gang of old salty sea dog pirates singing shanties and telling each other stories.
The evening and night of fun were over. A first for ChillaxBBA and a first for me too. The new amigos I met tonight were such splendid chaps, and again I cannot thank Alp enough for the invite, Christian for accepting the suggestion and Kevin, Mike, Andrew, and Oliver for being such top blokes. ChillaxBBQ Chef Table on a Bum Boat was such a fun event, despite the bloody weather. One I’ll never forget in a hurry, well maybe the last bit if the journey was a tad fuzzy haha. If ever you get the chance do one of these events yourself. Fantastic for team building, mateship, family fun. I really did – ENJOY!!!
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