Here are some highlights from The Straits Times' food website ST Food - straitstimesfood.com.

SIX TYPES OF JAPANESE UNI

Upscale sushi restaurant Sushi Kimura at Palais Renaissance in Orchard Road receives fish and other seafood four times a week from Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

Among the offerings that arrive from Japan are boxes of prized uni or Japanese sea urchin, sought after for their delicate, creamy texture, and intense flavour profile.

Chef-owner Tomoo Kimura, 40, says that at a Tsukiji market uni auction, the best box of top-grade murasaki long-spined uni from Hakodate in Hokkaido can command as much as US$1,000 (S$1,384) for a 450 to 500g box. The boxes are graded according to quality.

Differences in flavour, texture and colour not only depend on the species of sea urchin, but also the area in which they thrive.

Chef Kimura showcases six types of uni for various regions in an exclusive video for ST Food. Watch it to find out the best ways to enjoy the delicacy as well as tips on how to tell if uni has gone bad.

RECIPES TO TRY

This Ramadan, whip up a Sumatran-style beef rendang from Cinnamon restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental in Jakarta.

No shortcuts here - simmer the dish for at least one to two hours until the beef shank is tender.

Beef rendang recipe: http://str.sg/4b8b

YUMMY BANH MI

If you are hankering after banh mi or a Vietnamese baguette sandwich, try this version by Japanese chef Masumi Suzuki, who specialises in Vietnamese cuisine.

The main ingredient in her sandwich is ground pork seasoned with nuoc mam or Vietnamese fish sauce.

In addition to the pork filling, other ingredients in the baguette sandwich include a salad of julienned daikon and carrot pickled in sweet vinegar, and fresh coriander.

Pork soboro baguette sandwich recipe: http://str.sg/4b8v

ST Food launched at the end of last year and features articles from ST and its sister publications, as well as regional and international newspapers including The Washington Post and The New York Times.

There are videos and recipes. You can also keep abreast of the local food scene through the social media section that features the accounts of ST's food writers.

Use the handy search tool to navigate the site.

•Follow Rebecca Lynne Tan on Twitter @STrebeccatan