June 30, 2012
A-salting the palate
I'm back in Hong Kong spending some time with Tigger and family, and we went to Sushi Kato (寿司加藤) for dinner. It's a little out of my usual patrol area, but apparently Mrs. Tigger used to come here a lot many years ago. Given I'm with old regulars, I decided it would be wise to let them do the ordering.
The amuse bouche was herring roe (数の子) with Chinese cabbage. The young sansho leaves (木の芽) provided a really nice kick...
June 25, 2012
Destination wedding Bali day 3: lunch and go
A lazy morning after a late night of partying. Hung out in the villa cabana and surfed the net, while I waited for lunch time to roll around. My two-day stay in beautiful, sunny Bali is coming to an end.
I head back to the Warung for lunch, and take in the wonderful view of the deep blue sky. I enjoy the last few moments I have at the Alila Villas Uluwatu.
June 24, 2012
Destination wedding Bali day 2: east over west
After a late night, it was late morning when I opened my eyes. I decided to hang out in my villa and get some use out of it for once…
There was a plate of local fruits in my room, and I decided to have it as breakfast. The mini bananas were somewhat ripe. The carambola was ripe and reasonably juicy. Salak has never been my favorite, as it's always too sour and I don't like the texture in my mouth. The mangosteen was ripe and juicy, and it's been a while since I last had some. My favorite fruit in Bali is the local passion fruit. I just love the fresh, subtle fragrance and delicate flavors - in stark contrast to the intense flavors of "normal" passion fruit that we are used to seeing.
June 23, 2012
Destination wedding Bali day 1: welcome to Bali!
I'm in Bali this weekend for another wedding. Bali sure has become a popular choice for destination weddings particularly among those of us in Asia. It's an easy location to get to - with direct flights from many Asian cities - and the beauty of the island of the gods is indisputable. I'm happy to be back after a 3-year absence.
After finally collecting my checked in luggage and suffering from anxiety about having it picked up by someone else from the carousel, I took a taxi to Alila Villas Uluwatu, where some of us are staying for the weekend. The villas here are a little too modern for my taste - mostly straight lines at 90 degrees with sharp corners. Too much concrete and cement, and virtually no Balinese or Indonesian architectural elements. Having said that, the villas are very spacious - both indoors and outdoors. I look forward to dipping in the pool.
This is the first time I'm in Bali by myself, and with just a few hours until the welcome dinner, I decided to spend some time in my villa. The sky is a beautiful hue of blue, and the temperature is a relatively cool 27°C with a nice breeze. I hook up to the hotel wifi and sit under the shade of the cabana, enjoying the view out to the distant ocean. No, I did not come to Bali to surf the waves. I'm surfing the net.
After finally collecting my checked in luggage and suffering from anxiety about having it picked up by someone else from the carousel, I took a taxi to Alila Villas Uluwatu, where some of us are staying for the weekend. The villas here are a little too modern for my taste - mostly straight lines at 90 degrees with sharp corners. Too much concrete and cement, and virtually no Balinese or Indonesian architectural elements. Having said that, the villas are very spacious - both indoors and outdoors. I look forward to dipping in the pool.
This is the first time I'm in Bali by myself, and with just a few hours until the welcome dinner, I decided to spend some time in my villa. The sky is a beautiful hue of blue, and the temperature is a relatively cool 27°C with a nice breeze. I hook up to the hotel wifi and sit under the shade of the cabana, enjoying the view out to the distant ocean. No, I did not come to Bali to surf the waves. I'm surfing the net.
June 22, 2012
The dessert ribbon
Having done a whole series of birthday dinners last year, I figured things should be kept low-key this year. After all, most of my foodie/wino network remains in Hong Kong, and flying back to Hong Kong to celebrate your own birthday seems a little full of oneself…
I didn’t really start to think about what to do for tonight until a few days ago, as honestly I just wasn’t in the mood to do something “really special.” The one tradition I do keep to is popping open a bottle of wine from my birth vintage. This year, through a complete lack of planning, the only bottle I have with me in Taipei was a bottle of vintage Port. While I have attended a dinner where Port was the focus of the evening, my mind still tells me that this is a wine for after dinner, perhaps with dessert…
…which naturally led me to STAY. When I came here with my friend some 2 months ago, I was so impressed with the desserts from Chef Loïc that I talked about returning for a meal where I would only have dessert. It seems kind of crazy to do something like this, but then again, it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve done something from left field when it comes to food. I ended up being joined by a couple of friends, although I wasn’t going to force anyone not to have savory dishes before the dessert fest…
I didn’t really start to think about what to do for tonight until a few days ago, as honestly I just wasn’t in the mood to do something “really special.” The one tradition I do keep to is popping open a bottle of wine from my birth vintage. This year, through a complete lack of planning, the only bottle I have with me in Taipei was a bottle of vintage Port. While I have attended a dinner where Port was the focus of the evening, my mind still tells me that this is a wine for after dinner, perhaps with dessert…
…which naturally led me to STAY. When I came here with my friend some 2 months ago, I was so impressed with the desserts from Chef Loïc that I talked about returning for a meal where I would only have dessert. It seems kind of crazy to do something like this, but then again, it wouldn’t be the first time that I’ve done something from left field when it comes to food. I ended up being joined by a couple of friends, although I wasn’t going to force anyone not to have savory dishes before the dessert fest…
June 17, 2012
Mom's traditional Shanghainese zongzi
The parental units had me over for dinner tonight. Mom knows I'll be out of town next weekend, which means I'll be missing the festivities for the Dragon Boat Festival (端午節). She's making her first batch of zongzi (粽子) this season, and wanted to make sure I got some.
I didn't arrive early enough to see her crouched over the whole spread of ingredients or to help out… but for the first time ever, we did talk about how she makes them. Mom doesn't keep notes - she knows this is one of her downfalls - so there's bound to be some inconsistency in her cooking… especially for things that she doesn't cook often. Zongzis are a once-a-year thing, and she doesn't even make them every year. She was very worried that this batch won't turn out well, since she felt a little rusty at the start of the day.
She felt a little unsure of the ratio between the glutinous rice and the meat during the process, and ended up over-stuffing some of them with rice. After she realized that there was too much rice, it was then necessary to cook them for longer… It was all in suspense until we opened up the first few, and mom was able to breathe a sigh of relief. They weren't perfect, but she felt they were at least good enough to be given away to friends without embarrassment.
I didn't arrive early enough to see her crouched over the whole spread of ingredients or to help out… but for the first time ever, we did talk about how she makes them. Mom doesn't keep notes - she knows this is one of her downfalls - so there's bound to be some inconsistency in her cooking… especially for things that she doesn't cook often. Zongzis are a once-a-year thing, and she doesn't even make them every year. She was very worried that this batch won't turn out well, since she felt a little rusty at the start of the day.
She felt a little unsure of the ratio between the glutinous rice and the meat during the process, and ended up over-stuffing some of them with rice. After she realized that there was too much rice, it was then necessary to cook them for longer… It was all in suspense until we opened up the first few, and mom was able to breathe a sigh of relief. They weren't perfect, but she felt they were at least good enough to be given away to friends without embarrassment.
June 8, 2012
Cheese and sausage at home
I'd been trying to get together with a couple of old friends for quite some time, but for one reason or another something always came up. I was finally able to meet up with some of the ladies tonight, and they were my guests at home for the evening.
Preparations for this evening started a few weeks ago when I was in Hong Kong. After a fantastic lunch at Caprice where we were served some of Jeremy's precious cheese, I decided to buy some cheese and sausages while I was in Hong Kong - knowing that I simply couldn't find the same selection in Taipei.
I arrived home with my friends and started to bring out the goodies, slicing them into bite-sized serving portions. I was kept busy for a few minutes, but I was happy. I finally had the opportunity to share the good stuff with people who can appreciate it.
Preparations for this evening started a few weeks ago when I was in Hong Kong. After a fantastic lunch at Caprice where we were served some of Jeremy's precious cheese, I decided to buy some cheese and sausages while I was in Hong Kong - knowing that I simply couldn't find the same selection in Taipei.
I arrived home with my friends and started to bring out the goodies, slicing them into bite-sized serving portions. I was kept busy for a few minutes, but I was happy. I finally had the opportunity to share the good stuff with people who can appreciate it.
June 2, 2012
Reducing food waste charitably
This past week, attention was drawn to the issue of food waste in Hong Kong by an article in the South China Morning Post. The article mentioned the findings and estimates by Friends of the Earth based on their observations of food disposals from the city's largest supermarket chains. I think many people were in for a shock.
Food waste has always been around, but what is outrageous is that we live in a city where many people don't have enough to eat. People are throwing out food that is perfectly good and safe to eat, without even thinking of doing something good with it.
I'm very honored to count among my friends two people who have founded charities to help solve this problem. Both of them have run successful businesses, but also have active charitable sides. As someone who both loves food and tries to help our environment, it is my privilege to help spread the word about these two organizations.
Food waste has always been around, but what is outrageous is that we live in a city where many people don't have enough to eat. People are throwing out food that is perfectly good and safe to eat, without even thinking of doing something good with it.
I'm very honored to count among my friends two people who have founded charities to help solve this problem. Both of them have run successful businesses, but also have active charitable sides. As someone who both loves food and tries to help our environment, it is my privilege to help spread the word about these two organizations.