prasantrin

Oman...what can I say about Oman? We only went to the Musandam peninsula as my friend arranged an overnight cruise. We got the entire yacht for our party of 12, and it was fabulous. In Khasab, where the cruise departed from, we had lunch at a popular place. Now if only I could remember the name, or I had pictures of what we ate. I know we had a mixed grill, fattoush, grilled chicken, and maybe hummous. It was very good, but that's all I can tell you. This was what we saw most of the time. We were going in and out of coves, and all coves kind of look alike. But when they look like that, it's not so bad. We dropped anchor once every so often to get in some swimming, snorkelling, and kayaking. Our first afternoon/evening out was very very windy, but the weather was glorious. Unfortunately, some of our group were very sun-sensitive so they had to bundle up. Finally, a food picture! We had dinner, breakfast, and lunch on this cruise, but I only got pictures of the lunch. All the meals were delicious. Both the dinner and the lunch revolved around grilled fish, but there were other dishes, as well. Here we see (from right to left) two kinds of hummus, mutabal, coleslaw-like salad, green salad with shredded stewed chicken. And on my plate we see all those things plus grilled fish topped with a lemony garlic sauce, grilled chicken (that the thing sticking out from under my fish at 7 o'clock), and spicy stewed chicken up at 1 o'clock (you can barely see it from under my fish). Obviously my appetite was back. Ahem...I gave away some of the food on my plate (the grilled chicken) so I could go back and get more fish. It was awesome! That was the cook on the right. He was Syrian, and he was very willing to talk to us about the food, and also the sites. We talked about baklava, and he said he never makes it because the pastry is too time consuming and difficult. A last shot before arriving back in the UAE. Unfortunately, I'm not the long-legged beauty on the right, but the short dumpy one on the left. But as my friend said, I'm sun-kissed! (My back was quite painfully burned, in fact.) Oh, more Oman pictures up on webshots.

A little more Yemen... Around Old Sana'a, there are several traditional olive oil presses. I managed to get to three of them--I think there are 4 or 6? The camel at the first press was on a break, but his owner showed me the blindfold the camel has to wear when operating the press. The camel at the second press was also on a break. His owner was chewing qat, and he was chewing something, but I don't think it was qat. The camel at the third press was working! I didn't notice any oil, nor did I look in the press. These places stunk to high heavens, so I dared not get much closer. Ruined my appetite for dinner, I must admit. The next morning I left for my tour. We were just going north of Sana'a--not too far north, though. We didn't go anywhere which would have been more than a few hours drive from Sana'a, so there was not much danger of running into rebels wanting to kidnap me. I'm not sure where this was. I think it was Kawkaban. We stopped for lunch in Shibam, which was different from the Shibam of skyscraper fame. I wasn't feeling very well, so I could eat very much at all. There was bread that was very much like roti/paratha, two kinds of rice (plain and with tomato, some kind of stewed meat, potatoes, and second from left was a yeasted honey "cake". It was the only thing I could really eat without feeling like puking. The food was actually quite good, it was just my tummy that was bad. After lunch we were off on the long drive from Shibam to Manakha. Manakha is in a more mountainous area, but is still quite close to Sana'a. I stayed at the Manakha Tourist Hotel, where we had dinner and watched a show with traditional Yemeni dancing and drumming. I still wasn't feeling well, so I couldn't eat very much. There were eggs, potatoes, okra, two kinds of noodles--spaghetti and another noodle that reminded me of chow mein noodles, and I can't remember what else. The guy dancing on the right was the owner of the hotel. He was a very friendly guy, and music and dancing were in his soul. He was so joyful it was almost contagious. There were a lot of people at the hotel that night, and many joined in on the dancing. There was a large group of Americans who were trying to pass themselves off as British. I think they though most Yemeni would be too naive to notice the different in accent, but my guide disagreed. The next day we went to a few more sites, then back to Sana'a for lunch and back to my hotel. One of the most interesting things I saw was this: This was in Manakha, I think, which was a pretty small place. What the hell was an Ikea truck doing in the middle of the Yemeni mountains, I wonder??? Lunch was at the Al-Doubai restaurant in Sana'a--it wasn't in Old Sana'a, so I couldn't tell you how to get there or where it was. Still not feeling well, still not eating much. But for about $10, we got a huge meal--two large fish smothered in spices and grilled, bread, vegetables, a dip made with tahini (if it was hummus, it was a very runny hummus) and other stuff I can't remember. What I could eat was very delicious, and this would have been the best meal in Yemen (had I been able to eat more). If you'd like to see more scenic Yemen shots, I put some up on webshots (hope that link works). I'm not the best photographer, though, nor the best captionist. I will get to questions in a bit, but first I must move on to Oman before I get too lazy to finish this.

See this topic on carrying wine in your check-in baggage. I bought some styrofoam beverage containers that someone in that topic mentioned. They take up a fair bit of room in my suitcase, but when I know I'm going to bringing back wine or some other liquid held in glass (olive oil, for example) from a trip, I bring them along. They work like a charm. Now if only someone could find some of these things that will work with some of those odd-shaped bottles of liqueurs...

I had a similar problem with the post-it notes! I didn't want to bring the book back to Japan with me (thinking I was only going to be here one more year), so I went through it so I could photocopy the ones I wanted to make. I had so many post-it notes, that I had to cull it even further! Turns out I'll be here two more years, so when I go home this summer, I'm bringing that book back with me! Are those the thumbprints for us big guys on your screen? I have a sort of funny story about those. When I went to the UAE in March, I brought some homemade cookies for some friends--the peanut butter cookies and thumbprint cookies. The friend I was staying with tried the thumbprints, said they were very good, but didn't eat any after that. She did eat all the peanut butter cookies, though, so I just assumed she didn't really like the thumbprints (I should mention they were quite ugly by the time they made it to the UAE). After I returned to the UAE from Yemen, some other friends mentioned how much they liked all the cookies, and how they finished them all in a day. I said, "Oh, I don't think Gretchen liked the thumbprints because she didn't eat them," to which she piped in, "No! I ate them all the day after you left!" I had noticed they were gone from her kitchen counter, but I had thought she had thrown them away! Turned out she ate them all! Very popular, they were... About books, have you ever considered ordering your books from Amazon.jp, if you don't already? Shipping to Indonesia (or are you in Malaysia? I can't remember now, but it's the same price for shipping) is Y1900 per shipment, plus Y300 per book. Sounds a bit better than what you're paying.

For the Confessions cinnamon rolls, how many grams/ounces/cups are in a bag of icing sugar? The recipes call for a bag, but a bag of icing sugar in Japan is maybe 1/2 to 1 cup. At the risk of going too far off-topic, as a friend constantly reminds me, perog/pierog (however you want to transliterate it) is singular, perogi/pierogi is plural. And I wish I could buy them from a nice old Ukrainian baba, but I've not yet found one in Japan! Perhaps I'll make some fruit ones, too. I've never had fruit perogy. And it's bringing the talk of perogies a little closer to the dessert topic!

I almost cancelled the Yemen portion of my trip, but one of the agencies I had contacted finally emailed back, and they were able to organize a private tour for me. It was a bit expensive, since I was solo, but it included a driver, and later included a guide (another story). First stop, Sana'a and Old Sana'a. Let me first say that Yemeni drivers are crazy!! I can't imagine a tourist trying to drive around, no matter how proficient a driver s/he may be. My guide took me around Old Sana'a. The buildings are all made of brick. And in the souk, you can get your fill of whatever you need. For me, it was amber--some of these are plastic, but some are very good quality amber--like $4/gram amber. I bought a necklace for my mother, and then the owner of the store got lunch for us--salta with two kinds of bread, and some kind of stewed beef. Very tasty. I don't know where it was from, since we ate in the shop. But this was one of the best meals during the trip.

Still in Dubai. On our way to the spice souk, we happened upon an orange juice stand. Freshly squeezed orange juice, anyone? I didn't have any, but my friend always gets her orange juice from this stand. She says it's very good. The spice souk was interesting, but almost all the stores carry the exact same things. I left the souk about $50 poorer, but armed with vanilla beans (about $6 for 10), some very potent menthol, lavender, frankincense (I think, I've forgotten already), and I can't remember what else. We also got some very good salted lemon almonds. I wish I had gotten more of those. After the souk, we went back to the Bastakia area, which looks like this at night: We were able to get last minute reservations for Bastakiah Nights. They had several tour groups coming in that evening, so they gave us a private room. The food, Lebanese, was good, but not great. The atmosphere, however, made up for the food, making it an all-round great dinner. The only offer a course dinner--mezze, your choice of main dish, and dessert. Sorry for the flash pictures. The room was quite dark, so it was difficult to get good pictures. Next stop, Yemen.

You're a far better google-er than I! This will be my Sunday project! Or maybe late next week project, depending on how long my perogies take (I'm Canadian, I can call them perogies).

Today I went to a discount drugstore (might have been Matsumoto Kiyoshi), Japan (discount store), Grand Marche, 7-11, Lawson's, Family Mart, and one of those little discount alcohol stores (like a mini-Grand Marche) and still no luck. I did find 1.5L bottles of Pepsi Jazz and Pepsi Lemon at Japan, but no plain Pepsi. I'll check back in a few days--maybe new stock is coming in!

OK, I've searched and searched and cannot find this recipe anywhere!!! They look so good, I really need some ooey gooey cinnamon buns!

Ok, Kris. Where the heck did you find Pepsi? I've gone to two different convenience stores, and have not found it, yet. I found Coke and Diet Coke ("No Calorie Coke" but it looks just like Diet Coke back home), but no Pepsi. I need me some magnets!

I do it a lot! I got some Astro Boy stuff from Coca Cola, and of course I bought a lot of those little food things--different foods in each box. I guess those ones don't really count, though, since the little plastic foods are what you're buying. I'm off to look for those le crueset magnets after school. And I don't even like pepsi!

So in your opinion, someone with cystic fibrosis should never dine out, for fear of offending delicate types who can't stand a hacking cough?

I'm not sure, but wouldn't piroshki be similar to the kolachy sold at the Kolachy Shop? If so, perhaps you could get your fill there.

And either that one or the pepitapapa (or maybe both of them?) has chile, too. Very nice combination of flavours.

For Easter dinner I had pot roast (based on a recipe posted by Russ Parsons here on eGullet) with potatoes, carrots (the carrots from the pot roast which were supposed to be discarded), and asparagus. The pot roast was amazingly tender. I did a very good job, if I do say so myself. I didn't know what kind of wine to use (I rarely drink wine), so I got a half-bottle of 2004 Mouton Cadet Bourdeaux because I liked the label. Luckily, it worked quite well with the pot roast. I also had some no-knead bread--the first loaf I've baked in more than 3 weeks, and vegan chocolate cake with mocha icing from a recipe a friend sent me. I liked the cake, though I quibble with calling it vegan or chocolate (calls for "sugar", which implies any old white sugar, in my opinion, and it uses quite a bit of coffee, which makes it a touch more mocha than just chocolate, though it's still very chocolatey).

I've not had much time for hanami this year. I arrived back from holidays with it in full swing. I'm hoping to get some pictures of the campus tomorrow (entrance ceremonies for the junior high)--it's on a mountain (or big hill) so they bloom a wee bit later up there. In the meantime, I found some sakura bread and sakura macaron at one of my favourite bakeries. Burdigala has some very good breads, desserts, and an awesome croque monsieur. Picture is a bit dark because I didn't want to use the flash.

Oops. Yes, it's mutabal. I was going from memory, and my memory only remembers murtabak (I've used that word more often than mutabal, so it's more prominent in my mind). I have one or two more Dubai posts, then off to other parts of the Arabian peninsula. I loved the area--except for Dubai, that is...

And I met you after almost 10 years of "knowing" you! That made the trip! BTW, Lorna, did you get to try the pepitapapa (sp???) from Sahagun? The caramel was also my favourite, but the pepitapapa was also right up there. Same with the other similar one, made with corn kernels, I think??? I can't remember now. After reading all your food adventures, I'm thinking of the next time I can visit Portland. I want to try some of those places, too! Next time, no relatives will be informed of my visit, so I can plan my trip entirely around food!

Dubai is an interesting contrast of the traditional and the modern. In many ways, Dubai is very much like a large city (yes, I know Dubai is an emirate, not a city, but city is a pretty good comparison) in a third world country that is starting to develop at a rapid pace. Think Bangkok in the 80's. I didn't like it. The food, on the other hand, was not bad. We had lunch in the Bastakia area, which is just a short walk from my friends' apartment in Bur Dubai. The XVA is just behind the Basta Art Cafe nikkib mentioned. Their menu is, surprisingly, entirely vegetarian. At our table was the soup of the day (carrot), a rice thing with yoghurt, eggplant with halloumi, eggplant feta burger, murtabak with pita, and the best mint lemonade in Dubai. The mint lemonade was like a slurpee--icy and refreshing, and it had the perfect proportions of mint and lemon. Yum. The favourite dish was the eggplant feta burger. It was so good, Amy, my friend's partner, and I went back for another one!

A friend in Dubai has two strands of spaghetti hanging on her wall. Her young (junior/senior high) nephews were visiting a year-ish ago, and they decided to make spaghetti--what better way to test if it's done than throwing in on the wall? The really wonderful thing is that she's a neat/clean freak, but the spaghetti on the wall is a reminder of her nephews whom she loves so much.

I also just got back from holidays. I spent two wonderful weeks around the Arabian Peninsula. My first stop was Sharjah... Sharjah is just north of Dubai. It's a little less crowded, but since most people living in Sharjah seem to work in Dubai, the traffic in the morning and late afternoon is horrendous. But it's a beautiful emirate, nonetheless. My first meal was at a restaurant on the Qasbah. No pictures of it as it wasn't very interesting, but it wasn't bad at all. We then dropped by Carrefour and picked up some sweets. arbuclo mentioned in her foodblog (from ages ago) that Carrefour had a good selection of Middle Eastern sweets, so I thought I'd see for myself. We picked up some Turkish delight, baklawa, I can't remember, and halvah. My Turkish delight came with a bonus When I first saw it, I thought it was a clump of sugar, but no such luck. It was some kind of cocoon. Everything not wrapped went into the garbage. All for the best, since what I had tried was stale. I guess not all Carrefour are equal. Next up, Dubai...

Wow! You did far better in PDX in 52 hours than I did in 72! Of course, only one of my party was even slightly interested in food--the rest were all more interested in other things. The nerve! BTW, it's Sahagun, not Sagahun. I think...

For me, Filipino empanadas are usually ground beef or pork based, with raisins, cubed potatoes, and sometimes carrots. The difference between South American and Filipino empanadas is mostly in the sweetness--Filipino empanadas are slightly sweet--both the filling and the crust. I still have some empanadas in my freezer from last year...oops. Must throw them away, but perhaps I'll take a picture of them before I do!

114 lbs!?!?!??!! Holy moly! You go mizducky! That's amazing! I can't wait to read the rest of this week--I hope you show us before and after pictures!