Peter Green
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Posts posted by Peter Green
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I remember watching an episode of Nigella a few years back, and she was scavenging the remnants from her dinner parties, putting the contents in ice cube trays, and freezing them for cooking use.
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The Korean sake sounds interesting. Does it taste like Japanese sake?
Hi, Hiroyuki,
The sake was pleasant. Soft, and with hints of fruit (pear?). Nothing to complain about, and it reminded me a lot of Masa Shiroki's jyunmai from Vancouver.
My only complaint is that I bought just one bottle when I had the chance.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Today, we're off for Janghowon. Soon I'll be at rest for a bit, and can catch up.
Cheers,
Peter
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March 18 – Curse you , Bile Gastroentitus!
The night before, my insides didn’t improve, so I missed dinner. Pity. Jason and Scud went out for grilled pork neck, eaten as sam with gaenip leaves and lettuce and the usual. My worthless child forgot to take pictures.
I forced myself to go out for lunch with Scud and Jason, who’d been at work (Scud has to do work shadowing to get the credits to graduate). This was at 4 p.m. We went to the nearby Cheonggukjang, cheongguk being a soup of overfermented denjang.
It wasn’t far. Just across from Nambu Terminal, down the street, and in right at the sign for the Jungto sect (religious groups in Korea post their websites on the walls). Turn left at whatever it is that Jungto is, and you’re there.
First thing you need to appreciate is that you know when you’re in a cheongguk jang joint. Opening that door and breathing is even funkier than the Moscow Underground in July. But this smell could grow on me (Russian subways are another matter).
The headline dish is this thick, diarrhetic pool of creamy brown, with lumps of tofu frolicking in the mire.
But it’s not just the mire. To eat it properly, they’ve posted clear instructions. You start by putting your namool on top of the rice, then dishing on 2 ladles of the cheongguk jang. Then you add one dollop of gochujang (that happy red paste of chili and beans) and then give it a good mix up, like you would a bibimbap.
And so, what did we have for namool?
Kong namool – big, healthy sprouts. And chives, and what I think were garlic stems.
Jason recommended the jeon here. We have a ripened kim chi chon, a satisfying thin pancake with fresh spring onion and kim chi that’s been allowed to go over to the dark side.
And we also ordered some stuffed peppers. Minced meat and veg, dipped in flour and egg, and then put in a pepper and deep fried. This is chae seo stuff – the food that is put out for the ancestors on the proper dates. I always liked chae seo, as we’d eat really well at school for days afterwards as Yoonhi would unpack her lunch.
There was also a soontubu dish – soft tofu. Eating this is, well, like eating silk. It’s an intensely comforting dish, and one of the items I’d been eagerly looking forward to on this trip.
Okay, I eagerly look forward to a lot of things. I look backwards and sideways, too, to Scud’s regrets.
And, something I hadn’t seen before was kongbiji chiggae. This is a sort of proto-tofu, the early beginnings of tofu, that have been chiggae’d here.
Together, we had a really nice triumvirate of bean products. The proto, the fresh (and soft) and the over the hill. Consider it the Goldilocks of bean products.
Part of the function of this meal was that these bean dishes, particularly the cheonggukjang, is considered to be healthy for you, and so I was interested not only in dealing with starvation, but in getting myself back up and out there again.
To settle the deal, I was drinking dongdongju. This is the early, rough side of sake (think nigori) with a creaminess in contrast to nigori’s silkiness. A fine line, but it is different. However, both are excellent drinks, sparkling still with life in them, the beads popping up above the rim. The sort of thing that dreams (and hangovers) are made of.
Together, it did sit well in my stomach.
The only problem was the regular burping.
But I could live with that. Everyone around me might disagree…….
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Afterwards we went for a traditional Korean evening of entertainment.
We went to Coex Mall to see the Watchmen. (Scud and dad, the two geeks, think well of it).
Scud indulged in a melon flavoured ice cream bar, and I was carefully feeling better.
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March 17 – The bottom falls out
After a great start, disaster had to be lurking around a corner somewhere waiting for me to be caught unaware.
There are few things more terrifying to me than stomach problems while traveling. Fractured toes and such structural damage is easily enough dealt with (you can fix anything with duct tape), but internal actions that limit my ability to eat are, well, just not right.
So, after a very bad morning, I had to force myself out for food.
Jason drove, thankfully, and we headed over to Samsong to meet Peter and Sandra.
If you’re guts are giving you troubles, then fight fire with fire. We were going to Hadong Gwan for myeongtang. Stomach lining and innards.
This is their second outlet. The original is in Myongdong, and has been in operation for 70 years now. The old fellow who headlines was about. You could recognize him as they had a couple of pages of a manhwa (comic) blown up to wall size behind the cashier. He looks pretty much the same in life as he does in print.
It’s quite an established process here. You pay when you enter, and there’s only the one main dish. You don’t come here for choices.
We took a place at a table near the entrance. It was 11:30, and it was filling up.
As soon as we were sat, the bowls came out. Excellent broth, and big hunks of mystery cuts floating in there. Surprisingly, the bottom of the bowl was filled with rice. Yoonhi always complains about me putting my rice directly into my soup, but they didn’t have a problem with that here.
Behind us was the ubiquitous Korean kettle. This was full of kimchi juice, which you could pour into the soup to spice it up. The big communal bowl of spring onions is there, along with kimchi, so you can get your vegetable allotment for the day.
Mind you, this place isn’t about vegetables. Peter ordered an extra plate of meats, but I was having a hard time just finishing what I had in my bowl.
Still, soup is good for you, and if I was going to avoid the horrors of dehydration, I needed to get this down.
We’d just beaten the rush. The restaurant is only open until 4 p.m., and when it was time to leave there was a line stretching out the front to the sidewalk.
I asked Peter about the original outlet, and he prefers this one. He said that the broth here was cleaner, with the original being greasier. My stomach was happy with this.
After lunch we drove over to Costco and did our supply run. I’d messed up last time, and had done this late in the trip, and so had made a point of loading up on coffee, wine, muffins, cheese and bagels early on. I love Korean food as much as I do Thai, but you need variety in life.
I stared longingly at the bulgogi wraps in Costco’s little restaurant, but knew they were beyond me now.
We dropped Peter and Sandra back at home, and then stopped in Togok for Jason to get his hair cut, and took the opportunity to drop in on Star Super.
This is a small outlet of Shinseggae’s. It isn’t as overpowering as the big department store’s food floor, but does have a fine selection of food and gear. There were some very pretty Japanese kitchen knives I was lusting after, and if I had the weight allowance I would love to bring back some of the pots.
The produce, as you’d expect, was stunning. But they don’t like photos here, so I constrained myself. The mushrooms, in particular, have a certain earthy glow that I just can’t explain properly. I should just buy a bunch and bring them home to shoot, but I suspect they’ll go to waste.
And, something I’d been missing, the store was full of insa-ladies. I realized that, over the decades, this was passing away – the pleasant ladies who would be stationed about the stores. Sure, they have the girls dancing cars into the parkades, but that lacks the old style grace of a quiet smile and a bow.
And back in the drinks section, I found something interesting. I might not be up for it now, but I could set this aside for later.
Beakhwa subok (I think). From the details on the box a Korean recipe going millenia, based upon a triple fermentation of rice.
It looks like sake to me!
And while I gloated over this find as best I could, The Boy was starting to enjoy his vacation.
There’s nothing like internet access and a large bucket of jelly bellies to make a boy happy.
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[...]They’ve been to the other places, and they just don’t compare. Girls come and go, but good chicken is forever.
Or something like that.
Thank you. If you didn't exist, some inspired one would have to create you!
I look forward to the rest of this report.
It's interesting how many different influences Korean food has assimilated. Ketchup, I'm guessing, is a legacy of American troops? And cole slaw, too? Mayonnaise? Which items come from Germany, other than beer? Potato salad, perhaps, or was that introduced by Midwestern American troops?
The origins of popular Korean cuisine would merit a PhD thesis or 10 (Hmmm.....with a title like "Dr. Green" I could make it into the next version of the Clue game). There's the back and forth with America, of course, and Canada is having a huge influence on Korea now, with large numbers of gyopo (returned Koreans) here, as well as equivalent numbers of young Koreans doing homestays in Vancouver and Toronto.
And, as I've written about in the Japan and China trips, there's a huge amount of interaction between the Koreans, the Japanese, and the Chinese. The Chinese can be separated more easily (noodles = Chinese), but the Japanese/Korean influences are far more difficult to pull apart.
Both Zenkimchi and FatManSeoul cover this topic to some extent in their blogs, and it's something I'll need to put more serious study into later.
Of course, that would require me being serious.
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March 16 – Chickens Are Forever
(With apologies to Ian Fleming)
It was a poor breakfast on Korean Airlines, I’m sorry to say. I’d hoped for some soju, but they didn’t have any in stock. How can Korean Airlines not have soju, I ask you?
Rather than bother Jason about going back and forth, I’d taken down the details for the bus, and, once I’d hit a cash machine for some kilowon and grabbed a couple of cell phones, I hopped onto the bus to Nambu Terminal and was off.
Early morning in Seoul. Well, relatively early. It was an hour and a half on the bus, with Nambu the last stop. Driving in, I admired the wealth of food, the abundance of restaurants, and the presence of life sized velociraptors for sale as garden ornaments.
I do like this town.
By the time I arrive at Jason’s place, I’ve worked up a good hunger. Our first order of business was to hit up my favourite pig joint.
Well, maybe it wasn’t quite the first order of business…….
I must say, it was Nakji's beautiful pictures of pork that had driven me to distraction a few weeks back, and helped to trigger this trip. And this place, just down and around the corner from home, tucked into the golmok (food alley) downhill from the bus terminal, is one of my favourite places on Earth.
Their flagship outlet (“boncheom”). This is a fine example of ssamgyepsal – slabs of grilled bacon.
Just looking at slabs of meat like this brings poetry to your heart. (But it's dong dong ju that brings it out of your mouth)
The quintessential Korean restaurant. Extractor fans, menus on the walls, and burners built into the table. You sit on the floor, with heat radiating from the ondul (heated floor) beneath you.
It’s a wonderful thing to have a plate of pork, mushrooms, ddeok (rice cake), tofu, onions, and kimchi.
The simple goodness of pork, slabbed out like this on a hot stone tray, is something you can’t quite describe. It’s not just the sizzle and pop, or the smell, but the light misting of fat coming off from the tray, and the slow bleed of kimchi juice draining away like a bloody glucose drip.
It was still early in the morning, so we limited ourselves to some beers and a small volume of soju.
And they always drop off a bottle of cider (Sprite). We don’t drink it, but they always put it out.
(Note: Korea – land of scissors)
As the first of many Korean meals to post, I do need to spend some time on the side dishes (banchan). Here we had a crimson marinade and some spring onion that would go into the ssam (the wrapping of the meat in greens).
And what greens! Fresh, fresh lettuce (three types here) and ggaenip (perilla), which is a taste I thought I’d never grow to love. But having it fresh is much different from the nasty oiled stuff from cans I’d known growing up.
Cool, pickled cucumber spears there, a form of water kimchi.
And, what’s a Korean meal without potato and apple salad in mayonnaise? Oh, and that daikon, slinking in pickle water like eels, is a thing of beauty. The angry red sauce is another accompaniment to the wraps.
Give a little time, and the transformation of heat takes the lovely colour of the bacon and transforms it – like alchemy – into flavour.
Oh, and did I mention the garlic? After paying a small fortune for garlic at a horumon joint in Tokyo last year, it’s so refreshing to just call for more and more garlic as we need it. The Korean table never stints you on the side dishes, and an uncharitable soul would feed just on those dishes.
To eat the meat, we dredge it in that marinade you saw, and place it on a layer of lettuce and gaenip held in your other hand. Some of the angry red chili bean sauce goes in, and then you top it with the spring onion and the roasted garlic.
When we were sated with pig meat, we asked for them to mix up our rice (bokkum bap).
The remnant kimchi, pork, and stuff is chopped up, a bowl of rice plopped on top, and an egg introduced (“Egg, stuff. Stuff, egg.”). Then you get some squeeze bottle sesame oil (don’t you love a country that keeps handy squeeze bottles of sesame oil?)…..
And then a Kim Jong Il haircut of shredded kim (seawood/nori) is piled on top, before the whole thing is mixed up with some serious paddle work.
Once it’s been bokkum’d properly, you flatten it out
and let Nature bring it to that miraculous point of flavour.
While that was cooking, they brought us some chiggae. How do you describe a chiggae? It’s thicker than a soup, but thinner than a stew. Jason doesn’t care for Rachel Ray, but he does give her credit for the term ”stoup”.
This was a simple kimchi chiggae, but, in my opinion, it’s hard to beat simplicity. This broth of pork fat and kim chi, with a good pork bone stock, is a hard thing to surpass.
Immensely cheered, we walked home to sober up. Luckily, we had a few hours before we had to get scud from Incheon.
Picking up the Boy was fairly straightforward, but we were tight from time. Jason had to be somewhere, so we went straight from the airport, beset with fog, to a display of traditional Korean sports.
Yes, we went to a hockey game.
I’d like to say that the gyopo won, but it was more a case of them watching the other team lose.
Hey, I’m a tourist. I have to see these things.
Poor Scud, by this point, was cold and hungry. Especially cold. But every Korean hockey team should end with chicken, so we were shortly back across the street from Jason’s place at the Chicken Hof.
Hof is an interesting term. There were a lot of Koreans in Germany in the 50’s and 60’s – either as coal workers or nurses – and so learning the German language was important, and (like the Philippines now) this provided a steady income of hard currency. Now, if you see “hof” (or worse yet “ho”) you know that beer will be at hand.
Scud was hungry, but you know with a Korean place you’ll be eating.
We started with an omelet, a tidy stuffed affair, with a splurt of ketsup down the spine.
Alongside this is typical bar food. Puffed rice, and mu mulkimchi (daikon in pickle water). This is what I crave when I’m drinking a lot of beer.
After the omelets, the chicken started crowding the table. This came loaded with garlic, and sided with coleslaw and mayo.
And then came the main attraction. First he he cuts the chicken into 2 parts, takes off the neck, then bbq’s the two halves. Then he cuts each half into 7 parts, and then each part is scissored 3 or 4 times to maximize the surface area. After which the sauce (with 22 ingredients) is coated on the bird, and then the whole affair is finished on the hot plate.
Jason actually tried this at home last year, and the owner gave Jason a tub of the sauce. Jason had the whole show of how to do this, and, as he says “it’s like watching a surgeon”.
And the fries. Let’s not forget the fries. These are so good, done up (according to Jason) in beef fat. Crisp, refreshing, and the balm of all unease. Plus, Jason and the gyopos (which would make an excellent Greek myth, come to think of it) have prevailed upon him to serve these with mayo as well as ketsup.
Life is good.
Jason and his friends had found this place by fate. They were out after a game one night, and they passed by all the other chicken places on this strip.
And there are a bunch of chicken places on this strip.
With girls, too.
But, somehow, they figured this was the best place to eat.
And they were right.
They’ve been to the other places, and they just don’t compare. Girls come and go, but good chicken is forever.
Or something like that.
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Doddie--Is fish snot "lukot"? Marketman wrote about it during his visit to Bacolod. People eat fish poop? Ick! My mother says coconut is palm, but then I reminded her that there are many types of palm trees.
But isn't coconut palm the prevalent one for eating? Like with the coconut tips we have in stir fries in Bangkok?
Peter--don't worry, once I get back to Manila, my postings will slow down a bit, and you'll have time to catch up! I might be witnessing some cricket eating this weekend, and will think of you if I do.Crickets!
"Jiminies!" 
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Ah, it's wonderful having you in the P.I. Take your time. Relax. Don't rush your posts!
Actually the shots make things look really good, but I trust your descriptions more than I do the look of the food.
But still, you've not eaten any balut for breakfast? Or the fish snot? I'd so love to hear about it.
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Bo.Lan
As Tim said, there’s been a lot of talk about Bo.Lan these last few weeks. People had been emailing me about the new place on a regular basis.
And I’d been looking forward to this for a few months.
I’d met Khun Bo some years back at the Gourmet Fest. We’d shared tables during the events, and I was suitably impressed by this bright young lady who was just finishing up her culinary arts degree from Australia (only the thesis was left to complete) and she was looking forward to doing an internship in Europe.
The next I’d heard from her, she was working with David Thompson at the Nahm in London.
Good internship.
We corresponded intermittently over the next few years (I’m still looking forward to reading her kitchen diaries some day) and then, last year, when I was looking for restaurant recommendations for the London trips, I found out that she’d left London, and was opening up a restaurant back in Bangkok.
“Now there’s going to be an interesting meal”, thought I. A Thai schooled in Australia, who’s been working under the most famous farang chef doing Thai in London, who returns to Bangkok to take a new look at Thai. And, let’s not forget, there’s also her partner (on a very even footing), Dylan, who’s also come from the Nahm. Two talented young chefs doing what they want to be doing.
They started in January, opening in the middle of the month without much fanfare, and have been doing well since.
The restaurant is down soi 26 on Sukhumvit, tucked in behind the Four Wings Hotel. Not too difficult to find, but it’s removed enough from the main soi traffic that you need to know it’s there.
The restaurant is a pretty thing. One fairly flat level, with seating split between inside and outside, all open glass onto the gardens. There’s almost a Japanese aesthetics about the space. Some light from traffic intrudes, but, as I said, the structure is located on a smaller soi, so there’s not too much back and forth out there to distract you (mainly arriving diners).
The restaurant offers both ala carte, and a tasting menu. We decided to go with the set menu – ”Bo.Lan Balance”. As a wine, I ordered the Enate Gewurtztraminer. I’ve always thought the gewurtz to be a good match for Thai food, and this, a Spaniard from 2007, was recommended on their list.
A tidy little trick was placing the menu cards within solid books. I was curious about the books themselves, and they were cookbooks from the palace, which, besides acting as an eruditic décor, were a foundation for the food that Bo and Dylan were working through.
Ya dong Phaya Sue served with sour fruits
With the first course we were off to a good start. This dish is centered about the glass of ya dong, a traditional medicine of the Thai (M said "this is just like Indonesian Jamu, but with alcohol"). But our two young stars had been playing with this, and, along with the herbs, cardamom, honey, and flowers, introduced a bit cassis to perk it up.
You drink the Ya dong first, and then take the green pandan water, bite into the sour little pickles, and finish with the chili flecked salts.
Quite satisfying. Plus, you can say it’s good for you!
Bo.Lan Amuse Bouche
Titled as an amuse, this was much more of a second course of appetizers (I would have titled the Ya dong as “amuse” given how much fun it was).
This came with (moving front to back) local prawn in tamarind; star fruit with tamarind; spicy salad with prawns (in the central glass cup); crispy rice with coconut; and crispy pork skin with chili dip. A good selection with the spices building up from the star fruit, peaking on the salad, and then backing down a bit over the rice cracker and the pork skin. Very proper handling of Thai flavours, with no compromises made. We’d told them we like things spicy, and this was appropriately done.
Next came the mains.
Salad of grilled long green aubergine and river prawn
When I taste (and smell) the smokiness of grilled eggplant, I’m torn. I think both of Luang Prabang and Ratanakosin, two ends of the spectrum for me. A bit of egg to fill the dish out pushes it to the richer side of Ratanakosin, and the coriander brings up the aubergine in my nose.
Tod Mon
Bo.Lan made cured pork simmered in coconut cream served with prawn
Stuffed Dok kea and fish cake
The tod mon is another very rich dish, full of the feel of the court. Deep fried fish cakes. But the side dish of coconut cream is one of the great comforts in life, and stole much of the attention from the headlining tod mon itself.
This dish has me looking forward to a book of recipes from Bo.Lan. They’ve done much of the work of translation already, and this could make a good project…..but they may have their hands full just now.
Southern style marineated deep-fried fresh water fish
The fish was alright, with some of the marinade coming through, but, even with the tang of what (I think) was a mango sauce, the flavours didn’t stand up well in contrast to the other dishes.
Still, if it’s a Thai meal, you have to have fish (at least one), so I can appreciate its place here on the table (and others around me did like this a lot)
I should mention the rice – a combination of jasmine, pink, and black, with a fine smell, and excellent texture. If Yoonhi was here, she might argue, but I like the graininess that comes with some of the varietals of Thailand, and the smell of hom mali is always a treat.
“Sap nok curry” with local chicken
I hope I don’t get into trouble for this, but the curry was the highlight of the meal (“trouble” as credit for this goes to Dylan, who handles the curries in the kitchen). This Central style curry has an excellent flavour. Traditionally, this would be done with game birds, but Bo.Lan have done this with the more sustainable chicken. I could see the traditional as a treat, with the crunch of the small bones, but the chicken makes this more substantial. But it ‘s the sauce we love. Dylan starts with a red curry, and then works in ginger on a continual basis as it cooks.
This is really good.
We had choices of soup. Myself, I went for something with a coconut base and a great backdrop of roasted vegetables. I quite enjoyed this, while others, who had the clear broth of seafood ranted and raved in equal amounts.
This may look like a lot of food, and it was. I’d like to say that we cleaned everything up, but there was so much that we finally had to push back and say enough.
Local orange plum, logan, rambutan steeped in perfumed syrup
We then turned to clean our palates, with a well balanced cool thing of citrus and longan/rambutan. I’ve always liked the lychee family, and these flavours all work well to calm the mouth. Behind this was the smell of jasmine buds at the base of the glass.
Bo.Lan dessert du jour
Our dessert was a collection of tapioca in coconut cream (and you have a good idea of the esteem I hold for coconut cream).
o
This also came with a palm heart, tapioca chips, and a sweet little golden bean (and I wish this picture was better).
Petits fours to accompany your cup of local tea
Again, the picture doesn’t do justice, but I need it hear to give a concept of the scope of the finish. Especially when you place this scope in the context that I have to catch a flight at Souvarnabhumi in just a few hours.
I was getting nervous about my timing, but this looked to good to run out on.
Khmer style deserts wrapped in leaves; little treats of sugar and rice flour; toasted rice; a fantastic tamarind – a slightly different variety – just taken raw to tarten up your tongue; toffees of coconut and palm sugar; and more things with banana and bean.
Flying Rat, M, and E had the tea, an Ang kang tea from Chiang Mai under the Royal King Project. , but I just fretted about my timing.
I shouldn’t worry. M & E gave me a lift to the airport, and I made the flight with time to spare. My stomach happy from a day’s eating in Krungthep, I closed my eyes and prayed for sleep.
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A very good meal. The concept of “balance” does hold through the meal, and I was happy with having done the tasting. I’d mentioned in passing earlier that Khun Bo had a solid background in culinary studies, and I can see a good continuation of her earlier interests in the heritage of Thai cuisine coming through with what she’s doing here.
Dining solo, or only as a couple, the advantage here is also that you can draw on a wide variety of flavours from the tasting menu. Too often I feel sad that all I can manage are two or three courses on my own, when I haven’t arranged a crowd.
I’d also mentioned that I’d look forward to their writings, when the time comes. I think that we’ll find in Bo and Dylan not only good chefs, but a couple capable of some very serious work on Thai culinary history.
Darn, now I’m hungry again.
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Teaser (and completely out of sequence)....
Korean baseball food culture!
Japan beat the US this morning, so it's K v J tomorrow!
This is going to be more intense than a Park Chan Wook dental clinic.
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I've also got the Savoring China book, and use it on a fairly regular basis as a framework for dinners. I do adjust some of the instructions and ingredients, but that's probably just the Chengdu bias I picked up. Overall, I haven't gone wrong with their recipes (or, if I have, it's been my own fault).
Yay! Are there any particular standout recipes from the book? Anything unusual (ie a recipe not commonly seen in other Chinese cookbooks)?
Also, I remember seeing a fried milk or something with was it noodles with milk in Savoring. Am I seeing things?
The ones that Yoonhi keeps sending me back for are:
honey glazed walnut beef
beef with dried tangerine peel
and
hot and sour soup
The ones I use for general direction, are:
- mapu tofu
- spicy sichuan eggplant
Like I said, a lot of it is just good guidance, to follow up on what I've learned.
Have fun!
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My coming to Seoul is one of the worst kept secrets, I know.
As I've said, I fall further and further behind, but, given that I'm having far too much fun, I don't feel too bad about that.
But, it's been an excellent week so far (aside from the fact that I've had limited time to post, and when I get time, I'm going to finish Bo.Lan)
I've met some of my favourite bloggers - ZenKimchi and FatManSeoul - and I've been an albatross about my nephew - Jason Lee - for too long already.
But, as I've said elsewhere. for food, I'm torn between Bangkok and Seoul. So, if I can do a trip like this....well...I'm happy.
Some of what I post will be a repeat of the last Korea trip. We do have our favourites. But others, like this day's meals, will be completely different.
So, have patience, and, if you have recommendations, let them rip.
Now, I'll return to my Hite.
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Hey, did anyone knowingly eat rat while in Cambodia? The following is from an article I have just had published about the consumption of rats around the world. Just thought you might be interested.
“In the 1980’s the University of Reading ran a summer school for Rat Catchers. Students from around the globe spent twelve weeks learning the basics of rodent control in the class room and visiting farms around the district baiting, catching and trapping the rodents. They then returned home to pass on their skills to the locals. Today talents for catching them live are much in demand. In late 2008, Reuters reported that the price of rat meat had quadrupled in Cambodia creating a hardship for the poor who could no longer afford it. Cambodia also exports about a metric ton of rats daily to Vietnam as food. Flooding in the Mekong Delta is forcing rats to higher ground making them easier to catch. The rise in price has encouraged a return to rat catching, children are entering the labour market for rat catchers and are offering rat meat in the local markets.”
Rat gets a lot of attention (which is a good thing, as I'm a rat) but you have to think of rats and "rats". A lot of what is eaten in Asia as "rat" is bamboo rat, which is more like a big muskrat (is that the right spelling?) than it is a rat as we think of it.
When I was in Laos way back (early 90s) our guide in Xiangkhoung came back from the market with these big, buck toothed things in a cage.
He was really proud of them.
They got loose in the 4x4, and we sat around and drank beer Lao for 30 minutes while they captured them again. Those teeth are really good at chewing through bamboo cages.
On the plane they got loose again, and there was a general carnival of folks trying to catch them on this Chinese knock-off of a Russian 2 prop death trap.
I do hope they tasted well after all of that.
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Peter, you posted about "main lobster." Is that Maine lobster?
Maine it is. My fingers get lost at times.
Sorry, but I'm (as usual) behind in the posting.
I'm looking for that rare congruence of fate that has me awake, sober, and not busy in order to catch up.
Where's the makkeolli?
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When we were in Chengdu a couple of years ago, pig bladders were one of the items available out on the beer streets for snacking on. They'd sliced them up, and serve them with salt and pepper. No uric smell, so I suspect it's the usual deal of soaking and rinsing with vinegar.
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My apologies to one and all for taking so long, but I was laid low by some viral passerby on the first day here in the next stop.
So, between sleeping and other things we won't go into, I've been away from the machines.
I'll try to catch up (but I've said that before).
You should really rest a little more. Make sure you're 100% before you start again, lest you relapse! Maybe two weeks--that's how much time you need to recover!
I'm leaving the day after tomorrow, but I finally finished Cambodia!
This time I'm claiming total victory if you haven't finished the PI before I finish this trip. Sheesh, that'll be May.
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Pan--I did not go to McDonald's! I don't even know if there's a McD's in all of Cambodia! OK, I'll confess. We went back to Le Tigre de Papier and had pizza and french fries. We did have our daily coconut fix, too, so it wasn't entirely sad!
Good girl! You'll always be a member of my club.
We're seriously considering burgers at Smokey's here in Seoul sometime soon.
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You could talk to the folks at the Waldorf about booking one of the Polynesian rooms.
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I've also got the Savoring China book, and use it on a fairly regular basis as a framework for dinners. I do adjust some of the instructions and ingredients, but that's probably just the Chengdu bias I picked up. Overall, I haven't gone wrong with their recipes (or, if I have, it's been my own fault).
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Is it bad that I'm checking this thread a few times a day?
I can't wait!! Looking forward to the blog~My apologies to one and all for taking so long, but I was laid low by some viral passerby on the first day here in the next stop.
So, between sleeping and other things we won't go into, I've been away from the machines.
I'll try to catch up (but I've said that before).
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I'd been meaning to post this for a couple of weeks, having permission from the Four Seasons to let out some of the news.
It's not yet the complete line-up, but that should be settled soon.
So, here's the (almost) sneak preview for 2009
THE 10th ANNUAL WORLD GOURMET FESTIVAL
AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL BANGKOK
In association with Travel + Leisure South East Asia
Bangkok, March 2009: The 10th Annual World Gourmet Festival will take place 05-11 October 2009 at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok and promises to be the biggest and best yet.
Since its inception ten years ago, the World Gourmet Festival has grown in prominence to feature an extraordinary line up of some of the world’s best chefs from all continents. Several food festivals are hosted throughout the world, however, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok is the only hotel to bring award winning Master Chefs under one roof for a week long celebration of outstanding food, superb wines and to share tips and information on how to create award-winning cuisine. The full line up of chefs will be announced in March.
Already confirmed to participate are:
David Kinch, Manresa Restaurant (2* Michelin), Los Gatos, California USA
David Thompson, Nahm Thai Restaurant (1* Michelin), London, UK
Christine Manfield, Universal Café, Sydney, Australia
Mohammed Fedal, Dar Moha, Marrakesh, Morocco
Roberta Sudbrack, Roberta Sudbrack restaurant, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Luke Dale-Roberts, La Colombe, Cape Town, South Africa
Fulvio Siccardi, Ristorante Conti Roero (1* Michelin), Monticello d’Alba, Italy
Francois Payard, Payard Pastry, New York, USA
Michael Ginor, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, USA
10th World Gourmet Festival/2
The final line-up will be revealed in March 2009. The event is coordinated and overseen by Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok Executive Chef Nicolas Schneller and Shintaro Chef, Satoshi Sawada and Biscotti Chef, Danilo Aiassa.
Each chef will host two evenings in one of the hotel’s restaurants; and a cooking demonstration either for lunch or dinner. You may catch them all at one time at the seven-course Gala dinner on Saturday, 10th October 2009.
So, you know where I'll be in October
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It’d been a good start.
Okay, set the sleep deprivation thing aside. I don’t sleep on aircraft, so this was pushing into that 30+ hours of wakefulness to deal with.
But, I was able to drop most of my stuff at the airport, and then crashed on FlyingRat and her husband for a good morning of general discussion, covering such world-shaking topics as the rendering of food into other cultures, the quotes of Marie Antoinette, and a serious discussion of the Smurfs.
“They’re three apples tall.”
This is material you have to know.
I had a simple plan. Shower, change, rest, brunch, rest, dinner, go back to airport.
I’d accomplished the first three of these in the proper succession, and that led to…
March 15, 2009 – Comparative Brunchology
I have lapsed.
My original concept had been to descend upon the Four Seasons for my usual round of gorging, but, amongst my coterie, there was a call for some variety. A change of pace.
Being frail, I succumbed.
I’d heard for some time that the primary competition for the Four Seasons’ brunch was the Sukhothai. Flying Rat had made reservations for us, and she, J, M and myself all met there in the lobby, a few minutes short of their opening. (E would join us later that evening).
The brunch is effectively broken into two areas. The main food station is up front of the large dining area. The desserts are segregated in a side room, reached the long way of a U from the main foods, and up and down a couple of small risers.
Unfortunately, we were seated c loser to the dessert than to the main action, which, in this arrangement, means a negotiation of tables and chairs, with no open thoroughfare to facilitate the to and fro.
In contrast, while Madison can be a bit of twister to get in and out of the booths, it’s a fairly short course of hurdles, with only two or three tables to get around. Likewise, at the Four Seasons the food stations are distributed widely, so, wherever you sit, you’ll not be too far from things.
This means that one of the tactics of brunch becomes difficult to execute, which is “small plating”. At a good spread (and this is a good spread), I prefer to take smaller tastings, with limited amounts on my plate. This way the hot food doesn’t cool too badly, and the flavours are distinct, as opposed to the normal brutality of the buffet, where plates are piled high and portions commingled.
The other difficulty is that, while I did continue to small plate (and there is a benefit to the exercise this affords me in walking back and forth) I couldn’t avoid some cooling of the foods, with most everything luke warm by the time I was back at the table.
So, logistically, I would have to say that it was a more difficult arrangement. But you can’t fault the F&B for that, as they have to work with the space they have.
Approaching the food from the left flank, the table still not fully occupied, we encountered a selection of salmon.
A Norwegian smoked, a gravlox, and, what took my interest, a beet and vodka approach to salmon. I earmarked that for my attention.
Beside this was the salad station, with a nice set up for fresh preparation of individual servings.
But, I was more interested in the parma ham that was set up just after that, feathers of flesh floating down from the blades to be scooped up from below.
My only concern here is that the charming young lady who was doing the slicing was also doing aiding in the salad orders, and so couldn’t operate both stations at the same time. Having it fresh shaved like this is preferable to the presetting that is done at the Four Seasons, but if you have to wait, then you lose the advantage.
Having waited for it, I must say I did enjoy that ham. And the beat and vodka salmon was a treat. The gravlox were just there, and I prefer the Four Season’s house-smoked salmon.
I must say, the cold seafood spread was very good. On par with the Four Seasons, and superior in the range of oysters available. They had the fin de Claire, and in addition Tatten Virginica; Calm Cove; a larger, plumper oyster whose name I missed, but was surprisingly pleasant for an oyster this large – sweet and giving, without being mucusy; and kumamotos – small, plump little charmers that I’ve missed these last few months.
There was also main lobster, which I’d also seen on the Four Seasons’ table as a new item last time (and which seems to have come into season here in Bangkok, with several restaurants doing lobster promotions); King crab – which is something I haven’t seen elsewhere; and the usual assortment of prawns and such.
On a table beside this are a selection of Thai dishes – curries, rices, fries, and other such items to open your nose and make your mouth water. Their approach here is less labour intensive than the Four Seasons,and seems more focused on Central Thai dishes, in comparison to the sai krok Isaan and som tam offerings at the food stations in Spice Market. I’m more fond of sausages (as you know), but if your taste was more to the stews, then this was a very good selection.
Back at the main tables, there are two bbq’d ducks hanging and being carved, similar to what we have at the Four Seasons’ Chinese corner.
Just before the carvery, there was some very pleasant foie gras available for searing. They were doing this with pears and a sauterne sauce, to order at the ovens just behind.
The rest of the foie gras was arranged on a nearby table, with a straight torchon, and a pater with mushrooms. There were also some small terrines with the pate under jelly. There was also a good selection of other pates, but I had to move on.
The carvings were excellent, I will say. A prime rib that looked primordial, a very pleasant bit of roast pork, and a slow cooked lamb leg.
Limited in comparison to the Four Seasons’ choices in the kitchen, but all of good quality, and I would take the lamb leg done this way over the chops at Madison.
Fronting the meats were a set of casseroles, each containing small treasures, of which the coq au vin, and the paprikash of liver, tongues and hearts had me enraptured.
A bit jarring, on the same table and to the right was the “catch of the day”. Still, they were very pretty little things, and the smell of the pandan leave that were used to wrap the freshwater fish is not something I’d turn my nose up at.
Likewise, the minced shrimp on sugarcane is something I’ve loved since Vietnam days, and I’d be back for these.
Nearby was a shwarma, but that’s not something I’d use up my time on in this sitting.
Facing that was a large stack of steamers, all filled out with siumai, cha siu bao, and other dim sum.
Sushi and sashimi is, of course, de rigeur on a brunch menu, and I did feel the selection here was better than at the Four Seasons, with more fish and shellfish. Both hotels have fresh grated wasabi, which is a nice thing, indeed.
The ikura here was very nice, but then, so is the product at the 4S. And there you have the advantage of the ice block presentation, along with a wider selection of fish roe.
However, I did miss the grilled unagi station at the Four Seasons, and there was no hot pot for meats.
The cheese was across from sashimi, and this was a very good selection, much broader than the Four Seasons.
A solid selection of Old and New World cheeses, with my interest lying in the softer offerings. Some overlap here with what they have at the Four Seasons, but I’d say that there was close to triple the overall choice.
And, to the Sukhothai’s credit, there was a large hanging section of honeycomb accompanying the cheese.
Desserts were acceptable, but I would give preference to the Four Seasons, especially for their crepes.
The home made ice creams were obviously good, as the murmers of my brunch companions attested, and I was tempted, but I was slowing down by now.
And I’m always enchanted by these little faux fruit. The effort that goes into these never fails to amaze me.
And the chocolate fondue is a nice touch.
(As a note, I haven’t done it, but FlyingRat speaks highly of the chocolate degustation here in the afternoons)
Honorable mention must go, however, to this dish. Sticky Toffee Pudding. J’s eyes glistened at the sight of this, and I, who don’t often indulge in such things, even had some.
Passing through the lobby to our exit, we did have the opportunity to see the chocolate buffet underway, and, as had been said, it did look very good (and I was too sated to go to the exertion of taking out my camera…darn!)
So, the overall evaluation?
Both offer a very good spread of product. I have few qualms with either regarding the wealth (and I do mean wealth) of items they offer. But I would say that the Sukhothai leans more towards a traditional large-table brunch approach. Top-end, but more conventional. Against this, the stations at the Four Season focus very much on fresh preparation.
Table service was another issue. Here, as I said, there were the logistics of moving about the room. At the Four Seasons the staff are very good about checking with you to see if you’d like anything brought to your table, saving you the wear and tear of actually walking about.
Those two elements, combined, meant that the hot food is enjoyed to advantage at the Four Seasons. But the Sukhothai understands this, and much of what they offer is meant for room temperature (their seared foie gras suffers on this, though).
The big difference, and I suspect that you’d already noticed this, is that the drinks are not included in the brunch. Wine is available at a reasonable price, and they were kind enough to send around a champagne cocktail, but I much prefer to have the cost of alcohol included in the affair, and open the gates for a proper Bacchanal, making it easy to cheerfully drift through a three hour + eatathon.
Still that translates to a difference in cost, with the Sukhothai less than 2,000 baht on the card, although we came in around 2,500 baht with the usual ++’s. The Four Seasons is a fair bit more than that, so it would come down to the question of drinking or not. In our case we’d restrained ourselves, as we were planning another meal for the evening.
Maybe that’s part of how to compare it? Look to the overall experience of the day. If your purpose is to make the most of this one meal, then I’d say the Four Seasons. But if you plan to accomplish anything more concrete in your day (like dinner), then the Sukhothai may be a more appropriately restrained choice (restraint is not my strong suite).
There are advantages to both venues. I admit that I’m biased by that “everybody knows your name” element at the 4S, so I’ll leave you to make your own choices.
Next – Friends old and new
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i was supposed to stay the night on board but decided to get off. never got to eat the food on board but was glad i came ashore. the 'fresh beer' which came in a plastic jerry can alone was a good enough reason to abandon ship. i did buy a crab and prawns from a fishing boat that was sailing along side my boat. the cook [on my boat] made 2 dishes and charged me 2 euros for his service. that was rather nice. all creatures were jumpingly fresh.
Our experience (ages ago) was like BonV's: buy good, fresh food from the eager salesfolk pulled up alongside, and stick to the simple enjoyment of good ingredients. Toss the detritus over the side to chum the water for the swimmers' general excitement.
Do you have to stay overnight? One spectacular bit of karst topography starts to look pretty much like another after a few hours.
I look forward to the pictures and the write-up.
Travelogue: Spring Break 2009 -- Seoul
in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Dining
Posted
I tell her that I'm making gook bap, and she tells me I'm just making a mess.