BonVivant

I put it on all kinds of things but mostly olive oil is added to the powder for drizzling. In (southern) Chile they also put it on pizzas. Found the pre-packaged merquen from supermarket to be sub-par. At the market in southern Chile, especially in the areas which are strongholds of Mapuche folks, the stallholders let you have a taste of their various versions of merquen before buying. Every stallholder has their own mixes and sources. I bought several kilos in total and whilst I enjoyed them all the best chilies were the whole dried smoked ones sold in a net. It's time I returned to Chile!

I have been to that Tintin shop and bought some stationary items there. Long story shot, how it all started: (have also been to Tibet, of course.) FYI, the mussels most probably come from Netherlands (the biggest mussel producer in Europe). One time when the mussel season was about to begin but deliveries were delayed and the Belgians all got their knickers in a knot. Going home tomorrow and looking forward to eating steamed mussels at home (eur.5/kg from supermarket. When in season, 2 kilos for the same price).

More about the "noses" on BBC: (video clip loads and plays immediately) http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20170710-how-a-candy-divided-this-belgian-town I have never tried the noses and don't even want to (no sweet tooth).

Relax, you are on holiday. In fact, I say go all out. Deal with it when you come home but right now just enjoy. Check this out, drinking beer at 10am at my lodging whilst waiting for the bus back to El Calafate (Argentina). Back in 2009 there was no information about this beer to be found on the web. Not even ONE photo. Nothing. I have just looked it up again, found two photos and the label is totally different. This old label is home printed and glued on the bottle manually. They probably brewed it in the shed. ep Actually, not one but three beers. The hostel where I was staying at had a drink fridge in the reception area by the entrance but I didn't know there was also beer in it, saw mostly sweet fizzy crap. Then whilst waiting to pay for my room, an hour before the bus left for El Calafate, I looked at the bottles more closely and what did I see? Beer. Artisanal beer from around here. Well of course I just had to buy all 3. Then it occurred to me I would not have any way to keep the beer cold in the coming days so I drank them right there. Simple as that. The young employee laughed when I said "who cares how early it is, I'm on holiday". She concurred. Directly after this I walked to the bus stop to catch my bus. This is what I came to El Chalten for, to do a hike. A typical sight in Patagonia. Stayed 3 days, should have stayed the whole week. That is the very impressive omnipresent Mt. Fitz Roy seen from the road leading to El Chalten. And it is also here where I found some beer that is still not available outside the village in 2017. Note that El Chalten is only open in high season, the southern summer.

(Apologies to Duvel for high-jacking this thread for a moment) A breed of pigs indigenous to Hungary. There's not enough of it to go around in Hungary where it's a delicacy. I only trust real Magalitsa from the butchers and reputable restaurants there. Certified resellers have these signs: All have Mangalitsa in them. There's a strict guide line how much Mangalitsa in a product to be called such. The ham is extremely elusive but I found it. Even Hungarians asked me where! They are bred mainly for this: I have the big chunk (top left) to finish before my next holiday, have been frying everything in it these days.

Polish food because I'm in Krakow, Poland at the moment. Soup. Poles love soups. I also. Rice, groat and pork mince filling. A plate of mixed pierogi (x2). Just a drink of strawberries, water and some sugar. They have no beer or anything like that at this place. My 8 euro lunch. There are a few locations and this one is out of the way but near my lodging. Looks quite empty in this photo but it didn't last long. Polish customers kept coming in throughout. Menu is handwritten on paper posted high up on the wall. Am only here a couple of days for the beer, no time for a history lesson. Maybe next time.

Your kitchen and cupboard/storage space are much bigger than mine and I live in a house! A very small house. Leberkäse is not hard to make I don't know why they don't have it on menu at German places in town. There are at least 2 German bars/restaurants in HK (I remember drinking beer at both). Schnurrbart on LKF has Schmalz, it doesn't take much longer to make Leberkäse. But I think it's better to make something like this yourself, when you are homesick or not. I like it, too. It's prevalent in Bavaria, but especially Franconia. It's slightly different everywhere. Every butcher and bakery has their own seasoning.

Aooni IPA is from Nagano. You're right that the craft beer scene in Japan has exploded since the laws changed. And that's why I went there for 6 weeks just to drink beer (mostly). I had many good beers in Japan but also many many bad ones. Their "beer culture" is still very much in its infancy and needs to look to other countries to learn and improve. Serving all beers in a Weissbier glass in a craft beer bar is odd. Some places do that. OK, never mind. Let's get back to your HK topic.

61C, upto 45mins. I like mine no longer than 20mins. Might be still a bit firm if one likes their rhubarb soft.

Asparagus season has ended. I still have some left. I have eggs with 2 yolks this week. A cup of jewels. And a plate full of them. A day without cheese is unthinkable. Super creamy unpasteurised Brie.

Sturgeon is nice. They eat it in eastern Europe and in the Baltic countries. Had it in Tallinn (SV then torch-seared). Some supermarkets also sell the fish. Not sure which species is in the photo. At "Restoran Ö" in Tallinn. Speaking of which, I had a nice meal there. Maybe I "should" post photos of it someday.

I think it was (sping) onion. I prefer cresses.

What's the beer and how was it? Industrial swill? I like how normal it is to just buy roe in Russia and Baltic countries. It's sold by weight, they scoop it out of a big pail full of (salmon) roe! That's also how I got it in Tallinn, Estonia. From a big pail.

Yeah, also agree with Kim Shook, meat and bread are some of my favourite things. Topping everything with roe and sour cream is also my thing. Btw, Hungarians do eat sour cream with almost everything. The sour cream section in their supermarkets is big. Maybe, like you, they are also jet-lagged. I do it as well, drinking a beer or 2 with breakfast. My body doesn't know. It only knows that beer endorphins are kicking in... right about now. Noice! Siberia is on my list. Wishing you the best possible outcome on this trip.

Goat's legs. Butcher took the whole beast out of the walk-in freezer when I ordered the legs. It came with male private parts but I let the butcher keep them. Got him to half the legs otherwise they would not fit in my oven or the SV water bath. (All my built-in kitchen appliances are smaller than standard size. Typical here in this small country) SV for a whole day. Quickly seared when done. Suuuuuuuuuper tender and the meat had a nice flavour. No lamb-y taste in case you are wondering. Lettuce leaves were used as wraps for the meat. Pistachio picada sauce. A sunset beer directly after dinner. "Barrel-aged" smoked imperial stout. The name of the beer means complete and utter rubbish. In another word, BS.