BonVivant

Nothing in the fridge to cook with as I'm leaving soon. My lunches lately have been nothing but cheese and bread, and oysters. I'm very content. Cured duck breast Aromatic Pont l'Eveque and Camembert. And a lot of cheese...

My inner Austrian is satisfied again. Home made potato dumplings. There's coarsely grated Hokkaido squash in the dough. Pumpkin seed oil and seeds to intensify the dumplings even more. Plain version of same dumplings, with Speck and Sauerkraut. (Plain) dumplings with ground pistachio and poppy seeds. Fresh plums marinated in maple syrup. Burrata, pumpking seed oil and grated salt-cured yolk. Making yolk confit next time for a change. Lunch in Düsseldorf, Germany the other day. Slow-cooked pork. Bratwurst from nearby Bergisches Land, with creamy chard. Schumacher Alt beer is quite nice, I can never just stop after 2. The beer keeps coming until you put a beer mat on top of the glass. This much of beer in the glass is as good as empty and the waiter will bring you another full glass in no time. The beer is properly dispensed by this man. OK, one more beer then we go. The brewery restaurant.

Ordering a (blue) rare steak in AR (Argentina) and CL (Chile) and getting it the way you want is a matter of luck. Doesn't matter how much you stress how you prefer it done half the time it comes out medium or worse. South Americans prefer other cuts of meat so the tender parts are perfect for tourists. These are typical cuts Argentinians prefer for their assado: Bavette/flank/skirt/picanha/tail of rump steaks, short ribs and so on. They start an assado with offal, then move on to the cuts. When I go that way again I will be carrying this photo of steak doneness with me to show them when ordering. Had the same experience in Namibia. I like AR empanadas, especially "caprese" (filled with chopped fresh tomatoes, mozzarella and basil). Couldn't stomach their beloved "medialunas" and bread with dulce de leche for breakfast. It's hell for someone who hates sugar. My AR breakfast: There's a craft beer scene in BA but the pubs tend to open in the evening only. Quality and selection could be better now. If you are not going to AR Patagonia anytime soon maybe you want to try Patagonian lamb in BA. I ate my fill on both sides of Patagonia and thought it was one of the best (second to Texel, perhaps. Not sure).

I know you are going to hit the supermarket sooner or later, do check out the wine section which is the length of an Olympic swimming pool! Wine is categorised by region and there's hardly anything from abroad. I almost "cried" in the wine section every time. (Same in Chile, btw.). Also try other red wines which are normal in AR but not anywhere else. I didn't even know of their existence. Nice wine can be bought nearly anywhere; convenience store, petrol station, corner shop, bus station etc. Got this at a bus station in Villa Gesell for my long-distance bus ride back to BA. Taking a break from Malbec and everything by Rutini is good.

Grim weekend, a first taste of nasty autumn weather that lasts for months. The lunches satisfy my inner Austrian. Dumplings with scrambled egg whites. The dumplings have kabocha squash puree in them which make them yellow. Egg whites give the dumplings some contrast. "Squeeze cheese" dumplings in a savoury broth. Not as nice as NinaGluck's, I'm quite certain. Same as above but with the additions of pumpkin puree and Speck. In Styria Speck is used in the dumplings. I made it seasonal by adding pumpkin puree. That's the Speck in my dumplings. I enjoyed both but with Speck and pumpkin puree it's even better. The nicer the cheese the nicer the dumplings.

Mine (in Strasbourg) And where I kept the beer.

Hungary is the world's biggest foie gras exporter (to France, specifically). Bulgaria is catching up fast, though. Get some foie, charcuterie and have a little picnic in your room.

With melted pure chocolate. 2 kinds of pumpkin spreads. I have not another wish for the entire week. All is included in this one picture. (Would not want to even consider moving to another place or country without access to French cheese!) The cheesemonger was happy to see me again... A new one to me, from the Jura. Very rich and creamy. Kaltbach Le Gruyère is epic and I get it whenever the cheesemonger has it. Almost nothing can touch Kaltbach. (Photo below is from last summer)

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.

Lunch part 2. Austrian theme continued. "Potato cheese" Liptauer is a cheese spread with paprika powder. Used Hungarian paprika I brought back from there last christmas. Not your typical "pancakes". It's torn and the batter is different. And it's Austrian. Contains no baking powder. Beaten egg whites are responsible for the fluffiness. Always a kind of fruit compote alongside. Austrians have different names for similar dishes or things. In Germany this is called "farmer's breakfast". One of the most typical meals in both countries. Want to learn a saying in German? "Without cheese, without Speck; life has no meaning." The cheese can be changed to bread or ham etc but Speck will remain. Speck is an important ingredient in this part of the world. Besides, the words Speck and "meaning" in the second line rhyme. This one is all mine. Butter from the sea. Two of my top spring elixirs in 1 photo.

(First part of lunch) Austrian spätzle with Speck. My lemon balm plants itself around the garden over the years. Savoury panna cotta, all goat's cheese based: Another use for salt-cured yolks. Chinese tea cups brought back from different places (Xiamen, Budapest, Taipei):