BonVivant

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):

SV duck breast and rhubarb. Dark blob is port gelée.

Cuttlefish, Spanish-esque: Valencia: with onions (and saffron powder) Costa Blanca: with Picada (Catalan almond sauce). I ate this in Denia, just south of Valencia. Also works with squid. ---- My cheat versions of Chinese "white cut" chicken and soya sauce poached chicken. Got the poaching whole chicken idea from here. Tiny French poussins, 400g each. The cavity was stuffed with garlic, ginger and onions to keep its shape. No cucumber, no green onions or coriander in the house. Only asparagus, tomatoes, rhubarb and various herbs from my garden so that's what I used. There were Shaoxing wine and other things in the soya sauce. Reduced to 1/3 for dipping.

That's why I always get the claws. These days I only get whole crabs in season when they are full of roe, then it's worth the work. Eat a kilo of these every week, simply steamed. Also delicious in fried rice, wonton parcels and other things.

SV goose breast. I recently made cherry compote which released a lot of water so I reduced it and turned it into a savoury marinade for the goose breast. Made the meat taste very nice. Not much info on SV'ing goose breasts but loads of results for duck and chicken breasts. I tried 56C/2hrs. Turned out medium and moist. I've never had rare or between rare and medium rare goose breasts before. Duck breasts always, yes. Maybe I could try a different temp and time next time. SV rhubarb is great. It keeps its shape, texture and colour. Breast had an intense shade of deep dark cherry red, almost black, even before searing. Thick insulation layer!

Panna cotta with pulverised pistachio. With rosemary salt and Turkish pistachio. Contains no sugar. Reusing the soya sauce with chicken from the other day. Just added chard, mung bean noodles and more Laoganma (Sichuan chillies in oil). Turkish eggs and yogurt. The lovely colour comes from paprika powder, butter and olive oil. Figs and sabayon (and Grand Marnier). Green figs keep their shape better but I prefer the other kind. (Broke the lid of the tea cup last week...) How it's done: Camera is more than 10 years old. Check out my high-end set-up: silver paper covered cardboard and clamps to hold it straight. The other side is an old binder. Or anything that can stand straight up, really. My flash diffuser is a plastic cup... I positioned the camera like this so you could see everything (the reflectors and the food being shot). So there.

A bit of Spain on this hot day, both the food and the summer heat. SV Octopus tentacles. Eaten at room temp. PS: Many thanks, @mm84321 and @JoNorvelleWalker!

Temperatures dropped today, finally, that means I can eat "normal" food again. Have an aversion to green onions but chives are OK. SV chicken (leg and breast done separately) with Shaoxing wine and ginger. In the sauce: dark "superior" soya sauce, ginger, garlic, Sichuan "facing heaven" chillies etc. Cold food recently: Pasta with cream, SV rhubarb and chervil. Goat's cheese panna cotta. From the other day: SV rhubarb and raw, shaved asparagus. Dill and prawn panna cotta. Cucumber and roe. Pureed asparagus and cucumber. So, leftover prawns and Gravadlax became new dinner. And lastly, thank you, @Kim Shook! I love that salmon, too.

This is all. SV half chicken. One last Innis &Gunn, ever.

@scubadoo97, thank you very much! I'm always learning. There's so much learning happens when we cook and through food. And even learn new things about myself. Slicing, photographing, drinking a beer and doing intense thinking (about other things) all at the same time! @kayb, make the cure as you always do, just add as much scotch to it as you like (I pour a whole Rémy Martin glass). To drink my scotch I actually use a tiny sake cup! Something like this:

Last few meals: SV flank steaks. In my house the cows and creatures in the sea co-exist in peace. Asparagus gratin. The white spears were overwhelmed by the cream. Too close? It still spring, officially. SV lamb. I have a rosemary plant in the garden. The biggest turbot I have bought thus far. This one was 1.5kg. Lasted 2 meals. Only got it because my brill was not available that day and that it had roe intact. Big roe. Managed to cut it in half cleanly with a heavy cleaver. Roasted the roe attached half in the oven, this half was cooked on the Weber the next day. It started to rain right about here (but didn't last long). Fits the width of the Weber grill grate. There's quite a bit of scotch in it. Hard to pick which I like more: the Riesling, the salmon or the potatoes? They are simply faultless and complement each other perfectly. Didn't have time to photograph the wine, but this is it, brought back by yours truly from the same cellar shop in the article.

It's not so often you see rice in my photos. SV chicken thighs then seared. Nasi goreng (Indonesian/Malaysian fried rice). No time to think of a nice way to plate it.