BonVivant

yesterday on draft in the pub: Jopen Weizen Starkbok 9%, St Feuillien Påskeøl (Easter Beer) 7.5%, St Peters Best Bitter 4.1%, and De Hemel Nieuw Ligt 10%. a visit to my usual bottle shop afterwards: Hanssens Oudbeitje lambik (strawberry lambic), Boon Framboise Mariage Parfait 2004 (raspberry lambic), St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition (lambic-gueuze), and ’t Hofbrouwerijke Hofblues (stout). i should upload beer erotica one of these days...

from my pub crawl today (all from the tap): Amager Burnout 8.1% [very smoky and savoury] Mahrs Bräu Kellerbier Ungespundet Hefetrüb 5% [sweet memory of Franconia] Southern Tier Iniquity 9% Southern Tier 422 Pale Wheat Ale 4.5% Wild Goose Oatmeal Stout 5.9% [almost shoyu...] (plus other standard pils such as Leeuw and Brand) my new American beer record! this is the first time i've ever drunk more than 1 American beer in one day!

i always have a square of 99% Lindt for each espresso but last time i was in Buenos Aires i broke my own rules this one time

i have a very simple and small stash. can't really call it 'cellar' because i drink it all in due time. Samischlaus circa 2003. last 2 #12 bought in 2005. down to my last 2 now though. perfect time to drink it all as it will get less delicious after 8 years. i know some people disagree but i digress. Närke Kaggen! and non kaggen, years 2006, 2007, and 2008. best when reached 5 years. Schlenkerla Urbock. last 3 from this winter. going to drink them all within a couple of weeks though. Liefmanns Goudenband. old batch from before the takeover. 10 Liefmanns Frambozenbier. old batch. 5 Cuvee de Keizer circa 2000. will drink my last bottle as soon as i can get more [1.5hrs on the push bike from my house to Belgian border]. Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek 2005. 3 Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueze 2005. 4 Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze 2006. going drink it very soon. Boon Oude Gueuze Mariage Parfait 2005. many. drink a bottle each week because it's delicious, still easy to get, and is relatively affordable.

roasted (fresh) garlic is a must for me. a leafy salad, or sauteed mushrooms are probably my all time favourite. i also like most things mentioned here when in season. sometimes even a fried egg, never any creamy or runny sauces however.

i had the cubes in a small bowl along with hotpot. in Guiyang there were also other bits in the same bowl such as soy beans, sorry forgot what other bits were. and in Jinghong it was just a bowl of the pure unadulterated fermented cubes. not sure how it's supposed to be eaten but i think most likely one just plucks a small bit at a time in between as an enhancer. (a photo i manage to salvage.)

yesterday at one of my regular pubs: St Feuillien Saison (delicious!), De Leckere Organic Pilsner (okay), Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale (any more 'aromatic' then it would be soap. i'm allergic to cascade hops.), and Jopen Gerstebier (a new very nice and refreshing barley beer by Jopen).

i find alligator steaks dry and a bit rubbery maybe i should give it another go. having read this entire thread i realised i've had quite a things mentioned. love alpaca, like yak. and African wild meats such as kudu, spingbok etc etc. looking forward to eating local (exotic) meats along the line of guanaco, rhea, beaver, lamb, and king crab. this december, in Patagonia.

rarely! but that didn't stop me from checking them out. oh yes i drank many a bottle of pseudo 'red wine' crisscrossing southern China 3 times in 3 consecutive years. the booze is even worse, which Chinese men prefer to drink with their meals. i shrieked with delight as i reached Macau. vinhos portugueses every day!

nice one, Peter. my last Fuller's, sometime this summer, was Golden Pride. drinking a hefeweizen as we speak but am dreaming about a nice one i had yesterday... Bière Nouvelle by Brasserie de Saint-Sylvestre. a lovely beer.

som tam is not as good without salted fermented fiddler crabs! miam miam.... everytime i must insist the sellers to add them to my som tom as they always tried to omit this 'crucial' ingredient. make it half green mango and half papaya, and some cherry tomatoes. all the best som tom i had in Thailand were pounded in a log using something that looked like a baseball bat lol.

i like your brief 'report', mine is too long... each trip is 6-7 week long. i too like Kunming very much, in fact the entire Yunnan province. [after Sichuan that is] surprisingly the best chips/fries and savoury flat bread i've ever had were in Tibet, cooked in an old oil drum on a mobile bicycle rig by the roadside. didn't you try Tsampa in Tibet?

La Cabrera @Cabrera 5099, Palermo Viejo sounds very nice! omg so much glorious Argentinian beef! let's see how much beef i can eat in 7 weeks there

Thai 'facing heaven' is not the same. fresh sichuan facing heaven peppers look like this. they sure use a lot in a dish, too. the locals don't eat them but i do even if only a few. besides, it's not too common i get to see the fresh stuff. other chilies worldwide [and so many other spices and foods...] we have the Portuguese to be thankful for.

save them all! yes, all those you mention, and some more. i hardly cook from them but how i love looking at them! i also collect german cookery mags as i can understand some german, and the layout/style is a bit like the french version. so many beautiful cookery mags to buy [my house isn't happy being used as a mag storage]! here in food hell it's just a case of hopping on the train as i live close to both belgian and german borders, and coming back with more than i can carry.

sweet memories! was there in 2001 but unfortunately didn't know about foodtography then. i remember enjoying hokkien noodle soup by the roadside. certain areas of town look just like a film set ['In the mood for love' to be precise]. loved it! i think the citrus is kalamansi lime. Syzygium malaccense is really nice with a crushed chili salt mixture. really.

are mandarin pancakes the same as peking duck wraps? i like! as far as i know popiah and spring rolls wraps are not the same in terms of texture. popiahs in Taiwan look good to me [from the photos i've seen]. can't compare as i've only had Fujian version in Xiamen. [well, almost Taiwan, no? mwahaha...] i want to see this film again now that you people are talking about the glorious food!

'flavour of happiness'

i thought the ikura was salty enough so i left the beans as is. besides, i like the pure tastes of both the beans and roe.

found an old photo of broadbeans in my Flickr food/drink album. briefly blanched and tossed in the ikura.

my last dan dan mian. at room temperature, never cold or warm, or soupy. the chili oil looks like a lot but not really. just mix everything well before eating. this place uses fresh greens but i've had it elsewhere with other dried greens or roots. everyone has their own recipes. the same green mixture is also used as a noodle soup condiment. this one is probably the muslim version i had in Kunming. Hakka version in Hakka heartland. speaking of dried/preserved greens and roots, i think no one likes them more than the Hakka. [some photos of the vegs i put on one page here ] --------------- ['shoulder pole noodle', a classic and much loved snack in Chengdu. in the old days it was sold by street vendors carrying baskets on a shoulder pole.]

i was wandering around a market in Chengdu and saw this thing... does anyone know what this is? is it bamboo that's been salted? or has been roasted? or is it not bamboo at all?

^^ exactly. rookworst with boerenkool and stamppot funnily for me [in NL only] nothing is above good old herring by the tail with chopped onions and nothing else. i can't imagine eating 'comfort food' when one's depressed is comforting

my mouth waters! lol @ 'wine camp'. love Korean food and it is on my travel list. soon. soon. maybe after Japan, Syria, Mauritius etc :-) [omg they have plastic cover for plates and bowls in Korea too? i've only seen that in China.]

enjoy this fleeting seasonal treat in all things Portuguese of course. [favas are much loved in Portugal] do try "Favas à Portuguesa" [however, this is how i make it...] white wine, onion, garlic, lard [optional], tomato sauce, quality chouriço, fresh coriander. fry garlic, onion in some olive oil. as soon as it smells aromatic add the lard stir all the while to prevent burning. add sliced chouriço, tomato sauce, wine, bay leaves and let it boil gently for a short while. now add the favas and let cook until just tender. remove the lard [if used] before serving. sprinkle with copious amounts of fresh coriander. bom appetit!