BonVivant

i have some stuff put away such as four 6 packs of Wesvleteren 12, 2 Innis & Gunn, 2 Samichlaus...that sort of thing. not drinking any of these this year as i'm leaving, in a little over 24 hours, for Czech Rep to drink until Jan 4th. however, my wine and beer racks are full to the rim so if the house gets broken into they'd hit the alcohol jackpot [knicking 2 bottles of bubbly alone would certainly make me cry upon my return ] i'm afraid no tasting notes from me but most of what i've had since beginning of autumn has been great. i keep going back to old favourites...local bocks [Alfa, Budels], dutch autumn/winter beers [Jopen bok, anything by my favourite little brewery to be recked with "'t Ij"]. even Grolsch's witbier. lots of German boks and various outstanding Bamberger beers. too many Belgian and UK brews to list, only photos. and many were drank in my favourite pub in AMS. oh dear oh dear...too many beers too little time.

in the dutch language there's a saying 'the eye wants something too'. i pay attention to just about everything when eating Japanese the shape and details of the china, the pattern on the chopsticks etc. and of course the food is the main attraction. everything always looks appetising and beautifully presented. also i like how they cut the vegs [flower shaped carrot or daikon slices, crosses on the shiitake and so on]. presentation is an art and the cuisine is exquisite! [okay just don't ask French or Japanese cuisine has my heart and soul ]

JK, it's pronounced Vest-fleh-te-run you had an illegal bottle! cheers ps: among us beer lovers we simply call it 'Westie'

Khmer coffee is mostly imported from VN. however onced brewed it doesn't taste as good as VN coffee in VN. less strong and inferior in taste. coffee in Laos is better than in Cambodia, at least that's what i noticed. there's also chicory in the coffee, btw. [i'm so glad i lugged back 4kg of the best VN coffee beans money could buy]

used to drink it in the summer but oneday i couldn't stand it anymore. the best wheat beers are from neighbouring Germany, or i'll at least settle for Wieckse Witte from, 1hr south of me, Maastricht. or Gulpener Wit, and Valkenburgs Wit, also from neighbouring province.

i've had a few terrible ones out of hundreds upon hundreds of beers ever tasted. now the question is, will i find traditional Tibetian brew repulsive when i go there in march.... [Heinie is for alkies]

yep, Banh Khot is realy good. i like it even more than Banh Xeo! ate Banh Khot, as always on the sidewalk in Chau Doc. it was dark and the photos didn't turn out, but i managed to make Banh Xeo photos in Battambang, Cambodia. the roadside restaurant is actually owns/runs by a Vietnamese family and not Khmer. Banh Khot is a southern VN snack, and apparently the Khmer claim they invented it. the Vietnamese say otherwise. it doesn't matter, i just want to eat Nathan P, yes Banh Khot is cooked in a specific Banh Khot cast iron pan over an open fire. you could always try the yorkshire pudding tin in the oven. if it doesn't work out then you'll have to make a trip to that restaurant for the real thing

i lurrrrrve the Aussie version. picked up a couple of issues while passing through KL. the UK version is good too but i like the other more. too bad i can't get the Aussie version here in NL. the photography is incredible!

celeriac is another one of my favourite old roots [it's very common now though]. it often replaces potatoes whenever i make a mash. parsnips are probably my favourite of all. i don't even eat carrots anymore and i love carrots....parsnips are much better! [photo links removed]

that would be zult. very common where i am down here in the south. a mate of mine whose father was a butcher. i recently ask him to ask his father how zult is made but he doesn't remember much...he's 85 years old now. mind you, not everyone wants to eat zult i will very soon. ------------------------ 'jij bent een zultkoop'

i eat fresh pineapples all the time with some salt and sometimes pounded fresh chili. those mouth irritating enzymes cleanse the palate

maybe ZM is talking about pan-Asian hotpot? [just had it last weekend ] shabu shabu or hotpot i love them both and eat it year round, and even more often in the cold months. i've never used processed seafood but stuff like fishbalss, shrimpballs etc are popular in S.E.Asian countries. prawn shaped surimi thingie is not good! [going to Sichuan in march for their fiery hotpots ]

there's much less chicken scrapped meat than that! read a report a while ago i can't remember all the ingredients listed but i do remember udder and chin are also in this horrendous snack. i will refrain from telling you more details if you like frikadel [or anything with scrapped meats] ------------------------- the only tasty stroopwafels is those you get from the market where they make the stuff before your eyes.

i also went to VN only for the food, 4 weeks of it but it was much too short keep in mind that january is very cold in the north. i came home with a cold from Sapa. "Bun Cha" is a Hanoi specialty among endless other dishes. one tip: never eat anywhere you see fellow tourists. [some VN food pix here]

coincidentally i'm doing an NL series to be posted at a couple of places. here's a preview of the sweets.

thanks, Walter Moar. at least there's some hope! crossing my fingers hoping they will send it across the channel in a near future. a mate in London is visiting next month. i'll try to remember to ask him to bring one or two in his carry-on

[almost] anything with zuurkool even if it's in NL food! but then i only eat your kind of food upon my return from holidays in rice eating destination(s) holidays. don't like curly kale. think i'm scarred for life after my last trip had a fresh Unox rookworst as recent as last night in a soup! [some old photos of mine]

i'm thinking about making a DIY 'rig'. for 2 years now i've been using an old coffee table and a couple of lights. need to do some research...sometime. taken with a simple Fujifilm, no natural light whatsoever [at F2.8 but would love another non SLR camera that can do F1.8. sounds impossible though]

that's good to hear although i'm not surprised. have been away over 8 years and the last time i was in YVR was in 2001....and let me tell you, there are days it hits me hard when i want a nice bottle of wine from Okanagan. i drink lots of wines from everywhere but i still like the stuff from BC from time to time, which is not to be found here in Europe! [yeah, people laugh in my face...'are you joking? nice wine from Canada?' 'impossible!']

oh dear oh dear, that Brazilian beer.......i'd rather drink Guinness it's now, for some reason, can be found on supermarkets' shelves, next to Corona, here in Netherlands. [gross!]

recently had Innis&Gunn flown in by a Scottish acquaintance in London. such an amazing brew! made my toes curl too bad it's not for export, now that i've had it i'm gutted it's hard to come by.

too many to list but Innis&Gunn for sure. not for export

aha! i looked high and low now that you provided the photo and its scientific name [Xanthosoma sagittifolium]. the name in VN is 'Khoai Mon'. sorry no recipes but i've had it in savoury soup/dessert. i prefer it as dessert though.

nice report, Posternatoir. have never been to this nice restaurant but i do love Zeeland. here's some translation: 'scheermess': razor clam 'koreander' : coriander 'cocquille' : scallop 'savoiekool' : savoy cabbage [savooikool] ------------------------- oh dear oh dear....bubbly in those wrong glasses

i've eaten a lot of Thai in YVR but always return to Salathai. their pad thai is sh!te however. the owner is from Chiang Mai so he once told me. my ex flatmate still goes to Salathai every week...but then he hasn't been to Thailand [been away for over 8 years but am still talking in present tense]