Duvel

Yeah, but where to get the whale meat required ..?

Found this instant curry at a Japanese market ... I am usually not a big fan of seafood curry, but this might be different 😉

Actually, I have seen it only mixed. A bottom layer of the soy sauce with copious amounts of chili oil floating on the top. Nevertheless, I agree with you that the description fits more to an garlic bean sauce type, but the flavour profile remains inconclusive ...

Not quite. Sweet aromatic soy sauce (or 复制酱油) is pretty much Sichuanese; a recipe is provided in the book you’ve recommended ...

Not quite simple ... did your source have soy our plain oil ?

This goes in the right direction ...

Definitely not ...

A very common option is also red chili oil mixed with sweetened aromatic soy sauce. Any chance it went into that direction ?

Summertime in Japan is Curry time (because allegedly spicy food makes you sweat, which I turn helps with the heat ...). Whether I subscribe to this wisdom or not, I felt compelled to try the seasonal McDonalds Chicken Curry burger. It was good. Battered & fried chicken leg, slathered with a mild and aromatic Japanese style curry sauce. Nice ! Just for comparison I had to try the MOS Burger variety of the Curry cheese burger ... basically a cheese burger with the MOS Burger chili, heavily scented with S&B curry powder. Spicy, leads aromatic that the McD equivalent, but thanks to two (freshly grilled) beef patties and ample amounts of kewpie mayo far more satisfying ... On a side note: MOS Burger advertises everyday where they source today’s veggies. Quite nice ...

After a liquid breakfast a quick lunch at “drunk street” ... an apt name, as they have exactly the food I was craving ! Otoshi (the “free” starter you always have to pay): Burdock & carrot ... Today’s recommendation ... I had liver ... Gizzard, pork belly and minced chicken... Garlic wrapped in chicken skin (from the recommendations) ... very good ! More chicken skin and another recommendation - miso-cured diaphragm: one of the best skewers I had in a while ! Some fatty fish ... Gyoza ! Cold chicken skin with ponzu (not my favourite) ... Fried tofu ... All in all - very satisfying and gave me enough energy to return to the hotel to have a nap 🥳

Liquid breakfast ... a visit to the Asahi brewery. Getting toasted at 10.00am on a Sunday certainly has its advantages. The “cream cheese puffs” did not buffer much ... Our guide explained very diligently how to enjoy beer at home ... One happy Duvel. Cheers !

Somewhere in Japan ... a street food market. Oden ... Omelette with spicy cod roe ... Boiled intestines & konnyaku ... Gyoza with onion filling ...

Honestly, I simply suspect you were not drunk* enough ... ————— *insert favourite verb for being intoxicated by your preferred escapist drug here.

Funny enough for a Singaporean company to have that slogan 😂 Anyway, the shrimp cheeks had so much umami from the deep frying and the salted egg yolk I did not actually miss the brains ...

Fully agree ! Now where to we get that brain extract ..?!

Very tasty ... unfortunately all brainless. Wondering what they do with all the brains 🤔

Technically not potato crisps, but ...

Thanks for that, @liuzhou !

Always wondering how the eggs would turn out if one uses fish sauce as the salt component ...

I see what you did there ...

Hahaha, you amateurs ! Melon cream soda - ‘nuff said ...

So does Spain, actually ...

Was that before it got sauced ..?

Befitting the hot & humid weather: Unagi-Don set at Kinjo’s Izakaya, Central, HK. The unagi was steamed & grilled, and dusted with toasted nori, sansho and sesame - just perfect !

My everyday bread follows pretty much your formula: straight yeast dough, 70% hydration, no knead, overnight fermentation, Dutch oven. What I do though is vary the grains: wheat at minimum 50% for structure; then rye, spelt, emmer, oat, corn, different degrees of whole grain ... taste and character of the bread will be very different based on your combination, while the method (and thus your effort to prepare) remain constant. Please give it a try ...