Duvel

Tonight party after the last Dragonboat race of the season (unthankful 4th place) ... Made rye flour-based Flammkuchen with onions and Guanciale 😊

It was nice knowing you ... I guess I will drink in you memory tonight 😉 (If - against all odds - you should make it, I shall raise my glass again to that）

Wurstsalat and chicken-baked potatoes ... very simple and yummy !

Beer tasting set at Little Creatures brewery in Kennedy Town, HK. My favorite was the IPA. I had some roasted cajun-spiced cauliflower with it as well as Uni carbonara pasta afterwards with another pint of the IPA. Yummy ...

Done Part of a seafood banquet in Japan, me and my wife shared the last piece on the plate, after none of the colleagues showed any signs of impairment after consumption (other than alcohol related). Underwhelming ...

Actually, depending on your species of fiddleheads, the toxin should be known. Most common is Ptaquiloside, which is not only shows acute toxicity but is also a strong carcinogen. During my academic years I tried to synthesize the aglycon via a new reaction sequence I was developing. Never worked out, but left me with a curiosity how great fiddleheads must actually taste so that I would overcome my prejudice to try them. Until today that curiosity remains ...

It's a common misconception that Swedish bread is meant to be eaten. In its native land it is exclusively used as bait for catching moose which - upon digesting the brick-like substance - will spend several hours in a catatonic state trying to digest the "bread", which in turn makes them easy to pick up for the traditional Swedish moose & blueberry brunch (bread-free, of course) ...

I know China is cheap but I thinK 10 RMB is more like 1.6 US$ ... (which seems ok for a burger)

Quick lunch (and last meal) before heading back to Hong Kong: mixed grilled sushi, the Hokkaidō special and a Negitoro temaki. Came with a large draft beer for some reason ... Will be a happy flight

One day business trip to Tokyo ... flight was heavily delayed so I just went out around 22.30h to grab a bite to eat. There is a little Izakaya I like and funny enough the chefs remember me from the 3 or 4 times I have been there in the last year. I ordered pretty much the same as everytime: Horse sashimi, grilled spicy fish eggs (mentaiko) and deep fried sprats ... The chef recommended me to try the fried chicken leg. I was sceptical, as fried chicken leg topped with crispy garlic is pretty much standard fare in Hong Kong. But boy, was that chicken good. Turns out they marinate it with kelp and miso and then deep fry it in chicken fat. Yup, chicken fat. Kind of quick confit. It tasted like a chicken that had fallen in a pot of MSG when it was little. And then fell into a pot of hot schmaltz just now. Damn, I need to make that at home ... P.S.: I love those seats ...

Thanks for the thoughtful clarification - because just from the look of it, one might assume ...

Looks great ! Do you need to parboil the cauliflower prior to battering and frying or is it a straightforward preparation ?

Sure ... but they don't work as well with a cold Asahi

Yeah, the picture doesn't do it justice. I found the best part was actually the deep fried breaded chicken thigh "patty". They had to freshly fry it as I was amongst the last customers. So it was crunchy and very juicy ... and worked nicely with the sausage patty.

Maybe a typo ? Should be "droppings" (sheep droppings, specifically), a favourite past time snack on the northern islands ...

Such a loss ... RIP, Anthony Bourdain.

The soccer World Cup is approaching ... And with it "international" burger variations at McD Hong Kong: Right now the "German" chicken (&) sausage burger. Kind of ciabatta bread, an oblong breakfast sausage patty and a spicy fried chicken patty. Fatty, salty, umami - for a drunken midnight snack ideal. As to why this is spicy eludes me - being German I do like spicy stuff, but German food is usually not. In any case I enjoyed the burger more than I should admit (though will need to re-sample in a more sober state of mind, perhaps) ...

Thanks ... any guidance on times ?

While I was wandering slightly jet lag-impaired through our local supermarket I found this in the freezer section. I am a huge fan of the underused cuts of any animal, so this looked interesting. First thing that came to mind was simply to cube and braise with red wine and juniper berries. Will be pleasing, yet boring. Maybe curing with juniper berries, allspice and pink salt and then SV to make some sort of "corned venison" ... Do you have any ideas what to do to make it different to - say - beef ribs ? Of course tried & true recipes are also welcome

I second that ... what a great idea! Recipe, pleeeeaaase

I like Fevertree "Slimline" tonic - no sweetener, just a bit of Fructose (not HFCS). Very good and makes excellent G&T ...

How to finish a day featuring St. Paul's basilica and the Sistines Chapel ? Pizza al Taglio Specifically at Boncis Pizzarium, close to Vatican City. Bonci has his classics and some reinterpretations with a twist. We chose: Fried aubergine (nothing beats that for me) Spinach & Shiitake (with a mushroom garlic mousseline instead of a tomato sauce and sharp pecorino) Yellow zucchini with cured pork neck (this was perfect - the zucchini super sweet and the pork neck salty and as fatty as guanciale. My favourite) Onion and smoked pecorino (my wife's favourite) Eaten just in front of the shop with a nice artisanal beer. (On a side note: my wife had to stop me to buy my share of lovely different pizza flours the sell as well ...)

A quick porchetta sandwich before visiting Vatican City at Angrypig Porchetteria. I chose the one with fried aubergine slices, which added to the meatiness of the pork nicely. It was good, but not life changing. At 6 Euros a decent snack ...

Will do ... in a separate thread. We attended a wedding and spend some days around the happy occasion sampling the food and the scenery. I'll put a mini food blog together once I am back in HK

A brief (3 days) stop-over in Rome on the way back from Sardinia to Hong Kong ... Dinner in a non-described Trattoria in the Monti neighbourhood: Braised lamb intestines with artichokes. Well, all for me Roasted Guinea fowl with rosemary and olives. Very tender, very flavourful. Homemade pasta with dried tomatoes, olives and wild fennel. Grated young Pecorino. Excellent. Plenty of cheap & tasty house wine with it. Tagliatelle with Ragu for the little one .. Followed by local Gelato and for yours truly a glass of Maker's Mark in the rental apartment with a view. Good times ...