Pork is My Friend

Chinglish Fruit Beverage

2010-05-26T11:25:00.002-04:00

Seriously? There was no way I could pass up this photo op at lunch today.

Chinglish Menu Fun

2009-06-18T23:33:00.001-04:00

A couple of interesting menu choices I encountered on my recent trip to Dongguan City, China. As always, these are my own original photos.

Panda what? Um... I thought those were endangered or something. I guess "steamed" sounds better than "steaming" in this case.

You know, if I have to eat intestinal fat bone, it's always nicer with harsh flavors.

Xiao Sichuan - Lunch Heats Up

2009-05-07T00:18:00.001-04:00

One of the nice things about southern China is its diversity of food offerings. Many people living in this area have come from surrounding provinces looking for work, in the process creating a market for all varieties of Chinese cuisine. Just around the corner from where I’m staying is a small Sichuan place I’ve wanted to try for some time, Xiao Sichuan. We decided to take a break from drinking at the fire hose of Cantonese food, as we typically do when we come here, and give this place a try.

Unless you live in a cave somewhere, you probably know that Sichuan food is famous for its fiery bite (all apologies to the Geico cavemen). But you may be surprised to know that heat is only half of the equation. “Ma la” is the term that Chinese use to describe the unique blend of capsaicin induced heat in combination with the numbing action of the eponymous Sichuan peppercorn. Not actually related to our old friend black pepper, the Sichuan peppercorn is the flower/seed pod of a variety of prickly ash tree – hence it’s Chinese name, “hua jiao” (flower pepper). It’s assertive, citrusy flavor is just the beginning, as it contains the chemical hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, which causes localized numbness. This tingly sensation together with spicy heat is the hallmark of Sichuan cuisine.

I have to admit that I am not really sure what half of this stuff was, despite my best efforts to find out. So I’ll tell you what I know, but my descriptions are probably going to be pretty lame. One thing I do know quite well though – this food was delicious, and cheap too.

One of 3 Dongguan City Xiao Sichuan locations - the name may mean "little Sichuan," but the flavors sure were big.

Slow cooked pork belly over preserved vegetables

Rich, fatty pork was cooked slowly until meltingly soft was served over a bed of dried preserved leafy greens. This was a nice way to start things out and ease the chili-phoebes in gently, as it was one of the few dishes that wasn’t really spicy.

Spice rubbed lamb skewers

Loaded with flavor, the lamb was coated in a cumin based spice rub, with just enough hot pepper to give your lips a buzz. The meat was amazingly tender, too. It was really a phenomenal plate of food, probably my favorite of everything we had. I could have pounded down this whole plate.

Spicy pork shanks

My second favorite after the lamb, the tender meat was still on the bones, giving us the chance to play barbarian as we devoured these tasty morsels. The taste was really, well, porky - just like pork should taste. I piled up quite the boneyard, but still can’t really explain just what was so unique about this item. But I loved it.

Cold plate of beef tongue and tripe - spicy, of course

A pile of thinly sliced offal was dressed up with a chili oil sauce, Sichuan peppercorn, some nuts, and cilantro. This is a pretty traditional dish that I’ve even found back in the States. The tongue, despite what you may think (you know who you are), has a nice rich beefy taste, so get over it. The tripe… well, the texture can be off putting. Okay, it is like chewing a rubber band made of cartilage. If you can get past that, the taste is actually pretty mild.

Whole fish soup, Sichuan style

Our table was quite happy with this soup, which featured a whole “water fish,” cut into paper thin slices. Tangy and intense, the broth was infused with mounds of citrusy Sichuan peppercorns. The humongo pile of dried chilies on top looked menacing, but did not overpower the light flavor of the fish. As with many of these dishes, cilantro added its distinctive flavor to the mix.

Four season beans

A version of this dish can be ordered from many restaurants here, but this version is one of the best I’ve had. Despite the fierce looking dried chilies, this dish was actually not that spicy. There has got to be something special seasoning the beans. They tasted a little salty, but there was an overwhelming savory enhanced bean flavor that was totally addicting. Maybe a hit of MSG was used to boost the umami???

Kou Shui Ji

The Chinese name for this dish is literally “mouth water chicken.” So does that mean “salivating chicken?” “Chicken saliva?” Or maybe something more innocuous like “mouth watering chicken.” In China, you can never be too sure. Either way, this cold dish was moderately spicy, with those mouth numbing peppercorns once again. It had a distinctive flavor that was a common thread through many of the dishes, but I couldn’t begin to tell you exactly what it was.

Sichuan beef with peppers, real fire

So this beef was served stir fried with fresh hot peppers, but the heat didn’t stop there. No, no, in the bottom right corner of the plate you can see a dish of crushed red chilies for dipping to taste. Above that was flaming sterno to wave your meat through and add a touch of char before scarfing down. This was another delicious dish, but be careful! The manual chili application may lead the careless diner to OD.

Satisfied with a fantastic lunch, my mind began to wander into 6th grade territory. Yes, in a land already fraught with intestinal challenges for foreign visitors, what would a full meal of searing heat do to a person? Let’s not go there…

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this lunch was the value. Most plates shown were about $4, with just the fish reaching a lofty $9. Beats a happy meal any day of the week.

As spicy as some of the dishes were, I have to admit that I was expecting much worse. I even asked if they toned it down for us westerners, but we were assured that they did not. Although each item individually maxed out at a solid “medium” on the pepper scale, the cumulative effect left a lingering tingly sensation around my lips and tongue. According to one of my Chinese colleagues (a Sichuan native), the food would have been considerably more spicy in her hometown. Here’s to visiting someday - I look forward to the challenge. But in the mean time, whenever I come to Dongguan, I'll be stopping by Xiao Sichuan.

O Ya Boston

2009-04-24T23:22:00.045-04:00

Much has been written about Boston’s culinary sensation, Tim and Nancy Cushman's O Ya. A relative newcomer, I first gazed upon the words "O Ya" just last year while reading an in-flight magazine, where it showed up on somebody's list as one of the top new restaurants in the world. O Ya's modern-American-Japanese-inspired food is right in my wheelhouse. And given that it is also right in my backyard (well, globally speaking), there was no way I couldn’t go check it out.

I made my way down Boston’s East Street, a tiny, nondescript side street that appears in all ways unremarkable. Tucked away in the heart of downtown, it is less than a minute’s walk from South Station and it’s chaos of frantic commuters, who pass every day, unaware of their brush with culinary magic. A small sign next to a single lantern read “o ya,” with faint Japanese characters in the background. Around the corner, down an even smaller alley, was a weathered wooden door, strikingly reminiscent of Kyoto and its traditional architecture. This had to be it.

O Ya's discreet entrance makes customers feel like they've stumbled upon a great secret.

I grabbed the smooth handle and pulled it open with nervous anticipation. A funny mix of conflicting emotions came over me – tremendous expectation and its shackled compliment, fear of disappointment. To say that I went to O Ya to eat dinner would be somewhat like saying I went to the Louvre to see some pictures. Or, you remember that Mozart guy, he wrote some nice tunes, didn't he? Could any restaurant live up to the mammoth expectations I had? Would it even be fair to expect one to?

The restaurant was much smaller inside than I was expecting, with just 4 or 5 small tables and a few seats along the sushi bar. It was intimate and cozy, but most surprisingly, it was quite relaxed and casual. Our server, Anna Li (sp? sorry!), was warm and welcoming, and made the evening feel more like I was hanging out at a friend's place rather than- feeling lucky to be allowed into culinary nirvana.

We decided to go the obvious route and ask for the omakase, leaving the selections up to the chef. Same for the sake as well, as the in-house expertise in this arena in particular is well chronicled. If you’re anything like me, you’re probably ready for me to shut up and show you some pictures. So let’s get to it!

Yuki No Bosha, Junmai Ginjo

Kumamoto Oyster, watermelon pearls, cucumber mignonette

A light and fresh way to start things off. I love the creaminess of Kumamotos, which was contrasted nicely with a light vinaigrette. The cucumber added a nice crunch, and it's clean, fresh taste tamed the sweetness of the watermelon. With one bite, I knew the evening was off to a good start.

With our taste buds awakened, we were next treated to an progression of nigiri sushi. And of course, I can't mention sushi without commenting on the preparation of the sushi rice, which was absolutely flawless. Nothing wrankles me more than poorly prepared sumeshi. After all, THAT'S WHAT SUSHI IS! Anyways.

Hamachi, spicy banana pepper mousse

You had me at hamachi, which was briefly torched to add complexity, a technique used on many items at O Ya. Here it accentuatess the oilyness of the fish (a good thing) which helps it stand up to the spiciness of the mousse. Seriously, wow. One of my favorite tastes of the night.

Salmon Tataki, torched tomato, smoked salt, onion aioli

As I tasted this, I instantly thought of a BLT in sushi form. The combination of the fattiness of the salamon and the smoked salt was somewhat remeniscient of bacon. Of course, the tomato and the aioli become the logical accompaniments. What a great idea.

Warm Eel, thai basil, kabayaki, fresh Kyoto sansho

A nice enough take on the traditional grilled eel with eel sauce (kabayaki), but this item didn't quite deliver the flavor that its description suggested. Both Thai basil and sansho (Sichuan peppercorn) pack bright, intense flavors, which I thought would be a nice counterpoint for the sticky sweetness of kabayaki. The potential was high, but these flavors just didn't sing here. The eel itself was nicely cooked.

Mukune, "Root of Innocence", Junmai Ginjo

Homemade La Ratte Potato Chip, perigord black truffle

As soon as this plate was set in front of me, I was hit with the unmistakeable aroma of truffles. Mmmmm... Truffles...

........

I managed to snap free from my substance induced stupor to actually eat it, and boy was it good. An explosion of truffle flavor coated my mouth and olfactory sensors for the first 3 chews before finally stepping aside to reveal the oily crunch of a beautifully prepared potato crisp. "Oh yeah, there's a potato chip in here too," I remember thinking to myself. And as tasty as it was, I thought it actually worked surprisingly well as a sushi garnish. This was a big hit with our table, and one of the standouts of the night.

Wild Bluefin Maguro Tuna, soy braised garlic, micro greens

A nice bite of wild tuna, simply garnished and briefly hit with the blowtorch. The flavor profile was comparatively straightforward on this one, letting the quality of the tuna show through.

Fried Kumamoto Oyster, yuzu kosho aioli, squid ink bubbles

Crispy, briny, creamy, and, well, fried! This bite was perfectly conceived, and as beautiful to look at as it was tasty to eat. This was hands down another group favorite. I could have eaten a dozen of these, called it a night, and gone home happy. Okay, slight exaggeration.

Salmon, o ya mayonette, wasabi tobiko, shiso

Another nice bite, with a touch of wasabi and shiso to add some zing. This one was good, but not outstanding among the items we had.

Suigei, Drunken Whale, Junmai

And with that, we were done with nigiri and moved on to a selection of sashimi courses. No time was wasted on fluff as we jumped right in and were treated to some beautiful sea urchin, or uni, to start things off.

Shima Aji & Sea Urchin, ceviche vinaigrette, cilantro

Okay all you sea urchin haters out there, this is the moment to put your palate to the test once and for all. I defy you not to like this! Shima aji (jackfish) is meaty and bold, a nice contrast for the silky, fruity sea urchin. Nice idea with the cevice vinaigrette - it balances the richness of these two items.

Wild Bluefin Otoro, wasabi oil, lots of green onion

Nothing sends my heart racing with anticipation faster than the o-word. Otoro of course... Uuuhm... What were you thinking? It's impossible for a beautiful slab of prime tuna belly like this not to send shivers down your back. And with a heap of mild onion garnish to cut the fattiness, it did just that. I'm just saying.

Scottish Salmon, spicy sesame ponzu, yuzu kosho, scallion oil

I expected a more exotic and powerful burst of flavor, with the yuzu kosho called out. There was a nice lingering spiciness, but overall this one was just okay for me.

Hamachi, viet mignonette, thai basil, shallot

Taking a page out of the southeast Asian playbook, these vibrant flavors really enhanced this beautiful hamachi. A little sweet, a little sour, and a little heat to balance out the rich fattiness. And the Thai basil/crispy shallot garnish? So money.

Wild Bluefin Tuna Tataki, smoky pickled onion, truffle oil

I was greeted by another wafting cloud of heavenly truffles upon arrival of this plate. I would have never thought to combine this group of tastes (which isn't saying much), but they worked beautifully together. Our table was somewhat divided on this dish, but I was firmly in the 'totally love it' camp.

It was time to hit up the back side of the menu and try some cooked items. And as much as I was looking forward to seeing what they could do with a little heat, I was sad to see the end of the sashimi flow.

Chilled Maine Lobster Salad, avocado, creamy yuzu dressing, peppercress, cucumber gelee

One bite of this lovely salad, and I was instantly transported to the New England seaside on a hot summer day. Seriously, this reminded me of a sophisticated take on the classic lobster roll. Avocado adds richness in place of heavy mayo, and the cucumber gelee (really more like a pudding) was wonderfully light and soothing.

Shichihon-Yari, Junmai

Yuzu Brined Ballotine of Chicken Wing, napa cabbage & shiitake stuffing, homemade kimchee

Our first land dwelling protein of the night packed an explosion of flavor. The crispy exterior added a nice crunch for textural interest to the tender, juicy chicken. I especially loved the lightness of the homemade kimchee.

Grilled Sashimi of Chanterelle & Shiitake Mushrooms, rosemary garlic oil, sesame froth, homemade soy

Nicely grilled, and beautifully complimented with the herb oil and fantastic sesame froth. Mushroom lovers should make sure not to miss this one. For me - I enjoyed it, but couldn't help but think that I could have been eating another piece of sashimi instead.

Seared Petit Wagyu Strip Loin, tiny smoked potato, grilled onion, fresh wasabi

I've raved before about the magic of Wagyu beef. And I was most greatful to be amazed once again at the richness and full beefy flavor of real Japanese Wagyu. Fresh wasabi was a nice condiment to pair with it - so much more floral and subtle than the fake stuff. The smoked potato was a blast from my past, remeniscient of foil wrapped potatoes cooked on a campfire. It brought a smile to my face.

Seared Petit Wagyu Strip Loin, confit potato, truffle

As nice as the first plate of Wagyu was, this is the one I will lust after to my grave. No matter how much of this I could eat, I would always want the same thing - just one more bite. I warn you - if you are a meat and potatoes kind of person, do not eat this without considering the consequences! Like Neo and the red pill, once you partake, there is no returning to beef innocence and naïveté. Be forewarned.

Foie Gras, balsamic chocolate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp, sip of aged sake

Saved for the last course of the evening was O Ya's signature dish - one I was looking forward to all night long. Obscenely rich and decadent, seared foie gras was accented with a semisweet, semisalty chocolate/raisin/soy glaze - a beautiful pairing. We all noticed that the rice noticeably cut the richness of the foie. Some at the table were appreciative of this, feeling that foie can be too rich. But for me, it muted the very thing about foie gras I love. Not saying I wouldn't get this again - the taste was phenomenal - I just think it would be even better without the rice.

Aged Sake - Hanahato Kijoshu 8 Year Old

Dark, intense, and amazingly Port-like, with a raisiny quality that nicely echoed the foie preparation. The color was a deep amber, and it had other flavor components typically derived from storage in wood, despite spending it's full 8 year aging period in stainless. This was truly a remarkable sake, and certainly the most unique one I've ever had.

Reflecting back on the meal, I had some clear favorites. But honestly, even my least favorite was still tasty and delicious and would be a welcome snack on any day. Undoubtedly, the raw ingredients were of superb quality, and the overall experience was excellent.

But nonetheless I have a few nitpicks.

I was a little surprised that there were no special off-menu items that were offered to us, given that we had gone omakase. Of course then there was no 'omakase' per se listed on the menu, though it seemed like a standard request when we asked. Still, a place of this caliber should have some unique one-off specials to throw out from time to time.

A sushi chef focusing on his work. The brick walls are a unique feature of the interior decor at O Ya, remnants of the restaurant's firehouse past.

I didn't mention them, but we did order several desserts, which in context of the rest of the evening were forgettable. I also thought that they didn't fit stylistically with the rest of the meal. It's a pretty big challenge to make something that can rival foie gras nigiri and the like, but it has to be possible.

It seems like any writeup of O Ya includes an obligatory reference to the cost, so I can't say that I didn't know what to expect. But it was steep for what a cynic might legitimately call a 14 pc. sushi/sashimi combo plus 5 or so 4-bite portions of cooked food... (dodging lightning bolts...) The meal was served at a leisurely pace but seemed to drag at times. So our 34 bites of food over 3 hours or so averaged out to just over 11 bites per hour. It was not the most filling dinner, to be sure, but I didn't need to binge eat afterwards either.

Sake bottles make a nice piece of wall art.

For the sushi and sashimi items, I really wish I could have had more than one piece of each. They all were so full of such interesting flavor combinations, that just one bite made it tough to make a definitive taste judgement. I really wanted a second bite to confirm the first observation. And maybe a third for pure enjoyment. I know, I really could have doubled up or tripled my order if I wanted to. But I like my house and would like to be able keep it.

Still, I resist the notion that it wasn't worth it, although for the casual diner, I would probably agree. We were served the absolute best ingredients prepared in a thoughtful and artistic manner. The flavor combinations were nicely conceived and unexpected, even if not the pinnacle of innovation. The warm service added to the experience for me as well. I would definitely return again, although I would probably forgo the omakase and take my chances on my own. Several of the items were good enough to warrant a reup, but there are plenty of other things on the menu that caught my eye. I'm guessing that with a couple of friends along for the ride, we could eat a bit less food, drink a lot less sake, spend half the money I did, and still leave happy. Maybe I'd have to skip the Wagyu , but I'm sure glad I got to have it once.

A special thanks to those seated at my end of the table - I'm sure I annoyed you with my slow and deliberate photo taking, slowing you down in the process. A few of the photos turned out quite good, so I hope you think it was worth it!

Bo Innovation Revisited - The Demon Chef Invades Wanchai

2008-10-04T23:14:00.025-04:00

It would be fair to say that the last time I visited Bo Innovation, Chinese food had only begun to enter my culinary landscape. Not to say that this detracted from my enjoyment, but rather the lack of context afforded me the rare chance to taste and experience each dish in a vacuum - with no pretense of expectation to influence my judgement. It was a great experience, with some true standout courses.

What is merely enjoyable in youth, however, is lustily savored as maturity sets in. Months worth of in-country visits and literally hundreds of authentic meals later, I am starting to scratch beyond the surface of Chinese cuisine, the complexity and scope of which is truly stunning. So when Tony Bourdain finally did a show about Hong Kong (it's about time Tony, really), I was totally jacked that he came to Bo, even if he was a year or so behind my pace. While watching the show, I was surprised to find that many of the dishes he was served seemed conceptually more familiar than the ones I recalled from my visit - no doubt a product of my newfound cultural exposure. Armed with this perspective, I thought it was time to revisit Bo Innovation - the most modern expression of this ancient cuisine that I know of - with the hope that my enjoyment will be enhanced this time around.

Since my last visit, Bo has moved into a swanky new space off of Johnston Rd. in Wanchai, a setting Chef Alvin Leung, Jr. believes to be more complementary to the cuisine. I chose to sit at the Chef's Table once again, because after all, why on earth wouldn't you? Seriously. This time Chef Leung was present to preside over the meal, offering commentary and instruction on how best to enjoy his creations. I asked him if he minded if I took photos, which prompted him to ask if I was going to write bad things about him on the internet. I think it best if I just let the food speak for itself.

Century Egg with Super Sour Lemon Snow - As Chef Leung (or Alvin, as he introduced himself as) explained, strong alkaline chemicals are used to cure and preserve the egg, which despite it's hideous appearance, tastes remarkably like a hard-boiled egg. Trust me on this. The acidity of the lemon ice (low pH) is supposed to neutralize the alkalinity (high pH) of the egg, resulting in a harmonious combination in your mouth. Lemon and egg wasn't a combination that I would have thought of, but the effect was stunning. As I dropped the bite in my mouth, a cold, refreshing burst of sourness quickly faded away, leaving the hint of hard-boiled egg to linger pleasantly on my palate. I couldn't help but crack a smile and nod my head. In a word - genius.

Oyster 2 Ways - On the right is an oyster garnished with flavors that represent the essence of Chinese flavor - ginger, green onion, and lime. To the left is oyster tofu, a representation of the "taste of the sea." The fresh preparation was a dazzling explosion of bright flavors, ending with the smooth finish of the oyster's creaminess and salinity. I could have eaten a dozen or two of these, easily. The tofu, by contrast, was rather monotone and uninspiring. Tofu and I aren't really known to pal around often, so that may have contributed to my lack of excitement here.

Smoked Quail Egg with Caviar and Crispy Taro Nest - A one bite canape, this dish was outstanding, matching the saltiness of the caviar (generously portioned) with the subtle smokiness of the egg. Fried taro, a staple of Cantonese dim sum, added the perfect complimentary crunch to bring it all together.

Toro with Foie Gras Powder and Freeze Dried Raspberry - We were presented with a thin sheet of beautiful fatty tuna belly (otoro), topped with a crumble of air dried foie gras and freeze dried raspberries. The foie, slowly dehydrated over many days, has shed its fat, leaving only the solids behind. When chewed together with the fatty tuna, the foie is effectively reconstituted in your mouth. The raspberries add a fruity tartness that cuts the fattiness nicely. Plus, this plate just looks fantastic, doesn't it? I tend go a bit cukoo at the sight of glistening fatty toro and lose my sensibilities.

Not simply a curious part of the presentation, the tweezers are actually a functional instrument here, as Alvin demonstrates. Fold the toro over to wrap the crumblies up inside, so that they won't all fall off on the way into your mouth. Just don't accidentally stick them through your tongue.

Sichuan Scallop "Jo Lo" - There's little I like more than a perfectly seared scallop. Here, it is paired with a Sichuan inspired sauce that was less pungent than I imagined, given that it contained sichuan peppercorn. While tasty, it was not a knockout.

"Xiao Long Bao" - If you are familiar with xiao long bao, Shanghai's famous soup-filled dumplings, then you're probably looking at this photo with a quizzical look and a furrowed brow. Well that's the gag - there is no dumpling! Borrowing a technique created by el Bulli's Ferran Adria, the liquid soup filling is served without it's traditional dough wrapper. Rather, the liquid is encapsulated in a thin gel skin which bursts immediately upon entering your mouth, creating much the same effect as eating a traditional xiao long bao. As my Chinese colleague said after eating this (after some initial confusion and skeptisim, "Wow! The taste... It's xiao long bao!" A clever application of this technique, for sure.

Pan Seared Halibut with Yunnam Ham Sauce and Toffee Salsify - This dish layers the richness of a nicely seared piece of halibut with the intense saltiness of a sauce made from dried Chinese ham. This combo would be good on its own, but is taken to another level by the addition of the candied salsify and it's contrasting sweetness. Simply incredible. I think everyone in my party agreed that this was a highlight of the meal.

Crab Roe Souffle - The first of two crab dishes in this course, eponymously named "Crab 2." In the photo, you can see Alvin drizzling Chinese black vinegar over the souffle, which helps cut the richness. Fluffy and light, the souffle was intensely flavored with crab roe, a highly prized delicacy in these parts.

Crab with Obha Mayo and Starfruit - This was a one bite reincarnation of a course I had been served on my last visit to Bo. Now, like then, it was delicious - the Japanese herb obha (aka shiso) adds a vibrant, mint-like punch that I really like with the sweet crab meat.

Chinese Roasted Pork with Vinegar and Egg - A novel take on traditional Chinese barbequed pork, this version is slow roasted for 24 hours, sliced thinly and then stacked in layers before being crisped up under the broiler. After eating heaps of the traditional version this week, which is quite fatty, I was happy to see that Alvin chose a leaner cut for his preparation. On top sits a sous vide egg yolk, cooked with vinegar at 50 C. This retains the vibrant color and creates a unique texture, where the yolk is almost like a caramel consistency on the outside, and still runny in the center. The yolk added richness to the dish typically provided by the fatty pork. Some token vegetables are thrown in and were quite good as well.

Wagyu M9+ with Truffled Cheung Fan - The menu so far was pretty solid, but the sight of the word "Wagyu" made me culinarily aroused. Another typical Cantonese element, this time cheung fan rice noodles, being used in a non-typical way. Here, they are elevated to heights they could only dream about with a crust of black truffle, which makes them a fantastic accompaniment to the perfectly rare Wagyu beef. A small mound of truffle puree garnished the plate, adding to the earthy truffle intensity. This was a major highlight of the meal. As one of my colleagues said, "I'll take like, three more of those."

Bo Fried Rice - In typical Cantonese style, a rice dish is presented at the end of the meal. But that's about where the convention ends. Long grain, fluffy rice, while common in the US, is definitely NOT in southern China. Nevertheless it was presented here with healthy portion of tiny fish eggs, adding both flavor and texture to the dish. It was good... but not great. And somewhat of a letdown after the wagyu and truffles, but that's not exactly a fair comparison, now, is it?

"Hong Kong Specialties" - Somewhat of an inside joke to native Hong Kongers, this course is a deconstruction of the ubiquitous Cantonese dessert, Red Bean Soup, literally "Red Bean Sand" in Chinese. So it was with clever irony that we were presented with a spoon of red bean "sand" powder and a vial of black sesame seed foam. Alvin asked us to quickly combine them in our mouths to allow the foam liquid to reconstitute the bean sand, creating the familiar (well, familiar to Cantonese cuisine eaters) taste of the sweet, soft beans in the classic dessert. I appreciated the explaination, since the flavors would have otherwise had no significance to me. I'm not sure that the "sand" fully reconstituted though, leaving a dry powdery residue in my mouth. The one Hong Kong guy with us was thoroughly amused, I should point out.

Ginko Nut Foam - The first item on a plate of three small desserts, ginko nuts are transformed into a whipped cream-like foam. It was lightly sweet and nutty.

Sticky Rice Dumpling - Another classic, but chocolate and banana filled the center in place of the usual bean paste or sesame seed filling.

Salted Kumquat Ice Cream - My favorite of the three, the ice cream was made from salted, preserved kumquats, so it was quite salty - which isn't a complaint, it is in fact the reason I liked it so much. Taking a bite of the sweet tuile together with some of the salty, creamy ice cream was sublime.

Apple Crumble - Sounds western, looks like a Chinese dumpling, and appears pretty straightforward - until you realize that the sphere that looks like a small apple is actually gelatinous, with a piece of apple only in the center. It is the final twist of this imaginative and exotic meal. Topped with a tasty crumble, I still couldn't help but wish that this was served a la mode, despite having just had ice cream on the previous dish (hey what can I say, I like ice cream).

Some general observations about the experience - Alvin was involved in the final preparation of almost every dish that we ate. He gave us an introduction to and instructions for eating each plate, and was generally pretty talkative - even willing to share his methods and formulas for some of the more modern elements of the meal. Granted we were at the chefs table, but, for example, he told us how he dried his foie gras, explained his process for the xiao long bao spherification (or reverse spherification, in this case), and described his method for cooking the egg yolks sous vide. He may not have invented all of these techniques, but he executes them quite well. And I can't think of a better example of such techniques being used to create hypermodern Chinese dishes.

A shot of Alvin's food chemistry playset. I asked a lot of questions about the ingredients, techniques, and special materials throughout the course of the meal. It seemed like he appreciated my interest and was happy to describe many of the techniques used throughout the meal.

Alvin preps the toro/foie gras dish. I'll have another, please.

The chefs table affords a view of the final prep and staging area. If you enjoy seeing how your plates come together, make sure you reserve these seats.

Dinner at Bo is not just a meal - it is an experience to be contemplated and savored in its own right. To really enjoy it you must allow yourself to fully engage, deciding to observe all that your senses are telling you. This isn't a place you go to mindlessly shovel forkfulls of protein into your face. Anyone who is intrigued by modern cuisine should find something interesting here, but perhaps the best surprises are reserved for those who call Hong Kong home.

Official website www.boinnovation.com

Harper Farms - Mirai Corn and Other Fine Produce

2008-09-13T23:30:00.001-04:00

There's corn, and then there's sweet corn. And then, off in a category all its own, there's Mirai, or as I like to call it, the crack of corn. It's so tender and sweet, it can be eaten raw and still blow away most other sweet corns. It is marketed along with fruits as a dessert in Japan, where the Mirai name comes from (it has double meaning - both "taste" and "future", so it means something like "taste the future").

Behold the golden kernels of Mirai- the perfect eating corn. Wait... Do you hear that music? It sounds... like a chorus of angels... And where's that bright light coming from?

Yeah, I'll admit it. I'm addicted to Mirai corn. But don't think I'm saying that to join any support group. I'm enjoying this addiction guilt free. Fortunately, it's totally legal, and I have a steady supply available from a local farm stand. I'm lucky enough to live near Harper Farms, and even luckier to pass by it twice each day - it's conveniently located directly along my commute down Rt. 117.

A bin of Mirai corn at Harper Farms waits for me to come take it home. I won't let it down.

Harper Farms has been there over 100 years, and is now a 5th generation family operation. So I guess they know a thing or two about how to grow stuff in central MA. On a good day, I'll pull in on my way to work, just as the corn is coming in from the fields, and then I'll eat it for lunch that day. From field to stomach in less than 5 hours - now that's fresh baby! It may not be the absolute best way to cook corn, but 3 minutes in the cafeteria microwave makes me and my fresh corn the envy of my colleagues. Every. Single. Time.

Corn coming in from the fields in the morning at Harper Farms. I've hyped this stuff so much at work that I've become a corn mule. Everyone wants a piece of this action.

I'm sure you've heard the old cliche (or maybe even said it yourself), "Oohh ho ho! That corn is sooo sweet it doesn't need any butter or salt on it!" Well what a load of crap. Sure, it may not need butter and salt, but butter and salt make great corn taste even better. Why settle for great when you can have epic?

Mirai corn may be great on its own, but don't deprive yourself of one of life's rare treasures. Butter and salt are the perfect compliment to this amazing corn. Just do it.

If Harper Farms only delivered corn, it would still be worth seeking out. As it is, however, they have a ton of other great fruit and vegetable products, at very reasonable prices. Sure, they have standards like lettuce, green beans, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. But they also grow a cornucopia of exotic varieties like heirloom tomatoes, purple green beans, and thai eggplant. These are the interesting things that make a farmer's market so exciting to shop at.

Heirloom tomato varietal names are as colorful as the tomatoes themselves. Here we have black prince, green zebra, and striped cavern to name a few. Not only do they taste better, but at Harper Farms they cost less than the standard supermarket swill.

Thai eggplants are beautiful, with green and white patterns covering the golf ball sized fruit.

Lettuce, chard, squash, peppers - whatever your bag is, Harper Farms delivers quality locally farmed products. And you won't leave feeling like somebody stole your wallet.

Don't take my word for it - there's still some time left to get yourself some amazing corn before the end of the season, but time is running out. Supply is limited, so it's a good idea to call ahead if you're coming a long way. It's worth the trip!

Harper Farms
1539 Main St (Rt 117)
Lancaster, MA 01523
978-840-0258

Going Local - A Pork is My Friend Series

2008-09-05T08:31:00.002-04:00

Index Last Updated: 09.13.08

I've been halfway around the world and have the stories and photos to prove it. And while it's great to blow a wad of cash on an exotic dining experience every once in a while, that's certainly not something I can do every day. So where do I go when I'm not on the road, when I'm just living normal life like everyone else? Where and what do I like to eat when I'm home? Well, it's about time you'd asked.

To aswer that question, I'm starting a series of posts, Going Local, to share my favorite places to hit up on a regular basis. I live and work in the Greater Boston area (the western suburbs, to be exact) so naturally most of my frequent haunts will be out that way. I do get into the city every once in a while though, and I'll make it a point to include some of those spots in time. Unlike most of my foreign experiences, these are places I've visited many, many times. If I still want to keep coming back, they must be doing something right.

For convenience, I'll be updating this post with links to each entry as it is posted, so it functions as an index of sorts.

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- Harper Farms, Lunenburg, MA - Great farm stand with the absolute best corn ever (9.13.08)

Paul Bertolli's Perfect Gnocchi: So Easy, a 2-Year Old Can Do It

2008-08-07T23:43:00.000-04:00

When I went on a food book buying spree a few months ago, I picked up Paul Bertolli's outstanding Cooking By Hand, which has been on my radar for quite some time. I had borrowed this book from the library a few years back when I decided to start curing meat at home (there is a chapter dedicated to the craft, which Bertolli has pretty much perfected - but that's a story for another day). Not simply a collection of adapted recipes, this book is more like a compilation of essays, taking the reader deep into the thought process and philosophy of Bertolli's cooking. From pasta, to dessert, even to rediscovery of simple classics (a chapter aptly named "Cleaning the Fresco"), Bertolli provides complex analysis down to the seemingly insignificant minutiae that clearly demonstrate the makeup of a master chef.

The prose could be considered excessive and self-indulgent by some (get to the recipes already!), but that thinking would be missing the point of this book. Besides, the careful descriptions of each detailed step and its overall role in the finished product were tremendously educational, and kept me riveted. Nowhere was this more evident than in his writeup on classic potato gnocchi. I was attracted to this item right away, as it appeared to be one of the simpler preparations in the book, not to mention that I love to eat them. The poetic description of the virtues of this gnocchi recipe was quite compelling.

I feel obligated not to reprint the exact recipe, lest the copyright police stage a raid and lock me up. Get the book from the library, or better yet, buy it. This one dish is worth the price alone. The ingredients are pretty standard - starchy potatoes (like russets), flour, salt, and egg. The real magic, I think, is in the technique to bring these all together.

To prepare the potatoes: Boil the potatoes in their skins until fork tender. Drain and let cool only until you can handle them without burning your hands. Peel and rice them.

While the potatoes are still warm, add flour and egg. Kneed gently into a dough, being careful not to overwork it (don't want to develop too much gluten, okay?). Now the fun part begins.

I have fond memories of gnocchi making parties when I was a kid. And my 2-year old daughter loves to help me out in the kitchen (here she is making me proud by helping me cure some bacon), so it seemed a natural time to draw on here eagerness to help.

Rolling the gnocchi dough - Once the dough is ready, section into smaller pieces and roll into ropes, or "snakes" as my daughter likes to call them. 1/2" diameter is about right.

Cutting the gnocchi rope - Cut each rope into 1" long pieces. Make sure to keep them well floured during this stage. Look at that tiny, flour coated hand. Makes me want to weep.

Texturing the gnocchi - You can use a fancy gnocchi board to do this, but I find it works just fine with a fork, or a cheese grater, or anything else with a coarse texture. Texturing the outside of the gnocchi is not mandatory, but it does help to make a sauce adhere better. Just place a piece on the fork, lightly press your thumb and roll. This creates a little pocket on the inside, and a craggy texture on the outside.

A completed gnocco - Look at the look of concentration from my young sous chef. Impressive.

Elisabeth making a gnocchi "snake" - "I want to do it myself only, daddy!" And I tell you what, she made a darn good one. What can I say - she's got mad skillz.

Gnocchi sauteeing in brown butter - After a quick boil in generously salted water (they're done when they float up to the surface), the gnocchi were drained and tossed in a sautee pan into some brown butter. Not burned butter, but brown butter - important distinction. Sautee until the gnocchi begin to color. You could add sage or some other herbs here if you want. I skipped the green stuff and went straight up this time.

Perfectly cooked gnocchi, with a generous helping of Parmigiano Reggiano - Now that's what I'm talking about! If you've done it right, these morsels will be fluffy and soft. Oh, and they'll taste great too.

These were some of the best gnocchi I have ever made. My wife certainly thought that they were the softest and fluffiest, and I really couldn't disagree. In a word, they were, well, perfect. If you need to solve your gnocchi woes, do yourself a favor and check out Paul Bertolli's Cooking By Hand. After all, if Elisabeth can do it...

Stopover at Tokyo Narita International (NRT)

2008-07-25T22:15:00.004-04:00

My extra stop at Tokyo Narita was much more of an adventure than it was a hassle for me. I was psyched at the prospect of getting some sushi on the ground, which despite being "airport sushi," is authentic Japanese sushi nonetheless. As it turned out, there is a sushi bar in the international transfer area, and it is quite good. They offer dine in service as well as take out. Seeing that I had access to the ANA lounge, courtesy of my business class ticket, as well as its complimentary Sake bar, I thought that take out would be the wise choice. Besides, there was a sumo match on TV, and come on, who can resist the sight of large, round Japanese men push each other around the floor? Not me.

Sushi at Tokyo/Narita - This may be airport sushi, but the quality level was first rate. From left to right: Horse mackerel (aji-saba), kanpachi, chu toro, red snapper (tai), otoro. Above the sushi is a fine cup of junmai-shu sake, courtesy of ANA. The prices were quite reasonable for how good this plate was. I look forward to diverting myself through Narita again soon.

Engrish Hello Kitty Toy - It's funny enough that a toy would declare itself "Boring," but it didn't click with me until a month later that this was actually supposed to be a "Bowling" toy (the Japanese reads "bo-ri-n-gu" and "su-to-ra-i-ku"). I just about busted open when it finally hit me. This item was for sale at one of the gift shops in the international terminal.

Japanease Seafood Chips - Made with real fish, shrimp, crab, squid, etc., these crisps are outstanding. Basically, the seafood is ground up and mixed with rice flour, then formed into a crisp and fried. The best way to describe the flavor is to imagine eating fried fish, but in potato chip form. Some chips have whole dried creatures pressed into them (a couple of shrimp and a squid can be seen in the chips in this photo). The black one is flavored with squid ink. The crab ones and the wasabi ones are really good, too. I picked these up at a gift shop at Narita.

The ANA Experience - Narita/Taipei (NRT/TPE) Route

2008-07-24T23:06:00.007-04:00

My tickets were booked a bit late for my trip to Taiwan, so I ended up with an extra stopover at Tokyo Narita, then continuing on ANA (All Nippon Airways) to and from Taipei. It was my first experience with a Japanese airline, and I was generally impressed with the courteous service and food selection.

ANA Japanese Dinner, NRT to TPE - Clockwise from top left: Firefly squid with crab, beef and vegetable galantine with grilled tofu, Japanese pickles (radish, etc.), kelp cured shrimp and flounder sashimi, fried rockfish and vegetables with rice. There is also miso soup in the black bowl, and a dessert in the paper in the middle of the plate. And notice the bottle of sake in the upper right corner. Nice touch.

Salt-Boiled Firefly Squid (Hotaru Ika) and Swimming Crabmeat with Tosa Vinegar - Firefly squid congregate en masse off the coast of Japan each spring to spawn, creating a spectacular light show due to their natural phosphorescence. They are a sign of spring, and were celebrated on the May business class menu on ANA. Here, they were lightly boiled and served with crabmeat, some kind of sea tasting jelly, and something that reminded me of jellyfish. The taste was light, if not a bit fishy. The crab and sea jelly were pretty tasty, and the jellyfish add texture mostly, not much taste there.

Airplane Sashimi - Pink Shrimp and Kelp Cured Flounder - These were lightly vinegared to help preserve them, as they obviously have to be kept in storage for some time before service. Although not like sitting at a sushi bar, these morsels still were enjoyable, and a nice luxury at 30,000 ft.

ANA Japanese Dinner, TPE to NRT - Clockwise from top left: Soba noodles, Japanese pickles, appatizer dish (tamago omlet, pistachio crusted shrimp, fruit jelly, tiny dried fish), green tea mochi cake, fruit plate, beef and vegetables with rice. Again, there was miso soup, and sake.

Mandarin Lesson... In Japanese - The on demand entertainment system was convenient, so I thought I would pull up a learn Mandarin lesson to stay sharp. Turned out that it was only available in Japanese, which made for interesting viewing. I probably picked up more Japanese than I did Mandarin. For example, did you know that the Japanese word for "credit card" is "ku-re-di-to ka-a-do?" Well, now you do.

Taipei's Night Markets- Shilin et al.

2008-07-16T00:41:00.005-04:00

Taiwan is well known for its street markets, and rightfully so. The many outsiders who have inhabited Taiwan over the course of its history may be gone, but their contributions to the culinary landscape are undoubtedly left behind. Taiwan's street food is considered by many to be the most interesting and vibrant of all in the Chinese world.

As any self respecting food-obsessed traveler would do, I hit the streets to explore these local food traditions myself. All the research I did before arriving pointed me to the most well known of Taipei's markets - Shilin Night Market.

Approaching Shilin Night Market - Every street around here was packed full of people. I'm guessing Friday night probably wasn't the best time to check this place out.

Bubble Tea - From the looks of the crowd, I was going to need to keep my game face on if I wanted to keep pace. I decided to pick up a drink to keep myself cool and alert. An amazing variety of exotic fresh fruits were waiting to be blitzed into refreshing beverages. But here in the home of the bubble tea, my choice was clear. Sweet, marble-sized pearls of tapioca collect at the bottom of a glass of sweetened milk tea, waiting to be sucked up by the gargantuan straw.

Shilin Market Food Hall - The only indoor part of the market houses a cornucopia of dining establishments. This is where you can pick up well known classics like oyster omlets and stinky tofu. You know, if that kind of thing floats your boat.

I had my wallet in a stranglehold in hopes of keeping it from hitching a ride with some nice stranger who might happen to bump into me in the street.

Claustrophobes beware! If you want to get a good deal, you're gonna have to brave the sea of people. On second thought, is this stuff really worth the hassle? Among the flotsam and jetsam lie a few great deals, no doubt, but it can take some time to separate the wheat from the chaff.

These glazed strawberries and tomatoes certainly look appealing. It always surprises me when tomatoes are included on a dessert fruit plate after a meal, which is fairly often. You would think I'd be used to that by now.

Sugar Roasted Corn - After a coating of sugar is applied, these pieces of corn are grilled over a charcoal fire to carmelize the sugar into a candy-like skin. Sweet! How come I've never thought to do that?

There are sausages, and then, there are SAUSAGES. This one qualifies as a SAUSAGE, for sure. I mean, look, these beauties are bigger than that girl's arm. I love the Chinese title - "Big Sausages" is the translation, but the literal text says "big fragrant intestine." If that doesn't whet your appetite, I don't know what will.

Besides Shilin, countless smaller street markets dot the landscape of Taipei, making this type of shopping a part of everyday life for the locals. These next photos come from a different street market, close to the office I was working at. I did ask the name of this place, but I neglected to write it down so I'm afraid it will have to remain nameless for the time being.

Organ and Innards Assortment - I can always tell when a shop is geared towards local customers, rather than western tourists like myself. But with this cart, loaded with liver, testicles, and other such tasties waiting to be soupified, I just can't tell for certain...

Really, Really Fresh Chicken - Um excuse me sir, I think you forgot your chicken head. There was just something disturbingly humerous to me about the severed chicken head sitting there on the table, with the cage full of chickens staring back as they await their fate thinking, "Oh, crap."

Griddle Cake - These pancake-like treats are cooked up in small circular molds. I didn't eat one, but they sure looked good. Pretty sure these were organ free.

Bell Fruit or Wax Apple - These tropical tree fruits are limited to Taiwan and a few other (mostly southeast Asian) locales. They are crisp and crunchy, mildly sweet, juicy, and very light and airy in texture. They were a nice, refreshing snack to help beat back the heat of the day.

Silks House - A Cantonese Gem in Taipei

2008-07-15T01:41:00.004-04:00

I was fortunate enough to be treated to a most excellent Cantonese dinner on my last night in Taipei. The elegant Regent Grand Formosa is home to Silks House (晶華軒 for those who need to know).

This was a rather formal gathering, and the sophisticated decor and surroundings made me think about how tacky it would be to whip out the camera for an impromptu photo shoot during dinner. So I passed up snapping the first couple of courses, until my host, who understands my passion for all things edible, encouraged me to be free to disturb the ambiance and take pictures. I'm glad I did, as this meal was truly outstanding.

The dinner started out, as most Chinese dinners do, with a handful of apetizers circling the table on a giant lazy susan. Two standouts were whole water chestnuts, unpeeled, with a black skin around the edible white bulb part. I have only had the canned variety before, and let me tell you, these were nothing like those insipid excuses for food. Super sweet, crunchy, and crisp, every bite was an absolute delight. The second was dried scallop and turnip cakes - fried cubes of this pureed combo packed with explosive flavor. Their crispy exterior gave way to a soft interior that melted in the mouth, leaving a taste of fried goodness enhanced by the wonderful sweetness of the scallops. I would go back to this place just for these two things.

Appetizer Assortment - Clockwise from top left: Stuffed bean curd with dried candied tomato, lettuce salad, rolled chicken, smoked salmon. After the first two apps (you can see the black skins of the water chestnuts in the top of this photo), this dish was just okay for me. The candied tomato was a nice, unexpected twist, but other than that these items were rather straightforward.

Double Boiled Shark Fin Soup with Coconut - This, on the other hand, was spectacular. The perfectly executed broth was beautifully complex, yet clear and refined. Soft coconut added a pleasant sweetness, a perfect compliment, not overpowering in the least. And last, the shark fin, presented whole in its original shape. I've had shark fin previously, but this was the first time it didn't remind me of undercooked, flavorless noodles. Instead, each bite was soft and gelatinous (sounds gross, but it wasn't - promise), like eating the fat or cartilage off of a confit piece of duck. Its own flavor was subtle, having absorbed the flavors of the broth. I am aware of the controversy surrounding this delicacy, and encourage each person to make up their own mind on whether or not to eat it.

At this point in the meal, we were treated to roasted duck, Grand Formosa Style. This version was unique from other roasted duck dishes I have eaten before in that the pancake wrappers were made with whole grain oats, and the veggie accompaniments included thinly sliced ginger. Oh, and the duck itself was excellent - with beautiful crispy skin that simply shattered when eaten.

Sweet and Sour Short Rib - It's rare to find such a perfectly balanced sweet and sour dish as this one was, maybe impossible where I live, anyways. The beef rib was cooked nicely, still pink in the middle, with a semi-crisp outside. The soft cooked onions added a nice lift to each tender bite.

Steamed Grouper with Shiitake and Bacon - If there was one Chinese cooking technique I wish I could stuff in my suitcase and bring home with me, it would be how to create such amazingly perfect steamed fish. It renders the flesh a lovely soft texture, just one tick past "raw" and into "cooked" territory on the doneness scale. The fattiness of the fish adds an incredible, rich flavor when cooked this way. A soy based sauce accompanied this version, as is typical. But the harsh saltiness of raw soy sauce is somehow tamed to create a light, yet flavorful broth. So all this and then you go and add bacon? Genius. Obligation requires that I point out that the tofu, as is often the case, was utterly tasteless.

Braised Spare Rib with Rice - I have to admit to a certain disdain for plain white rice. But there are exceptions to every rule (sushi rice being the prime example), and this may be the biggest of all time for me. This rice was absolutely, without qualification superb. Not starchy, nor gummy. Not so sticky that it clumps together, yet with enough bind to give the illusion of creaminess. And al dente bite and subtle sweetness were the final elements needed to create the perfect white rice. Notice the fatty juiciness of the spare rib permeating the rice. Oh yeah. The braised meat was fall-off-the-bone tender, with the fat cooked long enough to become soft and flavorful. I now, for the first time ever in life, understand the rationale for putting some cooked item on top of a bed of rice. I'm utterly ruined.

Black Rice and Almond Dessert - This is not your average rice pudding, that's for sure. This nicely sweet (sweetened condensed milk?) porridge-like dessert featured the nuttiness of "forbidden" black rice enhanced with almond paste. It was rather rich, and provided a filling end to this fantastic meal. The deep purple color is derived naturally from the black rice, which turns this color when cooked.

Over the past 3 years, I've eaten a lot of Cantonese food. I'm happy to report that this was one of the best of such meals that I have had the pleasure of adding to my waistline. It ranks up in my top 5 list of Cantonese restaurants in Southeast Asia that I have visited. When I find myself back in Taipei, this place will most definitely find its way onto my itinerary once again.

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Have you been to Silks House? Please comment and let me know what you thought!

Food I Ate in Taipei

2008-07-12T08:20:00.007-04:00

Simple title, simple post. No elegant wordsmithing here. Just a bunch of photos of stuff I ate while I was in Taipei. This covers most typical meals I ate, but I'm saving a couple of special things for future posts - one about a fantastic dinner at the Silk House, and another about foods of the night markets. Enjoy!

Taiwanese Chicken Rolls - Chicken spiced with cinnamon(?) stuffed with some vegetable matter (water chestnuts, etc.) into a thin dough skin, then rolled up and fried. My hosts told me that this is a Taiwanese specialty. They were quite good, with a thin crispy skin that was very light and flakey. The English on the menu read "Chicken Rools." Nice.

Black Chicken (Silkie) - Not only is the skin black, but the bones are too (the Chinese name translates to "black boned chicken"). Even the meat is tinged with blackness and appears a vibrant, bright (if there is such a thing) grey. The feathers, on the other hand, are typically pure white. I had a simply prepared steamed black chicken that was juicy and delicious. It was much more flavorful than a typical chicken. Afterthought - as I'm proofreading this, I realize that I didn't even comment on the presence of the chicken heads. I've been to Asia way too many times now.

Yakitori Bar - Japanese influence, and therefore, food, is common in Taiwan. One evening we headed out for yakitori to this place, called Japan, Taiwan. I was glad to see the grill pit full of real wood coals, with lots of skewered items sizzling away.

Grilled Intestines, Shrimp, Beef, and Fish - The excitement of the charcoal grill was equal and opposite to my anti-excitement upon seeing the lovely skewer of pig intestines on my plate. A colleague assured me that they were crispy and delicious when prepared this way. So against my better judgement, I grabbed the stick and tore into a hunk of pig colon. The first sensation was of a crispy exterior and a nice charred fatty taste - not bad at all! As I kept chewing, the pleasant taste melted away leaving a chewy bundle of fatty tissue in my mouth. More chewing... Wow... that sure does taste a little funky... Chew, chew, chew... Hmmmm... This sort of fecal aroma wafted across my palate. Yup, I could definitely tell what I was eating. Yeah, just too fecal for me. Those fish, by the way, have bellies full of roe. Very fishy. I was instructed to eat them with a bite into the belly first. Also not one of my favorites. The shrimp and beef were great, though.

Shrimp and Crab Hand Rolls - I had these tasty bundles for lunch one day along with a fantastic Japanese noodle bowl. Soup broth on this side of the world is amazingly flavorfull and complex. I have to figure out how to make that at home. No imitation crab in these rolls, by the way. The real thing makes all the difference.

We went to a Yunnan restaurant for lunch one afternoon. There were old women sitting in the restaurant shelling baby peas for this delicious soup (simply chicken broth and fresh, baby peas). Many of the dishes used ingredients that I was familiar with, but in ways I had not ever thought of before. I was impressed enough with this place to bust out the camera for a few of the dishes.

Steamed Bamboo - I had no idea that you could just eat hunks of bamboo. It is almost always served shredded into fine slices, and I realized that I've always just eaten it without giving it much thought. It was good, but not great. Less starchy than a potato, a little sweeter, but with a strong vegetal taste. These were served with mayo for dipping, which was a little weird.

Hearts of Palm with Chicken and Hot Peppers - An outstanding dish, full of flavor. Shredding the hearts of palm was a great way to use them. The small bits of chicken and peppers gave a nice lift to the flavor profile.

Fried Mushroom Sticks - Another brilliant idea. Thin strips of mushroom fried to a chip-like crispiness. Simply seasoned with salt and dried hot pepper, I envisioned myself popping open a bag of these while watching the game, and wolfing the whole thing down. Great snack concept.

Coconut Soup Dessert - This coconut broth was served cold (you can see an ice cube in the photo) and contained soft cooked lotus seeds. It was sweet, light, and refreshing - the perfect way to end a meal on a hot day.

Taipei Dunkin Donuts - A nod to my New England home, it appears that Taipei runs on Dunkin, too. Although that looks like a bagel sandwich in the picture, it is actually a donut. Think about that - donut, ham, mayo... Hmmmm... They had the regular donuts we get at home, but they also had...

Strange Dunkin Donuts in Taiwan - How could we pass on the chance to pick up some of these space alien inspired donuts? They were made out of a different type of dough than typical donuts, and were much more spongey in texture. From front to back: chocolate glazed, soybean, corn, soybean.

Taipei 101 - Wanna Get High?

2008-07-08T07:42:00.004-04:00

It's not every day that you get to visit the tallest building in the world, but that's exactly what I did during my trip to Taiwan last month. Taipei 101 (that's "One-Oh-One", not "One-hundred-one") is, at least for now, the tallest building in the world. Measuring in at 101 stories (ironic, isn't it...) and a cool 1670.6ft (509.2 meters) tall, it's a smidge taller than the previous record holders - the Sears Tower and Petronas Towers. Like these that came before, holding the title will be short lived for 101. The Burj Dubai (which technically already is taller) is going to blow it away when completed in late 2009. Despite the inevitibility, nobody can take away the glory of this magnificent night and my visit to the top of the man-made-world.

I have to apologize in advance for my hideous photography, but it was dark, I was experimenting with long exposure times with my tabletop tripod (not so good when you don't have a table), and, well... Just enjoy them for what they are.

Taipei 101 at night. Too bad I botched the framing and got that dumb streetlight in the photo.

The tiered pagoda-like design of 101 is interesting, as it makes use of traditional Chinese architectural elements and cultural ideas, but still looks and feels quite modern. The main body of the building consists of 8 tiered segments, each comprised of 8 floors (8, of course, is a very lucky number in Chinese culture, and is said to bring prosperity). The floors of each tier are progressively tapered to create the appearance of a pagoda. The incorporation of traditional architectural elements is one of my favorite things about this building.

The odd thing to me about Taipei 101 is that there are no other tall buildings around it. I mean, there are no comparable buildings in the general vicinity. None! It just kind of sticks up out of the city sprawl like a giant monolithic anomaly. The tallest building in Taipei before 101 was built was the Shin Kong Life Tower and its mere 801 feet of inferiority.

The entrance to Taipei 101 uses 3 traditional Chinese coins to represent the '101' in the name.

As you might expect, there are a few other interesting elements to Taipei 101 besides its sheer height that make it unique. One of these is the elevators, which are claimed to be the fastest in the world. Featuring an aerodynamic spoiler system and a pressurized cabin (to prevent your ears from going *-pop-* aaaaarrrrrghhhhhh!!!), the elevator makes the trip up to the 89th floor observation deck in just over 30 seconds, reaching a top speed of about 38mph (that's around 55 ft/s, or 1010m/min as the signage indicates).

A scale model of the elevator system is on display in the observatory.

Up on the 91st floor is the outdoor observatory. The view reminds me of sitting in an airplane and looking down out of the window. I'm sure the view would be even more impressive in the daytime, or if I knew what I was looking at.

A night view from the outdoor observation deck of Taipei 101.

Now heading back down a few flights of stairs we come to the mass damper element, viewable on the 87th and 88th floors. Mass dampers (you can think of them like giant pendulums) are frequently used on very tall structures to reduce the amount of sway caused by wind and other natural forces (Taiwan has exposure to typhoons and earthquakes). They are tuned to dampen, or absorb, energy that builds up when a structure vibrates at its natural frequency (resonance). Of course, this is the largest mass damper ever constructed, weighing 728 tons.

The giant mass damper of Taipei 101. I'm kind of surprised that this is viewable by the public.

A closeup of the hydraulic cylinders.

Thick cables suspend the mass from the roof. What's with all that gold paint, anyways?

So what is this building actually used for, you ask? Well, besides a load of corporate offices, there is a super secret club - Summit 101 (on the 101st floor, no less), a handful of restaurants, and of course, a gigantic shopping mall. I guess no matter where you are in the world, it's all about bringing home the loot.

The cieling inside the lower level shopping mall is architecturally interesting. At least to me, anyways.

If Taipei wanted to put themselves on the world map, then building Taipei 101 sure got people's attention. Not only is it well known throughout the world, but easy tourist access virtually guarantees that a lot of visitors are going to pass through those doors and buy a ticket to ride the elevator.

So now I'm back to earth, livin' life at sea level once again. But I'll always remember the day I stood on top of the world, and had all of Taipei at my feet.

Taipei 101 and a scooter - two symbols of Taipei.

One last photo of Taipei 101. Careful, this photo could burn your retina if you stare too long.

Hello, Taipei - An Intro to Taiwan's Capital City

2008-07-02T00:31:00.008-04:00

Last month, I had the pleasure of my first visit to the other China - that is to say, the Republic of China (ROC) (not to be confused with the People's Republic of China (PRC) - completely different). Yes, of course, I'm talking about Taiwan. I was in Taipei for a quick 3-day visit. But true to form, despite the whirlwind tour, I did manage to feel out the city and fit in a little fun.

Although recognized by most countries as an independent nation, Taiwan remains at the center of political tension with mainland China, stemming from the Chinese Civil War. After suffering defeat to Mao Zedong and the China Communist Party, General Chiang Kai-shek and about 2 million of his Nationalist followers fled to Taiwan in 1949, moving the ROC capital from Nanjing (mainland) to Taipei. The ROC still formally holds claim over all of the mainland, although these claims are largely downplayed these days and are not pursued. China (PRC) on the other hand, maintains that Taiwan is one of it's provinces, even though Taiwan operates as a sovereign state without any mainland interference. Although no official end was negotiated to the Chinese Civil War, an unofficial truce pervades the relationship today, even if it is uneasy at times. In practice, the two governments have a healthy business trade, and relations are begining to show signs of improvement. The issue of reunification vs. independence remains one of the most important and highly charged political issues in Taiwanese politics. Okay - history lesson over.

Having already formed first-hand impressions of Hong Kong, Beijing, and industrial Southern China, I was curious to see how Taipei would compare, and where it would fall on the three pronged scale of modernity, historic value, and sophistication. It's political history has allowed it to "grow up" over the past 50 years without the restrictions imposed by the PRC's central government.

Right off the bat, I could tell that I was not on the mainland. A quick look at oncoming traffic, and a couple of things were obvious:
1. Although there are plenty of scooters on the road in China, there were even more in Taipei. But here everyone was wearing helmets.
2. People generally obeyed the traffic laws, stopping at red lights and staying in their lanes - meaning my underpants stayed squeaky clean on the drive to the hotel.

A swarm of scooters crosses a busy Taipei intersection.

Sidewalks everywhere were packed with neatly arranged rows of parked scooters, tightly packed together like sardines. I also noticed that the city was pretty clean, with construction debris kept to a minimum - also a key giveaway that I was not in China proper. The street signage reminded me of Hong Kong, but with noticeably less English.

In Taipei, much like Hong Kong, copius use of banner-like street signs dominates the cityscape. But playing detective to find English on them lets us know that we are somewhere else.

At night, the lights turn on and illuminate Taipei's streets.

It seems funny to say this, but in some ways Taipei seems more, well, more Chinese than other big cities I've been to on the mainland. Many temples and historical buildings are scattered throughout the city, interspersed periodically among the ordinary shops and office buildings. Such places seem to be a rarity in the places I frequent in southern China.

This temple was a block from my hotel. It seemed like there were temples like this all over Taipei.

This one looked particularly interesting, but I ended up with only this crappy shot that I took while driving by in a van. Not the way to get a decent photo, but this will have to do.

I noticed that there seem to be a large number of small food stalls, selling everything from... well, selling everything. Fried dough thingys for breakfast, stinky tofu (yup, stinky=rotted), exotic fruits, animal nasty bits... This really deserves its own post.

Not sure what this guy's selling, but it doesn't look too bad. Taipei has more than its share of street food.

Another small cart, this one with various kinds of fruit. And sticks. I'd tell you more if I could - it stinks to be illiterate.

A typical Taipei side street.

It's pretty easy to get around in Taipei. The subway has good coverage, and the system is not that difficult for a foreigner like me to figure out (ahem, are you listening, Kyoto?). It's also fairly new and clean, both superior to my hometown T. And who could forget that Taipei is home to (at least for now, anyways) the world's tallest building, Taipei 101? But I'll save that story for another post.

So this is the end of the post, where I'm supposed to make some sort of judgement or smart sounding summary. Something like, oh, I don't know... Let's try this.

As I was expecting, Taipei wasn't exactly like any of the cities I have visited before. It's kind of like a less westernized Hong Kong, only if it weren't ruled by the British, but by the Chinese all those years. Only, not those Chinese, but a different group of Chinese. Not to mention the influences of other nations who have visited/invaded the island at some point during its history (Portugal, Netherlands, Japan, China, etc.).

Got it?

Look, Taiwan is a beautiful place, with good food, modern accomodations, interesting attractions (hot springs, for one), oh, and stunning mountains and beaches too. Let me know what you think if you get the chance to visit some day.

My First Homegrown Asparagus

2008-05-09T23:45:00.005-04:00

I planted these beauties a couple of years ago, but last year's toothpick thin wisps were only useful as dental floss. This year, for the first time, I have something I can actually eat. So what if they're no bigger around than a #2 pencil? The taste is fantastically sweet - by far the mildest and sweetest asparagus I've ever eaten. All, um, four stalks worth.

Hopefully they will continue to grow bigger with each successive year. Maybe in about 16 years, I can have enough yield for a whole meal!

That's is little fellas. Grow! Grow! Grow!

Warning: Objects in photo are smaller than they appear.

What are these?!?! Asparagus for ants?!?!

Keller in the Caf - Making The French Laundry's Lobster Macaroni and Cheese at Work

2008-04-05T12:22:00.012-04:00

So, I promised a colleague at work a homemade lunch something like a year ago. But between the busyness of work and home, I kept putting it off. As the months (and months, and months...) passed by, I grew tired of getting "the look" every time I ran into this guy, so I decided to finally make due on my promise. I was on the hook big time, so I wanted to blow him away. I needed to come up with something extraordinary - maybe even, something French Laundry-esque.

Chances are that you, like me, probably haven't had the chance to eat at The French Laundry (for those of you living in a cave somewhere, I'll simply say that TFL, under the helm of celebrated chef Thomas Keller, is considered the best restaurant in the US, if not the entire world). For "regular people" like me, missing out on this experience is probably best for the wallet, but yet incredibly disappointing. But all is not lost.

I recently picked up Keller's French Laundry Cookbook, which was published almost 10 years ago (I know, I'm a bit late to the party). The book is an unquestionable masterpiece, a treatise on modern culinary technique and thought. Keller describes and details the food as prepared in the restaurant - no shortcuts. He offers advice to help guide the home chef when things get complicated, but never are things dumbed down. Of course, this means that unless you have a contingent of sous chefs working for you, cooking from the book is generally time consuming and meticulous. And sourcing raw ingredients of the level of quality that these dishes demand can be quite expensive. But in my brief experience with the book, it is absolutely worth it.

Don't just take my word for it, though. One of my favorite reads these days is Carol Blymire's abmitious French Laundry at Home blog, where the self-described "nutjob" (hey, she said it) is blogging her way through this book with the goal of executing and chronicling every single recipe contained within. The impressive thing is that she's not a trained chef - she's just a regular Joe, er, Jane. Recreating French Laundry food at home is something to aspire to, but why stop there? Why not take it all the way to the office cafeteria? I intended to do just that.

This presented quite a logistical challenge. I wanted my food to be first quality - that is, it would have to taste like it was just made, not like leftovers or reheated slop. The thing is, there is limited equipment in my office cafeteria (that I have access to, anyways) for actually making real food. Here's what I had to work with:

1. Microwave
2. Fridge
3. Butter knives
4. Running water

Well, that rules out quite a bit right off the bat. I suppose I could have made something cold, or a sandwich, but that just didn't sound that exciting. Hmmmm... And then I remembered coffee time. Huh? I keep an 8 cup french press in the office for making coffee... with boiling water that I get from the cafeteria! So that means...

5. French press
6. Boiling water

My thoughts kept drifting back to 3 magic words from Keller's book - butter poached lobster - which is featured in several French Laundry preparations. Because it's not exposed to high heat during the poaching process, the muscle fibers do not tighten and sieze up, making the lobster uncommonly tender and soft. With a French press and some hot water, I can essentially poach the lobster on site in the cafeteria. No, not directly in the french press, as you might be thinking. Sous vide, of course! Now which dish to choose...

The most amenable to cafeteria cooking (and, I have to say, most appealing to me in general) was the "Macaroni and Cheese" or, (deep breath now) Butter-Poached Lobster with Creamy Lobster Broth and Mascarpone-Enriched Orzo (exhale - ahhhh). Just kind of, um, rolls off the tongue. Anyways, I figured that the lobster cream and the orzo would nuke just fine, and besides the lobster, there were no other elements that would require heating.

Before we start, let's be realistic about this - there's needs to be substantial prep work done at home to make this possible. But it was indeed assembled and plated in the office cafeteria, much like what would be done in a restaurant. I should point out for all of you book owners and Keller afficionados there are a couple of minor liberties with the dish I chose to take. For one, I wanted to include some type of vegetation, and I happened to find some nice pea sprouts in the grocery store, so I adapted that element from the "Peas and Carrots" dish a couple of pages away. I also left out the Parmigiano crisp. Sue me.

Steep the Lobster, Before - Hello little guy. No animals were hurt in the making of this ... Ah, screw it. Who am I kidding? Nice knowing you! Pour vinegar seasoned boiling water over your lobster off of the heat.

Steep the Lobster, After - The lobster has now been submerged for 2 minutes. This par-cooks the flesh just enough to allow it to release from the shell. Time to get this thing out of there and pull the meat before it cooks too much. Make sure to save the bodies for the stock.

Harvest and Vacuum Pack the Meat - The meat has been removed from the shell, cooled, and vacuum bagged with some butter. It's only partially cooked at this point, so it can be more or less treated like raw meat. Must be kept in the refrigerator.

Prepare the Lobster Cream - This photo is skipping waaaayyyy to the end of this process. Let's see, make a stock out of the chopped up lobster bodies, strain it, reduce it by half, add cream, reduce it by half again, and strain again. Cool and pack in a microwaveable (is that a word?) cotainer. This is about a 2 hour process, but the taste was, well, I can't think of a superlative that is strong enough to convey how good it really was. Just incredible.

Par-Cook the Orzo - Boil orzo in salted water, but remove while still crunchy. Rinse under cold water and drain. Pack in a microwaveable container. Keeping the orzo crunchy here will ensure that it does not turn to mush when reheated later.

Pack the Supply Kit - Lobster meat in vac bag, lobster cream, orzo, mascarpone cheese, pea shoots, meyer lemon zest, salt, and olive oil. Bring to office and place in refrigerator until service time.

When the time comes, find a space to set up your meez. This may be tough, especially in the middle of the lunch rush.

French Press Sous Vide Lobster - Since the lobster meat is already partially cooked, it only needs to be warmed through. I mixed boiling and tap water until I thought it felt right (about 120-130F, if I had to guess), dropped the vacuum bag in, and lowered the plunger to keep it submerged. I refreshed the water mix after the butter had melted and let it sit for a few minutes while prepping the other components.

Final Prep - Make the pea shoot salad. Combine the pea shoot greens (cut off excessively long stems), some salt, and the lemon zest. Dress with olive oil. Next, microwave the lobster cream and orzo to heat up. Stir together and add in the mascarpone. By the time this is done, the lobster should be heated through.

Plate Dish - Place a mound of the orzo mixture in the center of a the plate. Remove lobster from bag and place on top of orzo, tail first, then claw on top. Top with pea shoot salad.

At the risk of blowing my own horn, this was a spectacular success. The lobster was beautifully tender and flavorful, and that orzo... Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. Happy tears, of course. Not only did I win rave compliments from my colleague (actual quote "this might be the best meal I've ever eaten"), but I also managed to create quite the scene in the bustling cafeteria. No doubt people will be talking about this day for some time!

Now for some dessert. How about, ho hum... French Laundry donuts?

These better be good, since the dough takes a couple of days to make. The moisture in the dough is primarily egg yolks, so it has a nice richness to it.

These look fantastic, and they tasted even better. This is really bordering on ridiculous now. Just incredible. The beauty of these is that they freeze well, and taste freshly made after reheating in a toaster. Just use the bagel toaster in your cafeteria, if you have one.

Just ask yourself - why should you settle for cafeteria slop any longer? With a little know how and some pre-planning, (and the proper motivation, I suppose), you can eat incredibly any day of the week.

Opia Hong Kong - A Hidden Jewel in Causeway Bay

2008-03-20T00:12:00.003-04:00

Update 05.04.08 - Apparently, Opia has closed, as of April 30! This comes as a disappointment to me, since I have enjoyed a couple of great meals there. In fact, my last visit, which is captured by the writeup below, was a fantastic experience, and reasonably priced for such high quality food. A new restaurant will be replacing Opia at the Jia Hotel later this year, so stay tuned, I guess.

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Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island is a fascinating collection of old and new. Luxurious (and expensive) shopping malls (yes, plural) share street addresses with wet markets, open air produce stands, and nick-nack trading alleys. In this area lies the JIA botique hotel, and its restaurant, Opia. It's easy to miss the unassuming hotel and its tiny sign as you pass by on the street, but the food here is worth taking notice of.

I hesitate to use the f-word... you know, "fusion," as I don't want to scare anyone away. But Opia's menu is full of dishes containing elements of Japanese, Thai, Australian, and Mediterranean cuisines. Not to worry, if there were a template for how to select and blend these flavors flawlessly, it would be found here.

The discreet entrance to Opia along Pennington Street in Causeway Bay gives no indication of the sophisticated space inside. The stunning interior stands apart from the old world neighborhood just outside.

I have actually been to Opia once before, but not since Executive Chef Dane Clouston has revamped the menu after taking full control of the kitchen. I remembered that meal as one of my most favorite in all my trips to Hong Kong, particularly the soy-laquered Wagyu ox cheek, which remains an Opia signature item. Despite my lust for this dish, last night I went with the chef's degustation menu - a six course delight intended to introduce the diner to the essence of Clouston's food. Most courses had two options to choose from. Okay, enough chit chat - let's do this.

Japanese Inspired Oyster Shooter with Mirin Tamari and Seaweed Green Tea Soba Roll

Talk about a fantastic way to start off a meal - the briny, oceanic essence of a fresh oyster shares the stage with sweet Japanese rice wine (Mirin) and tamari in a bite that goes down way too easily. I would have liked a few more of these. The soba roll wasn't bad, either, but was nothing special. Apologies for the fuzzy photo - I was still trying to get my camera settings worked out for the low light when my stomach took over and the oyster just, um, disappeared.

Kingfish Sashimi with Black Bean Dressing, Crispy Wonton, Cucumber Oil and Shiso

Kingfish appears to frequent sashimi menus in Australia far more frequently than elsewhere in the world, which, after tasting this dish, I find quite depressing. The kingfish had such a nice, soft texture, and rich, creamy taste uncommon to many whitefish. All of the condiments were effective enhancements, adding texture and balance to the richness of the fish.

Dumpling of Quail and Foie Gras with Sticky Chili Relish, Salad of Crackling, Ginger, Shallot and Baby Cress

My server recommended this choice, and I was glad that I took his advice. The dumpling was full of savory roasted quail, bound together with a little foie gras. The salad was full of bright, fresh flavors and a variety of textures (fried ginger crisps, cilantro, fried shiso). The chili relish was sweet with a just hint of heat that lingered in the background - nice balance. It was altogether a great dish that represented well the essence of Opia's food.

Pan Seared Foie Gras with Toasted Onion Oil, Milk Chocolate, Caviar and Baby Basil

I'm sorry, did you say chocolate? Unbelievably great pairing of the ultra rich fattiness of the foie and the light sweetness of the mousse. The salty caviar was the perfect element to balance out this fantastic dish. And the foie? It was perfectly cooked, with a nice seared crust on the outside contrasting beautifully with the ultra soft, almost molten interior (the texture was remeniscient of bone marrow). The flavor was insanely rich and delicious.

Blood Orange Sorbet

A little sweet, with a natural light sourness. Cool and refreshing, it was a nice palate cleanser.

Sumac Spice Black Cod with Red Harissa Dressing, Queen Green Olives, Mint, and Saffron Yoghurt

My first thought when this was brought out to me was - holy crap that's a lot of strong flavors thrown together on that plate! There were lemon segments, mint leaves, pomegranite seeds, olives, shallots, a sweet chili sauce, and saffron infused yogurt all paired with a spiced slab-o-fish. I took a bite, and tried to see if the flavors were as wild and unfocused as I thought they might be. A second bite, and I was amused. I shook my head after the third bite, thouroughly delighted (and mildly surprised) that all of these elements seemed to exist in a harmony of bright, clear flavor, each one adding a note to the collective boquet. Not to mention, the fish was perfectly cooked (with nice crispy skin, too). The yogurt was key, I think, in bringing everything together. Another bit of genius from Mr. Clouston.

Strawberry Trifle with Sherry Jelly, Vanilla Sponge, Cream Custard and Pistachio Nut Praline

A nice way to close things out. The photo shows a quenelle of strawberry sorbet resting on top of the trifle and its tasty praline top. Inside were layers of the above listed elements, which combined to be fruity and creamy, without being too heavy.

What can I say? I love this place. The integration of Asian and Meditarranean flavors with modern Australian fare is done with wisdom and elegance. I know of no better place where the much hyped/poo-pooed fusion phenomenon is accomplished with such focus and success. Whenever I'm in Hong Kong, I'll be stopping by.

Opia
JIA Botique Hotel
1-5 Irving St.
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

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Chinglish Shop Sign in Dongguan

2008-03-17T00:02:00.003-04:00

No surprise to see translation humor in China. This one was particularly funny.

A shop on the street in Dongguan City, China. Since those XXXL T-shirts I bought fit like muscle shirts, maybe I can find something here that will fit.

Mao Jia Fan Dian (Mao's Family Restaurant)

2008-03-15T02:16:00.003-04:00

Dinner with the Chairman

Once again, coming to you live from the People's Republic! I had visited a Hunan style restaurant a while back which was decent, but it was a very casual neighborhood kind of place. I had a chance to step it up a bit with a visit to Mao's Family Restaurant, a chain of restaurants established in 1987 by a distant relative of the late Chairman. This place serves up a proud tradition of dishes representing fiery cuisine of Mao's Hunan provincial heritage. A new Moa Jia branch has just opened up right down the street from my hotel in Dongguan City, so I decided to bring some of my colleagues and check it out. Typically, my trips to southern China involve numerous Cantonese mega-meals, so I thought it would be nice to change things up.

The Chariman himself is waiting to greet you upon entering. You'd better like the food, though, or else!

Chrysanthemum Tea - The tea server jets his arm back and raises the teapot up next to his head, shooting a laser of boiling water right into your cup. Nice aim, buddy.

Ma La Xia - Spicy Numbing Shrimp - Although food here is primarily Hunan sytle, this dish throws a nod to neighboring Sichuan province. Shrimp are skewered, fried, and topped with garlic, dried chilis, and a generous helping of mouth numbing Sichuan peppercorns. This dish is always a winner for me, and it was great this time as well.

Snake - Well, this was a new one for me. When we were reading the menu, I thought it would be fun to order this. But when the dish was brought out, I was a little taken aback to see how, well, how snake-like it looked. But Rich!! (you're thinking) It is snake! I know. But, seriously, look at the picture. I had no idea the skin would be so vividly blue. And look at that piece right in the front. That's where the freaking head goes! I should point out that there was also a mountain of stir fried hot peppers and garlic.

Yup. That's me, eating snake. The taste was surprisingly mild and non-exotic, almost like fish - but with a lot of bones, which made it difficult to eat. Yeah, lots of bones. The peppers had a nice kick, too.

Eggplant and Four Season Beans - Fantastic flavor on this one. When I asked how it was seasoned, they told me that there wasn't any special seasoning, it was just normally seasoned. Whatever that means, it was great. I could have eaten this whole dish myself.

Hong Shao Rou - Red Cooked Pork Belly - We couldn't come here without ordering this, the Chairman's favorite dish. Five spice seasoned chunks of pork belly are stewed in soy sauce and spices, and were served over a bed of dried mushrooms and unidentifiable vegetables. The belly pieces were incredibly soft, with tender meat surrounded by soft, gelatinous fat (belly is, of course, what we use in the States to make bacon out of). The skin was left on, and had become soft and sticky. Of course, fat equals flavor, so this dish was obviously delicious. It was quite rich, though, as you might imagine.

Here is an inauspicious page of the menu, featuring, ahem, bull penis. Since I had already eaten one tubular meat product (snake), I decided to pass on this one. Okay... Maybe I would have passed anyways...

At the end of the meal, I was happy to have found a new place to put on my "regular spots to hit up when traveling to Dongguan City and staying at the Dong Cheng International Hotel" list (what - don't you have one of those too?). The food was good, and although moderately expensive by Chinese standards, it's still quite reasonably priced. One of my Chinese colleagues was unhappy with the portion size for the price, but the high quality and great taste was more than enough to balance that out for me. So if you're in Dongguan, go check it out for yourself. Just make sure to bone up on your Mandarin first.

Nobu Hong Kong

2008-03-12T01:47:00.001-04:00

Chances are, if you've ever had a conversation with me about food, somewhere along the line, I've mentioned Nobu. I had always had an appreciation for good food, but it was Nobu that awakened the beast within. My first taste of Nobu was nothing short of a revelation - a turning point in my food life that redefined my culinary understanding and, consequently, ruined me for life. I will never forget the tastes and smells of that meal. Years later, I can still vividly recall my first bite of hamachi tartare, then wanting to lick my plate clean of the Matsuhisa dressing on my sashimi salad. I remember how the salty-sweet taste of saikyo miso perfectly complimented the rich butteriness of black cod, and how each dish appeared to be a visual work of art. I have since been back to Nobu several times - always a good experience - but nothing resonates quite like that first time. Now that I've exposed myself as totally biased... (I'll try to be objective. Really.)

So it is that I was thrilled to try out the newest branch of the Nobu empire during a trip to Hong Kong in December. Residing in the glorious InterContinental Hotel, it's just reaching the first anniversary of operation. Frankly, it's about time I went to check it out.

From what I've read, it seems like this restaurant has been received less enthusiastically than the New York and LA originals (see this review for example). Nevertheless, it's only fair that I reserve judgement for myself. I was dining with a few companions who graciously allowed me to select the courses for the evening (poor souls!). I wanted to hit a few of the classic Nobu signature dishes but also try out new menu additions and some of the Hong Kong special offerings. Here's how it shook out.

Menu:

Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño
Salmon New Style Sashimi
Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa
Creamy Spicy Prawn
Black Cod Saikyo Yaki
Toro Collar Steak
Nobu Style Fish and Chips
Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles
Sushi - House Special Roll, Hamachi, Unagi, Mackerel, Ama Ebi

A beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline sets the tone for the meal to come.

Yellowtail (Hamachi) Sashimi with Jalapeño - Starting out with one of my all-time Nobu favorites. This was perfectly executed and tasted fantastic. I love the combination of the creaminess of the hamachi, the saltiness of the soy, the zing of the jalapeno, and the brightness of the cilantro and yuzu. Just a fantastic dish.

Salmon New Style Sashimi - Another Nobu standard. Hot oil is poured over seasoned raw fish, creating a half raw-half cooked preparation that melts softly in the mouth. This dish was also executed well, although, I confess that I kept thinking that I should have ordered the Kobe beef rather than the salmon for this dish. My bad.

Hirame Sashimi with XO Salsa - This was a selection from the Hong Kong special section of the menu. While I did enjoy this dish, I had expected the XO salsa to pack more of a punch than it did. Hirame is rather bland and neutral as a raw item and I thought it could have been enhanced with a more flavorful garnish. I understand the philosophy of not wanting to overpower the natural flavors, but why go for pungent XO sauce in that case?

Creamy Spicy Prawn - I goofed and ordered this instead of the Rock Shrimp Tempura with Creamy Spicy Sauce (another of my Nobu faves), but it gave me the opportunity to try a different arrangement of the same flavors. This dish was fairly substantial, featuring 6 large prawns topped with enoki mushrooms and creamy spicy sauce (basically homemade spicy mayo). While the taste was great, I was a disappointed that the prawns were overcooked and dry. Perhaps it was carelessness during the final pass under the broiler (notice the sauce on top is browned), or maybe they were already toast by the time they got there. Whatever the case, this shouldn't happen at a place like this. I didn't complain though, and give them a chance to remedy the problem. I have a hard time sending food back - it's just such a waste.

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki - Ah yes, the famed Black Cod with Miso. And with this dish, we were squarely back on track. The butteriness of the Black Cod (which isn't really Cod, but Sablefish) is a perfect foil for the sweetness of the miso glaze. And when the outside sugars are properly caramelized (as evidenced in this photo) and the inside is soft and moist... It was perfectly prepared. This dish so lives up to the hype.

Grilled Toro Collar - I had read that this recent addition to the Nobu menu was an instant sensation. Upon placing the order for this dish, the server advised me that it would have a strong fishy smell. Undeterred, I ordered it anyways. I suppose I thought that this would be similar to grilled hamachi collar I had eaten in the past - rich, tender, fatty flesh falling off of the bone. And toro being toro, I expected this to take the hamachi experience to the next level. Well, my inflated expectations did me in this time. It was, in fact, quite fishy, as I had been warned. There wasn't really a lot of fat in the meat, and it wasn't particularly soft in texture either. So 3 strikes. Considering that this costs twice the price of hamachi collar, I would stick with that next time.

Nobu Style Fish and Chips - Another newish menu addition I had read about. But this one delivered the Nobu experience. Cubes of golden yam and fish are formed into a terrine-like mold before being breaded, fried, and topped with a tartar sauce-like garnish. Crispy and delicious, each bite gets you that classic fried fish taste but also a bit of potato. So good, and unexpected from the outside appearance. I wish I had taken a photo of the inside of one of these lovely morsels, but they disappeared too fast.

Japanese Cabbage Steak with Truffles - I like the idea of taking something as pedestrian as cabbage and pairing it with something so over-the-top. The combination of the black truffles and the cabbage was remarkably good. The earthiness of the truffles really enhanced the subtle sweetness of the cabbage. My only complaint here was that the cabbage was not quite cooked as much as I would have liked. I suppose it's a matter of personal taste, but there was still a crunchy raw characteristic to it wheras I feel that a little more roasting would have softened the texture and enhanced the sweetness a bit more. Not to mention that this was being roasted in a wood burning oven, so there would have been additional flavor from longer exposure as well.

Assorted Sushi - House Special maki, with unagi, hamachi, saba, and ama ebi nigiri. Since I was lucky enough to choose, I made sure to hit a few of my favorites. The house special roll combines a bevy of fresh fish and is wrapped in a hand-cut paper thin sheet of daikon (now those are some serious knife skills!). A healthy dose of wasabi was the perfect compliment to the tasty sweet shrimp, but the hamachi and saba were utterly sublime and stole the show (mackerel can be strong and fishy sometimes, but this piece was awesome - as expected at this venue). The only disappointment was the eel - which tasted nothing like the fine specimen I ate on my very first Nobu visit - yes, even the eel blew my mind that day. This piece was not as fresh tasting, and the texture was not the fluffy perfection that I had expected.

At the end of the meal, my party and I were overall quite satisfied. There were some huge hits (hamachi with jalapeno, black cod with miso, Nobu style fish and chips) which were enough to outweigh the misses (toro collar, overcooked prawn). It appeared that the core essence of Nobu cuisine was indeed alive and well at the Hong Kong branch. I suppose if I have the chance to eat there again, I would stick to these classic dishes and sushi, which were all fantastic. It would be a stretch to classify dinner here as a great value proposition, but the quality of the raw ingredients is second to none. Of course, charging such high prices invites careful scrutiny. I doubt that any of the nitpicky complaints I mentioned would be quite as troubling at half the price.

Bottom line - if you want to see what Nobu is all about, don't be afraid to head over and give this branch a try. But do yourself a favor and choose the basic Omakase (chef's choice), where you will get a house selection of the signature dishes of Nobu Matsuhisa. Just make sure to consult with your server on any particular likes or dislikes if necessary. All said and done, I think my previous Nobu experiences have not clouded my judgement here, but rather have invited me to be even more critical than I otherwise might have been.

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Kyoto Leftovers: Mishima Beef, Grocery Store Sushi, & Plastic Food

2008-02-17T13:58:00.011-05:00

Some leftovers from my um, world famous (ahem...) Kyoto in Photos series. Most of these were taken while shopping at Takashimaya. Other food shopping photos can be found in my Nishiki Market post. Enjoy!

Mishima Beef at the basement grocery store in Takashimaya. Just stunning quality here.

The fat marbling on this Mishima Beef strip loin (aka top loin, NY strip) is unbelievable. The great tragedy was that I had no place to cook this, so I had to pass it up.

More Mishima Beef. This is ribeye, and is quite pricey at over $100/lb. It looks so good I want to cry.

The ulitmate insult - I found this piece of superb quality beef at a convenience store!!! Even the cheapo stores in Kyoto sell great meat!

A huge block of otoro - fatty tuna belly. This is another of my personal faves. Looks like this piece is about $100/lb.

The fish section at Takashimaya's grocery store had an array of single nigiri sushi pieces for sale at about $0.45 a piece. I grabbed a few pieces for a quick afternoon snack.

I also snagged a few other pieces of sashimi for dinner. At closing time, all sashimi/sushi is marked down to clear out inventory. Freshness is key for items eaten raw, and would be compromised by letting inventory sit overnight. I happened to time my visit perfectly to grab some otoro on the cheap (center). Buri (from a large hamachi - left) and some unknown whitefish (right) complete the set. Ice packs, wasabi, soy sauce, sudachi, and chopsticks were all included for no additional charge.

Look at that amazing marbling of the tuna belly! If you can even find it, this stuff goes for about $12 a slice at a good sushi restaurant in the States. After the discount, I got all of the above sashimi slices for less than that!

The grocery shop at Takashimaya department store has an indoor wood grill. A (very warm) cook uses it to prepare yakitori (grilled chicken skewers).

While in Japan, I discovered the existance of a whole new industry - plastic food modeling. Many restaurants have giant window displays showing detailed models of each menu item.

The variety of options here is stunning. Actually, what's really stunning is how detailed and accurate these models appear. Meat has sear marks, soup broth is translucent, and those fried shrimp look crispy and delicious.

Welcome Baby Greyson!

2008-01-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

Today we take a break from all things food and travel to share some great news.

After waiting 8 days past his due date, Greyson David has finally arrived! He was born on Jan. 21 in the wee hours (he chose to come at 4:01AM, just as I had predicted). He weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 19" long. Mom is doing well, and his big sister Elisabeth is "soooo excited!" to meet him (and feed him, and hold him, and help change him...). He is quite a handsome fellow, and has already captured our hearts.

So life with 2 kids officially begins. We are managing okay so far. It's definitely an adjustment, but not quite the same as going from none to one. Anyways, let's get to the photos!

Just a few minutes old here. He was alert, looking all around right from the start.

Mom gives a well deserved kiss to her little man.

What a good looking guy!

Time for another nap.

Wow - I'm sure not in Kansas anymore!

Elisabeth couldn't wait to meet her little brother. She held him, fed him, and gave him lots of kisses and hugs.

Ready to go home. Mom sure looks great, doesn't she!

Kyoto in Photos: Random Photos While Out and About

2008-01-19T10:32:00.003-05:00

Part 10 of 10

Finally finishing up this series, I have a collection of random bits and bobs, stuff I thought would be fun to share but just didn't warrant an individual post. Enjoy!

Shops line the street heading up the hill towards Kiyomizu Temple (can be seen in the distance). The shops were full of souveneirs, snacks and treats. Unfortunately, many were closed as I went first thing in the morning.

Another picturesque shop-lined street. This one was somewhere along the walk north from Kiyomizu to the subway station.

A small temple along the road. I passed by countless places like this one while walking around.

This restaurant front is representative of the typical street level architecture style in Kyoto. Notice the sliding wooden doors, the tile roof, and the paper lantern. This place was along Pontocho St.

Gion - famous entertainment district in Japan. There are still two Geisha houses operating here.

Gion is still a popular nightlife destination with many restaurants and clubs. Here is a typical view of the street after dark.

An array of paper lanterns at the Teramachi Shopping Arcade

KFC's Colonel Sanders as his Japanese alter ego - Samurai Sandozu

At least they're not afraid to call a pig a pig

The snack section at a Kyoto convenience store. If dried squid just isn't your thing, maybe some Pista - chios (seen in lower left) would be a better choice.

Sign seen in the window of an ice cream shop at Kinkakuji. Seems the welcome isn't quite as warm as intended.

Fountain Drink Machine - Equally adept at pouring cold fountain sodas or making a hot coffee.

Pocari Sweat Machine - What trip to Japan would be complete without partaking of a nice cold bottle of Sweat? Not a one, I think.

Alien Noodle Machine - Hot noodles is fairly straightforward (in Japan, anyways)... But what's with the aliens?

Necktie Machine - How convenient! I mean, seriously, how many times have you been on your way to work when you realize that you forgot your necktie? You can also stock up on SD cards, disposable cameras, and lithium batteries here. You know, just in case.

Kyoto in Photos: The Imperial Palace

2008-01-16T01:28:00.000-05:00

Part 9 of 10

Place: Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho)

Getting there: Take the subway to Imadegawa Station (this stop is closest to the office where you need to register). Allow a solid 10 minutes for the walk.

Essential Information: The Imperial Palace in Kyoto was home to the royal family from the early 1300's until the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1868. Like many other places in Kyoto, fires have struck periodically over the years, requiring repeated reconstructions. The current main hall was built in 1855, and is representative of Heian style architecture. The Palace grounds are open to visitors, however, without advance tour reservations, entrance to the palace is not permitted. Fortunately, the tour is free and it is easy to register online.

My Take: I almost missed out on seeing the Palace. The walk from the subway station took a bit longer than I was expecting (even halfway running the entire way), so I was late and missed the tour group at the office. When I finally got there, I realized that I had forgotten to print out my reservation paper. Security would not let me through, and there were some miscommunications due to the language barrier. I was finally able to convey that I had, in fact, preregistered and received permission for the visit, but simply did not have the document handy. This realization seemed to shock the man into action, so he brought me over to another guard post and looked up my passport. Soon after, the guards were all smiles, letting me in and bowing profusely. All's well that ends well!

One of the side gates of the Palace. This one would typically be used by the servants.

One of the minor buildings in the complex, the Shunkoden. It was actually built in 1915 for the coronation ceremony of Emperor Taisho. It was the first such ceremony that foreign dignitaries were allowed to attend. With some type of mossy/algae growth all over the wooden roof, it looks like it needs a little maintainance.

A view of the Shishinden, the main hall of the Imperial Palace. Much of the ceremony surrounding the Emperor and his official business was conducted here. The Emperor's throne is also inside. Tour visitors are not allowed inside the courtyard, so I had to take this photo through an opening in a gate.

The brilliant vermillion of the courtyard gate contrasts with the silver-grey roof tiles. And for once, the sky was actually blue!

Strolling around the Palace grounds, I was struck by how much wood is used in the construction of these buildings. The craftsmanship is absolutely superb. But it's no wonder that fire has been a brutal enemy over the centuries.

The Seiryouden, or refreshing hall, was the earliest living quarters for the Emperor while at the Palace. Quarters for visiting dignitaries were also located here.

A closeup of the magnificent cedar roof, used throughout the complex on most of the main structures.

A cutaway model shows how many many thin strips of cedar bark are layered to create a thick roof surface. I read somewhere that these roofs can last for 70 years before needing replacement.

These steps lead up to the Kogosho, another of the Palace's halls.

The side platform of one of the verandas. The brass(?) plate is adorned with a chrysanthemum, the flower of the Imperial Seal of Japan.

In this hallway, you can see the floor is covered with tatami mats. Again, the beauty of the natural wood is evident.

Most of these are sliding doors, and are also removable, typically done during warmer months. The inner doors are covered with rice paper (shoji), which allows light in, but provides privacy.

A last view of the inner Palace grounds through one of the exit gates

A bridge in the Oikeniwa Garden

A view of the moss garden

The pond and pebble beach are the distinguishing characteristics of the Oikeniwa Garden

Kyoto in Photos: Nishiki Food Market

2008-01-14T12:54:00.002-05:00

Part 8 of 9

Place: Nishiki Food Market

Location: Near the city center. Nishiki Market runs parallel to Shijo Dori, one block to the north. Nishiki's eastern end is perpendicular to Teramachi Shopping Arcade, also worth a visit. Take the subway to Shijo for easiest access.

Essential Information: Nishiki is a huge food market in the center of Kyoto. Just about any food item can be found here, from raw fish, to bean curd, Kyoto style pickled veg, grilled meats & fish, fruit, sweets, etc. Its location makes it the ideal place to stop for lunch while out sightseeing. The history of the market extends back some 400 years, with many shops still owned and operated by their founding families.

My Take: I absolutely loved this place! All imaginable manner of edible items are on full display, some already prepared, and some for bringing home to cook with. Honestly, Nishiki was fairly overwhelming, considering I had budgeted only enough time to stop in and grab a bite to eat. I was manic as I ran from shop to shop, taking in the sights and smells, trying to choose something to have for lunch, not wanting to miss a single thing. Looking at my photos afterwards, I was disappointed that I wasn't able to capture the essence of the market as well as I would have liked. I took too many closeups and not enough wide angle shots (well, not any, really :( ). I was like my 2-year old on Christmas, running from booth to booth, pausing just long enough to gorge my eyes and catch my breath before darting off to the next shop. I mean seriously, this place is several city blocks long (about a quarter of a mile!). How can anyone hope to take it all in in such a short time?

One of many shops offering both raw materials (I believe fish, in this case) and prepared foods. This one in particular had the luxury of a seating area, which was pretty rare in the market area.

Although these look and feel like wood, they are actually blocks of katsuobushi, or fermented dried bonito (skipjack tuna) fish. This was the first time I had seen dried bonito in its whole form.

The blocks of katsuobushi are shaved into micro-thin flakes (looks kind of like fish food) which are then used, typically with dried konbu (a type of seaweed) to make dashi soup stock - a basic building block of Japanese cuisine.

The quality and variety of fresh sea creatures available was astounding. I liked the propensity of the fishmongers to splay the fish open, like these great looking eels.

Of course, in my euphoric stupor, I took two photos of eels, neglecting scores of other items I could have snapped. But hey, eels are underused, in my opinion, and are quite tasty.

I did manage to capture these beautiful squid though...

Lots and lots of fish, grilled on skewers

Loose tea for sale

Chestnuts, fresh off the tree and still in their cupules

Kyoto is known for its variety of vegetable pickles. The ones here are preserved with salt and miso.

These are pickles too, but look quite different. Whole cucumbers are packed in a much wetter miso paste in this type.

With this huge array of choices, I picked teriyaki chicken??? I was starving, as you can tell by the bite mark I made before taking this picture. And this semi-boneless chicken leg was seriously off the hook good. And cheap too.

Kyoto in Photos: Ryoanji Temple

2008-01-13T09:57:00.000-05:00

Part 7 of 10

Place: Ryoanji Temple

Getting there: Ryoanji is in the northwest part of the city, close to Kinkakuji, so plan to visit the two on the same excursion. I walked there from Kinkakuji, but you won't be missing anything if you take the bus from Kinkakuji-mae to Ryoanji-mae.

Essential Information: The grounds at Ryoanji have been home to a temple since 983, although it was used as a retirement estate for nobles for a time after. It was rebuilt to its current state at the end of the 15th century, following the Onin Wars. It is believed that the acclaimed rock garden was added at this time, although its creator is not clear. The rock garden consists of 15 moss covered stones, placed in 5 groupings on a bed of white pebbles and sand. There is no viewing angle where all 15 rocks can be seen at once. By tradition, only when one becomes enlightened will all the stones be revealed. The walls of the garden are made of clay formed by boiling in oil. Over the years, oil has leached out, creating interesting black patterns on the orange clay walls. The rock garden is the most important example of karesansui (dry landscape) design, and is said to be the perfect expression of Zen philosophy. Many consider Ryoanji's rock garden to be the single most important cultural work in all of Japan. Ryoanji is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

My Take: I was getting pretty tired when I arrived at Ryoanji. Excited to see a real rock garden, I was a little surprised to see how small it was, considering all the hype. I sat down to take in the scene, and snap a few photos. The pamphlet I received upon entering the temple encouraged visitors to be still and contemplate the meaning of the stones - their placement, how the sunlight hits them, the moss. It also said to look at the oil patterns on the walls, saying how no man had designed them. Of course, we should look for their meaning through meditation. Maybe it was because I was so tired (and this was my last stop), but I sat in quiet, staring at these rocks for a good long while. I don't think I came to any profound realizations, but I did enjoy the peace and quiet of the place. In fact, looking back, I now think that this was one of my favorite places I was able to visit.

A Small building along the path to the main temple

The rock garden. Measuring at only about 100' by 33', it was not as big as I was expecting. However, the viewing platform is so close that it doesn't seem possible to fit the entire garden in a single photo. This was about as good as I could do.

Three groupings of rocks at the far west end of the garden. Notice the oil stained clay walls in the back of the garden. What does it mean? Call me crazy, but maybe it means that we shouldn't mix oil with clay.

The group of rocks at the east end of the garden

A view of the wooden observation platform. The smoothness and coolness of the wood floors were strangely comforting to my tired feet (visitors are required to remove their shoes prior to entering the temple).

A closeup of three of the rock groupings. The sand is raked to perfection every day. Notice the perfect patterns around the rock islands.

A long view across the rock garden from the other end. Still can't see all 15 rocks though... If only I had a satellite handy!

Rats! Even from space, I can make out only... 5 rocks??? So much for technology. Expand map here.

An example of typical artwork inside the temple. I saw many temples like this, but most do not allow photos inside. Notice the traditional tatami mats on the floor. These woven straw mats help to soften the floor, and keep feet cool in the summer, and warm in the winter.

Behind the main temple is the Tsukubai water basin. It was donated to the temple by a member of the ruling Tokugawa family. The inscription is read clockwise from the top, but the square in the center is intended to be used as a part of each character. It translates to something like, "I learn only to be contented," a belief at the heart of Zen philosophy.

The deep green color of the moss garden, near the rock garden

Covered with water lilies, the nobles used to enjoy boating on the Kyoyochi pond. Daishu-in, a minor temple, can be seen in the photo.

Kyoto in Photos: Fushimi Inari Shrine

2008-01-10T23:27:00.000-05:00

Part 6 of 10

Place: Fushimi Inari Taisha (Shrine)

Getting there: Just southwest of Kyoto Station. I took a bus there, but they run infrequently. The train is a better option. Get on the JR Nara line at Kyoto Station and get off at the JR Inari Station stop.

Essential Information: Fushimi Inari Shrine is dedicated to Inari, traditionally the Japanese god of rice (and sake). Over time, followers' prayers to Inari have shifted away from agricultural concerns towards modern industry and business. It is the largest and most important Inari shrine of the 40,000 in Japan. Fushimi Inari is known for its torii, traditional Shinto gates, which have mostly been donated by business people to recognize success (or petition for it).

My Take: You might recognize this place if you have seen Memoirs of a Geisha (um, ahhhh, not that I have or anything...). There is a ridiculous number of torii here (over 10,000), creating a series of walking paths through the wooded grounds. The guidebooks all say to come here to experience the stillness of the woods as the sun sets, but I came first thing in the morning and got the same experience. I barely saw any other people, so it was relaxing and serene. Unfortunately, the morning sun is at the wrong angle for photos, but I did my best!

Looking through the torii near the entrance to the shrine

Another torii, with steps leading towards the rear of the shrine

An old stone with Japanese writing. I would love to tell you what it says... But I have no clue. I just thought the moss growing on the stone made it interesting.

Thousands of torii line pathways through the woods

Torii, a symbol of prosperity, are often donated in celebration of or hope for acheiving success in business. Donors typically add an inscription, sometimes containing their name.

Looking through yet another torii towards the main part of the shrine

The main hall

A fox peers across the shrine's courtyard. Foxes are thought to be messengers of Inari, and are thus located frequently throughout the shrine.

The front gate, as seen through a torii

Kyoto in Photos: Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji

2008-01-07T21:55:00.000-05:00

Part 5 of 10

Place: Kinkakuji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
Location: North-west of the city center. Take the bus to the Kinkakuji-machi or Kinkakuji-mae stop.

Essential Information: Originally built in 1397 as a private retirement estate for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the golden pavilion became a Buddhist temple upon his death according to his wishes. The original building was destroyed by an arsonist in 1950, but has been reconstructed. Kinkakuji is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My Take: Kinkakuji seems like a pretty popular place. It seemed like it was the busiest and most crowded place I visited in Kyoto. The temple is stunning in appearance, and is obviously photogenic, as evidenced by the results of even an amateur like me. In particular, the stillness of the pond (named Mirror Pond, ironically) reveals a perfect reflection of the golden pavillion.

The Golden Pavillion gets its name from the gold leaf that covers its outer surface.

The pavillion and it's reflection in the Mirror Pond. The small rock islands and manicured trees add visual interest.

I mentioned that Kinkakuji is one of the most popular tourist sights in Kyoto. I present as evidence exhibit A: Here is one of maybe a dozen or so school groups on a class trip to Kinkakuji the morning I was there. As you can see, Japanese fashion is, well, different.

And of course, there's the garden. The lush green of the ground covering is not grass, but a carpet of soft moss. The moss is cared for and maintained by hand, even down to the individual plant level.

Place: Ginkakuji (Temple of the Silver Pavilion)

Location: North-east area of Kyoto. Take the bus to Ginkakuji-mae stop.

Essential Information: As his grandfather built the Golden Pavillion, Ashikaga Yohimasa built Ginkakuji as a place for rest and relaxation. There are also interesting gardens here, particularly the sand and rock garden. Ginkakuji is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Brief Note: It's called the Silver Pavillion, but there's no silver. Not that I was disappointed by this - I read about that ahead of time. Apparently the place was so relaxing that Yoshimasa never got around to putting the metal up. The sand garden was something else, though, and is interesting enough by itself to warrant a visit.

This 2 foot high, 1.75 acre sand sculpture is known as the Sea of Silver Sand (Ginshanden). It is supposed to represent a sea. It's shape was so perfect, that I imagined it must be a permanent construction. In actuality, the sand is loose, and it is reshaped each and every day by the temple's staff (see here). Notice the couple in kimono looking over the sand garden.

This 2 meter tall cone-like sculpture is called the Moon Viewing Platform, but I wouldn't try standing on it if I were you. It is said that on a full moon night, the conical surface reflects moonlight and illuminates the Silver Pavillion.

The Silver Pavillion. Unlike his grandfather, Ashikaga Yoshimasa never got around to coating his pavilion with precious metal.

Another lovely garden scene. This is the Moon Watching Fountain. The narrow stream creates a pattern of ripples over the surface of the pond which will make the reflection of the moon dance. Notice the Japanese maple leaves at top center.

Continuing through the garden leads to a short climb up a hill. From the top, there is a great view of the Ginkakuji grounds, with a backdrop of Kyoto behind.

Kyoto in Photos: Kiyomizu Temple

2008-01-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

Part 4 of 10

Place: Kiyomizu-dera

Address: 294 1-chome Kiyomizu Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

How to get there: Take the bus to the Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka. Walk uphill to the temple.

Essential Information: The home of the Hosso sect of Buddhism, this temple was founded around 789, but the current buildings date to 1633. One of the most famous sites in Kyoto (and all of Japan, for that matter), Kiyomizu is a must-visit for even a one-day itinerary. Kiyomizu-dera is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My Take: The walk up to the temple from the bus stop passes by many interesting shops. Make sure to poke your head inside and pick up some souveneirs or Japanese confections. The temple itself looks like something out of a movie - it delivers the experience and feeling of traditional Japan. I ended up seeing a bunch of temples, but this one was definately one of my favorites.

After a 10 minute walk up the hill, the temple is finally in sight. The building on the right houses an old bell, while the right is the temple's pagoda.

And here is the bell...

A fountain with a statuette of some sort look over the steps at th entrance to the temple. "Mizu" meaning water in Japanese, it only makes sense that H2O is of great importance at Kiyomizu temple.

Not really sure what this building is, but it sure looks cool. It appears to be fairly new, as can be seen by the unweathered wood. Seems like a good point to mention that there is an unbelievable number of buildings crafted of wood throughout the city.

I know, I know... I thought the same thing too. Why are these gravestones wearing aprons? But actually, these are little statues of Ksitigarbha (or Jizo, in Japanese). It has something to do with Buddhisim.

Visitors to the temple traditionally will pick up one of these cups and drink or pour water over their hands as a cleansing ritual.

The main structure is supported by a mammoth wooden terrace, composed of hundreds of beams (each larger than a telephone pole) using no nails. This is the distinguishing feature of Kiyomizu, and makes this one of Kyoto's most visited places.

Kyoto in Photos: Nijo Castle

2007-12-31T20:45:00.000-05:00

Part 3 of 10

Place: Nijo Castle

How to get there: It's just west of the city center. Take the bus to Nijo-jo Mae bus stop or take the subway to Oike Station.

Essential Information: First built in 1603 by order of the first Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, as his Kyoto residence and defenseive position. Modifications were completed in 1626, but some of the original castle was destroyed over the years by fire. The main building, Ninomaru Palace, is open for visitors, but no photos are allowed inside. There is also a beautiful garden (like everywhere else in Kyoto, it seems).

My Take: The palace is famous for a security feature called the "nightingale floor," where nails have been placed below the floorboards in a way such that when pressure is applied to the floor, the nails scrape the wood creating a squeaking sound (like a nightingale). This was done to prevent an intruder from being able to sneak into the palace undetected. As I was walking through the palace (with a hundred or so other people) I could hear in the background what sounded like a flock of birds chirping away. So it still works today - pretty cool!

A guard tower stands above the moat and outer wall of the castle complex

The Kara Mon, or, Chinese Gate and its' ornate decorations. The Ninomaru Palace can be seen behind it.

Ninomaru Palace, the main building of the castle grounds. It is here where the Shogun and his guards stayed.

The famous Nightingale Floor. Notice how the nails stick up into the floorboards, primed to screech with the slightest pressure.

There are many beautiful gardens in Kyoto, but this one was one of my favorites

A map of the castle grounds shows a fort protected by a moat within a fort protected by another moat. I guess it's good to be extra careful sometimes. The main building at the bottom is the Ninomaru Palace. The one inside the second moat is the secondary palace, Honmaru.

A view of the extended castle grounds. The Honmaru Palace is the building on the right.

Kyoto in Photos: Heian Jingu Shrine

2007-12-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

Part 2 of 10

Place: Heian Jingu Shinto Shrine

Address: Nishi Tennocho, Okazaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan

Essential Information: The Heian Shrine is relatively new (by Kyoto standards), having been built in 1895 to honor the 1100th anniversary of the establishment of Kyoto (formerly called Heian-kyo). The Shrine honors two emperors of great importance in Kyoto's history - Emperor Kammu, who was responsible for moving the capital to Kyoto in 794, and Emperor Komei, the last to rule from this city before the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1868. The Shrine is open year round, and admission to the grounds is free. A nominal fee is required for entrance to the garden.

My Take: The architecture and gardens were beautiful and tranquil. It was cloudy and rainy the afternoon I visited, which added to the stoic feel of the place.

The torii (gate) leading to the Shrine is the largest in all of Japan

The main entrance to Heian Jingu

Inside the courtyard is the main hall, which was built as a scaled down replica of Kyoto's original imperial palace

One of the corner end structures

There I am, walking across the water on some stone pillars (actually reused from the footings of a 16th century Kyoto bridge). It was amazing to see the attention to detail in the trimming and shaping of the trees.

A stone pagoda standing in front of a Japanese maple tree

The view across the lake shows a wooden covered bridge and another hall

The mastery of carpentry skills is on full display here, as the bridge is made of perfectly smooth natural wood, and is built without using any nails

A small hall used for traditional tea ceremonies

Kyoto in Photos: Introduction

2007-12-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

Part 1 of 10

I have been fascinated by Japan for several years now, but had never had the opportunity to visit until now. If I was only going to stay a couple of days there, Kyoto with it's history and culture were an easy choice. Besides, practically speaking, 2 days is barely enough time to get the flavor of a place, so I wanted to make constructive use of every possible moment. With literally thousands of historical sights in and around Kyoto (including a staggering 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sights), this was the ideal place to go. I even stayed at a hotel located inside Kyoto Station (rail, bus, and subway all in one place!) so I wouldn't waste time "commuting" each day.

The inside of super-modern looking Kyoto Station. The photo was taken as I was exiting the Hotel Granvia Kyoto, the ideal place to use as the homebase for my trip.

Although I don't speak Japanese, I've collected a handful of useful phrases over the years. And it was awesome that I finally got the chance to use them. People (especially in the service industry) generally speak enough English to communicate, but it was fun to throw down in the local tongue.

In the 2 days I spent in Kyoto I managed to cover quite a few of the key sights and experiences. I had pretty high expectations going in, but Kyoto beat them all quite easily. I went a little nuts and took about 300 photos. Don't worry though, I've picked out only the best ones and put together a sort-of photo journal to share with you. I'll try to keep my comments brief and let the photos speak for themselves. Hopefully they can show just a little of the beauty and intrigue that make Kyoto such a captivating place.

Merry Christmas 2007

2007-12-25T20:16:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a happy and blessed Christmas season. With a little one in the house, the excitement is off the charts here! I've cobbled together a few photos to share some of our joy with you all. Merry Christmas!!!

Elisabeth and Mommy (with baby Greyson tagging along) decorating the Christmas tree (of course it's real).

Elisabeth helping Daddy put snowflake ornaments up on the tree.

"I'm gonna rip the paper off, Daddy!"

Elisabeth loves her Play-Doh! at least, for about 0.3 seconds before saying "I wanna open another one, daddy!" I think of all the presents she got, her favorite was 'the next one.'

And then, of course, there's dinner. Standing rib roast (dry aged at home, using a variation on Alton Brown's method) with rosemary & red wine jus. Notice the deep red coloration on the beef as well as the nice intramuscular fat marbling.

Roasted to medium doneness (warm and pink throughout) - perfect for my holiday guests.

Even Daddy had a good year. I even got a gift from my good friend Paps. What a guy!

It was a beautiful white Christmas. Elisabeth and daddy played outside and made a " 'noh man"

Tankuma: A Taste of Kyoto's Kaiseki Cuisine

2007-12-07T00:59:00.000-05:00

When traveling to a new place, it always pays to have some insider knowledge. I was lucky to meet up with a friend in Kyoto who had lived there for a few years. I mentioned that I wanted to experience a Kyoto specialty - a Kaiseki dinner. There are scores of places in Kyoto offering this special type of traditional meal, and the cost can be outrageously high. But my friend took me to Tankuma, which offers a 9 course mini-kaiseki menu for a very reasonable price. There are a few locations in and around Kyoto, but we went to one inside the Takashimaya department store (located near the intersection of Shijo and Kawaramachi, on 7th floor of the store).

Kaiseki cuisine originated as a means to provide sustenance following a traditional tea ceremony, but has evolved to become a highly refined cuisine artform. Seasonal ingredients of the highest quality are the featured elements of any true Kaiseki menu. Many small courses are presented, with meticulous attention devoted to freshness and preparation. Selections usually include an appetizer, sashimi, soup, grilled fish, rice, and dessert; however, more courses can be included at the chef's discretion, but are sequenced to follow a traditionally defined progression. Visual appeal is of great importance in Kaiseki-ryori, often using natural elements like flowers and foliage to add color and interest to a plate, as well as using colorful service pieces. It is typically called "vegetarian," although fish is generally used liberally throughout (true vegetarian Kaiseki is also available, if you really need it).

There is little available information in English about Tankuma, but at 5250 yen, the kaiseki set menu I was served was a steal. Cue the footage...

First Plate (1st and 2nd courses) - The visual statement struk me immediately as the first courses were placed in front of me.

First course: sashimi of tuna (maguro), red snapper (tai), and squid (ika). Each was perfectly fresh and tender. The squid in particular had a fantastic texture where a firm bite gave way to a silky, soft interior that melted away - it's clean flavor was matched perfectly with freshly grated wasabi.

Second Course: (from left) spinach with sesame dressing, grilled chicken and vegetable skewer with cucumber pickle, vinegared whitefish pressed sushi (oshizushi) wrapped in bamboo leaf, roasted chestnut, and grilled fish cake.

A closeup of the unwrapped sushi. The rice was perfectly prepared (one of the most underrated aspects of good sushi) - each grain of rice was soft but firm to the bite, not too sticky but holding the formed shape. The vinegar seasoning was subtle with a touch of sweetness, creating a balance that enhanced, rather than overpowered the flavor of the fish.

Second Plate (3rd and 4th courses) - Tempura and soup. The soup featured a dashi broth with seasonal vegetables, mushroom, yuba bean curd, and fish (it had tiny bones left in, but was sliced with hundreds of paper-width slices to break them up). A slice of sudachi was provided to squeeze into the soup.

Third Course: Tempura - The tempura was fried to a light, crisp texture. Items included sweet green pepper (much milder flavor than green bell peppers), squid steak (same item as the sashimi preparation earlier, with fantastic results as a fried item as well), squash, and shrimp (one shrimp was wrapped in a shiso leaf, which made for a great splash of flavor - I would liken shiso to basil in terms of the pungency it adds, but the flavor is totally different). Coarse grained salt and ponzu were also provided as dipping sauces.

Third Plate (5th - 8th courses) - (clockwise from botton-left) Stemaed rice, broiled eel, seaweed salad with crabmeat, Japanese pickle assortment, clear soup with fish cake, steamed fish custard. The grilled eel was outstanding - fresh, soft, and moist, the texture and flavor were superior to the pre-made version used at typical sushi restaurants. There was also a nice sweetness that provided depth of flavor when eaten with the steamed rice. If there was one item that was not in the butter zone, it was the seaweed salad. Tiny strands of sea vegetable were suspended in a gelatinous broth that reminded me of (so sorry to do this to you...) snot. The crabmeat was sweet and delicious however. Kelp, gourd, and cucumbers made up the pickle selection. These are a Kyoto specialty, and are usually eaten with the rice. The clear soup was mild, and acted sort of as a palate cleanser. I was surprised by the custard, which was flavored with bonito shavings and contained a piece of steamed fish at the bottom. It was tasty and unexpected (for me, anyways).

Fourth Plate (9th course) - Vanilla ice cream with pomello. As good as this was, it seemed so simple to me compared with the intricacy of the previous courses. Perhaps it is a final statement on the philosophy of Japanese cuisine, whatever that means.

Admittedly, this was my first taste of traditional Kaiseki food,so I have no true reference for comparison. That said, I was thoroughly impressed. I've been to more modern Japanese places (see Nobu), but this was my first encounter with the classic elements that make up the backbone of such acclaimed institutions. To prepare these courses and present them with such artistic beauty, a chef must have tremendous skill and discipline - this and the brightness of flavor from using such fresh ingredients were perhaps the most memorable elements of this experience for me. If I were in Kyoto again, I wouldn't hesitate to come back to this place. It seems an ideal place to get acquainted with the essence of classic Japanese cuisine - especially if you don't want to break the bank to do so.

One Night at Incheon

2007-12-04T00:47:00.002-05:00

My stay in Hong Kong was short lived - literally just enough time to eat dinner and head to the airport. I was heading to Japan on a personal visit, so I had decided to take the redeye in order to maximize my sightseeing time. 12:30am departure time, arriving in Incheon, South Korea at 5:00am. After a 5 hour stopover, I would depart for Osaka at 10am, arriving an hour and a half later at 11:30am.

I was taking Asiana Airlines, the second of South Korea's major airlines. For some reason I had been bumped up to first class, which was so money for an overnight flight like this. But a snack was on the agenda before putting those fold-flat seats through their paces. I had the choice of filet mignon dinner or Korean fare - Bi Bim Bap. Considering that I had just dined on great steak just four hours before, I opted to go local. I haven't really had much Korean food, so it was also an opportunity to try something new (even if it was just the airplane version).

Bi Bim Bap - sticky rice and sauteed vegetables, beef, chilli paste, and sesame oil. Mix it all together, and enjoy. There was also a bowl of kimchi, marinated dried silver anchovies (tiny translucent fish, each with a pair of dark black dots - yup, the eyes), and a soup. I was pretty impressed with the flavors represented. Some of the best airplane food I have eaten in a while, simple as this dish might be.

The Incheon airport is huge, which allows it to support a high volume of international traffic. There is a large transfer area, where continuing passengers like myself are allowed to hang out without having to pass through immigration & customs. The facilities are pretty extensive, including restaurants, an internet café, shopping, and even a transfer hotel where you can rent a small space to sleep during long layovers. There is also a transfer tour desk, where passengers with time to burn can get out of the airport and experience a taste of the local culture (options even include a trip to the DMZ, if that's your thing).

Korean Airlines planes await passengers at South Korea's Incheon International Airport.

Having spent half of my overnight flight eating, I was only able to sleep for about an hour and a half (facilitated, as it was, by those fold flat seats). So when we landed at Incheon at 5am, I was looking for a place to crash. I went to the transfer area and tried finding an empty couch, but legions of passengers like myself were already fast asleep in them. Okay... How about using the internet cafe? Nope, wasn't open yet. Hmmm.... Oh yeah, that's right! I'm in first class! So I headed to the Asiana lounge where they happily let me in.

No couches, but plenty of open seats. And snacks. Like I needed any more food at this point. I sat down and tried to get comfortable so I could nap a little. There was no place to rest my head, so no matter how I tried to contort myself, my neck would get sore within a couple of minutes. Also, as much as I wanted to fall asleep, I didn't want to miss my next flight. So there I was trying to nap with one eye closed, and the other staring at the clock on the wall. I ended up dozing off, but waking up paranoid every 5 minutes or so. Good times.

The boarding gate area was full of sleepy travelers like me.

A couple of long hours later, I had had enough, so I headed down to the gate area to peruse the shops and find my gate. After boarding (finally), I settled in to my spacious seat, turned on some Korean TV, and relaxed. Now, on a 10am flight, you would expect to be served breakfast, right? Once again, I was offered the choice of Korean food or filet mignion. This time, I caved and took the steak. I mean, it had been 14 hours or so since my last steak. I was practically going through withdrawals and needed a fix.

Yup, that steak looks rather grey on the outside. Surprisingly, however, it was cooked perfectly inside. A little smoked salmon, some veggies, potatoes, bread, and a lemon cake were thrown in for good measure. Not bad for breakfast.

The protein had given my energy a lift, but I still sat zombified throughout the remainder of the flight. I still had an hour plus train ride ahead of me, then to the hotel, and straight out to do some sightseeing. Hopefully, my arrival in Japan would just the thing to jumpstart my tired bones.

Wagyu (The Restaurant): Hong Kong's Aussie Steakhouse

2007-11-25T16:48:00.001-05:00

A little over a year ago, I was walking through Central in Hong Kong and I happened to pass by a construction site for a new restaurant. The sign said Coming Soon - Wagyu. Once an unknown term in the western world, the past few years have seen an explosion of wagyu beef offered at high end restaurants and shops. It has even trickled down to more humble venues, often in the form of a wagyu burger. The mission of Wagyu restaurant, as I would later read in one of those handy guide magazines the hotels give you, is to bring prime grade-9 Australian wagyu beef to the masses at a reasonable price. This was a mission I could fully support.

What exactly is wagyu, you ask? Well, literally, it means "Japanese cow." It should not surprise you, then, to learn that it refers to the family of cattle breeds native to Japan that are used to produce such famed products as Kobe beef, Mishima beef, Matsusaka beef, etc. - literally beef unlike anything most have ever seen. What makes wagyu cattle so special is the tendancy to develop high amounts of intramuscular fat, which is known as marbling. The fat is responsible for giving meat flavor as well as keeping it moist and juicy, so more fat = better meat. Interestingly, wagyu beef contains less artery clogging saturated fat than typical beef, and is rich with heart healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. So eat up.

The quality of a piece of beef is largely determined by the amount of marbling. Japanese Kobe beef is graded on a 12 point marbling scale. USDA Prime, the top US grade available, typically rates only a 5 on the Japanese scale. The highest grades of Japanese beef are more like fat streaked with meat (skip halfway down this page for photos), and can contain as high as 90%fat content! Meat like this should barely kiss heat, otherwise the fat will render out, creating a very expensive puddle. Wagyu cattle are now raised in limited numbers outside of Japan, mostly in Australia and the US, although in the US, they are often crossbred with American Angus cattle.

Ever since that chance enounter, I have been scouring the internet for info about Wagyu, with very little to show for it. They don't have a website (how can a business without a website even exist?). In fact, I could only find one review, but the writer made the unconscionable decision to not order the steak, skipping it in favor of fish. Um... Did anyone point out that this is a steak restaurant? With unusually high quality (not to mention hard to find) beef? The only option left was first-hand recon. I would have to go in myself. Fortunately, I was with some beef hungry friends last month while in HK, so I had the chance to make good on this plan.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor of The Centrium at 60 Wyndham St., a 10 minute walk or so from the new Star Ferry pier. Making the uphill walk to get there is a great way to work up an appetite, not to mention to take preemptive action against all those calories. The restaurant is tastefully decorated in typical modern restaurant style, with the front open to the street, giving it a quasi al-fresco kind of feel.

The menu offerings reflect the restaurant's Australian heritage (not like that other place), but within that culinary space are a fairly extensive selection of choices. A wide variety of hot (wagyu steak pie) and cold (wagyu carpaccio) appetizers are available, as well as many non-beef alternatives. Beef is priced by the cut and portion size (8, 10, or 12 oz). Australian Wagyu is, obviously, the house specialty, but there were other types of beef (Black Angus, for one) available as well. I was somewhat surprised to see that there were only a few different cuts of steak available. New York strip, my personal favorite (and likewise that of many beef aficionados), was inexplicably not on the menu (I asked the server). It was also surprising that the server didn't offer any explaination of the menu or the restaurant's namesake beef. I guess I expected them to showcase this fine product a bit more, especially with steak prices topping $100US. I took a pass on the filet (perhaps the most overrated piece of cow flesh) and settled on the 10 oz sirloin (don't even think about going past medium rare with meat like this). To accompany the steak, I added an order of the garlic-chilli chips and a bowl of mushy pea mash.

After a reasonable wait, the food was brought to the table. A selection of house made mustards and condiments was brought out to the table to accompany the steak. Everything looked fantastic, but I immediately realized that I had gone overboard on the potatoes. Not sure if I missed it on the menu or not, but I didn't realize that the steak would be served with roasted potatoes (and arugula salad, too, which was a nice touch). The garlic chilli chips looked great, so I was glad I had ordered those, but I had expected the mushy pea mash to be a pile of smashed peas, not mashed potatoes flavored with peas. At any rate, the server perhaps could have thought about my selections a bit and checked with me that all these spuds were on purpose.

You can see how juicy this steak is from this photo. Also on the plate are some mustard, the roasted potatoes, tomatoes, arugula salad, and portabello mushroom (it's hiding under the steak).

But potatoes schmotatoes - this dinner was all about the beef. One bite and I knew that this was truly exceptional meat. Tender and juicy, the steak melted in my mouth. Each bite delivered a buttery richness full of incredible beefy flavor. As nice as the mustards were, I preferred to eat the steak straight up, so that I could enjoy it unadulterated (what can I say, I'm a beef purist). Underneath the steak was a grilled portobello mushroom. It tasted fine, but didn't really enhance the steak for me. The arugula salad was nice and peppery, dressed with a mild vinaigrette. The chips were every bit as delicious as their crispy, golden exterior promised, with a mild chilli zing to tickle the tongue. I did also think the mash was tasty, but I would probably try something different next time for variety's sake.

These garlic chilli chips were totally GBD

Mushy pea mash was tasty - just not what I thought it would be

All said and done, I really enjoyed the food I ate here. The steak was fantastic, and the chips were also memorable. The pricing is comparable to other high end steakhouses in Hong Kong, perhaps even a little less. I would have liked to see a few more cuts of steak offered, however, and I just feel the service could be a little more in tune with the customer's needs. I would eat here again though without hesitation.

Bottom line: If you want super juicy, fantastic tasting steak, this place is worth a try.

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Was this writeup helpful to you? Want to share your Wagyu experience? Please leave a comment below.

A Taste of Hunan

2007-11-23T21:13:00.001-05:00

I was in Asia once again last month, but I'm just now getting around to posting some photos. I spent the first few days in China, briefly hit Hong Kong, and finally ended up in Kyoto, Japan for some sightseeing.

While in China, I was fortunate to have dinner with a friend from Hunan province. We were able to find a random Hunan style restaurant in downtown Dongguan City. Many westerners have heard of Sichuan (sometimes spelled Szechwan) cuisine, which is often misrepresented in American Chinese restaurants, but nevertheless correctly known for it's fiery spiciness. Most, however, are less familiar with Hunan cuisine, who's spiciness is equal to, if not stronger than that of Sichuan. I had never had the opportunity to eat Hunan style cooking before, but I was in for an interesting experience.

I took a few photos to give you an idea of what we had.

Beef, fresh chilli peppers, and cilantro - a fresh, light, and tasty dish (and oh yeah, spicy to boot).

Pig tails with fresh chillis, garlic, nuts, and an unknown Chinese vegetable - This dish had great flavor. The chunks of pig tail, however, had fairly tough skin, a microscopic layer of meat, and then a core of bone, so they were not exactly going to fill anyone up.

Duck feet with intestines and vegetables, served in a sizzling iron wok - No one eats duck feet to get full. There's maybe one or two bites of skin that can be gnawed off of these things before you are just pretending. It wasn't clear from the menu that this dish was going to have innards, so the intestines were somewhat of a surprise. Amazingly, despite all this, this dish had outstanding flavor. I can't tell you what was in that sauce, but I can tell you that it would make just about anything taste awesome.

Whole shrimp, fried and covered with 3 types of hot peppers - This dish was pretty straightforward. Heat was provided by the heaping mound of fresh cherry peppers, dried chillis, and the mouth numbing Sichuan peppercorn (typically used in Sichuanese cooking, oddly enough). I think this dish would make great stadium food - it's tasty, convenient to eat, and easy to pop down one after another. Of course, the heat adds up pretty fast.

For more Hunan food fun, see my report on Mao's Family Restaurant (Mao Jia Fan Dian).

Makin' Bacon

2007-11-02T08:12:00.000-04:00

Attention vegetarians - STOP READING THIS POST!!!!

Danger lies ahead. Not like many veg-heads are probably lurking on a blog with this title, but in all fairness, I have to offer a warning that today's subject matter may - well, might just cause you to question the validity of your own existance, or at the very least, induce a debilitating feeling of jealousy. And I just can't be responsible for that.

For the rest of us, we are talking, of course, about the great elixir of life - bacon.

Recently I bought Michael Ruhlman's book Charcuterie, a brilliant guide for the home cook - turned meat man. This well crafted collection of principles and techniques is a veritable encyclopedia of meat artistry. Techniques like salt curing, sausage making, confit are all in there, as well as a vital explaination of food safety concerns and how to avoid them. If you are at all interested in trying your hand at these time honored techniques, I can't reccomend this book enough. Although there are some complex and time consuming projects, there are plenty of relativly straightforward items to get you started. This was precicely the information I needed to take my meat game from foolish novice to... um, slightly less foolish novice.

Bacon caught my eye, as it doesn't require any special aging environment (still waiting for the basement to cool for the winter season). It's also still warm enough to justify standing outside for a few hours to babysit the smoker. Plus, who doesn't like bacon? There is a lot of time involved, but most of it is just waiting. It's acutally not too hard to make. Simply get a slab of pork belly, apply a cure, store in the fridge for a week, rinse and dry, smoke the cured belly (now called fresh bacon), and eat. See? Simple. The cure has some flexibility in the flavor department (maple syrup? black pepper? molasses?), but the elements of salt, curing salt, and brown sugar are essential to ensure safety and balance of flavor.

So after all this trouble, you ask, was it worth it? As my Scottish friend would say, it was the dog's bollocks!!! Rich with bacon-y goodness, it posessed a depth of flavor that is lacking in typical commercial bacon. Already, I'm thinking about my next batch once the 5 lbs I made are gone. At this rate, it might be just a couple of weeks away! I don't have to tell you, but the eating options are limitless. In the past week alone, I've used my bacon for:

- plain old bacon strips
- cobb salad
- chicken club sandwich (avocado makes this perfect)
- bacon and shrimp chowder
- and of course, the classic BLT

Let the photo essay begin!

Fresh pork belly, 5lbs - I used organic meat from a trusted supplier. Hey, if you're going through all the trouble of making your own bacon, the least you can do is start with the best possible meat.

Applying the cure. Special thanks to my daughter Elisabeth. Making homemade bacon at 2 years old... I'm so proud!

The cure is applied and rubbed in. Now the waiting starts.

7 days later... The curing is complete. Cure has been washed off and meat placed on an elevated rack to dry. A tacky, dry skin is called a pellicle, and is critical in order for the meat to absorb the smoke flavor.

Smoking in my cheap smoker. Hey - it gets the job done. I used cherry wood (happened to have on hand) and placed a pan of apple cider inside. I tried to maintain the temp at about 125. The bacon smoked for about 4 hours.

Out of the smoker. Looking good...

Ohhhhhhhhh... Aaaahhhhh. Excuse me. I just had a moment.

After baking in the oven (400 deg, about 10 minutes).

With this bacon, a BLT has never been better. Don't mess with a classic - bacon, crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, mayo, and, of course, decent bread.

Duck Sous Vide - A Cooking Experiment

2007-10-31T00:05:00.001-04:00

Sous Vide is not exactly a new cooking technique, but it is almost completely unknown in the home kitchen. It's scientific nature, not to mention the high startup cost for equipment, has largely relegated it's use to high end restaurant kitchens. But after watching this season of Top Chef where the winner, Hung, made liberal use of this technique, I was determined to give it a try.

In sous vide cooking, the raw items (usually some sort of protein) are placed in a plastic bag which is then vacuum sealed to remove all air and create a watertight seal. The bag is then placed in a water bath, heated to some precise temperature, and left for an amount of time chosen specifically to acheive some particular effect. Sounds complicated, but check out this example and you'll see how simple it really is.

Suppose you would like to cook a steak to a perfect medium rare (135 deg F internal temperature). Using traditional cooking methods, it can be tricky to know just when to take the meat off the heat. Too soon, and the steak will still be speaking to you. Too long, and you will be enjoying(?) a nice plate of sawdust. Even if you monitor the internal temperature, there is still carryover to worry about. Now instead, if you placed the steak in a vacuum sealed bag, heated a water bath to exactly 135 degrees, and placed the steak bag inside, in about 30 minutes, the steak will reach equilibrium with the water - that is to say that the entire piece of steak will be at 135 degrees. What's more, is that if you were to leave the steak in the water bath for an additional 30 minutes, the temperature would not increase at all! Thus, you will have a perfectly uniform piece of steak, cooked perfectly to medium rare throughout. And since the steak has not been subjected to harsh heat, the protein fibers will not tighten up and expel their moisture - meaning a more tender and juicy piece of meat. This is but one basic application of sous vide.

The tricky part is to keep the water bath at precisely the desired temperature. In some advanced sous vide techniques, a difference of even 1 degree could completely change the outcome. This is largely where the expensive startup costs come from. Some companies are now making dedicated equipment to manage the water temp (like Cuisine Technology's Thermal Immersion Circulators). At over $900, they are out of reach for the average home cook, but are fantastic gadgets nonetheless.

Vacuum sealers can be another money pit. Professional quality units are in the 4-figure range. Many on various internet forums have reported good results using the Food Saver (for about $100). Although sous vide is French for "under vacuum," the term is a little misleading. Yes, the food is packed in a vacuum sealed bag. But, the cooking itself does not take place in a vacuum.

Fortunately, I don't believe that you don't need any of this equipment to give sous vide a try. We can get around the need for a sophisticad circulator by using a large stockpot full of water. Since water has a high thermal mass, once you've stabilized the temperature at your chosen set-point, it should hold pretty steady for the amount of cooking time needed. A variation of a few degrees up or down won't hurt us if we're doing some basic sous vide cookery. And zip locking freezer bags sound like a poor man's substitue for a vacuum sealer to me.

So here's what you will need:

- large stock pot (the bigger the better)
- thermometer, with range down to 100F
- zip locking freezer bags
- plastic wrap
- stove (in this case, electric is preferable to gas, but whatever)

Before we get started, there are a few things we should keep in mind.

1. The temperature of the water bath will drop a few degrees when the protein is first added, since it will be coming directly out of the refrigerator. Plan for this by starting with a slightly higher water bath temp than the desired finishing temp.
2. Since the protein will not be exposed to high heat, it will not have a tasty brown crust on the outside. This can be fixed by quickly searing the meat on high heat once the sous vide cooking process is finished. But be careful - you've invested all this time and effort to bring your protein to the perfect doneness, so don't leave it on the heat for too long and foil this effort. A little oil and 30 seconds max heat exposure should do just fine.
3. If the water temp goes up too high - add cold water to correct. Likewise, you could add hot water if you need to quickly raise the temp.
4. It's a good idea to wrap your protein tightly in plastic wrap before placing in the freezer bag. This way, when you suck the air out of the bag and seal it, the plastic wrap will prevent you from inhaling raw meat juices - yuck! It's important to get as much air out of the bag as possible. Any residual air will cause the bag to float, and will not allow the protein to be in continuous contact with the water.
5. Use freezer bags, or something thicker, otherwise the bag may not be able to stand up to the heat. Also, it's best to stay away from the bags with the sliding zippers. They may close easier, but they are also prone to leaking.
6. It's also a good idea to stir the water frequently to prevent hot or cold spots.
7. Adding aromatics to the bag will perfume the protein as it cooks. But be careful of adding liquids as it makes it difficult to seal the bag properly.
8. I have to add that using this technique can be a strange experience for the senses. There are no sounds, no smells, and you are cooking meat in a water bath that you can safely plunge your hand into. It's just an odd feeling.

Got all that? Okay, let's roll.

Duck Breast Sous Vide

1 duck breast, skin removed and reserved
3 slices orange peel, julienned (skin only, no white part)
Fresh ginger, several paper thin slices
Salt and pepper

For the sauce
2 T Grand Marnier
1 C orange juice
1 C duck or chicken stock
1 t finely grated orange zest
2 T butter

Prepare the water bath by filling stockpot and heating the water to 145F. Mount the thermometer on the inside of the stock pot, so that you can continuously monitor the water temperature. Adjust the burner power so that the water temp is stabilized (for my stove, it was on 25% power - about medium low).

Season the duck breast with salt and pepper. Place on a sheet of plastic wrap and sprinkle top and bottom with orange peel and ginger. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place wrapped duck into a freezer bag. Suck out as much air as you possibly can and seal the bag.

Place bag in stockpot and let cook for 30 minutes, maintaining the water temp at 140F. Stir pot periodically to ensure that there are no hot spots. Also make sure that the protein is completely submerged.

While duck is cooking, score the reserved skin and bake in the oven at 375, until the fat is rendered out and the skin crisps up like bacon. Set crispy skin aside until ready to serve.

When duck is cooked, remove from bag and discard orange peel and ginger. Adding a little oil to a hot skillet, sear on high heat about 30 seconds per side to brown the outside of the meat. Remove meat from pan.

Out of the water bath and removed from the bag.

After searing and slicing. Notice the color of the meat is uniform throughout.

To make the sauce, deglaze pan with Grand Marnier and reduce till almost completely evaporated. Add orange juice and zest and reduce until it becomes thick and syrupy. Add stock and reduce by half. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.

Slice duck thinly on a bias and serve with the orange sauce and skin cracklin.

Now that's a beautiful piece of meat. Not only was the meat cooked perfectly medium (hence the pink color), but the texture was like beef tenderloin. It was the most tender piece of duck meat I have ever eaten. For this plate, I threw in some potatoes cooked in duck fat, as well as some twice-cooked green beans.

Florida Wild

2007-07-09T01:17:00.000-04:00

Photos from last week's trip to Florida

A Blue Land Crab defends his territory (Stuart)

A Blue Heron takes flight over the Intracoastal Waterway (Pompano Beach)

Storm clouds forming in the afternoon (Central Florida)

A mango ripens in the Florida sun (Stuart)

Juvenile Sandhill Cranes (Hobe Sound)

A Green Iguana clings to the sea wall (Pompano Beach).

Fields of cattle line the highways throughout much of the state (Central Florida)

Coconut palms at Mom's house (Stuart)

A pair of White Ibises (Hobe Sound)

The ubiquitous Brown Anole (Stuart)

Common Brown Garden Snail on the move (Ft. Lauderdale)

Cross Him Off the List

2007-07-08T15:13:00.000-04:00

I had the privelage last week of serving as a groomsman in my good friend Neal's wedding in Orlando. It's times like these that make me reflect on the relationships in my life that I hold dear. I've been blessed with some truly special friends, and I am happy to call Neal one of them. Although distance keeps us from seeing each other often, we maintain a deep and intimate (mind out of the gutter, people) friendship. Of course, he was a g-man in my wedding, so maybe he's just returning the favor... At any rate, I have to say congratulations to Neal and Jessie and many blessings on your new life together!

As a gift to the g-men, Neal gave us each a ring with Song of Solomon 6:3 (I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine) written in Hebrew. These rings were similar to Neal and Jessie's wedding bands. It was a tremendously thoughtful gift, and I proudly wear it. It was also great to meet the other g-men who are close friends with Neal. In a brief time, I can say that I developed a huge appreciation for who these guys are and would be happy to meet them again sometime.

While we were down in FL, we took the opportunity to visit with family and friends who are scattered throughout the state. The trek took us from Jacksonville, to Orlando, Melbourne, Stuart, and finally Ft. Lauderdale before heading home. I'll fill in some details in the next few days.

The happy couple makes their grand exit.

Thanks for the ring... but, no, I won't marry you Neal.

Maki Time

2007-06-21T01:22:00.000-04:00

A funny thing happened today - my lovely wife, Hollis, decided out of the blue to face her darkest fears and give sushi a chance. Maybe being pregnant is messing with her head, but a sushiofile (is that a real word?) like myself was not about to let a chance like this slip through the cracks.

Sushi is often misunderstood, so I would like to clear a few things up before we get started here:

1. Sushi is sushi because of the vinegar seasoned rice, not because of raw fish or anything else. In fact, some sushi items contain no fish at all!
2. There are many different types (styles) of sushi: nigiri, maki, temaki, inari, chirashi, and oshi-zushi - just to name a few. Nigiri and maki are perhaps the most well known in the western world.
3. The toppings or fillings can be fish, meat, vegetables, eggs, etc. and could be raw, cooked, blanched, seared, marinated, cured, or any other such preparation.
4. Sushi chefs are supposed to season each piece with wasabi themselves, so you shouldn't have to.
5. Dipping sushi rice in soy sauce is simply not cool. Not only would the rice fall apart, but it would absorb so much soy that other flavors would be completely overwhelmed. The soy sauce should be used in moderation to season the topping only. Properly made nigiri sushi can be turned upside down to dip the topping in soy sauce without having it fall off.

Okay, I feel better now!

I've made sushi a few times now, with mixed results. Believe it or not, the hardest thing to get right is the rice. Texture and seasoning are such a critical part of the final product, yet typically receive little thought on this side of the ocean. The toppings are the easy part, provided you have a good supplier of fish that you trust and a quality Japanese market nearby. The act of forming the individual sushi pieces can also be difficult, so it's best to stick to something simple at first. For this reason, I decided to go with maki.

Now what to fill them with... Raw items were out of the question (and probably not gonna happen anyways, even with Hollis in such an altered state of mind), so I thought we'd play it safe: cooked shrimp and veggies.

Shrimp Tempura Roll with Spicy Mayo

For each roll:

3 shrimp, fried tempura style and cooled (use a wooden stick while frying to keep shrimp from curling)
A few sticks of cucumber, julienned
1T spicy mayo (I use 2 parts mayo, 1 part chile garlic sauce to make mine)
Green onions, finely sliced
Prepared sushi rice

Cucumber Roll with Chive Cream Cheese

For each roll:

A few sticks of cucumber, julienned
2T cream cheese
1T chives, finely chopped
Prepared sushi rice

Let's start with the shrimp roll. There's quite a lot going into this one, so I decided to do an inside out roll, which allows a little more room on the inside for stuff. Using wet hands, take a tennis ball sized handful of sushi rice and evenly distribute over a half sheet of toasted nori. This might take some practice, and you'll probably end up with sticky rice stubbornly sticking to your fingers. Try not to have a conniption. When that's taken care of, sprinkle the top with toasted sesame seeds, or tobiko (flying fish roe) if you can find it.

Turn nori upside down and place onto a bamboo rolling mat, protected with a sheet of plastic wrap. Put fillings inside, being careful not to overfill. Try to keep all like items close together. It will make the roll look better when you slice it.

Roll nori tightly over toppings, being sure to leave about a half inch or so of nori visible (this is key).

Using the bamboo mat, continue to roll, making sure the end overlaps a bit. Use the mat to gently squeeze the roll so that it holds together.

Repeat for the cucumber, but this time keeping the nori on the outside. This time, make sure to leave a half inch of nori exposed at the top. I know, I know - terrible job of grouping the cucumber sticks together in the roll, not to mention that the pieces are not uniformly cut. Amateur moves, what can I say?

Wet the exposed nori with your finger. Roll the maki, making sure that the top edge wraps completely around the fillings. The wet nori edge should stick to the roll as you apply light pressure with the mat. If you like, you can use the mat to shape your roll (circle, square, etc).

Here's a useful tip - make sure you use a really sharp knife and dip it in water before slicing. This helps prevent the sticky rice from sticking to the blade and ripping the roll apart as you slice. It would be a shame to mess up all your hard work at this point.

Not quite up to the standards of Japanese presentation, is it? But you would eat that... Right???

I have to admit that I didn't care for the cucumber roll. The cream cheese was a little too soft, and just didn't tast like it belonged with the rice. I patterned it after the classic English tea sandwich (which Hollis loves). It was a good idea on paper, but didn't really seem to work.

The shrimp rolls on the other hand were outstanding. I would have been quite happy paying for those at a sushi bar somewhere. Although next time I make it, I will probably throw in some avocado. Love that stuff. This roll would also work really well with some nice raw tuna. That's the beauty of homemade sushi - the opportunities for creativity are endless.

Hopefully, making your own maki provides you with a great deal of satisfaction. A trained sushi chef could probably throw this roll together (and slice and plate it) in about 30 seconds, so don't bother timing yourself if you decide to give it a go - just do it for the fun. Sushi may be intimidating, but with a little practice, it can be conquered, if not mastered.

2 Sure Signs of Spring

2007-04-14T13:42:00.000-04:00

Crocuses blooming in the yard...

and breaking out the grill to smoke some pork shoulder.

Chilean Sea Bass - A Valentine's Treat

2007-02-27T23:01:00.000-05:00

Due to the big snowstorm we were expecting, Hollis and I decided to stay home for V-Day this year. I decided to prepare something special for dinner, and make it an extraordinary evening nonetheless. Here was the menu I came up with:

Gruyere & Australian Jack Cheese Fondue - Baguette

Salad of Mesculin Greens - Toasted Goat Cheese Round - Dried Cranberries - Red Wine Vinaigrette

Pan Roasted Chilean Sea Bass - Bacon Powder - Meyer Lemon Beurre Blanc - Sweet Potato Puree - Parmesan Crisps

Domori Dark Chocolate - Beppe Marino Piemonte Brachetto "Bramusa"

I have to be straight with you - I have a thing for sea bass (don't be a hater, I buy MSC certified). I didn't know this until recently, "Chilean Sea Bass" is a marketing friendly name for what is really the Patagonian Toothfish. Somehow that just doesn't roll off the tongue, does it? Call it whatever you want - this fish is dang tasty. Here's the technique for the main dish, which I would highly recommend if you do sea creatures. Feel free to substitute a different fish if you like - salmon or halibut would work particularly well. But sea bass rocks.

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass
Serves 2

2 6oz fillets Chilean Sea Bass
1 pc bacon, cooked crispy and pulverized
Sea salt

For the Beurre Blanc:
1 small shallot, finely diced
3 T dry Vermouth
2 T white wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 Meyer lemon
1/2 c butter

For the Sweet Potato Puree:
1 decent size sweet potato
Cinnamon, a few shakes
Nutmeg, fresh grated
1 T Brown sugar
Butter
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana cheese

Brush fish with a little olive oil, season with salt, and sear in a hot nonstick pan. Flip over when a nice golden crust has formed (about 4-5 minutes). Continue cooking for another 5-6 minutes or so. Fish should be just barely cooked through the center (medium). Place fish on a generous reservoir of beurre blanc and sprinkle with bacon dust.

For the Beurre Blanc: Simmer shallots, vinegar, vermouth, and lemon juice over medium heat until the liquid is reduced almost to nothing. Remove pan from heat and add butter in small increments to the pan while whisking continuously, until all is added. Mixture should thicken slightly as butter is added. Make sure each addition of butter is completely incorporated before adding more.

For Sweet Potato Puree: Roast sweet potato at 400 degrees for about an hour - or do what I do and microwave it for 6 minutes. Scoop out insides and mash. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and butter and stir vigorously.

For Parmesan Crisps: Pile 1 T sized mounds of grated parm every 6" on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in 400 degree oven until cheese melts and starts to bubble, about 3 minutes. Take care not to burn the cheese - this tastes really bad.

Viva Las Vegas

2007-02-23T00:31:00.000-05:00

I landed in Vegas full of optimism and curiosity. Since passing through the airport doesn't count, this was really my first time in Sin City. I had certain expectations for LV, no doubt at least partly fueled by CSI and the Sports Guy. A friend once told me that going to Vegas is like going, well, anywhere in the world. You want to go to New York? Go to Vegas. Paris? Go to Vegas. Venice? Yup, Vegas. And to some degree this is true. But much like Space Mountain isn't really a mountain, all of these places are less than the real deal. With all the themed hotels and over-the-top design, it felt like a really big Disney, except with gambling and strippers.

The MGM Grand - a huge, sprawling mammoth of a megaplex.

Inside the Venitian - simply spectacular.

The infamous Bellagio - truly luxurious.

Caeser's Palace - fit for a King.

New York, New York - complete with skyline facade and fake Lady Liberty.

Paris, Las Vegas, of course. Ooh la la... Sacre bleu!

My trip was arranged at the last minute, so I ended up staying at the Luxor, which was decidedly not luxe. In fact, the lack of "luxness" was so stunning that "Suxor" would be a more appropriate name. It may have been nice when it was first built, but it doesn't look like it has been updated in a very long time. Because of it's pyramid shape, all the windows are on walls that are slanted inwards. Also, regular elevators just don't cut it. Each corner of the building has an "inclinator" that travels diagonally up the side of the pyramid (at 39 degrees, in case you care). This sounds kind of cool, but the novelty wears out pretty quickly - like after the first ride. All of the hotels on the strip have some sort of show that they run every night. The Luxor chose Carrot Top. Apparently this was on purpose.

Built like an ancient pyramid...

... with an interior that's also stuck in prehistoric times.

Of course there are themed hotels, shows, and casinos, but what really gets me excited about Las Vegas are the restaurants. Well known chefs from all over the country have established outposts of their famed establishments there, supplanting the old school cadre of $7.99 dinner buffets. Chefs like Nobu Matsuhisa, Thomas Keller, Bobby Flay, Joel Robuchon and countless others... there's some serious food in play here. It is with this in mind that I found myself at a place called Battista's Hole in the Wall. Zagat calls this place "an old Vegas Italian landmark," and that's about the best thing I can say about it. Honestly, I don't even know how to describe this depth of the badness to you. It was really that bad. I would rather eat at Olive Garden, no contest.

I wish I was joking.

In fact, if it wasn't for a cabbie who I convinced to wait in the parking lot while I picked up a snack from west coast sensation In and Out Burger earlier, I would have suffered through an utterly bankrupt culinary day. This was not what I had in mind for my visit to the Nevada desert. I made up my mind right then to do whatever was necessary to make certain that the next evening would not let me down.

Fresh, tasty, and cheap - you can never go wrong with that combo.

Fortuately, the next day found my situation greatly improved. I had it in mind to head to Thomas Keller's bistro Bouchon for lunch, but when we arrived, we were told that they were only open for lunch on the weekends - so much for trusting the guide books. We ended up at Delmonico Steakhouse, a branch of the New Orleans institution now owned and operated by Emeril Lagasse. The menu centers around USDA Prime aged steaks, prepared in classic steakhouse style, yet subtly infused with Cajun flavorings. A thick NY strip steak with a side of asparagus was prepared beautifully and really hit the spot. Despite my impression that Emeril's entertaining skills far outweigh his chef skills, this place was pretty good.

It's impossible to be in Vegas and not come face to face with gambling. All of the elaborate hotels serve as ornate monuments to the house advantage, so don't fool yourself. I have never really been interested in gambling - not that it's necessarily evil (which it can be at times), but I can just think of a lot of places vastly more worthy of my donations. Sitting in one of the casinos that night however, it occurred to me some of these games were very entertaining. Yes, entertainment! By playing (and, losing your money, let's assume), you could look at it as simply purchasing entertainment - much like going to the movies, or paying for parking when you go downtown for dinner. Plus, in most casinos, as long as you are playing, "refreshments" are on the house. Now that's a deal and a half. There was a 25 cent roulette table, so I decided to get $5 in chips and see what happened. I figured that 5 bucks was worth about an hour of fun.

After 10 minutes, I had doubled my money. Instinctively, I knew that I should take it and run, but I was having a good time and wanted the fun to last a little longer. So I stayed in. 15 minutes later, I was down to my last dollar. We were getting ready to leave anyways, so I put it on black (1:1 payout). And won. With 2 bucks now, I bet put one on black and another on the first column (2:1 payout). I hit both - back up to $5. Before you know it, I have $16 in chips and I decide to cash out, up $11. My first thought was that I was done - I wanted to go home and be able to say that I won some loot in Vegas. The second thought I had was that if I had put in $50 instead of $5, then...

Okay... This is where things can get dangerous. Is losing $5 a big deal? Well, not really. How about losing $50? $100? Yeah, that would hurt. I guess I have a little more understanding now about how people can get sucked in and lose big bucks. The rush of winning is addictive, and the panic of losing can drive you to make stupid decisions. I think I'll stick to the 25 cent table for the forseeable future.

Since I had had a late lunch and wasn't too hungry, I decided to go for a light dinner. In light of my winnings, I felt like celebrating with the high rollers, so I headed over to Nobu for some sushi. While I was waiting for a seat at the sushi bar, I went to the Men's room to relieve myself. At the urinal next to me, I recognized a familiar face. 'Duuuuum da da dum, da dum, da dum - U can't touch this - Break it down!'

As I spun around to wash my hands, I locked eyes with MC Hammer. Just about that time, the annoying towel dude that they have in fancy bathrooms yells out "Yo Hammer!" Gone were the baggy pants in favor of a sharp pinstripe suit. I was surprised at how stocky and built he was. I seem to have this image in my memory of a much skinnier guy. As thrilled as I was to come face to face with a childhood idol, at this particular moment, I was just glad that he was distracting the towel guy so I didn't have to tip him. I hate that. After the fact, I wondered if this encounter really happened, of if it had just been my imagination. But sure enough, MC Hammer's blog entry for Jan 08 shows that he was, in fact, in Vegas. Good times.

Finally, I made it to the sushi bar, where I met Shin Kondo, a proper sushi chef. I watched him with admiration, artfully moving his hands as he produced piece after piece of perfect nigiri sushi. Once you've been exposed to great sushi, the low tier chaff becomes wildly unsatisfying - even inedible. There was no need to worry this night. I was in the hands of a master.

A beautiful work of art - Tuna maki along the top. Nigiri sushi clockwise from top left: maguro (tuna), tai (red snapper), sake (salmon), shad, ikura (salmon roe), ebi (prawn), raw scallop, hamachi (yellowtail).

Watch the art of Nigiri Sushi preparation, performed by Nobu Las Vegas chef Shin Kondo.

See the quick snap and pop of the fingers as the tasty nuggets are formed.

In the end, I think I got a pretty good glimpse of Vegas, and as I was leaving, I couldn't help but feel a little 'dirty' just from being there. Everything is taken to the extreme. The lights, the glitz, the celebs, the mad cash flying all about, the ubiquitous presence of racy advertisements... Yup, Las Vegas delivered spot on my expectations. The thing is, I can't say that I feel all that good about it. In a way, I am disappointed that the rumors are true. I'm sad for the people who use the city's vices to self-medicate, or to try and fill a void in their souls. I guess the 'Sin City' monniker is fitting after all.

Oxygen for sale - for when you just can't make it through that all night gambling/drinking binge.

Chapel of love? Just like in the movies.

Catching Up

2007-01-16T22:06:00.000-05:00

Chalk it up to the madness of the holidays, having a small child, some last minute travel plans, and most recently, a bout with a nasty cold, or what have you... I have been decidedly negligent in my blog owning responsibilities over the past month. So here are a few tidbits to make you say something like, "Oh, I guess he is still writing after all. Thanks for throwing me a bone."

First of all, a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you! With the holiday week off, I had the chance to cook up some tasty bites. I'll put up the technique for one of my favorites, red wine braised shortribs, sometime soon.

Our humble holiday light display.

During the week between Christmas and New Years, my car sat idle in my driveway during which time a mouse decided to make a nest in my glove compartment. Simply shocking.

Last week, I was in Las Vegas for a couple of days. While it was not a pleasure trip, I managed to have some fun in my off time. What happens in Vegas... deserves it's own post. Stay tuned.

It's winter in these parts again, so you know what that means - there's meat hanging in my basement. I'm starting off with some simple cured sausages (they've been up 11 days now). It's a start, but I've got more plans for that cool, dry basement this winter.

01/06 - Freshly hung.

01/13 - After one week of drying.

Up until the past couple of days, when the cold finally rolled in for the season, my broccoli plants were still producing.

That's it for now. Keep your eye on this space for more coming soon.

Porcini - The King of Fungus

2006-12-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

The other day I was out food shopping, when I spotted a rare item not usually found adorning grocery store shelves. I had seen the dried variety before (and cooked with them several times), but this was my first face to face encounter with fresh Porcini mushrooms. If you know me at all, then you know that this meant a challenge - one that I would have to accept.

Porcini go by many other names, but the latin name Boletus Edulis tells the story (Boletus means superior mushroom). These fungi are highly regarded in many parts of the world, most notably in Italy.

I sifted through the bin and grabbed a couple of decent looking specimens. Some looked like they were a bit past their prime, but most would be just fine if used right away. I wasn't about to let my produce-pickiness get in the way of taking some of these babies home.

Ladies and gents - the king has entered the building.

A cross-section of this one reveales that familiar porcini shape.

I prefer to take a simple approach when deciding how to prepare an ingredient like this. Really this is key when it comes to cooking - when you have a great ingredient, let it be the star of the dish. I really wanted to taste the Porcini - not overpower it with other strong flavors. I decided to keep it pretty simple, sauteeing the porcini in olive oil, adding some pasta, and topping it off with a little Parmigiano Reggiano. Simple, but perfect. I wrote up the technique for you to try at the bottom of the post.

Having used dried porcini on a number of occasions, I was really curious how the fresh ones would compare. I didn't have to wait long to find out - when the mushrooms first hit the hot oil, this incredible aroma was released. It was not the familiar earthy smell of the dried porcini, but something much more delicate and intriguing.

Oh yeah - sizzle for me baby! Hit me with that aroma!

The mushrooms were absorbing the oil and turning a nice golden color. When the pasta was ready, I tossed in the sautee and some Parmigiano. Time to taste.

Flavor wise, the fresh porcini had the same general taste as the dried ones. However, I think the earthiness tends to be a little more concentrated in dried form - I prefered the mellowness of the fresh variety. Also, the texture of the fresh was softer and meatier - also a plus. But the biggest difference I noticed was in the aroma. Each forkfull that ascended to my face brought this permeating wave of olfactory sensation, reminding me of the captivating scent of the mushroom's cousin - truffles. This aspect alone makes fresh porcini the hands down winners.

As I mentioned already, finding these in your local market may be tough. But if you dig mushrooms, searching these out is well worth the effort.

Pasta with Porcini and Parmigiano

For each person:

1/4 lb spaghettini
1/4 lb fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
olive oil
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
salt

Generously salt pasta water and bring to a boil. Heat about 1/4c of olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the porcini and give them a quick toss in the pan. At this time, also add the pasta to the boiling water. The pasta should take about 7-8 minutes - remember, pasta never waits for it's toppings!

Give the mushrooms a toss every couple of minutes. They should start to become slightly golden. For the last minute of the sautee, add the garlic.

When the pasta is done (al dente), drain and add to the mushroom pan. Toss to coat pasta in the oil, adding more if necessary. Grate plenty of Parmigiano on top and server right away.

Notes: You can use dried porcini if fresh aren't available. Simply reconstitute them with some hot water and let them steep for 10 minutes or so. Then use them like the fresh ones.

This works well with other mushrooms too. I would stay away from the common white button mushrooms for this dish though - the mushroominess (nice word, huh?) is just a little too strong for my taste here.

I think tagliatelle or pappardelle would have been better choices for the pasta, but I didn't have any in the house. Oh well.

Pizza and Sake? A Review of Hong Kong's Aqua Tokyo / Roma

2006-11-20T21:10:00.002-05:00

On the surface, Japan and Italy do not seem to share much in common when it comes to culinary tradition. But think about this:

1. Japan and Italy both have people
2. Both countries look long and skinny on a map
3. Both countries have capitals that start with either the letter 'T' or 'R'

Two sides of the same coin. Birds of a feather. Kissing cousins.

Thus, it was only a matter of time until some master of the obvious created a restaurant featuring both of these sister cuisines. That someone is the Aqua restaurant group of Hong Kong.

Located on the 29th floor of the One Peking building in Kowloon, Aqua Tokyo/Roma/Spirit has an enviable location offering perhaps the city's best nighttime skyline view. But don't spend so much time looking out that you miss the beauty of the swanky modern interior.

The menu is organized into two halves - The Italian side on the left (read in the typical Western fashion, front to back) and the Japanese on the right (read Japanese style - back to front). As I began to drool over the sushi section, I read that Aqua flies in fish daily from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market, so I was expecting good things.

I started out with a nod to my Italian heritage with a buffalo mozzarella pizza with fresh cherry tomatoes and arugula. This pizza was more Italian rather than American in design. The crust was perfectly thin and crispy, and the three topping elements were perfectly balanced, with the arugula adding a nice peppery kick to play against the mild, creamy cheese. I thought that this pizza would be perfect paired with a light, crisp Junmai Daiginjo sake, so I ordered a bottle. Premium sakes like this one should always be served cold, but you already knew that. It was a surprisingly excellent way to start the meal.

Now that's a good looking pizza.

Next up was the Aqua Tokyo sushi platter - the restaurant's signature offering of nigiri sushi. As a contemporary twist, Aqua seared some of toppings and toasted some of the riceballs to accentuate certain flavors in the ingredients. Some pieces were also topped with iteresting items such as caviar or avocado. Standout favorites were the uni with toasted rice ball and the seared Japanese beef. All in all, I found each piece a well thought out and tasty combination of flavors.

A feast for the eyes as well. Starting from the left we have crab with caviar, uni (sea urchin), grilled eel, hamachi, salmon, tuna with avocado, and Japanese beef. In the center is a grilled prawn maki roll.

After the sushi, we were presented with salt grilled hamachi (yellowtail) collar. This is an item that wouldn't seem strange perhaps anywhere in the world except, of course, the good old USA. Don't be afraid, people! The meat around the collar bone was extremely delicate and flavorful, and the salt and soy based dipping sauce were the perfect accoutrements to bring out the richness of the fish.

This outstanding fish just melted in my mouth.

After this, a plate of king prawn tempura seemed a little pedestrian, but was nevertheless well executed and tasty. On the side was a dark green seasoning powder that was somewhat salty (konbu, maybe?) which was an interesting touch.

Beautifully crisp and not very oily - the mark of a good tempura.

Finally, I couldn't pass up a Yuzu sorbet, served iside a frozen, hollowed out Yuzu fruit skin. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that can best be described as a mixture of lemon and lime, but a little more pungent. The sorbet was a nice way to finish up the meal.

Fresh yuzu is almost impossible to find in the States.

With a full belly, I left the restaurant as a very happy customer, hoping I would have a chance to return and sample more of the vast offering of menu items. Suddenly, the duo of Japanese and Italian didn't seem so strange.

In all seriousness, there are many things about these two cuisines that really are similar - chief among them is the dedication to using the absolute freshest ingredients possible and preparing them in such a way as to show off their natural flavors. Of course, each culture has applied it's own unique traditions to this principle, yielding wildly different results. But maybe... Just maybe they are not so different after all.

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Was this writeup helpful to you? Want to share your Aqua experience? Please leave a comment below.

A Most Unusual Birthday

2006-11-15T11:06:00.001-05:00

Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed that I seem to only have time to blog when I'm overseas?

Yeah.... That's what I thought. Given that, I'll give you one guess where my physical body currently lies.

Monday, November 13th, the anniversery of my entrance into the world, lasted a mere 17 and a half hours for me. You ask how that is possible? The answer is simple. At approximately 7:30pm EST, 39,000 feet above the North Pole, I crossed the international dateline, thereby skipping ahead into the future to November 14th. And who says time travel doesn't exist?

One of my favorite in-flight pastimes is to watch the map channel, where you can be endlessly entertained by watching the plane glide, one pixel at a time, onward towards your destination. All relevant flight stats (speed, altitude, distance, etc.) are, of course, displayed for your viewing pleasure. One of my least favorite in-flight pastimes is heading to the bathroom in my socks and having to maneuver around the puddles of urine left by unscrupulous co-passengers (What's so funny... everyone in Business takes their shoes off during the flight, okay?).

On this particular day, we were taking the polar route. As we neared the North Pole, some funny things started to happen to our plane on the tiny screen. As I watched the plane jerk about on it's axis, I couldn't help but think that I was glad that the on screen choreography did not match the actual flight experience.

Watch magnetic declination at work.

So it was that I was able to witness the approximate precise moment when my birthday ended. 4 and a half hours, sheared away in one brief moment. And thanks to this commemorative photo I snapped, you can follow along with me and share in my pain.

Watch this... Watch this here... Ready... Here it is... And... Bam! Boo yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

By the way, I should take this opportunity to welcome my Chinese friends to the 21st century. The ban on Wikipedia and my very own blog (okay, other blogs too) has been lifted and can now be viewed in the Middle Kingdom. Welcome to the planet.

Naked Nite @ TND

2006-10-05T20:13:00.000-04:00

"No Way! It's not me, it's the food!"
- Jamie Oliver

Thursday Night Dinner (TND) has become an institution at the home of my good friends here in central MA. Each Thursday, they host family, friends, and neighbors at their home for a great meal and fun evening. A throwback from simpler times, TND gives us all the chance to get together, talk, laugh, and catch up on the week's happenings. With somewhere around 20 regulars and another 20 or so who stop by once in a while, it is always a full house - literally.

Recently, I teamed up with fellow TND regular Emilie to host what I called 'Naked Nite'. Okay, okay, get your mind out of the gutter! This was not a clothing optional evening. No birthday suits or skinny dipping. Only two visible cheeks allowed per person (above the waist, please). No, this was a celebration of self labeled "Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver's simple and delicious food. I know what some of you food snobs out there are thinking, but listen - Jamie's food is both easy to make and tastes fantastic. It is exactly the kind of food I enjoy making, and we all enjoy eating.

The 'Naked' monniker comes from the idea that Jamie's food is simple. The techniques he uses are 'stripped down' from the complicated restaurant methods so that anyone can make this food at home. The recipes are reduced to the 'bare essentials.'

I had the opportunity of meeting Jamie a few years ago while he was passing through Coral Gables on a book signing tour. But before the signing, there was a live cooking demo. In the bookstore courtyard, a couple hundred chairs were set in front of a touring cooking stage. Jamie came out, and wasted no time getting started. He mentioned that he was often asked if he cooks in the nude at home. He answered, in his typical Brit accent, "I don't reccomend that you actually cook naked. Aside from the whole hygene thing, you might burn yourself!" Yikes! I'll keep that in mind. **Fighting the urge to make the obvious inappropriate 'sausage' joke here**

Nice to meet you Jamie. Thanks for keeping your kit on.

Jamie's live performance was every bit as entertaining as I expected it to be. For his lamb curry dish, he put his cooking method to music, even stopping one point to play the drums while the tantalizing scent of sauteeing lamb and curry spice wafted through the courtyard. He prepared a dish with couscous and grilled veggies, his "Easiest, Sexiest Salad Ever" (a fantastic combo of fresh figs, mozzarella, and prosciutto - still one of my all time favorites), and finished up with a simple dish of cut pineapple with bashed up mint and sugar tossed on top. Not bad for a free show!

I left that night with some new ideas to try out, and a free box of couscous - which I still have to this day. Good thing pasta doesn't spoil.

So with this inspiration in mind, we sifted through his various books and websites, and chose the evening's menu:

World's Best Baked Onions
Summer Chickpea Salad
Baked Carrots with Cumin, Thyme, Butter and Chardonnay
Risotto with Goat Cheese and Prosciutto
Fantastic Roasted Chicken
Pukka Pineapple with Bashed-up Mint Sugar
Orange and Polenta Biscuits

With about 25 guests expected, we had a lot of cooking to do. Taking various ideas I had seen Jamie use, I prepared the chicken with chopped rosemary and strips of bacon draped over the top. The cavity was stuffed with lemon halves and some fresh herbs. The key to a perfect roasted chicken is simple - give it time. At 400F, expect a 4lb chicken to take at least an hour and 20 minutes. Let that outer skin get golden brown and crispy before you take that bird out, or else you'll be sorry. It would be like grabbing your clothes out of the dryer while they're still wet. Sure, you can wear them but...

Not quite there yet. Don't touch that chicken!

Getting naked in the kitchen... sort of.

While the chiken was cooking, I started to work on the risotto while Emilie made the onions. The combo of roasted onion with bacon, rosemary, and Parmigiano Reggiano totally earns the "World's Best" title. Some of the other dishes we made ahead of time, and others still were brought by gracious volunteers. This worked out pretty well, as we were easily able to pull together the entire dinner in about an hour and a half.

That is some 'pukka' poultry

Carrots, onions, and risotto

This chickpea salad is simply brilliant

Pineapple and polenta biscuits - just lovely

Dinner was served, and our labor of love was soon devoured. I think everyone really enjoyed the meal, which, let's face it, is the entire point. So, cheers Jamie, and thanks for the inspiration! I'm pretty sure there's a Naked Nite II in my future sometime soon.

Day 15: The Forbidden City - Forbidden No More

2006-09-15T23:25:00.001-04:00

At long last, I had reached my final day in China (for this time, anyways). My flight was scheduled to leave from Beijing Capital International Airport at 4:30 in the afternoon, so I still had over half a day to spend sightseeing before I had to go. When it comes to Beijing, two major historical attractions come to mind - the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Having conquered the Great Wall, there was one obvious choice for this day.

The Forbidden City, or Imperial Palace ('Gu Gong' for all of you wannabe Mandarin scholars), was the residence of China's emperors from 1420 until the fall of the dynasty system in the early 1900's. Located in the direct center of old Beijing, many emperors did not leave these grounds at all throughout their entire lives. Like everything else in Beijing, it's big - really big. Check out this satellite photo. For reference, you can see Tiananmen Square (remember, 82 football fields big) in the lower half of the picture.

I arrived at the Meridian Gate (that would be the pay entrance) at about 9:30, which gave me about 3 hours to see what I could before I had to get going. I bought my entrance ticket, picked up an audio guide, and headed inside. The map they handed me with my ticket was all in Chinese, except for the title "Imperial Palace Museum Guide Map" at the top. That's helpful. Fortunately, the audio guide comes with one in English, even if many of the buildings weren't labeled. Each area of interest was marked with an LED light on the map. The audio guide was activated by proximity, so as I approached an area, the audio started. After I had visited a place, the light went out, leaving only the places I had not yet been to still illuminated. Technology is great.

The architecture of the Palace is simply stunning. There are hundreds of ancient wooden structures, all topped with intricately tiled golden rooftops. Staircases are ornately carved out of enormous slabs of marble. Bronze dragons glid the doors and walls throughout the palace grounds. The corners of each building are marked with a series of little beasts parading behind the emperor. The more beasties, the more prominent the building. With 11 such creatures, the most important of the buildings is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is where the emperor's throne is located, and where he would typically host important visitors and conduct matters of state.

Beyond the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the Gate of Heavenly Purity. This is the entrance to the inner court, where the emperor and his family lived. I explored around the various halls and palaces for quite some time. Many of the hallways were narrow, sometimes leading to another palace or courtyard. Sometimes there was only one way in our out of these places. It was easy to get lost. Many of the smaller, side buildings contained exhibits of various historical artifacts or cultural exhibits.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

The Emperor's throne, inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony

The little roof beasties

Somewhere in the courtyard outside some important Hall

Behind the inner court was an elaborate garden. One area had a rock garden with many ornately formed rocks. To the north end of the garden was a large rock with a pavillion perched on top. This was the highest point in the compound. Frequently, the emperors and their wives would climb up to the top and look out over Beijing.

In advance of the 2008 olympics coming Beijing, the city is in the midst a massive facelift. Many of the structures inside the Forbidden City are part of this enormous restoration project. While some buildings sported a bright, fresh coat of paint, others were faded and cracked, with peeling paint and rotted wood to reveal the true age and character of this place. In all honesty, I preferred the old to the new. It just gave me more a sense of the history that these walls have witnessed.

One of the many garden pavillions

Evidence of the true age of the City

I spent three hours there, and only managed to hit the highlights. It would be easy to spend an entire day there if you wanted to be thorough. But I had a date with an airplane that I was intent on keeping, so I caught the subway back to the hotel to pack and check out.

I was running low on time, so I decided to abandon the bus-to-airport plan and take a taxi. I asked the concierge how much this would cost and was told 120-150RMB. I only had 120 left, so I asked her to ask the taxi driver if this would be enough. After a brief exchange, she told me that it was no problem - this driver would take me. She also explained that there was a 10RMB road toll near the airport that would be included in the price. I got in the taxi and we took off.

Feeling a little uneasy, I decided to tell the cab driver how much I had just to make sure it would be okay - in Mandarin, of course (no he didn't speak English!).

"I only have 120RMB. Is that enough?"

"It's enough."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Wahd ajfkda sjkdh jdhg jatkah sjfhkj fjkaslfkds fjka;f asja waur iwon dkgas ajk fhasfjslgai ghajkdskjfl......."

Uh oh...

"Sorry, my Mandarin is not very good. I didn't understand."

3 more rounds of this and the driver was finally resigned to the fact that I did not, in fact, really speak Mandarin. We hit the toll booth and he motioned for me to give him money. I handed him 10RMB and soon we reached the airport. Out of curiosity, I had been monitoring the fare meter to see how much the tally would reach on the trip. As we pulled up to the sidewaly at the airport, the meter stopped on 114RMB. I got out and handed the driver the last 110RMB that I had, certain that we had established the limits of my funding capability. He looked at me funny and waved his hands saying (in Mandarin) "4 Renminbi! I need 4 more Renminbi!"

I said, "I don't have any more! No more!" We both kept saying the same thing back and forth to each other until the driver just waved me off and just drove away. I shook my head, thinking that I couldn't have been clearer about my cash situation. I should mention that 4RMB is about 50 cents.

With no money for food, I was thrilled to be a business class passenger with access to the lounge and it's free food and drink ameneties. As I sat and filled my belly, I reflected on my time in the capital city. Beijing was big. And old. And full of tourist traps and people trying to make a quick buck off of the "rich American traveller." Lots of culture, in some ways tied to propaganda of the past, and in some, marching towards modernization. All in all, it's been great to have had a front row seat to the rebirth of a nation.

It had been an exciting adventure with plenty of memorable moments. I was glad I had come, but was somewhat "gladder" that I was heading home. I used the wireless internet in the lounge to post a brief trip update, with the idea that I would play catch up once I had arrived home. A month and a half later, here is the final post of this trip. Sorry it took so long, but I hope that the stories made you feel like you were there, so that, in some vicarious way, you could take part in my experiences. I don't mind traveling alone, but the one thing I do miss is having someone to share the moment with me. So in that sense, thanks for reading along with me.

I will be home in the States until November, but rest assured I have a lot to write about here until my next China excursion. I also have tons more photos from this last trip, so I might put together another photo gallery at some point. And of course, I'll have another installment of language humor. Until next time...