Wednesday, July 25. 2012

Back in Sweet Ol' England

Breakfast in Hall (Keble College, Oxford)


After over 2 years, we finally returned to England for more than an overnight stay (for that one time, it was a layover).  Unfortunately, it wasn't to visit our second-homes, London and Cambridge, but we managed to squeeze them in, albeit extremely quick and short and missing too many friends.  Having said that, I certainly enjoyed our stay in Oxford.

England has always had a negative stereotype when it comes to food.  But honestly, I was actually looking forward to the food options there!  It's not to say that England is better than France, but one can only suffice on proper French, some Italian, and French-influenced foreign cuisine for so long.  Going out to eat in the city centre is bordering uneventful, and I was craving for change and variety.

So, what did we hit?  Pub grub, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Portuguese, and Asian fusion; all in 4.5 days.  I also had my obligatory Dorset cereal, for which I re-discovered in Paris at an international gourmet supermarket.  Full English breakfasts (as well as continental) were expected, although they could have been missed.  Sandwiches that were much more complex and variable than baguettes or un-inspiring "pain de mie" (French for sandwich loaf bread) creations were eye-candy.  Just looking down the selection of Pret A Manger spelled near-Heaven (I think the US is even more specialised in sandwiches).  And then, there were those familiar things at Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer, and Tesco.  Simply put, being back in England really felt like being home!  How much we missed that place!

Photos were not the greatest, but here were some of the things that we ate:

Pub grub: jacket potato with beans (top), ribs and wings (bottom)


(Circular, starting from top left) Bamboo leaf rice, siu mai, Chinese broccoli, spring rolls, shrimp cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), ha gao; (missing) egg tarts


(L to R) Mango juice, duck red curry, coconut rice, Thai fish cakes, vegetable spring rolls


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Friday, May 25. 2012

Food Excursions in Paris

Courtesy of husband's camera play

For Ascension weekend, my husband and I took a trip to Paris.  I've always wanted to bring him back to Paris as his first experience many years before left him with a certain fear and dislike for the city.  I had already visited the city three times before, and I loved it.  We didn't have many days (only 2 full days), but we did our best to do the essentials.  Aside from the obligatory attractions, food, of course, was a biggie. 

We found out that our hostel was located near the Chinatown in the 13th arrondissement.  Not one to be too touristy, the idea of living near Chinatown sparked curiosity because no decent Chinese restaurants exist where we live, and the selection at the only Asian supermarket in town can be limited (although we fully appreciate having even one!).  Such a desert made the possibly of having decent Chinese food and stocking up on much missed items all the more enticing.  I did my research and knew that Chinese food in Paris was still foreign and not well-understood, but we tried nonetheless. 

The first dinner was an utter mistake.  We should have asked the locals.  Instead, we walked into a trap---albeit full of people with a developing queue---where food arrived cold so quickly that one could only guess that they were prepared in advance and re-heated to order.  We regretted choosing that restaurant, and it certainly left us dubious on the others, but we returned two nights later, as we needed to eat in the area.  We had one marked down from our scouting on the first night, so we headed straight for it---a Laotian/Vietnamese/Thai restaurant called Lao Lane Xang.  Our choice was supported by a local advice that the only Asian food worthy in Paris was Vietnamese and Laotian.

Beef salad (far center) and prawn curry (lower right)

The restaurant on both nights was busy and packed, but our wait was short.  It was long enough to make us salivate at the food being served.  At least 50% of the dishes on the menu were spicy, but the restaurant was fully accommodating in reducing/eliminating the heat.  I ordered two separate salads (a beef and a prawn), and was pleasantly surprised at the quality.  The beef was pink in the center and the prawns large ones, and the sauce was flavourfully spicy/sour/sweet.  My husband ordered a prawn curry, and he enjoyed it.  I was intrigued by the dishes ordered from the neighbouring table only to learn that one of the diners was a native Southeast Asian.  Prices were decent, too.  It was certainly a recommendable restaurant, and we were glad to have found it.

The last Asian meal was dim-sum.  My husband grew up eating good quality dim-sum, so I knew I had my work cut out.  And Paris was, as I found out, not the ideal place.  Dim-sum was only beginning to enter French vocabulary, and all the restaurants I encountered from hours on the internet yielded pictures or reviews that were mediocre at best.  Still, I learnt that the other Chinatown in Belleville in northeast Paris (straddles four arrondissements: 10th, 11th, 19th, 20th) was the source for Cantonese food.  I found two possibilities and left the rest for judgement on sight. 

(L to R): Rose wine soy sauce chicken, spring rolls (Thai influence), veggies to wrap spring rolls, char siu bao (baskets below contain ha kao and siu mai)

We settled on Le Pacifique and were quite thoroughly satisfied.  The dim-sum was decent, but the biggest surprise was the "rose wine soy sauce chicken" (玫瑰豉油雞). It was hands-down the best dish that we ordered.  My husband and I happily ignored the dim-sum because the chicken was just too good to waste our limited stomach space otherwise.  We left happy with our Parisian friend pleased to know that there may finally be a place to eat decent dim-sum in Paris.

Highlight of the meal: rose wine soy sauce chicken in the center; surrounding (L to R): spring rolls, shrimp cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), and beef balls

Aside from the Asian, we had many other good meals, but the most memorable may be our afternoon tea at the Angelina tea room in the Chateau de Versailles.  It was a splurge, but given the availability in the area, we took the chance to indulge as the offering at the tea room looked decadent.  I settled on a smoked salmon salad (for tea!) as I was hungry, and all the desserts (besides fruit) contained dairy.  My husband went for the selection of 4 macarons and an in-house special tea blend---a mix of Chinese and Indian teas, cacao, almonds, and rose petals.  The macarons were light and pleasant, but the highlight was the tea.  It had a strong flavour profile, and part of the intrigue was the play of flavours.  At first encounter, the aroma suggested cacao, but hitting the tongue, the cacao disappeared into the predominant soothing flavour of almond.  The rose petals provided the necessary lightness with a bit of fruitiness while the cacao gave the earthiness.  It was certainly a tea that made its presence and not for the faint-hearted.

Macaron flavours (L to R): salty caramel, Vienna (raspberry, hazelnut, cinnamon), raspberry, pistachio; smoked salmon salad on bottom

Besides the mainly overcast and rainy days, we enjoyed our stay.  My husband has learned to appreciate Paris and even wants to return to see the many things that we missed!  Paris may have its darker sides, but it nonetheless still charms in so many ways.

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Monday, September 26. 2011

The Netherlands, a Second Time


Queen's golden carriage used only once a year at the Prinsjesdag (Prince's Day), when she gives a speech in front of the Parliament to open the new year's session

This past week, I joined my husband on a work-related trip to the Netherlands.  It was his first visit but my second as I came several years ago to see my Dutch friend and passed through Leiden, Delft, Den Haag, and Amsterdam.  My friend gave me a wonderful tour of Dutch food: over a three-day weekend, I tried fondue (okay, not that Dutch), Dutch pancakes, "stroop" (syrup), Gouda cheese "jong" (young) and "oud" (old), Leyden cheese (Gouda with cumin), raw herring, "bitterbal" (fried meat balls), "kaassouflé" (fried cheese), "bamihap" (breaded and fried Indonesian stir-fried noodles), "krentenbollen" (raisin bun), "appeltaart", and "drop" (liquorice).  I had really enjoyed my visit and was happy to be back to share some of the happy memories with my husband (when he could squeeze some time from work, that is).  This trip was much less food-centered, but I did manage a few culinary moments. 


Private Dutch buffet breakfast

Our hotel was a very lovely small family-owned business.  Every morning, we were served a private Dutch breakfast buffet.  Eggs; three to four choices of bread, including Christmas bread "kerststol" and raisin bun "krentenbollen"; chocolate sprinkles (in place of nutella) to top the bread; slices of Gouda and cold cut meats; yoghurt; the occasional local strawberries; and, of course, orange juice, tea, and coffee.  Certainly a breakfast of champions!  I was even welcomed with an unexpected twin-yolked egg at my first breakfast!


F. Plasman bakery inside

In the afternoons coffee became my respite, offering the necessary energy boost and break for my poor feet from hours of walking.  On one of these occasions, I stepped into F. Plasman, a bakery/patisserie right behind our hotel that tempted me every time I walked past it.  I was greeted with a marvelous display of pastries and biscuits and a large rotating chocolate bon-bon tower that accompanied me as I enjoyed my coffee.  Signs with "Bakker met Ster 2011" adorned the whole shop, and curious, I asked the attendant as I paid.  As of May 2011, the bakery/patisserie won two stars in the Dutch bakery/patisserie equivalent of Michelin restaurant stars.  It is one of 10 in all of the Netherlands with two stars, and the only one in Den Haag.  Only one other bakery/patisserie in the country holds three stars.


F. Plasman owner baker (in white shirt on the right) and his wife (in pink shirt on the left) with guests

I also learned of "Douwe Egberts", a coffee brand that looked extremely familiar.  It held its own shop fronts throughout the Netherlands and understandably so as the first shop was opened in 1753 by Egberts Douwe and his wife in Joure, the Netherlands.  The original shop sold more than just coffee, but it gained enough popularity to become a national company in 1919.  By 1978, it merged with Sara Lee and subsequently entered the international market.  My timing with the coffee shops was a bit unfortunate, but I finally found the chance to visit a branch on my last day.  Nice dark flavours, but ever so slightly bitter and one-dimensional.


I did not manage any raw herrings on this trip, but my husband did and, to my delight, equally found them enjoyable.  Raw herrings have in some ways become the national food of the Netherlands.  Every year, in May, the Vlaggetjesdag ("Flag Day") festival at the Scheveningen harbour heralds the new raw herring season with ships, traditional costumes, folk music, and, of course, raw herrings.  Even Scheveningen's coat of arms contains raw herrings.  This strong presence is stemmed in Dutch history.  The herring business had started in the Netherlands in the 14th century, and the Dutchman Willem Buekelszoon developed the "gibbing" process, whereby the gills and part of the giblets were removed and the liver and pancreas were left to cure the fish itself.  Since then, the Dutch had exported the raw herrings throughout Europe.  The herrings are typically eaten on bread with or without onions, but the most "correct" way is to hold the herrings by its tail over one's mouth and enjoyed head first.


Me with my raw herring in 2007 (from original blog post)

Our remaining meals were not very Dutch-centered, as we were somewhat limited by location and pre-planned meal meetings.  We wanted to try some Indonesian food, as Indonesia was a Dutch colony, and its cuisine has a strong presence in the Netherlands (hence, its peanut butter is slightly different).  But in the end, we only managed a lovely Thai restaurant with delicious food and very friendly service.  Regardless of this fact, it was a wonderful trip with good weather at least on our arrival and departure days, enjoyable company, and many more lovely Dutch memories.

Herring paragraph composed with assistance from New York Times Travel article "Fare of the Country; Cured New Herring of the Netherlands"

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Wednesday, September 7. 2011

The World of Truffles (Mushroom)


Background.  Truffles, the infamous fungal mushroom, have been a highly prized gastronomic ingredient for centuries.  It dates as far back as the 4th century BC, but it did not begin to attain its exorbitant status until the Renaissance period.  In the late 1700s, truffles became very popular in Paris, and the famed French gastronome and food writer Jean Antelme Brillat-Savarin deemed them as the "diamond of the kitchen".  It was not until the early 1800s that truffles were successfully cultivated, and recent attempts to expand truffle production has been met with criticisms as it would decrease its rare value.  Wild truffles continue to be harvested in the open fields with the help of female pigs, which naturally detect the truffle scent due to its similarity to the male boar saliva (although the pigs have a tendency to eat the truffles!), as well as trained dogs.

Only a few of the many varieties of truffles are highly valued, namely the white truffles of the Piedmont region in Italy and the black truffles of the Périgord region in France.  Both can cost over thousands of US dollars per pound.  The most expensive price paid for a single white Piedmont truffle was US$ 330,000 by Macau casino owner Stanley Ho in 2007 for a 3.3 lb piece.

Truffle oil began to surface in the market to meet the growing mass demand.  The problem, however, was that most truffle oils were not made from real truffles.  Instead, the oils were infused with the synthetic organic compound 2,4-dithiapentane which was naturally found in real truffles.  Many chefs did not realise this fact until much later, which led to truffle oils being heavily criticised by gastronomic chefs.

Our truffle oil and salt.  Despite this fact, we actually acquired a bottle of truffle oil back in Geneva.  It was an economical way for the general public to access such a treasure.  The idea sparked after tasting a four-cheese ravioli paired with truffle cream at the Globus food hall in Geneva.  We likened Globus to London's Harrods, although it was not quite as exuberant.  Prices were still high, and the lavish display and quality food made for a wonderful detour (we rarely bought anything). 

On the auspicious visit, it was right before lunch, and they were offering samples.  One attendant approached us with a tray of 3 different ravioli, each topped with a different cream.  A lover of mushrooms, my husband went for the cheese ravioli with truffle cream.  We returned to our perusing, but I soon found that my husband was no longer paying any attention.  He was completely entranced by the wonderful mixture of flavours occurring in his mouth.  Tempted, he went for a second piece.  By the end of that piece, we had already headed towards the pasta counter where we agonisingly (because it was so expensive) indulged in a very small portion of the four-cheese ravioli and some truffle cream.  That evening, my husband savoured every single bite and chew of the dozen or so ravioli separately topped with the truffle cream.  Enough truffle cream was left over for another two wonderful meals. 

Seeing how much the truffle pleased my husband, I started to search for alternatives and thought of truffle oil.  Added to some crème fraiche and soft cheese, it would be very close to the truffle cream at Globus.  So the searching began.  Fortunately, I found a bottle of olive oil with actual fragments of summer truffles (a lesser valued but still prized variety)!  And it was for a decent price---a few Swiss Francs more than the most expensive variety of olive oil.  It was certainly not a regrettable purchase, as with every uncorking, the nose immediately filled with a strong bout of truffle aroma, and just a few drops managed to infuse any light-canvassed dish.  I made our own cream pastas with nothing more than crème fraiche, soft cheese, truffle oil, and salt.  It also went wonderfully with grilled asparagus and a little salt.

The bottle remained with us all the way to France.  It was beginning to run low, and I was on the lookout for a replacement.  I could not find anything similar in the area, until a trip to the neighbouring cities led to a chanced encounter of the chain Olivers & Co.  We were looking at some of the sauces and honey when the shop attendant approached us with an opened bottle of white truffle salt held deftly close to our noses.  Almost like mice and their mouse-trap cheese, our noses took the bait.  Such a wonderfully strong and alluring aroma!  We immediately walked to the truffle infusion section.  There were black and white truffle oils, but neither matched the intensity of the white truffle salt.  I was under the impression that white truffles were lighter in flavour than black truffles, so I inquired the difference and if they had black truffle salt.  According to the attendant, black truffles were stronger in taste while white truffles were stronger in scent, but unfortunately, they only carried white truffle salt.  I preferred a stronger taste to aroma as taste often has a more lasting impact than scent, but seeing as neither of the oils amazed us and the white truffle salt contained actual pieces of white truffle, we went for it.  At the very least, my husband could enjoy the scent while he ate.

Indeed, the white truffle salt could not carry the truffle flavour as well as our summer truffle olive oil. Sprinkled too early, and the cooking destroyed the evanescent scent. Sprinkled on too strong a dish, and the aroma was hidden. Ultimately, my husband came up with an ingenious idea. He took the bottle next to him, and before each bite, he opened the bottle, took an exhilarating sniff, closed the bottle, and savoured his bite with the remnant truffle scent lingering in his nose.

*Written with the aid of Wikipedia entry "truffles (fungus)" (largely based on the book " Field Guide to North American Truffles: Hunting, Identifying, and Enjoying the World's Most Prized Fungi" by M. Trappe et al.), "The Australian State Truffle Enterprise", and "On Food and Cooking" by H. McGee

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Tuesday, August 16. 2011

The Tastes of Easter in Urbino, Italy

Back in April, I wrote a blog post about our trip to Italy.  Now, Europe Revisited has just published the article that I composed specifically about Urbino.  Please check it out!

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