We stopped by a food stall in a small street near KaoShan road in Bangkok. Because there were a lot of locals eating there the other day, we decided to try it.
We ordered egg with glass noodles with some meat topped on white rice. The meat is really tender but I have no idea it is beef or chicken. My favorite is the simple glass noodle with egg and tomato, but full of flavor. Surprisingly, no dish is spicy.
“Pasta alla carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based on eggs, pecorino romano, guanciale (un-smoked Italian pig's cheek bacon), and black pepper.”
It is always my favorite combination, doesn’t matter on a sandwich or on a pizza. I know it is quite common to see that in Italy. But in Canada, it is hard to find zucchini flower. Rareness becomes exotic. I could only hope to steal some zucchini flowers in my friend’s garden this year!
Near Piazza del Popolo in Rome, there is a small cute Sicilian place (close to the metro Flaminio entrance). Food are cooked daily and placed behind the glass. People order them for lunch and eat at small table stands (only have 3).
First night in Athen, lucky a friend’s mom cooked for me. I have never imagined Greek food like that: Pastitsio (first) and beef in tomato sauce (second).
Greek is famous for eating late dinner and party till morning. My Greek friend got home at 10pm and started cooking a simple dinner: grain soup with cheese. He added grains and cheese into water cooked with a slow heat. The soup looks like white milk and has a strong cheese taste. He finished a whole big bowl of it. I don’t think that is my type of food. Anyway, he has a very compact oven stove, which looks like a microwave.
Chinese do not cook pie traditionally. When i first heard of that name, it
was 2007 in montreal. One of my colleage Nicola mentioned it to me and it
purked my interests. (Pâté chinois as a french canadian dish, sound weird, isn't it? ).
But if you know the history of the dish, then you will understand.
Pâté chinois is made of layered ground beef, diced onion, topped with
canned corn for middle layer and mash potato on the top. All ingredient
are found easily and cheap in Canada during the building of north american
railroads in 19th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_pie
i did not have opportunity to try it until this year 2008 august in
piedmont, quebec. One of my colleage's wife cooked it for me as a
surprise. I really appreciated it ! it tastes nothing like chinese food,
but i love very layer of it. it is such a confi food. The name itself is
more interesting than the actual taste. I am so happy i tried it finally.
There are over 150 species of yam grown throughout the world. Depending on the variety, a yam's flesh may be various shades of off-white, yellow, purple or pink, and the skin from off-white to dark brown. The other day I bought a Purple Yam from Korean supermarket on Bloor Street. I am so surprised by its funky purple color. It is a bit less sweet than the yellow yam, but more fluffy and starchy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ube
In Shanghai, I love eating purple yam ice-cream (purple taro ice-cream is similar). I always thought they put food color to make it purple. I can’t believe this time it is real color!
You can find everything Purple on internet: rice cake, ice-cream, dessert, jam, and cup-cake. I found someone cooked purple sweet potato soup, looks so beautiful!
http://mainmainmasakmasak.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/purple-soup-sweet-potato-yam/
Also check out Ube Roll - purple yam flavored Swiss roll:
http://simplyannes.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html
And for other colorful vegetable and fruit, check out this blog:
http://www.crookedbrains.net/2008/02/rainbow-vegetables-fruits.html
Today I went to Manpuku at 105 McCaul Street Unit 29-31, which just opened not long ago. They mainly have Rice Dishes and Noodle Dishes, no sushi and sashimi. It is like fast food Japanese restaurant (average food is $4 or $5). They have put some thoughts in the restaurant design. The menu signs have bigger Japanese with small English explanation underneath, which gives the place a lot of character. I felt I was in Japan for a second.
Since we don’t see many restaurants like that in T.O, I decided to try something new. I ordered Ochazuke and Takoyaki.
Pic 1: Ochazuke: A warm bowl of rice in a tea broth topped with nori seaweed and okaki cracker
I really like the brown part of the rice, it is crispy. The tea broth taste subtle but really nice. In the middle of rice ball, there are some canned tuna meat, which add some flavor to the rice. It is an interesting dish to try but it mainly is rice in tea. I prefer my meal has veggie, meat and carbs all together.
Pic 2: Takoyaki: Flour with octopus in the center grilled on hot plate, topped with Takoyaki sauce, Katsuo (dried tuna flakes) and Aonori (green seaweed)
Katsuo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skipjack_tuna
6 balls are served in a simple white plate. The plate is really hot. The heat makes the dry tuna flakes move in an interesting way, as if it is dancing. It is a fun fish to try. When you bite into it, the fish flakes and seaweed added very unique flavors. However, I didn’t find a big chunk of octopus in the center. Maybe it has been blended with the flour. With $5 price, I guess I can’t ask too much.
Overall, it is an interesting restaurant, if you are looking for something exotic and authentic. For example, you can order Natto Gohan, which a traditional Japanese food, made from fermented soybeans. From what I heard from friends, I was intimidated to try that dish because the strong texture. Maybe one day…
Well, I wasn’t planning to make sandwiches. I made some dips and mayonnaise for the first time, but my Chinese brain wouldn’t find a creative way to eat them, so they ended up in sandwiches. It actually tastes really good with whole wheat bread fresh baked from Cob’s Bread!( http://www.cobsbread.com/)
I started with Sesame and Lime Mayonnaise. I didn’t know mayonnaise are so easy to make: make 1 tablespoon of sesame, 1 garlic clove and a pinch of salt into a form of paste; add 3 organic egg yolks, 4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice and a little pepper; use a mixer beat them until the mixture is frothy; slowly beat in 1 cup olive oil and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil; season to taste.
Addicted to the blender, I made Pistachio and Mint Salsa, according to Louise Pickford’s great Sauces book. I first blend 1/3 cup pistachio nuts, handful of fresh mint leaves, 1 garlic clove, 2 scallions and ½ cup olive oil. Then stir in 2 teaspoons of vinegar and season to taste.
Here is my fist ever sandwich: Sesame and Lime Mayonnaise, Pistachio and Mint Salsa, avocado and carrots on whole wheat bread with sesame seed. Of course, how can I forget about meat? I add generous amount of Prosciutto. The sandwich is full of goodies, maybe the taste is a big strong on the sesame side, but I like it!
My friend Eric told me about Japanese mayonnaise and it is very interesting.
“Japanese mayonnaise is typically made with apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar and a small amount of MSG, which gives it a different flavor profile from mayonnaise made from distilled vinegar. It is most
often sold in soft plastic squeeze bottles. Its texture is thinner than most Western commercial
mayonnaises. A variety containing karashi (Japanese mustard) is also common. Apart from salads, it is popular with dishes such as okonomiyaki, takoyaki and yakisoba. It is sometimes served with cooked vegetables, or mixed with soy sauce or wasabi and used as dips. In the Tōkai region, it is a frequent condiment on hiyashi chuka (cold noodle salad). Kewpie (Q.P.) is the most popular brand of Japanese mayonnaise, advertised with a Kewpie doll logo. People who are known to like mayonnaise are commonly called mayoler (マヨラー) by their friends.”
Japanese also make Wasabi Mayonnaise. Since I don’t like wasabi, I hope someone else can try it and tell me….
