The Prahok Epiphany

Does one have to constantly be seeking out exotic, hard to source foods in order to be considered a "gourmand"???

Through the years I have come to appreciate and sometimes even tolerate many types of foods. Although I no longer have a viscerally violent reaction to prahok, in life there will be times when one must just come to accept certain things about one's self. I don't like prahok.

The prahok adventure is part of my work on writing a menu for my restaurant that will give people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home.

Living in LA there are great restaurants within a stone's throw of practically every corner. When I mentioned to my friends and family that I would like to open a restaurant there are all these suggestions on checking out the current trend and either follow it or top it. Some of these trends include serving offals such as heart, ears, brain, and apparently rotten fish or in more palatable terms, fish made by the art of fermentation.

A week of working with prahok, really made me think. In order to become a successful chef/restauranteur is it no longer enough to be able to make the perfect braised beef brisket with a fruit forward Merlot reduction? Or a consomme that is almost as clear as water yet so rich and deep in flavor and viscosity that without looking one might mistaken it for a cream soup?

One of the most exotic things I've come to appreciate is Cantonese clay pot rice. I have yet to find the perfect one. Because it seems so simple, most places don't serve it anymore and those that do can't seem to make it right. The elegance is in it's simplicity and that simplicity is the most difficult to perfect.

Here's my prahok epiphany: They only type of chef/restauranteur I've always wanted to be is one that serves great food that'll bring a smile to people's faces and for that hour or so they're at my restaurant, the food will hopefully take their minds off the day's turmoils. I want it to be a place for friends and family to gather and be joyful.

Therefore, I'm going to make and serve foods I like to eat. The foods I like to eat usually either takes hours or days to make. In today's fast pace, high technology society, most people don't have the time to spend hours or even days cooking so for me to do that for them is already giving people an experience they won't be able to replicate at home. Besides when I invite people over for dinner I just cook foods I like to eat and have received rave reviews so I'm going to take that and run with it.

The most successful people always say to do what you love and love what you do. In the end, it'll all sort itself out.

Me and Prahok

My first taste of prahok was about 5 years ago when I was living in a suburb of St. Paul, MN. Prahok is a fermented fish paste used as a condiment in Cambodian cooking like fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking. When I opened the jar, the smell was so pungent, it reminded me of garbage rotting in the sweltering heat of Indian land fills. I immediately closed it, stuck it in the freezer and waited for trash day to take it out.

Although my parents are Chinese, they were raised in Cambodia so when I was growing up my mom would occasionally add some Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai food to her repertoire of Chinese dinners. 

Thanks to Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime, I grew up in the very Nordic South Dakota, where I was related to every Chinese person in the community.  My mom was MY authority on Chinese food and everything she made I considered Chinese food.  Even though my mom would call those various dishes by their native names, I, having a very limited Chinese vocabulary at the time, thought it was all Chinese food and everything she says must be Chinese. Silly me.

It wasn't until I left home and went to university that I started to really distinguish the differences in Asian food and realized what my mom called those dishes were not in Chinese.

From the "plethora" of Asian restaurants in Arizona, where I went to university, I started to learn the country of origins of the food I ate as a child. However, some of the dishes I craved, no one sold. When I asked my mom, she said they are Cambodian dishes and started to teach me how to make them. She warned me her recipes are not exactly authentic as some Cambodian flavors are just too pungent for her Chinese palette. One of the most significant difference is that she eliminates the prahok in her recipes. I was fine with it as long as it tasted like what I remembered. 

As I became more and more adventurous in my cooking, I also started to become more curious about authentic, traditional recipes. 

Then about 5 years ago I took a job that required me to move back to the midwest. I was still experimenting with recipes and came by some traditional Cambodian recipes. Some of it required the use to prahok. That's when I had my first encounter with prahok as described in the beginning of this story.

Now living in Los Angeles, I recently watched an episode of Andrew Zimmern in Cambodia and how much he enjoyed prahok. So I decided to try it again especially since about 2 years ago I visited Cambodia for the first time and yes, although the food looked like what my mom cooked, there was a slight difference. 

This time I asked my aunt, my dad's brother's wife. Like my parents, she is also Chinese but grew up in Cambodia. She prefers prahok and doesn't think Cambodian food tastes right without it.

So yesterday I ventured to Cambodia town in Long Beach, CA, where the largest Cambodian population resides outside of Cambodia.

I went into one of the bigger grocery stores there KH Supermarket. As I was walking down the spice aisle, then the jarred sauce aisle I was starting to get a bit upset. There was not a jar of prahok to be found. How could this be possible??? A Cambodian grocer not selling prahok is like a Japanese market not selling soy sauce! Then I found it, prahok has it own aisle.

Confused as to which to buy, I asked a lady that was holding her sleeping child on one side of her body. In part Cambodian, part English, she recommended one in its plain form but highly recommends another that already has a slew of spices added to it. She says she uses that everyday. I figured I'll save that one for when I'm extremely versatile in my prahok uses.

Armed with my shiny new jar of prahok. I'm going to make a pork and prahok terrine. Its a steamed meatloaf similar to a dish my Cantonese grandma use to make but she used Cantonese style dried salt fish and julienned ginger, where as I'm going to use prahok and lime zest.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for the results. ;-)

Day 19-21

Sometimes I wonder how I’ve managed to still be alive.  Not just alive, but to also have all my limbs in tact.

Yesterday a wild leopard came inches away from me. Then I followed it for 20 minutes. Later on I watched a wild elephant with giant tusks do his “you’re making me uncomfortable and I’m thinking about attacking you” dance.

Two days ago when I checked into my room at a lodge around the Kruger National Park, the grounds keeper told me not to walk around after dark because I am on a wildlife reserve and there aren’t any fences separating me from the wild animals. There was a lion roaming around a couple of weeks ago. Last month a security guard took his dinner to his room, fell asleep with the door open, a hyena came by to finish his dinner for him and went on to have him for desert. That’s comforting.

Last year, down in Gansbaai, I was told “sharks don’t eat humans, they prefer baby seals”. Without the thought even crossing my mind, I proceeded to don a black, head to toe wetsuit.  Hindsight is always 20/20 and in hindsight, with my barely 5 ft height, in the dark abyss of the ocean, I bare a striking resemblance to a baby seal.  

Then to really test the sharks, I jumped into a cage in the middle of the ocean while someone else threw fish blood and guts around me to try to attract the sharks towards me. All this just so I can come face to face with a 14 feet long great white shark.

Some may call it being adventurous. Some may call it having a death wish. I call it money well spent!

Money I’ve spent to learn a few survival skills, even though my instincts will tell me to do the complete opposite of those skills in times of need. Nature does tend to have a way of eliminating the weaker specie.

Here are some tips I've learned from experience on how to better avoid elimination:

When encountering sharks while swimming, don’t move.

If you run, a lion will chase you and eat you. If you bend down to tie your shoelaces, a lion will pounce on you and eat you. Walk tall and with a purpose and you can coexist with it.  It will either walk with you or walk away from you. 

A rhino doesn’t mind being followed just don’t get in between him and his food or him and his females. He’s built like a tank and will gladly plow down a human.

A leopard will rub his face on trees and grass to mark his territory. Stay out of his way.

Wild African male buffalos are always in a pissed off mood. Leave him alone.

When walking down a dirt road, the warthog has the right of way at all intersections.  He gets to cross the road first, always.

Don’t feed the baboons. Throw rocks at them.

When walking in the bush in Africa, wear long pants and sneakers.

At the end of the day, a piece of ostrich steak grilled medium rare can be much tastier than a beef filet mignon. Wildebeast is tough to chew and kudus taste much better when turned into biltong, air dried meat.

Next stop...Ghana. Stay tuned….

Day 18

Although I pretty much spend almost every waking moment eating food, talking about food, cooking food, buying food, and now writing about food, occasionally I do stumble upon a sobering moment and something else catches my attention.

Today was one of those days.  Today I woke up at 5am to walk with a group of five 2 years old lions by 7am.  At almost 2 years old, they already weigh over 200 lbs.

I'm in Polokwane, staying at the Protea Ranch, where there's a lion conservatory in the back yard. In the summer, it's best to get up early to go walking with them otherwise it gets too hot. I came to understand this halfway through our walk. I've walked with lions (different ones every time) in the winter and fall but this time as the morning progresses, and the heat started to rise, I can see the lions panting, slowing down, and laying down much more than usual.

No matter how many times I've walked with lions, each time is just as surreal as the last. It is absolutely surreal to have lions graze my legs as I'm walking. Absolutely surreal to have them nudge me a little with their head from behind as they're trying to pass by to get to each other.  Absolutely surreal to be standing there surrounded by a group of lions and not feeling any fear. Or standing right next to a lion, looking over a small pond and an open field together watching another lions disappear into the tall grass only to see it again as it jumps up to pounce on yet another lion. Watching them play and pounce and cuddling up to one another, it's hard to remember that they are LIONS. They were so cute I just wanted to jump in and play with them.

However, I am quickly reminded of their strength and power because although they are very quiet, when one comes up to you from behind, you definitely feel their presence.

I want a pet lion.

Onward to Kruger....stay tune...

Day 12-17

Cape Town has alway been my favorite city in S. Africa. Beautiful mountain ranges, clean, gorgeous beaches, perfect weather, and lots of natural wildlife around.

Every time I come to S. Africa, it's always been about the animals. I'm either going on safari, walking with lions, feeding giraffes, and/or swimming with sharks.  Although the previously mentioned activities might be a healthier option, this time it's all going to be about the food and wine.

5 days of eating and drinking in Cape Town has given me a whole new perspective on S. Africa.

First it was lobster. Then it was tiger prawns. The last three days were filled with wine tastings and fine dining restaurants. It's hard not to like this city!

My first wine adventure was about a 20 minute drive outside of the city center to the Groot (upper) Constantia vineyards. It is filled with lush greenery and old school English buggies and carriages that are painted an emerald green. The entrance was lined with massive oak trees. The buildings were original 17th century Dutch architecture. On a hot South African summer day, their cool, buttery chardonnay was perfect to help cool things down.

Being a foodie, I can't help but feel the best part of Constantia was their Italian restaurant, Constantia-Uitsig, where I feasted on kingklip and salmon carpaccio, seared foie gras with red wine poached pears, soft, chewy bread with a crisp and crunchy crust slathered with soft butter, and seared wildebeast with red wine and truffle sauce. Oh and I almost forgot the fresh made fettucini with tomato ragu of venison, lamb, and pork topped with fresh grated parmesan reggiano.  The finishing touch was vanilla affogato, dark espresso poured over scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I'm in Cape Town! Just one day of wine tasting would just be shameful.  So the next day it was off to Stellenbosch wine region with a stop over in Franschhoek for lunch. It's a little over an hour drive outside of Cape Town.  If you're looking for a French Hemmingway summer with a Dutch accent, this is the place to for you.

White buildings, tree lined streets filled with outdoor cafes of french bistros, and little boutique wine, cheese, chocolate shops is only the start of Stellenbosch.  From the moment we turned off the highway following the arrow that directed us to the town, there are vineyards after vineyards of wine makers to fill any wine connoisseurs' delight.

Right through Stellenbosch and up the mountain to Franschhoek. We arrived at a little cottage halfway up the mountain. Inside is a French restaurant called Le Petite Ferme (the little farm). I was told the restaurant fills up quickly and the best seats are outside. So I made reservations 3 days earlier just to sit outside. It was definitely worth the wait.

The table is outside on a stone tiled terrace. Above the table is a bunch of intertwining trees creating a canape to shield us from the sun. It also sits right in front of rows and rows of grape vines, overlooking beautiful mountain ranges, an open meadow, and a little lake. It made me want to set up at easel and start painting. It's quite unfortunate that my painting abilities are limited to stick figures.

Now the highlight of my day - lunch. For starters we had chicken liver pate with crisp baguette crostini and pork belly confit with dark berry preserve. Then a main course of lightly smoked trout with lemon dill baby potatoes. My colleagues had braised lamb with roasted eggplants and roasted quail stuffed with chorizo, cheese, and mediterranean vegetables, served with sweet pumpkin puree.  Of course I had a little bit of everything. Desert was a light pavlova (baked meringue) topped with fresh whipped cream and chilled summer fruit cocktail of mangoes, green apples, grapes, and passionfruit.

Washed down with a bottle of their house Shiraz and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, lunch took 2 hours.  With temperatures around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and a cool summer breeze blowing through, it was a great day!

Sadly, today is my last day in Cape Town. Me being me, I had to squeeze in just one more meal.  This time it was in a quaint place right in the heart of downtown in an old abandoned stone building. The restaurant is called the Savoy Cabbage.

For starters I had seared foie gras with sweet peach summer peach confit. Then the smoothest, lightest, airiest chicken liver mousse I have ever tasted. Spread on a thin slice of brioche crostini and topped with poached figs, if there wasn't a chance of it clogging up my arteries, I would like to start my day, everyday, with this dish.

After so many days of rich, delicious foods, I thought I'd go lean today and only ordered one entree with no desert after the starters. The entree is called the three little pigs - smoked pork shoulder, grilled pork loin, and braised pork belly. Yup, eating light. Every bite was tender where it needs to be tender, smokey where a bit of smokiness was called upon, and crispy at all the right places.

At the end of this meal is where a cup of peppermint tea to soothe the richness was definitely in order.

Off to Polokwane tonight. I love Cape Town.

Stay tune...

Day 11

I know I said I'd stay away from game but I'm in Africa. I just couldn't help it. Especially since the rest of the dish sounded so good. I had wildebeast for lunch today. Seared rare, it came with perfectly steamed baby potatoes, sauteed pine nuts and kale, and the best part, red wine sauce with truffle oil. The wildebeast itself didn't have much flavor and was very lean.  In fact, it hurt my jaw after a while from all the chewing, but with the sauce it was great!

I read some where that the secret to great blogging is to keep it short. I'm going to try it. However, those who know me, knows that I've got the gift of gab so let's see how long this will last.

Going to Franschhoek tomorrow for lunch then off to the Stellenbosch vineyards. Franschhoek is Dutch meaning French corner for the French Huguenots that settled there around 1685. Today it's known as the food and wine heartland of South Africa.

Stay tuned....

Day 10

In the last 2 days I learned two new things. Apple lapacho is my new favorite tea and rock lobster legs, the part that sticks out of the the head resembling whiskers, are the best part of the lobster when cooked right.

I discovered apple lapacho my last night in Johannesburg when I asked the server for a cup of decaf tea to help me sleep better. He suggested Five Roses (a popular brand of tea in S. Africa) peppermint tea. I agreed since I usually like a cup of peppermint tea after dinner to help with digestions.  A few minutes after taking my order he comes back to tell me that they are out of that brand but suggested a nice calming tea called apple lapacho.  His accent made it a bit difficult for me to make out what he was trying to say but I thought I'd be a bit adventurous and just trust him on it.  Great decision on my part!

When he brought the tea out I hardly paid any attention and continued to read my emails on my phone. Within a second of the tea streaming from the pot and hardly even having a chance to hit the cup, a sweet aroma grabs my nose and lifts my head up and away from my phone. It reminds me of when I bite into a crisp, sweet, juicy apple and my nose involuntarily grazes the inside of the apple, getting apple juice on the tip of my noise, then smelling that sweet flavor until I get a chance to wipe it off.

The best part was it tasted like green tea and had all the characteristics of a green tea - light and calming with a tiny bit of bitterness. Yet there was a sweet apple aftertaste that lingers on my taste buds long after I've drank the tea.

The server was right. I slept like a baby that night.

The next day I headed out to Cape Town and my first meal was at Panama Jack's.  It was in the middle of the industrial part of the harbor surrounded by a bunch of big fishing boats that are dry docked.  It also looks like a wooden shack.  Inside the ceiling was draped with all sorts of flags and the interior is how I would imagine the lower deck of an old wooden ship would resemble.

I ordered a west coast rock lobster, steamed. The fun part was I get to go catch the lobster in their tanks. It was the first time I got to see a lobster swim. I never really gave it any thought before but it was pretty neat. They tuck their tails in and darts off!

The lobster was steamed perfectly, but the best part were the legs. This was a rock lobster so it didn't have any claws and its legs are quite thin so I didn't think much of it.  My colleague told me that if I cracked the legs in half, I should be able to separate the shell and meat quite easily by just slowing pulling it apart. He was right! And the meat was sweet, juicy, tender and oh so delicious! Even better than the tail.

This is my third time in Cape Town, S. Africa. My previous trips here were all about the adventures - shark diving, chasing penguins, etc.  This time I'm going to make it about food.

Stay tuned....

Day 9

When ever I come to South Africa, the tourist in me always feels the need to eat game meat at least once before I leave. Game meat is not to be mistaken for bush meat, which is illegal and requires inhumane killing of endangered species.

Game meat refers to African game such as ostrich, springbok, kudu, etc. Springbok resembles a deer and kudu, in a long stretch can be considered beef. I've tried it many times and cooked in many ways but just like any other game, it can be a bit on the dry side.

Last night I had springbok carpaccio but passed on the kudu. It was nice but I think its only because it was sliced so thin.

I'm not a game meat fan in the states so I'm not sure why I always feel the need to have it when in Africa. So last night I decided that unless someone describes it to me as to how exactly it's going to be cooked or if its braised in red wine and finished off with aged black truffle oil, I think I'm going to start passing on it.

Today I had another popular faire in South Africa - kingklip fish. Popular because its only found in southern hemisphere waters. Although it can also be found in the southern countries in South America, it's very popular here in South Africa. I think it looks like an oversized tadpole or possibly a monkfish- big head, long thin body and tail.

Kingklip is a firm fish so it's very easy to over cook. In Johannesburg, it seems every where I go, the popular way to serve it is pan seared, then finished off in the oven, and doused in beurre blanc sauce (melted butter and white wine). Either it's the way people here prefer it or I've just been choosing the wrong restaurants but it's always so dry. It's got such potential because it does have a natural sweetness to it.  I think it would be much better dipped in beer batter and served as fish and chips or steamed with soy, julienned ginger and scallions like the Chinese do it.

Tomorrow, off to Cape Town. Being closer to the water, I'm hoping for some nice fish.

Stay tuned....

Day 8

Vietnamese food is by far one of my favorite cuisines in the world. Living in California, specifically Los Angeles, I tend to take it for granted since Vietnamese restaurants are almost as common as grocery stores.

Vietnam is a close neighbor to Singapore, yet somehow the food does not transfer well. It is extremely difficult to find good Vietnamese food in Singapore. In fact, it’s almost worth it to take the hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon) just to get that luscious, savory, soothing bowl of rice noodles in rich beef broth with thin sliced tender beef and fresh herbs that is so famously known as Pho.

Never one to admit defeat, I decided to try a place I recently found fairly close to my hotel – Annam Vietnamese restaurant. It was a decision well made!

I especially liked their décor. It reminds me of the French colonial style interiors of the pre war era. It's a fusion of French country and south east Asian artistry creating the "Indochine" imagery regularly portrayed in novels and films associated with this region of the world during that time period.

Going back to the food, I had 2 appetizers because I wanted a light dinner and didn't quite feel like a bowl of noodle soup.  First I had Cha Gio, deep fried spring rolls. Their version was made with whole shrimps wrapped in a weave like rice paper that made the spring rolls look like it was wrapped in crispy, thin threads that resembled a bird’s nest. Every bite was crispy, crunchy, garlicy, with chunks of tender shrimp. Wrapped in butter lettuce and fresh herbs then dipped in a salty, tangy, garlicy, spicy fish sauce vinaigrette made it a perfect meal. I could've eaten it all day!

My second dish and main course was Bahn Xeo, a type of crepe that is made with rice flour, tumeric, and coconut milk. It is then filled with a stir fry combination of savory pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts.  This was the best version I’ve had for the crepe was extra crispy around the edge and crisp, yet still chewy in the middle. At the same time there was just enough coconut milk to bring out a slight sweetness and coconut flavor, giving it a mouth watering aroma. They also garnished it with fried shallots and scallion oil to add even more layers of flavors and aromas, making this dish absolutely irresistible. It was a mess trying to cut it up, wrap it in butter lettuce and herbs, then dipping it in the fish sauce vinaigrette, but it was well worth it.

I then washed it all down with my favorite south east Asian drink - coconut juice straight out of a coconut.

The only downside to this place is all that yumminess comes at a price. For those 2 appetizers and coconut juice I paid about $63 SGD, about $60 USD.  In Los Angeles, that would have probably cost at most $20 USD including tip. Which reminds me of a fun fact. There is no need to tip in Asia because a 10% service charge is automatically added to all bills so they don’t expect a tip. I always add an extra 10% if the service is better than the usual.

Nonetheless, despite the prices, it was a great meal to end my stay in Singapore.

Next stop…Africa! Stay tuned…..

Day 7

Getting Hainanese chicken rice in Sinagapore is like getting hot dogs in Chicago or pizza in New York City. It’s everywhere and everyone has their opinion on where to get the best in town.

My first encounter with Hainanese chicken rice was my freshman year of college at a friend's house whose mom was from Hainan. I thought it was genius. What was I thinking just cooking my rice in plain water when it could taste so good cooked in chicken broth and chicken fat?! Since then I haven't had it better than my first trip to Singapore when I took a hiatus from my US university to be a student in a Japanese University.

Hainanese chicken rice, as the name implies, originated in Hainan, located in south eastern China. However, everyone who is familiar with Singapore, has been to Singapore, and those living there will claim that chicken rice is the national dish.  It’s basically cut up pieces of steamed chicken, served over a bed of rice that has been cooked in the chicken broth, accompanied by some sliced cucumbers and a side of chicken broth. It's also served with three types of dipping sauce: dark, sweet soy sauce (it has the consistency of a balsamic reduction), chili sauce, and grated ginger sauce.

Eat it however you want. Most people like to drizzle the thick dark soy sauce over the rice first then dip the chicken in the chili and ginger.  For those, like myself, who aren’t too keen on just steamed chicken, there is also the roasted chicken version. I believe it’s much tastier and the skin has a lot more flavor. 

I have eaten at more chicken rice places in Singapore than I can count.  I have eaten it from hawker food stalls to fancy fine dining establishments and everywhere else in between. My conclusion is this, you should only pay about $3 SGD, a little over $2 USD for your chicken rice.

Case in point, the best chicken rice I’ve had is at a hawker food stall at the Tiong Bharu food center.  The chicken breast was moist and succulent. The broth was clear, light, and appeared to have little to no fat. The rice was fragrant of chicken essence and not at all greasy for rice that has been cooked in chicken broth and chicken fat.  It was very filling and cost me $2.50 SGD (about $2 USD).

The worst I’ve had is at the Mandarin Oriental hotel. Everyone seems to boast about it, even my taxi driver. There I paid $27 SGD (about $21 USD) for a plate of cold, dry, mealy chicken and plain flavorless rice.

In essence, if you’re paying anymore than $3 for your chicken rice in Singapore, you’re pretty much paying for air conditioning and a softer chair to sit.  Now if you’re really keen on that environment to enjoy your chicken rice, I recommend the Sheraton Towers hotel. They make a more than decent roasted chicken rice. It’ll cost about $24 SGD (about $20 USD), but the atmosphere is nice and when it’s 100 degrees F outside with 85% humidity I WILL pay extra for the air conditioning and not have to sweat it out on a plastic stool at a hawker food center. That's just me though. =)

Stay tuned for my next meal....

Day 6

For the last 2 years, my colleagues have raved about high tea at the Fullerton Hotel. Even Anthony Bourdain suggested it on his show, "The Layover".

Maybe my standards for high tea are different than theirs.  Here is what I look for when I choose a venue for high tea.  I like a nice relaxing, quite atmosphere with some sort of classical music, preferably piano and a live performer of course would be icing on the cake. High tea is suppose to be a way of taking a breather in the middle of the day to have a cup of tea, some delicate snacks, and sweets to rejuvenate one's self.  Its also a great way to relax with some friends and catch up on the latest in each other's lives. 

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Fullerton Hotel is that their high tea is served right in the lobby almost immediately after the front entrance. This means that everyone who enters the hotel becomes a part of your experience. That includes crying babies, rowdy children, people dragging their luggage, shoppers in the various retail stores that surrounds the tea venue, etc.  If I was looking for an open air coffee shop to people watch in the hallway of a mall, this place would be perfect.

Nonetheless since I already paid the cab fare to get there, I might as well stay to see if my experience will improve.  Everything deserves a chance.  So I ordered the tea set and a pot of pai mu tan white tea.  Pai mu tan is Chinese for white peony flower.  It was very fragrant with a slight honey hue to it. Quite nice.

Unfortunately the tea set was almost equivalent if not worse than cakes and sandwiches that I would expect to find in a train station vending machine.

The chocolate cake tasted like dark brown butter smeared between slices of mealy, yellow bread. The cheese cake was cream cheese with pastel purple food coloring. The signature crispy layer of burnt sugar that distinguishes creme brulee from regular pudding was in their version, a layer of simple syrup. Simple syrup is a mixture of water and white sugar boiled down to a slight thickness.

The sandwiches were mostly bread with a layer of filling so thin that the only purpose it could serve is to glue the slices of bread together, not a smidgen more.  The canapes' minuscule dallop of inedible topping made the small cuts of bread seem to be the size of plates.

In addition to my disappointment of the food, as I am minding my own business, reading my newspaper and sipping my cup of tea, I hear this snipping sound. Although it was so distinguishable I knew exactly what it was right when I heard it, I just didn't want to believe it could be happening in this so called posh hotel. As much as I didn't want to, I was betrayed by my instincts because right when I heard the sounds I immediately looked up and sure enough, there it was. A saleswoman in the hotel's blindingly, bright lighted "luxury" jewelry store was sitting in the middle of that shop clipping her finger nails. I paid $42 SGD, roughly $33 USD for all this.  Enough said.

From now on if I have a desire to tea again in Singapore, I will stick to my usual haunt - 10 Scott located in the ground floor of the Grand Hyatt hotel. It's a lounge with low couches and slightly dim lighting. Most importantly, although its always open and very welcoming, this place has doors and glass walls that separate it from the rest of the hotel traffic.

Part of the charm of having high tea in former British colonies, especially in Asia, is that sometimes the tea set will include a local dish that's been scaled down to a bite size piece of hors d'oeuvre. At 10 Scott, this comes in the form of a sliced up mini burrito call po piah.  

Po piah means thin cake in Hokkien. Hokkien, otherwise known as Fujian in Mandarin, is one of the many branches of ethnicities within China. There is a fair amount of Hokkien people in southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Singapore. And po piah, I believe, is one of their traditional dishes. It resembles a burrito filled with stewed veggies, mainly radishes and carrots, wrapped in a crepe-like shell (the po piah) that's been smeared with a dark plum sauce inside. The combination of sensations on your taste buds created by those savory veggies, sweet sauce, and soft, delicate wrap makes it inexplicably hard to stop eating this deceivingly, simple, veggie "burrito".

For those with a sweet tooth, there's a set up in the back of the room that flambes fresh rings of pineapples with a splash of brandy. This technique surrounds the juicy pineapples with a slight, smokey, burnt caramel flavor. To make it even more sinful, they top it with a scoop of freshly whipped cream. Just sweet enough to satiate any sugar cravings.

I promise this is the last time I write about high tea.

Stay tuned for my next meal...

Day 5

I'm pretty convinced that I've gained back the 2 lbs I lost this week after today's gorge-fest.

Since most of the Chinese food establishments are closed for the lunar new year holiday, I figure I should try the delicacies of another major ethnic group here in Singapore - Indian.

It was a little bit of an adventure getting there. I asked the cab driver to go to Race Course Rd, a street in Little India named after the race course that use to be there.  Now it's known for it's restaurants. I quickly realize I really ought to pay more attention when I'm in a cab.  The cabby stops at the part of Race Course Rd that's in the middle of a residential area. Obviously there weren't any restaurants there.  He said this is it, so I got out of the cab. Luckily I saw that to my left about a half a block up was another Race Course Rd that seems to veer off to the left. I walk towards it and thanks to the GPS on my phone was able to see that if I kept going, there were going to be a few restaurants coming up.

The first restaurant I stumbled upon, Muthu's Curry, looked clean, air conditioned, and most importantly, popular. The restaurant was busy, filled with both Singaporeans and Indians. An important indication on the quality of the food at an ethnic restaurant - people of that ethnicity eat there too. Being such a hot day, (it's hot everyday in Singapore, but today felt extra hot) I was ready for some air conditioning.

The stars of the food universe must have aligned correctly for the food was everything I wanted and more. My favorite part of Indian food is if you order the right spread, you'll get a rainbow of flavor that are all different yet compliment each other perfectly without any redundancy.

So I order my usual variety to better gauge how I would like their food.  First they set down a bowl of pappadam.  They're Indian potato chips but made with flour and the batter is sprinkled with salt and whole cumin seeds to give it an slight perfumed aroma. I liked their version so much I almost bought a bag!

Next came the garlic naan bread, which I would've liked for them to cook it a bit longer to get the nice crisp on the bottom.

Then came tiger prawn masala. The masala sauce had a great smokey flavor to it but the prawns were very much overcooked. It was actually hard to chew.

At the same time, they brought the paneer. Paneer is Indian cheese made by simmering milk and lemon juice until the curds float to the top. Then wrapping those curds in cheese cloth and hanging it in the fridge for it to drain and solidify. It's usually cut into cubes and mixed with your choice of gravy.  Today I chose the spinach gravy.  It was good but nothing too exciting.

Last but not least they brought out the biryani rice (basmati rice mixed with dried fruit, nuts, and infused with saffron) and the main attraction, fish head curry.

Fish head curry is a Singaporean-Indian adaptation from Indian migrants fusing traditional technique with local ingredients. Much like how California rolls are made popular by Japanese-Americans. Except fish head curry is delicious! Made correctly, I can't get enough of it. And Muthu Curry's rendition deserves every bit of praise.

Just like the name implies, it's a fish head from a massive local fish that looks like snapper. It's then drenched in a velvety, slightly spicy, red sauce with a light tamarind tang mixed with okras, herbs, and topped with chunks of fresh pineapples. I've had fish head curry at other places before that although the sauce is always great, the fish is usually a bit dry.  At Muthus, however, the fish was still moist and drenched in the sauce I almost wanted to put it in a cup and just drink it.

In addition to the spread I ordered that's enough to feed a small village, the wait staff came over and plopped down 2 complimentary heaping scoops of 2 different veggie dishes. Perhaps it was meant to cool down some of the spice. One was a crunchy cabbage slaw mixed with non spicy curry powder, yogurt, fresh peas, and lentils.  Very refreshing. The other was eggplants and bell peppers stewed in tomato sauce. Both very fresh and flavorful.

Speaking of spice, although the food was spicy, it was a good spice.  Meaning that it provided just enough heat to keep things going but still allowed room for all the other flavors to shine.

This grand spread all came to about $60 USD.

Well, as if I didn't get enough food here. I just remembered, I made reservations yesterday at the Fullerton Hotel to have high tea in about 2 hours. Good golly!

Stay tune..I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Day 4

I finally had Yu Sheng or Lo Hei for dinner tonight. It was completely by accident. I'm on a conquest to find the best Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore so I thought I'd try the restaurant in my hotel lobby.  Right when I sat down, they served me a plate of lo hei. It was their way of wishing their guest good fortune for the new year. Just as I had imagined, its a sashimi salad with a sweet dressing. It was quite refreshing and a good palette opener.

Speaking of Hainanese chicken rice, note to self : When in Singapore, avoid eating Chinese food during the first 3 days of Chinese new year.  They are all closed. I found out the hard way when I was looking for place to have chicken rice for lunch earlier today.  The one I originally wanted to go to was closed so the cabby drove me to 2 others that were also closed, then a 4th had people lined up around the block. Probably because it was the only one open.

Finally I told him to drive to Dempsey Hill.  Dempsey Hill is a part of Singapore that resembles an outdoor mall filled mainly with restaurants of all sorts.  Upon arrival I stumbled upon The Dempsey Brasserie. They had moules frites with truffle skinny fries on the menu. I was sold.

For starters I had a half dozen raw oysters from Tazmania.  Sweet, plump, fresh, and very cleanly shucked. The worst is slurping down a great piece of oyster only to have crunchy bits of shard from the shell to ruin it all.  But this wasn't the case here. It was great!

Then I ordered a small pot of moule frites in vin blanc broth with truffle fries and some black angus beef sliders. These were all very disappointing.  Moules frites is a popular Belgian dish that consists of green lip mussels steamed in various broths served in a tin pot with a side of fries.  Although the mussels were cooked well, the broth was merely warmed white wine mixed with cooked onions and sprinkled with chopped parsley. Very bland. The fries had a slight truffles flavor but once cold was inedible.

Sliders have got to be my favorite way to eat burgers. Bite size juicy beef patties doused in ketchup and mustard topped with melted cheese. What's there not to like?  But these were so bland, instead of the condiments complimenting the patties, all I could taste WERE the condiments. Its was the only part with flavor.

Back to the mussels. If you ever really have an urge for Belgian food, particularly moules frites when you're in Singapore, make your own.  This is my second go at having moules frites in Singapore and I'm not about to throw anymore money down the drain. My first experience was at Brussels Sprouts on Robertson Quay.  It boasts itself as a Belgian restaurant but the only part they got right was importing a massive beer selection from Belgium. The mussels were rubbery and the fries were cold and stale. They're sampler platter of hors d'oeuvres tasted like it came out of cans and I've eaten enough canned food in college to KNOW that flavor.

However, if you've got the time and money and you're really craving Belgian style steamed mussels, I suggest taking a trip to Hong Kong. Frites in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong is the closest Belgian faire you can find outside of Belgium.  Another place is Hercules on bar street in Beijing.  It's a bit hard to find and they only serve mussels on Thursdays but it's worth it. Hercules also makes the best pastrami sandwiches in Asia.

Tomorrow I'm going to Little India....stay tuned....

Day 3

Happy Chinese New Year! Gung hei fat choi!

When in Singapore during the lunar new year it seems the popular thing to do would be to go for some Yu Sheng or Lo Hei. It's the same thing, just depends on who's talking about it.  Yu Sheng translates to "raw fish" and lo hei means "stir up".

This Singaporean lunar new year tradition was created by 4 chefs at a Chinese restaurant here in Singapore in the mid 1960s. I'm assuming it was a big publicity scheme that exploded and turned into a tradition. Somewhat like the skepticism that Santa Claus was created by a department store's marketing department, except the chefs did exist.

The dish itself is a salad of sashimi style fish, grated or sliced raw vegetables, nuts, crackers, oils and sauce. Each element represents a different symbol of good fortune for the next year.  For example the crackers represent gold nuggets and the oil represent everything will go smooth for the next year.  It's also called "lo hei" or "stir up" because the traditional way of eating it is everyone at the table grabs their chopsticks and tosses the ingredients together at the same time while shouting out blessings such as good health, good fortune, good business, etc for the coming year. The higher you toss the ingredients the more prosperity it'll bring. Food gets every where but that's part of the fun!

It's served as an appetizer to begin the traditional new year's eve/day feast. I wasn't quite in the mood for a sashimi salad and it just seemed more like a superstitious marketing ploy than a meaningful tradition. However I figure, "when in Rome..." I guess the universe sensed my unwillingness to participate because for the last 2 days I've been trying to make reservations at restaurants that serve this dish and they're all fully booked!

Now I wasn't just going to give up. What kind of a Chinese girl would I be if I didn't have a feast to ring in the new year and bring myself a year of abundance? Therefore, I'm going to have an auspicious new year feast my way. A smorgasbord to include all the major ethnicities in Singapore - Chinese, Indian, and Malay. That's right, I don't discriminate, I appreciate.  So I went to a hawker center.

Eating at hawker centers in Singapore is a national pass time. They're everywhere!  It use to be a bunch of street food vendors scattered throughout the city until the government decided to clump them together in designated areas to better monitor their sanitation standards. A great move on their part and a blessing to us all.

There are all sorts of hawker centers. Some serve either mainly Chinese, Malay, or Indian. I like the ones that serve all 3.  My usual spot is Newton Circus. It also helps that its across the street from my hotel.

Tonight's experience was a bit disappointing as half the stalls were closed due to most of the Chinese vendors taking the night off to spend new year's day with their families. Understandable. But lucky for me, there were some troopers out there.

Chinese people loves seafood for special occasions. I am no exception so I ordered some tiger prawns grilled with garlic and BBQ skate wing topped with chili sauce. To make myself feel like I'm having a healthy meal, I ordered some steamed Chinese broccoli garnished with fried garlic and oyster sauce.  The broccoli was steamed perfectly where it was still bright green with a slight crunch to it.

I would have preferred that they cook the garlic on the prawns more. The al dente garlic was a bit pungent. Plus I kept thinking it's might give me some major heartburn tonight. So I scraped most of it off.  Without the garlic, the prawn itself were perfectly grilled and had a succulent natural sweetness to it.

I also forgot to ask to have the chili sauce for the skate wing on the side. I'm a spice wimp so it was too spicy for me. I love skate wing because I'm pretty sure it's one of the few fish that's always moist and sweet no matter how much you cook it.

Then to represent the Malays I ordered chicken and pork satays. 5 of each because they come in platters of 10. These are Malaysian style mini kebabs served with peanut sauce. Don't expect a savory peanut sauce with a slight peanut butter flavor. Its more of a sweet curry thickened with chopped peanuts. That's the style and it compliments the marinade of the satays very well.

Next came some lamb mutarbek. Its sort of an Indian quesadilla. It's naan bread filled with ground lamb, fried eggs, and onions with a side of curry instead of salsa for dipping. I was disappointed with this particular one. The naan was soggy, the lamb was very dry, and the onions weren't cooked properly. The curry dipping sauce didn't have much flavor either. The naan is suppose to be chewy with a slight crisp on the outside from it being seared to seal and meld the concoction.

Nonetheless it was a feast and I washed it all down with the juice from a sweet ice cold coconut! All for about $70 USD.

Happy Chinese New Year to me!

Day 2

Last night there was a thunderstorm here in Singapore so I opted to just have some cheese and crackers in the hotel lounge and spent the rest of the evening laughing hysterically at youtube videos. Doesn't quite qualify for culinary blog material.

So instead, I'm going to share one of my favorite things to do whenever I'm in Hong Kong - going for high tea.

As a young child I would travel with my mother to the east coast to visit her family and it was there that I decided I was going to grow up to become a lady that lunches. That was until I discovered high tea. Now I want to grow up to become a lady that lunches AND a lady of leisure.  A lady of leisure goes to tea.

I figure, I'm awake at least 14 of every 24 hour day, plenty of time for both (in addition to breakfast and dinner of course).

Ever since my initial introduction to it, I've tried to tea whenever it is available. Last week at Sevva, in the Prince's building of Hong Kong's central district was by far the most memorable.

It was a bit of a rocky start because I couldn't quite figure out how to get there. There are 3 elevators at the lobby of the building but only 2 of those elevators will go all the way up to the 25th floor where the restaurant is located. So beware. Choose wisely.

I originally sat in their balcony section because I was told the view is incredible. Unfortunately, it was raining and I was seated next to three ladies who must have deemed the content of their conversation to be incredibly interesting. For I almost had to turn around and suggest to them that if they want the people in the next building to hear their conversation, they should just go over there. Shouting is far less effective.

I eventually decided to move inside. It was the best decision I made for the next 2 hours. The cushions on the couch were much more plush. Then there were piano music in the background and the dark wooded Marie Antoinette-ish decor fits all the basic elements of the serenity that makes taking time in the middle of the day for tea so enticing.

Now, I'm a simple person. It takes very little to make me happy and forgive any previous mishaps.  This was very quickly proven when the 3 tiers of hors d'oeuvres and cakes hit the table. The signature of every high tea. I almost forgot there were other people around.

Again, this was by far the most impressive of all the high teas I've had.  There were warm crispy spring rolls, crab cakes and short rib sliders on artisan bread, fresh made sandwiches, canapes of heaping perfectly cured salmon gravlax, savory caviar, and egg salads topped with shaved earthy black truffles.

Here is where I need to give a shout out to the brilliant Earl of Sandwich. It was his seemingly vulgar insistence on eating his meals between 2 slices of bread, so that he can hold it in one hand and not have to interrupt his poker games, that inspired this scrumptous thing we now call sandwiches. Quite possibly even high tea. Cheers to the Earl!

And now to the 3rd tier. The petit fours of moist, bittersweet chocolate cake, creamy, melt in your mouth chestnut infused meringue, and light, airy cakes. All paired with a refreshingly, fragrant peppermint tea.

If I were to worship at the Church of Decadence, this would be a strong front runner for finding the holy grail.

All for 660 HKD for 2 people. Roughly $85 USD.

This is making me hungry. It's almost 5pm here in Singapore. I need a pre dinner snack.

Stay tuned for my next meal..... =)

Day 1

This is the first day I've started this blog and learning how to do it. So for anyone reading this please wish me luck for I'm definitely going to need it.

As my profile states, I've been wanting to open my own restaurant for the longest time. However, I've always been a believer in "when opportunities come knocking, open the door and see where it leads". This life motto has lead me to some amazing adventures and experiences in my life. I've traveled the world, eaten at the best restaurants, sampled the most amazing as well as bizarre foods.  But, my heart is still in having my own restaurant. So here it goes....

A little background. On a road trip to AZ with my boyfriend to visit my brother for Christmas I casually mentioned to him a restaurant idea I've had for years and he thought it was great. He thinks that I should at least draft the plans on paper. It's easier to see the possibility of something when there's a tangible element to it. I agree.

A week later, at dim sum with a friend I mentioned the same thing. He was so excited about the idea! We came up with a plan for me to cook 2 dishes a week to that might be on my menu if I had the restaurant and he'll take the pictures for any future websites or social media.  I had so much fun doing it that now I want to do more.

One teensy weensy obstacle. I have a job that requires me to travel internationally every other month for 4 weeks at a time. I know myself. Once I have an idea in my head to do something I bee-line for it and there's no stopping. However, once the momentum stops, it's hard for me to get back on the wagon.    Hence this blog. I'm hoping it'll provide some accountability.

Again, my career path has been an amazing journey and continues to be every minute of every day.

Therefore as the title states, this WILL be a "journey". A blog of my journeys around the world and an inner journey of holding myself accountable and facing all the fears and doubts involved in realizing a lifelong dream.

Stay tuned..... =)