Eating WELL in Singapore

Part III
I am completely impressed with Singapore, and it's not just the food.  Well, much of it is the food.  After all, the food is incredible.  Hainan chicken has been a favorite for a while.  Before I knew its name, some coworkers introduced me to this dish at a hopping joint 5 minutes from Mori Tower.  But in Singapore, Hainan chicken has reached the level of perfection.  We got a chance to try two versions -- the first from a stall in Maxwell's food court, and the second from Golden Mile Thien Kee Steamboat (a Chinese restaurant, not in fact a steamboat).  Both were incredible, and very likely stops 1 and 2 next time I find myself in Singapore.

Besides the food, though, I fully appreciated the deeply international feeling one gets from Singapore even during brief stints of exploration.  Signage is nearly always quadrilingual (and sometimes nearly philisophical), and it was exciting to hear the diversity of languages mingling on the trains.  It's not completely unlike something one might experience on muni, but it seems to me conversations in Cantonese or Spanish (even in the Californian context) are still considered foreign.  On the other hand, it almost seems hard to consider any language foreign in a country where four (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) rather than one are classified as official.  This is, of course, a foreigner's perspective, and a 2-day visitor at that.

Eating WELL in Bali

Part II
We enjoyed quite a few delicious meals in Bali.  Favorites were at Ubud's Cafe Batan Waru (the fried duck and chicken noodle soup) and Ibu Oka (famous for its suckling pig: the picture of which was a bit too intense to post, but the meal itself was certainly a highlight), and the immense seafood feast on the southern side of Jimbaran.

A sweet chili sauce seemed to appear at nearly every meal, and added great flavor without completely overwhelming the dish with spiciness.  I'd love to figure out how to make this, but suspect--as with most awesome sauces--that it's more difficult than it looks.

Eating WELL in Saigon

Part I
It turns out that pho lives both indoors and out, but the rain in Vietnam was light and infrequent enough not to interfere too much with the all important eating.  We in fact only had a couple of meals in sit down restaurants in Vietnam -- the good stuff could be found most anywhere, and cost around 2 US dollars.  Most impressive, I think, were the bahn mi sandwhiches, made with french bread that tasted just-baked, even after midnight.  We never did spot a bakery, however, so the source of this freshness is still a mystery.

Thai sauce algebra

A waitress at the tenderloin Thai House Express was nice enough to reveal the ingredients of the absurdly delicious spicy green sauce that's served with the house beef. Proportions, however, were not supplied, so clearly some experimentation was in order.

For the sake of:

1. science
2. those outside the reach of a late meal at THX, and
   
3. the pride of discovery

I'm posting the results for popular enjoyment.
I'm still trying to figure out the morality of reverse recipe engineering, especially from such a beloved restaurant. But for now:

Ingredients:
Cilantro (all of the above, 1/2 a grocery store bunch?)
Chopped garlic (2 cloves)
Honey/Sugar (2 Tbsp)
Fish sauce (3/4 - 1 tsp)
Lime juice (3 small limes ~ 1/4 cup)
Rice vinegar (2 Tbsp)
1/2 - 3/4 of a medium-sized jalapeno

Instructions:
Mix sugar/honey with liquid ingredients, and combine all in food processor until it looks approximately like below.

We'll need to do some side-by-side testing to evaluate the match, but the final iteration was ultra-flavorful and definitely reminiscent of the in-house flavor.





Please note that there is no substitute for the tenderloin experience (let alone the rest of the menu, yum).

Inaugural waffling

First use of the new waffle iron -- these were delicious. Note the powdered sugar flakes captured mid-fall. Thanks Allegra! Can't wait for moffles.

There is nothing better than jiaozi

My trip to San Diego included a lesson on how to fill, wrap and boil the delicious and culinarily intimidating pouches that are Chinese dumplings. Actually, it was my first time eating these outside of a Chinese restaurant, and both the making and the eating were extremely enjoyable.

The chosen variety was filled with pork and cabbage.

I took copious notes on the process, but I'm guessing that my first solo attempt will be quite humbling.

Though my Nikon is probably now being enjoyed by a lucky craigslist bargain-hunter, my phone did a semi-acceptable job of capturing some of the action.

Roll, chop, roll, chop, flatten, rotate, flatten, rotate.


Fill, pinch, boil, cool, boil, cool, boil, cool.


In addition to dumplings, San Diego had a lot to offer. Notably, at Balboa park, one of the tastiest ice cream bars I've ever had.

Grandma's macaroons

I got an excellent lesson in one of my all-time favorite baked goods from Fran's oven: almond macaroons. Here's the recipe we used, originally from Julia Child and adapted by Fran Raboff:

Makes 2 dozen macaroons 2 inches (5cm) in diameter.



Ingredients:
8 ounces almond paste
1 cup (1/4 L) sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp pure almond extract
pinch of salt
1/4 to 3/4 cup egg whites (2 to 4 whites)

Equipment:
Food processor, 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper or brown paper.

Instructions:
Prepare cookie sheets, but do not grease them or grease the paper. Preheat oven to 325 F, set racks in lower and upper middle levels.

Cut almond paste into 1/2-inch pieces. Put into container of processor and cut up finely by pulsing processor. When almond paste resembles coarse brown sugar, add granulated sugar and process again in spurts. Scrape down sides of container with spatula. Add almond extract, salt, and 1/4 cup egg whites, and process until no lumps of almond paste remain. Mixture should hold onto a spatula. If it's too stiff, add more egg white and process again.

Remove mixture to a bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon. Use pastry bag or drop mixture from a spoon to form 3/4 inch blobs on the paper, spaced 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes, switching sheets on the racks halfway through. Macaroons are done when lightly brown and crusty on top.

When cool, turn parchment paper over and dampen the back until macaroons come off easily.

Then the fun part.

Melt in a saucepan over water at low heat:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp corn syrup

Dip, dip, dip. Thanks Fran!

Outdoor dim sum

I don't understand the reason, fully, but eating dim sum outdoors (particularly when coupled with a view) is a completely different experience, and it's amazing. That Cha Xiu Bao right there set records.

Step 1: Pick up a large pink box of goods from Good Luck, the new favorite Clement St. gem. No illustrated instructions here, but the English menu is very clear and pointing at trays that look particularly tasty usually turns out well. Shrimp dumplings, BBQ pork dumplings, chive dumplings, turnip cakes, and even the less-typical potstickers are all excellent. Don't forget napkins, chopsticks and chili sauce.

Step 2: Drive/bike/jog across the bridge (the big red one) and enjoy the built-in delay between purchase and arrival. Be careful not to taste anything prematurely. Yes, it smells good, but you're almost there.

Step 3: Arrive approximately here, or really anywhere suited to sitting, eating, and viewing, but that particular stone wall has been tested and is ideal for this activity.

Step 4: Enjoy the cool breeze (but not too cool. choose day, season wisely).

Step 5: Appreciate fluffly cloud-like bun dough when juxtaposed against actual fluffy clouds.

Step 6: Enjoy breakfast audibly, and enjoy even more the longing glances from hungry nearby tourists.

Non-Californians with access to a Cantonese restaurant and a place without walls (a bridge view isn't required but is certainly a bonus) adapt as necessary.