Okra

Something I have never seen in the supermarket before - Okra. In an attempt to overdose I cooked these three meals over a week. All were delicious.

Chicken with okra served on spinach rice

Corn rice with grilled okra and grilled spiced chicken

Grilled Cajun chicken served with okra fried rice and eggplant in tomatoes

Pasta Disasta

Well not quite, I am practicing to be a journalist. I made pasta often as a child and remember how much fun it was. So when I saw a pasta machine (roller and cutter) at a fairly cheap price I thought why not.

So I prepared the dough with eggs and flour and proceeded to knead it into a nice ball. I always feel that there is something enjoyable about preparing food, I am not sure if it is the dough between the fingers or the reward from working hard. I let it rest, wondering what is the right time to wait. After about 1.5 hours I rolled the pasta out. I was a little frustrated at first as the machine did not want to stick to the bench. Yet, after a while I worked out how to get it all done and from there was able to make some fettuccine.

I waited until dinner time (which was about 4 hours away) and went back to cook the pasta. It had all stuck together again and needed rolling. It went much smoother this time and went straight into the boiling water. Taking a little longer to cook than packet pasta I was able to clean up and prepare a sauce. I was feeling hungry and a little lazy so I went with a simple garlic and parsley sauce with cheese added on. I found the pasta tasted a lot like egg noodles (not surprising since they are the same). The sauce gave the pasta a much needed boost. Next time when I make pasta will definitely move away from strands towards shapes. Now, got to go and find out how to make pasta bow ties.

Pasta in 8 steps

Fat bomb!

Americans can't have all the supersized fun. Read about how we stole the crown from the Americans here.

AUSTRALIA has become the fattest nation in the world, with more than 9 million adults now rated as obese or overweight, according to an alarming new report.

Energy and food

There seems to be a lot about the relationship between energy and food being talked about in certain parts of the world. I wish I could get invited to sit around and do nothing for a few days in Rome, since this is the topic I am pursuing for my PhD. I didn’t mean nothing as I would be posing to act like I am doing something*.

Well since I wasn’t invited to that party, I decided to make my own. To ensure that I have food security, well bread security, I got myself a breadmaker. Just a few blocks from my house there is a factory shop for Breville electronics and a range of discount clothes outlets. Searching for the NIKE shop I found the electronics shop and wandered inside. I saw that the breadmakers were quite cheap compared to those at full retail price and impulse grabbed me as I remembered how good fresh bread tastes.

The new toy

That night I cranked it up and all went well. The first loaf I baked I put too much water, however that did not affect the taste. I think I will start to put on a tonne of weight over the coming months as I enjoy the fresh bread.

The first loaf

On the lighter side, my friend showed me this clip today which seems to cement the relationship between food and energy and solve the issue of high oil prices.

The new bread machine does have a jam/jelly setting so I am set to become the (John D) Rockefeller of the 21^st century.

* note my cynicism of such things arises on meeting a few experts from these types of organisations whom really are just interested in self promotion and travel, using the excuse of trying to help people without a specific cultural/ social understanding of the situation.

Sydney Rd Food

A couple of weeks ago, I was told of a restaurant which served some of the best Middle Eastern food in Melbourne. Being located on Sydney Rd, Brunswick, that meant it had a lot to live up to, as this is a centre of Middle Eastern restaurants. Actually, the area really does feel like you are in another country, as the signs are mostly written in a mixture of Arabic and English.

This week some friends and I went to sample it. We went into the restaurant, and instantly I felt at home. It was like I was visiting the No Name in Long Xuyen with the furniture looking strikingly similar. However, there were a few give aways that made me realise this was not the case. No beer, no Vietnamese language, and the food was different, noticeably the lack of vegetables.

The service was interesting until Said spoke in Arabic. It wasn’t impolite though, just sort of indifferent. Well anyway after a bit of talk we ordered the recommendation. Little did I know, it was a lamb!

The lamb in question with a bit more salad then I remembered!

There were many different delicacies on the plate. Sausages, spicy chicken, and some lamb (just making things up now so look at the picture). There was some salad, and potato salad, yet why waste time on that. It was so good as you see below the contented faces of stuffed men. I felt like I was going to give birth to the lamb after the meal, like a phoenix meal deal.

Contented men.

On the way home after savouring the meal, I realised that I missing have choices of mains like in Vn and in this restaurant and I think variety is the spice of life.

Oh behave!

I think Austin Powers is a great movie series. I have to admit I was not so enthused about watching them originally yet after seeing the spy who shagged me I was captivated. In Goldmember some of you might remember the scene of the Japanese twins. Well that scene came flashing back to my mind recently as my friend introduced me to the best noodles in the world.

And a close up of the name. Pronounce however you wish.

And the classic memory from Goldmember that came to mind after looking at the noodle package.

Oh man! It's Oman

My friend, Said, told me that this headline has already been used by a travel writer who reported what it was like travelling to Oman. Oman is a small country on the Arabian Peninsular bordered by Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the Indian Ocean and is not far from Iran and India. When Said told me that they had monsoons there I laughed and thought he was joking. Ha ha, egg on my face, I was surprised that in the south the monsoons cross Oman on their way to India and the far east.

With this information I was curious to find out more about Oman and Said showed me pictures of his homeland. I was amazed at how beautiful the land is. The seas are azure with white sand and palm trees, with fish and turtles in plenty supply. Travelling a few clicks inland I saw pictures of sunsets on the dunes and reflections of the moon on the sand that just took my breath away. Also, forests, oases, and mountains that are full of life. Cities that are modern with skyscrapers and villages that have houses made of clay bricks and look as thought they have seen sands of time.

An Omani student group held a day to promote Oman to Australia and share their culture. The senses were on overload as I found the music peaceful, smoothing my soul in deep rhythmic waves. The air was full of incense and the fragrance of roses was abundant as well. I met another friend and we went to explore the tents. I felt like a crusader or Alexandra the Great the first time they set eyes upon the exotic goods of the Middle East. In one tent they had the fabric which was brightly dyed with what appeared to be gold fabric. Outside, children were laughing and joking while getting their arms done. Two tents were designated as tourist tents where the main focus seemed to be to promote tourism. I saw many more photos of exotic locations just wanting me to go and visit them.

I tried Omani coffee and a snack at the next tent. Both had rose flavours in them and the snack had an unusual texture which might have been ground almonds. The last tent contained traditional artefacts used in everyday life? I really liked the swords. I actually forget what they were made of, yet I do remember that it wasn’t steel. There were many different varieties, all of them ornamental.

Some goods in the tents

I finished the day off by watching a video showing how the money from oil was helping Oman’s citizens, and the vision the Sultan has for his people. I was impressed with the effort the organisers and left delighted for having seen a glimpse of a culture which was mysterious to me.

Dealing with the hot weather.

The weather is unusually hot yet perfect for the weekend. 30 degrees is the perfect temperature. As I set out for the Southbank Boulevard region of Melbourne, I could feel the excitement grow. I arrived about 5 minutes early yet by the time I had signed in a group of others had arrived on a bachelor party. Within minutes it was ready to start and the first sample came out. It was a Hoegaarden, a wheat beer. I was told to look at the cloudiness of the colour, and find the citrus in the taste. I was also told that this is a good starting beer as there is no bitterness.

The guy who was telling me all this was Charles Coll, a guy with the most enviable job. He is an expert beer guru. He works as a writer for beer industry magazines. He stated a typical day would be waking up at 9.30 in the morning to collect a sample slab, and then test it all day. What a job. After giving us the description of a hard days work, we moved into an area set aside for the purpose of the day – drinking. Sorry I meant beer appreciation.

I felt like I was back in school with the way the tables were set up, except that instead of books, there were glasses. Different types of glasses. The teacher went on describing the merits of different glasses, the mixing of food and beer, the reasons why some women are beer averse, how Budwieser made Asian beer, and why monks became expert brewers, as I went about appreciating the slow trickle of beer coming my way.

The beer that surprised me most was pinky/red. It was a desert beer. I had not even thought about a red beer, let alone making beer taste like cherry. It was matched with chocolate mousse. It was heavenly, think a beery cherry ripe. Maybe, not so good for an all nighter yet definitely a refined way to end a meal.

Afterwards we were put to the test, and I hooked up with these guys on another bachelor party. After trying a few other brands of beer, they went to kick on at the casino and asked me to come along. I went with them to the casino and we went to eat. The mood pretty much died from their as over consumption started to creep in and I split. I was thinking it was a fantastic day and went home to sleep it off in a beery dream world.

And the best way to enjoy beer, in its pure form.

Hidden treasure

One of my favorite t shirts while in LX was one proclaiming that 2004 was the International year of rice. 2005 was the microcredit year, 2006 the rather lame year of deserts and desertification or was that meant to be desserts? 2007 was the polar year and 2008 is the year of the potato. I think potatos are quite a versatile and when deep fried really tasty. Now, thinking of that I am downstairs to get some chips, freedom fries, french fries, papas, ktc, or what ever else you want to call them.

Mon Ngon Ha Noi

For lunch the next day after going to skewers (Sunday 10th) I went to meet another friend who lives in HCMC for lunch. We were going to go for pizza however she was not up for the idea. After the previous nights dining disaster I was not in the mood for another bad eating experience. I asked her where she suggested and she said she knew a place.

We drove to 54 Dinh Tien Hoang St in district 1 to a restaurant called Quan Mon Ngon Ha Noi. They had some specials listed outside such as bun and cha (noodles and spring rolls). I was told the food was good and it was late on a Sunday and the place was still crowded. As I walked into the restaurant I felt that my fly was undone or something worse since the place went quiet as everyone stared at me. I guess not too many westerners come to this restaurant. As we sat down everyone returned into their own world of chatting and eating.

As I looked at the menu nothing really seemed familiar, except for a few names of meats and spring rolls. My friend asked me what I wanted and I said to her that I trusted her to make some good choices. She ordered one of the specials (something in fish sauce yet I really don’t know first pic), some chicken and noodle soup (second pic) and spring rolls (third pic).

One thing about eating this kind of food is that it uses all your senses. With this food you make it, you use the lettuce leaf or leaves to form the base of your roll. You proceed to put ingredients on to your liking. I prefer the sweetness of pineapple and mint with the meat and noodles. Here I had something I had not seen or done before spring rolls with the fruit and noodles. Well I wrapped it up and it got messy yet tasted fantastic. The spring roll really contrasted the freshness of the other ingredients. Tasting them all the dishes though I thought the noodle soup was best. If I was going to stay in Vietnam a bit longer I would definitely venture back and eat here again.

Skewers

Skewers is a restaurant in District 1’s expat area in HCMC (Thai Van Lung St). I had seen that they did Mediterranean food there and had wanted to visit since I found it about 2 years ago. I invited my friend to go with me and we headed out. After getting a little lost we arrived and were greeted by a nice bike attendant he quickly put the bike away. As we walked into the restaurant a feeling of dread came over me. It was the kind of place which is just to uncomfortable. Hard to put into words, yet I knew I was not meant to be there, a place were the rich and famous go to eat. I guess the way I felt about the atmosphere was dead, like a library rather than a restaurant, really stuffy.

Looking at the menu I was hoping to see something that I had been missing about for a long time. Hendrik had reminded me of this every time he went to Hanoi – the kebab. Looking through the menu the closest thing I could see was gyro- not quite the same. It appears that there were more choices from European Mediterranean dishes than Mediterranean dishes. There seemed to be quite a lot of good choices on the menu yet the prices of some things seemed a little out of my league. Then looking at the drinks menu all the prices were in US dollars and I knew that I had come to the wrong place (no locally brewed beer should cost US$2 in VN).

My friend went to order and it became apparent that the waiter had no idea about what the dishes contained. Given that they are not common dishes in VN you would still expect the chef to give a run down of all the dishes. I thought great we can go to another restaurant one with more atmosphere and wallet friendly prices. However my friend wanted to stay and then I convinced her to tell the waiter exactly what she wanted and make them get it for you.

At this restaurant I felt that this should hardly be a problem since they had all the ingredients for spaghetti and meat sauce anyway. I proceeded to order the spaghetti with chicken in cream and mushroom sauce.

The order didn’t take long to arrive given how much time it took to get the wait staffs attention to order. It looked like the bolognaise slapped together quickly without much care for presentation. I thought the cream sauce was a little bland and needed something. The chicken though was melt in your mouth lush. I never tasted the bolognaise yet I know it was not the Vietnamese way.

As we left I felt a little disappointed. The bike service boy had the bike ready and was the one of the best things so far for the night at that restaurant. Overall, I didn’t like this dining experience. I put it down to two things. First the wait staff not knowing the menu enough to make my friend uncomfortable and second the lack of an atmosphere. I think if you are in HCMC and want to eat try something Vietnamese or if you really need Mediterranean food go to Arab Kebab next door or O’brien’s factory (to be updated).

Lang Toi

Lang Toi (my village) is a restaurant that I feel is in the upper end of the restaurant scales here in Long Xuyen. The tip off is the fact that is a Nha Hang. Most restaurants are Quans, and this gives an indication about the prices inside and supposedly the size. It is one of the restaurants that brew their own beer in two flavours dark and gold. In Vietnamese Bia Den refers to dark beer. As you enter through the parking ground you look to the left and you see the brewhouse.

When you look to the right you will see the seafood and other live specialties on offer. I generally find it is a mixture of fish, eels, prawns, and snakes. The black snakes in the picture are the best snakes for eating yet I didn’t find it enjoyable. The meat was really rubbery and you had to be careful not to eat the stomach or the backbone. And then there were the rib bones, I felt that if I was starving I might eat it again, yet most often I would give it a miss.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is quite pleasant. The owners and host are quite friendly and will often come and chat. Occasionally they may also give us some free fruit. I often find it awkward though as the ability to communicate is limited by language, however the new host appears to have a good grasp of English. They are nice good natured people who try to enhance our dining experiences. They also own another restaurant called Tre Xanh (young bamboo) which is similar to Lang Toi, although I am yet to see this for myself.

The restaurant has been through a number of renovations since I have been in Long Xuyen yet the decore is generally the same. It use the bamboo outdoor theme which makes feel like you are a prince dining in a private jungle. There are 3 levels ground, up a few stairs and upstairs. I find that downstairs is the most enjoyable yet dangerous as most people will pass you by, and occasionally be brave enough to try out their English skills. I feel upstairs seems to have the worst service as you are far from everything.

Now the bathroom here is the most interesting I have ever been too. I and the other volunteers here used to refer to it as the disco toilet as it was like walking through a nightclub. Loud music blaring with videos of fashion shows. Under the last renovation it got larger and seemed to lose the speakers. It also became more modern.

The day Eric, Hendrik, Tyler, and I came we were in the mood for spaghetti. This was the only place we knew at the time to sell it. We also ordered some garlic bread. I find the garlic bread too oily or too dry. I think it is because they don’t use butter and grill it on a bbq. The spaghetti is also strange, good in a way with really strong Asian flavour influence. There was one herb there that just does not belong, and it affects the taste of the rosemary. I don’t think the others agree with me about the taste description, yet they agree that it is strange.

Although the European food is not the best, their Vietnamese food is good. I have sampled many dishes here and found them to be good. I really liked the basa (catfish) served in a lemongrass and chilli sauce. They do good tofu as well if you are not into eating any meat. Lots of grilled dishes, rice, and of course the specials you see when you walk in.

This particular day we were interested to drink the brewed beer yet they had run out or something. This is the first time I recall that this has happened here. Never the less they do have a large selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The last time I went we sampled the dark and gold beers and found them to be quite good, if not better than before. I feel if you are in Long Xuyen and you are looking for something popular and swanky this should be considered highly on your list, just stick to Vietnamese food.

Hai Lua

Early in April I went to Hai Lua with some English teachers. This restaurant is an interesting place as the name means second brother or country bumpkin. This restaurant is good for two reasons, 1 the owner speaks English and really wants to make sure you have a great time there and two, if you like boats you can take one out in the middle of the canal, although I have heard reliability is a factor. I was the second person there and ordered a beer, Sai Gon Xanh, much to the dismay of the Coors Lite girl.

While waiting for the food and people to arrive I noticed that they had not cleaned up after a previous wedding. Here is a glimpse of the stage they use in such things. When I mentioned that the wedding decorations were still around I was filled with dread as I saw the eyes of my inquisitor flash and the wedding question asked. I am really irritated by this question and it seems like such an important issue for people in Viet Nam. I will let you guess this question.

Not long after the first dish arrived some kind of tofu. Now I use to think tofu was this horrible, nasty, crazy vegetarian food yet I have seen some amazing things done to here. This particular dish (made with egg and butter possibly) was great, you eat it with a mild chilli sauce and it just melts in your mouth. The taste was like a light brown omelette, ahh magnificent. This is my favourite tofu dish to date and I got to learn how to make this so I can make it in Australia.

The great tofu dish of unknown name half eaten

A few more members arrived and finished the tofu just as the second dish came grilled beef in fish sauce. Now this is one, if not, my favourite Vietnamese dishes. Essentially marinating the beef in fish sauce (sometimes with garlic) and quickly grilling it and eating. I could only imagine how great this would taste with good Australian beef. This dish didn’t disappoint. It was all that I expected and more with the red tomatoes, a rarity here I can promise you.

My favourite VN dish

Next up was the so (blood acra in English yet can not find the spelling anywhere and the dictionary translates them to baby oysters) drizzled in oil grilled and sprinkled with green onions. I usually have them salted or grilled till dry, however these I found were fantastic. The oil and green onions were the perfect mix to bring out the taste of the sea. When putting them with chilli salt and lime I thought it was utterly divine.

The so dish

Lastly we had chicken. We put away our fears of chicken flu (no cases reported for a while) and ordered a chicken. For $8 you can have a whole chicken butchered (vn style = with a cleaver and no precision) prepared and cooked for you. And when I mean a whole chicken I mean all, you can see the head. The head, the chicken and insides are cooked together. Luckily one part is missing. We ordered this with chilli and salt and it gave a nice crispy skin. The chicken arrives with some little pastries which are fried and I think really enjoyable. Some parts of the chicken where dry which was disappointing. On the plus side however I really loved how it made the beer taste good. Definitely would be interested in doing a beer and chicken night.

The chicken with the head at the top of the body

On the way out I saw this Heineken sign. I just had to take a photo of it for all to look.

Tell me when you will be mine (corny commercial)

Tinh

Tuesday morning I got a message to meet up with him and Tinh at 5 for drinks. Well time flew through the afternoon as it was the first day in a while that I was actually really busy. On the way to TB I ran into Tri, although he says he was chasing me for quite a while he caught me as I decided to let a big truck go in front of me. We arrived and got a table and waited for Eric and Tinh. I still always feel nervous when I go out in LX as wherever you walk everyone stares at you, and feel self conscious, do have something between my teeth, is my fly undone, etc. It weighs on you a bit yet soon enough you forget as enjoy the company you are with.

Well is wasn’t long when the others arrived and we started to enjoy the food and beer. Tinh was telling us about an exhibition he just did in Hanoi, and the upcoming one in Saigon. I am eager to check it out. He is such a great artist, that you see his work come to life in front of your eyes. He drew me a landscape picture which is in Brisbane at the moment yet I remembered being floored by how good it was. I was experiencing being at the floating market in LX. His new exhibition is contemporary art.

Awhile later Nam arrived and we continued to discuss things from the art world, movies, and life. We decided on a venue change, and thought Truyen’s would be a good place. It has a nice atmosphere and as you know the owner is really friendly. We got ourselves a corner table and ordered some food. Eric was looking for Truyen who had disappeared and we guessed he went to buy some special ingredients for a special dish. I was intrigued by this dish and impatiently waited for its arrival. Spaghetti a la Truyen. It was so delicious, the best spaghetti in LX. I would go there every night if that was a regular dish.

Not long after the spaghetti arrived the guitar came out and the singing followed. I was having so much fun trying to remember the words and eating I nearly didn’t notice that every time I went to the bathroom someone always wanted to drink a glass of beer with me. By the end I was afraid to leave the table when the first visitor came to cheers us. He worked at AGU and was quite done. He kept mumbling across English and Vietnamese and I am sure everybody was just as confused as I was. Well the party continued until we realised that it was time for home or we would be locked out the campus.

On the way back we bought a case of beer and let Tinh and Tyler to catch up. Not sure what was going through Tyler’s mind at this time however he appeared to be having lots of fun. We also had two new visitors to the room, Kirsti an Australian volunteer and Vinh. We met Vinh before, although I had forgotten about it. As we all talked, joked, and drank the night away new friendships were forged and old ones strengthened. All in all a great deal of fun for me.

The night market

A good place to eat for quick meals is a place that we call the night market. It is located in an alley in one of the markets near the city’s centre and the river. It is surrounded by many different eateries, which of those I have tried all serve good food. I haven’t made the trek there for quite a while, and yesterday I felt that I didn’t really want to drink any alcohol.

When arrived I didn’t feel overly adventurous so I ordered what I consider my usual there mi xao bo. It is thick noodles stir fried with beef and some vegetables. I was once told by the lady who runs the shop that one of the vegetables only grows in Cambodia.

I ordered some nuoc mia, which is the juice from crushing sugar cane and it was really refreshing, and it is dirt cheap. I was waiting for a while and started to feel that they had forgotten my order as it took so long. I couldn’t understand why it was taking so long as the restaurant was not overly crowded. Then I realised that they were making a large number of take away orders.

After what seemed like an eternity my noodles came. The wait was worth it. I forgot how good the noodles were. The beef just melted in my mouth and the vegetables had a nice crispness to them. I was enjoying them so much I started feel disappointed that I might not be able to finish them all as I was starting to feel full. Yet, I kept eating and finished the plate.

Afterwards I was returning home when a family pulled up beside me and started riding next me. This was a little irritating and I could here the mother explaining to her child that I was a foreigner. So I looked over and smiled, and I made their day. As they drove off I couldn’t help but feel blown away.

Food Glorious Food

Easter happened to coincide with Tri's 1 year birthday of his son Billy this year. So he asked his wife to prepare one of the famous curries.

The curry

We went to the restaurant to a favourite restaurant (the No Name) and proceeded to wait for the curry to arrive. We cracked open a few beers and started to get into the mood. The anticipation around the table for the curry was so thick it felt like being in a black hole. Well Thong and Eric arrived with the curry and did not take long for us all to start to eat cheerfully. I felt like I was eating little mini flavour bombs which just made you feel ecstatic. So after we could not digest anymore food we sat around watching the tigers and monks play on the TV. I was thinking I would be so scared to touch a tiger let alone play aggressively with it, like the monks were. Slowly we finished more beer and left to sleep.

Enjoying the curry

Later that night, I was able to get my second non-Vietnamese dish for the day – pizza. It tasted so good and went so well with the coke that I was once again returned to seventh heaven. All in all it was a good day, good food, and good company.

The pizza