Category Archive for ‘Scenes’ at gas•tron•o•my

Archive for the 'Scenes' Category

Scenes: A Day in Tagatay

Published

on July 22, 2008

in Manila, Pinoy (Filipino), Restaurant Review and Scenes

. 5 Comments

On our second day in Manila, we took a day trip to Tagatay—home of the Taal Volcano. Taal Volcano is active (eee!) and has a large crater lake in the middle. It’s located 1.5 to 3 hours from Manila depending on which mode of transportation one takes. We took a semi-public bus, so it took 2 hours.

The Astronomer started his day with an “adobo” steamed bun from 7-11. Even though he was a fan, all I could do was shake my head and frown in disapproval. I hope that tourists visiting America don’t eat at 7-11. Not even for a Slurpee.

Here’s a billboard we saw on our cab ride from the hotel to the bus station to catch a ride to Tagatay. The Philippines favor the type of “cool”/”in your face” Christianity that my high school classmates really dug. WWJD? He would most definitely advertise on a billboard.

The unhelpful taxi driver dropped us off at the wrong bus station. Luckily, we met a sweet local who took us under her wing (and eventually to the right one). Thank goodness she was around! We were all really stoked to hop aboard a jeepney—”the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are well known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating.” Photo by Nina.

Here’s a view of Lake Taal from Leslie’s Restaurant (Aguinaldo Highway) in Tagatay where we had lunch. This picture by James Deakin captures the gorgeousness of the surroundings much better.

Lunch started off with a mountain of garlic rice. A meal in the Philippines just wouldn’t be complete without heaps of garlic rice. By the way, this is a “family” size order (210 PP).

For all fans of pork, this one’s for you! Lechon (299 PP) is the Spanish word for suckling pig. In the Philippines, it connotes a whole roasted pig. The process of lechón involves the whole pig/piglet slowly roasted over charcoal. The result of this slow cooking is an amazingly crispy crust/skin and tender lovely innards.

The lechon was served with a thick, sweet sauce made of liver, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper. The sauce paired amazingly well with the pork. Mmm!

Here’s a close-up of the goodness. OMG. So very decadent. We each had three pieces and it was plenty.

Grilled Tawilis (210 PP). These freshwater sardines were simply grilled without adornments. Too many bones and not enough flavor—not a hit with diners.

Banana blossom in coconut milk. The texture of this fruit/vegetable is very much like that of artichoke hearts, while the coconut sauce is slightly sweet. Here’s a recipe I found on Lafang: a Pinoy food blog.

We met this little guy at Leslie’s. Looks like a leaf, no? Camouflage is cool.

After lunch we hopped aboard a tricycle and zoomed down to the waterfront. The Astronomer and Nina squeezed into the attachment, while Cathy and I rode behind the driver. It was a tight, but acceptable squeeze. Or so I thought.

A close up of Nina and The Astronomer. The Astronomer’s back hurt like mad at the end of this ride. On the ride back up the mountain, we switched places. I rather liked riding in the attachment.

Ready for some volcano action. I can’t believe they made us wear life jackets. In Vietnam, there would have been no such nonsense.

The balancers on both sides of the slender boat really saved us, especially when it started raining on our trip back.

The crew cruising out to the volcano.

We could have hired some ponies to take us to the top of the Taal Volcano, but we thought the 1,700 meter hike was totally do-able. North Americans are built tough. Here I am waving adios to the ponies.

The lake inside the crater.

Nina took this picture of The Astronomer, Cathy and me from the shaky lookout tower.

After we hiked down the volcano, we boarded the boat and sailed back to the shores of Lake Taal. Then we boarded our tricycle, putted up the hill and caught a bus back to Manila. Here’s our tricycle driver “reinforcing” the attachment to the motorbike using an old towel. I LOVE Asia.

Prior to take off, a buko pie vendor boarded the bus to hawk his goods. No one had any idea what a buko pie was, but we took a chance because it sounded mighty intriguing.

It turned out that buko means coconut. The coconut meat pie was one-dimensionally sweet, a little soggy and probably would’ve tasted loads better fresh. No regrets here though. When it comes to street food, you’ve got to try the rest to find the best.

Scenes: Ancestor Veneration

Published

Gastronomer

on July 10, 2008

in Family Gatherings, Lau, Saigon, Scenes, Sup, Thach and Vietnamese

. 2 Comments

In addition to spending time with Ba Sau (my grandma’s sister) in Saigon, The Astronomer and I also see a lot of Ong Ty (my grandpa’s brother). Ong Ty lives in the house that my mom grew up in on Ly Chinh Thang Street in District 3. How cool is that? We usually meet him for lunch, but sometimes Ong Ty invites us to his home for special occasions, namely ancestor veneration.

Ancestor veneration is one of the most unifying aspects of Vietnamese culture, as practically all Vietnamese regardless of religious denomination (Buddhist or Christian) have an ancestor altar in their home or business.

In Vietnam, traditionally people didn’t celebrate birthdays (before western influence) but the death anniversary of a loved one was always an important occasion. Besides an essential gathering of family members for a banquet in memory of the deceased, incense sticks are burned along with hell notes, and great platters of fruit and food are made as offerings on the ancestor altar, which usually has pictures of the deceased.

These offerings and practices are done frequently during important traditional festivals, the starting of a new business, or even when a family member needs guidance or counsel, and is a hallmark of the emphasis Vietnamese culture places on filial duty.

Earlier this year we recognized my grandfather’s father and a couple weeks back there was a gathering for my grandfather’s mother. My American upbringing becomes very apparent during these occasions because I’m not too handy with the joss sticks or bowing on my knees (if you know what I mean). As a result, I pretty much just watch from the sidelines, which isn’t a big deal.

The most notable difference between ancestor veneration in Saigon and back in America is the day of the week it takes place. In Vietnam, ancestor veneration is held on the exact death anniversary, while in America, my family gathered on Saturdays and Sundays due to jobs and other commitments.

After everyone pays their respects to the deceased by lighting joss sticks and bowing on their knees, we feast! Here’s a close-up of the altar.

Another big difference between ancestor veneration here and back home is the food. Back in California, grandma makes the meal from scratch, but in Saigon, Ong Ty calls in the caterers. I’m pretty sure that the majority of Vietnamese households still make their spread from scratch, but Ong Ty’s wife isn’t much of a cook.

Dinner started off with a platter of head cheese and force meats, mostly of piggy origins. The usual suspects were present including cha, nem chua, ham and xa xiu. It was a little funny eating cold cuts without its good friend banh mi, but tasty nevertheless.

Next came a seafood soup with white asparagus. I’m not that enthusiastic about gelatinous soups, but the Vietnamese love the stuff.

My favorite dish of the evening was comprised of flaky fillets of white fish battered, fried and topped with a tomato-based sauce and fresh watercress. I have only encountered this dish at Ong Ty’s house—a most rare Vietnamese dish indeed.

Is a multi-course Vietnamese meal truly complete without hot pot? I think not. This seafood-based broth was served with celery greens and egg noodles.

And lastly, a dessert of Vietnamese JELLO (thach). Ong Ty and his wife also packed goody bags for all the guests to bring home that included xoi (sticky rice) and fruits.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. Ancestor veneration is sort of like a frat party (that ends at eight o’clock). Okay, not really. But there are a lot of beers involved. It’s true both in Vietnam and America that a little alcohol makes family gatherings a lot more sprightly.

Scenes: Mũi Né II

Published

Gastronomer

on July 1, 2008

in Bun Gao, Ca Kho, Cha Gio, Food Porn, Mui Ne, Scandalous and Scenes

. 6 Comments

Mui Ne is like crack. Once you start, it’s difficult to stop. Or so I’ve heard. The Astronomer and I had our first Mui Ne hit a couple weeks back and we had such a bloody blast that we returned this past weekend. The occasion? Hawk’s 27th.

This time around we rented a sweet mini-bus to get us there. We left Saigon at six in the evening and arrived in Mui Ne at half past ten. Definitely far speedier than a tour bus. We stayed at our favorite hotel Sunshine Beach.

The next morning started off with a giant strawberry pancake. I love the pancakes at Sunshine Beach so much that I had another one for dinner. It’s been so long since I’ve had real maple syrup that I find Aunt Jemima palatable. Sadness.

The Astronomer had some mighty fine French toast. No brioche, but still very lovely. I ate his bananas. Score. After breakfast, Hawk, The Astronomer and I walked along the beach collecting sea shells and jumping over mysteriously warm “rivers” draining into the beach. And before we knew it, it was time for lunch.

The boys at Jibes.

Food porn alert! The Astronomer ordered fresh tagliatelle with pesto. The pasta was al dente and the sauce tasted wonderfully fresh.

Hawk ordered a cheeseburger. The meat was pan-fried rather than grilled, which resulted in a most satisfactory burger. EDIT: By “most satisfactory” I meant plain ‘ol satisfactory. English wasn’t my first language.

I grabbed some Vietnamese food next door at a restaurant named Lam Tong (92 Nguyen Dinh Chieu) and took it back to Jibes to eat with the boys. I ordered some bun gao (rice noodles with tofu and vegetables), which was just what I was in the mood for. Deep-fried tofu has a wonderful way of soaking up seasonings.

I also procured some cha gio to share. They were supposed to be stuffed with seafood, but all I could taste was pork. Following lunch, we all went to our rooms and crashed even though we had good intentions of kayaking. After napping, The Astronomer and I went for a run. Afterwards, I had a mango pancake for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite things.

The next morning started off with another run, which was followed by a dip in the ocean and breakfast. I wish I could have breakfast here every morning. The ambiance is just unbeatable.

Here’s The Astronomer eating toast with jam in his sopping running shorts.

For his main, The Astronomer ordered a croque-monsieur that was made with Laughing Cow cheese rather than gruyère. Regardless, it was still a great melted cheese sandwich.

I had my third pancake of the weekend. It was a delightful pineapple number.

After breakfast we read on the beach, while Hawk played golf at the Novatel.

When Hawk came back from the greens, we jammed over to Lam Tong for a Vietnamese lunch.

Hawkins requested that we order tofu, which was cool by me because I love the stuff. We settled on the sweet and sour variety.

We also ordered some vegetables in curry. It turned out that vegetables meant scallions and onions, which was a bit disappointing.

The ca kho was the best of the bunch. I can’t tell you what fish it was, but I can tell you that it was super-fatty. The caramelized sauce was nearly too sweet, but there was just enough fish sauce to keep it from tasting like candy. After lunch, we headed to the red sand dunes a couple kilometers up the road.

Hawk was pulling a Michael Jackson and walked around with an umbrella to protect himself from the sun

Hawk trying to snowboard upon the peaceful patterns in the sand.

The boys on the dunes.

The Astronomer sledding down the hill with a little assistance from a small boy who later beat the crap out of all of us. Note to self: make sure to negotiate sledding price before partaking!

Hawk getting in a killer work out in between sledding.

Exhausted. Happy Birthday, man.

Scenes: Mũi Né

Published

Gastronomer

on June 19, 2008

in Banh Khot, Mui Ne and Scenes

. 5 Comments

After months of hardcore training, The Astronomer and I packed up our bags and headed to Mũi Né for the Le Fruit Triathlon. Although I was tempted for maybe five minutes to participate, I knew that I couldn’t hack the swimming and cycling portions of the race so I settled comfortably into my role as cheerleader.

We left Saigon late Friday afternoon. Although the advertised trip duration was four hours, the ride lasted closer to six. The bus pulled over at a rest stop about 1.5 hours into the trip and I impulsively bought some Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels that really hit the snacky spot. The pretzels had a certain ‘New Jersey Turnpike secret flavor factory’ taste that I hadn’t experienced in months. Living abroad does strange things to me, I wouldn’t normally eat this stuff in America.

When we finally arrived in Mũi Né, I went for a late night run and we passed out soon after.

The next morning, I woke up bright and early and took advantage of our hotel’s (Sunshine Beach) complimentary breakfast. I ordered a mango pancake. I don’t know what it is about pancakes, but EVERY hotel in the whole country serves them. I’ve had decent pancakes in Phu Quoc and Nha Trang, but these ones were the best because they were fluffy and substantial. Minus points for fake maple syrup.

Afterwards, I read on the beach and went for a walk. Which reminds me, white people love reading by the water.

The view from our room’s balcony. Mũi Né really is gorgeous.

Hey, look who finally woke up!

After The Astronomer pulled himself out of bed, we headed to Jibes Beach Club a few meters down the beach to register for the triathlon, collect his race number, claim his bike, etc. I cheered on the sidelines while this was all happening.

All that cheering made me hungry so I had a panini with pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella at Jibes. Looks tasty, right? It was. The rest of the day was spent napping, reading and taking advantage of the hotel’s wireless Internet. Ah, this is what vacationing is all about! I eventually made myself go for a run and then we headed to Jibes again for dinner. Sometimes choice is overrated.

In preparation for his triathlon debut, The Astronomer carbo-loaded with a hefty plate of penne with pesto sauce.

In a pasta mood as well, I had the home made beef ravioli in a Bolognese sauce. Both pastas were very good, but they took forever to come out. The waitress tried to tell us that our food was taking a long time because of the penne. Riiiiight…

After dinner we watched The Pelican Brief on DVD because we had both recently read the book. Note to self: do not watch a movie adaptation soon after reading the book—you will be disappointed. Then we hit the hay.

Race day! Can you spot The Astronomer?

After the open water swim, The Astronomer was in the middle of the pack. Maybe he would’ve been in the front had he worn Speedos or a wrestling uniform.

Gastronomer! Take my goggles.

While The Astronomer was biking on the sand dunes and running on the beach, I got in my own workout (so no pictures of those segments). After showering up at the hotel, I headed toward the finish line.

I came five minutes too late and missed The Astronomer’s triumphant first-place finish. Dang! Congrats! You rule!

After his victory, The Astronomer was hounded by the media for interviews. He granted one to HTV, a Vietnamese station.

The BEST question was: “Did you know that you would be champion?”

After the media hoopla, we headed to our hotel for breakfast. The Astronomer had the mango pancake, while I had a strawberry one. Once again, a great pancake with lots of fruit in the batter.

For the third time in 24-hours, we headed to Jibes for post-race festivities i.e. awards ceremony, buffet lunch, etc.

The buffet lunch included banh khot.

Unlike the banh khot I had prior, these were more pillowy than crispy and were stuffed with scallions rather than topped with meat.

Even though the bus ride sucks, Mũi Né is a SUPERB beach destination. I hope to return next weekend for Hawk’s birthday. Eee!

Scenes: Eating in Hong Kong IV

Published

Gastronomer

on May 22, 2008

in Chinese, Hong Kong and Scenes

. 4 Comments

The Astronomer and I started off our final day in Hong Kong with a run. I tried my best to find joy in circling city blocks, but I couldn’t lie to myself very well and stopped after ten minutes. The Astronomer braved the traffic and crowds and got in a solid forty.

After showering up, we grabbed some pastries for breakfast at a Japanese bakery nearby. The Astronomer chose a blueberry cheese one ($6.50 HKD). After several bites, he sadly realized that the only blueberries in the entire pastry were the ones on the top. No one likes false advertising.

My egg tart ($3 HKD) didn’t fare much better. Firstly, it wasn’t kept warm. Secondly, it was flimsy because the filling didn’t quite set. And thirdly, the crust was too crumbly. Sigh. Perhaps we should have stuck to the house specialties like Japanese cheesecake.

After our quick bites, we headed to Bo Innovation in Causeway Bay for our much anticipated lunch, which I will report on in a separate post. Here’s The Astronomer composing a postcard to his family back in ‘Bama as we waited for lunch to be served.

Even though our meal at Bo included two desserts, I procured an egg tart from the Happy Cake Bakery because I was in the neighborhood. I am convinced that this little whole in the wall makes the city’s best. Damn, I could sure go for one right now.

After lunch, it dawned on me that I still hadn’t purchased any souvenirs during my stay in Hong Kong. The Astronomer and I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the perfect keepsakes for my mom and me. Although I was tempted by the tacky Mao wrist and pocket watches, I couldn’t bring myself to close the deal.

Afterwards, we headed to the Temple Street Night Market. On the way, The Astronomer bought an egg roll filled with daikon and carrots ($5 HKD) from a nameless stall. It wasn’t amazing, but it was deep-fried and thus pretty darn good.

The Temple Street Night Market ended up being a lame tourist trap, so we tucked into the Denny’s of Hong Kong (Jordan Road near Parkes Street, Kowloon) for an early dinner.

The Astronomer was in the mood for noodles and ordered a plate ($12 HKD). It had a bit of onion, a little soy sauce and a healthy sprinkling of MSG. Simple and satisfying.

We shared an order of pan fried dumplings ($12) stuffed with pork and scallions that were excellent. Although the boiled variety is healthier, the crispy skins are just plain yummier.

I washed the dumplings down with a wonderfully refreshing glass of cold sweetened soy milk ($7 HKD).

And for dessert we shared some sweet tofu ($16 HKD). The silken bean curd was served cold and topped with fruit cocktail. I must admit that the dessert looked quite ghetto, but it actually tasted really fabulous thanks in part to the fruit’s light syrup. Heavy syrup would have been too much.

On our post dinner stroll, I spotted a little joint called Hotel San Diego. I vow to stay here on my next trip to Hong Kong.

After Denny’s, we walked to the Kowloon waterfront to catch a little somethin’ somethin’ called Symphony of Lights, which is a nightly light display organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The show stars the city’s skyscrapers and is set to music. I got bored after ten minutes. The skyline is impressive as is and doesn’t need the enhancement of lasers and muzak.

Here is the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, also located on Victoria Harbour. It’s a controversial piece of architecture due to its lack of windows. I like how it curves ever so slightly like the Wynn in Las Vegas.

Shiny happy people.

Here are the official mascots of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. From left to right - Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.

For our last supper, we went to Hing Kee Restaurant (19 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei) for some classic Hong Kong clay pot rice. The Astronomer and I shared a hefty clay pot with Chinese sausage and chicken ($25 HKD).

The flavors were homey and comforting. The sausage was lovely, as was the crispy rice at the bottom.

And lastly, we ordered a side of Oyster Cake ($20 HKD), which is more or less a deep fried omelette with oysters and scallions. It tasted really great, especially dipped in a mild chili sauce.

After dinner we explored a nearby mega mall and marveled at the 14-story escalator.

Coke was holding a special event on the ground floor of the mall to hype the upcoming summer games. Activities included taking pictures with the Olympic torch and running on treadmills. Guess which one The Astronomer chose to participate in?