Saturday, December 20, 2008
End Products of the Week (well, at least some of them):
Banana Soufflé (in the oven)
Banana Soufflé (rising in the oven)
Banana Soufflé (done!)
Gooey Spinach Soufflé
Sautéed Nai Bai in Mild Lime Broth
Unspicy Tom Yum Soup with Prawn & Chicken Balls
(obviously the Bear is hungry!!!)
Eggs on a Cloud on Toast
Butternut Raisin Scones
Roasted Duck with Spiced Pumpkin Salad
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
5:31 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Cambodia is...
Angkor Wat? Ta Prohm? Bayon?
Yes yes yes. I lost count of the number of temples I visited. In fact, by the 3rd temple visit, I was close to tears due to extreme boredom. The temples, as impressive as they seemed to me initially, failed to keep me interested. They ARE highly similar. So seeing one would mean seeing the rest. You really don't have to visit the 100000 temples out there at Angkor. In fact, looking at the photos I took, I had difficulty differentiating/identifying the temples.
But I said highly similar. Meaning there is a difference.
I'm not a charitable person but an honest one, when I say there is a difference, there actually IS a difference i.e. the degree of damage each temple suffered. So if you love scrutinizing different patterns and extents of destruction, YES, you have to visit ALL the temples at Angkor.
Certainly, Cambodia has more than just temples. There is the Tonle Sap Lake. You take a boat ride down the lake and look at how Vietnamese refugees live on wrecked boats, eating and drinking from the lake, and then shitting into it. Oh. And did I mention, bathing in it.
Don't worry though, their lives will improve for sure. The touristy boat rides are products of Korean investment, so are the many floating Korean restaurants along the lake, promising employment opportunities. As we know from history, where foreign money is, religion follows. So unsurprisingly, Korean Christian Churches (at least 2 of them) float grandly on the lake too, promising salvation of some other sort to the refugees. Wonderful. The Korean businessmen seem to know all about corporate social responsibility.
But I am not a believer of corporate social responsibility.
Look. The whole idea of the Korean business on Tonle Sap Lake is that they provide boat rides for tourists to look at how the refugees live their tragic lives on wrecked boats. So in order for their business to thrive, the refugees HAVE TO continue living on wrecked boats tragically. Right? Right. So, improving the lives of the refugees is AGAINST their business interest, right? Right! Therefore, the whole business is about exploiting the misfortune of the refugees, right? RIGHT!
So... what about the promise of employment? What about the promise of the churches? Observing the current predicament of the refugees, I cannot see how their lives will improve.
Like I said, I am not a believer of corporate social responsibility. In fact, I have nothing against and am in fact somewhat supportive of blatant exploitation of all sorts for the sake of profit-making. But this pretentious Korean business model is revolting and offensive even to a near moral nihalist like me.
Money is amazing. But money has to stink.
Still, I love the stench of notes. Which brings me to the best bit about Cambodia. I will return to Cambodia if I could. And I will want to stay there for a month and spend every single day at Pub Street. Pub Street, obviously, is a street lined with pubs. Atas pubs. Okay there are bistros and art gallaries and book stores along the street too. And happily, as atas as they all are, you pay only a Kopitiam price for the amazing things you put in your mouth from these F&B outlets.
Meaning Bailey's on ice cost only USD3.00. Brick oven pizza is USD6.50 (I had the largest and most expensive one on the menu and had to share it with my mom and struggle to finish it because of it's size). Panna Cotta is USD3.00 (it can be shared among 3 pax). A bag of biscotti is USD1.50 and a pot of Masala Chai is USD2.75.
CHEAPPPP!!!!!
And the pizza was the best I had so far in my miserable life.
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
6:30 AM
End Products of the Week (well, at least some of them):
Banana Soufflé (in the oven)
Banana Soufflé (rising in the oven)
Banana Soufflé (done!)
Gooey Spinach Soufflé
Sautéed Nai Bai in Mild Lime Broth
Unspicy Tom Yum Soup with Prawn & Chicken Balls
(obviously the Bear is hungry!!!)
Eggs on a Cloud on Toast
Butternut Raisin Scones
Roasted Duck with Spiced Pumpkin Salad
Believe it or not, I made EVERYTHING from scratch & did not use ANY instant material at all (i.e. no oyster sauce, no mayonnaise, no Hoisin sauce, no ready made herb mix. Even the baked Provence Tomatoes I made that are not featured in this post are flavored with herbes de Provence that I grounded on my own!!!). Admittedly, I am a snob and I look down on instant ingredients. And I cannot understand many of the Chinese cooking that includes strong flavored sauces, especially sauces like oyster sauce & XO sauce. Totally robs whatever you're cooking off its natural flavors. Well, I love Dim Sum though, because of the distinct and clean flavors. You can tell what went into the dumpling... as in, you can easily taste the floured skin of the dumpling, the juicy meat and sweet chives or whatever veg that made the filling etc... totally rocks.
Anyway we went out for a quick lunch with my aunt yesterday and because my aunt is a total sucker for traditional (or rather, generic) Chinese banquet food, we went to Lao Beijing for lunch. We actually wanted to eat Dim Sum, but she insisted on the set lunch that cost $188 and because she's the guest, my mom granted her request.
OMG. The chef is a total quack. The menu was sooooooooo generic I could come up with a more interesting one in my sleep. And I am only an amateur home cook who started cooking... I think not more than a month ago. Sweet & Sour Fish, Zhenjian Pork Ribs, Stewed Sea Cucumber with Mushrooms, Sautéed Mushrooms, Melon & Fungus Soup, Fungus Sweet Soup etc...
And look. How can any decent chef bring himself to serve his diners dishes that have the same key ingredients!!! Notice that mushrooms (the same type, he didn't even bother to serve different breeds of shrooms!!!) and fungus appeared in more than one dish. And also, he used the cheapo mystry sauces in his food such that everything tasted the same and I cannot tell what went in the dish. It's like... the shrooms don't taste shroomish, the sea cucumbers don't taste sea cucumberish...
Seriously, I know $188 is not alot for a set menu that serves 6, but the chef should at least put in some semblance of effort to ensure that diners don't feel like fools eating the rubbish he created.
Strangely, though, my aunt thought the food was wonderful and even asked for it to be packed home because we couldn't finish it (maybe not that we couldn't finish it... but that we didn't want to finish it).
My dinner with my family at Oosh! was wayyyyyy better than this. I mean yeah, I know the entrée was a bit bland, but at least I could tell I was eating dory and my mom & sis knew they were having sea bass and my dad's lamb shoulder didn't taste of oyster.
Seriously, why must everything be drowned in oyster sauce?????
Anyway we went out for a quick lunch with my aunt yesterday and because my aunt is a total sucker for traditional (or rather, generic) Chinese banquet food, we went to Lao Beijing for lunch. We actually wanted to eat Dim Sum, but she insisted on the set lunch that cost $188 and because she's the guest, my mom granted her request.
OMG. The chef is a total quack. The menu was sooooooooo generic I could come up with a more interesting one in my sleep. And I am only an amateur home cook who started cooking... I think not more than a month ago. Sweet & Sour Fish, Zhenjian Pork Ribs, Stewed Sea Cucumber with Mushrooms, Sautéed Mushrooms, Melon & Fungus Soup, Fungus Sweet Soup etc...
And look. How can any decent chef bring himself to serve his diners dishes that have the same key ingredients!!! Notice that mushrooms (the same type, he didn't even bother to serve different breeds of shrooms!!!) and fungus appeared in more than one dish. And also, he used the cheapo mystry sauces in his food such that everything tasted the same and I cannot tell what went in the dish. It's like... the shrooms don't taste shroomish, the sea cucumbers don't taste sea cucumberish...
Seriously, I know $188 is not alot for a set menu that serves 6, but the chef should at least put in some semblance of effort to ensure that diners don't feel like fools eating the rubbish he created.
Strangely, though, my aunt thought the food was wonderful and even asked for it to be packed home because we couldn't finish it (maybe not that we couldn't finish it... but that we didn't want to finish it).
My dinner with my family at Oosh! was wayyyyyy better than this. I mean yeah, I know the entrée was a bit bland, but at least I could tell I was eating dory and my mom & sis knew they were having sea bass and my dad's lamb shoulder didn't taste of oyster.
Seriously, why must everything be drowned in oyster sauce?????
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
5:31 PM
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Cambodia is...
Angkor Wat? Ta Prohm? Bayon?
Yes yes yes. I lost count of the number of temples I visited. In fact, by the 3rd temple visit, I was close to tears due to extreme boredom. The temples, as impressive as they seemed to me initially, failed to keep me interested. They ARE highly similar. So seeing one would mean seeing the rest. You really don't have to visit the 100000 temples out there at Angkor. In fact, looking at the photos I took, I had difficulty differentiating/identifying the temples.
But I said highly similar. Meaning there is a difference.
I'm not a charitable person but an honest one, when I say there is a difference, there actually IS a difference i.e. the degree of damage each temple suffered. So if you love scrutinizing different patterns and extents of destruction, YES, you have to visit ALL the temples at Angkor.
Certainly, Cambodia has more than just temples. There is the Tonle Sap Lake. You take a boat ride down the lake and look at how Vietnamese refugees live on wrecked boats, eating and drinking from the lake, and then shitting into it. Oh. And did I mention, bathing in it.
Don't worry though, their lives will improve for sure. The touristy boat rides are products of Korean investment, so are the many floating Korean restaurants along the lake, promising employment opportunities. As we know from history, where foreign money is, religion follows. So unsurprisingly, Korean Christian Churches (at least 2 of them) float grandly on the lake too, promising salvation of some other sort to the refugees. Wonderful. The Korean businessmen seem to know all about corporate social responsibility.
But I am not a believer of corporate social responsibility.
Look. The whole idea of the Korean business on Tonle Sap Lake is that they provide boat rides for tourists to look at how the refugees live their tragic lives on wrecked boats. So in order for their business to thrive, the refugees HAVE TO continue living on wrecked boats tragically. Right? Right. So, improving the lives of the refugees is AGAINST their business interest, right? Right! Therefore, the whole business is about exploiting the misfortune of the refugees, right? RIGHT!
So... what about the promise of employment? What about the promise of the churches? Observing the current predicament of the refugees, I cannot see how their lives will improve.
Like I said, I am not a believer of corporate social responsibility. In fact, I have nothing against and am in fact somewhat supportive of blatant exploitation of all sorts for the sake of profit-making. But this pretentious Korean business model is revolting and offensive even to a near moral nihalist like me.
Money is amazing. But money has to stink.
Still, I love the stench of notes. Which brings me to the best bit about Cambodia. I will return to Cambodia if I could. And I will want to stay there for a month and spend every single day at Pub Street. Pub Street, obviously, is a street lined with pubs. Atas pubs. Okay there are bistros and art gallaries and book stores along the street too. And happily, as atas as they all are, you pay only a Kopitiam price for the amazing things you put in your mouth from these F&B outlets.
Meaning Bailey's on ice cost only USD3.00. Brick oven pizza is USD6.50 (I had the largest and most expensive one on the menu and had to share it with my mom and struggle to finish it because of it's size). Panna Cotta is USD3.00 (it can be shared among 3 pax). A bag of biscotti is USD1.50 and a pot of Masala Chai is USD2.75.
CHEAPPPP!!!!!
And the pizza was the best I had so far in my miserable life.
unclaimedpropertyofthecounts
6:30 AM