Food » Champion of Breakfasts!

Roast Pig

May 212013

Leaving Malapascua I noticed a few things:

First, when you’re not blindly wandering the island it’s a much shorter, faster path from one place to the next.

Second, there’s an entire side of the island I hadn’t explored — the north side. This side has another village of locals and it looks to be a bit wealthier. “Wealthier” as measured by my own developing Asian country metric: the Concrete Housing Index. Seems like as soon as you’ve saved up enough money, you build with concrete; makes sense in a tropical, bug-populous environment but aesthetically unpleasing (to me).

Third, big events here are celebrated with roasted pig. Notice I said “pig,” and not “pork.” Pork would suggest servings of pig meat. That term is insufficient for the situation here.

For the vegetarians and animal lovers (and those keeping kosher eyes) reading this posting, I’m going put the pictures after the “continue reading” link and warn you that there’s graphic roast pig coming up. You have been warned. (Or tempted – you know whom you are.)

Old Coconuts

Food, Philippines No Responses »

May 202013

Have I mentioned how awesome the fruit is here? Yeah… It’s a paradise.

Don’t expect journalistic balance or distance — I loooove coconuts. (Turns out I’m a coconut-vampire, and I’ve come to terms with this.) I mentioned this to Mike at Aabana who saw to it that coconuts were waiting for me the very next day.

I then spent a pleasant 15 minutes hacking away at a green coconut like some extra from the apes-and-bones scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey until I finally got to the delicious beverage hidden inside. (The elegance of the fresh coconut juice vendor in Manila was completely absent.) Photos of the damage coming up…

A Face for Dumplings

China, Food No Responses »

May 052013

On my way to visit Peking University last week, I stopped off at a baozi (包子) restaurant – steamed buns!

If you’ve ever had dim sum, you’ve had some bao zi. Filled with meat or vegetables, they’re just fantastic. And this place had great food. It’s just, the sign in the dining room (ostensibly of the founder) was… wrong. I don’t know what expression he had on his face, or what message he was trying to convey (is that a thumbs-up, or is he suggesting we go somewhere else because these taste funny?), but it didn’t look like “welcome in, have some great food!”

Maybe it was a warning: eat too many baozi, and you’ll start to resemble one.

Decide for yourself:

[Honestly, I feel a bit guilty mocking this sign. It's half his expression, and half his appearance - which we only have so much control over. That said, take a critical look at the picture you're hanging in your dining room, and decide if it's really appetizing.]

Having eaten the (pretty good) dumplings I then went with Ivy, my host for the day, to tour Peking University (they haven’t transitioned to “Beijing” – possibly because it’s a well known name). It’s a ridiculously beautiful campus, with some old buildings, small gardens, and winding pathways. If you’re in town, it’s worth the visit. Some pictures here, hopefully good enough to make up for that last one.

Chinese White Lightning

China, Food No Responses »

Apr 172013

The local high-octane, almost flavorless, can-be-used-as-a-degreaser alcohol is called ‘Bai Jiu’ (白酒 — literally, “white alcohol”). It becomes only slightly more drinkable when prepared and served at below-zero temperatures. David (one half of the wonderful couple housing me at the moment) likes to infuse a bottle of Bai Jiu with habañeros, which I contend transforms it into a WMD (Weapon of Mouth Destruction).

Red Star, White Lightning: BaiJiu

Fresh Coconut Water

Food, Philippines, Travel No Responses »

Apr 012013

I spent the day walking around in the heat of Manila, getting dehydrated and tired. Looking for a drink which truly revives, and found it on the back of a pedal-cart: coconut water (buko juice).

Upsides:

- refreshing

- tastes great

- no added ingredients
- lots of electrolytes
- clean (at least, until the machete hacks into it)
- 100% biodegradeable container
- usually comes with a snack (the coconut meat, if it’s not too young)
- cost: 25 PhPesos (about 60¢)

Downsides:

- the can opener is a freaking machete (wait, that’s pretty cool. Maybe it’s an upside…)

If you’re still undecided, here’s the kicker:

- free show!! (Click on the picture to watch…)

Local Fruits – Part 2

Food, Philippines No Responses »

Mar 302013

Mangosteen

Unopened, it looks like something shot from a mideval cannon – but inside is a set of pearls on red velvet.

Morning in Manila

Food, Philippines No Responses »

Mar 302013

My Manila mornings started out with eggs joining all the fruit on the plate, but the heat and humidity encourage a lighter breakfast. Today it’s tea and a piece of pan accompanying fruit, fruit, and more fruit!

English Breakfast

England, Food No Responses »

Jun 162012

Let’s assume for the moment that the sun does set on the British Empire. You might then assume that the sun would also rise again the next day. It’s a big empire, takes a lot of work to manage that… you’ll need a big breakfast!

From what I can tell, you have a few variants to choose from. There’s the “continental,” which covers breads and pastries, possibly cereals. Hotels love this one, which sounds far fancier than it tastes. There’s “porridge,” a self-explanatory category, the least interesting, and possibly the healthiest. And finally there’s the “full English breakfast.” If you’re hungry, go for that last one.

Ridgeway Hike – day 2

England, Food, Hiking No Responses »

Jun 112012

The lovely couple running 97 High Street bed & breakfast (a name and an address in one) both made mid-life career changes, which gives us something to talk about in between the half-dozen courses of a Full English Breakfast.

Hot tea, juice, cereal, fresh-baked rolls, eggs with smoked salmon, tomatoes and mushrooms, fruit… usually you get a sampling of these – this morning it was all on the table! There’s clearly more food here than I could possibly eat, and yet somehow I managed. It was delicious.

It was fuel for the walk ahead, but at a certain point ‘fuel’becomes ‘ballast,’ and I was moving slow on the walk.

Berliner Breakfast

Food, Germany No Responses »

May 222012

The true continental breakfast… what every hotel tries to emulate: Bread and cheeses, jams and butter (or margarine in Germany, for reasons of historical accuracy rather than concerns for taste and health), yogurt and cereals, fruit, and an egg being boiled off-camera.

As there were only two of us, we didn’t make much of a dent here.

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