A Load of Cow (And Other Strange Bits)

S and I were in Argentina over Christmas and we of course looked forward to the oodles of good beef we expected to find there. Our expectations were so high that during one particularly hungry afternoon driving between San Francisco and LA, S declared to me that he was "going to eat steak for both lunch and dinner everyday".

We weren't disappointed. The first afternoon after we arrived in Buenos Aires, we set out to find some lunch - beef of course. We ambled into a "parilla al carbon" - essentially just a casual grill place where every imaginable cut of beef was on display above a bed of white hot coals. We quickly got seated and ordered the "mixed grill" for a grand total of USD12.

Now in case you are thinking "mixed grill" equates to a Jack's Place special of chewy sirloin, shrivelled chicken sausage and tough lamb chop (sorry Jack's...), you're absolutely wrong. What turned up was truely the Argentinian version - 2 huge pieces of flank, large portion of short ribs, chorizo, 2 huge chicken breasts (what do they feed the chickens in Argentina?!), all topped off with a massive portion of what some might consider disturbing but which are regarded as delicacies in Argentina - blood sausage, beef kidney, sweetbreads and intestines. YUM. We washed it all down with a bottle of cheap local wine (USD5 - nothing like getting sloshed at lunch while on holiday!). I did think some of the meats (especially the chicken) was overcooked, but the beef was of excellent quality, and I wasn't going to complain given the quantity we got).

The next night, we decided to make the trip to Siga La Vaca, a well-regarded and more upmarket parilla located in a trendy part of town. In true castellano tradition, we turned up at 11.30pm and were greeted by a very lively and noisy dining room full of patrons just getting into their dinners. The deal this restaurant was doing was a "eat all you can" buffet of salad starters and beef main course. The grill had just about every single part of cow on it (including the offal mentioned above, and more) - all you had to do was to roll up and point at the desired part, and the chef would slice off a generous portion for you. All this plus dessert and a bottle of wine for USD15 each. BURP.

The Argentinian cow is actually leaner than its American, Canadian or Australian cousins, yet in its own way, is tastier in a "beefier" sort of way, even if it is a little chewier. It's not unakin to getting more beef in a single bite. The locals attribute it to the quality grass the cows munch on in Argentina, and the exercise they get.

Anyway, by the time we made it to Chile, we were, unsurprisingly, beefed-out. We took a recommendation from the internet to go to the Santa Rita vineyard for lunch - this was a pleasant 45 minute drive through countryside and small towns from downtown Santiago. It was almost a relief to see the menu had a heavy emphasis on seafood (excellent mussels!) and lamb. Being the intrepid and adventurous gourmand, I of course had to try the strangest thing on the menu (and one offally bit I've never before had) - a fricasse of lamb testes.

The waiter was definitely impressed - I'm not sure by my "appreciation" of local cuisine, or my courage - in any case he said to me that it was "one of the best dishes in the menu". He was not wrong - the dish was delicious. The said potentially offensive bit had been sliced up and cooked with herbs, eggs, peas, onions and all sorts of other delicious things I could not quite discern. In fact I would go as far as to say the testes taste like a yummier and more delicate version of sweetbreads (and mind you - I like my lamb sweetbreads). S even grudging admitted the dish was good (after I cajoled him into trying some).

We definitely ate well this trip - I think a suitable New Year's resolution might be to go on a diet...

Bouchon and The Cookbook

After a particularly stressful day at work recently, I picked up the Bouchon cookbook on impulse. At HKD500, it wasn't a cheap acquisition, but it is sooooo good it's like food porn. Needless to say, I've spent many nights drooling over its pages and falling asleep with dreams of creamy rilettes, crispy frites and succulent roast meats. Mmmm...

I haven't had time to make any of the recipes in Bouchon (too busy drooling obviously), however when Christmas vacation plans materialized into a driving trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I convinced S that he absolutely HAD to make the detour up to Napa to go to one of Keller's restaurants. We tried to make reservations at French Laundry, but obviously did not get one.

(We actually got through the line after being put on hold for 20 minutes - I think the conversation went something like: Me: "Can I make a reservation for French Laundry for two please? Anytime in December, for lunch or dinner, whatever we can get." Recep: "I'm sorry m'am but we are completely full in December." Me: "(sounding desperate) Nothing at all?? What about January?" Recep: "I'm sorry we are closed first week in January and I have nothing thereafter either. Would you like to put your name on the waitlist? ." Me: "Ok." At this point I'm thinking she probably writes our names down on a piece of paper, crushes it, and jumpshots it into the overflowing paper bin across the room thinking "Another pair of morons." ANYWAY...)

So Bouchon it had to be. I'd been to Bouchon once during my culinary course at Napa, and it had just been perfect - gorgeous, simply prepared bistro fare - so I did manage to raise S's expectations pretty high.

We weren't disappointed. We ordered the quiche du jour, poulet un frites and a salmon rilette. Everything was simply delicious. The chicken especially was perfectly done - seasoned in a honeyed brine (aha - recipe in his cookbook!!) and roasted until it was succulent and not at all overdone. The white meat was still juicy and the dark meat just had the slightest, faintest tinge of blush at the bone (some might say underdone, but it's the Chinese way!). The fries were how fries should be - crisp and fragrant outside, with a touch of creaminess inside. I'd ordered the quiche and rilette last time and had been suitably impressed - this time was no different.

We left, full, satisfied, impressed, and I, inspired. When I return to Hong Kong, I'm definitely plucking up the courage to try to recreate these dishes at home.

Babi in Bali

Bali is one of my all-time favourite destinations. Regardless of how far we venture or how exotic the other locales, we always seem to come back to Bali at least once a year (more often than not, 2-3 times a year). Of course we never fail to eat badly here - one would not expect any less of someone like me - and this obviously adds to the allure of the sun, sand and surf.

We have done the old favourites many times over - classics like Made's Warung, Kafe Warisan, La Lucciola, Bebek Begil and many others usually satisfy for a fraction of the price back home. This time, we decided to try the newly opened and VERY upscale Indonesian restaurant Sankha at the Bvlgari Resort. I mean, c'mon, if we can't afford to shell out USD1,500 a night for a room, at least we can splash out at dinner, right?

The restaurant was deserted by the time we rolled up at 10pm (driver got lost...), so we got the best seat in the house, right by the cliff overlooking the private beach. The view was stunning and the atmosphere was very romantic. Most importantly though, the food was absolutely EXQUISITE. We ordered the sambal kangkong, a selection of satay and the tamarind and coconut marinated chicken, all classic Indonesian specialities. You're probably thinking right now we must be mad to make the 45min drive to Bvlgari Resort to order what we could theoretically have had at the warung down the street for next to nothing. But this wasn't just any warung though - it was Sankha, and it was awesome.

Most ethnic cuisines which are borne out of times of need, tend to use judiciously herbs and spices to make the most of the little (or poor quality produce) they have. Indonesian cuisine is one such example, and when you take these beautiful spice blends (rempah) and cook them with better cuts of meat, the results are stunning. Sankha is a great example of this - the satays were made of good chunky cuts, and the chicken was Australian corn-fed, not some kampung bird! Also of note is the use of udang geringo (tiny dried shrimp) in the kangkong - a feature not often seem but which gave it just that extra ooomph. YUM.


Fine dining aside, Bali's most famous dish has got to be the babi guling - a whole spit-slow-roasted pig with the crispiest skin imaginable, melt in your mouth fat, some unidentifiable crispy bits(probably pig innards if u ask me) and meat that is shredded and mixed with a fiery spice mix, served over rice. It is so iconic, Anthony Bourdain has featured it on his No Reservations show, and both significant Singaporean food personalities Chubby Hubby and KF Seetoh have reviewed and raved about the dish.


On our way to golf up in Bedugul, we asked our guide to stop at "the best babi guling shop you know". He nodded silently and seemed to drive forever, finally stopping at a tiny little roadside store next to the padi fields of central Bali. The lady-owner of Agung Ayu Babi Guling was almost sold out of babi, but she did manage to rustle up a few bits for us. Maybe we were just hungry after the longer-than-expected drive, but the food definitely didn't disappoint. Well as they say, fat is flavour, and babi guling certainly isn't short on flavour. And while Agung Ayu might not be the BEST babi guling shop on the island (Ibu Oka in Ubud is reputed to be the best), I've never been to Ibu Oka, and I was pretty damn happy with what we found anyway.

I mean, how can crispy pig NOT taste good?

Comfort Food

After 5 straight days of eating fine European cuisine, S was starting to have a real hankering for some good old Chinese comfort food. We decided to venture out to Tin Hau, where we had previously, on Kylie Kwong's recommendation, found a very nice modern Chinese place right in the middle of a strip of other restaurants.

We could not quite recall the exact name of the street, so armed with only a vague sense of direction and very basic Cantonese vocabulary, we hopped into a taxi and instructed the cabby to take us to "the street in Tin Hau with lots of good food". Thankfully, the driver knew exactly where we were referring to ("Orrrhh Tsing Fung Gai?!?" he exclaimed) and we soon found ourselves back in front of Kin's Kitchen where we went last time.

We were tempted to go back to Kin's, for it was the classiest place on the strip, and we did have a very satisfying meal last time, but I persuaded S to go for the grottier but just as crowded place next door, just for a change. After all, the picture of the braised fatty pork in the window looked absolutely scrumptious, and in my book, one cannot go wrong with braised fatty pork!!

So this place we ended up at doesn't have an English name nor English menu, is at least as raucous as the loudest bar in Lan Kwai Fong, and looks like it needs a complete furnishing overhaul (think plastic stools and formica tables with bright white flourescent lights). In short, ambience wasn't really a selling point.

But heck, we were here for the food. And excellent food it was. We had that beautiful braised pork, which I initially thought was the southern version braised in soy, but it turned out to be the Shanghainese version braised in Zhejiang vinegar - tangy, sweet, salty and fatty all at once. We also had a very interesting century egg dish which consisted of a whole century egg wrapped in cuttlefish paste and then breaded, deepfried, sliced,and dipped in sweet chilli sauce. Sounds bizarre, but it is a great beer snack. We paired these with a palate-cleansing stir-fried garlic chives.

The most outstanding dish however, was to our great surprise, the frog and mushroom congee. Now we ordered this just as aside "by-the-way" kind of dish, in place of the usual white rice because we just didn't feel like rice today. Cantonese congee is, if you are unfamiliar with the dish, simply rice grains simmered in lots of stock with the said ingredients (pork, chicken, or frog in this case) until the grains break down, release their starch, and turn into a gooey mush. It is usually, as it sounds, quite bland, and most often served to convalescing patients. The congee that we had tonight was none of the above. It was absolutely, incredibly delicious, full-bodied and flavoursome, with the right silky texture that a good congee should have. It came with side helpings of sliced scallions, some minced preserved vegetable (THE secret ingredient i think!!), and crisps. I do actually believe it is the best congee I have had in a long time (possibly the best ever). Even S, who is usually not a big fan of congee, was asking for seconds.

It was a great meal, hearty and delicious, the best comfort Chinese food one can ask for. The best part was, for 4 dishes, 1 huge (1L) can of beer and a bottle of water, the bill came up to only HKD208 (SGD40, USD27)! Who says good food has to be expensive?

Strange Animal Parts

I will admit, I like to sample strange animal parts. I think the complex flavour of most offal adds an almost primal dimension to tastes we associate with "meaty" or "gamey". So I could not really pass up the chance to sample that French classic, veal kidneys in a brandied creamed sauce, when I saw it on a menu today.

Onroute from sussing out the 20-minute drive between Calistoga (where my hotel is) and the Culinary Institute of America (where I start my course tomorrow), I decided to stop at Bistro Jeanty at Yountville for dinner, where I ordered those veal kidneys.

Now if you have ever had pork kidneys, you will know what strong tasting means. Pork kidneys are so strong in flavour they have to be soaked in salted water overnight to rid them of the urea-ry (for lack of a better word) smell and taste. But prepared well, the flavour and texture are superb, rich and complex. I happen to be a fan of that disappearing Hokkien heritage dish of highly acquired tastes, yeo chee mee sua (braised pork kidneys with wheat vermicelli in broth) - my late grandmother had a kick-ass recipe which she unfortunately did not manage to pass on to any of her children.

Veal kidneys, on the other hand, are a lot milder. I would almost describe the taste as sweet and delicate, a slightly gamier version of sweetbreads, and the texture somewhat like firm mushrooms. Deelish!

A Day of Many Firsts

It has been a day of many firsts - first day in California, first time in California, first time taking a solo driving holiday, first time driving on the other side of the road, first time putting petrol into a car (!)... the list goes on.

So anyway, I arrived rather uneventfully in San Francisco last night. Having enjoyed a very peaceful slumber for most of the 11-hour flight here, I obviously had a sleepless night at the El Rancho Motel (which by the way is a faux Mexican, pink cattle ranch smack next to a 4 lane highway a mile from the airport!!)

I did not let the pink, nor the terrible brown liquid masquerading as coffee, nor even the grouchy Hispanic servers (why oh why do I still have to tip bad service?!) get me down. This morning, I picked up my geeky little rental car and I was off, down Highway 101, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and into Wine Country!

It was noon by the time I wound my way through various bits of traffic into Sonoma, which was, despite being overrun by lots of tourists, easy-going, leafy, and very cute. I decided to stop for lunch. Unfortunately, I did not realise my first port of call, Cafe la Haye (Lonely Planet: "One of Sonoma County's best"), only served dinner. Second destination was girl & the fig, which turned out to be an awesome choice - the courtyard was perfect, food delicious, and service impeccable.

I ordered the "pastis-infused steamed mussels", guessing that patis was some sort of liquer - after all, I would make this dish myself with white wine or vodka. (Wikipedia says "pastis" is "an anise-flavoured liquer" from France.) Of course being extremely hungry and greedy as usual, and always forgetting that I go from very hungry to very full in about 3 bites and 5 minutes, I ambitiously decided to go for the optional extra of "matchstick fries with tarragon aioli". YUM.

The food was faultless (or maybe I was just very hungry?). The mussels came steeped in a creamed liquid which had a base of garlic, shallots, fennel, parsley, and another herb (thyme?). The matchstick fries were perfectly done, and the tarragon aioli fresh and homemade. Unfortunately I barely got close to finishing the mussels, and most of the fries went untouched. Oh well.

Hitting a wall after lunch (by which time it was about 5.30am in Asia), I ordered myself a strong macchiato before getting on the road again. I had booked myself into a motel in Healdsburg (which at $229 was the cheapest available anywhere close after many phone calls and walk-ins), but what looked like a 50 mile drive turned into an-hour-and-a-half slow chug through the horrific traffic of Santa Rosa.

From what little I have seen driving through the centre, Healdsburg is a very pretty little town. Lonely Planet also says of Healdburg: "Foodies may think the've died and gone to heaven." However all I was prepared to do when I arrived was to pass out. I'm also too full from lunch to savour a big dinner, so I think I'll have to save the Healdburg dining experience for lunch tomorrow!