Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, but We Make It.

Since I no longer have a real job (other than baking for Firefly), I’m working a bit more at my Mom’s inn. Since all I really want to do is cook I’ve decided that I’m going to go through some of my cookbooks, and attempt some recipes that I’ve always wanted to try. The first on my list was the Quiche recipe from Thomas Keller’s Bouchon cookbook, mostly because I could justify the time, if I served it for breakfast.

Now I hate rolling dough…that is to say, I totally suck at it. That’s why I served Apple cake at Firefly rather that apple pie, and why if I do make a pie, it usually has a crust I can just press into the pan (like the Bouchon nut crusts, which are insanely good). The crust for the quiche though was incredibly easy to make and even easier to roll, so it was no problem making two of them. That’s when things started to go wrong

My mother didn’t have enough beans to fill both pans for the blind baking, and I didn’t have a lot of rice on hand, so instead of baking them one at a time I split them among the two pans, and wished for the best. Well both kind of puffed on the sides creating some cracks. No problem I thought I’ll just use some of the extra dough to patch it up. Then I realized that in my over-zealous cleaning, I had thrown all of I away. The way Keller does Quiche, and apparently how quiche should be done, is making the quiche in a two inch high pan, so it’s quite thick. With this being the case any cracks could cause a large amount of filling to leak out. And that’s exactly what happened with one of them. Filling all over the place. Luckily I had put both pans on a larger sheet pan just in case, so it was more a pain to clean then anything. So one worked out well, and the other was about half the volume it should have been. Everything else though went pretty well, although cleaning cutting and sautéing 4lbs of mushrooms was a bit of a pain.

The taste though made it all worth it, and changed the very idea of a quiche for me. The filling was like a custard and cooked slowly to keep it some and silky. The crust was also pretty thick, so the egg didn’t soak through and turn it soggy. The guests seemed to rave about it as well, and my Mother said it was the best quiche she ever had. So over all I think it went quite well, and definitely something I would do again (and better). So far every recipe I make from this cookbook turns out incredibly. The recipes are finiky, but the extra steps really do make a difference in the refinement of the dish and really elevates the dishes to a different level.

Live from New York it’s…The Daily Show

After an unsuccessful attempt to get tickets to The View (I know). Ayla’s Mother got us tickets to see the Daily Show instead (WOOOOOO!!!). So a few weeks ago we headed down to NYC for a few fun filled days hanging out in the big city. The train ride went a lot better then my previous week’s trip to TARCon, where I missed the train by minutes (it literally pulled away, as I was running towards it). After trying to meet up with Ayla’s friend Hilary at Grand Central, while Hilary was trying to meet up with us at Penn Station, we eventually met up and went out for sushi with Ayla’s father. The dinner can be summed up in one word…Awkward.

After dinner we headed over to Queen’s and went for some drinks at Hilary’s neighborhood bar. The night started innocently enough, as we sat there chatting, while some regulars played some darts, but as the evening wore on, the locals took an interest in us, and we ended up drinking the rest of the night with them, and it was a blast. They were an unusual group of characters, but it was a great time (although my liver might disagree). The next night was even weirder as we ended up spending the evening drinking with this Icelandic guy we met on the Lower East side. Always a weird time in NYC.

Now it wouldn’t be a trip to NYC if I didn’t eat as much as I could. We got the standard awesomely crappy hotdogs as well as a street pretzel, but it doesn’t stop there. Now I would love to say that I got to eat at Per Se (Thomas Keller’s NYC version of The French Laundry, who is a personal idol), but that place is a bit out of my price range, I did get to see it though. Looks nice. They were featuring a truffle tasting menu that looked incredible. In the same building however, Keller did open a Bouchon Bakery which was more in our price range. I love the Bouchon cookbook, and cook from it quite a bit (the macaroons from ‘The Most Expensive Cookies Ever’ post were from there), so it was exciting to get to see even just a few things from the book, and I did get to try the macaroons.

On Tuesday we headed off to see the Daily Show, and the taping was awesome. The set looks a lot more bleak and small in person, but just seeing Jon Stewart up close was pretty amazing. The show was a good one, and it was interesting to see all the stuff he said which wasn’t written on the teleprompter. I wish I could show some photo’s from the taping, but we weren’t able to shoot in the studio, so oh well. The one thing I was amazed at was the fact that there were no screw ups; I figured there would be at least one. I guess at this point they’ve all pretty much gotten it down.

After the taping we headed back to our hotel room to rest up, but around 10pm we were feeling hungry again, so set out to look for some sushi. Now in Lenox, good luck trying to find a restaurant in Lenox that serves after 9 pm, so even having the option was a fun experience. We wandered around the Time Square area, and finally found a sushi place called Kodama sushi, which turned out to be amazing. It was pretty cheap by NY standards, but the fish was incredibly fresh and tasty. Highly recommended. They even had cool T-shirts.

The best meal we had though (at least for me), was at Momofuku, a noodle joint in the Lower East side. The place was incredible, and really elevated what a noodle shop could be. The steamed pork buns were tasty, and the pork was incredibly moist and tender. It has an open kitchen so it was fun to just saddle up to the bar and watch the whole process. The owner David Chang was voted one of the best new chefs of 2006 by Food and Wine Magazine, and he recently opened a new place on 2^nd Ave, which I’m going to have to try next time.

My Most Expensive Cookies Ever

So one of my jobs at my Mom’s Inn is to make something for afternoon tea. My mother is pretty much happy not to have to cook anything for a change, so I can usually do whatever I feel like doing. So I use this opportunity to make something I’ve been wanting to try. The other week I starting making my own ice cream, and after success with Vanilla, I decided to try making Mojito ice cream. Now I can’t say it went over all that well, but it tasted exactly like a Mojito, so counting it as a success. I thin it might be better served on the side of something, or maybe the world just isn’t ready for it yet. I do want to try to replicate the Chili ice cream I had in Thailand though.

One of the things that has gone over well is my Lemon Tart, which I first made for one of Barb and Ferns famous BBQ’s (which I miss terribly). It’s a really nice lemony tart, with an awesome pine nut crust. Pine nuts though are expensive, so I don’t make this too often. It’s from the Bouchon cookbook, and they tend not to do things on the cheap. All of that was just to say, that there are these cookies in the cookbook, that I‘ve been dying to try, and they turned into the most expensive cookies I’ve ever made. I didn’t know that at the time, and since I had already decided to try it, there really was no going back.

First off they required 5 cups of Almond flour (about 2½ lbs). So I went to Guido’s and it turns out almond flour is like $15 a Lbs!!!! Luckily you can make your own by grinding up almonds into a fine powder. This took the better part of an hour, as it could only be done in some batches. The other expensive ingredient was real vanilla beans. Guido’s had two choices 2 for $10 or 3 for $15. That’s some fucked up shit. For Vanilla? Damn. Needed to be done though. So after grinding up Almonds, and tracing 40 2 inch circles on parchment papers, the cookies were actually pretty easy. It took the better part of the day (as you had to dry them for 3 hours before baking), and I made a total mess of the place, but the cookies turned out awesome. The cookie itself was like a meringue, all crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle, and the vanilla butter cream was great sandwiched in-between two cookies.

Luckily I managed to snag a few before the guest got to them.

New York City

So I went in NYC the other week for TARCon 9…and to get the hell out of Lenox, and I ate my ass off. I know NYC is chalk full of fine dining establishments, but there’s also the other spectrum; the cheap eats. While in South East Asia some of the best meals I had were on the street, or in some little shit-hole restaurant and NYC isn’t all that different. There are tons of options for some really good food for very little money.

Now the first thing I did (as I usually do when in NYC), is go to the Museum of Natural History, which is like my most favourite museum ever. Unfortunately I only had a little bit of time, so after checking out the Dinosaurs (which was a stupid thing to do all things considered), I had no time left for anything else. I need to go back though, as there’s a Charles Darwin exhibit that I NEED to see.

Anyway after that I went to go check out a Tehuitzingo. This place is a Mexican Grocery store in Hell’s Kitchen (no not that awful TV show), but in the back they have a little kitchen with two little ladies cooking up some of the best taco’s in NYC. They had everything from Beef, pork and Chicken to the more strange tripe and tongue. I decided to play it safe and just get a beef taco and two spicy pork tacos. They were great taco’s, and sure beat the hell out of Hot Harry’s (although those do do well when the craving hits). If you like taco’s, and find the place, it’s definitely worth a visit.


After going to see some live music, I just happened to pass a White Castle on the way home, and bought a sack of burgers. Now I don’t know what it is about White Castle, but these are things I can only eat drunk. Sober, they suck, drunk…awesome.

The next day I went to probably my favourite place in NYC, the Shake Shack. The shake shack is a great burger joint set up in Madison Square Park, and they serve truly awesome burgers, and concretes. In this day and age where most places cook the hell out of ground beef, so it’s dry and crappy, this place will still cook it up nice and pink of you ask. Plus the park is a great place to grab a bite and just walk people. They even have a licensed part of the patio if you fell like a drink.


The next place I ate was Puglia’s in Little Italy for the TARflies lunch, and had some great Italian food, including Cannoli’s which you almost had to wrestle people over. For some reason, I didn’t eat much else that day, which was a big mistake given how much I drank. Jon and TJ went to Gray’s Papaya for a snack, and why I didn’t join them is beyond me. I first ate at Gray’s during one of my first trips to NYC back for TARCon 4. Darcie and I just happened to stubble into the place, and decided to have a Hot Dog, and I’ve been going back ever since. You get 2 dogs and a drink for something like $2, so it really can’t be beat.

After dragging my ass out of bed I headed down to China town, but not before stopping at the shake shack for another burger. Then it was off to Jin Fong’s for some tasty Dim Sum. There is no dim sum in either Kingston or Lenox, so I was happy to be back in place that actually had good Chinese food. The price can’t be beat either since I ate a ton of dumplings for only $10. Plus, the tea and water helped get rid of the hangover.

After Dim Sum; Kris, TJ and I went wondering around China Town and went to New Beef King which sells Beef Jerky, and only beef jerky, and holy do they do it well. It’s not that dry leather stuff you find at grocery stores. This stuff was still pretty chewy and meaty. I think I bought too much though, as I’m still eating it now.

McDonalds in Asia

Ok I’m sorry. I said I wasn’t going to do it, but I did it. On my last night in Bangkok I went to McDonalds. I’m sorry. I feel like I let you all down. I did have a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant that night, but after spending the evening at a Muay Thai match, I was hungry for something quick. Plus, after Pulp Fiction I think we’re all curious about the differences between McDonalds in different countries. Do they call it a Quarter Pounder? Are there different menu ideas? I needed to find out. Damn you Vincent Vega.

Well they do call it a Quarter Pounder, and there were some unique menu items. There were spicy chicken nuggets, and my choice for the evening; The Sumo Pork Burger which is a lot tastier than the McRib. Other than that everything was pretty much the same. The fries were still tasty and such Blah, Blah, Blah.

To make matters worse though people I ate at McDonalds AGAIN! During my 13 hours at the Hong Kong airport. I had to eat again at McDonalds, and had the weirdest burger. I think it was called the ‘BeefTastic’ sandwich. It had sliced beef in this nice sweet sauce, but the interesting thing was that the bun was made of rice. It was almost like a rice cake, but not crispy. Not the best thing ever, but it was interesting.

So how about the Whopper? I don’t know I didn’t go to Burger King.

Behold the Power of Cheese

One of the things I missed most from home was cheese believe it or not (the other one is a secret). I love cheese. Stinky cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, fondues, I love it all. Heck even that processed cheese that you put on nachos I have this weird obsession with. I love that crap (although legally I don't think you can call it cheese). The cheese in South East Asia though is a little lacking. It's not their fault really though, I mean cheese just isn't a part of their culture. It's hard to find milk, and yogurt is a pretty new thing to find, but who can blame them, refrigeration isn't that common in most homes.

There is some cheese though. The unfortunate part is that it’s that crappy La Vache Qui Rit, or Laughing Cow Cheese. You know that crap in the foil wrapper that comes in a wheel? Yeah, you can get that anywhere, and I hate it. I did love it after Tet when it and a loaf of bread was all we could get to eat at 6am, but that was a one time only love. Again though, who can blame them, it requires no refrigeration, and its pretty conviently packaged.

This longing for real cheese though is why I completely flipped out in Na Trang when in a Super Market I found some Emmentaler. I bought a package and some crackers and rushed up to my room to eat the whole damn block. It was not the best quality, but man was it good.

Then as I strolling along the boardwalk in Ao Nang I spotted this:



A Swiss restaurant? In Thailand? Maybe they have Fondue! They didn't but they did have other Swiss dishes, and then I saw it: Assortment of Swiss Cheeses.....170 B. An assortment! Of cheese! Awesome! And that when the drool started. So I walked in, and ordered some, and received a plate of Appenzeller, Emmentaller, and some Edam (which isn't Swiss, but whatever). Man, I just stared at it for awhile before digging in. I have to say, I don't think I've ever been happier eating cheese. I mean I've had much better cheese, but this came at jus the right time, so it's definitely one of the best cheese experiences of my life. That right folks, I actually have cheese experiences which I keep track of. I'm Swiss, what can I say. I refuse to apologize for it. All that being said, if the restaurant did have fondue on the menu, I think I would have had am orgasm, so I think it's best for all involved that they didn't have it.

The Quest For Chicken

Now I can be a stubborn man. I'll give you a second to recover from the shock of that statement...Oh, done already? We'll move on then. This manifests itself when I'm traveling as an overriding desire to find places that I can't seem to find. If I want to get there, come hell or high water, I'll find it. The longer it takes the less likely I am to ask for directions, and it becomes a matter of honour, and my belief that I'm an excellent map reader (a skill that might come in useful on The Amazing Race I hope). Now this trip I've been a rock star at navigating. No matter what the city, after the first day or so, I'm usually good without a map I don't know where every street is, but I know areas, and how to find what I need. Bangkok however, KICKED MY ASS THE OTHER DAY.

So I set off to go to Wat Pho, since I didn't have enough time the other day. But I knew where it was, and was close by, so I left Khao San Rd, and started walking. Well I got lost. WAY LOST. So lost that I couldn't have told you what direction I was even heading in. I was also using the LP maps which were spread out over 10 pages, and I didn't even know which one to look at. That's when I became determined to find my way no matter what. It's not as easy as you think, since Bangkok has the worse signs ever. I eventually did find my way, and didn't get lost on the way back. Dignity tarnished, but salvaged.

Now all of that was a prelude to my quest for chicken. Lonely Planet kind of sucks, but their food recommendations are almost always bang on. So it was with that that I decided to dine at Soi Polo Fried Chicken. The best fried Chicken in Bangkok it said. I love fried Chicken...I mean love it, and I must admit, I made a damn tasty fried Chicken...damn tasty. So I was off to find chicken. The place however was pretty far, and a cab ride was out, as was walking. This meant braving the Bangkok bus system, and then taking the sky train, then walking a bit. The bus was easy enough, and the stop I wanted was near the MBK mall (which had awesome A/C so I just had to walk around there for a bit), so it was hard to miss. After that I figured out the Sky Train, and while I did miss my first stop, it was easily corrected. Then I exited to the street. I had no idea where I was.

I was dark so I couldn't navigate that way. The streets weren't labeled, and I had no clue where to go. So I figured I just walk to the next cross street and figure it out. Well the blocks aren't as close as in NYC, so I walked for 15 minutes before I came to a cross section...which had no signage either. So I turned and walked. I did see a big park, which was good, since the place I was looking for was around Lumpini park. I just had no idea what part of the park is was. So I continued walking. Now it turns out that when you're walking the streets of Bangkok, and see a big sign for an upcoming intersections the street on the sign isn't the street at the intersection, but the street that you're on. WTF? Who knew. Needless to say I walked around nearly the whole damn park. I was walking for at least an hour. It was getting late I was starving, and I'm lost at night in Bangkok. Time to swallow the pride and ask a taxi. They didn't know where it was either. I asked two drivers. No idea. They couldn't even speak English (despite the sign that says "Yes we speak English"), so they couldn't even tell me what street I was on.

So summoning all my navigatory ability (What? It's a perfectly cromulent word). I used the park,and the direction of traffic and all other little clues and was able to pinpoint exactly where I was. I was actually on the right street, but had walked about 15 minutes past Soi Polo. So I headed back. Now you might think that it's a bit of Thai humour that they have the best chicken on Soi Polo, I mean I did, I thought it was hilarious. Did they do it on purpose? Well it turns out the Bangkok Polo Club is on that street, hence the name. I don't know if that makes the joke better or worse, I'll leave that up to you. So I finally found Soi Polo, now I just had to find the restaurant (which I had been searching for for about 80 minutes). I was convinced that the place would be closed, but I was determined. Sure I passed a few places that looked good, but I wanted Chicken damn it.



Then I saw it. A cartoon roasted chicken in the window, a place packed with people. This was it. So I walked in. I was the only non-Thai in the place. They led me to my seat, I ordered a half-order (which LP said was enough for two), ordered a well deserved beer,and waited for the glorious meat. Now I was getting some stares. Lone white guy in a room full of Thai, I kind of stood out. I didn't care though, they didn't know what I had been through, they didn't know the lengths I went through to get here. Then the chicken came.

IT WAS SOOOOOO FUCKING GOOD




I mean it was insane how good this chicken was. Golden and crisp on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside. They even fry up garlic bits and pour it on top. And then there's the dipping sauce. Spicy, yet a little sweet. A really good Thai BBQ sauce. So I ate, and ate. After that plate was finished ordered another half order and eat that all up. All the while the Thais were getting drunker and drunker on 100 Piper Scotch (which made me kind of miss Piper. I miss my Dog). The dinner was amazing, and worth the journey. It took me all of twenty minutes to find my way back to the Skytrain by the way.

The Perfect Place

Muang Ngoi Neua. That's the perfect place. When you decide to travel to SE Asia you imagine remote villages, with no roads full of friendly locals, where you can relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the area and eat some good food. Then you get here and its just tourist everywhere, with modern conveniences and that little dream dies a bit. Then you go to Lao and your heart perks up a bit. Then you take a bud up to Nong Kiew, then take a boat to Muang Ngoi Neua since there are no roads connecting teh two, and then you've found the perfect place. Muang Ngoi is about 6-7 hours up river from Luang Prabang. It has one main street and only has power from 6:30-9:30. After that its just up to the moon and your flashlight. There are no roads which means that there are no cars or motorbikes, and therefore no Honking.

The bus ride was interesting, in Lao they seem to be able to fit as many people as needed on the public buses, so if you want a good seat, you better arrive early. We waited in Nong Kiew for a bit, enough time to chat with some fellow travelers, and have a BeerLao. I met up with two Swedes named Petter and Christina, A Norwegian named Petter (I know we had a Peter and two Petters, crazy), an English bloke named Paul, and this crazy German named Rafael. So we crammed onto the boat and headed to Muang Ngoi. Now the only accommodation is these Bamboo huts, and they run about $1 a night. The town is tiny. Once settled into my hut on the riverfront, I heard some familiar voices, and realized that this Canadian couple I had met in Nha Trang was in the Bungalow right beside mine.

The first night we all just hung out, and when the power went out we ate by candle light. The moon was a waxing gibbous moon, so it was bright enough to see by, and I just sat in my hammock and watched the stars and mountains before heading to bed. The next day some of us went tubing, but unlike Vang Vieng there were no bars along the way. Just us, the Mountains, and the water, you couldn't ask for a more serene atmosphere. After a bit we were afraid the guy had taken us too far upriver and that it would be hours before we got back, but we managed to reach home in 2 hours so that was kind of nice. We celebrated our journey by going from street stall to street stall trying all these different dishes. One of the best was this girl making Papaya Salad, and man it was the best Papaya salad I've had to far. Catherine had brought a bag of peanuts which we asked to be added, and the girl said if we came back tomorrow she's bring some peanuts for us (which she did). We then had some hammock time, and then a nice dinner before heading down to the bonfire at the beach.



The next day was probably the best of all. We walked out of town to go towards the caves. No one was at the caves so it took us awhile to find the right entrance. WE had to wade into the water a bit, and then try to discover the right path, as there were no markings anywhere. I'm still shocked they let people into that place alone. A lot of the time we were walking across slippery rocks with 10 ft. drops on either side. The cave eventually ended with an 8 ft drop into the water below, but as there was no discernable way out, we decided to head back. That's when we got lost. Turns out we were walking in circles, and after realizing this tried to find another path. We went up one way, and finally saw a crack of daylight off in the distance. I have to say we were all a little relieved. I wouldn't say I was afraid, but we were all getting a little nervous. We went for a quick swim in cave entrance, and then walked to the next village for some food.



The next village was about 30 minutes away, and in the middle of some rice paddies. You have to wonder how they get their supplies, since the path we took is the only route, and it's not on the river. After lunch we wanted to see the waterfalls, so we walked to Ban Ha village which was another 30 minutes away. We soon reached the village only to be told that the water fall was 60 minutes away! We walked around town a bit and then found some local kids playing in the stream, and they took us to a smaller waterfall where we could cool off. We ended up hiking for over 6 hours, but it was nice to be able to do it without a guide, and without really any plan, but then that’s what makes Lao so great. We were all pretty tired, so we bought a few (5) bottles of Lao wine, and drank the lot by the moon light.

After that active day we decided to just lounge around the next day, so we went to the beach and swam the day away. We then went to the bonfire and there were a group of Lao kids playing the guitar and singing Lao songs, it was quite a night, and it wasn't even ruined by the free Lao Whiskey they were passing around. I was leaving the next day, while Petter, Raf, and Paul were going to try and go further North. It was tough to say goodbye to them, as they were really fun travelling partners, but unfortunately they just came from Thailand, and that's where I was heading next. It was also tough to leave Muang Ngoi, but I was getting itchy feet to start moving again, and I had heard about this Gibbon Conservation area, so I wanted to check that out before heading to Thailand.

I AM Just Here For The Food

So I figured if eating Lao food was great, well then why not try cooking it. A restaurant down the street was offering cooking classes, so I signed up, and got hungry. Now I haven't cooked anything since I left my Mom's inn, so I was a little nervous about the class. I ended up taking it with this older French couple, and they were a lot of fun. The women, Sylvie, had been to Lao before and knew a few dishes, but Jean-Pierre hadn't really cooked South-East Asian food though, but you could tell they were both really into food.

The class started with us gathering around the recipe book choosing dishes to make and drinking tea. After we had chosen, one of the cooks took us to Phousi Market, and gave us a tour. It was really fascinating. I mean I had been to markets before, but with a guide you got to really learn what all these weird things were, and man were there some weird things (the oddest being big blocks of solidified blood). If your at all into proper food hygiene though, then don't go to the market, the amount of flies that were on the meat, probably would had turned you vegetarian (unless you are vegetarian already, Hey Lisa!). So after wandering around the market it was back to the restaurant to learn about Lao food.

First the chef sat us down and showed us the basic ingredients in Lao cooking. If you don't have these she said, then you can't cook Lao. She then showed us a few other ingredients that we probably wouldn't ever find at home, since they usually are only found in the jungle. Me being the smart guy that I am had chosen a recipe that will be impossible to replicate at home since it contained quite a few jungle ingredients including this special kind of wood, which you soak and then throw into the stew. Where the hell am I going to find spicy wood in Canada? I just don't think Maple will cut it. She then told us the proper way to make sticky rice and sticky rice powder, which was really interesting. So after the lesson, we went to our cutting boards and the chef taught us how to properly chop garlic, shallots, lemon grass, and Galangal (which was really tough to cut). After that it was off to the kitchen.

The cooking part was really fun, except, again I chose the wrong damn dish, and spent most of the time stirring the stew, and breaking up sticky rice while the other two were stir-frying their asses off. We did eventually switch though, so all was good. The smells coming out of the kitchen were amazing, and we were just getting hungrier and hungrier. Finally we finished everything and sat down to eat. Below is a description of each dish along with a picture.

Mok This dish, which is a little different than the Cambodian Amok, is a coconut milk/curry based dish which is then steamed in Banana Leaves. It was pretty tasty, but not my favourite. The steaming of the coconut milk gives it an almost custardy texture which I wasn't a fan of. It was good though, and fun to fold into the leaves. Ours was made with chicken, but you could easily substitute fish. I think I like the Cambodian Amok better, as that is more of a stew served in a coconut, and while the taste is the same, I prefer the texture of Amok.


Fried Rice Salad This was probably my favourite dish. You take left-over steamed rice and mix it with beef and herbs, and seasoning, then roll it into balls, coat it in egg, and then fry it up until its a dark brown. Once that done you then break up the balls into little bits, and mix in more herbs and a fish sauce based sauce. It's darn tasty. It has soft bits and crunchy bits, and the flavour was incredible. This is one recipe I'm definitely trying at home, so if you want some come on over. Most south east Asian cuisine is a balance between Hot, Salty, Sweet, and Sour, and this dish does it really well, throwing the change in textures in there for good measure.


Luang Prabang Stew This was the dish I chose, and the reason I chose it was because the original dish I picked was coconut milk based and we already had two of those. This one had a long list of ingredients, so I thought it might be fun. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a pain in the ass, and I can't make it at home, but it was pretty tasty. The pain in the ass part was that after slightly roasting a ball of sticky rice you then have to break up the ball into little bits, since that's what thickens the stew. Well sticky rice is well...sticky, and it was hard to break it into little bits. Plus then I had to stir it for 30 minutes which was quite exciting let me tell you. It did use a bunch of jungle leaves, spicy wood, and jelly mushrooms so that was kind of neat. The taste was good, and it had a kind of earthy taste to it. So I'm glad I picked it, but there were better dishes to be had.


Ginger Chicken If you like Ginger, you'll love this dish. It starts by caramelizing sugar and water until it's a dark caramel colour, you then stir-fry the aromatics, and then add the fish. If I was making this at home I would have added more fish, but I could see them not wanting to give you a lot of fish for the class. It had a really sweet taste along with a strong ginger taste which kind of balanced out both. The sauce it pretty sticky, and coats everything really well. If you don't like ginger, well then move along. This one was a great one to watch being made since at each step you had to add the ingredients at the right time. The sauce had to be just the right colour, you had to stir-fry the onions, garlic, and ginger just the right amount before adding the fish so that the former wasn't burned and the latter wasn't under or over cooked. I'd say this was my third favourite dish of the day.



Coconut Milk SoupThis was probably my second favourite dish, and I think it's because it actually reminded me of the amok I was talking about earlier. It was basically a chicken soup (although you could add fish or tofu) in a coconut based soup. It smelled amazing and tasted even better. The chicken which is stir-fried first with aromatics like onion, galangal and garlic, was really tender, and the consistency was great. If I was making it at home I would probably cut some of the tings into smaller pieces. The jelly mushrooms were a bit big, and the odd texture made it a bit weird to eat, but it was a tasty soup.


So fun was had, food was eaten and I learned a lot about Lao cuisine which is something I knew zero about before coming here. Sure I had made Lap before, but I thought it was Thai. At the end of class they gave us a cookbook full or recipes, so if anyone wants some Lao food when I get home let me know.

BEST. SANDWICH. EVER!

Ok, remember when I told you that the sandwich from Can Tho, was the best sandwich, well I was sniffing glue, because the sandwich at PVO in Vientiane is clearly the best sandwich in the world. I honestly don't know what's in it. A lot of weird stuff it seems, but damn was it good.

First off, the Baguette was really good bread. Most sandwich places in South East serve an OK baguette, but usually they're too airy, and there is nothing to them. This one though, had just the right amount of bread and crust for a sandwich. Now onto the fillings. For veggies there were Green Onions, Cilantro (my most favourite herb ever, for those keeping notes), Tomatoes, regular onions, and Cucumbers. The meat is a little more difficult. There was definitely a salami like meat, although the spices were south-east Asian. Then there was the 'Pate', which is usually more akin to Spam, than pate. This one though was really good. I have no idea what's it's made from, and frankly if it's that good who the hell cares. Then they put on this spicy sauce which seems to have the flavour of Sambal, with the consistency of Aioli. All those things together....one hell of a sandwich.

The only negative, was that I didn't try it until my last day, so only got the one. I tried to get one in the morning, but the bus was coming too early. Fuck. There really wasn't much in Vientiane, but that sandwich made the trip worth it. It's funny though because you run into other travelers and ask what they thought of Vientiane, and they all say the same thing "It was kind of a dull town, but did you try the sandwiches at PVO?" Then you both get this glazed look in your eye as you try to remember the taste, and you can just tell that both of you wish you could get your hands on one right that instant.

Potato Chips of South-East Asia

Now I love Potato Chips. I have this weakness for them. I'm more than happy to eat a whole bag of BBQ chips, and call that dinner. Going to South East Asia though, I thought I would have to find another snack somewhere. This I actually did, when Evan, the kid from the Halong bay trip introduced me to these sweet sesame peanut candies, which I instantly became addicted to. I needed the salt though. I was craving potato chips. Luckily Potato chips are everywhere here. In Vietnam, Pringles reigned supreme. They were everywhere. Every corner store, every sidewalk vender, there were Pringles. Now I hate Pringles, but I guess they ship well, and they seem to have caught on. So they made do for a while. In Vietnam you could also find other chips, but only in little small bags, that just wouldn't do. Cambodia was a bit better. They had larger bas and an interesting assortment of flavours...along with Pringles. The Potato Chip Mecca of South East Asia though, is Lao. This place is freaking awesome. They have Lay's here, and some other brand, whose name I can't decipher, and the flavours are endless. They have the regular BBQ, and Sour cream and Onion, but they also have Chicken Curry, Crab Curry, Nori Seaweed, Salmon Teriyaki, and my current favourite, Grilled Lobster. I kid you not, the chips taste like grilled lobster, and it is good! Now I just have to figure out a way of getting case home without crushing it.

In the Shadow of Angkor

I really just don't know how to describe the temples of Angkor. I took countless pictures, and while I do think I got some cool shots, I don't think any of them do it justice. It's like as soon as you but a border around it, it just loses its...oh I don't know impact? No that doesn't seem right. Grandeur? Presence? Someone help me out here. What the pictures just can't tell you is the scope of the place. It's massive, and so detailed, you can either get a far shot, and lose the detail, or take a close up and lose the context. Does that make any sense? I think it's really like the Grand Canyon. You can see countless pictures, but you can't really get a sense of the enormity of it until you're actually there. You have to see it to believe it, for lack of a better cliche.

I spent my four days in Siem Reap with Miles and Catherine, and I couldn't have asked for nicer travel partners. How they put up with me all those days I'll never know. I felt like a third wheel at times, but there was no point where they ever MADE me feel like I was. So anyway we arrive in Siem Reap (me by cheap bus, they by speedboat, which was supposedly awesome), and decide to try some of the local cuisine. Now I've eaten at Cambodian Village (Cambo)at least one a week for about 3 years, so I was curious to see what real Cambodian cuisine was like. There were a lot of similarities to Cambo, but not a lot. The curries were similar, and such, but there was a lot different as well. Cambodian cuisine is a lot like Thai food only less spicy. The two dishes that seemed to be on all the menus, yet never seen at home are Fish Amok, which is a yellow curry dish served in a coconut, and is damn good. The other is Lok Lak, a fried beef dish that is served in a oysterish type sauce along with onions and tomatoes. That too was pretty tasty.

The next day we woke up early (well Miles and Catherine got up early, I overslept and almost missed the sunrise) to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. We then spent the day traveling from temple to temple. Miles was having a grand old time scambling up the stairs, and it was pretty fun to watch. The Angkors wanted to play with perception so the entryways are rather small, and the steps are huge and steep. You feel like a 3 year old trying to climb those things, and coming down is worse. WE saw a lot of temples, but I think my favourite was Ta Preach, which the archaeologists left almost like they found it, so it's over grown with trees and plants. The trees are growing on the temples, so its really a cool sight. The Bayon was also pretty cool, since there are about 200 faces staring at you all the time.

One of the other things that stick out are the kids. They're everywhere, and they are always selling you something. They're so cute though, you can't help but want to buy something. The thing is is that if you buy from them all, the day would cost $200. I kid you not, that's how many ask. The cold drinks are hard to pass up, but three wooden flutes for a dollar never really interested me. I felt sorry for those kids, you wonder what they did wrong to get stuck selling that crap. "Oh sorry Timmy, you're just not cute enough to sell Soda...here's a flute, good luck". One kid who totally suckered me was the one selling little metal deities. He was "1 for $2" and they were kind of neat so I said "3 for $5?" "where you from?" "Canada" "If name the capital of Canada you buy 4 for $6" There was the set-up, and I knew I was being set up, these kids take money seriously. I still went for it. "The capital of Canada is Ottawa" What can you do, the kid was good. How can you not reward knowledge like that. Catherine, Miles and I talked about it later, and thought of countries to stump them. I thought of Malta, but then I would have no idea either. We figured since Katherine and miles were form the UK, we would try Wales next time. "The capital of Wales is Cardiff" DAMN IT! The kid got us again, that's two days in a row. The kids know how to work it. Is it wrong that I bought a Ganisha statue purely because of Apu in the Simpsons? Homer, please do not offer my god a peanut.

One other highlight was the Omelet lady. Seriously, best omelet I've ever had. Miles and Catherine raved about them, but I had ordered Pho the first time (which was also excellent), so out last day we had to go back. The lady was so nice! She remembered us, and even gave us the menu with local prices instead of the tourist menu. She even gave one of the kids crap, for trying to rip me off on cigarettes. Truly a wonderful lady. I guess the same is true everywhere, if you show appreciation for someone's food, you'll win their heart, and this lady knew how to cook, so it was easy to show appreciation. Oh and I hope she appreciates the fact that since my Mother owns a Bed and Breakfast, I'm totally going to be disowned.

The last day after eating the omelet, we just hung out at Angkor Wat and soaked up the atmosphere. It was quite nice to sit on some hundreds of years old building and read a good book, and hang out with good people. It was a nice way to finish my time with Miles and Catherine. Later that day, they left for Bangkok, and were then flying home, and I was leaving the next day for Laos.

Goodnight Vietnam

So after a month of traveling, I've left Vietnam for Cambodia. I thought this would be a good time to reflect of Vietnam as a whole, as so far all I've really done is try to give a snapshot of the cities themselves, and my experiences there.

Top 5 Things about Vietnam

1. The Food- It was cheap, it was tasty, and I couldn't stop eating it. Every region seemed to change the style a bit, and there were regional specialties, but everywhere you went whether it was eating on the street, to fine dining the food was great. The highlight was definitely the spring rolls and the Pho, it's just not the same in North America, no matter how hard they try. The best meal was probably in Hoi An, but the dinner with the Tay family in Ban Ho Village was truly the best dining experience in Vietnam. Just to sit in this ramshackle kitchen watching her prepared 7-10 dishes all on this open fire which was being feed with bamboo, was truly an awesome sight. I wish I could have shared photos of it with you, but those were the pictures that were lost with the camera.

2. Bia Hoi Bars- Go to a street corner grab a plastic stool, and join the people cramped together drinking their $.10 beer. The stuff isn't just cheap, its also quite drinkable..well in most places anyway. It was really just an enjoyable experience, and really let you know you were in Vietnam.

3. Sapa- Of all the places I saw, be it the Karsts of Ha Long bay, or the beautiful pagodas and temples, nothing touches Northern Vietnam. The moutains went on forever, and all of them had these rice paddy terraces carved into the side. It truly was a magical place, and a place I would go back to in a heartbeat.

4. Motorbikes- TOO MUCH FUN!!!! I need one of those badly. There was nothing like speeding through the streets of Hanoi dodging cars left and right, and feeling like you were seconds away from eminent danger. Then I got to Hoi An, and saw that while riding on one is great, driving them is infinitely better, it also was great just to have your own ride, and the freedom to go anywhere at anytime.

5. Australians- TOO MUCH FUN!!! Anywhere I went as long as there were Australians, I was bound to have a good time. If they're that much fun when they're away from home, I'd hate to think of what they're like back in Australia.

Top 3 Worst things about Vietnam

1. The lack of respect for space- I don't know what else to call it really. Except for the physical space you're directly occupying, the Vietnamese will try to occupy all other space. Orderly lines don't exists, and the sidewalks are pretty much just parking lots for motos. All that doesn't really bother me, but in Canada, people will give you the space you may soon be in, and this just doesn't happen in Vietnam. I was walking along the street in Saigon, and this guy pulls his motor in front of me, and instead of waiting for me to clear the area, and then parking his bike, he just pulls it in front of me and parks it. Now on either side of me were vendors, so I had to turn around and walk back a ways to get around. It really is a little thing, but it's constant and got on my nerves in the end.

2. The Honking- They are horn crazy over there, and the cites are just a constant drone of horns.

3. The Buses. The seats are small, the AC doesn't work, the drivers are rude, and the trip takes 10X longer than it should. Those two 12 hour bus rides were some of the worst rides of my life.

Now I didn't include the Vietnamese in any of those lists, and I'm not exactly sure where to put them, and I don't think you can classify a nation that easily. Well you can, but you wouldn't be doing them justice. I met some rude Vietnamese, and I met some of the nicest people I ever expect to find anywhere. Sure you're constantly harassed everywhere you go to buy something or take a ride, but you have a lot of money (you could afford to travel to Vietnam), and they don't, so you just have to take it. Doesn't mean you have to like it though. Sometimes I just want to pull out a map, get my bearing and carry on. I don't need people as soon as I stop trying to sell me postcards, or take me to where I want to go, and make it so you just have to leave, and you never get your bearings. Friends of mine were spat on my Hmong girls for not buying enough stuff, that's just not right, no matter where you are.

That being said I loved the Vietnamese, and after awhile you kind of just get used to it and go with the flow. One thing that always stayed with me is just how good the Vietnamese sense of humour is. They laugh constantly, and they're very easy to joke around with, as long as you don't bring irony and sarcasm into it, but I don't think it's because they don't get it, it's because thier English isn't good enough, or I guess I should say YOUR Vietnamese isn't good enough. The adults laugh, the kids laugh, and they just know how to have fun. They know how to Play, and I think a lot more Westerers could learn something from that.

Breakfast in Hanoi

There are really two ways to eat breakfast in Vietnam. There's the Vietnamese way, which is usually Pho Bo(A noodle soup with beef and vegetables to which you add chilies, herbs, lime or whatever), and then there is the Western way. Eating Pho usually means grabbing a little stool on the street sitting down and just digging in with the locals.The French presence in Vietnam history has left an mark on the cuisine, and you can get some really good baked goods and pastries anywhere you go here. Usually I choose the Vietnamese way, since the Pho is amazing, and really gets you going in the morning. Plus, a big bowl costs around a dollar, so it really can't be beat.

That being said there is something special about sitting in a cafe in Vietnam sipping coffee, and eating some french toast and a bagette. You can't help but feel a little colonial, like you're a french gentlemen coming to Vietnam to teach the savages how to be civilized, despite the fact that anyone who has been to France can tell you who really needs to teach who some civility. After a 9 hour train from Lao Cai in a cockroach inhabited sleeper, it was a nice to feel a little bourgeois. So I sat in the cafe read some Marquez, and tried to regain a little bit of calm amongst the hustle and bustle of pre-Tet Hanoi. It was a welcome feeling, and not one I really thought I'd need on this trip. The feeling was short-lived however, as 10 minutes later I was seated on the street corner eating a bowl of Pho Bo amidst the constant honking of the motorbikes

A Driver Named Doan

So after a morning running around trying to find out information on tours to Ha Long Bay and Sapa, I made , my way over to Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum...which was closed, but the museum was opening again at 2pm, so I figured why not walk around The Temple of Literature, and then grab a bite while I'm waiting. The Temple was really cool, and was a nice calm place in the heart of Hanoi. Back at Uncle Ho's I found out the museum was open, but the mausoleum was closed for the day. I figured I would just come back tomorrow, since if you're going to see a museum about Ho Chi Minh, you might as well pay a visit to the man himself, right?

So as I stood there looking in my Lonely Planet for something to do, a xe om driver approached and offered to drive me around. Now these drivers are everywhere, and normally I would have just brushed him off and head on my way. There was something about the guy though, plus he spoke perfect english, and had the worst breath, so I was intrigued. He offered to take me to a few spots including the Museum of Ethnology and the Hanoi Hilton, which I wanted to see anyway, so I figured why not. Plus he said he'd be my tour guide, so again, why the hell not. Now the museum was great, but it turns out the guys version of 'guide' was pointing to the english signs, and then making some random comment. Now this wasn't really a bad thing, because again..worst breath in the world. He then took me to this little back alley pond which had the remains of a B-52, shot down in the American war, sitting in it. It got a little weird when he got me to take a picture of the crash, with a school in the background. "So the new generation can lean" he said. O....K.... Then he took me to a Bonsai garden/old weapons park, so it was just getting weirder. Then it got truly strange.

"Have you ever eaten Snake?" Now I've eaten a bunch of weird shit in my day. Bear, Moose, Horse, Frog, Snails, Alligator...but snake, that might be too much. That being said, I did call this blog what I did, so could I really back out? So we drove out of Hanoi so I could eat snake, and my Driver could snake a free meal so to say. Now the thing I didn't quite realize was that they kill, gut and drain the thing in front of you...which was actually kind of cool. And then I did something I didn't think I'd ever do.


I ate the still beating heart of a fucking snake.


Mixed with its bile and alcohol of course. It ...wasn't so tasty, but not so bad either. They then proceeded to bring out 10 different courses, all containing my snake. Most of these dishes were pretty tasty to tell you the truth, some were awesome in fact. There was only one that really made me kind of gag, but that also could have just been from the shots of snake wine Doan kept pouring. To tell you the truth it tasted a lot like chicken. I came on this trip for experiences, and I have to say sitting in Hanoi eating snake while chatting for hours with this Vietnamese man definitely was an experience. Then he mentioned a friend of his that ran a brothel, "Nice and clean and safe!" Yeah...no.