International Blog of Food

Glorious Cuisine From Around the World

Friday, December 28, 2007
Twelve Courses Later...
Expect in the next two weeks a full, course-by-course recap of the twelve course Christmas dinner that was put in front of me.

I literally had to be rolled into Warsaw like a bowling ball.
posted by kent at 1:10 AM    2 comments
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Turkish Delights
Turkish Baklava


Pilav Ustu Doner

The complete Turkish meal: bread, salad, doner, and ayran (salty/sour buttermilk-type drink)



posted by kent at 11:56 PM    1 comments
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Too Bad it Was Closed

Any time someone tries to make sweet capitalistic profits off the Soviet stereotype, I am all for it. Take this restaurant in Riga for example. I stumbled upon it while searching for a place to eat before my flight. Unfortunately, according to the yellow sign, a private function was being held.

I went inside anyway to check it out. It was brilliant. The scent of bland food resonated throughout the bunker-like eating hall. Actually, it was more like a WWII cabaret that you see in movies. As you can see by the sign, the food is pretty cheap for downtown Riga (One Latvian Lat is about Two Canadian Dollars).

I'll be back in Riga on the 17th. This is definitely a place I'll try to get to.
posted by kent at 5:15 AM    0 comments
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Cambodian Food in the USA
After hunting for something exotic to eat during my last trip in Cupertino, I located Chez Sovan. This family-run restaurant serves authentic Cambodian food. Cambodian food is similar to Thai but has unique flavors and taste. Initially we were a little unsure if this place will turn out to be a hole-in-the-wall, but the restaurant turned out to be a nice and airy one, with a very homely feel. The Sovan family seems to actually live in the section behind the restaurant, and we could see young kids playing and studying the room behind. Like I said, homely... :-)

Catfish Amok
If there is one thing you should eat here, it has to be the catfish amok. Absolutely fabulous and unlike anything I have eaten before. This dish is a kind of fish loaf steamed in a banana leaf with curried lemongrass and coconut milk and served piping hot. I loved the taste, texture and flavors: catfish has never tasted this nice!


Before the Amok we had started with Tom Yum soup which was sort of like the Thai version, but contained a lot of veggies, especially baby-corn. We also ordered the Samlaw Curry Moin, a chicken stew with carrots, potatoes, coconut milk and curry spices. This was good too, spicy but also a little sweet from the carrots.



And finally we ordered the Cha Me Kathang, flat rice noodles stir fried with mixed veggies and meat. Quite similar to the drunken noodles we ordered at Krungthai the other day. Again, milder in spice to the Thai version.

Great food, nice atmosphere, completely off the beaten path and great value for money! Portions were quite large and the prices modest. I know I am coming back for that Amok again.

Chez Sovan is located at 2425 S Bascom Ave., Campbell, CA 95008. Phone: 408.371.7711

I covered quite a few restaurants during this trip to the Bay Area and posted my experience on my blog. Here are some of them:

posted by Shantanu at 12:26 AM    1 comments
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Glorious Cuisine From Brussels, Belgium
I haven't been that active contributing here lately, but have been very busy traveling.
It have given me the chance to taste some food around the world though, and today I would like to share a gastronomic sensation from my last stay in Brussels.

I had the pleasure of eating dinner at Armond & Ko:


You can read all about the lovely treat and see more pictures on my blog :-)
posted by RennyBA at 2:03 PM    1 comments