International Blog of Food

Other Romanian Goodness

2011-11-20T01:06:00.001-08:00

One of the many massive sandwiches you can get on the street.

Chicken stew with mamaliga (Romanian polenta)

Deep fried dough topped with sour cream and cherries

Vegetable puree

An assortment of Romanian pickles

Spicy roast peppers

White beans - southeastern Europe does white beans like no other.

Bucharest Christmas Market Goodness - Part 2

2011-03-12T02:42:00.000-08:00

Various grilled meats

A fairly tough cut of beef. It's called bastirma in Romania.

The finished product. Chopped into little pieces to make it easier to chew.

Bucharest Christmas Market Goodness - Part 1

2011-01-25T02:47:00.001-08:00

Sausage, pork fat, and cheese

Ostensibly a smoked pig surrouned by smoked meat poetry

Cabbage rolls, grilled sausage, and kefta with a tangy mustard

These smell like roasted marshamallows but are some sort of dough dipped in sugar

A variety of cakes

Possibly the World's Best Breakfast

2011-01-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

Olives, cream, honey, eggs, tomatoes, sausage, cheese, fresh veggies, crusty bread, and tea. Only in Istanbul can you get a spread like this daily.

On the Street in Phnom Penh - Part Three

2010-09-06T03:14:00.000-07:00

French bread at a roadside bakery

Cakes and other sweets at the same bakery

Woman making submarine sandwiches

Inside of one of the sandwiches. It was pretty good.

On the Street in Phnom Penh - Part Two

2010-08-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

Meat - presumably pork - with rice and broth that tasted like liver.

Pork and pineapple with rice.

Vietnamese Pho (noodles) with prawns. Delicious!

On the Street in Phnom Penh - Part One

2010-07-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

A pig on a spit. Is there a better welcome to a country?

Sausages

A variety of clams with different seasonings

Roasted chickens

Kuala Lumpur: the Great Bastion of Street Food - Part Four

2010-07-14T03:38:00.000-07:00

Nasi Lemak

Some kind of "ball" soup

Beef Noodles

A whole bunch of things you can deep fry

Little octopi and some pork, deep fried and served with spicy sauces

Kuala Lumpur: the Great Bastion of Street Food - Part Three

2010-06-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Place reknowned for its beef noodles

The streets come alive at night

Seafood on display

Chinese food

Lady frying bacon

Kuala Lumpur: the Great Bastion of Street Food - Part Two

2010-06-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

Noodle vendor

Bengali Food (fish and seafood curries, among other things)

Coconut and sugar can juice vendor

My lunch

Kuala Lumpur - the Great Bastion of Street Food - Part One

2010-06-10T03:49:00.000-07:00

A typical table on the street with all the requisite sauces and utensils

Chinese food vendor. This place gets crazy at night.

A look down the street

I didn't order the "Wine Drunk Chicken", but I always wondered what it was.

Gyros and Souvlaki

2010-06-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

Pork Gyros

Pork Souvlaki

Albanian Street Food

2010-05-27T04:38:00.000-07:00

The Kofte Grill equipped with roasted chickens and a basket of bread

White bean soup

Kofte and toasted bread (a nice touch)

Albanian Rest Stop Grub

2010-05-24T05:17:00.001-07:00

A chunk of meat in a tomato-based soup

Spaghetti noodles, cheese, and egg

The bizarre thing about this place was that there was a caged bear out back. Everyone working at the restaurant seemed really excited about showing us.

On the Menu in Ohrid

2010-05-19T03:29:00.000-07:00

A very interesting array of dips.

Fresh trout from the lake next to Ohrid

The Gourmet Burger: Re-defined - Part 5

2010-05-12T00:50:00.000-07:00

The Poutine Burger

The American Garbage Burger (spicy liquid cheese, bbq sauce, and chips)

Old Town Skopje Treats

2010-05-06T03:41:00.000-07:00

Apple Strudel

Cheese and Sausages

Kebab Spices

Baked white beans in a tomato sauce

Traditional Macedonian

2010-05-04T04:12:00.000-07:00

A selection of local cold cuts and cheeses

Incredibly fatty bacon and a sausage

Cheese and chicken casserole

Pumpkin and honey

Street Food - Skopje Style

2010-04-27T02:23:00.000-07:00

A giant bun with a burger, cabbage, lettuce, tomato, and onion, topped with french fries and slathered in ketchup. They even give you a tiny plastic fork to eat the fries with before devouring the burger.

What You Would be Eating if You Were in Sofia

2010-04-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

Kebab, kofte, and pork shoulder grillin' away

Tomato and Mozzarella with an eggplant salad

Apples with honey, figs, and soft cheese

The finished pork shoulder

Pork kebab grilled to perfection

Grilled kofte

Bulgarian Bazaar Delights

2010-04-20T04:46:00.000-07:00

Sausages

Olives

Smoked fish

Ham

Dried red peppers

Bulgarian Canteen Food

2010-04-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Sausage, potatoes, and rice

Some noodle dessert (left) and another thing with liver in it (right)

Istanbul's Fairly Glorious Food Culture

2010-04-14T23:59:00.000-07:00

Olives!

Fish!

Cheese!

Canned Things!

The Gourmet Burger: Re-defined - Part 4

2010-04-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

The Japanese: Teriyaki, tempura, and pickled ginger

The Breakfast: egg, spanish salami, and a fiery sour cream

The Fig Newton: dijon sour cream, fig reduction, and roasted almonds

The Hick 2: Apples, blue cheese/butter sauce, and bacon in a biscuit

Istanbul's Take on Street Food

2010-04-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

Deep fried mussels

Steamed mussels

Feasting in Istanbul

2010-04-01T07:03:00.000-07:00

This table has all the good stuff on it: Iskender kebab, kebab wrapped in flat bread, and kebab with eggplant.

Tajine in Marrakech, Morocco

2010-03-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Tajine pots outside the restaurant

Left: eggs poached in a vegetable stew. Right: chicken tajine.

Its a portable restaurant!

The 2nd Most Epic Breakfast I've Ever Had (Istanbul)

2010-02-19T03:48:00.000-08:00

Seven different types of cheese, six different types of meat, and a whole lot of olives and sundried tomatoes

Eggs and Spicy Sausage

What's the most epic breakfast I've ever had? 1995. Some Hotel. Dusseldorf, Germany. I was 12, so maybe that's why it seemed a lot bigger than it actually was. I remember something to the tune of 15 different types of jams, eggs cooked to order in front of you, and a serious array of fruit.

Italy - Dinner 4

2010-02-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

Tuscan Ragu on top of fresh ravioli - Maybe the best pasta dish i've ever had

Scottiglia - Chicken, veal, and pork cooked in tomatoes, onions, and wine

Biscotti from Chestnut Flour

The Gourmet Burger: Re-defined - Part 3

2010-02-05T00:42:00.000-08:00

Control Burger with BBQ Sauce

Parmasean, Crushed Walnuts, and Honey

Lemon-lime BBQ sauce, topped with a mandarin, cilantro, hot pepper, and onion salad

Jerk-yoghurt rub, topped with a tomato-onion salsa

Anchovie paste topped with calmari rings sauteed in garlic

Italy - Dinner 3

2010-02-01T03:40:00.000-08:00

Tuscan Bean Soup

Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza

Italy - Dinner 2

2010-01-28T05:45:00.000-08:00

Chianina beef, blue rare

Asparagus Risotto

Roast Vegetables

Sage and Butter Gnocchi

Bruschetta and Carpaccio

Blog Fodder to Come!

2010-01-11T02:23:00.001-08:00

Once again, I have come back from a trip with a ton of blog fodder. Now if only I could catch up first with my Italian experience, then I could move on to the delicacies of Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece.

Stay tuned!

Everyone Should Have One

2009-11-19T05:53:00.000-08:00

If you don't have a forno oven, go out and get one. Or build it. Or commission it. Just do whatever it is you have to do to get it done. They are so cool that I am even trying to build one on my balcony in Baku (don't ask how).

Besides the fact that you can churn out buffalo mozzarella pizzas as seen above, you can also do breads, stews, braised meats, and just about anything else.

But the coolest thing of all is the paddle you get to use. Makes you feel like a real pizzaiolo.

Fresh Orange Juice in Morocco

2009-11-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

In Essaouira

In Marrakech

If I remember correctly, it was about 65 cents for a large glass. Yummmmm.

Breakfast in Italy

2009-11-12T03:30:00.000-08:00

This omellete is filled with all sorts of Italian goodness: prosciutto, pancetta, parmasean, fresh rosemary, tomatoes, red onions, and garlic.

Redefining the Gourmet Burger - Part 2

2009-11-08T00:23:00.000-08:00

The control burger with a little bit of horseradish

The Lebanese - Roast halloumi and red pepper

The Thai - Peanut sauce, bamboo shoots, and shredded coconut

The Hick Burger - Smoky pepper cream cheese, bacon, and flambeed apples

The Greek - Tadziki, tomato and red onion

Cornish Pasties

2009-11-02T02:32:00.001-08:00

Good Pasty-eating Form

A handmade pasty

From my Dad:

When I was a kid my mother worked in an english bakery in
Fort William. One of the specialities du maison was Cornish Pasties. Lovely crescent shaped pies containing an onion potato meat mix baked to a golden brown. Couldn't wait to see if mother brought some leftover ones home. The pastie was originally developed as portable food for the Cornish tin miners. Something they could throw in their pocket to sustain them for the day.

When I was in Weymouth, England near the cornish border I came upon the ultimate pastie shop. Ah these were things of beauty containing all manner of ingredients. I bought a couple and repaired to the local pier to sit and watch the sea and read The Guardian. Ah delicious!

First Course

2009-10-27T05:58:00.000-07:00

A selection of fine cured hams

Carpaccio topped with fresh greens and parmasean

We stopped at some random restaurant in a small town located on a country road. After deciphering the menu, the above is what we ended up with as a first course. Incredible. For seconds, we had asparagus risotto and gnocchi. Our meat dish was a tuscan mixed grill. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the second and third courses, but you could imagine how good they might look.

What was most remarkable about the restaurant were the pizzas. I don't think I saw a pizza so well-topped during the rest of my time in Italy.

Italy - Dinner 1

2009-10-26T05:47:00.000-07:00

Roast Rabbit - so much better in Italy than in Canada

Faro Risotto

Muhlach” Ensaymada --- a filipino delicacy

2009-09-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Yummm....someone bought this from Philippines for my friend (who, bless her, shared).

The picture is from http://www.megamelt.com/

Redefining the Gourmet Burger

2009-09-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

Plain, Meaty Goodness

The Fruit Frenchman (brie and a pommegranate/rosemary reduction)

The Ethiopian (lentil and pea stew)

The Stinker (roasted garlic butter and roquefort)

The Afghan (spice paste, roasted eggplant, and a coriander/walnut chutney)

Big Breakfast

2009-09-17T04:48:00.001-07:00

Mario's Cafe in Westhoughton do a big breakfast for £10! Eat it all in 20 mins without a drink to wash it down with and you get it free!

It's 10 eggs, 10 bacon, 10 sausage, 10 toast, 5 black puddings, tomatoes, beans and mushrooms.
For anyone fancying the challenge, the address is:

67 Market St

Westhoughton, Bolton, BL5 3AG

Exotic Fruits from Malaysia

2009-09-08T00:16:00.000-07:00

Well, exotic to Azerbaijan. Leechie nut, mango, and something else with a colour that the camera just doesn't do justice to.

Washed Down with a Tuborg

2009-09-07T02:18:00.000-07:00

This is also from Emily, except this time she is eating a smoked salmon salad in Denmark.

Moroccan Fish Market Awesomeness

2009-09-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

These are some long overdue pics of the fish market in Essaouira submitted by a good friend of mine:

From the Land of Fermented Mare's Milk

2009-08-31T05:18:00.000-07:00

Beshbarmak (5 Fingers) - horsemeat, noodles, and broth. Ironically, I had it in "Cafe Kent"

Briny liquid loved by the Kyrgyz

Succulent, peppery beef Kebab

A taste of Turkey

2009-08-15T08:56:00.001-07:00

Kent is absolutely right...travels are what fuel this blog. See the link above. I'm unable to upload these pictures because my connection is bad.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25834&id=227700303&l=b627661dcc

Central Asia!

2009-08-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

It seems obvious that travelling is the only way to find fodder for this blog.

I hope 10 days in Central Asia will warrant some beautiful photos of horse meat, roasted yak, and the ever-delicious fermented horse milk. Mmmm....

Croatia

2009-04-04T03:58:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I could eat the Croatian version of Gnocchi (left) all day long. On the right was some sort of tender brisket cut. This was the closest we got to traditional Croatian food in the 2 days we were there.

This is Why You're Fat

2009-03-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

"Where dreams become heart attacks."

I wouldn't recommend trying to re-create any of what you see at home, no matter how hungover you are.

2009-03-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

I didn't get a chance to chow down on copious amounts of meat as much as I had hoped in Hungary, but I did feast on this succulent kebab. It was washed down with a couple of glasses of bull's blood (a wine specific to the town of Eger).

2009-03-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

I seem to have some sort of fixation with train station food in the former east bloc. There is something about the social nature of the seating areas, the bland grey concrete walls, the cafeteria-style kiosks, and of course the proprietors who have no doubt been working there since Soviet times.

The above sausage is a relic from that era. It was filled with more rice than meat, but still turned out to be reasonably tasty. Unfortunately, the weather was so cold that all the grease congealed before I had a chance to finish eating even half.

Paprikash the way it should be

2009-02-21T02:02:00.000-08:00

This is what you like to see after getting of the train in paprika-crazed Hungary: chicken paprikash with egg dough dumplings. The sauce and cream were perfect, while the chicken just melted off the bone. Now I just have to find a way to re-create it at home.

The Many Sides of Sacher Tort

2009-02-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Sacher Tort is a famous Austrian cake that is named after the Hotel Sacher in Austria. There is some controversy over who created the cake first, however. Two places in Vienna claim to have made the first ever "Sacher Tort." One of them obviously didn't call it Sacher Tort. Regardless, you can find the cake at every cafe in the city. If you are interested in getting it from the source, you'll probably have to wait in line and it will cost you double what it costs at other places (rumour has it that it's not at all worth it).

Good Morning

2009-01-31T04:06:00.000-08:00

You can't even imagine how delicious this was after coming from a place that doesn't have the kind of breakfast a North American might be accustomed to.

The Greatest Flavour Sensation to Hit Baku...Ever

2008-12-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

The details of each pizza picture below are explained here:

Pizza 1
Roasted Garlic Base
Roasted Cashews
Proscuitto

Pizza 2
Tomato Base
Roasted Garlic
Broccoli
Crushed Chilis

Pizza 3
Tomato Base
Garlic Butter Tortellini

Pizza 4
Peanut Sauce
Sesame Seeds
Orange Pepper
Carrots

No question, Pizza 4 was the champion. It was probably the best pizza I have ever had in my life. Some purists may not call it pizza because it didn't have cheese on top, but I would beg to differ.

The Best Taste Sensation to Hit Baku...Ever

2008-12-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

Pizza 3

Pizza 2

Pizza 1

Pizza 4

Tasting Vietnam...Part 2

2008-12-12T02:03:00.000-08:00

Cao Lao - Hoi An delicacy

The BEST street-side food I've ever had - A crispy tapioca-banana-coconut !

Tasting Vietnam...Part 1

2008-12-12T01:55:00.000-08:00

Wrapping a springroll - with rice paper - Step 1

Wrapping a springroll - with rice paper - Step 2

Fish balls

Panini

Fried Fish with Lemon Grass - a refreshing lunch

More Ukrainian Food

2008-12-03T06:52:00.001-08:00

Some sort of chicken cutlet

Another chicken cutlet

Traditional Ukrainian Food

2008-11-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Cornmeal

Potato Pancakes

Small Ukrainian pubs offer all sorts of traditional food cooked by the people that are best at cooking it: grandmothers. I swear Ukraine has the most flavourful soups this side of the International Dateline. The rest is pretty good too.

Ukrainian Grub

2008-11-11T09:03:00.002-08:00

Blini (thin pancakes) and chicken

Eggplant Salad

Oh, the Things You Can Do with Veal

2008-11-09T00:54:00.000-08:00

This may be the most tender meat you will ever try.

A 1.3kg piece of veal tenderloin, you say?

Best Kebab in Town

2008-10-22T10:51:00.001-07:00

I'm drooling just looking at it. What you see in front of you is succulent chicken in the middle and mouthwatering lamb on the outside. This feast comes with a heaping mountain of buttery pilaf.

Iranians definitely know how to do a good kebab. I'll be going back for more again and again and again.

This is what happens...

2008-08-18T09:36:00.001-07:00

...when you find buffalo mozzarella in an Azerbaijani supermarket.

Guacamole

2008-08-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate enough to have an avocado specially imported from a tree in Venezuela. It was the largest of its kind that I had ever seen. The stem end ripened way earlier than the opposite end, so deciding when to guacamole-ize was tricky.

It all turned out good in the end.

Homemade Pesto

2008-07-31T10:50:00.000-07:00

It definitely tasted as good as it looked. There's nothing like homemade pesto made from homegrown basil. Mmmm...

More Georgian Fare

2008-07-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

This was called Akimela. I believe there was chicken, mushrooms, cheese, and some sort of sauce involved. It was rather good, and a welcome change from khachapuri.

Fish for dinner in Darwin

2008-07-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Is it alive?

It's a Celebration!

2008-07-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

I made that....

...in a makeshift tin-foil cake pan.

What better way to celebrate Canada Day?

Estonian Goodness

2008-06-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

A Russian soup resembling Borscht

Succulent, mouthwatering pork.

I didn't get a chance to eat much in the way of local Estonian food (it's really hard to find without paying outrageous prices for it). We went to one of those cavern restaurants that's so popular in the Baltic states (and the Czech Republic) and were treated to some fine cuisine. After living in a place like Azerbaijan, the pork in Eastern Europe is just so good.

Would You Eat That?

2008-06-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

Piti - Boiled mutton soup from northern Azerbaijan.

Azeri Kebab

2008-06-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly common presentation of Azeri kebab. There is chicken and mashed potato kofta.

Dining So Close to No Man's Land, You Can Taste It

2008-05-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

All this food greeted us within metres of the Iranian-Azerbaijani border. It was a wonderful surprise at a place that I was sure I'd be arrested.

Supreme Pork Chops - best in Singapore

2008-05-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

Supposedly the best pork chops in Singapore - at the Food Junction at Brass Basah Shopping Complex

Main dishes - Thai Red Curry and Shrimp

2008-05-24T05:08:00.001-07:00

....withdrawal symptoms...

Thai Desserts!

2008-05-24T04:58:00.001-07:00

My choice = Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Sauce (Koa-Niew Moon Mamuang)

Bananas in Coconut Milk (kluai buat chi)

Young Coconut - very refreshing

Lankaran Specialities

2008-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Levangi (roast chicken stuffed with a nut, onion, spice, and herb paste)

BBQ'd sea fish.

Keralite Cuisine

2008-05-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

My favourite place in South India, Kerala's lush beauty is complemented by its delicious cuisine that is predominantly spicy. Coconut milk is also used a lot in the dishes and curries. There is a strong fishing industry there and it is here that I have tasted the best fish-based cuisine!

Our first lunch in Kerala - fish, kerala rice, dhaal, papadom and beetroot vege.

Food at The Grand - located inside an old colonial style building, this restaurant boasts the best fish curry in Kochin and Ernakulam:

Fish curry, Egg Curry, Paranthas....

Food Markets in Morocco

2008-05-18T09:24:00.001-07:00

All of these food stalls are outdoors, in Essaouira, on the Atlantic coast in Morocco.

raisins, dried apricots, almonds, garlic, and numerous types of dates
heaps of olives
Morocco is a great place for olive-lovers to visit. There are many types to feast on!

spice cones
The spices include ground coriander, tumeric, paprika and mixes for vegetable, fish, chicken and beef tagines.

Pork Langet

2008-05-04T03:30:00.000-07:00

This is nothing more than a mouth-watering piece of pounded pork. It's topped with mushrooms and mayonnaise. Apparently this is a Georgian version (they eat a lot more pork than Azeris do). The Azeri version comes in beef and chicken form.

Foodbuzz

2008-04-30T04:04:00.000-07:00

In case any of you are wondering what the big white banner at the top of the page and the little badge on the right hand side are...

A little while ago, a company called Foodbuzz got in contact with me about becoming a feature publisher. In exchange for this increased exposure, I agreed to put the banner and badge on this blog. Hopefully they won't detract too much from the beautiful pictures of food.

Hopefully this will all mean more hits and, although i'm probably dreaming, more posts from all you slackers out there that promised you would post but never did. I won't mention names, but you definitely know who you are.

Gary's Home Bakery

2008-04-28T19:37:00.001-07:00

The first batch was accidently made with 5 Spice Powder. Luckily there was not a lot of sugar added so they are an interesting savory bun.

This batch is from a soft yeast dough, rolled thin, then covered in a mixture of brown sugar, butter and lots of cinnamon. Then the dough is rolled up and cut and baked.

Yum, its hours later and the house still smells good.

Azeri Kitchen

2008-04-27T03:22:00.000-07:00

Chicken and Potatoes

Meat and Potatoes

Azeri restaurant food is notorious for being heavy, starchy, and oily. You usually get a plate of tomatoes, cucumbers, and white cheese to balance it out, but it's hardly enough.

Georgian Pastries

2008-04-20T06:30:00.000-07:00

My dad would be happy to know that Georgia is full of pastries. You won't find anything remotely resembling Azeri sweets, so I would say that is a big bonus.

The thing on the right is filled with potato, the thing on the bottom with meat, while everything else is sweet.

Georgian Kebab

2008-04-12T01:09:00.000-07:00

I was a bit surprised to see pork kebab brough to the table. It has been a long time since I've seen pork as the only choice on a menu. Georgia is a Christian country, after all, so I guess it makes sense.

The pork was scrumptous and tender. It came with a strange fruity/sour dipping sauce, whose name escapes me.

Catfish Delight from Norway

2008-04-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Norway with its long coast line give a lot of seafood of course and I just love it. Last weekend I was visiting a good blog friend of mine: Tor and his wife and we had a feast.

We are talking about a relaxing and casual gathering in the kitchen with a glass of wine and a charming chef who know how to give instructions to us boys as well as handle the casseroles. I just love it as an option to fast food. I call it food culture or Slow Food.

After hours in the kitchen, look what we where served and on hand painted plates of the wife:

You can read more about this feast of a party on my blog of course!

Ostri

2008-04-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

Ostri is similar to solyanka, I guess, but it's a bit more spicy. It's basically meat in a tomato gravy and comes bubbling in a clay put. You scoop it onto another plate to eat it with Georgian bread.

Katchapuri

2008-03-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

Try not to eat too much katchapuri when in Georgia. You'll leave hoping you never have to see the stuff again (it's hard enough for me to post these pics).

The dish is essentially dough topped with cheese and then baked in an oven. What you see in the latter two pictures is a special variety. It's a bread boat filled with two types of cheese, baked in the oven, and then topped with a raw egg (and a healthy portion of butter) right before it's served to you. You then must mix the inside of the boat around so that the egg cooks. It is heavy, salty, but goes really well with most Georgian wines.

Coming Soon...

2008-03-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

Oh, the monotony.

Get ready for the steady dosage of cheese, bread, and dumplings that is Georgian cuisine.

What's in a Gnocchi?

2008-03-20T01:07:00.001-07:00

Gnocchi (Italian Potato Pasta) are not easy to make. All the recipes tell you so. They require many attempts to achieve perfect and, as one website put it, "the Gnocchi gods to be smiling upon you."

Above is my first effort. I think they turned out decently, although next time I need to add more flour.

Barge Grub

2008-03-12T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is a typical meal you might find on an oil-pipe-laying barge. You can go back for seconds, thirds, or fourths if you want.

Pecel

2008-03-11T08:20:00.001-07:00

This makcik would come every Sunday to make Pecel - a type of Spicy Salad...

The Salad...very very yummy!

What do I do with this?

2008-03-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine bought me coffee beans from Bali…premium quality coffee beans…any idea what I can do with them...?

I digressed in the search for a solution to my problem, into an adventure of the history of coffee in Indonesia… finding out that Coffee is not a native plant to the Indonesian archipelago. In the 17th Century, the Dutch brought Arabica coffee plants to Indonesia – to grow the plants to break the worldwide Arab monopoly on the coffee trade.

According to one website, coffee plantations were responsible for the development of a lot of Central Java infrastructure. The coffee beans here are from Bali’s Kupu Kupu Bola Dunia (Butterfly Globe) factory in Denpasar, a family business of the Tjahjadi family started in 1935.

Street Food - Jakarta - Spicy Mixed Fruit

2008-02-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

I dont have a picture of the end product. He made it by pounding in chilli all the fruits/vege there was in his container.

Street Food - Jakarta - Satays

2008-02-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

Gula Melaka

2008-02-21T11:01:00.002-08:00

This is what Gula Melaka looks like =)

Indonesian - Chinese Food

2008-02-21T10:53:00.001-08:00

I cannot remember the name of the restaurant we went to ....oooops!

Ketupats in Jakarta

2008-02-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

"Ketupat is a type of dumpling from Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines (where it is known by the name Patupat in Kapampangan Puso in Cebuano), made from rice that has been wrapped in a woven palm leaf pouch which is then boiled. As the rice cooks, the grains begin to expand to fill the pouch and the rice becomes compressed. This method of cooking gives the ketupat its characteristic form and texture of a rice dumpling. Ketupat is usually eaten with rendang (a type of dry beef curry) or served as an accompaniment to satay. Ketupat is also traditionally served by Indonesians and Malays at open houses on festive occasions such as Idul Fitri (Hari Raya Aidilfitri). During Idul Fitri in Indonesia, ketupat is often served with chicken curry, accompanied with spicy soy powder. Among Filipinos, puso is also traditionally used as a pabaon or a mobile meal, traditionally brought by workers as a type of packed lunch, served with any selection of stews."
- Wikipedia.org