thebearandhiscigar

I really don’t know what it means, but it’s a great time to get together with friends and family. More reason to  feast.

   
 
   
 
  
  
  
  

Kyoto’s 3rd highest ranked coffee based on Beanhunter .

While I can’t vouch for its ranking, I must say the Guatemalan espresso was spot on, oily and acidic. 

The surprise was the specialty blend for the cappuccino . Beautiful, soft (Japanese style), with a nice nuttiness to the finish.

One word of advice, both Google and Apple map apps don’t work. It’s all trial and error.

My lil one received her first cookbook for Christmas. We decided to make dinner together.  One of the most fulfilling thing to do is to teach your kids the value of cooking and cooking for family.

  
We planned a three course dinner with her taking charge of the antipasti and the pasta (mac & cheese) while I took on the task of the main course.

   
Buffalo mozzarella with baby Roma and honey tomatoes. Hand torn basil was tossed with the tomatoes after sunning them for three hours to bring out its natural sugars. Olive oil and maldon salt dressed the dish.

 
Farfalle pasta tossed with a three cheese sauce made from scratch and finished with a home made dollop of pesto and oven crisped bacon.

   
 
Main course was a 60 day dry aged Tasmanian bone in Sirloin.

These dishes will never taste as special as they had today.

Be a traveller and not a tourist.

However, there are moments where being a tourist or at least looking at places and things with tourists’ eyes pays off more than not.

   
   
The Blue Elephant is a restaurant and cooking school located in 12 cities. I visited the one in old Phuket town, located in the former Governor’s mansion.  The school was started by Chef Nooror Somany Steppe and is also known as Thailand’s unofficial ambassador of Thai cuisine.

The Governor’s Mansion sits on a generous piece of land located at the tail end of historic Phuket town. It’s been fully restored and well appointed. The grounds are well kept and since it’s the Christmas season, has touches of holiday decorations as well.

   
   
We arrived just as dusk set in. The mansion comes alive as the sun sets. The grounds are warmly illuminated with electric lamps hung from the trees and by oil lamps lit around the grounds.

One could easily dismiss Blue Elephant as a faux Thai institution catering to western tastes. This couldn’t be further from the reality. 

  
   
 
The mansion is tastefully renovated by balancing colonial architecture with traditional Thai fixtures.

The food was equally as balanced with flavours more nuanced and balanced than  I have previously experienced.

   
 
   
 
   
   
The restaurant takes pride in sourcing from local farmers eschewing the large commercial food suppliers that dominates Asia’s food supplies. The chicken was especially delicious with the sweetness of tender pieces of meat  being highlighted by either a light grill on the satay sticks or as a protein in red curry.  Our knowledgeable server took great pride in explaining that the chicken comes daily from a local organic farmer and the rice is from a local co-op that supplies to local restaurants. 

Overall the experience surprised me in its authenticity and genuineness, the warmth and friendliness of the staff and the sheer size and beauty of the property.

A memorable visit which should lead to future visits.

   

   

I’ve made this before except this version is probably a ground breaking one. It’s an idea that makes sense.

Start with boiling salted water and add a decent sized kombu and a tea bag of dashi seasoning. This is the base for seafood based pasta. I wonder why it took so Long for me to think this up.

   
    
   
Today, that base has been the flavour structure to an old favourite. 

This is probably one of a few hidden gems in this overcrowded dining scene. The first time we visited Bacchanalia was 6 months ago and six months later we find ourselves in a much better place, both literally and culinarily.  Bacchanalia occupies a long  and narrow well lit shophouse on Hong Kong street where the open concept kitchen can be seen from the sidewalk.  The oddly shaped and themed bar:restaurant of the past is but a distant memory.

The food continues to excite however! The menu is new and concepts are new! 

The kitchen is still helmed by Ivan who is as ever generous with his cooking wisdom and his time. The crew is young and at last count is near the dozen.

We shan’t go course by course analysis and I will say it’s not for everyone. For me though, after having been on the road and sampling fine dining in two other countries, Bacchanalia awakens the senses and excites the taste buds with its application of everyday ingredients like star fruit (as a curing ingredient for fish) to less known items like “home blended” dukkha.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
 
We dine out for many reasons, for me it’s about discovery. I love Bacchanalia because it intrigues me and inspires me. I feel welcomed and nothing on the menu is a kept secret , and I do hope that more people discovers this hidden gem in our little red dot. 

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
 

Talking stupid. That’s what I got when I googled “tripe” at Yakitori alley and showed it to the proprietor, not knowing any better. The owner/cook had a shocked face and so did the video game designer next to us. It wasn’t until I clarified that I wanted  “cow stomach ” did we all have a laugh.

Actors for the evening: master miracle chef, video game designer, doctor embryo and mister importer and us.

Simply put, it was a fitting end to my trip.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

This just feels good. It’s 14 outside and they’re playing “I could’ve been your girl” inside. The fall leaves are starting to assert itself. I smell eggs and maybe ham. Toast being buttered. It feels like a throwback from my Bay Area days. 

   
    
   
Respectfully, this neighbourhood joint will remain a neighbourhood joint. 

And I will return because it feels so right.

It’s the final few hours of my fist visit to Taipei and I’m starting to miss this amazing city. The breeze comes in gently, cooling me down after an evening of mild excesses. I’m wondering how did 5 days pass so quickly.

Taipei looks like any post industrialised Asian urban jungle. But scratching just a bit off the surface, Taipei reveals itself to be more like Tokyo. It offers the same charm and (good) craziness that I associate  with Tokyo-with less people. It’s a city that contrasts between the classics and the modern, the conservative against edginess.

   
    
    
    
 
  
Taipei is a city meant to be uncovered on foot and by the wide range of transportation options. Whatever you do, it’s best to try and walk away from the gleaming skyscrapers where my fear of homogeneity that’s happening across Asia offers little else but the same global chain stores.  There are many opportunities to 
see both old and new Taipei.
I found myself at Raw on my first night.  Raw is Asia’s first bistronomy restaurant. The experience and food was stunning, with local Taiwanese produce being highlighted and elevated. Can this be the new scene in Taipei modern cuisine? I would hope so. 

  
  
What really strikes any new visitor to Taipei is the integration of Japanese culture into their daily lives. People are just much more courteous, they line up boarding the trains or lifts. Mobile phone ring tones are absent. They speak softer and service levels from cabs to hotels to restaurants are amazingly high. 

I didn’t do what the guide  books tell you to do. I didn’t do the night market nor  did I have a fried chicken fillet the size of my head or even ubiquitous Taiwanese beef noodle.

Intuitively I followed my personal biases and looked for things I like.  In this process I uncover Taipei’s top cafe where some of the Top WBC trained (world barista champions).

   
  Or stumbling upon Taipei’s little Omotesando.
   
   
   
 Or having tapas or Yakitori in the same evening!

   
    
   
 Walking through the city at night gives me the perspective of new and old converging. It’s a city filled with energy and youth.

   
    
    
    
    
 I’ve been given a bit of a hard time for not doing the night market nor street food. But I find the obvious boring, perhaps I’ll do that on my next trip but for now, I will dream of my wonderful 5 in Taipei.