About Nancy Huynh

Nancy Huynh - I'm a grad student studying the geography of food. My interest in food is not limited however, I love to cook, try new methods of cooking, and analysing (er, collect) cookbooks. But most importantly, I love to eat. What is available for me to eat is certainly a privilege, and so I find that eating is truly a humbling experience that must be appreciated with every bite.
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Cracked Egg

We’re Back…Sorry for the Delay

by Nancy Huynh on 2011/03/04 in Featured Article

We’re sorry that foodtrotter.com has been down for a week.  We were hacked by a bot because I haven’t been keeping up with updating to the latest versions of WordPress – let that be a lesson learned.  We’re thankful that our database was not compromised, and we are able to recover all the great articles our awesome writers have published.  But that was the past and now we are up, and good as new with fresh new hosting, and lots of new articles in the queue.

A few security precautions and best practices have been put in place to minimize the risk of this happening again.  To both our readers and our writers, I’m sorry about the downtime.

[Images from Flickr: spikeyhelen]

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Tasting The Fruits of Gold (Chinese New Year Citrus)

by Nancy Huynh on 2011/02/24 in Asia, Featured Article, North America

citrus fruits mosaic

Final celebrations, such as humorous special variety shows streaming out of Taiwan and Hong Kong for local and diaspora audiences all over the world, signal that Chinese New Year festivities have officially come to an end (Feb 17th this year, which is the 15th day of the lunar calendar). But, it doesn’t mean the food comes to an end.  Some of us might be still working our way through leftovers, fruits, and candies our mums have packed for us, especially those mandarins, pomelos, and oranges.

Even if you don’t celebrate Chinese New Year, you may have noticed that it is indeed citrus season, pretty much all over the world.  During Chinese New Year, it is customary to bring citrus fruits to friends and relatives when you visit their homes.  Citrus fruits, with the golden and bright colours, represents fortune (read: gold), which we wish upon all of those who are dear to us.  Not all citrus fruits, however, are traditionally gifts, but I like to break with tradition go all out with all the (interesting) citrus I can find.

Pomelos are shaped like a bell, and have a greenish-yellow hue.  They are quite a large fruit with a very thick peel, and tastes closest to a grapefruit, but far less bitter.  This is one of the key Chinese New Year fruits, and they can be found in Asian grocers leading up to and shortly after Chinese New Year.  If you’re reading this out of citrus fruit season, you can get approximate the taste of pomelo by mixing gin and ginger ale.

Mandarin Oranges, in my opinion, are one of the cutest citrus fruit.  They are basically small sweet oranges with a deep orange peel.  For a show of freshness, they are sold with a few leaves intact, which makes them even more beautiful.  During Chinese New Year, large families will order these by the box for gifting purposes.  Mandarins are grown predominantly in China, and exported globally.

Seville Oranges as indicated by their name, they are from the Mediterranean region, and are sometimes referred to as “bitter orange” or “sour orange” — and with good reason! I shall warn you now that you do not want to eat these straight up!  (A mistake that I made last week during my citrus tasting session… no fear readers, I’ll take one for the team!)  On the other hand, Seville Oranges are great for making marmalades due to their higher pectin levels than other oranges; just remember to load up on sugar.

Tangelos are a peculiar Florida hybrid citrus that were cultivated by crossing tangerine and pomelo.  Taking its bell shape from the pomelo and colour from the tangerine, it’s a bit smaller than a navel orange. They essentially taste like tangerine, and retain none of the pomelo flavours.

Meyer Lemons are a special variety of the everyday lemon, and let me tell you: the price for these little guys are special too. Smoother and rounder than regular lemons, Meyer lemons are also sweeter than regular lemons. Popularized by haute cuisine chefs, Meyers are a symbol of culinary sophistication, but in China where they originate, they are ornamental plants. Meyers found in North American grocery stores and restaurants are from Florida.

These are the five citrus fruits that I find particularly interesting (and can get my hands on), but this list can go to great lengths.  New citrus fruits are continually created through curious hybridization by cultivators.  What interesting citrus fruits have you come across and tried?

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Congee – Is It More Worldly Than You?

by Nancy Huynh on 2011/01/27 in Asia, Featured Article

I’ve been under the weather for a few days and on the third day woke up with chills and a fever. I get sick like this once a year and I loathe this period with the fury of 10,000 feverish toddlers. As a toddler, my grandma, my PoPo, would feed me congee every time she thought I was coming down with something.

Congee can be eloquently described as silky rice in a savoury broth with ginger and scallions; it can also be simply described as watery-rice. What my grandmother made was watery-rice. There are many regional variations of congee, but the formula is essentially making rice with way more water or broth than you would normally use to cook rice. Most people are familiar with the Cantonese version of congee where it often comes with bits of barbecued or roasted meat, seafood, veggies, and the infamous ‘thousand year old egg’. As per the Cantonese restaurants, you are encouraged to order congee with a side of yao tiew / you tiao (油条) – deep fried dough fritter stick.

congee2

Because my PoPo was a Teochew migrant to Vietnam during the reign of Mao, she has her own special way of making congee. Understanding that she lived through two eras in which ‘the communist took-over’, wars ensued, and famines came, it stands to reason that my PoPo learned to cook with very little. Even after decades of living in Canada, her congee is simply watery-rice, with a side dish of pickled (read: salty) mustard leaves. Unfortunately for me, my mother learned to cook from my PoPo. In other Teochew households, I’ve eaten far more elaborate congees. Perhaps borrowing from the way Vietnamese would make it, it’s a hearty meal with shredded chicken or duck, small chunks of blood jello, pork offal, bean sprouts, scallions, and fish sauce to taste.

Congee was traditionally eaten by the young and the elderly (for it’s simplicity and easy texture), and during times of famine. Nowadays, it is traditionally eaten during one of the following times: breakfast, late night snack, or when sick. I like to eat it regularly, complementing it with fried noodles or dim sum, to give my stomach a good base for the greasier foods.

If you go to a Korean Hot Pot restaurant, you might get the option of turning your leftover broth into congee. I’ve only been to one place where this has happened, but it seems like a great idea. Why let the delicious broth go to waste?! Congee is a widely eaten throughout Asia, in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Burma, The Philippines, Japan, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. I speculate that it’s eaten in even more places around the world through migration of various diasporas. For the most part congee only makes it on the menus of Cantonese restaurants in Canada, but as a true foodie, you should know that congee variations are as (if not more) well-travelled than you are.

[Photos courtesy of StudioGabe, Atomische • Tom Giebel, JoeGray, food for four, and ahbern.blogspot.com]

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Inspirational Budget Cooking and Environmental Consciousness Converge

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/12/23 in Australia, Europe, Featured Article, North America

[As we lead up to the New Year, Nancy will be diving further into 2011 Food Trend Predictions, and linking you to food around the world]

Restaurants, like the rest of us, are fighting to survive in a world of tight budgets, and intense competition.  Inspirational Budget Cooking, while seemingly creative in its right, is born from the broader environmental and food trend: Local Food.  With local eating making major strides in 2010, we saw the explosion of farm to table menus in restaurants of various flavours, colours, and stripes, the increase in local CSAs (Community Shared Agriculture), and a renewed affinity for regional craft food (Prince Edward County in Ontario, and Williamsburg in Brooklyn NYC are but a few examples that stand out).

Inspirational Budget Cooking isn’t simply about ensuring a black-inked bottom-line, it’s about using resources more carefully and minimizing waste, while still making great food.  Small plates, minimalist menus, and one or two dish ‘menus’ converges with the latest environmental trends of reduce, reduce, reduce, and local, local, local.

Yet budget cooking is nothing to snuff at. Chefs are truly pushing their creativity and reaching new limits to cook up inspiring dishes with ‘simple’, ‘humble’, and offal ingredients.  Making spare meat parts, like hoof, and tongue, or ‘blah’ local vegetables like parsnips and radishes delectable, palatable and menu worthy is no easy task.  Grandiosity is making way for the humble; foie gras make room for the pâté!

inspirational-budget-cooking

Food producers are cutting back but still keeping it real.  Giant portions that only the very hefty could ever imagine finishing are replaced with smaller dishes or even with a “choose your own amount” [video @ 2:56] option.  Out of season fare is always pricier to obtain (transport) than local in-season goodies, or housemade pickles, preserves, and jams. New restaurants are opting for ‘previously owned’, ‘lightly used’, and ‘vintage’ furniture and decor for their renovations.  Bare exposed walls, open-concept, and communal tables are both chic and budget savvy.  These dining trends are all part and parcel of the convergence of Environmental Consciousness and Inspirational Budget Cooking.

These trends are not only the latest market trends, but they also prove to be fundamental strategies to staying financially afloat in this economy.  Less is truly more.

[Pictures courtesy of Serious Eats]

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Gastropubs and Prohibition Era Nostalgia – A Food Trend Prediction for 2011

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/12/22 in Featured Article, North America

[As we lead up to the New Year, Nancy will be diving further into 2011 Food Trend Predictions, and linking you to food around the world]

Your local watering hole might be stepping it up a notch this season with tastier fare and a wider breadth of microbrew.  Whether it’s a new establishment or one seeking new revival, gastropubs will continue to go strong from their popularity in 2010 in North America.  With the cold blustering in for those of us in the North East, comfort foods will be well stocked on the menus, with whiskeys , scotches, and hot toddies to keep us glowing with warmth inside and out.

Gastropubs are sure to be taking a page from the ‘farm to table’ crowd and giving us hearty country grub from the hearth (aka homemade comfort food) during the winter months.  Spring and Summer is likely to usher in artisanal cheese and microbrew beer pairings to give us a fresh new look for the latter half of 2011.

gastropubs-2011-food-trend-predictions

A Summer of hedonism reminiscent of Gatsby’s summer afternoon, will make way for the growing popularity of prohibition era nostalgia that seems to be still lurking about in the chilly air these days (in fashion and drink).  We could be seeing more local hidden tavern/bar haunts in the next few months.  The historic speakeasy has already found its return in true or inspired forms in elite cities such as in Williamsburg NYC, and Gastown Vancouver – that is if you can find it.  But unlike their 1920′s counterparts, top notch drinks will most certainly be paired with top notch fare.  If you’re looking to indulge in Gatsby-esque style, keep your eyes peeled, or find a local who can show you the entrance, because these establishments are made to keep the tourists out.

Despite being seen as fancy pubs and taverns for hard working urbanites to take a load off from their daily grind, gastropubs are still keeping it (smart) casual, and affordable.  Cheers to that!

[Pictures courtesy of Club Zone, NYT, and Flickr: he cooks she eats]

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Spontaneous Florida in November

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/11/23 in Featured Article, Food and Travel, North America

One day at the beginning of November, I gazed out the window and saw bare tree branches and people snuggling into their sweaters.  Indeed the cold is coming.  And with that, my phone rang, and my friend asked, “How do you feel about a vacay? Right Now“.

With a tropical storm forming in the Caribbean our initial plans for a cheap last minute trip to Cuba were thwarted. Although Florida didn’t initially appeal to me, I was reminded of its entire coast of beaches and a favourable USD-CAD exchange rate, all good things in my book.

Having missed our connecting flight due to a delay, we were airport stranded for 4 hours more than we really wanted to be. We landed in Ft. Lauderdale hungry, tired, and irritated! We decided food first, hotel second.

We gave our cab driver the address and phone number for the Rustic Inn (http://rusticinn.com). We were driven off into the dark towards what seemed to be an industrial/ marine area where for a few seconds I was convinced we would be sold off to some mobster as his fourth and fifth wives, or at the very least be duped by our cabbie for extra fare. (I’m really paranoid when I’m hungry.) But finally, the Rustic Inn’s sign appeared before us.

We scoped out the Rustic Inn’s menu the night before our departing flight, and had already decided on our food order:

  • the appetizer special with frog legs, deep fried alligator, shrimp, crab cakes, and mussels;
  • followed by a huge order of Golden Crab in (a very buttery) garlic sauce.

Our meal came with a mallet which we didn’t care to use.  Instead we opted for the ol’ fashion method of ripping apart the crab like the way our Chinese grandmothers taught us.  I’ll save you the less than lady-like details. As a cursory reminder, you should be very comfortable with your dining partner before you tear apart or mallet the hell out of your crab.

Aside from crab, alligator seemed rather prevalent, even in the tourist areas where they’re carefully masqueraded in the form of delicious deep-fried fritters. This was not my first time eating alligator, but it reminds me of pork every time I have it. The alligator’s tail is the best part to eat, supposedly.

Although I like to boast that I’m pretty good at avoiding tourist traps, we happily embraced them this time because basking in the sun was all we had in mind.  During the 3 days, I had my fair share of less than stellar cuisine, such as a turkey salad that came with microwavable bacon and turkey luncheon meat, or the ridiculously large sushi roll that tasted mostly like brown sauce.  If you are focused more on food, be wary of the glitzy restaurants on Los Olas Blvd, and the giant margarita tooting places on the A1A by the beach… much of the food at these restaurants is overpriced and simply ‘meh’.

Without a doubt, the best part about Ft. Lauderdale and the Ol’ South in general is that lemonade and sweet (ice) tea can be found nearly everywhere.

[Pictures courtesy of Menupages and New Times]

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Foodie Tips: Dealing with Bad Conference Food (in Binghamton, NY)

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/10/26 in Featured Article, Foodie Guide

Not all travelling is for pleasure, sometimes it’s for work, and maybe some quick shopping.  If you’ve ever seen the movie “Up in the Air” or driven through the Canadian Prairies, you know that not all cities and town are glamorous food havens like New York City.  What do you do if you’re stuck in a run-down rust-belt city for 48 hours?

Last week, I had the privilege of presenting at a small academic conference in Binghamton, New York.  What might have been a booming city during the American industrial era; it is now a rather empty working-class city, where I suspect there isn’t much work.  And there weren’t many food options either.  These are the things that I did to ensure my taste-bud’s happiness.

  1. Ask the locals when you arrive, immediately.
    At any conference you’re bound to run into attendees who actually live or work in the city, and they would know where the good places are and where you should probably avoid.  The first night I arrived, I struck up a few conversations with people from Binghamton University, the school hosting the event, and inquired about where to get a bite for dinner.  5 out of 5 recommended the “Lost Dog Cafe” right across the street from the hotel.  The food at the “Lost Dog” was 8 times better than the conference food, and the live jazz band was absolutely brilliant.

  2. Find the guy who knows his food in the lobby at 6 PM.
    No one really wants to eat alone unless they really have to, so people will often arrange to meet in the hotel/conference lobby before dinner, to try and figure out where to go.  There are always one or two people who have an idea of where to go because they use to live there or for whatever god forsaken reason frequently travelled there.  He’s usually the guy chatting with someone and others are just standing around waiting for him.  Ask one of the idle people waiting where they’re going for dinner.  Odds are you’ll get invited, or you can form your own dinner group.  This was how I ended up at Sharkey’s, a working-class bar that had Thursday Clams specials and delicious grilled meat on a stick with a slice of bread (it’s called a Spiedie, a local Binghamton specialty).
  3. Avoid the conference meal if you can.
    If you have no interest in listening to the keynote speaker or endure the meal-time entertainment by all means skip out on the mass-prepared gravy-soaked fare.  With a couple of new friends, or just on your own, explore.  The historic Binghamton downtown is actually a beautiful architectural gem, unfortunately that’s essentially all it is.  Regardless of what you find to eat, the adventure is in finding it.
  4. Making the best of the conference food.
    For dinner one night, I had to eat at the conference – my advisor expected that all her students attend the keynote.  We were served dried chicken breast, overcooked steak, and over-salted garlic beans, garnished with an orchid flower of all things!  A side of ketchup, steak sauce, and mustard, made the whole mess go down a lot smoother.  When in doubt, ask for the vegetarian option, as they prepare it in smaller quantities and generally means is slightly better than the regular meal.

Places to eat if you’re ever in Binghamton, NY

Lost Dog Cafe:  222 Water Street
Great live music during the evenings.

Sharkey’s Restaurant and Bar:  56 Glenwood Ave
Try the Spiedie or 3-city chicken.

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How I Ended Up Eating Hot Dogs with Instant Noodles in the Canadian Rockies

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/09/23 in Food and Travel, North America

A couple of weeks ago I went camping at Lake Louise.  I’ve never been camping before and my boyfriend has only been camping once in his entire life. Hence, we knew nothing about how to set up a tent, make a fire, cook without a kitchen, or what to do if we saw a bear!

In some respects the beauty of the Canadian Rockies was a good enough reward for our budget-friendly accommodations… if you can call a tent an accommodation.  I think we both wanted to see what an ‘authentic’ Canadian camping trip would be like so instead of eating at the small town restaurants that are scattered about the Rockies, we got our food supply from a grocery store in Calgary.  It seemed like we were going to have ham sandwiches seasoned with Safeway brand mustard, and Nutella on cold bread for 4 days.  After two weeks of gastronomic decadence in Vancouver, this was an abrupt turn of events.  Good thing we also bought two cans of soup; the only issue was: could we even start a fire?

After a breath-taking drive into Banff, we managed to gracefully set up camp and learned that a fire was indeed possible.  Because the weather was cool enough for us to store food in the trunk of our rental car, we spent a small fortune at the overpriced grocery store in Lake Louise. (Note: buy your supplies while you’re still in town!)

The first night quickly turned cold, below zero cold.  We didn’t have a fire that night, and our clothes and sleeping bags were inadequate.  I woke up with a sore back, I was cold all the way to the marrow of my bones, and my toes were replaced with ice cubes.  Getting up to go to the washroom seemed as difficult as scaling a mountain.  First thing that morning, we made a fire (it took us over half an hour!) and made some soup.  Campbell’s chunky chicken noodle at the time tasted like childhood dreams coming true in a can.

After an afternoon hike around Lake Louise we hurried back to get a fire started before the weather turned cold again.  Dinner that night was hotdog sandwiches. After consuming my quota of hotdogs, I thought to myself, “I’m never having a hot dog again.”

Unfortunately, on our final night, all we had left were hotdogs, two slices of ham, and instant noodles.  It really was genius at the time.  How would we make instant noodles taste better? With hot dogs of course!  Where would we eat the instant noodles out of?  In these empty soup cans!

On that last day we saw retreating glaciers, clear blue lakes, terrifying river rapids and bottomless canyons.  We took some of trail paths that lead us to ever-changing natural wonders, but in the end I think we could have skipped the instant noodles with hot dogs.

Leaving Lake Louise, I said good bye to camping forever (or at least for a long while).  It made me appreciate good food a little bit more, because the next morning, bacon and eggs at the Mountain Restaurant never tasted so delicious before.

Eating and Traveling through the Rockies

Sleep: Lake Louise Campground (Bear-Fenced)

Eat: Safeway Supermarket in Calgary, Lake Louise Groceries, Lake Louise Village, Mountain Restaurant, Lake Louise

Things to See and Do: Lake Louise has numerous beautiful hiking trails of varying length and difficulty.  Emerald Lake and the Natural Bridge are definitely worth taking a stop at.  Many of the lakes are great for canoeing since they’re very still, just don’t fall in as they are extremely cold!  There are a few natural hot springs to choose from, but the Banff one is conveniently off of Highway 1; I highly recommend unwinding at one of the springs, especially if you’ve spent the last few days sleeping on hard ground.

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What is Your Comfort Food? [Your Comments]

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/08/27 in Food and Travel

It’s a cold and wet rainy day, you’ve slept in an hour or so more than you usually do, you’re hungry, and you’ve been travelling for a few weeks. What do you want to eat? Let me know in the comments, and one randomly selected commenter will get something cool from me :)

For me, I usually want some type of soup that is hearty and meaty. Sometimes it’s a warm stew with chunks of beef, or a slurpy chicken noodle. But when I really need a positive boost in my day, a bowl of Pho, specifically with rare slices of beef and beef balls made from XXX in Toronto, hits the spot like nothing else.

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Cheese Rolling Competition [Videos] – Dumbest Thing I’ve Ever Done

by Nancy Huynh on 2010/08/20 in Global Food Events, North America

Last weekend I went up to Whistler looking to do some mountain biking and zip lining, but somewhere between those two activities I was convinced to enter into Whistler’s “Second Annual Cheese Rolling Competition.” This is how it works: officials roll an eleven pound roll of cheese down a steep hill one second before you start; you, the foolhardy idiot you are, run after it. First person down the hill to cross the ‘finish’ line wins. You win the cheese, and two season passes to Whistler. The original cheese race requires that you are the first to touch the cheese. FYI: the cheese can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h!

This is what happens, see video below.
I don’t think I’ll ever do this again, but you can try to convince me in the comments below.

I was nowhere close to winning, but to check out the results hit up their website: http://www.canadiancheeserolling.ca
Myself, I hobbled away with major bruising and a grass burn on my right knee.  Apparently I also took someone out in my tumbles… oops. It was a once in a lifetime experience (by choice!) and as much as it was exciting, it was equally if not more stupid.

This particular event was just a marketing gimmick for the Dairy Farmers of Canada, but the original cheese race takes place in Gloucester, England at Cooper’s Hill. This year’s race was cancelled due to safety concerns for the spectators, but an unofficial event happened anyway. This tradition is at least 200 years old, and the choice cheese to be rolled is the Double Gloucester Cheese.

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