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The $188 salad during Chinese New Year in Singapore

by charlene on 2011/02/15 in Asia, Featured Article, Foodie Guide

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My family doesn’t normally like to eat vegetables. At every gathering, we prefer to feast on scrumptious dishes of meat: pork, beef, lamb, chicken, fish… you name it, we eat it. But every Chinese New Year Eve, you’ll see my uncles rushing to toss carrot and cucumber strips while beseeching good luck and more money in the coming year. It can be an other-worldy experience…. but Welcome to a typical Chinese New Years celebration in Singapore!

The Yusheng dish was started in the Southern Song dynasty but has been given a modern twist by a Singaporean chef called Than Mui Kai (who is also one of the 4 heavenly great chefs in Singapore during the 1960s!) I wish I had been alive then if only to try their cooking because my older family members often lament about the food of the good old days.

Lets go back to Yusheng.

For many families in Singapore, the first item on the menu would be Yusheng. Literally translated, Yusheng means “raw fish”. It stands that it is a raw fish salad which is tossed for good luck and fortune. It consists of about 17 ingredients (a lot considering it’s just a salad), with each ingredient symbolizing some kind of good fortune for those who consume it.

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For example: eating carrots and daikon brings good luck and prosperity, sweet fruits such as pomelo and candied melon symbolize good fortune, and crispy crackers represent nuggets, as in golden nuggets for more money!!

Having Yusheng on the table is a ritual. This ritual is also referred as “lo hei” or toss up. The higher you toss, the more fortune you will get. First, the waitress will balance a large plate on one hand and serve it down swiftly in front of you. She smiles and wishes you Happy New Year before getting ready to prepare the salad. First she will start by dressing the salmon (or any other fish) with lime slices while reciting the phrase “nian nian you yu” (年年有余) or “every year has fish”, a Chinese proverb meaning “abundance throughout the year”. She then adds pomelo over the dish and says the phrase “da li da ji” 大力打击 meaning “luck and auspicious value”. This goes on until all the ingredients are added, one by one.

Next you will be served long chopsticks which are approximately the length of your arm. This is to enable you to toss your salad the highest you can. Generally everyone stands up to perform this because of everyone wants to toss it higher and higher up. Its also less messy this way. After tossing the salad, you are allowed to put a serving onto your plate.

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What does Yusheng taste like? It’s sweet and crunchy, and tastes of sweet plum sauce and crunchy peanut. It has come to my attention that those in the younger generation love Yusheng whereas the older generation generally don’t favour the taste. Personally, I’m crazy over it.

Yusheng has become quite the icon in Singapore and it’s safe to say almost no one celebrates Chinese New Year without it. However, the original version has since been modified in order to cater to different tastes and budgets.

The most basic and cost-friendly form of yusheng is ordering the dish without fish slices. However, many splurge and order with fish slices and from there, they can choose from salmon, tuna, or mackerel. Some places I recommend for this are Soup Restaurant (B1-07 ,290 Orchard Paragon) or Grand Shanghai (Level ground of Grand Corpthrone Hotel, 392 Havelock Road). Both restaurants are great for Yusheng but both offer very different ambiances. Soup Kitchen is tailored after the Chinese women construction workers that came in the early 1900s offering homey cuisine. Grand Shanghai focuses on the sassy songstress era of the 1940s in China’s busiest city. The prices are more steep at Grand Shanghai with its minimum price of $48 for Yusheng versus $38 for Soup Kitchen.

For those looking for something more upscale, say Yusheng with added gold dust and champagne jelly, I suggest trying out Jade restaurant (Fullerton Hotel, 1 Fullerton Square ). The price is $48 as well but for a much smaller portion compared to Grand Shanghai. Still, it’s worth it for those wanting to ring in the New Year right!!

YuSheng can go up to $188 which is quite a big sum for raw carrots. But hey, us chinese are known for being calculative with money so why not let loose once a year?

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Where is the Best Tapas in Spain?

by emma on 2011/02/10 in Europe, Featured Article, Food and Travel, Foodie Guide

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Eating, drinking, and sharing in good fun with friends is popular in every culture, but Spanish tapas takes this notion to a whole new level. While living in Spain I fell in love with the corner tapas bars that populate the country. You can’t travel to Spain without understanding this amazing concept and knowing what to look for!

Tapas is a legendary snack from Spain, a mouthful of magic. It is a bite size appetizer or snack (but can also turn into a main meal when consuming many!) Tapa means lid or cover, so the idea behind the name was that this little morsel that sat on a small plate would be the cover to your wine glass to avoid insects from getting in. Tapas has turned into so much more than just a cover for your wine! Tomar tapas (going for tapas) is a culture in Spain. The bars specializing in these treats are everywhere, and there are even streets dedicated solely to tapas bars. I lived in Logrono, in the wine region of La Rioja (lucky me!) and Calle Laurel was the place to be if you wanted tapas. Basically any night of the week this place would be packed with groups of friends traveling from bar to bar, tasting the specialty each joint had to offer! You literally can spend an entire night in one bar tasting all of their different pinchos (another word meaning tapas, generally said in the north of Spain). When I was in San Sebastian for a weekend, my friend and I stumbled upon an incredible tapas bar. We were early to the scene though, hungry by 8:30 when most don’t even head out to eat well after 10pm!! Still, it was so cool to stay in one bar for the night, trying absolutely everything and indulging in conversation with the many people who kept coming in and out of the spot. As you may have guessed, tapas is eaten standing up at a bar, (there are never seats in tapas bars!) with a glass of wine (vino tinto – red wine is the most typical) or a beer in hand surrounded by good friends (old and new) and interesting conversation.

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My favourite dishes, and some of the most popular include patatas bravas (fried square potatoes served with a spicy red sauce on a toothpick, or in dish to share), tortilla Española (the quintessential Spanish omelet layered with onion and potatoes), jamón ibérico (Spain’s famous cured ham just on a piece of white baguette, you don’t need anything more!), croquettas de jamón (fried cheese balls studded with ham) and champi (Champi is short for champigon, mushroom, and they are cooked in garlic and served as a trio on a little piece of bread). It is quite common that a tapa will be served on a little round of white baguette! I have only listed a few, but there are much much more choices available; in the town where I lived pineapple and shrimp skewers were popular as well as a skewer of salchichón (sausage). Generally I would say a tapa is between 1-4 Euros depending on the ingredients! A word to the wise: more than a few bars don’t have a specialty and instead have a slew on appetizers on display. These can be a bit old, so make sure to ask for a fresh one to be made; most bars will do this, as the ones on the counter are simply to display the many choices they have to offer!

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Another tip: before eating a tapa it is custom to cheers glasses with your companions and say Salud!! (Cheers!!) Seville is considered to be the tapas capital of Spain, but each city is unique in what they bring to the tapas market. I adored the tapas street in my town and subsequently the one I found in San Sebastian! If in Seville, head to Calle Jose de Velilla, a popular street filled some of the city’s favourite tapas spots. As I said, in Logrono, the street to be is Calle Laurel, and as regards San Sebastian anywhere in the Casco Viejo (old town) is the place to be. I’ve refrained from including names of tapas bars to visit, because each one is unique in their own way. The main thing to do when looking for great tapas is find a street where there are a multitude of bars serving up different specialties, because it is through adventuring you will really learn what “doing a tapas night” really means! When visiting Spain, take a night off from eating at your scheduled restaurant and try this Spanish tradition that is celebrated nationally!

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Exploring Costa Rica’s stunning scenery and cuisine: A travel diary of Karen’s adventures in Costa Rica!

by Karen Baksi on 2011/02/09 in Central America, Featured Article, Food and Travel, Foodie Guide, World Recipes and Ingredients

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Day One: Alajuela/ San Jose
Whew, we finally made it! After a grueling day of traveling and being delayed for close to 7 hours, my husband, G and I made it to San Jose, Costa Rica! We drove ourselves from the airport in a rental to our B&B. Thank goodness for GPS and very friendly people, who are versed in signing and motioning! There are no addresses in Costa Rica so you have to depend on signs and good instructions. TIP: If you are driving, I highly recommend paying a little extra for a GPS. Looking forward to getting out of the “big” city and exploring the countryside!

Day Two: on the road to El Castillo, La Fortuna area
Travel day! Because we didn’t know how long it would take us to drive up to the Arenal area in northwestern Costa Rica, we didn’t make any plans other than to drive to our next destination. We started off our day with a large platter of fresh fruit: pineapple, mango, papaya, watermelon, and banana, as well as some home-made banana bread, scrambled eggs, bacon, and orange juice, provided by our B&B. TIP: Forgo the large hotel or resorts and stay at B&Bs. You’ll find that the rooms and environment are cozier and more personal. Many a friendship has been struck up with other guests when staying at B&Bs. Also, most B&Bs in Costa Rica offer a very large and satisfying breakfast, which is included.

Memorable meal: An authentic Tico lunch which consisted of gallo pinto (black beans and rice mixture), garlic marinated chicken, sauteed chayote, and a simple cabbage salad with lime juice. After a hard day’s driving, the late lunch was divine and good on our pocketbooks at $10 USD/ serving.

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Day Three: Fun in La Fortuna
What a fun and rainy day! TIP: always bring a change of warmer clothing when traveling to the mountains. You never know when a cold snap could blow through! We woke up to a beautiful breakfast: over easy eggs, fried yucca, gallo pinto, and a fresh fruit platter. We ate the most curious fruit: guanabana. It tastes like strawberry/ pineapple but then has a creamy texture like coconut and the consistency of an over-ripened lychee; very strange but good flavor! After breakfast, we headed over to Los Lagos (The lakes) resort to go on a horseback ride through the countryside. At $45/ person, it was a great 2.5 hour ride, albeit wet! The entrance fee also allows you to check out their butterfly, frogs, and crocodile enclosures as well as the hot springs.

Memorable Meal: Another authentic Tico dinner of patacones, pan-fried tilapia, rice, papas fritas (essentially french fries) and a salad! Total clean plate club member!!  ($10/ person)

Day Four: On the road again to Monteverde
Before we shoved off to our next destination, we filled our bellies with another fantastic breakfast of fried eggs, gallo pinto, fried yucca, and hand-made tortillas. Along with this breakfast, we tried some homemade hot sauce and boy was it hot! Flames were being thrown like the now-dormant-but-once-fiery Volcano Arenal.

I was glad we filled our bellies early because the drive from El Castillo to Monteverde is a tough one! The road is 10 times worse than the road into El Castillo. The terrain is just chock full of rocks and deep pot-holes. A 4×4 car is a MUST, although we saw many a local drive it in their compact Civics and Kias. TIP: If you rent a car and are headed to the north-western area of CR, rent a 4×4, always. A lot of travel websites say you only need one in the wet season but I think you need one even in the dry season to handle the road conditions. Driving through the country really helps you get a great look at local life and, of course, the beautiful scenery. The mountains and hills near Monteverde are absolutely picturesque! It took us around 4 hours to get to there from El Castillo.

Day Five: Tarzan swing?
We had the most amazing time this morning, met new friends, foreign and local, while zipping around the canopy of the Monteverde Cloud Forest. G and I like some high-flying adventure and that is what we got with The Original Canopy Tour group. We zip-lined from tree to tree, as high as 100 meters up in the air… absolutely thrilling!! What’s great about this kind of tour is that while you’re zipping around, you get the most beautiful backdrop to admire: the rainforest.

Afterwards, G and I hit up a couple local bars, Dos Amigos and Mata e Caña to soak up some local color. Both are great places to hang out and people watch. Make sure to make friends with Jorge at Mata e Caña, he’s a firecracker of a person! Doesn’t speak much English but if you try and speak some Spanish, you’ll end up with a friend, tequila shots, and great conversation!

Memorable Meal: For lunch we hit up a local taco stand and had 2 pork tacos and 1 beef for 3000 Colones (approx $6). They were topped with shredded lettuce, cheese, and a sour cream/ mayonnaise concoction. The tacos really hit the spot and they were convenient, fast, and tasty!  The taco stand is located just to the left of Pension Santa Elena Monteverde Hostel.  Just look for the porch where everyone is hanging out!

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Day Six: Beach time and New Years Eve!
The drive out of Monteverde is not much different from the drive in. Basically, it’s Mr. Toad’s Wild ride, just bumpier and at half the pace. Thankfully, we soon found out that after around 20kms, we hit pavement and smooth sailing. As soon as we got to our B&B, we changed into our bathing suits and hit the beach! Manuel Antonio is a popular destination for Costa Ricans and tourists to cool their heels with a beautiful beach backdrop. The atmosphere is decidedly relaxed and buzzing with a good time. There are a lot of beach side restaurants and bars you can pop into and grab a bite. The menus are catered to the Western tourist but you can find some Tico styled dishes like calamari in tomato broth from Las Gemelas (The Twins).

Memorable Meal: Agua Azul, hands down, is the coolest restaurant in Manuel Antonio. With a view to die for, the fusion fare served here is excellent matching the friendly staff’s service. Although we did not have a reservation, G and I were able to sit at the bar, which in my opinion was the best seat in the restaurant. Since it was after dark, the view was pretty much non-existent but my straight shot vantage point into the bustling kitchen was amazing. For our appetizer, we ordered their tuna tartar which was similar to Hawaiian tuna poke, served on cucumber slices and a crab rangoon fritter with sweet chile sauce. For our mains, we ordered a thai green curry with mussels, shrimp, fish, and veggies, served over udon noodles and a rack of pork ribs with a house-made currant BBQ sauce. Everything was delicious but the portion sizes were enormous. We probably could have shared one of the entrees and still have leftovers! It was a very expensive meal but well worth the $120 price tag, which included several rounds of drinks and a complimentary shot for NYE!

After this momentous meal, we headed down to the beach to ring in the new year! Bonfire, fireworks, and the peaceful and mellow sounds of Bob Marley pushed us into the wee hours of 2011.

Day Seven: Manuel Antonio National Park
After popping a few Advil for the mid-morning NYE haze, G and I headed out for a guided tour of Manuel Antonio National park. We had the tour arranged fairly last minute by our B&B. TIP: Make arrangements for a tour through your B&B or hotel. They can make a good recommendation for tour companies and sometimes will provide a discount! For $20 per person plus the $10 park entrance fee, you will get an in-depth over view of the park itself and the wildlife. Our guide, William, was a wealth of knowledge about the park and the inhabitants. He espoused the virtues of maintaining the natural life-cycles of the animals as not to contaminate the food chains and their environment. We were able to see many animals including the 3 toed sloth and two species of monkeys through a telescope for an upclose view and amazing pictures.

Day Eight: Bahia Drake, here we come!
G and I had so much fun in Manuel Antonio that we didn’t want to leave, but I knew that the Osa Peninsula and Bahia Drake would hold new adventures for us, so after a hearty breakfast of gallo pinto and fried eggs, we began our drive south. Most of the road down to the Osa Peninsula from Manuel Antonio is paved and easy to navigate. As you get to Chacarita and Rincon, the road begins to fill with pot-holes and then eventually, the paved road is no more. Again, the roads are rocky and very bumpy. Once you get within 30 kms of Bahia drake, the river crossings begin! Thankfully, the river is fairly low so the crossings were pretty easy. The one thing we learned about river crossings, keep straight and go slow without decelerating. Again, a 4×4 is a must! There is no way a regular sedan can cover this terrain. The whole trip from Manuel Antonio to Bahia drake took around 5 1/2 hours.

Day Nine: Beaches and waterfalls
With the jungle noises in full swing, I woke up to the chirping of birds, insects, and monkeys at 5:30 am in the morning. It was a glorious wake up call to start a fantastic day. The sun was shining and we were scheduled to take a 15 minute boat ride to a beach, then walk back to Bahia Drake which would take 2.5 hours. The beach was everything you want a beach to be, fairly deserted, fine sand, and gentle flowing waves. It was absolute paradise. After spending about an hour, G and I and some others that joined us started to make our way back to Drake. Along the way, we encountered a whimsical encampment offering canoe tours up the Rio Claro to several waterfalls. The trip up river was well worth the $12 price tag. The canoe trip was serene and soul fulfilling with a backdrop of the celadon and green rainforest. The waterfalls and natural pools were exhilarating and refreshing as we jumped from waterfall to waterfall. It was a great 2 1/2 hour detour on our way back to the bay. As we made our way back, we stopped from beach to beach, soaking up the sun and beauty of our surroundings.

Day Ten: Pepe and the Jacuzzi
Another early start and a great day ahead of us, we started with a nice breakfast of eggs over easy with gallo pinto and fresh fruit. TIP: Take advantage of the plentiful supply of exotic fruits, pineapple, papaya, watermelon, bananas guava, guanabana, etc. Something is always in season in Costa Rica! Pepe is a local of Bahia Drake that owns acres and acres of primary rainforest land. He values the nature the way it was intended and has not touched most of his property. We started with an hour horseback ride to his home, and then tromped around the rainforest without any trails. Eventually, Pepe lead us to a hidden lagoon and waterfall, including a natural jacuzzi. The force of the water was so immense that I had to hold onto my bikini bottoms!! Back at his home, his wife Maria, a Reiki master, prepared us a delicious meal of tuna soup, potato egg salad, beef in gravy, spanish rice, and a coconut flan. Most of the food was prepared in the most unusual way, a solar stove. It’s a huge inverted aluminum dome powered by harnessing the sun’s rays. It was the most peculiar kitchen utensil I’ve ever seen but economical as well as environmental! Pepe and his family were truly inspiring, spreading the gospel of nature and using our environment to our advantage.  Our adventure tour plus meal only cost $40/ person, well worth the cost.

Day Eleven: Corcovado National Park
We started the morning early… very early! At 6 am we took an hour long boat ride to a beach in Corcovado National Park. Along the way, we saw a baby humpback whale breach the surface. What a chill inducing sight! From that moment on, we knew it was going to be a great day! Although it was raining the first half of the day, as we hiked along the Sirena trail in Corcovado, the rain subsided and allowed the sun to come out. Corcovado was called by National Geographic as “the most biologically intense place on earth.” They were not wrong. We saw over 30 different birds including pelicans, hawks, vultures, parrots, woodpeckers, sandpipers, and macaws. We also encounter a troop of wild pigs, all four types of monkeys: spider, squirrel, howler, and capuchin, crocodiles, lizards, and the most exciting of all, a sleeping tapir. G and I were in awe of the diversity of the wildlife and flora in Corcovado. This is an amazing place and if you have the opportunity to visit, I wholeheartedly recommend it. It will change your life.

After that amazing hike, we boated back to the bay and decided to have a meal in town at the Bahia Drake Restaurant and Bar. Curt, an American ex-pat from Ohio, runs and cooks at the restaurant and does everything to order. He acquires whatever veggies that are fresh from the farm and of course, all of his seafood is caught in the bay that morning. We started out with an order of patacones with a fresh tomato and onion salsa and then ordered the whole red snapper grilled in a banana leaf served with sauteed vegetables and mashed potatoes ($7/ person). Fresh, fresh, and fresh!

Day Twelve: R&R on vacation
After 11 days of non-stop action, my husband and I decided to take a breather and relax. The night before, Miguel, the owner of our B&B overheard my husband talking about my new venture as a caterer/personal chef. He came over to me and asked if I would like to cook dinner the next night for all the guests. I happily agreed and immediately began to feel nervous. After breakfast, I went over to the kitchen and started to prep for dinner with their in-house chef, Subita. On the menu was an avocado black bean dip served with potato crisps, pumpkin apple soup, and garlic, rosemary, and oregano marinated red snapper (was swimming earlier that morning) served with rice and chayote. Subita provided the dessert, a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It was a lot of work, prepping and finishing 14 servings but it was all worth it. The guest were satisfied and of course, I got a huge ego boost! It was the most perfect way to end my vacation!

Costa Rica is truly a gem of a country. The people, the food, and the wildlife are absolutely spectacular. Like their country’s motto, Costa Rica is truly Pura Vida!

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Rabbits and Dumplings: Happy Chinese New Years

by Wei Su on 2011/02/02 in Asia, Featured Article

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Legend has it that the animals for the Chinese zodiac were chosen long long ago when the Emperor of Heaven decided there should be a way to measure time. Thus, on his birthday, he announced that all the animals of the kingdom that there would be a race taking place. For the first 12 animals to make it to the finish line, they would each have a designated year of the zodiac named after them, starting with the rat and ending with the pig. Some believe that you inherit the personality traits and demeanor of the animal year you were born in, and many also follow that the happenings of each year is influenced by the animal of that particular year. The Year of the Rabbit, beginning on February 3rd 2011, is predicted to be a peaceful, quiet and positive year where personal development, family ties, friendships, and love lives will be strengthened. Here’s hoping that this prediction rings true for 2011!

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (symbolizes the end of winter and beginning of spring as farmers begin to plant for the coming harvest) is one of the most important Chinese holidays celebrated. Chinese New Years falls on a different date each year, as the Chinese calendar is based on a combination of the solar and lunar calendar (i.e. very complex astronomical calculations): the day the second new moon rises after the winter solstice. Unlike North American New Years, Chinese New Year festivities go on for 15 days ending with the much anticipated Lantern Festival.

Today (February 2nd), is Chinese New Year’s Eve, a day where all family members come together for the annual feast or chu xi (reunion dinner) to give thanks for the year and prepare for a prosperous New Year. All the dishes served during Chu Xi are meaningful and usually eight dishes, which symbolizes prosperity, are served. They caution that only an even number of dishes are made in order to ensure that the family experiences “double happiness”.

I usually do not partake in this momentous feast since CNYE always happens to fall smack in the middle of midterms or during a busy work week, but here are some things that I will be missing tonight (my parents aren’t too in touch with traditions, and are fluttering their way through San Francisco as we speak, so they really cannot fault me for not coming home).

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Dumplings – Growing up, my whole family would gather together during the afternoon and make dumplings from scratch. My dad would roll out the dough, while my mom, grandmother, and myself would wrap various fillings (e.g pork and chives, cabbage and shrimp) into the dough. Dumplings, which are shaped like ancient Chinese currency, are eaten in the midnight hours of CNYE because they represent bringing prosperity and good luck into the upcoming year. Last year, my girlfriends and I set up shop in my tiny apartment and carried out this beautiful tradition, although we did cheat and bought the dumpling shells pre made. Maybe next year we will be more ambitious.

Sticky Cake or Nian Gao – This delicious sticky cake made from glutinous rice and is extremely popular during Chinese New Year. The Chinese word “Nian” which literally means sticky, has the same sound as the word “Year”, and “Gao” meaning cake, sounds like the word for “high”. Therefore, by eating sticky cake, it symbolically means that you will be raising yourself higher in all aspects of life the coming year. Nian Gao can be made either sweet with red bean or lotus paste, or savory when stir fried with meats, onions, and vegetables. Nian Gao is very chewy, has a texture similar to Mochi (which I also love), and is one of my favorite CNY foods! Eat it while it’s hot though since the cake does tend to gets to get tougher/ less appetizing once it’s cooled.

Lettuce Wraps – More common in Cantonese culture, spicy diced chicken or pan fried minced pork, are often eaten wrapped in lettuce. Symbolically, the word for lettuce sounds similar to the words “growing good fortunes”, so you will most definitely see some type of dish featuring lettuce at your CNYE celebration.

Whole Steamed Fish – Steamed fish is a popular Chinese dish that you will see on the menu of any restaurant. Usually, the steamed fish are fish with soft white meat such as carp (most common in China), tilapia, halibut, sole, grouper, etc. The fish is very fresh (think just out of the tank alive 30 minutes ago…) and topped with soy sauce, ginger, and scallions. Simple yet delicious. This dish is more important during CNY because it represents surplus and abundance because of the sound of the word for “fish”. To add more meaning, the fish is served whole (head, tail, you name it) to emphasize a good beginning and a good end to the year, and is usually served towards the end of the meal. Not all of the fish is consumed New Years Eve, since leftovers are expected to be eaten on New Years Day, signalling that the family will have abundance from the previous year brought into the new year.

Longevity Noodles - A variety of noodle possibilities are served during the Chinese New Year Celebrations. Noodles symbolize long life, which is also why noodles on your birthday is especially important. Chinese superstitions warn against cutting your noodles as this could represent cutting your life short. So eat really long noodles!

Whole Chicken –  Again, like the fish, the chicken is presented as a whole including head, tail, and feet. This represents completeness as well as prosperity.

Happy Chinese New Years Food Trotter’s! Gong Hey Fat Choy, Gong Xi Fa Cai — wishing you a prosperous new year! Just remember to avoid sweeping the floor or cleaning and washing your hair on New Years Day… you don’t want all your luck to be swept or washed away. Have a fantabulous Year of the Rabbit!

[photos courtesy of ulterior epicure, chinesenewyear, globalveggie, koreanpress]

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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.

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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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Foods of Hawaii: Maui and Oahu

by Samantha Wong on 2011/01/25 in Featured Article, Food and Travel, Foodie Guide, North America

Hawaii (like so many other places in America) is so highly mythologized, it’s hard to know what’s what! First, there are 7 islands, then those are further broken down into cities and districts… I just want to know: where I can surf, where I can swim with dolphins, where I can hike the dormant volcano, and most importantly, where I can delight in some of that authentic, delicious Hawaiian food?!

I was fortunate enough to explore firsthand a bit of Maui and Oahu. Giving a brief introduction of the Islands: Maui is commonly thought of as “the best” island in Hawaii, because of it’s breathtaking beauty. It really is postcard perfect, with vast stretches of sandy beach, gorgeous sunsets, and everything seems to cater to romance and couples. I would definitely visit Maui with my significant other to marvel at nature and just enjoy the company of my beloved. Honolulu is the largest city in the Hawaiian islands and the capital of Hawaii. It is situated on Oahu and has popular tourist attractions such as Pearl Harbour, the Dole plantation, and Turtle Bay (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, hello!). Waikiki is a beach/ neighbourhood of Honolulu. I preferred Honolulu as there are more things to do there: shopping (hello, 5% tax!), touring, and of course, eating!

I was only in Maui for two brief days. One day was spent snorkelling in the Molokini crater (overrated, especially when compared to my snorkelling experience in Boracay – I think I definitely would have had a better experience scuba diving as there was so much more going on down below – put that on the list: learn to scuba), and the other was spent wandering the gorgeous hotel grounds. Only one dining experience stood out: Star Noodle. Located in Lahaina (the largest town in Maui), Star Noodle is an Asian fusion restaurant that can stand next to the likes of Ippudo in NY!! The menu was created by chef Sheldon Simeon, and as I was dining with 3 other foodies, we decided to go nuts in regards to ordering!! Star Kim Chee, $3 USD, was lightly spicy and crisp. The Star Ramen, $9, was of course ordered. How can we not, it shares the name with the restaurant (and is hence the signature dish)! However, that, and the Udon, $7, while the noodle chewiness were good, were both average-nothing-to-write-home-about noodle dishes. The Garlic Noodles, $6 small/ $10 large, were fantastic however: the noodles were chewy and flavourful, and not a scrap was left. The Singapore noodles, $12, which were likewise wonderful. For the sake of brevity, the Miso Salmon, $9, (tender!) Seafood Dynamite, $18, (creamy and mayonnaise-y and like nothing I’ve had before) Pork Buns, $9, (So yummy) Brussels Sprouts, $9, (are you sure it’s not bacon masquerading as a vegetable?) were all dishes I would recommend highly. The desserts were a no brainer for us: four people, four desserts. Malasadas, $5, while presentation perfect, were heavier and more solid than expected. Mango Pudding, $5, was light and fresh with that nice distinct mango flavour. Annin Tofu, $5, was my favourite dessert of the night, as it tasted of Hawaii; I’ll leave you to imagine the light tropical taste. Star Screams, $7, came in Yuzu Raspberry, Gen Mai Tea, and Sangria. Their sorbets were awesome, almost as if I was enjoying the exact food in sorbet form; they also added more kick to the Malasadas. We opted not to visit Mama’s Fish House due to poor weather, but apparently it is a “must visit” restaurant in Maui. I hear the food, while not particularly standout, is accompanied by the most beautiful view.

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Star Noodle:
(808) 667-5400
286 Kupuohi St
Lahaina, HI 96761

Mama’s Fish House:
799 Poho Place
Paia, HI 96779, United States
(808) 579-8488

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Moving on to Honolulu. I highly recommend Hiroshi if you’re looking for some yakiniku. They have US and Australian Wagyu (helloooo $120 australian rib eye steak – yeah right) and other more suitably priced dishes such as beef tongue, $15, US Kobe Kalbi, $23, Yukejang soup, $9.50, Roasted Garlic, $6… and let’s not forget their ice cream cream puffs which you can melt a bit on the grill, $4, or the Bubbies Ice Cream Cake, $5.50. This restaurant is hip and has a bit of the Oh-Taisho/ Guu drinking atmosphere, but the food is so delicious it’s redeemed in the eyes of my parents. Further, this place is also kid friendly! Think one year old baby friendly. Definitely a place for everyone to visit! Ramen places run rampant in Hawaii thanks to Hawaii’s large Japanese population. I’m definitely a fan of Ramen Nakamura (go here vs. Ezogiku) as their noodles are perfectly textured, the broth is flavourful, and the prices are right! We ordered Ox Tail Shio, Miso, and Shoyu (between $8.70-12.90), and you also have the option of getting the combo meal with gyoza. Tip: get the gyoza… I am not a gyoza fan but their gyoza is incredible.

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hiroshi-honolulu-hawaii-food

Hiroshi:
339 Royal Hawaiian Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96805
(808) 923-0060

Ramen Nakamura:
2141 Kalakaua Avenue # 1, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
+1 808-922-7960 ‎

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Without a doubt Sasabune is the dining experience that stands out in my mind. It’s fine dining for Japanese food, and the chef is a well known “Sushi Nazi”, who has been known to kick people out of his restaurant for eating his creations wrong! Sasabune’s slogan is “trust me”; instead of ordering, you have a set meal plan where when you are nearing satiety, you tell your waiter to stop. If you make it past the 13 dishes, you can request new dishes or favourite courses to be repeated. The sashimi, nestled on a perfectly proportioned bed of rice, is already lightly seasoned with soya sauce, and your waiters will give you directions how best to appreciate your course. I don’t want to reveal your entire course meal here, but expect dishes such as melt-in-your-mouth Canadian Albacore Tuna with Ponzu, California Baby Calamari stuffed with Blue Crab, Kampachi from Japan with shiso (a mint leaf) in the middle, South African Rock Lobster tail… truly, a must visit restaurant.

sasabune-hawaii-sushi-nazi-trust

Sasabune:
1417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96814, United States
(808) 947-3800

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin specializes up delicious tonkatsu, but make sure to NOT allow any other customers cut you in the line; despite a reservation, we had to wait as another party rudely stole our table! The thick cut pork loin katsu, $23, is fantastic and their Original Bairin Pork Tenderloin Sandwich, $10, was worth the bother of checking through security to enjoy on the plane ride home. Puka Dog, surprisingly, is not created by a Hawaiian, but rather, a Swedish enterpreneur! This hot dog joint has a three step process: Hot dog (Polish or Veggie), Garlic Lime “Secret Sauce” (Mild to Hot-Hot), and Tropical topping (Mango, Pineapple… perhaps Starfruit?) The bun is not your average fold-open bun, but rather a sweet, chewy bread (think chinese bun bread) with one opening where you slide in the hot dog. Puka dog was on our list, thanks to Anthony Bourdain, but we should have held out for Hank’s Haute Dogs. We stumbled upon this gem as we were walking back from Pukadog… alas, if only there was more time! A place I will make a point of visiting next time, Hank’s has been featured on Diner’s, Drive-in’s, and Dives. We visited the satellite stand (as opposed to the store) and had the Chicago, $4.95, and the Hawaiian dog, $4.25. Had we visited the main store (early in the day and a certain day — different days feature different daily specials) we could have sampled choice offerings such as an Alligator dog (!!!), Lobster Dog, Duck and Fois Gras Dog, or Kobe dog!!!! AGHHHH!!! Visit… and tell me how epic your hot dog was.

Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin:
Outrigger Regency Beachwalk
255 Beach Walk
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 926-8082

Puka Dog:
2301 Kuhio Avenue # 2
Honolulu, HI 96815
Phone: 808 924-7887

Hank’s Haute Dogs:
324 Coral Street, Honolulu, HI – (808) 532-4265
2330 Kalakaua Ave # 100, Honolulu, HI – (808) 924-9933

Up in the North Shore (surfers galore), are shrimp trucks. We only visited one, Giovanni’s Original White Shrimp and while I can’t say the drive up was worth it, if you’re up there, I’d definitely stop in to sample some of their Lemon Butter Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, and Hot and Spicy shrimp. How hot is their Hot and Spicy? Let’s put it this way… the guy taking our order laughed and just smiled at me when I asked “how hot”. It’s REAL hot. At $13 a plate, you might be better off playing it safe with the Lemon Butter.

Giovanni’s Original White Shrimp Truck:
56-505 Kamehameha Highway
Kahuku, HI 96731

(PS: Don’t you love how there’s an address for a shrimp truck? This place has set up business!!)

The Luau at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, held every Monday night, is reckoned as one of Honolulu’s best (by fellow food trotters… as this was my first time, I have no frame of reference). From a luau n00b’s point of view, despite the lack of roast pig, the food was fabulous, the service was friendly and efficient, and the show was greatly entertaining: precision-perfect military skits, beautiful hawaiian girls shaking what their mama’s gave them in their grass skirts, fire dancing, and a rock and roll performance by a ukelele virtuoso. Oh yes, did I mention open bar?

Royal Hawaiian
2259 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
(808) 923-7311

House Without A Key in the Halekulani Hotel was by far, the most lacklustre meal… not to mention one of the most expensive! The sunset is gorgeous and we took around 183626 photos but after the Luau of the previous night and the expectations (oh, expectations… it’s not good to have you!) HWAK is somewhere I’d recommend you to skip. If you’re looking for a stand out hotel meal, visit Surf Lanai, again at the Royal Hawaiian. The Wagyu Burger, $20, Island Poke Trio, $18, and Big Island Surf Salad, $35, were all fantastically delicious, well portioned, and reasonably priced.

House Without A Key
2199 Kalia Road
Honolulu, HI 96815-1936, United States
(808) 923-2311

Surf Lanai:
2259 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
(808) 923-7311

One last recommendation! Right before our flight, we (my foodie friend and I) hurried to Matsugen. If you like soba, or even if you don’t: visit this place. Their noodles, prices, atmosphere, everything….. is a huge LIKE. Tip: do not rush this meal, as the servers (while friendly and lovely) are older and really do not know what “rush order” means. Besides which, this meal doesn’t deserve to be wolfed down.

Matsugen
255 Beachwalk
Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
(808) 926-0255

Food Trotters: Have you visited any of these places? What do you think of my recommendations, and what recommendations do you have for me, the next time I visit Hawaii?

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lamb-rendang

World Recipe: Indonesian Lamb Rendang (a Fusion of Bali and New Zealand)

by Julia on 2011/01/20 in Asia, Featured Article, World Recipes and Ingredients

lamb-rendang

Looks like this year is going to be quite an eventful year! First, I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to everyone who have been affected by the recent floods. We were pretty lucky here with just some minor floods in our garage and garden, but no major damage.

I am super excited to tell you that I’ve made travel plans to visit New Zealand and Bali in a few weeks and today’s recipe is a fusion what both countries are known for (rendang from Bali, and lamb from NZ). The original recipe comes from a really old recipe book I found at the market a few weeks ago called “Curries From the Burra Bazaar” by Doris Ady. It was published in 1983 and features all sorts of dishes from the Burmese and South-East Asia region. I’ve substituted the beef with lamb and replaced some of the ingredients that were hard to find.

Rendang originates from Indonesia and is also popular around Malaysia and Singapore. It is commonly made is beef and cooked in a spiced coconut liquid for hours until the meat is tender and the flavours are absorbed into the meat. The measurements are not precise and you can play around with the ingredients to taste. The point of Asian curries is to blend many ingredients together so that none predominates, but all subtly enhance each other. This recipe will take a while to make, but it’s worth the effort in the end.

lamb-rendang

Lamb Rendang

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg (2.2lb) lamb meat, cubed
  • 250g (about 4) onions
  • 1 piece of ginger about the size of your thumb
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
  • glug of oil
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander (cilantro) powder
  • 1sp ground cumin powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ chili powder
  • 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, cut in half
  • 1 tsp ground fennel
  • a little less than ½ cup coconut cream
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 3 tbsp salt

Topping:

  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 lime or 1/4 lemon, juiced

Directions:

  • Heat oil and fry pieces of meat until brown on the outside. Remove from heat and keep aside.
  • Put the onions, garlic, ginger and cinnamon into a food processor and grind, but not to a pulp.
  • In a big saucepan, add a little bit of oil and fry up the onion mixture for 10 min, stirring often
  • Pour 1 cup of water and add the rest of the ingredients except for the remaining water
  • Put the meat back into the pot and add the rest of the water. Bring to a boil and then simmer it, uncovered, until nearly all the liquid has dried up and the meat is very tender. This will take about 3 hours.
  • Stir occasionally, but more so as the sauce starts to thicken. Take out the lemongrass stalks and mix in the sugar and lime/lemon juice before serving.
  • Serve with steamed rice, steamed or stir-fired veggies.
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greek-food-stalacities

Mean Greek Meat Not for the Meek

by charlene on 2011/01/18 in Australia, Featured Article, Foodie Guide

“There’s two kinds of people, Greeks and everybody else who wish they was greeks” -Gus Portokalos in “My big fat greek wedding” (2002)

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Being Greek comes with a certain self-affirming mentality. In sum, it’s captured by the word “Viva El Greco” meaning that they are proud to be Greek. Having a deep rooted-sense of history plagued by war and innovation, the Greeks have developed a sense of ‘spirit’ characterised by their passionate outlook on life, loud laughter, friendliness, and emphasis on familial closeness. Also, they are known to be stubborn, arrogant, and proud. It’s just a generalization but if true, it makes them all the more charming.

My favorite characteristic of Greeks is that they are big eaters. It shows they really do know how to savour life for its good stuff.

Melbourne, being a foodies dream is unsurprisingly a very Greek place. It has the largest Greek population in the world (outside of Greece of course) and just like all other large groups of nationalities, it had formed its own cultural area right in heart of Melbourne city. It’s called “Greek Precinct” and it’s located in the eastern end of Lonsdale street, which is at Melbourne’s CBD area. It is also conveniently located next to Chinatown.

I can’t lie. Initially, I was disappointed with the small size of the Greek Precinct. When I was reading the tour guides, I was expecting something flamboyant and loud, just like Greek culture. Or at least the size of Lygon street or Chinatown which had rows and rows of restaurants. I kept walking through Greek Precinct thinking that I had missed the street. It’s so small geographically compared to the two previously mentioned lavish streets.

However, after taking my time to explore the minimal offerings offered there, its not so much about quantity as it is quality. This makes me understand the pride of the greeks; they may be a small community compared to the other nationalities but they are proud of what they are and what they do. In this case, Stalacities a greek restaurant specializing in roasted meats is certainly good at what they do.  A favorite with Australia sporting teams, tourists, meat-craving locals, and post-clubbing youngsters, Stalacities has made its mark as an icon of Melbourne. If you are traveling to Melbourne, do make sure you save your stomach for their meal. Its open 24/7 so come anytime.

Generally, those in the know order certain dishes from Stalacites.  Personally, I always start with some warm pita bread and mixed dips. The dips are eggplant, hommus (chickpea), tazkitki (cucumber), and tarama (caviar). And of course, some calamari. Admittedly, the calamari usually turns out soggy here. However, I find that oddly satisfying with greek food.

For my main meal I would order a chicken or a lamb giro meal (above). It consists of  slow-roasted delicious chunks of meat that have a gratifying salty flavor without being too dry. One can taste the effort used to make this dish especially because of the somehow smokey smell of the meat, which is not easily attained.

A meal at Stalacities is really satisfying for all meat lovers. However, there are others who contest with my opinion. Some say that Lambs which serves the same food is better. I have never tried their food before, perhaps because of my loyalty to Stalacities (again, my drama fantasy world of competing restaurants to be the best). The address is provided below and maybe you could take a look! And let me know how it fares.

Photo taken by  Walking Melbourne

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Restaurants:

Stalactities

177-183 Lonsdale St
Melbourne, Vic 3000
Price per meal: $25-30 AUD

(considering the above portion is meant for two people)

hints: Try to go on a weekday. They usually have to rush out orders for the weekend crowd so the roasted meat isn’t as finely roasted as the weekday ones.

Lambs
98-100 Lygon Street
Melbourne, Vic 3053
Price per meal: $25-30 AUD

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nova-scotia-canada-seafood-paradise-1

Nova Scotia = Seafood Paradise

by emma on 2011/01/13 in Featured Article, Food and Travel, North America

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Going to university provided me with the chance to live in a different part of Canada for four years. As such, I spent my university days on Canada’s East Coast, in a little town called Wolfville, only an hour from Halifax. I had never been a big seafood or fish fan, but this quickly changed during my time out east. Eastern Canada is just gorgeous, as is the produce (example: mussels, haddock, lobsters, and scallops) that comes out of there. Now that I’m back in Toronto, I constantly find myself craving fresh East Coast mussels. They just don’t compare when they have to travel before they are served up!

Seafood can be tricky to learn to love, and many think that seafood is too fishy for them. This was the best part about learning to love seafood on Canada’s East Coast… all the seafood out east is incredibly fresh, and doesn’t have any hint of “fishiness” or slime that many associate with seafood. As Nova Scotia is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, they are a leader in high quality seafood, with great retailers serving up over 50 different types of seafood. After spending four years there I became quite familiar with my favourite products and places.

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My favorite mussels are from Indian Point. Indian Point Marine Farm Limited is where the mussels come from, collected from the waters of Nova Scotia’s beautiful Mahone Bay. The great part about Indian Point is their strong commitment to practicing sustainable mussel cultivation. The crew at Indian Point goes the extra mile to ensure that they are harvesting the seafood at high quality standards, by cleaning, inspecting, and grading them before sending them out for purchase. Haddock is always line caught in Nova Scotia. Line-catching is a more selective fishing method compared to the traditional “bottom-trawling,” a destructive process where large nets weighted with chains tear up the oceans seabed’s, catching unwanted sea creatures. The line catching method uses hooks on a long line to catch the fish, which in turn does not disrupt the ocean’s other creatures. The lobsters are always Fundy Lobsters, meaning they come from the Bay of Fundy, a northern point in Nova Scotia. Fundy Lobsters are incredibly popular as they have the largest average size at maturity, due to their colder habitat waters. The cold water also contributes to the high quality of meat, and their diet on the bay contributes to a delicious flavour. Digby scallops are always talked about, and indeed, are the only ones to get in all of Nova Scotia. They are incredibly sweet and fresh, due to quick fishing trips and efficient processing at the plant, and customers can be assured a quick turn around from ocean to land.

My two suggestions for seafood in Nova Scotia are in both Wolfville (where my school Acadia University is located) and Halifax (the capital of Nova Scotia, and only an hour from Wolfville!). Halifax is an extremely important historical city in Canada, as it is the city where all immigrants coming into Canada first landed in, going through the famous “Pier 21” customs once off the boats.

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For the freshest and most wonderful mussels and scallops head to the Tempest (117 Front Street, 902-542-0588) in Wolfville. Their mussels are my favourite: Indian Point, flavoured with Spanish chorizo, parsley, garlic, and white wine. (Approx $12 cad). The scallops are generally dressed differently month-to-month! A few of my favourite were the simple flavours, like a lovely beurre blanc. For lobster, McKelvie’s in Halifax, (1680 Lower Water Street, 902-421-6161) serves whole lobster with succulent melted butter (in my opinion, the perfect companion to lobster!)
I hope in reading this post your mouth is watering for East Coast seafood and that you’ve put Nova Scotia down as place to food trot to! They do seafood so well; it is some of the world’s freshest and the flavours and textures are incredible. I loved living there and am grateful for the ability to have been so close to fresh seafood.

For more information on dining at the Tempest visit http://www.tempest.ca/ and for McKelvie’s visit http://mckelvies.com/ . Food trotters, have you tried any of the bountiful wonders the East Coast ocean has to offer? Or can you suggest somewhere an enthusiastic seafood lover like me might find something equally delicious to satisfy my cravings?!

[Pictures courtesy of Indian Point, ..shazza.., Much Music, and jjphotos.ca]

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finnish-kebab-from-findland-1

Kabab Kebab, Qabab… However you spell it, it’s delicious!

by Akseli on 2011/01/11 in Europe, Featured Article, Middle East

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Introducing Kebab in Finland
You probably know Pizza well, don’t you? That flat round Italian food that’s a junk food that can be dressed up… that can be thin-crust or deep-dish. But how well do you know Kebab? In Finland, kebab has risen to a cult status in the past years. Pizza has traditionally been the number one food to eat but now kebab, the meaty underdog, threatens pizza’s position as the leader of greasy, no-hassle fast food. In this article you will find basic information about kebab in Finland.

What is kebab?

Originating from kabab, the word “kebab” can mean two things: a ready-to-eat dish or the meat found in the dish. Traditionally, lamb is the meat used in kebab. However, nowadays beef is widely used as well. In Finland, beef is the more commonly used meat. You will probably see the stock kebab meat (when you are standing on the counter ordering) either in two ways: rotating on a vertical spit or put in the microwave oven from a little plastic bag.

Now you know about kebab meat but something is missing; you don’t want to eat meat only. Hence, kebab meat is usually served with:

Pita bread: The meat is put inside the bread. Salad, sauce, and whole chili are put on top. This is probably the most common way of eating kebab in Finland.
French fries: Kebab and french fries compliment each other well. Some salad and sauce are, of course, included. This is a popular style of kebab too.
Thin bread wrapped around it. We call it “rullakebab” and this translates to “roll kebab”. Have a look at the photo. It’s kebab meat, salad, and sauce stuffed together in the middle of a thin, round bread and then the bread rolled around them like a tortilla. Very delicious!

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These are the basic types of kebab dishes. There are variations, but the ones listed make the foundation of kebab sales in Finland.

What makes a great kebab?

All kebabs are good but some are better than the others. When looking for high quality kebab meat, you should look for how it is served. It’s a rarity if microwave heated meat is as good as meat from a rotating vertical spit, because spit meat is usually more fresh and moist. There are cases, however, when spit sliced meat is put into a heated container near the counter. Upon ordering the chef takes a chunk of meat from the container and some may confuse this with microwave meat.

What about the accompaniments to kebab meat, aka Bread and French Fries? Freshness is the number one important factor but several other things should be considered as well. Bread that is too dry and thick is horrible and will have you drinking gallons of water. If the thickness is less than 0.2 inches and just a bit moist there is no problem. On the other hand, a common problem with french fries that accompany Kebab is a lack of taste. Some restaurants get this and others don’t. Barbeque seasoning should be put on the french fries and they should be dipped in the kebab sauce to maximize the taste.

Now you know the basics about kebab in Finland. Have ever had kebab here, or how popular is Kebab in your area? Drop a comment in the comments section below!

[Pictures courtesy of flickr: 9stiches11stars, volvodriver, telegraph, geschmack, and holamun2]

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