I’ve been suffering from some seriously debilitating insomnia in recent weeks and I finally thought I’d make the most of it and update my lonely blog! Although, using the computer is not kosher when it come to developing good sleep hygiene. For those of you suffering from insomnia, general sleep hygiene rules include:
1. No caffeine after noon
2. No exercising past the afternoon (I’d say 4-ish). But exercise regularly.
3. No televisions in the bedroom
4. If you can’t sleep after lying in bed for 20-30 minutes, get up, read a book (I usually read something academic, it works like a charm) or listen to soothing classical music (televisions and computers are not allowed) UNTIL you feel tired. Then go back to bed. If not asleep in 30 minutes, repeat.
5. Quit smoking
6. Alcohol may make you drowsy, but it gives you poor quality, non-restorative sleep.
7.You can also try to sleep deprived yourself and gradually build up from there, but that’s a whole other blog entry.
8. No naps lasting longer than 20 minutes.
I know I’m missing a few key points here, but you get the gist of it. I think I break about….4-5 rules up there.
Anyway, that’s not the point of this entry. What I came here to do was to talk about the food I ate during my recent expedition to Iceland! This trip was years in the making, but finally all the stars aligned, including Iceland’s unfortunate economic situation (which made it at least somewhat affordable to visit).
Without further ado, the good:
1. Icelandic hot dogs. Yummy bundles of lamb meat topped with deep fried onions, raw onions, some kind of remoulade thing, mayonnaise. We had these dogs in Akuyeri (2nd largest city in Iceland), but they really didn’t compare to the famous stand in Reykjavik seen below.
2. Tapas is this little (surprise, surprise) Spanish style restaurant in Reykjavik. Truthfully, this was not one of my top “to visit” places, but we ended up there on more than one occasion due to our late eating habits (no one else would serve us food at 10:30 pm). I was so pleasantly surprised! The tapas setup made it possible to try lots of different Icelandic fare. There Icelandic gourmet feast was also very affordable for such an expensive country. The “feast” included: some kind of nasty alcoholic shot (I think it’s called “brennin”?) – but I’ve never been a fan of a shot of any alcohol, smoked puffin with a blueberry sauce (awesome, and much better than this puffin sandwich I had a few nights earlier in a small town. No, I am not a monster), Icelandic seat trout (yum), langoustine tails in butter and garlic (double yum), pan-fried monkfish with lobster sauce (also a winner), grilled icelandic lamb (good stuff), minke whale with cranberry sauce (surprisingly delish. tastes like tender beef). The chocolate cake dessert was meh. Here is a pic of the minke whale dish:
3. Geysir bread with smoked raw lamb in Myvatn. Myvatn is an area in northern Iceland know for its hauntingly beautiful lava landscapes. One of the specialties of the area is a bread that is cooked underground by geothermal energy. We decided to visit this trendy little cafe/cowshed (yes, there were cows in the adjacent room) called Vogafjos, that served this geysir bread with homemade smoked raw lamb. Pricey, but yummy. Here is a picture of my fellow traveller B.H.’s meal, which included (on top of the bread & lamb) homemade mozzarella, smoked and cured trout, a mixed salad, and a blueberry jam with some cottage cheese like concoction.
4. Locally sourced non-meat! So, as you may have noticed, my top selections thus far have been a little meat heavy. That is because vegetables and legumes were sooooo expensive! I was therefore THRILLED when we made the trek to Seydisfyordur, a small fjord town in Eastern Iceland. It was there we chanced upon the Skaftfell cultural centre an art gallery/non-pretentious cafe. All the food there was reasonably priced, but I think I was most impressed with my friend C.C’s lentil patties with a barley mushroom risotto. All locally sourced. The owner lady also had one of the most contagious laughs I have ever heard. Loved it.
5. Skyr. Skyr is this soft cheese (although more like a yoghurt) that is sold everywhere in Iceland. To me, it was tasty, low in fat, filling, and cheap. Thus, it became a daily staple in our quest to not go ridiculously broke on this trip. It comes in all sorts of yummy flavours (cappucino, blueberry, vanilla were a few of my favs). My only gripe is that I thing the main brands sold in the supermarkets are all sweetened with aspartame, which left a funny aftertaste in my mouth. I do wish they had it in Canada, but apparently it’s not allowed to be imported here (I think because it’s not pasteurized?).
There were some other tasty adventure on the trip, but the above were probably the main memories that will stay with me. Some of the ugly? Hotel Dyrholaey near Vik. Vik was a little too far from where we were staying, so we settled on this hotel restaurant that apparently hired all its waitstaff from the nearby high school. The dishes (I had a horse dish) were uninspired and the side veggies looked and tasted like they were sourced from the local freezer:
Also, Lonely Planet mentions this ice cream store called Brynja in Akuyeri which apparently has the best ice cream in Iceland. It does not. For starters, it was soft serve ice cream. I mean, I loved soft serve ice cream as much as the next 12 year old kid, but I don’t think soft serve ice cream can ever be called the best ice cream of anywhere, except in a land without other types of frozen dairy treats. We ran into a couple Harvard grad students in the parking lot and they told use about this farm that made delish ice cream about 30 minutes east of Akuyeri so we set off to find it. We did find some considerably more acceptable ice cream there, including S.Y’s beer ice cream. The mint ice cream was a shocking shade of green though:
My only gastronomical regret was that I did not try the Harkarl (rotting shark). I did find it in the fish section of the weekly market, but I was feeling unwell and coming down with a virus. I think the taste of rotting shark would have put me over the edge. Sigh. But thanks for the good times, Iceland.
The last time I was in Montreal, I was a 17 year old just about to enter university, trying (along with the rest of the gang) to get my 18 year old friend to buy some booze. Instead, we got lazy and found a $0.50 Dance Dance Revolution machine at a local arcade and fancy-footed the night away. Yes, I was oh-so-cool in high school and have the awesomest friends.
But suffice it to say, my recent return to Montreal was long overdue. Unfortunately, this visit was a quick one-night affair, but I did manage to fit a dinner at Au Pied De Cochon…a bit of the jazz fest.. and of course I shopped till I dropped!
Duck in a Can. I don’t even remember where I first heard about this, but just the idea of it is brilliant: breast of a duck cooked in a can with a generous piece of foie gras (have I already previously already declared my love for this cruel, cruel piece of gastronomical heaven on this blog?), some thyme, garlic, and what I’m assuming is cabbage cooked in butter (“d’embeuree de chou”). They bring the can to you, open it up, and slide it out on top of a plate of perfectly creamy mashed potatoes. Good stuff, but really, something I only need to eat once in my life.
My sis had the steak frites which was acceptable. The fries (cooked in duck fat), were on the uncrunchy side, which is not how I like my fries. The next morning, we hit up Reservoir for the best meal of the day: brunch.
My steak was well cooked, but the highlight was this little cheese tartlet sitting under those greens – buttery and light, sharp from the ……I think it was parmesan…but my memory is failing me (should really blog a little more efficiently). My sis got a stack of pancakes with strawberries and yoghurt…pretty good as well. Though acceptable, the food didn’t blow me away. I’ll likely look to try somewhere new the next time I’m in town.
Other highlights included creamy dark hot chocolate kicked up with chili powder at this local chocolate place (?Studio 8), Schwartz’s smoked meat sandwiches…..Montreal, I will be back soon.
okay, really fast entry….
there’s nothing like eating a freshly grilled burger (simon, still impressed by your panko crumb burgers. yum!) and recently i had to opportunity to try a couple places…
1) kraft burger in toronto. hit up this joint a couple months ago. heard okay reviews, but nothing stellar. i would have to agree with the general consensus. don’t get me wrong, it’s a good burger, but $10 for a just above average burger, onion rings, and a coke, i won’t be making any special trips to this place. my friend’s organic burger was also pricier and dry. boo. this is a pic of my other friend’s cheeseburger. apparently their poutine is good. still have to try that.
2) the works. somewhat of an ottawa institution. i think they have a few locations in our great nation’s capital. their whole specialty is a menu with a crazy long list of burgers with various toppings. they also make a decent burger. next time i would choose the sweet potato fries over the spicy die cut chips which i got in the pic below. around the same price as kraft burger, except this burger came with bacon, avocado, cheese, and tomatoes. maybe the quality of the ingredients aren’t as top notch as kraft, but honestly, i can’t tell the difference.
this entry isn’t so much a comparison of the two as they are in completely different cities and you’ll never have to choose between the two. both worth a visit if you are in the area and need a casual bite.
that was the entertaining facebook status my friend posted that piqued my curiosity (and yes….I have already shamefully neglected you poor blog. I’m sorry.)
what is kopi luwak, you ask? well, according to wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak, “kopi” is the Indonesian word for coffee and “luwak” is the name of the Asian Palm Civet (the furry dude you see in the picture below):
apparently, the civet eats the berries of the coffee berry plant and then excretes the inner beans. those beans are then cleaned, roasted, and then ground to make the world’s most expensive coffee (up to $99/cup). the amazingness of this coffee supposedly comes from the civet’s preference for eating only the sweetest berries….or something like that. so after discovering this, i asked (or some would say, harassed) my super duper amazing friend for a sample of this coffee which she had brought back from Bali.
the verdict? well, there are alot of caveats to this critique:
1) I made my cup of java using my Vietnamese coffee drip because I currently have nothing else to make coffee with
2) The coffee came pre-roasted and pre-ground in a pretty touristy looking packet, so suffice it to say, it wasn’t going to be the most optimal representation of Kopi Luwak.
Verdict: It tasted like Timmy’s. I was confuzzled enough when I took a whiff of the coffee and images of hockey sticks and toques danced in my head. I was even more amazed when it tasted like how it smelled. Granted, I like Tim Horton’s, but I pay $1.50 for a cup of that it. There was none of the famed “sweetness” I was expecting, but I think the coffee beans were a little overly roasted.
anyway, thanks C.Y. on your next trip, I’m coming with you!
brunch entry number 2! my absolute favourite brunch place in town, for the longest time, has been Mitzi’s on the west side of town. This unassuming shoebox sized cafe on Sorauren has to-die-for oatmeal pancakes: maple syrup infused, chewy pieces of heaven (I like to split this and a savoury dish with whoever’s with me).
BUUUUUT……there’s a new pancake in my heart: School Bakery and Cafe’s toasted coconut pancakes. Went to check out SBC last weekend on a beautiful sunday morning and sat on their generously sized back patio. It’s situated on a nondescript street off King near Dufferin. The theme of this restaurant seemed a little gimmicky when I first read about it (menus are presented on clipboards, washrooms are complete with chalk and chalkboards, etc.), but turned out to be pretty entertaining. All the waitstaff were great, but sometimes a little slow (waited awhile to order…)
there were so many amazing sounding dishes on the menu (which apparently was just revamped). as i alluded to earlier, i ordered the toasted coconut pancakes and paired it with a side order of peameal bacon and of course a cup of that life-giving elixir, coffee (which happened to be illy in this case).
my pancakes were perfectly done – moist and slightly chewy. it came topped with toasted coconut, a caramel sauce and some whipped cream. the peameal bacon was a bit on the greasy side, but i was in the mood for grease that morning so it actually quite hit the spot (and i usually find peameal bacon a little dry and tough for my taste).
this place was a big winner! on my list of “to go to” brunch places along with Mitzi’s and Aunties and Uncles now!!!
the most exciting part of this day was when my friend who came with me to SBC gave me a little bag of Kopi Luwak coffee, which she had just brought back from Indonesia. I’ve tried it and that’s coming up on my next entry!
I have never been a strong believer in fate, prefering to leave my life in the hands of the work I accomplish on a day-to-day basis. But even I was a little taken aback when I discovered that the husband of one of my closest friends grew up on the same street in Singapore as I did back when we were wee toddlers. Both our fathers were engineering professors in the same university and we probably played together as children (or pushed each other into the fountain, right victor?). Of course we only discovered this after knowing each other for 5 years and becoming good friends during that time!
In honour of this amazing discovery, our parents had a reunion where Victor’s dad cooked some yummy food (His family used to own a Chinese restaurant in Hamilton), including this lobster and black bean dish which was delish! Thanks, Victor’s family.
Other fun things during this past Victoria day weekend included a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario to see the new Surrealism exhibit. I’ve always been a little miffed by the fact that photography is prohibited in the gallery. Prohibiting flash, I can understand, but just good old plain photos? If someone can explain the harm of this to me, my ears are open. Fortunately, there is no ban on photographing the food at the AGO. I haven’t had the chance to hit up “Frank” yet, but I did grab a quick bite at the cafe in basement.
The strawberry tart was pretty standard, a nice post gallery walk snack. The mac&cheese dubbed “Craft dinner” was waaaay to greasy and not adequately seasoned. Poor taste to calorie ratio and definitely not worth the indulgence. This unsatisfactory fat-fest was followed up by a visit to the new (second) Dark Horse Espresso Bar on Spadina just north of Queen. I had an ice latte, my friend, a french press coffee.
Here he is, waiting for the timer to go off so that he can plunge the coffee (which he let me do, yay!). I didn’t actually drink this coffee so I cannot comment on it, but I can say that this store’s space is absolutely gorgeous: brick walls, weathered wood floors, decorative tin adorning the bar, chandeliers, and tall, tall ceilings — aka my dream home. Everyone else sitting at the same communal table as us was sporting their mac laptops – yes, it’s that kind of a place.
Finally, my last eating experience this fantastic long weekend was checking out the new ethnic food carts that the city of Toronto approved. In Nathan Phillips Square, there were 2 carts: biryani and souvlaki. The souvlaki cart was sold out (!) and the biryani cart? Let’s say the results are a little….bland. In defense of the very very nice cart owner, he did mention that he held back on the spices the first day as to not “scare people away” and the rice did come with a nice yoghurt cilantro sauce. But the rice was lukewarm and the chicken portion was meagre. The biggest disappointment, also at $5 a pop, was their other dish, called “salsa”. It was really a lentil wrap with some lettuce. Kind of bland and uninspired as well. I hope these carts are a success and pave the way for more street food, but it’s an unpromising start to say the least. Oh yeah, and the aseptic appearance of the carts was a turnoff too…..
A great, fun weekend! I love you, Toronto.
Mother’s Days have always been fairly laid back for me. Coming from a family of 4 children, you just had to make one dish and you’d be set. This year, however, 2 of the 4 children were out of the country and the only other one left in the city had just become a mother herself. In short, I had to get my act together. This was all complicated by an amazingly fun but tiring weekend of a bachelorette and jack & jill. After 2 nights where my head hit the pillow past 2 am, I knew I had to put together a menu that could be pre-made because there was no way i was getting up at 7 in the morning on Mother’s Day.
I tried to keep things tasty and healthy-ish. This is what I came up with:
Baba ghanoush with pita: so tasty and yet so easy to make. I always have a bottle of tahini hanging out in my fridge. Just roast some eggplant, then blend with some garlic, lemon juice, tahini, olive oil, salt and pepper and voila!
Roasted beets: I know my mom loves beets and so do I. I figured some slow roasted beets for about 1.5 hours in foil (and I managed to get some golden beets for that extra visual oomph!) would be just the ticket. I gently seasoned with a little olive oil, balsalmic vinagrette, and shallots.
Finally, I bought some fresh dry scallops from St. Lawrence Market. Yes, the fish markets at SLM are horrendously overpriced. But I live downtown and I have no car. Give me a break.
Anyway, there’s only one reason I buy fresh dry scallops: to pan-sear them. I only learned recently that “wet” scallops (the kind you usually find in markets) have been treated with a preservative so they keep longer and absorb more water making them look plump and juicy. The downside, because of their “wetness” you can’t get a good sear and plus, you’re paying for that extra water weight.
So I took these bad boys, seared them, and served them on a pasta.
All in all I was pretty happy with the results.
I left my sister (the one who just became a mother) with the job of dessert and she brought this lovely assorted nut torte from La Bambouche, a japanese/french fusion bakery in town. It was tasty, but my favourite thing of theirs is still a sweet potato and chestnut cake they make…….so good.
Filed under: home cooking
Yes, little chickpeas, I know I was cooking you guys to make some hummus for my friend’s bachelorette. But you were so darned tasty with your light dressing of olive olive, salt, and freshly ground pepper. You were still warm from that long, slow simmer on the stove that I couldn’t resist you.
And it’s true, little chickpeas, you were far, far tastier than your canned counterparts. You weren’t slimy or overly salty, and you were much cheaper too!
I only hope there are enough of you left for tomorrow……
Filed under: travel
So I am back from one month in Yunnan province! There were the good things, the bad, and the ugly……too much for one post. I had the amazing opportunity to live in a small township with locals — most of whom have never met a foreigner.
I have been getting some slack from some people about not updating during my trip, but in my defense, internet access was extremely limited. AND, when it was available, it was hair-pullingly slow…….
But without further ado, here are my top 5 Yunnan food experiences:
5. Eating snack food/street food in Dali
Dali is like Lijiang’s (the crazy tourist hive of Yunnan) little brother. It is an ancient city inhabited by the Bai minority of southwest China. Pretty touristy as well, but prices are nowhere as high as Lijiang’s. I had a heyday eating tons of food here, including Dali’s Baba (a warm buttery flaky pancake thing with your choice of sweet (bean paste) or savoury fillings) — different from the famous Lijiang Baba, Rubing (a goat’s milk based sheet that is grilled), and of course, the ubiquitous noodle stores selling bowls of mi xian.
4. Making dumplings
Every time I go to China and hang around locals, it’s only a matter of time before I get invited to help make jiao zi. Yes, this is nothing particularly novel about this but there’s something about a family coming together to make a meal that just makes food taste that much better. You can tell which dumplings were made by me 
3. Cheap and plentiful fruit!
Yunnan is heaven for fruit lovers such as myself. I gorged myself on a variety of fruits including mangoes, haw berries (so tart and juicy!), and pipa — yummy.
2. Pineapple sticky rice
Yes, I alluded to this amazing discovery on my one and only post in Yunnan. A common dish made by the Dai minority of Yunnan (I hear they are more active in the Xishuangbanna region of the province and so this dish is more synonymous with that area of Yunnan rather than Kunming (where I ate this dish) itself.
I think in another context it may not have been THAT incredible, but when every other dish you eat is spicy and too often, MSG laden, a sweet, sticky, chewy mouthful of this pineapple sticky rice hits the spot. Admittedly, when I first ate this dish, I fell so in love with it that I order another…….and it was the last meal I ate before I left Yunnan…
I found a recipe for this in Chinese and am in the process of trying to translate it and recreate it! Let me know if you can help me: http://www.yn.chinanews.com.cn/html/yule/jingpshishang/20080228/50531.html
1. Typical villagers weekend meal
There was this one weekend I was invited into one of the rural villages to hang out with a family and their friends. It was a true example of being truly aware of the food that you are eating as we had to pick our own beans, and kill the chicken who would eventually make it’s way onto our table. Cooking was a day long affair, interrupted by rounds of mahjong and interminable glasses of tea.
Highlights included a deep fried crispy stinky tofu, some deep-fried rushan (cow’s milk “cheese”), a fresh chicken soup made from the poor fella killed earlier during the day, bowls of cold mi xian noodles topped with ground pork and a ladle full of hot oil, sausage casings filled with purple rice, and it goes on……
Special mentions: there were so many amazing experiences including 10 cent buns everywhere(!), this freshly made green onion focaccia-type bread, pastries filled with rose petals, the famous “over-the-bridge” noodles, my very frequent trips to the store that sold crushed ice topped with a variety of beans, fruits, and syrups for less than $1 US per giant bowl, and more. They could not possibly all make it on the list, so I guess you will just have to go to Yunnan and try it yourself.
Here I am in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. So far, I’ve eaten a fair amount of good, CHEAP, food. This includes the famous “Cross-Bridge Noodles”, which apparently Yunnan is famous for. Pictures will be following, but probably not until I return because the internet connection at my office and my hostel are painfully slow.
Later
P.S. oh wait….3 last words: pineapple sticky rice. be still, my beating heart.
