QUOTABLE QUOTE

'Before it was Regular, then it became Light, and now it is Zero .....' President Benigno Aquino comparing his love life with his favorite drink, Coca Cola.

He may be Head of State, but he is another human being, just like many of us, I guess!

911 ... I WAS THERE!

This was taken from the porch of my water front room at Ship Ahoy, when I was at the Boothbay Harbor wedding in Maine. Peaceful, idyllic, serene, tranquillity are words that can best describe the ambience.

Fast forward 4 weeks, exactly to the date, we have the antithesis .... the 10th anniversary of 911 in 2001, in New York City when the sky opened up and hell dropped on America, on her people and the Nation has not been the same.

I was there, stranded for a week in NYC. I witnessed the best of human behavior including; courage, selflessness, comradeship, sacrifice, dedication, perseverance, love, brotherhood, trust on the one hand, and of course fear, tragedy, loss, hysteria, anguish, anger, helplessness, hopelessness on the other .... the list goes on. I was in tears for hours when I visited the Armory Downtown, the onsite clearinghouse of 'Lost & Found' of the living, the dead, and of course the mssing. It had to be the most moving moment in my life, it was then, and it still is now. Months afterwards when I was asked about those 5 fateful days in NYC tears would flow, uncontrollably, as I relived that saddest experience.

To me, America is like a foster parent whom I have 'lost touch' with. When I was a Freshman at Tufts 43 years ago in 1968 I thought I would never, ever, leave America and her way of life. 8 years hence I could not wait to return home, to Asia, where I have been since. Inherited during my formidable years, there is still some 'America left in me', without question. I continue to feel for the Nation, and the people, especially around 911. I support the view that American has learned a hard lesson, and learned it well. People in Hong Kong want to keep the 'Spirit of June 4th Alive', America ought to do the same for 911 .... 'Lest We Forget'.

God Bless America!

KHAI LOOK KOEY

Once upon a time there was a mother who was a kitchen Goddess, and a young man who was deeply in love with her daughter but who could not cook. Knowing the only way to get approval from the matriarch was via the culinary route, he created a simple egg dish that, yes, won her the son-in-law title. Well, this story was told when I was at Wandee, my Thai cooking school.

Khai Look Koey aka the Son-in-Law Egg, is a permanent fixture in Thai cuisine, it can be found almost anywhere in street food stalls. This delicious side dish cannot be simpler to make, and it is a perfect complement with any meal.

KHAI LOOK KOEY or Deep Fried Eggs in Tamarind Sauce

* make hard boiled eggs (10 minutes) & soak in cold water
* deep fry eggs in oil over medium heat until golden brown
* remove from heat to cool before cutting in halves
* deep fry shallott, garlic, dried red chillies till golden & crispy
* mix seasoning sauce over low heat till thick ... see below
* pour over eggs, sprinkle crispy garnish, add fresh coriander

The Seasoning Sauce is key and that involves (a) 4 tablespoons of Tamarind Juice, from cooking down chunks of semi-dried tamarind pieces (b) 4 tablespoons of Palm Sugar and lastly, (c) 3 tablespoons of Fish Sauce.

WORLD-OF-DAISY

No, I do not spend my day blogging, nor do I read everybody else's. I do, however, have a couple of favorites which I check in every now and then and this is one. Daisy Wong is apparently a prolific writer who has authored a few books. A lawyer by training she has the proverbial sharp tongue that comes with the trade. What I like is her 'straight talk-no nonsense-no BS' disposition, and her almost always truthful, direct and often hilarious observations about life in this town. This one on 'model couples and marriages per se' is case in point.

Try http://world-of-daisy.blogspot.com/ and see what you think?

LE FESTIN DU CONSEIL CONJUGAL

I was given a tall order recently by Jess, the kind that only appears in the Master Chef Series. A young couple, close friends of hers, has decdied to tie the knot and I am to host, and to cook, a dinner with a 'nuptial theme'. I am supposed to share the matrimonial wisdom I have gained (sic) from my own 30-year term .... bad pun, I know, but it is 'cute' and it is my poetic license. I suggested we use the number 9, roughly translated as 'lasting' or 'long-living' so we had a party of 9, with 9 courses. I like to think it made an impact not only to the 'newlys' but to everyone around the dinner table as well, including Dora and I.

With Lionel's advice in French vocabulary, we gave the party a name ie The Banquet of Marriage Counselling. The menu has 2 parts : key operative words useful in maintaining a marriage, accompanied by the dish served. For the couple I also prepared flip cards with simple explanatory words.

* AMUSE : Sense of Humor - Abalone Sauteed in Butter with Lime
* STACKING : Build & Share - TKT Signature Mini Breakfast
* SIMPLICITY : Cherish Normalcy - Sweet Corn Veloute
* HARMONY : Aim for Consensus - Gnocchi in 4 Cheeses
* INDULGENCE : Surprise & Treat Each Other - Lobsters on Beans
* MINCED : Nuptial Amalgamation - Labb Moo ie Sauteed Minced Pork
* HEAT : Learn to Tolerate - Panang Koong ie Spicy Prawns
* IN LAWS : Be Nice - Khai Look Koey ie Son in Law Eggs
* PLACATION : Soothing is Art - Classic Tao Soun ie Mung Beans in Coconut Cream
* SWEETNESS : Will Always Win - Pavlova

It was fun, it was memorable, and it was educational, for me esepcially as I realize I am not practising what I preach!

NEW ENGLAND CLAM BAKE

See how red the shells turn after the lobsters are boiled? This is a classic Maine lobster presentation. A New England Clam Bake has its regimen, too. If I remember correctly, the following is de rigueur.

* build an open fire preferrably from dry drift wood
* use a clean oil drum that is not rusty as cooking utensil to steam
* pick up sea weed next to the shore, ones that are under water, for layering
* lobsters on first, after the first thick layer of seaweed
* next comes the corn-on-the-cob, plus another layer of seaweed
* the clams are always at the top
* Cherrystones only and never Little Necks ... please
* lots of drawn butter, possibly lemon wedges, nothing else

When it is time we sit on the rough shores, by the rocks, and around the drum so we can sniff the intoxicating aroma of salty sea water, seaweeds, and steamed shellfish. We use our hands, through and through, no need for utensils. All shells are to be thrown right back into the sea, seagulls from above and crabs from below will take care of the rest. No napkins either, we wash our hands, our mouths with sea water ... in total bliss complete with a huge grin, totally gratified taste buds and a distended tummy.

I miss all of this so very, very much!

BOOTHBAY BREAKFAST

The lobsters in Maine do taste different. We can buy these, live, in certain wet markets in Hong Kong but somehow they do not taste the same as they do in Maine. Hey, Maine lobsters do not even taste the same once they hit California so why should they taste the same when they are another 9,000 miles further west, in Hong Kong? This is not 'when in Rome do what the Romans do' as no respectable Down East ladies or gentlemen would have a Lobster Roll for breakfast. This is what the vulgar, unabashed and greedy nomads under the necessary but nonetheless annoying umbrella of 'Summer Tourists' do. Yes, guilty as charged, they are talking about me. The owner of this cafe knew I am a Cochrane boy from years back, a well known family in the Harbor, and specifically asked the kitchen to prepare this for me. It was not even 9am yet. As the expression goes ... I thought I died and went to Heaven, when I took that first succulent and flavorful bite. Indeed, I was. Thank you Boothday, for such a lovely treat!

PADDLE BOARDING

How cool is this? The picture was taken in Maine, at Boothbay Harbor, where I attended the wedding of my 'Sister' from an all American family I grew up with while at Tufts. The Cochrane family was assigned as my Host Family in 1968 when I was a Freshman, their home was in Reading and their weekends were mostly spent in Maine. During my formidable years in college I learned, through the Cochranes, an enormous amount about life in America, about New England, about being a Bostonian, about the Down East subculture in Maine and above all, about living the values of a decent human being ... whether one is American or Chinese. The Senior Cochranes I address as Mom & Dad, and their children my two younger brothers, and my sister. We have kept in touch 43 years hence, and my American siblings became surrogate parents for Terri & Jess, while they were at Tufts. It was a full circle and to me, the Cochranes are the walking definition of my 'closest family in America'.

Back to the subject matter ... it was a pristine morning with sunshine, moderate temperature and the calmest waters in the Harbor when I saw these folks paddling leisurely past. I am told as a sport it is tougher than it looks, which I am sure it is. I am not sure if something like this will take off here, in Hong Kong? I am not talking about the surroundings, not the quality of the water, not even the availability of equipment but rather than 'mood'. One needs the relaxed, sans stress, hassle free, the 'not a care about the rest of the world' attitude to be able to enjoy this kind of sport, don't you think?

HUMAN NATURE

The Government's decision to give every PR in Hong Kong $6,000 has opened up a huge can of worms, the gory details we read almost daily in the media.  It is a solemn, albeit sometimes amusing, sideshow of human nature. We are human beings, are we not, so displaying our nature comes with the territory, right?  Damn right! 

We hear a mixed bag of responses such as; .. 'I will definitely spend it, we are supposed to, for the sake of the economy, right' .. 'I will save it for rainy days, since I never know how much longer I can keep my job given the dire state of the economy' .. 'I will buy that ring my husband refused me' .. 'This can contribute to my savings for the wedding' .. 'It comes just in time for the opening of a new school term since books, stationery, uniform are such a huge expense, we have 3 kids' .. 'At 80 of course I want the $ now, how do I know if I am still alive if I wait' ....... the list is endless, and the voices are representative of the Hong Kong matrix, each and everyone of them contributed to the success of this town.

Then again we have those who emigrated, the born again 'foreign citizens' whom our Motherland does not recognize, who flooded the phone lines with enquiries on entitlement, who do not want to be 'left out' which to a Hong Kong Belonger is the worst case scenario.  Having disowned our little island from the 1967 riots, the 1984 signing, the pre-1997 tremors etc without ever looking back, some would even return, for the first time after literally decades, to stake their claims. How the economics work is simply baffling to me!  One spends $6,000+ on airfare, sitting upright in Y-class (I guess C-class seems foolish here) just so one can renew one's HKID and then collect $6,000?  Hello?

The 'Oscar of Creative Justification' has to go to, sadly, the following ex-Hong Kong Belonger, now a proud naturalized citizen from nether-nether land.  I quote, in verbatim ' .... the only reason I want to come back is not about the $, it is to prove the HKSAR Government is stupid, to allow me to renew my HKID after 20 years of absence (a more appropriate description here is .... arrogant and singularly unjustifiable aggressive indifference) and then let me collect the $ ... they are just stupid, and I now have proof!'  We were at the same lunch table when this proclamation was made, I was glad I did not eat much dim-sum lest my sudden puking could have been embarrassing. 

Seriously, can you imagine?  Is this the best Hong Kong can produce, is this human nature at large or is it  just a pitiful statement from an even more pitiful individual?  I continue to be amazed!          

CRABS, ANYONE?

Golden Pond is a recent discovery that has brought nothing less than super joy to me, and my circle of 'crab craze' foodie pals. I was told the owner is a big time seafood wholesaler who brings fresh goodies to us lucky souls in a fashion that is unique. Located on a quaint street with loads more character than fancy outlets else where in town, Golden Pond's unassuming store front is a perfect prelude to surprises galore once you are inside. Equipped with simple tables, maximum cover is 14 inside plus 2 alfesco table x 4 each outside. The best news is you literally can park in front, at almost no risk of tickets.

The menu is simple; a delicious assortment of steamed or poached crabs, served cold with creative vinegar based dips. For instance; Spanner Crabs, Snow or Crystal Crabs, Alaskan King Crab, French Crabs that are called 'Bread or Bun' Crabs here, Canadian Dungenese Crabs, local Flower Crabs, Filipino Caracha Crabs .... plus South China Sea Lobsters or rather Crayfish without the claws, Giant Wee-Wee Prawns, South African Abalone and last but certainly not the least, wonderful Canadian Whelks.

In addition there are 3 'must try' items ... (1) the 'E-Mein' used as base for the set meals (2) the Toasted Garlic Bread that rivals any garlic bread anywhere in town, and (3) top value chicken soups. There is a small wine list, but my vote definitely goes to the Belgium beers in the fridge. BTW you can forget the sea cucumber, it is the worst dish.  Try the Lobsters on E-Mein for $68, it is the proverbial 'steal'.  Other prices are reasonable, the crabs are not cheap but they are excellent value for money. You must book ahead, especailly in the evenings. I suggest you try lunch first, to learn how to get there, to study the menu, to try a few items with less people around you .... then pick your favorites, organize dinner with 4-6 like minded foodies and, indulge with 'No Reservations' per Anthony Bourdain.

Golden Pond offers delivery service too, minimum $500 on HK Island and $1000 if you order from Kowloon. Call now!

WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE?

This was taken in 1952, almost 60 years or a whole generation ago, with my parents. I was not quite 3. Dad passed away 10 years ago and Mom turned 90. I just completed half of my 62nd year on earth, and became a grandfather of twins. Everytime I look back on what has passed, I get melancholy. I begin to wonder if I had lived the life I wanted and for that matter, what exactly did I (and do I) want, to which I cannot provide a satisfactory answer. If I have not lived the life I wanted, what can I do about it now as I approach the 'sunset phase' of my being .... at the speed of sound .... if the past 3 retired years were any guide. I am absolutely certain I am not the only person at my age who would ask these neither-here-nor-there questions, but I did anyway. I am lost!

My last blog was in May, after my Singapore & Johore sojourn. I was lazy, it is a bad trait I must correct, and I will, right now.