CRAB AU NATUREL NINGBO

Sitting on the Board of a listed company with manufacturing facilities in Ningbo has opened breath taking new horizons, not only on the fiduciary duties of an INED, but on the food front.

I am madly in love with the rustic country style cooking of native Ningbo, and the attached could well be the epitome.  Crabs in the neighboring rivers and lakes are ever so sweet, and there must be hundreds of ways literally to prepare them.  My favorite is the 'au naturel' ie using Chinese wine, soya source, vinegar & sugar .. period .. and fresh crabs, preferably in season, are cured in this simple concoction, then served.  The taste is captivating, is mouth watering, is additive and yes, it is evil.  While this is common place at most eateries in Ningbo it does not fetch the same following in Hong Kong.  To start with we should be suspect of where they are sourced and how they are made, unless they come from reputable venues like the Shanghai Fraternal Association in Central or, better yet, home made as the one I just had for lunch.  Good bye, lobster & crab sashimi!        

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

"I did not say that I do not have illegal structures ...."

This has to be the most talked about phrase today (Dec 11th 2012) in both Cantonese & English, across the soil of the HKSAR.  I am truly amazed!  Mind you, not by the author of the statement who obviously lost even more grounds and respect from his subjects, but by the depth of the English language.

Double Negative, as I was taught by the late Mr Kwong Sum Wood aka "Kwong Lo" who was feared but revered by all when we were at St Paul's Co-Educational College.  A Cambridge graduate, I believe with 1st Class Honors, he taught us the rudimentary of the language.  Notably ... in English there are Rules & Exceptions, but always be mindful that there are more exceptions than rules.  Then there is the Double Negatives, and his stern command still rings, after almost 50 years.  "Do not even bother to try unless you are absolutely sure how to use it!"  

I wonder where our Fearless Leader went to secondary school?   

QUOTABLE QUOTE

"As far as cuisine is concerned we must read everything, try everything, see everything, observe everything, in order to retain, in the end, just a little bit!"

... Chef Bernard Point, Ma Gastronomie

This was at the front of Chef Wayne Cohen's book "Cooking on the Line - from Food Lover to Professional Line Cook" which is a captivating, delicious read. Like him, I am a foodie who subscribes to the philosophy of ... being obsessed with thinking about, reading about, experimenting with, and of course eating food.  If you do not take food, or cooking in this case, as all-consuming (forgive the pun) you are just not it, I am afraid.

SIMIT

When a Turk says ' ... give us this day our daily bread ...' I think he or she means the Simit. It is seen everywhere, it is a staple and it is consumed around the clock. Simit is just bread, in the shape of a ring, with a crispy sesame seed crust and soft inside. It is not savory but there is a sugar-coated version which I see at breakfast hours. Most people would just eat it plain. I prefer the toasted version, introduced by my hosts at breakfast along with a thick slab of butter, plain Turkish white cheese, and a few herb-marinated olives. Superb! By the way, it may look like a New York pretzel, especially when sold from a push cart on the street but never say that to a local, I am told, as it would be an insult.  This vendor was selling on a morning ferry that shuttles across the Bosphorus to neighboring islands on the Asia side and he was doing well, almost sold out by the time we disembarked.  

MY LAWN

To give you a better picture, literally, this is my private outdoor library cum tanning salon, where I catch up with my email, my IHT, my Kindle books, and of course Vitamin D from the sun for my problematic aging skin. Remember that famous line in the 80's (forgot where it came from though) that goes "I can get used to this very easily" ... exactly my sentiments during my 10-day sojourn here.    

ALMIGHTY BOSPHORUS

This was taken from my room, very early in a late September morning, less than a month ago in Istanbul. You are looking at a wide bend of the mighty Bosphorus, the Istanbul Bogazi or Strait that forms part of the divide between Asia & Europe. The always busy traffic is heading up the Strait towards the Black Sea. Downstream to the right would lead  to the center of the city where the Tokapi Palace, the Ayasofya, the Blue Mosque are, and eventually joining the Mediterranean. The land mass at the top is Asia, looking across to the European side on the right.

I was house guest to a very dear college friend from Tufts. We met 44 years ago as 'Beelzebubs Brothers' the acapella group we both sang in. He became a top echelon global banker, and made Turkey home. We stayed in touch since, which our girls find hard to believe, and the rest is history. The view, not to mention the super home style hospitality, would beat any (I mean any) hotel, anywhere, hands down. It is from this vantage point near Buyukdere neighborhood, that I start my daily pilgrimage to Cookingalaturka for my Turkish meze baptism and I need to blog this, for the record.    

FLY TURKISH!

Multiple disappointments later we finally decided to divorce ourselves from Cathay Pacific.  It was not that hard a decision, even after 20 years of Marco Polo loyalty.  My quest for new flying partners was blessed by the arrival of Turkish Airline on this past trip. Yes, that is a Chef in full regalia on board who actually cooks.  He was there at the door of the plane to greet passengers from all classes, a genius marketing ploy, but it did not stop there. We were in Business Class and after God knows how many miles with how many airlines, including the Concorde, our flight to Istanbul was arguably one of the most memorable.  The 180-degree flat seats were heaven, Dora was not sure she was at home or on the plane when she awoke. Our only complaint, if one can call that, was the in-flight AV service, which needs diversity.

Dinner was glorious ... it started with cold & hot meze, followed by soup, mains, fruits, desserts and the finale was a tray of traditional Turkish Delight with the best Turkish 'kahve' or 'cay' ... what a treat!  For me the ultimate proof is breakfast so I ordered Scrambled Eggs.  Voila ... it was exactly like what Chef Donovan taught me, in classic Michelin style.  I am sold.  Fly Turkish!

As for the damage, a round trip Business Class ticket : Hong Kong-Istanbul-Prague-Budapest-Istanbul-Hong Kong is HK$32,000 which is hard to beat.        

COOKINGALATURKA

My last blog was August 3rd which is something I feel guilty but could not do much about due to my retirement schedules.  There was just no time!  I also meant to blog our 2-week Danube Cruise from Prague to Budapest but that did not happen due to poor internet connection at almost every stop.  Here I am back into the ring, blogging from Istanbul.  

My search for 10 cooking experience between age 60-70 continues.  2012 is my 4th .... after LCB, Wandee, The Atlantic .... and it will be Turkish Meze.  I have joined a very local establishment, Cookingalaturka, arguably the first English media cooking school in the middle of the Old City.  It is the brainchild of a Dutch lady Eveline Zoutendijk who has taught cooking in Istanbul for 11 years.  Holder of a Grand Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu and fascinatingly fluent in Turkish this school has a definite following.  Eveline has worked and lived in Paris, New York, Geneva before settling here.  The cooking sessions are geared to daily 5-course lunches and dinners at an intimate 25-cover restaurant.  In other words we, the students, cook for paying guests while we also sit down for the meals.  It is a brilliant approach, pragmatic, commercial and it is not just for fun, but for real.  I have committed to a full week of lunch and dinner sessions which should give me first hand exposure to the rudiments of Turkish cooking.

Istanbul is close to the top of our favorite cities list.  It is magic to be able to spend 10-days here, doing what I love the most at my current state .... damn right, life cannot be any better!

Do visit www.cookingalaturka.com to find out more!

  

CHICHA

Jess treated us to dinner last night at the newly opened ChiCha Peruvian cuisine, by Concept Creations, it was a refreshing and delightful change.  I bet not that many are able to describe, right off the bat, what Peruvian cooking is so here is a small lesson taken from their website.  Like many great chefs have said "when it comes to basics there is not much creativity in the culinary scene, what it boils down to is interpretation and improvisation, on and on and on" ... so, here they are, examples of refinement of basics.

*  CERVICHE - raw fish & seafood marinated in citrus juice ie lime & lemon
*  CAUSA - cold starter of seasoned mashed potato terrine, with fillings
*  TIRADITO - Peruvian version of sashimi or carpaccio, with spicy sauces
*  ANTICUCHOS - grilled meats on skewers
*  CHICHARRONES - best described as 'confit' of meats & poultry
*  PICARONES - dessert of pumpkin fritters in sugar cane syrup

We had a wonderful tasting menu of the above, plus Tacos the ChiCha way.  The restaurant is cleverly designed to meet the incline of Peel Street going up from Queen's Road towards Hollywood.  It is a contiuous hike from the bar, to a 'Cevicheria', and then the main communal seating dining room.  We were in the middle section, at the 'Cevicheria' which was less noisy and cooler.  With more than 10 cooks in trendy chef black and matching aprons at the open kitchen, it has to be one of the best staffed in the SOHO neighborhood. The ambience was magic, service excellent despite being so new, and overall ChiCha was a gem.  Our only disappointment was the cerviche items which were not at par with the rest of the dishes.  With a bottle of $500 Spanish wine the damage was $450 per head, not exactly a steal, but a truly enjoyable encounter.

CHICHA : 26 Peel Street ... 2561 3336 or 9637 7701 ask for Viviano, a most friendly host!

CATCH OF THE DAY

I love supermarkets, a long time habit dating back to my Johnson & Johnson days I was selling Band-Aids to these outlets.  One gets a feel for how people live via the selection of meats, fish, seafood, veggies, groceries ... you name it. Whenever I am in Bangkok I always stock up on Thai provisions, at significantly lower prices, and am always amazed by the incredible selection.  My only regret is I do not read Thai.

Look at these Silver Carps, check out the eyes ... they cannot get any fresher for Baht39, just under HK$10 each.