饕餮在北京 - Beijing Gourmand

Fukuoka Gourmand

2009-05-10T03:58:00.000-07:00

No, Beijing Gourmand hasn't relocated. But I did have some amazing food on a recent trip to Fukuoka, a city on Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu. I had plenty of the more commonly known foods such as sushi, sashimi, shabushabu and tempura, but I wanted to post on some food that might be less familiar to readers.

Jianbing fans will go wild for okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), a Japanese savory pancake typically made with mountain-yam flour, egg, cabbage, pork, and chopped onions. There are countless variations on okonomiyaki depending on your tastes (okonomi roughly means "whatever you like"); the above is a Hiroshima style okonomiyaki that includes soba noodles.

Wagashi (和菓子) is the generic Japanese term for confections, which are often served during the traditional tea ceremony. This sweet, called kuri-monaka (栗もなか）, had a rice-wafer shell made to look like a chestnut, with a bean-paste jam and whole chestnut filling. The skewer (kushi) is made from a type of wood that supposedly has antibacterial properties.

I couldn't help but smile when I bit into this strawberry mochi (ichigo daifuku - イチゴ大福). I usually find mochi to be sickly sweet, but this had only thin layers of bean-paste and mochi dough wrapped around a plump farm-fresh strawberry. My companion and I achieved a sense of guilty satisfaction by nabbing the last two of the season.

When I posted on eating duck tongue I noted that it wasn't for shock value. I'm afraid I can't quite make the same claim about eating these live whitefish. They weren't actually that gross once you got used to the squirming inside your mouth; they were mostly tasteless, despite being half-drowned in sauce, but did have a shrimp-like texture. The young whitefish are caught in local rivers each spring and available only for a limited time.

City Weekend interviews cocktail master Bob Louison

2009-03-13T23:07:00.001-07:00

City Weekend caught up with Bob Louison to talk about his upcoming cocktail lessons. Tonight will be the fourth lesson, the third one for Grace and I to attend. Can't wait to try the chocolate Martini and the tanghulu (hawthorne berry) cocktail!

Interview: Cocktail Master Bob Louison Talks About His Dessert Cocktail Class This Saturday

BBC Global Marketplaces: Sanyuanli market

2009-03-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Although I'd caution anyone to take this article as anything more than anecdotal evidence of the state of consumer finances in China, it is interesting nonetheless.

In the video clip, Café Europa owner Chen Li, takes us on a tour of Beijing's Sanyuanli produce market and explains her views on how the economic climate is affecting consumer food purchases.

Global marketplaces feel the downturn: Beijing

This quote from Chen Li stood out:

Chen Li, who runs a restaurant in Beijing called Café Europa, said she is ordering 20-40% less food from the market. "Usually European customers would have a glass of wine with their lunch. Now they do without," she said.

Beijing Gourmand is no enemy of decadence, but perhaps regularly ordering wine with what one presumes is a working day lunch for the Jianwai SOHO crowd is a cause of poor financial performance rather than a symptom.

Spirit 'It' cocktail class

2009-02-17T04:05:00.000-08:00

Bob Louison informs me that he and Ariel will be holding a cocktail class this Saturday, 21st February, in the Grand Millenium's Havana Bar from 6-8pm. The cocktail list is still to be finalized but will likely include creative variations on the Martini, Mojito, Bloody Mary and a few surprises. The cost will be 220 RMB. You should contact Bob to reserve a place.

Bob
Mobile: 15010352077
13811787292
Email: bobariels@gmail.com

Grand Millenium
Fortune Plaza 7, Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Guomao
东三环中路7号财富中心
8587-6888

Update: photos from the class

Beijing's Top Five Watering Holes

2009-02-14T21:18:00.001-08:00

Beijing Boyce, the man behind the essential blog for making the most of Beijing's night life, was kind enough to post on my picks for Beijing's Top Five Watering Holes. While you're there be sure to check out the other Top Fives, you might just find a new favorite.

Anyone have a favorite that's not on the list?

Also, Diana Kuan recently posted a cool interview with Boyce on her Appetite for China blog.

Time Out's Neighborhood Nibbles

2009-02-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

I just picked up the February issue of Time Out, and it has a cool special feature called "Neighborhood Nibbles - The greatest restaurants you've never heard of". There are about 28 restaurants on the list, sprinkled around Beijing, some chosen by the likes of model and restaurateur Li Ai, Hanggai lead singer Yi Liqi and Made in China Chef Jin Qiang.

Some of my favorites made the list (Qintangfu, Guomao Kaochi and Greedy Chicken Wings), and there were plenty of new-to-me hidden gems I'm looking forward to checking out.

It can be hard to find copies of TO this late in the month, so reader's can go here for the E-edition.

In high spirits

2009-01-29T05:12:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Grace and I went to a cocktail making class at JW Marriot's Loong Bar, which turned out to be a blast. The class was put on by Bob Louison, former China Doll 3.3 Manager, and Ariel, who now run Spirit 'It' bar consulting and events company. Beverages were supplied by Grand Marinier and Identity Fruit, a Beijing based juice and smoothie company.

The class learned to make a Cosmpolitan, Sidecar, Margarita, B52, and a creation called Blueberry Night's which featured Identity Fruit's blueberry and apple juice. The class was hands on, and best of all, we got to drink all of our creations.

Bob and Ariel plan on holding regular classes and I'll post about them here in advance for those who are interested; the class is highly recommended for anyone in Beijing who wants to learn how to make cocktails, have a fun date, or just try something new.

Loong Bar has a classy, yet comfortable atmopshere

Each participant had their own set of professional gear

Beijing Gourmand demonstrates proper shaking technique

Grace making a B52 (Kahlua base, then Bailey's, then Grand Marinier -- all poured carefully so they don't mix)

Bob Louison wants to see you behind bars

One down, six to go

2009-01-05T00:19:00.000-08:00

image source

The year is only five days old and already one of my seven possible surprises from China in 2009 has come true: Two Chinese companies plan World's largest solar plant.

Here is a recap of the list:

- China captures Osama Bin Laden in Xinjiang
- China rolls out large scale, commercially viable, desalination
- Bre akthroughs in applying nanotech to solve everyday problems
- NGOs begin to play a major role in China's social and political spheres
- China announces it will build the world's largest... (solar plant, theme park, airplane)
- Chinese basketball team signs Denis Rodman
- A Chinese designed car wins worldwide critical acclaim

Bonus: China produces a beer that actually tastes good (I plan on doing a post soon on Yanjing's 'Special Brew')

An inconvenient truth about the Japanese diet & The decline of traditional farming

2009-01-04T04:02:00.000-08:00

Besides providing insight into the effects of modernization and globalization on the Japanese diet and agricultural system, the above video is remarkable in that it is a rare example of an effective and interesting communication from a government body, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (h/t to The Global Small Business Blog). While Japan has its own unique dietary and agricultural practices, the general trends outlined in this video can be seen from Bordeaux to Baoding.

For more on the decline of traditional agriculture in Japan, see this National Geographic piece: "My neighbor Totoro" ecosystem declining in Japan. The sad thing is that this holistic and balanced approach to agriculture is disappearing at a time when it has never been more relevant.

Guijie - Not just for hotpot

2008-12-31T23:07:00.001-08:00

Guijie on a chilly night is one of the quintessential Beijing experiences. To the untrained eye the neon lights will appear garish, but to those in the know they give a warm, at-home feeling. And there's something satisfying about walking along the street trying to choose a restaurant, deciding only after a judicious weighing of options, perhaps amongst a group of friends, or sometimes impulsively going into the first joint that piques your whimsy ("Hey, we've never been here before!"). Unlike at Houhai, even the touts aren't enough to spoil a stroll along Guijie, and if anything, they add to the atmosphere.

We normally choose one of the many hotpot options on Guijie, but the week before had tried, and been disappointed by, the Dongzhimen location of Huajia Yiyuan (花家怡园）, a restaurant serving "contemporary Chinese cuisine", popular among locals and expats alike. Huajia Yiyuan's wannabe chic design, shabby furniture, and exceedingly mediocre food left me feeling like the emperor has no clothes. Perhaps the original courtyard location on Guijie proper is better, but personally I'd rather spend my money at any of the Da Dong restaurants.

Trying to put the previous week's disappointment behind us, and wanting to break the hotpot routine, we set out on the south side of the street. The first place of interest we came to was a gift-shop type store selling local delicacies from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. For readers who have been to either of the Mongolias and picked up a taste for milk tea with butter, horse-milk alcohol, or beef jerky （牛肉干）, then this is the place to stock up. We got a small bag of the latter and a Yanjing to wash it down with.

Next we went to Zaizai Heiya (仔仔黑鸭), a store specializing in duck and duck offal. These types of stores are usually no more than small windows selling to passerby, but this store had some flair, and even a celebrity following.

Zaizai Heiya sells whole ducks and duck wings, along with duck necks, gizzards, feet, livers, stomach, heads and tongues. We opted for the spicy duck tongues （鸭舌）. Duck tongues may gross out some readers, but I didn't choose them for their shock value (I'll leave that to the pros over at Weird Meat). Duck tongues, which are brined, are simply delicious. Hangzhou cuisine has a very lightly flavored version, but these Wuhan style spicy duck tongues were even better. Duck tongues are surprisingly meaty, and unlike duck or chicken feet are relatively easy to eat, with only a small core of soft cartilage putting up token resistance.

Having whet our appetite, we headed across the street to Shougan Mianguan (手擀面馆) for hearty hand-pulled noodles, and the best ganbian siji dou (干煸四季豆) I've ever tasted.

Pssss....Beijing Thanksgiving Secret

2008-11-27T04:27:00.000-08:00

Want to know how to get the best Thanksgiving meal in Beijing? The secret isn't where, but when. Wait until the day after Thanksgiving and then head over to Steak & Eggs for leftover turkey sandwiches. You get your turkey fix without all the fuss. And a true gourmand knows a cold leftover turkey sandwich, preferably with a slice of cheddar and a slather of mayo, is better than the bird with all the trimmings.

Steak & Eggs home page

Turay's Place - Heart of Deliciousness

2008-11-25T03:20:00.000-08:00

Beijing is blessed with human and culinary diversity. Residents have the good fortune to not only sample all of China's regional dishes, but can also eat their way around the world without ever leaving the city. One hidden gem exemplifying this is Turay's Place, which serves pan-African home style cooking. Turay's, the eponymous brainchild of a long-term Beijing resident hailing from Sierra Leone, has a down-to-earth atmosphere which is a cross between a local diner and your own living room.

The make yourself at home comfort of Turay's isn't surprising given how the restaurant got its start. Turay and other friends craving the flavors of home regularly host dinner parties which can attract more than 20 people. It was the encouragement of these friends, and their need for a larger venue, which led Turay to open his own restaurant. Turay began by finding a quiet, out of the way, location so that the intimacy of the home dinners wouldn't be lost. Then, his wife trained their cooks until they could flawlessly reproduce African dishes from her own family recipes. His wife has done such a great job that many of their friends mistakenly think she's in the kitchen preparing the dishes herself.

Turay shows me the difference between a yam and a sweet potato — about 5 kilograms.

One of Turay's biggest challenges is that he must satisfy cravings for home-style food for people from all over Africa. Someone from the meat loving south of Africa might not appreciate the vegetable focused dishes of the east, those from coastal regions will prefer a fish dish, and someone from West Africa will want a spicy kick to their meal. To provide his patrons with food like their mom used to make, Turay is constantly asking for customer feedback and getting recipes and tips from friends. Judging from the rave reviews of other patrons, he has succeeded; when an African diplomat at a neighboring table took a bite of a yam dish he said, "Turay, where'd you get these yams!? I feel like I'm back home". Surprisingly, yams are one of the few items Turay imports from Africa; an Asian variety is available, but it doesn't meet his customer's high standards for authenticity. Chili pepper and palm oil are some other ingredients which must be imported.

Left to right: cassava fufu, maize fufu, and peanut butter & oxtail soup

Since we were novices, Turay divided Africa for us along culinary lines. From North Africa was couscous; from West Africa was spicy rice, chicken wings, peanut butter and oxtail soup, and also ndole, which was my favorite dish. The national dish of Cameroon, ndole is made primarily from bitterleaf, peanuts, onions, garlic and palm oil. From Central Africa was fufu, a white starchy ball made from the cassava plant, along with a type of fufu made from maize. A ball of fufu, which can be quite hot to the touch, is pinched off and used to scoop up the soup.

We were fortunate enough to be joined by Emmy, Turay's very friendly and precocious daughter. Emmy recommends the chicken wings, originally a Senegalese recipe which is now a West African favorite. Be sure to try them if you visit!

Turay says that for people from Sierra Leone, "a meal without rice isn't a meal at all". Turay's uses only long-grain rice, because of its fragrance.

Rating (out of five): 串串串串

The dining experience at Turay's is unique to Beijing; the friendly service will make you feel at home whether you've come for oxtail soup like mom used to make, or if you don't know your fufu from your ewedu.

Turay's Place
朝阳区幸福二村幸福村宾馆旁
010-64160600

Selling Steak to China & China's Cow Town

2008-11-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

From andystoll's flickr photostream

I just came across two Time pieces on the nascent, but booming, beef cattle industry in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, a city which was already benefiting from China's growing thirst for milk. Both pieces are more than a year old, but well worth a look.

In my opinion, there is a dearth of quality journalism covering food before it reaches our kitchens and our plates. Selling Steak to China is an exception; and the accompanying slide show, China's Cow Town, brings the story to life, showing the beef industry from newborn calves, to bloody slaughterhouse, to the new buildings made possible in part by the burgeoning beef industry.

As a bonus, here are my favorite cow/China pictures from flickr.

From fortes' photostream

From nOr's photostream

From skoller's photostream

From Ewster's photostream

Seven possible surprises from China in 2009

2008-10-31T23:37:00.000-07:00

This post has little do to with food or beverage, but should be of interest to Beijing Gourmand readers all the same. Gordon Orr, a Director in McKinsey's Shanghai office, has written a thought provoking piece in the latest McKinsey Quarterly: Seven ways China might surprise us in 2009 (free registration required to read the entire article; if you're interested in doing business in China then registration is strongly recommended). The spirit of the piece is akin to The Economist's The World in 2009.

You'll have to register to see Gordon's picks, but here is my list of seven possible surprises from China:

- China captures Osama Bin Laden in Xinjiang
- China rolls out large scale, commercially viable, desalination
- Bre akthroughs in applying nanotech to solve everyday problems
- NGOs begin to play a major role in China's social and political spheres
- China announces it will build the world's largest... (solar plant, theme park, airplane)
- Chinese basketball team signs Denis Rodman
- A Chinese designed car wins worldwide critical acclaim

As an aside, my picks focus mostly on positive, innovative surprises that could come from China in 2009. I'm not an apologist or panda-hugger, China has plenty of faults, but I think that not enough is said about the positive ways in which China is seeking to address its many challenges. I'd also disagree with those who think that China/Chinese can't innovate. Follow the links above, then skim through a summary of Joseph Needham's Science and Civilization in China, and rethink your position. For a large part of recorded history the Chinese were THE innovators; and now, after a roughly 600 year hiatus we are seeing the early hints that leadership in innovation might someday shift back to not only China, but Asia in general. Granted, China copies plenty of Western technology, but on the other hand, invention and innovation are not the same thing. The largest gap in understanding of China's ability to innovate comes from an overly rigid understanding of the term itself. I don't have a rock-solid definition of innovation with Chinese characteristics, but I do know that it doesn't look like Silicon Valley.

More to chew on:

Indian invention: cultivation of cotton; British innovation: the modern textile industry
British invention pirated by the US: power loom; American innovation: Francis Cabot Lowell, the man who stole the design for the power loom, not only made significant improvements to the design, but also pioneered the first sale of company shares to the public in the US to finance his textile business, and was a pioneer in the employment of women.
The system of modern finance pioneered by Lowell made possible the Monsanto Corporation, which leads us to an American invention: commercial GM crops; Chinese innovation: planting cotton that has been genetically altered to express insecticide; this reduces insect populations not only for the cotton but for neighboring fields as well; it also improves the health of farmers who no longer have to use large amounts of insecticide.

Updates

Wired takes a more skeptical view of the development of nanotechnology in China

A reasoned, middle ground take on: Is China Creative?

Emperor Burger

2008-10-26T02:51:00.000-07:00

From Flibblesan's Flickr photostream

This week The Economist profiled Burger King's (汉堡王) expansion into China in Fast food in China: Here comes a whopper. Both McDonald's and Yum!'s KFC have a major head start on the world's second largest burger chain, but there's plenty of market share left if the company plays its cards right.

Burger King has translated the name for its signature burger, the Whopper, as huangbao, or Emperor Burger, which isn't as catchy as a Royale with cheese, but aptly named given that so called "little emperors" likely make up a large part of its target market.

Update

KFC China's Mexican Sneak Attack

Meal Ticket: McDonald's, seeking growth in China, cuts prices

Supermarket Gourmet - Wine Flavor Pejoy

2008-10-26T02:06:00.000-07:00

This post is the first in a series where I'll review interesting food and beverages from supermarkets and convenience stores.

This box of wine/chocolate flavored Pejoy snacks caught my eye because it seems like an attempt by Glico, maker of Pocky, to cash in on "China's newfound obsession with wine".

The front of the box sets high expectations: "When chocolate falls in love with red wine, the sweet flavor melts my heart, and makes me forget the passing of time."

The back of the box was just as interesting because listed as ingredients are cocoa liquor, whisky, coffee powder and, you guessed it, actual red wine, which was number 19 in the list of 21 ingredients.

Verdict: Tastes like communion wine with barely a hint of chocolate. Pass.

Cool Beans

2008-10-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

City Weekend has called Hot Bean Cooperative (炒豆合作社) "far and away the hippest chuan'er joint on the planet". I don't know about that, there are plenty of kaochi (烤翅, chicken wings) eateries that have stayed closer to their hipster roots — the Transformers theme song wasn't played once while we were there. But, Hot Bean Cooperative is a fun place to grab some chicken wings, chuanr and beer in a laid back atmosphere, and a good place to start the night before heading to Gulou area bars.

In between each piece of meat on this gurou xianglian (骨肉相连) is a piece of chicken cartilage; it sounds unappetizing if you've never tried it before, but it gives a crunchiness that contrasts nicely with the chicken meat.

These Thai style chicken chuanr (鸡串沙拉配泰式口味) were actually ordered from the salad section of the menu (I love China). While the garnish hardly qualifies it as a salad, this dish was the favorite of the night, with a slightly sweet and spicy sauce.

Hard not to smile when you have a bucket of meat in front of you

The chicken wings in the back are the 'perversely spicy' flavor （变态辣）. These wings slapped me around and called me names like 'Nancy' and 'Susan', but in a good way.

Mantoupian (馒头片) are usually the highlight of a meal at a kaochi eatery, but these were disappointingly soggy.

Rating (out of five): 串串串

Full marks for atmosphere and price, but HBC lost two chuanrs for serving its beer warm and mashed potatoes cold.

Links
China Daily (original article from TBJ): Find of the month - February, 2007
HBC's Dianping page

,
Jiaodaokou Nandajie
交道口南大街炒豆胡同
8401-6165

reservations recommended

查看大图

Like a (kaoya) Virgin

2008-10-12T07:14:00.000-07:00

Over four years in Beijing I must have had Beijing roast duck dozens of times. But we just finished a meal at the Nanxincang location of the Da Dong chain, and the dining experience left me feeling like someone who had eaten roast duck for the very first time.

It wasn't only the duck which was great, the supporting cast rounded out the meal nicely:

In the fore, shredded winter melons; in the back, wild mushrooms. This Da Dong location really sets itself apart by the elegant presentation of its dishes.

'Chef Dong's Braised Eggplant', based on a recipe that Da Dong Sr. was famous for serving. The cloves of garlic were the best part.

Pan fried goose liver. Wow.

Persimmon sorbet in almond milk, sprinkled with toasted almonds.

There were many intriguing dishes on the menu that we weren't able to try. Next time maybe I'll end the meal with the erguotou chocolate mousse.

Go behind the scences with a video of how Da Dong makes the perfect roast duck.

Rating (out of five): 串串串串中

Da Dong should probably get five full chuanrs, but I only gave it 4 1/2 chuanrs because I'm reluctant to give out a perfect score.

Da Dong (Nanxincang location)

Nanxincang, Dongsi Shitiao
东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦

Tel. 5169-0328

查看大图

More safety scares

2008-10-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

Neither of these scares are going to be as serious, or gain as much attention, as the melamine scandal, but they're a couple more straws added to the camel's back:

Ginseng jabs kill three in Yunnan

Three people in Yunnan have died after receiving injections of ginseng, a common ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Tainted China water sickens 450

In neighboring Guangxi province, 450 people are sick after flooding caused waste from a local metallurgy company to pollute the water supply of several villages; four of the sick have arsenic poisoning.

Many readers will remember the chemical spill in the Songhua River in late 2005 which grabbed headlines around the world, especially when the polluted water made its way into Russian territory. The government reacted by implementing stricter legislation, but as is often the case, good intentions from the center don't always translate into results in the provinces.

And of course, there was the infamous cardboard steamed bun fiasco, which, unless you're rather cynical or susceptible to conspiracy theories, was actually a hoax but rang so true that it had everyone fooled.

Update

China Daily: Factory boss held over contaminated poultry feed

BBC: China tainted pork makes 70 sick

WSJ: Water-Injected Meat: The Next Chinese Food Scandal?

Apocalypse Chow III - Cooking Lessons

2008-10-12T01:32:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun during a cooking lesson at The Vietnam Cookery Center.

Caramelized clay pot fish before marinating and cooking.

Ingredients: 100g sea bass, 1 teaspoon shallots, 1 teaspoon chopped spring onions, a baby chili, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon chicken powder, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns, 1 cup fresh water, 1/2 tablespoon cooking oil, 2 teaspoons caramel syrup; garnished with coriander and more spring onions

After marinating briefly, the fish was cooked until the sauce was boiling; then, water was added and the fish again cooked until the water was boiling.

Notice the beautiful mesh pattern of the net rice paper. This kind of rice paper is perfect for fried spring rolls because it gives them a lighter texture.

Grace's spring rolls were all neatly wrapped and uniform in size, mine not so much. I had already been taken to task in front of the class for accidentally adding salt to my filling instead of sugar (the horror! the horror!). As usual, Grace was the teacher's pet and I was the kid who everyone prefers to sit at the back of the class where he'll cause the least disruption.

Filling ingredients: 40g minced pork (ours were actually "vegetarian", with silver wood-ear added instead of the pork), 30g crab meat, 40g minced prawns, 15g wood-ear, 35g taro, 1/2 teaspoon chicken powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns, 1 teaspoon chopped shallots, 1 teaspoon chopped spring onions, 2 teaspoons egg yolk for binding.

Dipping sauce ingredients: 2 tablespoons sugar, 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/2 teaspoons chopped chili (or to taste). The sauce can be prepare in a large quantity in advance and stored for several weeks. However, leave out the garlic and chili until the last minute; the garlic in particular will make the dipping sauce sour if left in for too long.

One trick we learned is that the garlic and chilies should always be added to the dipping sauce last; for some reason (physics? magic?) they only float if added in last.

On the right is sour fish soup with pineapple and vegetables; tamarind sauce was responsible for the sour flavor. Not pictured is a dessert of sweet green bean and seaweed porridge.

Apocalypse Chow - Vietnam Food Pics
Apocalypse Chow II - Cafe Sua Da

Apocalypse Chow II - Cafe Sua Da

2008-10-12T00:58:00.000-07:00

This guy was very amused when I ordered the third cup of iced coffee in as many minutes

As mentioned in the previous post, cafe sua da, coffee with condensed milk and ice, was one of the highlights of our trip to Vietnam. We were there at one of the most hot and humid times of year and this ice cold drink made the mugginess bearable.

About two tablespoons of sweet condensed milk is poured in

The very thick and strong, but somehow not bitter, coffee is prepared beforehand and poured in on top of the condensed milk. The vendors are happy to accommodate personal preferences on the milk:coffee ratio; I preferred less milk so that its strong flavor did not overwhelm the coffee.

Nearby, ice is sawed and hacked the old fashioned way from this block and then smashed into cubes for sale in plastic bags

The vendor who made the coffee

This post from the Steamy Kitchen will show you how to make cafe sua da at home

Apocalypse Chow - Vietnam Food Pics
Apocalypse Chow III - Cooking Lessons

Apocalypse Chow - Vietnam Food Pics

2008-10-11T20:00:00.000-07:00

Over the golden week holiday, Grace and I had a wonderfully relaxing trip to Saigon and Mui Ne, a nearby beach resort. In Saigon we stayed near the river on Dong Khoi, a charming street which under its previous French colonial name, Rue Catinat, features in Graham Greene's classic novel The Quiet American. The area has a slight, but not affronting, tourist feel to it because of the heavy concentration of boutiques, cafes, spas and hotels. If asked, I'd have a hard time explaining what we did in Saigon because we spent nearly the entire time just walking around, alternating between sampling street food, shopping, relaxing in cafes, or just taking in the local vibe.

The sliced chili in the soy sauce really made this dish

The food in Vietnam was simply amazing. Other than nước mắm, a fermented fish sauce whose regional variants are common in all Southeast Asian cuisines, there aren't many ingredients that one might considerer characteristically Vietnamese. However, the preparation and the combinations and textures of the fresh ingredients give Vietnamese food a personality of its own.

Street food stalls are a perfect place to escape the rain and meet the locals

Most days began with several cups of cafe sua da, coffee with condensed milk and ice. Coffee sua da is the perfect antidote to Saigon's muggy weather, and at about USD 0.6 and enjoyed sitting on a plastic stool amid the bustle of the street, it beats Starbucks hands-down. Of course, we had pho and spring rolls, but we also tried to go beyond those well known favorites to some of the regional and country style dishes (lemon grass goat with caramelized onions was a surprisingly good combo), and even had an excellent chicken curry from an Indian street food vendor.

This is a northern country-style dish of goat meat, which had very little gaminess, with lemon grass and caramelized onions; the quality of the meat is key with this dish.

After trying some of the home style dishes I was really annoyed that outside of Vietnam you only seem to find the more modern (Western) takes on Vietnamese cuisine. Fusion and "modern interpretations" have their place, but I'd prefer what the farmers eat any day.

The baguettes in Vietnam were nice and chewy; my favorite way to have baguettes was as a sandwich (banh mi) with pâté, several kinds of pork, and salad.

Baguettes go with nearly everything. After eating this curry, India has definitely moved up on my list of future travel destinations.

It's amazing what can be accomplished with a very basic setup and by focusing on only one dish.

Notice the joss sticks in the salt. We often forget how important salt is, and how difficult it was to acquire in earlier times; it's not surprising that it's still considered holy by some.

At night the horizon was speckled by the lights from fishing boats, with crews working hard and under sometimes dangerous conditions, to bring in the catch that made this meal possible.

The above basket is actually a single person boat, made from woven palm leaves daubed with mud to make the craft watertight. Fisherman who can't afford a boat to take them to deeper water fish from the shore in large teams of men, women and children (who mostly splashed around in the water). I wish I had taken pictures because the teamwork of this traditional method of fishing was a captivating spectacle. Several of the basket boats operated a few hundred meters offshore to place the nets and then tend them as they're pulled ashore. Teams of 10-20 performed the tiring work of pulling the nets in on long and sturdy ropes. If tug of war were a professional sport then these guys (and gals) would be the champs.

This was made in a cooking lesson. On the left is caramelized fish, a must try signature Vietnamese dish; on the right is sweet and sour fish with pineapple and okra (lady fingers).

In the end, we only scratched the culinary surface of what Vietnam has to offer. For the real deal on Vietnamese cuisine I suggest checking out Eating Asia, The Last Appetite, Noodle Pie, and Viet World Kitchen.

Apocalypse Chow II - Cafe Sua Da
Apocalypse Chow III - Cooking Lessons

Milk Dreams – Melamine Nightmare

2008-10-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

From Marc van der Chijs' flickr photostream (check out his blog)

Until now I've haven't posted on the melamine scandal, simply because there are already so many others giving good coverage. Now that China International Business has published my corporate profile of Mengniu, entitled Milk Dreams, it's time to weigh in. I started writing the piece before the melamine scandal broke (see my post on the Mengniu tour), and was nearly finished before the scandal spread beyond Sanlu to encompass China's entire dairy industry. Luckily, there was enough time to update the piece to take into account recent developments.

The piece gives mostly praise for Mengniu and its leadership. It's hard to find fault with a company that has had average revenue growth of 46% for the past 4.5 years. Of course, findings by AQSIQ that implicate Mengniu in the melamine mess show that it needs to get better control of its raw milk supply. This clearly, in my opinion, goes beyond just a long-term business decision to a moral obligation. The company's stock has taken a pounding since the crisis broke, but only 8% of Mengniu's revenues came from milk powder in 2007 (and was even then a loss-making segment). Therefore, it may be a feat as difficult as milking a mouse, but if Mengniu can survive the PR crisis and continue to focus on innovative products and processes then it should be able to rebound — eventually.

It's disheartening to speak of opportunities when infants have lost their lives through sheer greed and incompetence, but it's possible that the big players like Mengniu and Yili will be able to take further market share from smaller dairies since they're the only ones with the organizational capabilities, and deep enough pockets, to implement the standards, processes, and PR and marketing campaigns that will help restore public trust. Keep in mind, it's not just melamine the dairies have to worry about. Now that they've already been exposed to one crisis they have to be lilly white in all aspects of production, HR, marketing, and other parts of their business.

By the way, if you don't don't already read China International Business then I recommend checking them out. Look out for free copies in hotels, cafes and restaurants distributed throughout China. This month's issue also has a piece giving an overview of the challenges and opportunities for foreign firm's in China's dairy sector: The White Stuff.

From Robie's Photo Art flickr photostream

For those of you who aren't already sick of the melamine coverage, the following is a roundup of the crisis and some background to Mengniu, Yili and the Chinese dairy sector.

As an aside, it's interesting how much the English media was able to squeeze out of what, particularly in the early stages, was mostly a Chinese-language event, i.e. press releases, press conferences, government reports, etc. How much of this is a credit to the unsung heroes who assist foreign journalists in Chinese-English translation? The melamine scandal seems an example of "the English-language media" (I realize this is a fairly ambiguous moniker) in general giving good coverage of a China issue, which isn't always the case. Still, as someone whose Chinese isn't good enough to read Chinese-language coverage, I wonder what the English-language media is missing out on... Luckily, we have blogs like Danwei and Sun Bin which can act as a bilingual bridge.

Melamine Mess

WSJ: China Adopts New Melamine Standards

WSJ: More Help for Struggling Dairy Farmers

TIME: Tainted-Baby-Milk Scandal in China

WSJ: Milk Powder Scare: Not Just for Infants and Children

Sun Bin: And the Gold Medal goes to......score 2563mg!

China Daily: Most companies' baby milk powder safe - State Council

Imagetheif: Sanlu melamine milk powder crisis becomes a national issue

Danwei: Provincial government admits wrongdoing in milk scandal

Danwei: Abreast of the melamine milk scandal

BBC: Hong Kong recalls dairy products

Reuters: Starbucks China pulls Mengniu milk amid scare

The Independent: Panic over Chinese milk exports

BBC: All out effort for China Babies

BBC: China quality chief resigns over milk

Updates:

Shanghaiist:UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson drinks Chinese milk, then gets diagnosed with kidney stones 9 days later

Danwei: May the Milk Wars commence!

IHT: Lawsuits in China's milk scandal unlikely to be settled in court

CLB: China's Courts and Tainted Milk. Never the Twain Shall Meet?

Council on Foreign Relations': China's Troubled Food and Drug Trade

Danwei: China toxic egg scandal spreads

Latest melamine tests from Hong Kong are satisfactory; though the maths are a little confusing in this article: Asia Food Journal: Hong Kong updates melamine test results

Time: China's Melamine Woes Likely to Get Worse

WSJ: Banned by Washington: Chinese food imports

WSJ: China to reform Milk Industry within a year

China Daily: Sanlu ex-boss was aware of tainted milk

China Daily: Big payouts for milk-powder victims

China Law Blog: China melamine yet again and this time its getting fishy

Xinhua: Top legislator: Milk scandal prompts Chinese parliament's revision of draft law

Mengniu

Forbes: Investors finding China Mengniu Dairy Curdled

Bloomberg: China Mengniu Dairy Boosts Milk Tests, Faces `Critical Moment'

Mengniu Investor Information & Financial Reports

China.org: Innovation Leads to Mengniu's Success: Interesting China Daily article (no, that is not an oxymoron) focusing on Mengniu's innovation.

China.cn: Mengniu Creates Growth History: Brief and interesting outline of the Mengniu success story.

CER: Danone-Mengniu Partnership Not Approved: It hasn't been all smooth sailing for the dairy giant. The failure to get the joint-venture approved led to a 4% dip in Mengniu shares.

NBA: Mengniu and NBA Announce Marketing Partnership

Reuters: China's Mengniu to supply milk to KFC restaurants

China Assistor: Niu Gensheng -dairy industry king

iStockAnalyst: Mengniu: A Look at a Chinese Dairy Company

Danwei: Safety issues for two milk brands: This is unrelated to melamine, but instead focuses on OMP, an additive which Mengniu adds to its Deluxe Milk which supposedly helps increase calcium intake.

Xinhua: Mengniu milk additive not harmful to health, MOH says (see above)

Yili

AsiaOne: HK recalls more products by Yili

AP-FoodTechnology: Yili spends to meet Chinese dairy challenges

China Daily: Yili, Mengniu fighting for No 1

China Dairy Sector

The Milk and Dairy Market in China: This 2008 KPMG report is well researched and gives a great snapshot of opportunities for foreign companies in China's dairy market. Key findings pulled straight from the report are: 1. China's dairy market is large and growing but its fragmented nature presents unique challenges; 2. For some categories (e.g. milk powder) China is still import dependent, providing a potential opening for foreign players; 3. Government policy is supportive of the dairy sector (Wen Jiaobao has stated that it's his dream for every Chinese child to have a 1/2 liter of milk per day). Barriers are also relatively low for foreign companies compared to other sectors; and 4. There are opportunities for foreign players to develop the supply chain.

China's Growing Market for Dairy Products: This slightly out-dated 2004 report from Iowa's Center for Agriculture and Rural Development gives a concise overview of China's dairy industry. It has some interesting market research but too easily dismisses the cultural factors that influence dairy purchases in China.

China Drinks its Milk: A more balanced, but largely anecdotal, article from the BBC.

iStockAnalyst: An Overview of the Chinese Dairy Market

Asia Food Journal: Dairy product demand see global increase

Disclosure: I am a member of the advisory board for China Standardization, the English-language magazine administered by AQSIQ.

China's Crops Challenge

2008-09-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

found on flickr in snrephoto's photostream

With all of the hype surrounding China's economy and its modernization, it can be easy to forget that China still faces some very basic development challenges, namely, how to feed itself. The problem of feeding a large population is compounded by water shortages, land degradation, rural migration to urban centers, rising costs of inputs such as fertilizer and diesel, lack of technological development of the agriculture sector, and the oftentimes conflicting goals of reducing harm to the environment while boosting agricultural output.

As with many of the challenges facing China, its current leadership seems to have a clear head about the problem and is taking proactive measures to develop solutions. This is in stark contrast to the pre Opening and Reform agricultural policies that were driven by an irrational desire for food independence and marked by crackpot schemes, such as protecting crops from birds by mobilizing the masses nationwide to go out into the fields and simultaneously bang on pots and pans. Even worse were the times when the fickle leadership ignored agricultural policy all together in vainglorious attempts to leap ahead of the West in industrial output.

China has made tremendous progress in feeding itself over the past several decades, and is fortunate enough to now actually have a growing problem with obesity (that's not meant to be callous, imagine how people in sub-Saharan Africa would marvel at the idea of needing to 'exercise' to lose weight). Most of the credit goes to the farmers, but the government should be given its due for getting out of the way economic policy-wise and for providing financial and technological support. The process of finding solutions to large scale problems is never easy, but the government's large cash reserves and its willingness to experiment makes for a pragmatic approach that suits China well.*

One such pragmatic initiative is the soon to be launched USD 3.5 Billion GM crops project, aimed at taking GM crops from the laboratory to the fields. Given the vociferous backlash in Europe, China is wisely taking a cautious approach to the commercialization of GM crops. Quoted in Science magazine, Dr. Zeng Yawen of the Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Institute of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences sums up my feelings nicely: "For consumers, the safety of GM crops is the biggest worry. Just like some people are afraid of ghosts, some people are afraid of GM crops."

China's GM efforts have already yielded some significant victories. The 1997 commercialization of GM cotton has led to the various varieties being planted on 70% of China's land area devoted to cotton production. Huang Dafang, former director of the Biotechnology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, estimates that the spread of GM cotton has reduced China's use of pesticides by 650,000 tons since its introduction.

GM rice is the goal China's crop scientists have set their sites on, and is likely to receive a large share of the GM project funding. The use of GM rice is not only good for farmer's economically, but the reduced, or often eliminated, need for pesticides is beneficial for their health and the environment. Some strains of GM rice might even allow farmers to grow the crop in the eight percent of China's soil which was previously unfit because of a high salt content. If successful, the commercialization of GM rice will never garner as much press attention as China's space program, but I would argue it will do far more to improve China's future.

*In some ways, this willingness to experiment to find practical solutions marks China's leadership out as one of the more progressive governments in the world. This is something that not only other governments, but the people of other nations, would do well to take note of. Before the hate mail starts pouring in, I will concede that the Chinese leadership's progressive streak is not found consistently throughout all government policy.

References
GM project quotes and figures obtained from 'China Plans $3.5 Billion GM Crops Initiative', Science, 5 September 2008.

GM rice 'good for Chinese farmers' health and wealth, SciDev.Net

Gene for salt tolerance found in rice, SciDev.Net

Updates
EurekAlert! Sept. 19, 2008: A study to be published in Science has found that planting GM cotton modified to produce its own insecticide also reduces pest populations in neighboring fields.

EurekAlert!, Oct. 3, 2008: Scientists identify gene that may contribute to improved rice yield

SciDev.Net, Oct. 21, 2008: China's Premier identifies transgenic rice as top priority

Danwei, Oct. 28, 2008: Yu Jianrong: Farmers have the right to keep land for themselves

SciDev.Net, Nov. 23 2008: China's GM ambition raises biosafety concerns

China Daily, Nov. 21 2008: Land erosion 'threat to food supply'

The Green Leap Forward, Nov. 22 2008: Watergy: China's looming national security crisis

EurekAlert!, Jan. 30, 2009: Industrialization of China increases fragility of global food supply

SciDev.Net, Feb. 3, 2009: China urged to rethink water monitoring

WSJ China Journal, Feb. 15, 2009: China's drought could be sign of things to come

Guardian, March 5, 2009: China to plough extra 20& into agricultural production amid fears that climate change will spark food crisis

SciDev.Net, March 5, 2009: Wasted Chinese straw 'could be food and energy source'

SDN:Anti-H5N1 rice could protect poultry, say scientists

SDN:Chinese farmers could cut fertiliser use, keep yields

Official Chinese Cuisine Wine Pairing Guide

2008-09-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Grape Wall of China introduces the International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine's Official Pairing Guide:

"We ate and drank, ate and drank, ate and drank, then ate and drank some more - all in the name of research. The inaugural International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine met in Beijing in May and put the livers and stomachs of some 100 participants to the test. Two morning and two afternoon sessions saw people from the wine, food, and media sectors face a lineup of about a dozen wines and try them against a succession of foods. Everyone then voted on the pairings."

Visit the Grape Wall of China to download the guide