Food and wine pairing

March 31, 2010

Beautiful scrimps in garlic and olive oil

In the hot weather of March and April big meals are not very attractive. Alas, Thailand has a lot of choice in seafood and lighter dishes are the go. Some rice with tofu and green vegetables and plenty of scrimps are the right stuff for a light meal. The question is which wine to drink with it?

A simple “Chinese set” meal

There is a lot of choice actually. As far as white wines are concerned one could choose a Chenin Blanc from Gran Monte, Thailand, for instance. Or one could have a Pinot Grigio from Italy or Germany. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are other possible choices.

If the dish is spicy, and the above one was, the ‘Grande Signature de Rapatel’ by Gérard Eyraud, France, a blend of Roussanne and Bourboulenc, is a great choice. The wine is oily and thick and full of apricot flavour. It balances the spicyness of the food in a wonderful way. I never thought that a Roussanne could be such a good complement to Asian food. My tip of the day: try it.

PS: You can get bottles of this wine in Bangkok from Lake House and Comte de Sibour.

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The ultimate Vietnamese cookery book

March 21, 2010

Unfortunately, during my recent visit to Hanoi and Saigon I had no opportunity to check out the various culinary highlights of these fabulous places. I was part of a large delegation and had no choice regarding the food, or almost no choice. Not that we had to eat bad food. However, I could not explore the local cuisine. There are some truly extraordinary places to be found, from traditional Vietnamese cuisine to all kinds of fusion cooking.

“The Songs of Sapa” is the title of a Vietnamese cookery book which is most amazing. Luke Nguyen an Australian from Sydney whose parents came as boat people and refugees, has produced a marvelous book summarizing his various travels to Vietnam. He collected many recipes and reproduced them in this book. The pictures are outstanding, really.

Luke is very well known in Australia. He runs Red Lantern, a Vietnamese restaurant in Sydney. I would love to taste his cooking. For the time being I have to be content with the cookery book and because it is so magic, it will do for me here in Bangkok.

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Dining in Hua Hin

March 20, 2010

There are plenty of good restaurants and fancy dining in Hua Hin, this seaside town about 3 hours south of Bangkok, which has become such a very popular destination for Bangkonians to spend the weekend.

During our recent workshop in Hua Hin we ate out a couple of times. I report about a not so famous place, called Pom Pom, where you can eat for very little money home cooked dishes. Some of the food is announced as “Italian”. The place was an insiders tip, which we could not refuse.

The participants of this dinner where divided as regards the quality of the food. Some thought it was awesome, other were appalled. There were few guests that night, a weekday, but the staff was very friendly and we remained seating and drinking wine for a couple of hours after the meal had ended.

We consumed many bottles of wine. Nothing fancy. Some of the wines were re-bottled and re-blended as the label in full honesty proclaimed. We drank “our way up price’wise” and did not regret it: We woke up the next morning without hangover. We had a jolly good time.

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The Flax Oil Diet – A tribute to Peter Ryan (almarrhum)

February 12, 2010

You guessed right. This blog entry will not deal with wine but with food, and health. It’s exactly 3 months that my friend Peter Ryan died of liver cirrhosis. He introduced me to Dr. Johanna Budwig (1906-94) and her diet, which has all kinds of healing qualities. I must admit, I was very sceptical at the time.

But then Peter healed his liver cancer successfully with the Budwig diet. The doctors had only given him a maximum of six months to live. Then he changed his diet radically with the result that the cancer could not be found any more. In the end he died of the cirrhosis of the liver but he had gained quite some time and enjoyed a quality of life he would not have had if he had gone for a “traditional” cancer treatement.

Johanna wrote the “Oil Protein Diet Cookbook”. She discovered the healing powers of flax seed oil. Her 500 or so recipes in the book are all based on flax/linseed oil. She was nominated seven times for the Noble Prize, and despite never receiving this, Dr. Budwig was the foremost expert on cancer and nutrition.

Sandra Olson Budwig Video.com

Sandra Olson has set up a very interesting website on Johanna Budwig and her diet. This is a must-visit site. She also was in contact with Peter. In fact Peter was very active in various chat rooms helping cancer patients to cope with their predicament. Some of these friends left messages on this very blog, reminiscing about Peter and his efforts in their circles.

Dr Budwig’s diet has also other benefits, one of them being that blood pressure is reduced. If it could be that easy to get the blood pressure down, I asked myself, why is that this diet not widely known and discussed publicly.

The yoghurt-fruit-nut-linseed oil breakfast

Since we moved to Bangkok, I have had access to fresh linseed oil, and therefore I have started to have a quark-linseed oil-fruit-nuts mix for breakfast., Peter’s Budwig breakfast. I have been on this ever since. And guess what happened? My blood pressure came down like an avalanche. Awesome. I could not believe it. Fortunately, I am not the only one experiencing this effect. Almost all the people in my friendship circle who have switched to flax/linseed oil have gotten off blood pressure reducing medication. This is all thanks to Peter. We miss him.

Isn’t it a beautiful little flower?

Blue flowering flax
(Source: http://www.blackthornarable.co.uk/photography/linseed/D14336_rj.jpg)

Flax fields like this one you can find in Northern France
(Source: http://blog.teroforma.com/images/flax_field_1_med.jpg)

PS: When I was young I worked on a farm near Vernon/Seine. There, one can see many beautiful flax seed fields with white and blue flowers. That was the time before digital cameras, that’s why I took the above photos from the net. Thank’s guys for letting me show these picture.

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Sushi on the Ginza

January 30, 2010

I had arrived the very morning from Bangkok. Nonetheless, my colleague Walter and I, we went for a stroll and checked out Tokyo’s main shopping district, the Ginza.

Interesting building near Ginza Street

Many well stocked wine shops in Japan

Of course we also needed food, and Sushi was our preferred choice. Wine and drink was secondary those days, despite the many wine shops I discovered during our stay. I should not have wine worth writing about. We also stayed away from Sake it turned out later. Well, Sake next time.

But small Sushi eateries were all over the place. Below “our” place, a tiny shop where we ended up just by accident.

Small Sushi restaurants on Ginza

Fine food of our choice: Sushi

The customers and the staff of the place were truly charming. We could not resist and ordered some Sushi, just Sushi. It was wonderful food. Two wide eyed foreigners utterly satisfied; Japan here we were.

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Burns Supper 2010 in Bangkok

January 25, 2010

Water taxi on San Saep Khlong

We took the water taxi on the San Saep Khlong at the end of Thonglor in order to join the 255 million people worldwide who were celebrating the life of the great bard of the Scots, Robert Burns. In fact his birthday is today on 25th January.

We felt great knowing that we would be among his followers again, drinking, eating the haggis, and listening to the various addresses and speeches, and at the end singing together ‘Auld lang syne’. The Bangkok St. Andrew Society Burns Supper is a wonderful event. We had been there last year, therefore, the 2010 celebration was ‘a must not miss’ on our social schedule for the year.

Crossing the road near Amari Watergate Hotel

Amari Watergate Hotel, Bangkok

About 90 to 100 faithful, Scots and their friends from all walks of life, had gathered at the Amari Watergate Hotel. We arrived an hour early (we had missed an e-mail) but spend the time enjoying a glass of white wine and talking to some of the other members of the Society.

The welcome by the Chieftain

After the Chieftains’ welcome and the toast to the King of Thailand, the Selkirk Grace, a prayer was said by Caroline Elliot. After that the haggis was piped in by Mike Brooks and toasted by us, the guests. The address to the haggis was delivered by Chieftain Willie Christie.

The address to the haggis

We enjoyed the haggis, neeps and latties, and had a jolly good time meeting old friends and making news ones. The highlights were ‘The Toast to the Lassies’ delivered by our good old friend Rab Thomas and the reply, ‘The Lassies response’ by Kirsty Hastie Smith. Both excellent speeches which delighted the audience.

Rab Thomas and Basjia

All kind of entertainment followed, songs and poems performed by Dan Fagan, Kirsty Hastie Smith and Mike Brooks. I do not remember all the details any more, because the bottle of Ballantine’s Whisky on our table found its way into my glass. I only took a photo of the Scottish cheeses but the food was delicious overall and I liked the sea-bass entree, the broth and the haggis as well as the dessert.

The cheese platter

Way after the official end of the event, we somehow made our way home successfully, utterly satisfied, we had had good food, plenty of drink and great company. As every year my pledge is to read some more of Robert Burns’ poems. Also German Celts from the Mosel can enjoy and appreciate Scotland’s favorite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire.

If you have the chance to somehow somewhere be invited to a Burns Supper, accept the kind offer and engulf in Scottish tradition.

PS: My first Burns Supper was in the early 1990ies in the Palace Hotel in Beijing. During my recent visit, I passed by reminiscing about golden days gone bye. The hotel is renamed now but the large flower pot near the entrance which was generously nourished by my old friend, the late David McGrath, when we took our bodies home at 4 in the freezing winter’s morning, was still there.

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A new beginning – pasta alla Margit with new latitude wine from PB Valley, Khao Yai

January 3, 2010

Well, it was the first day of 2010 and we wondered what type of pasta we should have for tea (Australian for dinner). We intended to try a bottle of the Tempranillo we had bought a couple of days earlier at PB Valley Winery in the Khao Yai Region, Thailand.

The ‘2007 PB Valley Tempranillo’

What type of pasta would go with this wine, was the question. Margit searched the internet and found the website of Fiona Beckett called Matching Food and Wine. She could not find anything suitable for what we had in mind. The website is still under construction anyway and does not yet contain inputs on every topic. However there was a button saying, “if you want to know anything please contact me” and this is exactly what Margit did. Within an hour we had a reply from Fiona. How amazing.

Fiona suggested a pasta with the spicy Spanish ‘chorizo’ sausage, originating in Extremadura, which we accidentally had in our fridge. It was made by our local Thai German butcher (TGM standing for “Thai German Metzger”). We also had the needed red peppers, onions and tomatoes. The result was a wonderful pasta which went very well with the wine. God bless you Fiona. This was a great suggestion. It made for an awesome dinner. I highly recommend visiting Fiona’s site. There is so much to learn about food and wine pairing.

The chorizo pasta

The wine, a ‘2007 Pirom Tempranillo’ from PB Valley was just ideal with the food just as Fiona had predicted. The intensity of the red berry fruit is very nice, no oak which could “taint” the natural flavours (the wine is aged in stainless steel “). They go for low yields at PB Valley to produce this wine. Thai wine has come a long way but many of the new latitude wines are of a quality which can easily match wines from temperate regions. The awards and medals won at international wine shows are witness of this development.

What a beautiful colour the Tempranillo has

Address:
พีบี วัลเล่ย์ เขาใหญ่
102 หมู่ 5 ต.พญาเย็น อ.ปากช่อง
จ.นครราชสีมา 30320 ประเทศไทย
โทร: +66 (0) 3622 6415 – 16
แฟ็กซ์: +66 (0) 3622 6417

PB Valley Khao Yai Winery
102 Moo 5, Phaya Yen, Pak Chong,
Nakorn Ratchasima 30320, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 3622 6415 – 16
Fax: +66 (0) 3622 6417
E-mail : info@khaoyaiwinery.com
www.khaoyaiwinery.com

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Christmas Lunch at La Villa, Bangkok

December 30, 2009

La Villa Restaurant

For Christmas lunch we had booked at table at La Villa, an Italian restaurant not far from our home in Thonghlor, Bangkok, right in our neighbourhood. We had eaten there before and therefore, knew that the food would be delicious.

All these bottles…

One of the house wines, a Sauvignon Blanc

We had antipasti and a pasta as “secondi” and, of course, the children wanted dessert. Below you can see what we had.

Charlotte’s choice

Margit’s choice

Lucy’s choice

My choice: mozarella in ham on greens

Spaghetti alle vongole

Penne

Tagliatelle with mushrooms

Other tagliatelle

Various ice creams and sorbets

The Adam family (do you like my new haircut?)

It all ended with espresso and an Averna. Before that we had a glass of red wine (house wine open), a Cabernet Sauvignon.

The food at La Villa is realy nice, and so is the service. It is not cheap but on an occasion like this, it was just the perfect choice.

Address:
La Villa – Il Ristorante
131 Soi Sukhumwit 53 (Paidee-Madee) Sukhumvit Rd. North Klongton
Wattana District
Bangkok, Thailand 10110
Tel. : 02 7129991, 02 7129129
Fax: 02 7129960
http://www.lavillabangkok.com/

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Yunnan food at 中8楼 in Sanlitun – Beijing

December 28, 2009

Parallel to Xindong Lu where we lived in the early 1990s, the Sanlitun lane was nothing than a small side-street with a small food market in east Beijing. Ever since this small street took off from about 1993 onwards and has become one of the major hangouts in the city today.

During my recent visit I could witness this again. My friend Brian Wallace, the director of Red Gate Gallery took me out one night for a meal at Sanlitun.

He took me to 中8楼 one of the city’s classiest Yunnan restaurants. Apart from excellent food at very reasonable prices, Middle 8th offers elegant décor and excellent service.

Brian, director of Red Gate Gallery

Brian ordered the meal. I had seen the vegetables (picture below) on a table while we were waiting to be seated (booking in advance is recommended). It is Yunana vegatables in banana leaf, very tasty, lovely food.

Yunnan veggies

Scrimp salad

Sweet potatoes

Pigeon eggs, mushrooms and greens

Dali, Yunnan beer

Interesting beer glasses

Needless to say this was a wonderful evening and the two of us, we had a great time. I highly recommend the restaurant. Yunnan food is just very special indeed.

PS: Before we went for dinner, Brian took me to a boutique luxury hotel at Sanlitun, called “The Opposite House”. Red Gate Gallery is providing modern art by some of their artists during the months of October to December as a kind of “moving exhibition”.

Addresses:
The Middle 8th Yunnan Restaurant
中8楼
东三里屯中8号楼
3.3服装市场东小巷内
010-6413-0629
http://www.middle8th.com

The Opposite House
Beijing, China
北京市朝阳区三里屯东四街11号
010-65360601
www.theoppositehouse.com

Red Gate Gallery
Gallery Hours: 10 am – 5 pm Everyday
Tel/ Fax: (86 10) 6525 1005

Gallery Address:
Levels 1 & 4, Dongbianmen Watchtower
Chongwenmen, Beijing

北京市东城区崇文门东大街9号
010-65251005
www.redgategallery.com

Postal Address:
Beijing International Post Office
Box No. 9039, Beijing, China 100600

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“Second-Christmas-Day” Party

December 27, 2009

The 26 December is called the “2nd Christmas day” in my native Germany. Since my father’s birthday fell on the 25 and was not celebrated because of Christmas, the 2nd Christmas day was usually the day his friends came to visit and congratulate him for his birthday.

Well, in this quasi tradition, we invited friends and acquaintances to our humble home for a Christmas barbecue, merging German and Australian customs of our family. I was very busy grilling pork and chicken, therefore no photos of the results of my labour at my “Weber grill”. Moreover, I grilled some veggies for the vegetarians among us (I was commended for the quality and the good taste). Margit had made various potato and bean salads; we had greens and white bread.

There are also no photos of the wines we consumed. Just two of the desserts. But a heck of a party it was. The 9 adults and the 9 children had a good time, as the two photos below show.

The “long” table

From 4 to 58 years old, 18 people around the table

The desserts:

Le Notre, the best dessert maker in town

The home made Pawlowa, Australian delight

Matthias and Beatrice had provided most of the wine (and the Le Notre dessert). We drank some beautiful drops. Here are the highlights:

– ‘2005 Rocky Passes Syrah’ (our last bottle) was perfect for the event: a Christmas party Australian style. It’s a beautiful example of cool climate Shiraz from our Upper Goulburn Wine Region. Vitto Oles makes great wines. James Halliday gave the 2005 Syrah 94 points.

– ‘2007 Altenkirch dry Riesling’, Lorch, Rheingau/Germany. Friedrich Altenkirch is a very well known vintner. Some of his wines were just rewarded silver and bronze medals at the International Wine Challenge and the 2009 Decanter World Wine Awards. The 2007 Riesling is young and fizzy, a solid German wine. The wine-maker, Tomoko Kuriyama, comes from Japan not a common trait of German wineries.

– ‘2005 Château La Raze Beauvallet, Cru Bourgeois’ from Medoc, Bordeaux, France. The château (45 ha) is owned by the Sourice family and has retained the original ‘cru Bourgeois’ classification from the 1930s because of the wine quality. The wine style is fruity and soft, easy to drink.

Needless to say, we had some bubbly as well, mostly from Taltarni, Australia. We will do this again.

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