We had breakfast at the Moose Cafe in Dwight, near the Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada. And what did we find on the table?
“Mansauce”, it was called, the “manliest condiment”. That’s quite a promise. Unfortunately, we are coming from Asia and used to hot stuff.
Sweet chili sauce comes to mind after I tasted the “manliest of the condiments”. Bring on the hot stuff Canada. But of cause we are having a great time up here in northern Ontario.
2 Comments | 
culture, food | Tagged: Algonquin Park, Canada, Dwight, Ontario, wine regions of Canada | 
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Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Japanese food is very popular not only in Asia but also in Europe. Even my hometown Trier at the beautiful Mosel river got a sushi bar.
Also my family just loves Japanese food. And there are so many different kinds. We even bought a table grill so that we could enjoy a “Japanese table barbecue” or a “hot pot”.
It innocently starts with an egg
Followed by vegetables and dofu
Then comes the meat
And at the end it all comes together in the hot pot to which a broth needs to be added
My wine suggestion is broad. A Cabernet Sauvignon would do but also a Merlot, a Tempranillo or a Malbec. Also Italian reds would go well with the food.
However, I would not rule out a white, especially if the meal is a lunch time affair. For dinner I prefer a red. So the choice is yours.
Leave a Comment » | food | Tagged: Japanese food, Mosel, Trier, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
I love seafood pasta and thought that we still had a beautiful bottle of white wine from Slovenia which was given to us by our friends Giuseppe and Lucjia which I opened for the occasion. I should have looked at the bottle more carefully. It turned out that it contained a red wine. Well, it was a Pinot Noir, the bottle was open and I did not mind to try it with seafood.
Light red colour of the Pinot
In fact the ‘2008 Modri Pinot’ by Kristančič winery from Slovenia is a wonderful wine and a good match for fish and seafood as well. The brothers Dušan and Marko Kristančič are doing a good job in their vineyards and the winery. Today three generations of the family work on the farm.
The front label of the Kristančič Modri Pinot
Their outstanding quality has been recognized internationally. Decanter for instance awarded gold and bronze medals for its wines in 2010. The website could me more informative, I think. However, the wines speak for themselves. I just wished to have a few more of them.
Back label: 14% alcohol is big in the Kristančič Pinot Noir
Thank you dear friends for providing us with this elixir from Slovenia, a country whose wines are not so well known as yet. No doubt, however, that they deserve to be further explored. So if you look for a holiday destination Slovenia might be the ideal choice for a vacation in Europe.
Address:
Kristančič Winery
Medana 29a
5212 Dobrovo
Goriška brda
Slovenija
Tel.: +386 5 39 59 533
Fax: +386 5 39 59 534
Mob.: +386 41 690 699
Leave a Comment » | food, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: Decanter, Dušan Kristančič, Kristancic, Marko Kristančič, Modri Pinot, Pinot Noir, Slovenian wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
After extensive travel to Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and then to Germany I am finally back home in Bangkok. For too long I had no time for my blog. As a consequence my stats have come down. The prospects for the next two months are not any better. That’s somehow frustrating because I worked so hard to get all these people to look at my stories about food and wine.
But such is life.
Today was a family day (as you all know it is also celebrated in the USA as the day of the declaration of independence). We had family lunch and later family dinner. I would like to share with you what we had for lunch (we had a delicious pasta for dinner by the way with a blend of Primitivo and Merlot from Southern Italy).
Back to our lunch.
We had “gurame”, a fresh water fish from Indonesia. The fish is marinated in “Bumbu”, a paste freshly made of root spices and herbs with pestle and mortar.
The Gurame in the pan
..and on the plate with rice and asparagus in coconut sauce
The recipe for the “bumbu” you can find in Sri Owen’s cookery book of 2008 titled “Indonesian Food”. The “bumbu” (paste) is made as follows:
– 6 candle nuts (we used makademia nuts), chopped
– 5 shallots, chopped
– 4 garlic gloves, chopped
– 4 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
– 2 tsp chopped fresh root ginger
– 1 tsp chopped galangal
– 1 tsp ground tumeric
– 4 tbsp tamarind water
– 4 tbsp coconut milk
– 1 tsp salt
And here you go with the mortar and “pestle” away.
How about the wine for this meal?
During my stop-over at Vienna Airport I was looking around for some Austrian wine. I bought a bottle of Gruener Veltliner which seemed to be just right for this feats.
I bought a ‘2010 Gruener Veltliner Edition Chremisa’ by Winzer Krems@Sandgrube 13, Lower Austria. The wine has 13.5% alcohol and feels almost like a sparkling wine with all the bubbles it releases after being poured into the glass.
This wine won a gold medal at MUNDUSvini 2010 and was declared ‘best dry white wine of Europe’, not bad I think. I had to pay 6.50 EURO only for this treasure. The high acidity (7.1 g/l) complemented the food in an ideal way.
Edition Chremisa 2010 Gruener Veltliner by Winzer Krems
Back label
The wine in the glass is full of bubbles
As dessert we had a piece of home made orange cake. That prompted me to open another one of my wine treasures. Some time ago my friend Felix had given me a bottle of ‘2007 Kracher Auslese Muscat Ottonel’ by Weinlaubenhof Kracher, Burgenland, Austria.
The orange cake
This dessert wine is just wonderful. The grape variety produces a stunning sweetness in the wine, a full aroma of honey and peach. I could not imagine a better way to end this family meal.
2007 Kracher Muscat Ottonel
Try this wine if you can, it’s worth it.
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, food and wine, wine | Tagged: Austrian wine, Bangkok, Burgenland, Edition Chremisa, Gruener Veltliner, Gurame, Indonesian food, Sri Owen, Weinlaubenhof Kracher, Winzer Krems | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
A place I love to get lost in is “Rogacki” in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Rogacki is a kind of gourmet super market cum wine shop and eatery where you can order all kinds of delicacies, all freshly made for you. The only drawback: you have to devour it standing up.
However, the standing at tables and the counter is a very sociable undertaking. Almost immediately one gets into contact with the neigbhours and before you can count to three one is immersed in a discussion with a complete stranger.
That’s just wonderful because otherwise it is not so easy to get into a conversation with a stranger in Germany.
Rogacki offers all kinds of foods: fresh vegetables, processes meats, meats, cheese, bread, wine and all kind of complementary goods. I could spend days just studying their wares.
I ordered the above dish. The Germans call is “Crevetten Spiess”, it’s grilled prawns with some veggies. When I asked for a glass of wine, guess what wine was on offer, a Riesling from my beloved Mosel.
The ‘2010 “Gutsriesling” Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt’ is simple but solid wine for easy drinking. Rogacki serves it exactly for that purpose and I was happy to reconect to my home at the Moel river here in Berlin only about 70-80 kilometers from the Polish border.
How I miss my native Mosel valley.
PS: When I visited Rogacki last year, I was asked by the staff not to take photos. It was forbidden. Therefore I decided not to write about Rogacki and its most delicious food. This time no such rule was imposed on me.
The place is a “must see” if you are in Berlin and want to experience the flair of the city and “real food”.
Address:
Rogacki
Wilmersdorfer Straße 145
10585 Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany
Tel.: +49-30 343825-0
Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm
Subway: Bismarckstraße
www.rogacki.de
1 Comment | culture, food, food and wine, Restaurant Review, wine | Tagged: Berlin, Charlottenburg, Mosel, Riesling, Rogacki | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Warung Daun in Menteng
When in Jakarta I love to eat Sundanese cuisine. A place to enjoy this type of foof is “Warung Daun”. There are several outlets, one in Menteng and one in Kebayoran Baru. The food is just beautiful, absolute delicious.
The entrance of Warung Daun in Menteng
The menu
The interior
According to tripadvisor Warung Daun in Kebayoran Baru is rated 81 and the one in Cikini (Menteng) 172 of the 518 restaurants in Jakarta.
The food I
The food II
Nothing better than good friends
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, Restaurant Review | Tagged: Indonesian food, Jakarta, Warung Daun | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Tucked away in a side street 上朋 Japanese restaurant has a great façade
Since quite some time I wanted to post this little story of two old friends going on a stroll to celebrate life at a Japanese restaurant.
上朋 (Shang peng) Japanese restaurant, not far from the International Centre for Land Policy Studies and Training in Taoyuan where we were teaching, was our choice.
上朋 restaurant curtain
The diners
We ordered Sake. Jim preferred the cold one which came in a carafe with a whole in it in which ice cubes were placed to keep the Sake cold. Fancy stuff. I choose the warm Sake which was a delightful drink.
The cooled down Sake
Simple and easy: warm Sake
We booth choose one of set-menu type meals, also for the sake of convenience. As it turned out we should not be disappointed. The cold dishes set before was were very tasty. More appetizers should follow.
上朋 cold dishes
More cold appetizers were to follow
Japanese food is art
Also the fish is tastefully presented
The Sushi platter was divine
Then came the ingredients for the soup
The soup was boiled on a table stove. The liquid was not held in a clay pot but in parched paper. Then
we dropped the ingredients above into the broth and let it cook for a while.
Isn’t the soup beautiful?
A sauce was presented to dip the fish and vegetables in
A selection of fruit ended our meal
This was a wonderful meal in a very peaceful atmosphere. The service at 上朋 is excellent. The food is reasobaly priced, and as customer you have the feeling that you are king. I highly recommend the place.
1 Comment | food, food and wine, Restaurant Review | Tagged: Japanese food, sake, Sushi, Taiwan, Taoyuan, 上朋 | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
Some of you might wonder when I would put the first pictures of our new place up. Well, here they are. In fact they are pictures of our first trial barbecue on our terrace for some trusted friends. The trial run was quite successful and calls for a repeat. Here are some pictures of the event.
First came the prawns
But I also did beef
I also roasted a big piece of pork but it went so fast that I had no chance to take a picture of it.
The chefs
I always drink a ot of beer while behind the grill. Charlotte does not drink (yet).
The little carnivores need to be fed first
Then came the adults
A very modest portion
The vegetables I prepared in a wok which I put on top of my Weber.
The girls had baked a cake: Frankfurter Kranz
As usual, nobody wanted to go home
Beautiful message to us by Giuseppe and Lucjia
As always when I do barbecues I have no time to take care of the pictures. I fact I did not take any of the many side dishes, the salads, the vegetables and the carbohydrates. But we had a jolly good time, that’s confirmed.
I could also not keep track of the wines consumed during the event. Everybody brought some bottles. I restrict myself to one white and one red (I found the empty bottles after everybody had left).
The ‘2009 Taylor’s Sauvignon Blanc’ from the Adelaide Hills in South Australia is a beautiful refreshing wine at a hot summers day. Since we have always “hot summers days” in the tropics it can be enjoyed year round in Bangkok. Hurrah.
The ‘2009 Rosso Conero’ by Fazi Battaglia is an inexpensive mass-produced red from Marche, Italy. It is a blend of Montepulciano (85%) and Sangiovese (15%) for easy drinking.
The wine company is already more than 60 years old and has about 280 ha under vines in the Marche wine region of Italy. In the meantime Fazi Battaglia has bought up smaller vineyards and wineries in Toscana, one is Fassati with 80 ha and the other Greto delle Fate with 11 ha under vines.
1 Comment | culture, food, wine | Tagged: Adelaide Hills, Australian wine, Bangkok, Fassati, Fazi Battaglia, Greto delle Fate, Marche, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Taylor's, Toscana, Weber barbecue, wine | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
I am reading “Justice for hedgehogs” by Ronald Dworkin at the moment. The book makes the point that one of our cardinal interests, ambitions and responsibilities is to make our lives good lives.
“We must find the value of living – the meaning of life – in living well”, says Dworking. He also states that dignity and self-respect are “indispensable conditions of living well”.
So what does that mean if you are sitting in Beijing, China at a beautiful Sunday morning with time on your hands? Well get up early and go to the National Museum to see the German sponsored exhibition “The enlightenment”, a unique show of a selection of art pieces from that era of our history which mattered so much for the freedom of the individual and rationality.
After that it’s downhill all the way. More of Dworking’s good life is to come. After fine art, one needs fine food and drink.
I suggest you stroll down to the South end of the Tian-an-men Square and have lunch at Capital M, one of my favourite restaurants in Beijing.
Capital M in Beijing, view from the terrace
One has a wonderful view from the restaurant. It is located at the third floor of a newly reconstructed building, a kind of replica so to speak, of an older house. Capital M has a wonderful terrace with a grand view of the square.
I got there much too early; the kitchen was still closed. The kind waiter offered me a table at the window, and I ordered a glass of house white, a Sauvignon Blanc by the South Australian family winery Angoves. Newspapers were brought to me and I indulged in the pleasure of reading in quiet. I was the only customer at that early hour.
Tasteful crockery for morning tea
I was still full from breakfast and unsure if I should lunch at Capital M. Then I though of Dworkin and my responsibility towards the good life in dignity and decided to move to the table the kind waiter had reserved for me. in the meantime the first guests had arrived, casually dressed most of them. In this relaxing atmosphere, I felt at ease.
I read through the menu and decided on a two course meal. My choice of entrée was white asparagus which is just in season in Beijing. What a good choice that was. The asparagus was firm and succulent, it melted in my mouth.
I also had another glass of the house wine, the SB by the Angove Family winery.
Asparagus with a poached egg on top and olive oil
For my main course, a white snapper on a bed of vegetables, I selected a ‘2008 Dry Riesling’ by Dr. Buerklin-Wolf, in Wachenheim, Palatinate in South-West Germany. Riesling is one of my favourite white. Although just one of their starting wines, this Riesling was exactly what I needed, a beautiful accomplishment with my meal.
2008 Dr. Buerklin-Wolf dry Riesling shows an intense colour
The main course was so jummy, I could not believe it. I took it bite by bite, slowly exposing my taste buds to the food. I wanted it to last as long as possible. The veggie selection interspersed with flower petals and a nut mix, was just amazing, awesome stuff.
The main course
Unfortunately, the battery of my camera did not last and gave up her service right in the middle of my meal so that I cannot show you more pictures from the restaurant, the view and the people.
The service at Capital M is exceptional, hard to find in China this kind of concern for the customer. Prices are also decent. I paid for three glasses of wine and a two course meal 42 EURO, which is not bad.
Apart from the Forbidden City and the Great Wall lunch or dinner at Capital M in Beijing is a must if you visit China.
Address:
Capital M Beijing
3/F, No.2 Qianmen Pedestrian Street
(just south of Tian’anmen Square)
Beijing 100051 China
中国北京市前门步行街2号3层
邮编 100051
Tel: +86-10- 6702-2727
Fax: +86-10- 6702-3737
Leave a Comment » | culture, food, Restaurant Review, wine | Tagged: Angoves, Beijing, Capital M, China, Dr. Buerklin-Wolf, Germany, National Museum, Pfalz, Restaurant Review, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, South Australia, Tian-an-men Square, Wachenheim | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
八條壽司 Ba Tiao Shou Si
Let me take you to a very special place, 八條壽司 a Japanese restaurant near Taoyuan. Before we enter the place and indulge in the photos I took of the various dishes served to us, let me explain a bit the background.
Every year when I teach my course on good governance in land administration at the International Center of Land Policy Studies and Training in Taoyuan (ICLPST), Taiwan, a good old friend of mine, Prof. Lin Kuoching, professor of economics and agricultural policy, invites me and Prof. James Riddell, an even older friend of mine from my days at the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, out for an evening in the hot springs.
It is the annual reunion of three men united by their passion for agriculture, the land and the people cultivating the land. They also share a passion for politics, geo-politics and political developments in Asia. After our long conversations in hot and warm and cold water basins, we move on and have dinner together.
Ms. Lin, Prof. Lin’s wife, is usually the one selecting the meal and the dishes. However, this time we were too late for the Chinese restaurant at the spa, so we went back to town. A Japanese restaurant called 八條壽司 was our aim.
The entrance of 八條壽司
The place is down to earth, nothing fancy. When we arrived it rained cats and dogs, and the restaurant was packed with people. The photos were taken when we left late in the evening.
The common dining room 八條壽司
The shogun’s armour in a glass vitrine was the heirloom of the place. To the right from the common dining area are individual rooms in the Japanese style.
The Shogun’s armour
Now just follow me from picture to picture of the delicacies we were offered. I do not know the names of the dishes, often I even cannot say what the dish was composed of, but trust me, this was amazing, awesome, super delicious, in short: heaven on a stick, as we say in Australia.
Beautiful raw fish
A salad with fruit to clean the palate
Fish eggs
More raw fish
Brown rice selection
Beautiful creations
Soup
Some more raw fish
And a flat fish
Chicken
I am not much of a chicken lover, but this chicken skewer was just delicious, unbelievabel. It converted me: good chicken dishes do exist.
Sake
We drank tea and warm sake with our meal. I love sake but are utterly ignorant about the various types and qualities. This is something to explore in the near future.
The three men and the Shogun’s armour: Prof. Lin, Prof. Riddell, and me.
Needless to say that this was a fantastic evening. Thank you fellow diners for the company, the hospitality of the Lin family should be praised and rewarded in the other world, last but not least I wish to thank the cook of the 八條壽司 restaurant: you did a great job. Arigato
1 Comment | culture, food, Restaurant Review, wine | Tagged: ICLPST, International Center for Land Policy Studies and Training, Japanese food, sake, Taiwan, Taoyuan, 八條壽司 | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver
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The Man from Mosel River
The Man from Mosel River 