If you have heard of 'Green World Campaign' before, you might heard that this campaign works to reforest our planet, raise the living standards of the rural poor, and combat global climate change. In fact, I'm not a kind of what's called'Greenista' ... so don't worry that this blog will become environmental friendly ... In fact, this blog is 'food friendly' !!!
However, I just want to have fun with food ... even my mom always said 'don't play with your food' ... I can't resist playing with all these which I put them together here ... my'green'foods.
Starting from a lunch set which was so green from Nanohana @ J.Avenue Thonglor -- check out detail at : Osaka Cuisine Nanohana ... The set consists of rice topped with pickled vegetable and small fish serving with saru matcha soba ... so green and so cool !!! There is no more 'global warming' anymore during eating this ...
The next one is my 'always' favourite snack from UK -- WALKERS Salt & Vinegar ... disregard that I used to work at Frito-Lays before, I have to insist that Salt & Vinegar have to be from this brand !!! Besides, my favourite flavour (which is always be a minority in Thailand) is this Salt & Vinegar ... still remember the time when I studied in UK, during lunchtime sandwiches with a pack of chips -- my pick 'salt & vinegar' always !!! The irresisable taste of good combination salty and sour ... yum yummmm !!!
The new launched of drink in Thailand ... Oishi Matcha Mineral ... another way of marketing laungh in terms of added product value ... adding matcha (green tea powder) into plain water (in fact from the claim - it's a mineral water). As the instruction said ... open the lid, pour the powder, then shake, and enjoy !!! The result cold matcha (no sugar) !!!
Can't forget another of my favourite snack -- Kit Kat Chocolate ... yes yes as you can guess ... However, I have to thanks one of my blogger fan who reminded me to add this in ... it's a Kit Kat Green Tea Matcha -- what I like about this Kit Kat is that the colour and the taste (especially scent) are so real ... color of the coating is on creamy green with delicate scent of matcha. Read more at : Green Tea (Matcha) Kit Kat from Japan
With this long writing of 'green' foods related ... you can see that lots of things came from 'matcha' or Japanese Green Tea ... In fact, Matcha is a style of preparing green tea that starts with preparing the tea leaves before harvest wihch was covered from the sun before being picked. Then the leaves was dried and grounded into a fine powder to create the matcha. That's a little information for you all ...
Here comes the last part, which is not related to foods directly, but I just want to put my phones down here ... LG Ice-cream (with the colour of green pistachio) and Nokia Express Music with the chain of green tea ice-cream stick ... Yes Yes Yes no one could be so green as me !!!
Today one of my colleague in office received a gift from our Japanese Client, it's not a big gift with high price or something ... but it's just a box of wafer chocolate ... However, I just jumped and grasped it with screaming !!! Yes Yes Yes ... It's a KitKat Strawberry Rilakkuma from Japan !!!
If you have read my blog before, you will understand that I'm a kind of liking Japanese Snack a lot especially the Kit Kat Japanese Version ... for example check out some at : Green Tea (Matcha) KitKat earlier.
One of the reason I love Japanese Kit Kat because Japan Kit Kat has pushed a lot in terms of flavour variant ... sometimes sizing such as the half-finger sized Kit Kat Petit !!! Normally, Kit Kat Bar normally consists of three layers (creme, wafer, and chocolate outer layer). In terms of Variant Flavour launched, as the record, The Kit Kat Orange was the first flavour variant in Uk (Year 1996) follwed by Kit Kat Dark and Kit Kat Mint (in 1997). However, the successful marketing strategy in Japan was about 'flavour variety'.
Not only the flavour, Kit Kat in Japan also co-branding with other brand such as 'Rilakkuma' ... The word 'rilakkuma' came from English Word of 'Relax'. It was mixed with 'Kuma' which means 'Bear' ... In total, it means Relaxing Bear. Rilakkuma enjoys relaxing so much in terms of sleeping, laying around, watching tv, and soaking in hot springs. He loves using Kaoru's yellow bean bag pillow and often accompanied by Korilakkuma (a smaller white bear).
Now, talking about the product itself ... as soon as I opened it, I immediately smell a scent of Strawberry Flavouring ... yes yes yes ... it's the same as you normally had with any Japanese Strawberry Candy or Chocolate which was very fresh, sweet, and strongly powerful -- not like anywhere I had experience before.
About this Kit Kat Stawberry, it's so smooth and creamy in taste ... again milky strawberry with strawberry cream between layers. Can't resist to have more ... too bad ... I was able to get only 2 petits. One thing I could help to notice was that it melted so easily ... easier than Kit Kat Matcha !!!
Have you ever had a feeling of famish between meals and up to a need of elegant & peaceful experience onto your sweet tooth? I would like to introduce you all here for "a traditional high tea with old world charm" at Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.This place is located on the ground floor of the Authors’ Wing, this lounge (an original part of the hotel. The decoration is on old colonial style under the translucent roofs with white rattan furniture and greenish bamboo, palm trees, and plants ... a really good place for an afternoon tea or light meal or desserts including drinks.
This part of building (Authors' wing) was opened since 1887 (with the Oriental Hotel - the first luxury hotel of Siam or Thailand at that time) which was designed by Italian Architect S. Cardu. The Authors' Wing at that time was consisted of lobby, bar, restaurant, including kitchen while the guest rooms were upstairs (where now it was called as The Authors Suites).
As the hotel claimed, this place is considered to be an institution for traditional English afternoon tea with scones, finger sandwiches and cakes and of course only the world’s finest teas (or coffee) !!!
Talking about traditional afternoon tea, it is a light meal typically eaten between 3 pm and 5 pm which was originated in England (when the time that England had only 2 main meal - breakfast and evening dinner before) ... with small cakes and hot tea serving for afternoon tea. Later in years passed, afternoon tea became social event in English upper class in everyday event. However, these days it is more likely to be taken as a treat in a hotel, cafe, or even tea shop.
At Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, the serving started with 'refreshing green lime and giner sorbet' -- a real Thai lime sorbet with a tangy sour taste and strong aroma from lime zest ... a real cleaning throat before starting light afternoon tea ... keep us awake and excitement from the up coming.
The key highlight items from 'Traditional Afternoon Tea Set' arrived with a serving on a big tiered stand ... see below as it's 3 layers tiered consisted of
Tradition plain & raisin scones serving with strawberry preserve, original Oriental pomelo marmalade, and unique Oriental rose petal jam with clotted cream and creamy butter
Warm savoury chicken mince turnovers,
Smoked salmon finger on caraway whole wheat, Egg & Chive mayonnaise salad on four grain rye, Cucumber & cream cheese and micro cress on wheat bread, Cooked ham & cheddar cheese remoulade
English fruit cake & orange butter cake, Opera, Seasonal berry tartlets
Dotted ginger Crème brûlée, Berry panna cotta shot, Soft brownie
Macadamia and chocolate cookies, cinnamon Short Bread
All of these were served with our choices of either Mariage Freres Teas, or freshly brewed coffee or any herbal infusions ... our choices of course 'Mariage Freres Tea' -- one of the finest well- known French tea companies in Paris (which was established since 1854) which produces tea for hotels and Parisian high society for long.
Ask me about the taste and quality ??? Umm difficult to say about each items since it's gorgeous by the look, superb in taste, sophisticate in preparation, calm & peaceful in atmosphere together well-trained & friendly service ... in short, it was such a perfect afternoon tea that I would like to recommend you all to experience ... This is the place where you are able to be melted down into or even able to forget your real life in the real world !!!
It's not just only the quality of food such as the great tea sandwich which was made to be easy to handle -- especially my always favourite cucumber sandwiches or a fantastic dessert with unique of its taste on light custard with thin caramelized of Crème brûlée or a great aroma of Mariage Freres Tea in a pot which was sat on a little lighting stove to keep warm always ...
It's also the atmosphere that you can earn here from the sound of live piano by the adorable man who play exclusively at this hotel ... even though he's blind but his play does not be affected by ... he's the one who was appreciated by The Queen and other Royal Family who visit the hotel found him at Authour's Lounge in the afternoon or Le Normandie French dining at night time ... for me, I myself have not seen him for years -- glad to see him again !!!
Now, what else you can have here ... also afternoon tea set (Thai Style) full with Thai taste of snack and light finger foods ... Moroccan Tea ; the real fresh mint tea with pine nut no sugar added - a very refreshing drink ...
or even the home-made ice-cream which you can select from milk base or sorbet base ... the flavour that you will never had anywhere before ... I'm already fall in love with ice-cream here - it's now the best ice-cream or fresh juice such as Sakura Lime Apple Juice ... a good combination blend perfectly for the hot and waming day
'Urban Kitchen' ... Not much of people can think of this place ... It's an 'Urban Kitchen' at Erawan Bangkok (lower ground floor) which connected with Hyatt Erawan Bangkok Hotel itself. This is what I call an eating place consists with lots of restaurant types ... Chinese, Thai, Singapore, Japanese, Sandwiches, Ice-cream bar, and so on ...
I'm about to talk about a Japanese Restaurant at Urban Kitchen which is my usual place here (or one of my favourite place for Japanese Food). This restaurant 'Japanese Restaurant Erawan' is not related to Hyatt Erawan Bangkok at all. In fact, it related to 'Kizahashi' -- a kind of brother and sister restaurants ... If you cannot recall 'Kizahashi' -- check out at : grill-it-yourself okonomiyaki restaurant / lunch set @ Kizahashi.
Compared to Kizahashi, this place is more upscale -- from the look and atmosphere. Seating was arranged for both front of sushi bar and also table including waitress wearing Japanese kimono.
The way the meal started -- cold wet towel, small plates, wooden chopsticks ... and don't forget appertizers serving in small bowl ... a real appertizer before dishes that we ordered arrived.
If you notice, same as in Kizahashi, we normally order 'Hiyashi Tomato' -- iced cold fresh Japanese Tomato Served with Rock Salt (120 Bht) ... This is a real dish for the one who love fresh tomato !!! So meaty and juicy indeed ... sweet natural dipped a little on rock salt (which is not only salty but sweet included).
Another very Japanese dish is also 'Seaweed Salad' (I have to owe you all for the name and price of this dish) -- 3 types of Japanese Seaweeds dipped with sesame dressing -- 3 types 3 colours 3 texture !!!
Here comes the dish that we just found that we love it ... 'Umeshiso Maki' 200 Bht -- a Japanese Plum & Shiso Leaves (shiso is a kind of Japanese leaves that is the same family as mint) ... so you can imagine the smell of Japanese Plum which was blended well with shiso leaves ... For the taste it's a real Japanese Plum (sweet, salty, and sour in one) !!!
Another 'sound simple' dishes which I have never missed were 'Eringi Yaki' 150Bht -- Grilled Eringi Mushroom with salt ... so big size of Eringi mushroom which was cut along the height of itself grilled with a little salt ... of course, it won't dry out the natural taste of earthy mushroom smell. Also 'Chawanmushi' -- steamed egg in tea cup ... so soft but full with soup taste for cooking eggs ... digged down, it was full with chicken, shrimp, ginko, mushroom, and so on.
The highlight ... Kurobuta Ninniku Rice 750Bht -- Grilled Pork Belly Sticks with marinated garlic pickles and black seaweed ... Infact, there are also choices for beefeater with the choice of normal beef, wagyu, or even matsuzaka !!! Of course, the beef ones will be more tasty than pork ... due to the beef itself ... For me, I always prefer the pork since this is already kurobuta (black hog) already ... soft tender with a little of fatty pork meat on ... Of course, the last step before serving always a show case by waitress since she will fry all thing at front of customers !!!
Another amazing thing that I have never thought that it's can be cooked like this ... Yaki Yasai 180Bht ... Grilled cos lettuce with anchovi wasabi dressing ... Who can think that cos lettuce can be grilled ... besides it's so yummy !!! topped with anchovy dressing (even they said wasabi dressing too -- I cannot detect much of it -- so dont be panic for the one who said you don't take any wasabi) !!!
One thing I sometimes order was 'kids set' ... yes, it's for kids which was served in shinkansen (bullet train) which consists of onigiri, fried chicken, crab stick sushi, and my favourite custard. !!!
As my tradition, I have never forgot my Oshiruko (sweet red beans soup with grilled rice cake) ... the red beans soup might look light but the taste was not ... and my favourite part grilled mochi ... so smoked full !!!
This one we voted for top hit dessert dish as the best tasty round off meal -- Kakigori which is Japanese dessert made from shaved ice flavoured and syrup ... Here you can have two choices of green tea or strawberry ... with topping of red bean paste & mochi ...
Japanese Restaurant Erawan B1 Erawan Bangkok
494 Ploenchit Road, Patumwan
Bangkok 10330
Tel : 02-250-7890
Today I went to Kinokuniya Isetan which I bumbed into this book instead of other (thing) that I expected to be in this bookshop. Anyway, as my normal habit, the 1st place I walk to would be the cookbooks shelf. This book was located on eye level ...
'A Day at El Bulli' is a big book (600 pages -- see how thick it is) covers a single day at the Spanish restaurant El Bulli, from sunrise over the Costa Brava through the last staff member's departure.
You might wonder what is 'El Bulli' right? El Bulli is a small restaurant overlooks the Cala Montjoi bay in Catalonia Spain. It has been described as "the most imaginative generator of haute cuisine on the planet and does a great deal of work on molecular gastronomy (a scientific discipline involving the study of physical and chemical processes for cooking).
Then who is 'Ferran Adrià' ??? He is a Spanish Catalan Chef -- head chef of the El Bulli. He is considered one of the best chefs in the world and tops the European Restaurant Ranking.
El Bulli is famous not only for its innovative food but also for the legendary difficulty of getting a table there ... This restaurant is only opened from April to October of each year. Adrià spends the remaining six months of the year perfecting recipes in his workshop. Imagine the best chef in the world and the best restaurant in the world !!!
This huge book describes 24-hours at the El Bulli restaurant, with images and photos and also some recipes. It also shows Adrià's creative methods, extraordinary techniques and outstanding dishes. However, most of recipes are so complex and need special (more than ordinary) kitchen tools and so on.
It's not his new book since it was published since 2008 -- but I just like to have and understand this thought !!!
In short, behind this thick book is all about 'creativity' !!! ... Ideas, Methods and Creativity of Ferran Adrià himself ... but there is also one sentence (quote) from him that "It is impossible to be creative without good organization" which you will see one chapter proven on this ... I like him !!!
Anyway, if you want to know more about this book or know more about 'Ferran Adrià' himself and also his restaurant and his dishes, see more detail from Gaurdian (by Jay Rayner who is the Observer's restaurant critic and a novelist) at : http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/video/2008/oct/16/el-bulli-ferran-adria
In Thailand, there are a lots of what I call 'Thai Chinese' -- estimated 14% of Thailand's population claim to be of Chinese ethnicity. Back to the era of Ayuthaya (13th Century I guess), Chinese traders arrived Thailand from Fujian and Guangdong. Until the era of King Taksin, who was also the son of a Chinese immigrant, encouraged high rate of both Chinese immigration and trade. That's the reason why Chinese from Chaozhou came in Thailand with a large numbers which became 'Teochew' Chinese in Thailand.
Teochew Chinese came from Chaozhoe and Teochiu in China which started settled down in Thailand in South Eastern of Thailand and then Bangkok. Therefore, a lots of Teochew Thai Chinese are the most population in Thailand nowadays.
Teochew cuisine is particularly well known for it seafood and vegetarian dishes -- which was perceived as healthy. However, I have read once mentioned that the way to cook Teochew food must remember the rule of 'inner taste and outer taste' which means if material does not have any taste, it must be cooked till the taste is inside. On the other hand, if the material has taste, it must be cooked till the taste came out.
Okay, I have been talking about history and background information for long ... here comes the restaurant that serves Teochew Cuisine ... Thaweechai Potchana (the word 'Potchana' in Thai also means 'Eatery') at Rama 3 Road. At soon as we stepped in, we could see the fridge which intends to show customers on raw material ...
Actually, Thaweechai Potchana was established for almost 30 years starting its business at Suan Mali Area (and still its business there). However, this place at Rama 3 was managed by 2nd generation who try to manage and remain their taste. Therefore, the ambient was set as more modern with air-conditioning room and also outside (sitting besides the Chaopraya River for the fresh air breath) in the evening.
We started the meal with a little crispiness from Pork ... Crispy Pork Coil Served with sweet soya sauce (160/200Bht) ... yes, it's the intestine of the pork which was treated neatly to get rid of bad smell then marinated and deep fried
Sizzling Mussels with eggs and corn flour serve with chilli sauce (120/150 Bht) ... Fresh big mussels in crispy outside and soft inside egg and flour mixed batter ... served on hot plate. Imagine the smell, so crispy smokey indeed
Stirred fried sea slug with chilli and holy basils (270/380 Bht) ... if you know me well, this dish was not for me !!! It's not only the hot & spicy taste but it was the sea slug !!! 'Sea Slug' or 'ปลิงทะเล' or in Japanese 'sea cucumber' is one type of animal in the sea ... Chinese believes that it's good for health -- full with protein and iodine and also help control blood pressure. The picture of sea slug is in the below middle, while on the plate was cut and diced already as a meal.
Stirred fried crab with black peppercorn ... big mud crab on the spicy black pepper sauce ... see how black the colour was so then you can imagine the tasty of the sauce ... not hot as from fresh red chilli but hot as from the black pepper !!!
Fried water mimosa with chilli garlic (90/120 Bht) ... this is always my niece's favourite -- so strange as little girl to like this acrid aoma veggy ... seem like she always enjoy it with only no fresh chilli in !!!
Fried fish maw with crab meat & beansprouts (160/220 Bht) ... fish maw is the air bladder of the fish with a good source of collagen. By the look, it's puffy, light and look like a yellow sponge. For cooking it requires long time of simmering or simply soaking in cold water then sqeezing or soaking hot oil -- depends on dish ... complicate complicate indeed to make it taste good and ready to cook !!!
Fried noodle with sweet pork (90/160/220 Bht) ... this sweet pork it was called in menu as 'moo-ba-teng หมูบะเต็ง' -- it's a small diced pork stir-fried with light soysauce, black soy sauce, and a little of sugar & pepper .... anyway, it's my favourite ... I always ordered this sweet pork as with chinese boiled rice. This is my first time to see it with fried noodle ... so strange good -- yummy yummy !!!!
Fried rice with minced pork and Chinese olive (90/160/220 Bht) -- if you have read all my blog about Chinese food, you will see that we always have rice with chinese olive ... can't help 'cause I love this Chinese Olive a lot !!! This is salted black olive -- see the below middle picture for what it look like and its texture. Fried Ho-Fun Noocles with Pork (80/160/220 Bht) -- it's always my mom's favourite. She always ask for this noodld dish to finish up her chinese meal since she is afraid that we will get hungry soon and sooner !!!
For me, to wrap up Chinese Meal, it have to be Chinese Dessert !!! As we have seen from menu that they are proudly present this 'Icing Taro' 120/150 Bht ... it's a kind of stir-fried taro then mixed with sugar ... sound easy but difficult the restaurant that make it yummy indeed. Don't forget to drink with hot Chinese Tea ... it will help declining the sweet taste and dryness from taro texture.
Another thing, can't help mentioning ... since I walked around the restaurant and saw at counter these 3 glass jars ... they are all cracker and candies (my childhood's favourite) ... the below right was small cracker with hard sugar frost on top (I always call it - ขนมหัวจุก topknot) ... it's was not that yummy ... but for kids, it's another fun to select only the colour we liked and eat only the knot part !!!
Thaweechai Potchana The River 662/73-73, Rama 3 Road Bang Pong Pang, Yannawa, Bangkok Tel : 02-293-02550-1 Suan Mali Branch (original) Tel : 02-224-7575
Iata Chinese Restaurant might be familiar to some of you (actually - especially our parents generations). This is because Iata Restaurant has been in Thailand (Bangkok) for so long (more than 20 years) since its first place in Siam Square.
The first location was in Siam Square soi 4 (Scala cinema) with a dark (I meant lighting) ambient with one Indian man wearing red shoulder belt at the front door -- Later (7 years ago), it was moved to be located in current location New Pethaburi Road with a more of space and area for parking ... The location was very outstanding since there was a big sign at the front on main street and also Big Red Chinese gateway ... one thing that was not changed is the Indian man still remain -- he is still here (not sure whether he's the same person) and still wearing the red shoulder belt !!!
Coming to inside, thing that lying at the front of the hall is a big red carpet brass stairs -- a very outstanding landmark of this restaurant. I think this must be important since it was also appeared on the front of menu.
Here were what we ordered ... starting with Cold Hors d'oeuvres below left (400/600 Bht) and Hot Hors d'oeuvres below right (280/380/600 Bht) ... actually the word 'Hors d'oeuvres' means appetizers are food items served before the main courses of a meal in French but to use as in Chinese should be allowed ... from the look, in cold hors d'oeuvres, you can see the variety of sausage (bolongna), shrimp in tomato sauce, steamed chicken in chinese wine, cold jelly fish salad, potash preserved egg. While hot hors d'oeuvres, there were mostly fried items such as shirmp sesame on bread, fish maw and egg, and so on
Here're the highlighted of Iata ... hot plate items ... Hot Plate Beef Pata Delight (left) and Hot Plate Mixed Pork & Liver (right) 300Bht ... serving hot which we could see the sauce bubbling around !!! From the look below, I bet you won't be able to rekon which type of meat on each plate since it was covered with red pickled bean curd sauce. But one thing I would say is that the meat was so soft and tender ... and the sauce was so tasty !!!
Then, Roasted Goose Feet in Clay Pot (600Bht), here we ordered at the first place to have egg noodle with since in the kitchen would cooked the goose feet with noodle in one time for the best taste.
Another dish, I have to admit that it was so difficult to find this word 'หน่อไม้ทะเล' since even in menu there's no English name. Finally it's a razor shell (another sea animal) which look like white asparagus ... no doubt why Thais call it 'sea asparagus' ... yes, it was fried with green vegetable and black shitake mushroom (400/800 Bht) ... Ho Ho ... so fishy for me (the one who don't like seafood much) ... I was even smell the sea -- strange thou since others enjoyed it a lot.
Sweet & Sour Snapper (270 Bht) ... I myself love chinese sweet & sour sauce a lot ... This is becuase I like tomato, tomato ketchup, carrot, etc ... all the red colour !!! But one thing was that most of chinese sweet & sour always with fish ... even at home, my mom has to cook special sweet & sour chicken for me !!! Here at Iata, it's a fish (snapper) ... amazing, yummy yummy no fishy feeling from me ... that means it must be extreamly yummy.
These four pictures were 'Deep fried pigeon with chinese wine' price per pigeon equals to 320Bht ... so dark with sauce but so crispy as the deep fried !!!
Pigeon here might be in small size but the quality and its crispiness can be guarantee !!!
Last episode, our family always end with rice dishes ... Below are Baked Rice with Chinese Olive in Earthen Pot (100 Bht) ... It came with the white rice at below part while the Chinese Olive and Minced Pork at the top. Therefore, it needed a mixing before serving and eating with cashew nuts, chilli, and lime. I appreciated this dish most while others mentioned that it was not tasty enough ... up to individual taste indeed !!!
Baked Rice with Chiken and Chinese Sausage in Earthen Pot (120Bht) another mixing before serving needed. It's a kind of dice chicken and chinese sausage in brown sauce which was cooked with chinese wine & ginger ... smell good but I still like the chinese olive one !!!
Last dish which was dessert ... a classic item for my family to end of meal ... crispy thin chinese pancake/crepe with chinese date filling ... chinese date inside the flour sheet which was deep fried ... here you can find loads of filling inside don't bother open the pancake sheet to see what;s inside ... when I tried to cut with fork, it's all over the place. The trick on this dessert for my family was to order the biggest size therefore everyone will have enough and more than enough !!!
and that's end of our meal ... below was the last scene proven of what we had on that meal ...
Iata Chinese Restaurant & Coffee Shop 2046/7-11 New Petchaburi Road, Bangkapi, Huay Kwang, Bangkok 10310 Tel : 02-718-1731 - 2 Open : Monday - Saturday (16:00 - 02.00) Open : Sunday & Holiday (11:00 - 02.00) Direction : opposite RCA (next to Petchsiam Thai Massage - just before Italthai Building)
Just found one type of snack during shopping at Emporium Department Store (Korean Food) ... It's called “Kkul Tarae" or Honey Skein ... a kind of sweet snack which contains cereal (from almond and sesame) inside.
At first I think it's a Chinese Snack which I have seen once -- the name is a kind like 'Dragon Beard Candy' or something. However, weeks later after I have seen 'Kkul Tarae a Korean Version', I just happened to see the Chinese Version at WTC Bangkok. Great -- exactly the same but was claimed to be Chinese Snack !!!
I am so in love with the world of competition -- country by country, even the snack, each country claimed to be the originator !!!
Anyway, back to Korean Version in Emporium, I just stood there and waited for them to prepare from the beginning. Here was what I have seen ... started from 3 key raw materials ... ripened honey (he said it's a Korean Honey), flour, and almonds mixed with sesame.
The process was to make the ripened honey to have hole in the middle then pulling out the hole, dipped into dry flour, squeeze and pull (same process of making noodle) ... then from 1 circle turns to be many many hundreds holes (lines).
From the box it said ... "A Traditional Court Cake (honey skein) is a court cake made of ripened honey and malt which was once presented to the king and valuable guests. It is brewed with artisan spirit to make 16,000 strand suggesting the prayer for longevity, health, god fortune and wish-fulfillment. It is not much sweet, not sticky to teeth, but enjoyable with various tastes according to garnishing. It can taste better with teas as it is cold and frozen.”
I have talked about this place Deli LA BOTTEGA di Luca before but it's about deli shop selling homemade pastas and sauces, Italian cold cuts, breads and pastries -- all homemade ingredients which was prepared daily. As promised, we had a visit the restaurant ... It's at the upstairs where you can select to seat inside (air-con) or outside (natural air breath of Sukhumvit) ...
What is good (actually what I like) about this Italian LA BOTTEGA di Luca was the basket of bread ... as you may know, they bake bread themselves .., in the basket, it contained white bread, normal focaccia, and one of my favourite tomato focaccia !!! only missing the onion focaccia ...
Our appetizer was Vegetable Grill (240Bht) ... yes, it's a grilled vegetable as said on its name ... consisted of eggplant, onion, asparagus, and tomato ... grilling and leaving cool in room tempt then marinated with vinegar and olive oil. This is a warning, if you expect the warm grilled plate, this is not it !!! but this is another version of vegetable grill that you can try ...
Spaghetti con aglio, alla e peperoncino (Spaghetti with extra virgin olive oil, chillies and galic) 220Bht ... it's a testing of dry pasta and quality of olive oil for me ... since this shop, as I told you earlier, sells also Italian ingredients too for their deli shop. So the material for their cooking was so good ... nope - great ... starting with the al dente cooked of pasta and the aroma of olive oil. Anyway, this dish made us dream of Italian trip again !!! but it's a matter of when ...
Last savory dish was Paccheri with Italian porcini and truffle cream 440Bht ... another suggestion is that this is really the one who love mushroom ... it's so mushroomy !!! By the look, we found it so dark, damp and moist ... says not appertised at all ... In fact, it's the jewel ... with a deep taste of mushroom from porcini and truffle on paccheri pasta (large hollow tube shaped pasta) ... made me think of one small restaurant in Rome that we went earlier years ago that sold nothing except mushroom with pasta !!!
Here comes the round off meal time, Tiramisu Cake (180Bht) and Coffee ... Again, this is not normal tiramisu that we all know on coffee and chocolaty taste. On the other hand, it's the very fruity taste from orange inside the tiramisu ... have to admit that it's not my taste since I'm a kind of fruit phobia ... but if you like something fruitty, I recommend you this one ... amazing mix !!!
Lastly for a need to be mentioned, you can easily see and meet the chef (Chef Luca Appino) nearby since he also walks around the restaurant greeting customers by himself (and sometimes serve you some dishes himself too).
Deli La Bottega di Luca 2nd Floor, The 49 Terrace 49 Sukhumvit Soi 49, Bangkok 10110 Shop Tel : 02-204-1730 Restaurant Tel : 02-204-1731
Not sure the exact date of Chinese Mid-Autumn or Moon Cake Festival this year ... thinking that it's around early October ... but I have seen shops selling moon cake for a while already !!!
For my understanding the date will be the day that the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest where all eating mooncake outside under the moon. Sorry that if I misunderstand this since I have very little knowledge on this festival.
Anyway, I am about to talk about the traditional food of this festival which is mooncake. Typically we would see it as round or rectangular shape with size around10 cm in diameter and 4-5 cm thick. Inside filling are made from variety of type such as lotus seed paste, durian paste, and so on while the texture outside is thick brown flour pastry. So the taste is rich, heavy and very dense, therefore, it suits to eat while sipping hot Chinese Tea.
However, I saw one interesting shop selling mooncake ... Vanilla Industry ... yes, it's the same Vanilla Industry, Vanilla Cafe, Vanilla Tea Room that we are familiar with.
The kiosk I took these pictures were at Emporium Department store where they sold mooncake 2 types as hard shell pastry (@45Bht per piece - choices of filling : durian, lotus seed, black sesame, green tea) and soft shell pastry (@55 Bht per piece - choices of filling : custard, green tea, black sesame, red bean) together with Chinese Tea (Jasmine & Chrysanthemum @ 30Bht per sachet) while mooncake
I'm a kind of person who always look for 'comfort food' when I feel tired or weak. There are things that I always consider as my 'comfort food' which are : (1) ice-cream -- must be the milk based, not water ice or sherbet and (2) Japanese Food -- where I can get rice and other natural flavour of the ingredient to comfort me ...
Yesterday I again really need a meal (of course, the comfort food meal) that able to heal / pamper myself for a long hectic day (actually working week) ... Here comes to 'Taiko 51'. The word 'Taiko' means 'drum' in Japanese ... and if you have read my blog before, I have mentioned once about one restaurant with similar name 'Taiko 39' (see : Taiko 39 Izakaya on Sukhumvit 39). They are related with the same owner !!! So wherever you think suit your travel, just go for it ...
I like being at this place because it's easy and simple -- don't think much of formal eating style ... don't forget it's Izakaya (actually it's a drinking place where they also serves food to accompany the drinks). I personally think that food in Izakaya always has great taste and in small size ... Therefore, I can order a lot of dishes in one meal !!!
Starting my comfort food meal with negitoro maki -- chopped toro (fatty tuna), negi (Japanese Onion or leek) in maki roll
Follow by negito temaki -- hand roll -- again with the chopped toro with negi plus oba leave to enhance the aroma ... another dish that I can enjoy alone without sharing ... so full so warm feeling I received !!!
Inari Sushi -- A pouch of fried tofu filled with sushi rice. Normally it could be only sushi rice but here at Taiko 51, it contained also some veggy pickle ... so you can focus on mouthfeel, enjoying chewing on top of softness of tofu and rice alone.
also Zusuki usuzukuri (below left) -- sliced white fish with usu sauce, Traditional California Roll (below middle) -- actually is not my favourite but it seems to be ordered by others a lot ... no harm to order one for myself ... another kind of suchi hand roll contain cucumber, crab stick, asparagus, avocado, cucumber, and so on, and unagi sushi (eel) below right
The reason I like the Zusuki usuzukuri is not because of the taste but the art of making it ... it's the beauty of the food, the beauty of the dishes ... both are combined together to create one whole Japanese Art ... actually it is up to the ones who eat it to complete this beauty which we can called 'etiquette of eating' ... which we can show our respect towards the ones who made it.
Also thinking of having some vegetable ... horenso goma (Japanese Spinach with white sesame sauce) ... this is another charming of having the small dish ... some of this and some of that !!!
freshJapanese Tomato ... my always favourite fruit or vegetable ?!?!? If counting it as fruit, it will be my favourite kind of fruit ... at Taiko, it was served on ice which you can dip it with salt or mayonnaise ... yummy fresh made mayo !!!
We also ordered to close our meal with negiyaki (grilled negi), ninniku rice (garlic butter fried rice), and hokke yaki (hokke is a kind of white-meat fish with a feeling of fatty which was prepared by mixing with salt and placed dried in the air -- Grilled dry Hokke is best and suitable to be served)
However, we felt that we can consume more dishes ... so we ordered more for Tofu Dengaku which was Fried tofu with sweet miso sauce ... crispy outside but soft and fluffy inside
and also another dish to round off ... hiyashi somen ... chilled somen noodle (a very thin and white noodles made from wheat flour) which normally be eaten during summer season.
One thing I can't help noticing is the 'shabu shabu @ 399Bht all-you-can-eat' which I saw many tables has ordered and enjoyed it for long period of time ... thin sliced of meat (beef, chicken, and pork) so tempting ... next visit for sure !!!
Taiko 39 99/9 Sukumvit Road Soi 39 (UFM Fuji Super2) Basement Citi Resort, Sukumvit 39 New Wing Tel : 02- 204-2474 - 5
Taiko 51 61 Sukhumvit 51 (from sukhumvit road, 400 metre left side) Tel : 02-662-5062-3
I'm not a person who keen on science or scientific thing but I know that Water is a composition of hydrogen and oxygen -- and most importantly it's key essential for human life (especially on fresh drinking water). However, I can't help mentioning about this new drinking water ...
Recently I found this drinking water in bottle called Pi Water -- as they said 'Pi Water Revolution of drinking water' ...
Yes, Pi here means to be Pi or π or mathematical thing related to ratio of circle (3.14159) ... I'm not sure how this relates to each other ... If anyone knows, please tell !!!
As it said, it is a water with small clustered which has been specifically produce to pass the energy and true quality of the water into your body since it has necessary mineral and easy to be absorbed -- The smaller cluster size of water can go immediately into the cell membrane !!! Then Pi Water can carry more oxygen, which your body needs, than conventional water. End result -- it will help you in process of detox, hence your body will excrete more frequently.
Another thing is that there is also instruction as start with 3-5 glasses per day (we might not want your body to excrete toxic too quickly) then able to increase to 8-10 glasses per day.
This is just another story of new marketing strategy (with value added) !!! Retail consumer price = 20Bht per bottle More information : http://www.nanologyshop.com/
Talking about the word 'brasserie', we can think about one type of French restaurant with a relaxed - upscale setting - serves single dishes and other meals - open every day - serves the same menu all day. This place 'Minibar Royale' is what they position themselves as 'French Brasserie New York Style'. It was set up by a group of friends who have lived in New York together trying to create their good old days via New York Style French Eatery.
For me this place is another place for breakfast / brunch -- as I am the what people call 'breakfast person' -- I love breakfast most ... I'm a fan of all the breakfast place but too bad not much of breakfast places I have found in Thailand (except in hotel) ... Minibar Royale is one place that serve breakfast (but only during 10.30 - 14.30 -- so I was a bit starving there) . However, for others, this place is the meeting place especially for drink and dinner.
So today, I will talk about the breakfast / brunch menu only ... The reason that I went to this place last weekend because I missed my favourite breakfast place at all time ... Cafe Continental in Madison Wisconsin, USA (ref : brunch @ Cafe Continential) ... it was the best poach egg for breakfast I have ever had -- even we had to wait for almost 2 hours to have table but it was able to create my best memory meal there !!!
A poached egg is an egg that has been cooked by poaching (gently simmering food in liquid - in this case is water) -- no oil or fat is used !!! It's commonly used in Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine (my favourites).
The atmosphere of Minibar Royale was set as cafe abroad where you can get both indoor (dark oak colour table with red / grey velvet chairs together with sofa in one corner) and outdoor (which is similar to side walk cafe in Paris) ... Too bad last weekend, when I visited, it was a heavy rain so I did not have a chance to take picture outside.
Here's our brunch ... one was Eggs Florentine (POACHED EGGS W/SPINACH, CRISPY BACON & MORNAY SAUCE) 200Bht ... healthy dish indeed ... in fact it contained all my favourites in ... poached egg, bacon, and spinach ... Yeah !!!
Home-smoked salmon plate (HOME SMOKED SALMON WITH MINI PANCAKES, BOILED EGGS AND CAPERS) 290Bht
Another cannot-miss-item (for me) ... French toast with FRESH seasonal fruits 200Bht ... If you have read my brunch in Madison, you can notice that I order the same ... Can't help since I'm falling in love with breakfast of french toast and either Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine ... at Minibar Royale, french bread baguettes was used too ...
One last thing that I can't miss to mention is 'coffee' ... here is another place that I found using Vittoria Coffee -- Australia’s coffee producer ... not French, not American, and definitely not Italian but in New York Style French Brasseries !!!
Cedar is one type of trees with scented wood. Cedar has a shape similar to cone with thick ridged or square-cracked bark, and broad, level branches. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalaya and Mediterranean region.
But when we talk aboutLebanon Cedar or Cedar of Lebanon, we couldalways seen as the national emblem of Lebanon, and it is seen on the Lebanese Flag. Yes, there is one restaurant that use this Lebanon Cedar as the symbol since the name is 'Cedar'. Yes, Cedar is the first Lebanese Restaurant in Thailand -- so it's around 30 years old already.
This restaurant is located on the second floor of a small three-storey building near the Racquet Club of Sukhumvit 49 -- therefore, during dining, it's easy to look out on the swimming pool of the Racquet Club itself. Inside, with the dimming light, lots of colourful and gold textiles were hang from the ceiling and walls including Lebanese Flag.
One thing to remember, this place open only for dinner ... The menu is very simple as it's categorized one page with 30 mazze selections, and another section is Cedar House Specialities which is a kind of main dishes from kebabs, moussaka, chicken, and lamb dishes.
Normal course can be started with all kinds of vegetable (fresh cucumber, pickle cucumber, fresh tomato, and spring onion) with garlic paste.
What is mezze ??? To be pronouced as meh-zay -- if trying to translate, it could be as 'appetizers'. In Lebanese, meze can be as a meal by itself -- consists of vegetarian, meat or fish type mezes. However, all mezze were served with fresh baked pita bread.
Baba gannouch (grilled eggplant which was pureed & mixed with seasoning) below left -- I love this as it contains the rich and creamy taste of eggplant Hummus (pureed chickpeas) below middle -- as the name said and also topped with permanganate to enhance the taste Marinated Eggplant (Homemade smoked eggplants) below right -- even thou it was grilled, it was served with olive oil in the bottom while grilled garlic was ontop.
Tabbuleh (Parsley Salad with bulgar wheat and diced tomatoes flavoured with garlic, lemon, spices) -- so refreshing as I always ordered after tired work
Dolma (Stuffed vine leaves) using grape leave as the wrapper stuffed with rice, tomato, onion, and some spices then cooked in olive oil
Then, moving to the main ... This is my always favourite since I have to have it everytime ... The shop owner knows this well (except during the bird flu period that owner need to take this dish out from menu) ... Chick Taouk (Charcoal grilled marinated chicken served with garlic paste) -- by the look, it came in long metal skewer with black meat chicken (my favourite part), onion, whole tomato -- served with garlic paste (you will be wondered how much this paste can enhance the chicken itself especially eating with rice). I always wonder how good the rice here even the waitress said that it's just an ordinary rice but I insisted that it's not normal since it's so good !!! Try for yourself ... there're also beef and lamb ...
After we finished the meal, there's always a small cup of ice-cream -- it's a home-made lime ice-cream with mint ... for me it's like frozen mojito granita !!! It was served in small Lebanese glasses ... wow... wow ... dark green granita cut through with the fancy glass with a very tasty sour !!!
But I would like to recommend the dessert that you can't miss ... Baklava which is layers of filo pastry with sweet almond and cashew topped with syrup ... so nutty sweet !!! You can also order Mint Tea which is the fresh mint tea ... so soothing after fully meal indeed !!!
The Cedar 6/1 Sukhumvit soi 49/9 Wattana Bangkok 10110 Tel : 0-2714-7206 Open Every day from 18.00 - 24.00 Website : www.thecedar.20m.com
You might have heard the name of 'Betty Crocker' or have seen recipe book of 'Betty Crocker' right? I myself was grown up with food followed Betty Crocker's recipe and I think some of you might be the same as me. She normally delivered an American Style food.
Actually, Betty Crocker is an invented personal and American cultural icon. I like the story a lot about how 'Betty Crocker' came up ... It was happened long time ago when The Washburn Crosby Company of Minneapolis, one of the six big milling companies that merged into General Mills in 1928, received thousands of requests each year in the late 1910s and early 1920s for answers and answers about baking questions. Then management decided to response consumer personally and friendly by create one person name 'Betty Crocker' --- The name came up from a combining of one of the last name of a retired company executive, William "Crocker", with the first name “Betty", for the intention to make it “warm and friendly.” ... Amazing but I like it !!!
In the first place, it was letter then followed by voice broadcasting in radio. However, it went more in 1936 as Betty Crocker got a face -- Artist Neysa McMein brought together all the women in the company’s Home Service Department and “blended their features into an official likeness.”. This become a talk-of-the-town for a belief that Betty Crocker was a real woman !!!
Over the next seventy-five years, Betty's look has changed seven times such as younger in 1955, then a “professional” woman in 1980 or in 1996 she became multicultural, acquiring a slightly darker and more “ethnic” look.
Same as Betty's cookbook, there are a lots of cookbook from Betty Cricker's which was changed time to time in terms of style and way of binding. I have in-hand 3 cook books to show : from left to right 1988, 1960, and 1954 (yes ... that's old)
now, look at inside ... I will show only the old versions since the new version I think everyone can see from bookstore or even in internet (http://www.bettycrocker.com/store/)
The oldest one (1954 edition) ... this book has been in my home for many many years (before I was born) and I have seen both my dad & mom refer to this cookbook in some meal ... breakfast with scramble eggs even the general rules for making coffee - all of these made me love 'breakfast' by heart -- it's the most important meal of my life.
The very first page of this 1953 version appeared to be hand-written of Betty Crocker herself mentioned about how to arrange sections of books into meal plus a gaurantee that every recipe has been carefully tested for us --- amazing marketing campagin !!!
Next 1960 edition which I just got it this week ... my nephew bought it for me from old bookstore in USA (Thank You) ... This is a very valuable one for me - in very good condition !!! It's Party Book -- more than 500 recipes, menus and how-to-do-it tips for festive occasions the year' round ... I love having party @ home !!!
If you know Entoteca Italian Restaurant on Sukhumvit Road, this is Entoteca's Pizzaria called 'Sambuca' ... As far as I know, the owners have been success from previous restaurant, therefore, this is an expansion on Sathorn Road as the pizzaria with the claimed 'only real Italian Pizza on Sathorn Road'.
Sambuca is the simple place full of Italian classics, plus reasonable price. As soon as we stepped in, it was the same as Osteria type of Italian Eating Place with simple setting - big hall in white & yellow colours with pizza over in one corner. There is also another part for private space but i think seating in one hall suits the food here.
Menu is full of Pizza in various types but also with antipasta, hand-made pasta, even risotto but full of wine (especially wine from Chianti of Italy) ... as soon as we ordered ... there were a basket of bread serving us ... it should be their own bake ... taste so good ... soft tender but with a little of salty taste ...
and our pizza ... Margherita (tomato - mozzarella - basil) 180Bht for 33cm size or 360Bht for 40cm ... I personally like its thinness of pizza dough which was also not turn to be stickiness when it gets colder ... it looked simple but this was the only way to prove their pizza dough and tomato sauce !!!
another type of pizza ... Gamberetti e Zucchine (shrimp - zucchini - mozzarella - rocket salad) 340Bht for 33cm size or 680Bht for 40cm size combination of seafood and spicy flavour of green salad ... the best part was on zucchini as it's so full of smokey grilled flavour. In addition, the juicy of it every time we bite and chew ... amazing !!!
Prosciutto Crudo (Tomato - Mozzarella - Parma Ham) 350Bht with thin slice of parma ham on tope of pizza dough with cheese ...
The last type of pizza that we ordered ... Calzone Farcito (Mozzarella - Cooked Ham - Mushroom - artichoke) ... all in closed pizza dough tightend up and baked then served very hot !!! inside still soft and liquidy ...
We also ordered the home-made pasta ... Ravioli Spinach with Butter and Sage 330Bht as soon as it arrived on the table ... the smell of butter was outstanding ... look at the pasta dough itself, it was so thin which was full with spinach and cheese inside ...
Tagliolini all'Aragosta (200Bht) -- below left : a home made angel hair with lobster in tomato ... a soft tender texture of egg pasta ... so yellow and so soft which we even thought it's a chinese noodle (By the way, who invented first between chinese noodle vs. italian pasta ?!??!) Risotto ai Funghi (390Bht) -- below middle & right : Risotto Mushroom a traditional rice dish of Italy that binds the grains together as a cream. But what to be wondered here is the grain are so short and fat !!!
We also ordered Caprese (190Bht) -- a mozzarella, tomato, and basil ... I have never called this dish 'salad' but keep wondering why it's always categorized as salad ?!?!
Don't forget their desserts .... Italian Gelato (Italian ice-cream type - sweet soft texture because of no hardening and less fat than normal ice-cream) ... Gelato here was full with rich taste and flavour. There's one cabinet located one corner for customers to select from 12 flavours ... and of course, as my usual, coffee to finish my meal !!!
By the way, there're also variety of desserts available such as Home made Tartufo (120Bht), Tiramisu (180Bht), Chocolate Mousse (180Bht), Panna Cotta (180Bht), and Creme Brule (200 Bht)which we were crazy enough to order all !!!
Sambuca Pizzeria and Italian restaurant Open daily 11:30-14:30 and 17:00-23:00 139/3 Sathorn soi 7, South-Sathorn Road, Bangkok 10120 Direction : Just before Sathorn City Tower -- next to Singapore Embassy
This was happened during my reading of 'OISHINBO a la Carte 4 : Fish, Sushi & Sashimi'. It was the fourth entry to cover the Japanese Cuisine Manga followed the previous volume of Japanese cuisine, sake, ramen & gyoza. For sushi eaters (and lovers), this book will be at your interest !!!
That's why, for me, a feeling that need something extreme to eat was happened with sushi -- rewarding myself for the hard working and celebrate strong feeling of love and gratitude towards food as a gift to us from the land and the seasons !!!
Therefore, coming to this new restaurant (actually it's newly opened at the Eight Thonglor but long opened at All Seasons Place) Sushicyu was a thing to try ... eat fresh seafood till ... drop. All that I am about to mention was happened at Thonglor Branch (the Eight Building).
Full name of this place is 'Sushicyu & Carnival Yakiniku' since the location was divided into 2 parts -- sushi and BBQ. But today I will write only sushi ... sushi all day ... from lunch till dinner !!!
During Lunch, of course, it's a lunch set ... starting with appetizers consists of cold tofu, dry minced beef, and chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard)
Now the main ... BARA-SUSHI ZEN (580Bht) a bowl of vinegared rice topped with dice cut raw seafoods, vegetables and variety of topping set ... Umm from the picture I saw was a bowl but howcomes when it arrived, it turned to be this big plate with a bowl of soup ?!?!
One word to describe this dish ...'over fulfill'... since I had more than I need in this dish -- from tuna, white fish, till egg and vegetable !!! All type of seafood were in one place ... but the taste was so fresh ... so fresh that I could taste the sweetness.
See another dish TEKKA-DON ZEN (680Bht) Bowl of vinegared rice topped with sliced raw tuna and medium fatty tuna set ... 2 types of tuna ... Uh Oh ... same as I had in Japan in last visit of Osaka (see : Osaka Toro in Kuromon Market) ... It's so real & so naturally fresh but this bowl contained a so REAL TUNA !!!
Now, you might wonder why it has to be this restaurant that I tried to stay from dusk till dawn ... this is because the shop selling point as it says 'fresh seafood transported directly from Tsukiji, Japan 3 times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) by air'. Together with my personal liking of 'eating at the exotic and luxurious sushi-counter is great feeling' ...
Now, this story was continued .... Second Part of the day which was dinner!!!
Sometimes I think 'Fulfill is not enough' -- like today, I need to be 'Over limit' or 'Extreme' or 'Till it exceed' for my feeling or condition of that day!!!I have to admit ... I'm not a kind of being called 'Fish Lover' or 'Fish Eater' person ... in fact, I have a limit amount, limit type, limit cooking way of fish to eat ... but I had already exceeded my limitation ... did not feel anything wrong with it ?!?!
Here's Dinner Meal ... Umm ... Big Sushi Dinner Meal indeed ... see by yourself !!!
Starting from MAGURO OKONOMI SASHIMI (520Bht) a slices of fresh raw tuna a la carte which contains 5 pieces per dish. As I have tasted during the lunch time about the freshness of fish here, why not I order maguro so that I could feel the real taste of Japan. It was served together with 3 types of fresh seaweed, sliced gobo (burdock root) and horseradish. This was real ...
Next was my real favourite NEGITORO MAKI (360Bht) Fatty Tuna with green onion roll ... It's the fatty belly of tuna -- Yes, Toro is more expensive items on the sushi menu but it prized for its taste, texture, and scarcity ... especially it was chopped with Japanese Onion (Negi) wrapped with seaweed ... let's say it's all my favourites in one !!!
Then ANAGO BHO OSHI SUSHI (580Bht) a box sushi (in this case GRILLED EEL WITH SWEET SOY SAUCE) of Osaka Style. Oshi means box in Japanese language, therefore Oshi Sushi means putting sushi rice and ingredients are placed on the top then press !!! The anago (grilled eel) was so tender as it could melt in my mouth ... chewing was not required.
Here's the dish of OKONOMI SUSHI Sliced fresh raw seafood top of sushi slice a la carte (price per 1 piece). What we ordered from left to right (of below left picture) : CYU-TORO (medium fatty blue fin tuna) 300Bht, HOTATE (giant scallop) 100Bht, and AMA-EBI (sweet shrimp) 100Bht. This dish is to show the freshness and good quality of seafood. For me, so WoW with the HOTATE -- it's was melted in my mouth !!!
The last TE MAKI I ordered myself was NATTO MAKI (Fermented soy beans roll) 80Bht ... so funny that as soon as I ordered the Japanese Chef had to come out and see my face since it's rarely for Thais to order this difficult eating natto thing !!! Can't help be able to eat natto ...
Then, we also ordered the ONIGIRI -- with Japanese Plum ... look at the beautiful pinkish of plum mixing in rice ball and also in the middle of the ball ... I have heard some said 'When Japanese saw or heard someone order the onigiri, they will order the same' ... This is true !!! As soon as our onigiri arrived, the Japanese next to us order some ... This can be called 'Onigiri Effect' !!!
To eat sushi, we must have soup ... below left was TSUMIIRE-JIRU (Clear soup with dumpling fish ball) 80Bht ... the fish ball was so fresh and tender while the soup consisted of ginger. Very refreshing indeed !!! Another bowl was AKADASHI (NAMEKO) Red soy bean paste soup (with glib mushroom) 100Bht my favourite ... the soup texture was a bit thick due to the red soy bean paste which led to the sharp and heavy taste of soup !!!
One thing I can't help when having a meal in Japanese Restaurant is to oder dessert. As of now, you might be able to notice that my usual order is OSHIRUKO (sweet red beans soup with grilled rice cake) left or SHIRATAMA - ZENZAI (sweet red beans soup with boiled mochi) right ... and that's it ... end of my journey for sushi in a day !!!
Sushicyu & Carnival Yakiniku 2nd Floor, Room 204, The Eight 88 Soi Sukhumvit 55 (Thonglor) Klongton-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel : 02-713-8312
Sushicyu & BBQ Carnival 3rd Floor, CRC Tower, Room 303-4, All Season Place 87/2 Wireless Road, Phatumwan, Bangkok 10330 Tel : 02-251-1995 Website : http://www.sushicyu.com/english.htm
The next one is my 'always' favourite snack from UK -- WALKERS Salt & Vinegar ... disregard that I used to work at Frito-Lays before, I have to insist that Salt & Vinegar have to be from this brand !!! Besides, my favourite flavour (which is always be a minority in Thailand) is this Salt & Vinegar ... still remember the time when I studied in UK, during lunchtime sandwiches with a pack of chips -- my pick 'salt & vinegar' always !!! The irresisable taste of good combination salty and sour ... yum yummmm !!!
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