The power of java

What did I tell you? What did I tell you? Coffee has magical powers! It can keep you young! Huh, I always knew that. That is why I am désolée (wow, that sounds French--is that right, Pat and Claude?) that there is not a single Figaro branch in Hong Kong.

Sure, we have Starbucks and Pacific Coffee shops galore, and I enjoy them, especially their soft cushiony velvety sofas, but the scent of barako coffee is inimitable and, to me at least, irreplaceable.

So yesterday I wrote to the Figaro folks in Manila and was very sympathetically told that no, there isn't a branch currently but yes, they are planning to re-open at some point and that, in the meantime, I might want to check out their two outlets in Shanghai!

Errr…

ici on parle français - NOT

Readers, in 13 days I am taking the midnight flight out of Hong Kong and flying to Paris. This is my European itinerary: five days in Paris, three days in Siena/Florence/central Italy and two days in Venice.

George my adopted American uncle in Oregon thinks that I am superbly organized and that by now I will have listed the places I want to see, the things that I must do and that the undoubtedly incredibly lightweight and versatile contents of my suitcase will now have been organized in tidy battle-ready formation.

Well.......not quite. My travelling principle is composed of equal parts fly-by-the-seat of my pants any-old-way interspersed with bouts of extreme planning. I make lists of sights, lists of flights, shopping lists, lists of lists. But then I usually leave my packing till the last minute--as all my friends and family who have ever flown with me will testify--and I have, on at least five separate occasions, been the VERY LAST passenger to board. There I was, all red in the face from running, skipping down the looooooooong aisles while everyone looks on and would trip me if they could (no doubt). Mea culpa.

Gotta get my ass in gear and start checking out phrasebooks, bank ATMs and passwords, *list* clothes to pack, clothes to repair, shoes to clean, supplies to buy! Alert cleaning lady, park my anemic houseplant in the office so that someone will bother to water her, maybe buy some euros, memorize a few more phrases beyond "bonjour" and "buon giorno".

Oh, and improve my eye lash-batting skills in preparation for those famously SEXY Italians. Heh. heh. Hope my Mom's not reading this blog.

Right now there's a piece of cheese in the fridge with my name on it. Meanwhile, I leave you with this super-scrumptious picture of one of my must-see places in France. Note the large wedge of Livarot--I remember you well, Colonel!

Save our sinigang

If only I could tele-transport myself home just for one day! I'm especially interested in the sinigang and decadent dining segments.


I
The Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Symposium 2005
Vanishing Food in the Philippines

August 27, 2005
Filipinas Heritage Library
Makati City

Programme

8:00-9:00 Registration
9:00-9:15 Introduction to the Symposium
Ambeth Ocampo

9:15-10:45 Session 1: Vanishing Foods and Lifestyles
Moderator: Pia Lim-Castillo

The Vanishing Healthy Filipino Asian Meals
Sanirose Orbeta

Brown Rice: Reviving a Lost Health Food
Rhoda S. Lantin

The Dying Art of Vinegar
Linda Corsiga

10:25-10:45 Open Forum

10:45-11:00 Break

11:00-12:30 Session 2: Vanishing Practices
Moderator: Severino Sarmenta, Jr.

The Disappearance of Decadent Dining
Dez Bautista

Who Will Save Our Sinigang? Preserving the Flavours and
Savours of Traditional Filipino Dishes
Bel Castro

So Much To Eat, So Much To Remember: Childhood Memories
of Food in Mandaue Before the Factories Came
Dr. Romola O. Savellon

12:10-12:30 Open Forum

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30-3:00 Session 3: Food and History
Moderator: Mark Escaler

Saving the Barako
Pat Gallardo

Bark from the Pan: Decoding the Spectacle of Dog-Meat
Eating in the 1904 St. Louis Fair and in the Cordillera
Analyn V. Salvador

Food Should Not Be History
Ambeth Ocampo

2:30-3:00 Open Forum

3:00-3:15 Break

3:15-3:30 Presentation of Awards / Closing
Maritoni Ortigas

Modern mooncake

The Moon Cake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival (Chung Chiu), the third major festival of the Chinese calendar, is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month. This festival corresponds to harvest festivals observed by Western cultures, and in Hong Kong, it is held in conjunction with the annual Lantern Festival.

This festival is also known as the Moon Cake Festival because a special kind of sweet cake (yueh ping) prepared in the shape of the moon and filled with sesame seeds, ground lotus seeds and duck eggs is served as a traditional Chung Chiu delicacy.

Nobody actually knows when the custom of eating moon cake of celebrate the Moon Festival began, but one relief traces its origin to the 14th century. At the time, China was in revolt against the Mongols. Chu Yuen-chang, and his senior deputy, Liu Po-wen, discussed battle plan and developes a secret moon cake strategy to take a certain walled city held by the Mongol enemy. Liu dressed up as a Taoist priest and entered the besieged city bearing moon cake.

He distributed these to the city's populace. When the time for the year's Chung Chiu festival arrived, people opened their cakes and found hidden messages advising them to coordinate their uprising with the troops outside. Thus, the emperor-to-be ingeniously took the city and his throne. Moon cake of course, became even more famous.

The moon plays a significant part in this festival. In Hong Kong, any open space or mountain top is crowded with people trying to get a glimpse of this season's auspicious full moon....but don't let me bore on. You can read the complete article here, if you like.

~ ~ ~
Nowadays everyone’s gotten into the act. You can get "snowy" mooncake from Taipan and icecream mooncake from Haagen-Dazs. As your faithful reporter, I consider it my duty to investigate this phenomenon. The things I do for my readers!

~~~
Utterly failed to compose a contribution to Lasang Pinoy I! But hats off to you, fellow Pinoys. Bilib ako sa inyo.

Chicken soup for the solo

Hunted fruitlessly at two Park N Shop outlets tonight for a smallish whole chicken to make into nilaga. After chowing down--in the course of 48 hours--six Timtams, two platefuls of pancit bihon, a four-course Thai meal at Phukets on Elgin St. (consisting of a so-so tom yum, a red chicken curry that had more veg than actual chicken, and a plate of vegetables of indetermininate purpose), paella and gambas (NOTE TO SELF: Easy on the olive oil for the entire week) -- a clear, simple soup seemed just the ticket.

PnS had run out. No chickens on a Monday evening, and it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet. The branch in Aberdeen had only two suspiciously yellow-looking chickens left, rather creatively labelled 'ginseng' chicken.

I dithered for looooong minutes in front of the display. In the end, went home with...fish.

Maybe I should start keeping chickens. My family did, when I was about 12 or 13. Mom would buy dozens of the cutest chicks and we would feed them and raise them until they became so much less cute and so much more edible. And because she sold them 'dressed', guess who chased them around the yard, cut their poor little throats and plucked their gazillion little feathers?

That said, a steaming bowl of arroz caldo, full of choice bits of chicken, is on my top 20 list of favorite comfort food.

Purple moment

Is this cool or what? I just love these shades of lavender and dark brown and blue and pink. This is the view outside the window of the restaurant on Elgin St in Hong Kong's "Soho" district--Soho being "south of Hollywood Road"--where a friend and I had lunch today. Since I bought my bea-yoootifool new digicam I've been snapping away like a crazed paparrazzo (hmmm..paparraza if female?) in hopes of figuring out how this blessed thing works. Never had a camera with manual controls before; the Canon S70 is somewhat midway between point and shoot digicams and digital SLRs.

The rain hasn't stopped all day. Hong Kong is waterlogged. However, I did catch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I'm sure tonight I'll be dreaming of chocolate waterfalls and fine cocoa beans and bars upon bars of choccies. I'm sure I'll wake up as round and fluffy as Godiva truffles.

A salad of new potatoes

Potatoes, mustard and red onion are a superb combination! I spent a few minutes last night putting this together. Basically, it's boiled potatoes and green peas bathed in a mustard-olive oil-white vinegar-dill sauce. Drop in a few basil leaves for taste.

Where'd the sun go?

Rainy and gray today in Hong Kong. This is the view outside my living room window--notice how the Peak is obscured.

Twenty-one days

Just past ten on a Thursday night. I always think Thursdays are special because there is Friday and the glorious, blessed, munificent weekend to look forward to. And I'm in an extra tizzy because, in just 21 days' time, I am off--finally--to Europe!

The excitement has been building for weeks, ever since my plans started coming together. More on this later.

Tonight, also, Patricia is in town, but I won't get to see her. Right now she's certainly sitting in some transit terminal at Chek Lap Kok, waiting for the plane that will take her to France to join her husband and start a new life as an immigrant in Europe.