World to Table • 2009 September

Sep 29, 2009

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The Great Binondo Food Wok Tour

Say hey to Zoe Dulay, my good friend and our World to Table tour guide through the crowded streets of Old Manila’s Chinatown in the Philippines. Join her as she ventures to Binondo’s restaurants and street stalls, where she experiences delicious encounters with dumplings, tea eggs, lumpias, hopias and more. — Veronica

I have realized that my love for food will topple most things, like my dislike for the outdoors and apparently, my common sense.

September marks the start of stormy, rainy weather here in Manila. One would think that maybe traipsing around Chinatown (Binondo, as it is locally known) is hard enough in the usual muggy heat- what more in torrid rains? Yet the minute my History professor mentioned the Binondo Food Wok Tour as an option for extra credit, I took it.

Tagged: dumplings, hopia, Ivan Man Dy, kiam ping, lumpia, Manila, Old Manila, Philippines, siopao, tea egg

Food Culture

Sep 24, 2009

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A Weekend of Fish Curry and French Movies in Chiang Mai

Nat retreats to Chiang Mai for a relaxing weekend of fish curry, French movies and some poolside lounging. — Veronica

If I could live anywhere in Thailand, it would be Chiang Mai. The old city retains its traditional, square layout, with a surrounding moat and restored medieval gates which lend an atmosphere of history that is absent in most of Bangkok. Chiang Mai is over 500 years older and the people seem commensurately more kind and relaxed. Nowhere is it more apparent that Chiang Mai is culturally different than in the wats, or temples which have decidedly less gold and glitter and more delicately carved wood. Bangkok feels rushed, brash and taxing in comparison.

Tagged: Chiang Mai, Curry, Fish, thailand

Food Culture

Sep 22, 2009

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Kindai Tuna Demo and Tasting

Early last week, I was lured into the French Culinary Institute in SoHo by sweet promises of freshly sliced sashimi and a chance to witness a masterful dissection of a tuna. Curious and hungry culinary students and professional chefs evidently fell for the bait too, filling up the seats in the small auditorium to witness the artful slicing and deconstructing of Kindai tuna by Chef Toshio Suzuki of Sushi Zen, Chef Noriyuki Kobayashi of Megu and Chef Kazuhiro Sato of Poke.

Kindai tuna is born and raised at Kinki University in Higashi-Osaka, Japan. Born in the laboratory and hand fed wild catch, they are raised in better conditions than other farm-raised tuna and offer a more sustainable alternative to wild bluefin tuna.

Tagged: Anita Lo, bluefin tuna, Chef Kazuhiro Sato, Gohan Society, Japanese, New York, Noriyuki Kobayashi, sashimi, SoHo, Toshio Suzuki, tuna, wasabi

Recipes

Sep 8, 2009

4 Comments

Look Mom, No Ricecooker!

Hello World (to-Table fans). My name is Kelly, and I’m writing to you from my home away from home, Poughkeepsie, NY. My real home is actually in an apartment with my sister Veronica, creator of this blog. But I currently live with three friends in a house near Vassar College, where I am a student.

That’s enough about me. What about FOOD? Like my sister, I have acquired quite a refined palate, which is a blessing and a curse, as the dining hall that “nourished” me for four semesters is not cutting it anymore. Good-bye meal plan and hello kitchen!

Tagged: baby corn, chili sauce, chinese, egg, eggplant, garlic, New York, poughkeepsie, rice, scallion, scramble, spinach, tomato

Recipes

Sep 7, 2009

2 Comments

Elusive Sukhothai Noodles and a Recipe for Tom Yum

Meet Nat: globetrotting citizen of the world, seeker of delicious foods and our newest contributor to World to Table. He’ll be sharing with you his travels, his recipes, and his unbridled love for food. — Veronica

My name is Nat, short for Natayada, and I’m from Thailand by way of America. I was born in Bangkok and have lived in Europe and Africa, but now go back and forth between east and west.

My obsession with food came early. One of my first memories is of being in a kitchen in Paris as my mother and grandmother were debating how to make Thai dish taste right with the limited ingredients we could find.

Tagged: chilis, cilantro, fish sauce, galangal, kaffir lime, lemongrass, mushrooms, noodles, palm sugar, prawns, sukhothai, thailand, tom yum