lechon

we finally had some of the famous roast pig, lechon, while at the pearl farm. jules thought it was okay. but, i wasn't too impressed. then again, we're southerners so we have high pork expectations.



i look forward to trying it here in cebu next. the cebu lechon is supposed to be far superior to that of any other filipino lechon. anthony bourdain actually dubbed it the best pig in the world. i'm skeptical but i'll let you know.

lessons in fishdom

okay, i'm an idiot...or maybe that's a little harsh. i didn't see any of you commenting that the lapu-lapu below was in fact just a grouper. as grouper is one of my favorite fish it's no wonder i fell in love with the lapu-lapu.

anyhoo, just thought i would share that we weren't eating some exotic filipino fish-just some grouper with a fun name.

we also found out last night at dinner that the fish we had been calling a "pirate fish" was actually a "parrot fish". which makes me laugh. not because we misunderstood the lady we asked last weekend because, hey, i got about every tenth word she was saying...but, because when she told us the name the wife said "oh!" and then preceded to do her best hook impression and scream "argh matey".



the lady just smiled and nodded.

introducing...

that big red guy is a lapu-lapu fish. this fish is gets his name from the famous chief lapu-lapu (warning- slight history lesson ahead) who defeated and killed the spanish explorer, ferdinand magellan...although he was technically from portugal but he did work for the spanish crown...okay, okay... in 1521. chief lapu-lapu is quite the hero here on mactan island and this fish seems to be a mainstay.

it can be found at any restaurant or market selling seafood and we've already had our fair share. grilled, sweet and sour or in a soup it has quickly become one of my favorites here in the philippines.

i'm seriously thrilled to have so much wonderfully fresh seafood available to us... but, i'm sure just as i hope to avoid steaks for the rest of the year, mr. lapu-lapu and i will probably part ways on bad terms.

until then i'll just keep getting too much of a good thing!

best meal of 2009?

Obviously, when visiting Japan eating sushi is a must.

Kristy and Will were kind enough to take us out for a true blue sushi experience at one of their favorite places. We saddled up to the sushi bar and from there our experience was totally in the hands of our skilled chef. The extent of our order was drinks as the menu for the night was filled with whatever looked good to our chef at the market earlier that morning and he felt like serving up.



Every single thing placed in front of us was of the highest quality, immaculately executed and ridiculously fresh. Even the best sushi I’ve ever had before pales dismally in comparison.

Seriously, I have no idea how Will & Kristy will ever be able to eat sushi in the States again without groaning in dismay…it will be hard enough for us.

**apologies-everything was gorgeously plated and i wish i had taken more photos.

Argentina-the good, the better and the gross

Argentina thus far has proven to be a meat lovers heaven...even more so than South Africa. The Argentine diet consists mainly of steak, steak and more steak with a side of sausage.

You can get steak at fast food places here and we're talking good steak. At parillas (restaurants with charcoal or wood fire grills) you can get amazing steaks and usually for under $10 USD.

Outside of steak (but not too far because sometimes they're stuffed with steak)another favorite down here is empanadas.



Delicious little savory meat pies...we've yet to have one that wasn't at least pretty darn good.

Dessert in Argentina means one thing...dulce de leche. No matter what dessert you order you better believe it is coming with a huge scoop of this decendent and sinful stuff. They even have their own "oreo" type cookie called alfajors which are stuffed with dulche de leche.

As you can imagine we're enjoying the fare in Argentina but that isn't to say we've not had any bad experiences.

Okay, so it was one bad experience, and it was totally me and it was stupid and the only reason I'm telling this story is because the Wife already told Dr. Pants without prior authorization...so it's already out there.

Anyway, on our tour of the Andes we stopped in a tiny town (population 7, no joke) right by the Chile border. It was a very basic restaurant with a woman behind a counter with what was obviously some homemade dishes. It was cold, like snow on the ground cold, and I wanted some soup. I spied what I thought to be a chicken stew. I asked the woman "pollo?" to which she replied with a string of Spanish that I couldn't begin to decipher. I just nodded and said "si, load me up". At this point I was thinking it was a fish stew.

It wasn't until I sat down and got a good look at my plate that I realized this was no fish...I'd watched enough Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel to recognize cow stomach when it was on a plate in front of me.

Back before we left I really thought I'd be pretty brave about trying different foods. But, it seems that is not the case. A couple of pieces of stomach were hidden under my mashed potatoes so I did technically try it though. Really outside of the taste it was the texture was really the issue...and the look of it...not pretty.

The obvious lesson here is if you know the words for meats and you're told something you don't recongnize move it along and pick something else for God's sake!

Stellenbosch

Although I didn’t bring my camera to dinners, this weekend provided us with the best meals since arriving in South Africa so I'm still going to share...

Our hotel package included two three-course dinners. One at the hotel restaurant and the other at the Klein Zalze winery’s acclaimed Terroir Restaurant.

Although we were looking forward to our dinner at Terroir, Friday’s dinner at the hotel restaurant did not disappoint. I started with a beautifully prepared prawn risotto (you know I’m a freak about risotto being cooked properly), had a some delicious Thai style noodles and we both chose the homemade vanilla and hazelnut ice cream with chocolate sauce…so good that even the Wife enjoyed it and she’s not much for ice cream.

Terroir is consistently in the top 10 restaurant list for the wine country. It has a wonderful atmosphere and a gracious staff that caters to your every whim without being overbearing. The Wife started with the duck confit with braised lentil puree…it was divine. I had the crispy pork trotter. It was deboned and wrapped with truffle in a light and flakey pastry parcel. I had always prided my Southern self as never having eaten “pig’s feet” but I have to admit, it was glorious.

For our main course I went with the fillet and the Wife went for the pork belly with caramelized apples. Although my fillet was delicious in its own right she so out ordered me on this one. It was only our second time eating pork belly but I pray not our last. I closed with the apple tart which was caramelized to perfection. Paired with the winery’s Pinotage it was a meal to remember.

Stellenbosch is also home to a Culinary School and we had a lovely breakfast prepared by some third year students at the school’s restaurant.

We also had some wonderfully fresh sandwiches at the Fairview Wine Estate made with their own cheeses.

We’ve had some nice meals in South Africa but Stellenbosch definitely took it up a notch.

Wines you should look out for in the States: Klein Zalze Pinotage ’06 or ’07, also their Sauvignon Blanc…Fairview (apparently a world first) has a great red called Pinotage Viognier look for these guys on the label…

South African Lunch

home-cooked

I miss cooking. Like, I really miss it. But, just as much as I miss cooking at home I miss eating home-cooked meals. It just so happens I was usually cooking them.

We’ve had some great meals on the road and tasted the work of some very talented chefs but, I don’t think anything compares to food made at home by ordinary people with extraordinary care.

On our way to Kruger we stayed at the Utopia of Africa guesthouse in Nelspruit where we were treated to our first home-cooked meals since leaving the States.

Friday night all 8 of us piled around the table and passed around dishes of flawlessly spiced lamb and spinach curry, perfectly roasted winter veggies, provolone and prosciutto wrapped asparagus topped with chutney and salad overflowing with fresh berries and nuts. We ended the already amazing meal with a heavenly pineapple bundt cake served with warm cream.

Why I never served cake with warm cream before is beyond me…but, I promise to never make the mistake again.

Breakfast the next day was just as lovely with fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon, breads, quiche and yummy locally grown and freshly squeezed orange juice.

A big thanks to the proprietor, Patricia and her cook, Emily, for making us feel at home in the best way possible- around the table with friends, enjoying good wine and scrumptious food.

carnivore heaven

last night we went to "the butcher shop" in sandton mall. the mall is pretty close to where we are staying now and the restaurant came highly recommended by our hotel. in truth we had tried to go to an african music/dance show but when we got there we found out it was cancelled. we were already out and hungry hence why so we were spared yet another night in the lounge at the hyatt.

this place was a meat lovers dream...they had a huge meat counter and cooler after cooler of hanging beef and game. i've said before that south africans don't mess around when it comes to grilled meats and our experience here only furthered this belief.

i chose the t-bone (above)...mainly because at home the wife only grills fillet and with the t-bone you get the tender fillet side and and the tastiness of a sirloin. it was pretty darn good. the wife got the fillet, shocker i know.

our dear frenchmen went for the steak tartar. in atlanta (excluding flip) when we've ordered tartar it is an appetiser and usually a slightly thicker version of beef carpaccio. not here...here you get a huge pile of raw ground beef with a raw egg on top...




i love meat and all but that was too much for me. the wife on the other hand loved it...

78 days

that is how long it takes after leaving india to revive your love of indian food. our hotel in zambia had an great indian restaurant complete with a chef from northern india. i ate the delicious chicken tikka masala three times in 2 1/2 days and am still craving it now.

most people i know say they don't like indian food when in actuality they've never had it or only tried one dish. if you've never given indian food a fair shake i really recommend you hitting bombay cafe on briarcliff for their brunch buffet on sunday. it is pretty authentic except now that they have so many non-indian customers on the weekends the spice level is pretty low.

check it out and eat your weight in chicken tikka masala, dal and paneer for me!