| • Dear Food Lover |
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| Higashi, is the refined Japanese art of powdered sugar, pressed into small, intiricate wooden molds, and served to compliment and contrast the bitter astringency of green macha tea. |
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| Wasanboto, an extremely refined cane sugar, is strengthened with rice flour and soy starch to allow higashi shapes to hold after unmolding. By contrast, chewey glutinous wagashi -- renowned for their beauty -- are rolled and decorated by hand, then typically filled with a sweet bean paste, and flavored with standard green tea sencha. |
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| Learn more about these sweets during a hands-on confectionery class in the ancient capital of Kyoto, during our Ultimate Japanese Dining Experience food tour in June. Co-hosted by masterchef Ryuichi Yoshii, we'll guide you through Osaka, Kyoto & Tokyo, and the myriad mysteries of Japanese menus. Let us tantalize you with the tastes of the country's best sushi & sashimi. Click for daily itinerary... |
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 Japan FOODtour dates are June 1-10, with optional stopover packages in both Bangkok and Singapore. We've scheduled travel to coincide with America's Memorial Day weekend, and before Tokyo's high summer temperatures hit. Better yet, as Japan has undergone a decade-long deflation, prices have little changed since the 1990s! Bonus: Join before April, and receive a free autographed copy of Ryuichi Yoshii's book, Sushi. To register download PDF file here. |
We've commissioned BFirst Travel to handle flights
and insurance for our Australian customers, and can recommend select agents for other overseas clients. |
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• SEOUL |
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| Robert spent a racing 36 hours in Seoul, including stops at the city's new kimchi museum, and another featuring the country's decorative sweet rice cakes, or tteok. |
| Within minutes of arrival, he met opera diva Sumi Jo, during her fitting at the country's leading haute couturier, Andre Kim. Name Dropper... Korea has got to be the world's only country where delicate raw fish sashimi is downed with a side of fiery fermented cabbage, and raw garlic cloves, between bites. But if you've got a head cold, it's the perfect destination, and we loved the city's steaming saunas. For our full story, click here... |
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• LODGINGS |
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| Sofitel Ambassador Seoul hosts one of the poshest bathhouses we've yet encountered. Besides the two dry saunas of varying degrees (and piped in television, for those addicted to Korea's famous "soaps"), the facilities also boast steam rooms, and three separate soaking pools. The hottest was a skin numbing 48 C/119F, the middle at 35C (or almost 100F) and a shivering, icy cold pool for the true masochist. As in Japan, etiquette requires you to bathe before soaking. Actually, a rinse will do, then soak, and finally a true scrubbing and rinse before a final quick soak. (Suds are verboten in the tub.) For an exhilarating experience, ask a masseur to give you a scrub. He'll tightly wind a dry cloth around his hand and arm, then briskly remove every and all dry flake. Afterwards, another soak. Pure heaven. www.sofitel.com |
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• ISAN FOOD FESTIVAL |
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| Khon Kaen in '08 is set to host Isan's first international food festival. Plans are afoot to highlight specialty dishes from Thailand's Northeast -- and most delicious -- region. The 5-star Sofitel Raja Orchid |
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also plans to offer a culinary masterclass weekend here, to coincide with the event. Remember, you read it here, first! We'll keep you advised on festival events, if you add your name to our list here
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• VIETNAM |
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| The world's best fish sauce hails from Vietnam. And undisputed title heavyweight goes to the minnow island of Phu Quoc. Here, locals exclusively brew ca com, or long-jawed anchovy. One of the most prolific fish in the region, it's actually the same dried fish served as ikan billis, a Malay trail mix-like snack. Alas, Vietnam Air embargoes all fish sauce off the island -- fearing broken bottles will contaminate luggage. But persevere. We "smuggled" 4 bottles to Saigon! MORE ON FISH SAUCE... |
| Robert & Morrison globetrotted to this tropical paradise at Vietnam's southern extremity in November. We predict Phu Quoc to become the region's next hot destination, especially as the waters of the South China Sea meeting the Gulf of Siam are warmer than east coast beaches, and the sands are immaculately white. The island directly faces Cambodia's mainland, and historically belongs to the Khmers, but a century ago bequeathed to Tonkin as a bridal dowry. Colonial France used it as a prison, and during the Pol Pot years ethnic Cambodians were forcibly relocated. |
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For a foodie, Phu Quoc also grows one of the world's great peppercorns, plus an expensive late harvest "red" peppercorn. Locals grind it to a dust-like powder to blend with salt, then squeeze fresh lime to create an ambrosial dipping sauce known as mui tio chanh -- delicious with seafood and grilled meats.
More on pepper, Click HERE …
Read Robert's article & Morrison's photos in Vacations & Travel magazine. |
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• SUVARNABHUMI @ 4 MONTHS |
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| Growing pains are normal, but after only 4 months? Little wonder that Thailand plans to reopen its old Don Muang airport for all non-connecting domestic flights as of 15 March. After attending Bangkok's new international airport inauguration last September, we waxed lyrical. Sadly, hype didn't live up to expectations. Flagrant corruption and cronyism in the ousted Thaksin government has revealed a litany of substandard building practices, and now potentially dangerous cracks in the brand-new runway. Many of the sky bridges are closed because of subsidence, with arrivals manually bussed to the terminal. Despite these faults, we're still impressed with Suvarnabhumi's dynamic architecture, but practicality is another issue. Arrival Hall is a nightmare, with extreme crowding around the exits making passage near impossible. Baggage retrieval is unacceptably slow, and direction signs inadequate. More surprising, new immigration computerware is lethargic when compared to the 10 seconds it takes to clear in Singapore. (At Changi, you're given a candy to sweeten the "inconvenience'.) |
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• MISCELLANY |
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Congratulations to Helene Kaplan, a three-time repeat food tour guest, who celebrated her 65th anniversary with husband Shelly on Pearl Harbor Day. Helene gauntleted gamely throughout Myanmar/Burma with us over New Year, and we look forward to her next trip in Asia! |
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| Meanwhile, our friend Howard Helmer continues to fry 'em fast for Guinness. The world's fastest omelet maker has been pipped -- by himself! His new world record takes just 42 seconds for a fully cooked omelet, and he can flip an egg 30 times in just 34 seconds. For the record, Howard cooked 427 omelets in just 30 minutes! www.internationalegg.com |
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In loving memory of Eilleen Ryckebosch, who joined us on our first food tour to Thailand in Nov. '02, traveling with husband Jim and sister Helen. We'll always remember her ready smile & laugh.
She will be missed. |
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| France's Le Cordon Bleu is scheduled to open in Thailand. With Bangkok's prestigious Dusit Thani hotel on Silom Rd. as its headquarters, the Academy of World Cuisines will offer a Business Administration degree in kitchen and restaurant management, plus shorter courses for non-professionals. The school teaches in both English and Thai, but the emphasis is on French dishes for Thai residents, not Thai dishes for foreign tourists. For more information, contact Lalana Santos: lalana@dusit.com |
| A commercial flight from DC to Texas performed an emergency landing in December after passengers reported a smell of burning sulphur. After a three hour search, the perpetrator was identified, but not charged. Turned out the cause of the stench was lit matches masking her flatulence. She was not allowed back on the flight and is now barred from flying on American Airlines. |
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Meanwhile, Europeans are flocking to Bulgaria to buy "breast boosting beer" after EU accession led to lower custom duties on the brew. The millet-ale Boza is reputed to make women's breasts grow. |
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• PRESS |
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| Robert's article & Morrison's photos on Phu Quoc, Vietnam's idyllic island ran in Vacations & Travel magazine, winter '06. For the full article, click here... |
| Robert's piece for the November '06 Destination Asia travel-industry newsletter can be sourced on read the article here... |
| Robert's books Thai Home Cooking and Vietnamese Home Cooking have been republished by Periplus in Asia and Tuttle in America under the new titles Thai Cooking and Vietnamese Cooking. His book Fondue is now in its ninth edition! |
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• EVENTS |
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| Portland, OR. Saturday, April 7: come join Robert & Morrison at In Good Taste cooking school, where we demo salads of Vietnam and Thailand. We'll also explore varying methods to make authentic red curry paste. www.ingoodtastestore.com |
| Chicago, IL. Saturday, April 14: Robert & Morrison are speaking on at the International Association of Culinary Professionals conference, presenting a workshop entitled Asian Authentics (and why it matters). WS28 |
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• UPCOMING |
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| March '08 Thailand food tour and Isan Food Festival in Khon Kaen, Thailand with optional 5-day side trip to the Pindaya Cave Festival in Burma/Myanmar.
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• IN OUR NEXT ISSUE |
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| Burma/Myanmar Japanese fish dishes Ticketless tickets |
Join us in Japan June 1 - 10 2007
Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka, traveling with master chef Yoshii |
| further details on www.asianfoodtours.com |
Cheers,
Robert & Morrison |
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