Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice

Posted on 17 June 2012 by christao408

While I said I was done with the food entries from Maui, there actually is one dessert/snack entry remaining: Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice.

Andy’s wife Sugi (I can say “wife” now – yay!) enjoying her favorite shave ice. Since her mother is from Maui and Sugi spent her summers growing up on the island, I put great stock in her number-one rating for Ululani’s. After some so-so experiences with shave ice on Kauai last year, I was surprised at how good the dessert can be – if you go to the right place.

Shave ice, often confused by mainlanders with snow cones, is a local Hawaiian specialty. Unlike snow cones, which are made with crushed ice, shave ice is precisely that – shaved – with a texture akin to snow. (I know, it would seem that shave ice should really be called “snow cones,” right?) This is important because while a snow cone results in a big pool of flavored syrup sitting at the bottom of a cup of ice, shave ice absorbs the syrup, ensuring that each bite is full of goodness.

Ululani’s has four locations on Maui – two near each other in Lahaina, one in the island’s main town of Kahului, and the newest shop on the north side of Kihei. We went to the original location on Front Street in old town Lahaina.

Each of Ululani’s 40 flavored syrups is made in-house using fruit purees, extracts, filtered water, and pure cane sugar. Toppings are either home made or come from other Maui companies. This local approach is one of their secrets to success. Now, it is true that shave ice can be a sickeningly sweet dessert. The key is to choose favors that create complexity and contrast rather than just add one layer of sweetness on top of another. I chose a recommended combination – Ho’ike – which offers lilikoi (passionfruit), li hing mui (Chinese salted plum), and passion orange. The salted plum adds a tart and salty note that cuts the sweetness, making the shave ice refreshing.

Another part of Ululani’s charm is their friendly employees. Sure, I’m a mainlander who barely knows my pu pu platter from my poke. But this young lady was patient, happy to answer every question with a smile, and chatted with us about our visit to Maui while preparing our shave ice. In this picture, she adds mochi (made by Maui Specialty Chocolates) to my shave ice.

The finished product! Yummy!

Maui Food Madness Part 4

Posted on 16 June 2012 by christao408

Sorry for being absent from Xanga for over a week. We returned from the United States with my sister and brother-in-law in tow, and have been showing them around Bangkok, leaving little time for blogging. With that said, let me pick up where we left off in Hawai’i. For the final segment on food in Maui, we visit a lavender farm, a goat dairy, and eat some fantastic fish tacos.

Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm

One of the interesting things about Maui is that it is agriculturally more diverse than you initially expect. While there are wide swaths of land dedicated to sugar cane and other tropical produce, as you ascend the slopes of Haleakala (the volcano that forms the eastern 75% of Maui), you pass through a more temperate zone. The combination of rich soil, moisture-laden air, and the filtered tropical sun provides a fertile growing environment for a wide variety of produce. Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm is a great example of this.

Situated 4,000 feet above the ocean in the town of Kula, the Ali’i farm stretches over 13 sloping acres. Different varieties of lavender are cultivated and the grounds are largely open for self-guided walking tours. In the early afternoon, the breeze was pleasantly warm but we were protected by a thick layer of clouds that reminded me of the fog of my native San Francisco, but without the need for multiple layers of clothing.

Here, Sugi and Tawn pose amidst a field of lavender on the upper edge of the farm. The farm offers settings for private events including weddings. While the steep slopes might prove challenging for guests with limited mobility, the views (and fragrance!) would be unforgettable and worth the effort.

Close up of one variety of lavender. The air really is perfumed with a subtle, but pleasant aroma from the acres of lavender.

In addition to the lavender, the farm has extensive gardens with many different plants and beautiful flowers. Many of the plants were familiar to me from growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, which has a similar climate. I was excited to see the fuchsia (on the right) because my father used to grow these in our back yard.

No trip to the farm is complete without a stop at the gift shop for a snack. Beverages include lavender lemonade and tea.

The highlight is the lavender scones served with passion fruit and lavender jelly. A few years ago, I purchased some food grade lavender but rarely used it. Tasting these scones, I was sorely tempted to buy some more and make it a point to cook more frequently with this beautiful flavor.

Sitting on the shady balcony outside the gift shop, we were visited by a flock of small birds who waited not so patiently for scone crumbs. Tawn decided to share his crumbs with them and they gingerly approached and pecked them from his hand.

Surfing Goat Dairy

Just down the hill from the lavender farm is the Surfing Goat Dairy, another example of the agricultural variety found on Maui. A working farm that produces more than two dozen varieties of goat cheese that are used at restaurants across the island, Surfing Goat Dairy proudly claims to make da’ feta mo’ betta!

One of the younger goats playing on a surf board.

The dairy offers tours and there is a small gift shop that sells a variety of their products. Recommended are the cheese tasting flights, which feature both fresh and aged cheeses.

We sampled six cheeses, a mixture of fresh and aged. From the back left, clockwise: fresh feta, “Ping Pong Balls” (drained chevre, rolled into balls and marinated in garlic olive oil), Ole! (chevre with jalepenos, lime juice, artichokes, and cilantro), Udderly Delicious (plain, salted chevre), Garden Fantasia (chevre with fresh garden herbs), and French Dream (an aged cheese with herbs de Provence). Lots of fantastic cheese here, many of which have won national awards.

A pleasant, shaded seating area was populated with a friendly farm dog and cat, both of which came over looking for some attention. Despite being outside, both animals had exceptionally soft, well groomed coats. Perhaps the result of drinking plenty of goat milk?

Before we left, I snapped a picture of these kids feeding kids. Ha ha…

Coconut’s Fish Cafe

The final entry about Maui food concludes with a stop at Coconut’s Fish Cafe in Kihei. This restaurant, which is in a strip mall, looks like nothing to write home about but surprises you with tremendous quality. The must-eat item is fish tacos, which are prepared from fresh, locally-caught fish.

The owner, Mike Phillips, who is in the shop most evenings, supervises operations and comes out to chat with customers. He took this picture for us. He explained that they are just setting up franchises on the west cost of the mainland, with the initial store to be in Santa Cruz. If a Coconut’s Fish Cafe opens near you, please make sure you try it. As Mike explained, the only advertising they do is customer word-of-mouth. So from my mouth to your ear: word.

The beautiful fish taco, made with fresh mahi mahi, crunchy cabbage slaw, and a sweet and tangy mango salsa. This taco was so good that I would seriously consider stopping in Maui next time I’m flying back to the mainland US, just to eat here. My only quibble is that the toppings are cut in very large chunks, making them a bit hard to eat. Smaller bits would ensure you get a little bit of everything in each bite, but that’s a tiny complaint.

There you have it, the conclusion of my Maui Food Madness entries. I hope you enjoyed them!

Part 3
Part 2
Part 1

Maui Food Madness Part 3

Posted on 6 June 2012 by christao408

Our Maui dining adventures continues with some Japanese food, a touristy luau, and some organic pizza.

Ramen Ya

Monday evening we ate dinner at Ramen Ya, a Japanese restaurant located in a mall in Kahului. Right across the courtyard is Sugi’s aunt’s fabric store.

The newlyweds – still all smiles – decide what dinner to order.

The food is what I might call “rough and tumble” – huge portions of moderately satisfying Japanese favorites. Here we have a gargantuan portion of chicken katsu served over fried rice. It was tasty enough but the portion could have served three.

A bowl of ramen, part of a combo set that also included fried rice and gyoza. Nobody complained about the food but it didn’t inspire any positive raves, either.

Old Lahaina Luau

Andy Yang had arranged for all of us to make a trip to the Old Lahaina Luau, reportedly the best of the touristy package luau shows. Located right on the harbor, the grounds offered seating for more than 500 guests for their nightly show. The sun was a bit strong in the late afternoon but by the time it set, the location was beautiful and the weather pleasant.

Each table seats eight – here is Andy Yang, his brother-in-law Erich, Sugi, and Tawn. Every group of three or four tables had their own server, all of whom were shirtless men. This was Tim, who was really friendly and took good care of our group. Would you believe he is celebrating his twenty-ninth wedding anniversary this year? He looks younger than that.

Sunset over the harbor. This was a beautiful sunset, accentuated by the live Hawaiian music being performed by a quartet on the lawn.

Food was served buffet style, each table being released in order to avoid long queues. Food included Hawaiian specialties along with “Hawaiianized” chicken, steak, etc. On the left is lau lau pork – pork wrapped in ti leaves and steamed. Working clockwise is kalua pork (which they cook overnight in a pit), teriyaki beef, a creamed vegetable salad, lomi salmon (a salted salmon dish), a dish made with local greens, sweet-and-sour chicken, and mahi mahi. Overall, I give the luau high marks for food quality and variety. Especially when considering the setting, the meal was very satisfying.

The dessert tray: macadamia nut tarts, chocolate brownies, chocolate passion fruit pots-de-creme, and haupia – a coconut milk based pudding.

Two shots from the show, which came on after dinner. Photos by Andy Yang. The program traced the islands’ history and illustrated different types of dancing based on different cultural traditions that influenced modern Hawai’i.

At $100 per person plus gratuity, the Old Lahaina Luau is steep. (All inclusive, including alcoholic drinks) If it is your first time to the islands, though, it might be a fun way to set the mood. Service was very good.

Flatbread Company

A few days later we found ourselves back in Paia, where Sugi’s family lives. Andy and I tried sea kayaking (well, I tried, he photographed – more on that soon!) while Tawn did yoga. Afterwards, we stopped for some pizza at the renown Flatbread Company.

Here’s the storefront of the Flatbread Company, located in the hippie-ish town of Paia on the north shore of Maui. As the sign says, they serve wood fired love.

In addition to the dough being made from organic flour, lots of ingredients are locally sourced. A chalkboard in the dining room lists local suppliers.

The wood burning hearth is in the middle of the dining room. If you are feeling cold (not likely!) you can walk up to it and warm yourself.

Metaphoto. Everyone is taking pictures. Thankfully, our dining companions knew the cardinal rule of food blogger etiquette: nobody eats until the shooting’s complete.

Mopsy’s Kalua Pork – Kiawa smoked free range pork shoulder, homemade organic mango BBQ sauce, organic red onions, Maui pineapple, and a blend of Hawaiian goat cheeses and mozzarella, topped with local organic herbs.

The Coevolution – imported kalmatta olives, fresh organic Maui rosemary, red onions, and fire roasted sweet red peppers, and a blend of Hawaiian goat cheeses and mozzarella, topped with organic local herbs.

Both pizzas were excellence. The kalua pork was mutually agreed to be our favorite. What made these pizzas excellent were the crusts, that found the perfect balance between crispiness and chewiness. The secret – Giusto’s Organic Ultimate Performer Unbleached Flour from South San Francisco, which has high protein and high gluten.

Maui Food Madness Part 2

Posted on 3 June 2012 by christao408

The second part in my series of interesting places I ate while we were recently on Maui. Today: eskimo candy, touristy seafood, and sensational sushi.

Eskimo Candy

Eskimo Candy is what they call smoked salmon. Eskimo Candy is also a small seafood restaurant located across from a Napa auto parts store in the beach condo town of Kihei, on the south side of Maui. Open weekdays only, there’s only a trio of tables and much of the business is takeout. The menu is mostly fish and freshness is the name of the game.

An order of fish and chips served with slaw. The catches of the day are listed on the board and are available in many forms, including fried in a light beer batter and served with fries. This was opah (also known as moonfish), a firm white fleshed fish that is a byproduct of longline tuna fishing. Really good.

The prize catch, though, is their poke rice bowl. Poke (pronounced “poh-keh”) is raw fish (usually tuna) salad. Eskimo Candy serves four types: a spicy poke, one with fukikake (dried seaweed and sesame seeds), one with shoyu (soy sauce), and one with wasabi. The fish is really fresh, cold, and firm – the best quality poke I’ve eaten.

Also worth trying (although not seafood) is their chicken teriyaki.

Lahaina Fish Company

Lahaina is the largest town on the west side of Maui, an old whaling town that dates back to the 1800s. It is a major tourist area with a charming downtown of shops and sights to see. We had lunch at the Lahaina Fish Company, a restaurant that sits on the harbor and is listed in the Lonely Planet as a worthwhile place to eat.

The breeze was pleasant and the service reasonably attentive. The food, though, wasn’t very interesting and the prices were about what you would expect in this touristy an area. Two items that are worth mention:

A poke taco appetizer consisted of four very crisp tortilla shells served with okay poke and garnishes including edamame guacamole. It was passable but the shells were super crunchy, a bit too much so.

One of the specials was described as an “Ahi Sashimi ‘Katsu’ Rice Bowl”. Of course, this is a contradiction in terms. Sashimi is raw and katsu is fried. Sure enough, they used middling quality ahi tuna, wrapped it in nori, lightly breaded it then briefly fried it. It was served with fresh seaweed, carrots, dried seaweed, and a few other greens on a large serving of rice. The so-called “wasabi ginger buerre blanc” dressing didn’t add anything to the dish and the portion of rice was so large that the last quarter of the bowl (despite mixing the ingredients) was plain white rice.

Sushi Paradise

After eating abused ahi sashimi in Lahaina, it was a relief to come to Sushi Paradise.

Located in a strip mall in the condo town of Kihei, Sushi Paradise puts on an unflattering face.

The inside is small and spartan but it gets busy. If you don’t make reservations, you could easily face a wait of up to two hours. Tawn and I shared a “Paradise Dinner” for $60, which includes a selection of sashimi and sushi, sunomono, miso soup, chawanmushi, and a choice of rolls. We also ordered a few specials, which inflated our bill.

The sunomono, or pickled seafood salad, featured fresh tako, or octopus. The key to very tender tako is that it has to be massaged before it is cooked. Otherwise, it is just a lump of rubber.

Our selection of sashimi: red snapper, salmon, yellow tail, squid, octopus, tuna, surf clam, mackerel, and sweet egg. Some of the best quality fish we’ve had outside of Japan. Hard to speak too highly of this restaurant.

One of the specials was a very lightly torched albacore tuna served with avocado. Not only very tasty, also very beautiful to look at. The very essence of Japanese cuisine is that food should be pleasing to all the senses. This dish achieved that.

Chawanmushi is a steamed egg custard dish. Our had spinach in it, which was mostly near the bottom of the tea cup in which it is served. The key to this dish is that it has to be strained to remove any clumps or scrambled bits. If it is cooked to the correct point, it is gently solid with a velvet texture. As you might expect, Sushi Paradise has mastered this technique.

Another special was lightly fried fish belly (don’t remember the type) topped with a mixture of soy sauce, scallions, and grated radish. Deceptively simple but very complex flavors.

Our sushi plate: tuna, red snapper, yellow tail, salmon, shrimp, eel, sweet egg, plus a spicy tuna roll. All very fresh fish. The shrimp was perfectly done, crunchy but not tough. As you would imagine, I’d recommend you go to Sushi Paradise next time you are on Maui.

Stay tuned for more Maui Food Madness…

Maui Food Madness Part 1

Posted on 3 June 2012 by christao408

As with any time spent with Andy and Sugi, food was a focal point. Maui proved to be a good place for eating. Here is the first of at least two parts highlighting some of the eats. I’ll say that this first batch of food wasn’t as good as what I’ll cover in some upcoming posts.

Da Kitchen Express

Located in Kihei, in south Maui, Da Kitchen Express is an outpost of a larger Hawaiian food restaurant in Kahului. The menu is pretty much all rice plates, typical lunch food on the islands.

I enjoyed a kalua pork sandwich. Kalua is a term that means to cook in an underground oven called an “imu”. These days, it is usually just a slow cooked pork shoulder. Pretty tender but needed some seasoning.

There was also some beef teriyaki eaten by another member of our party. The pieces were a little tough but exceedingly tasty.

Best of all, macadamia nut cream pie for dessert. This was made elsewhere and brought in, I’m sure. Nonetheless, it turned out better than any of my attempts at it… yet!

Komoda Bakery

Located in the former ranching town of Makawao, which dates from the 1800s, Komoda Store and Bakery has been around for several generations.

The inside is a bit disorganized, looking like you are on both the wrong and right sides of the counter all at once.

Komoda is known for their cream puffs, delicate but fist-sized pastries that sell out early. The filling is a standard pastry cream.

The bakery is also known for their malasadas, a Portuguese pastry that is basically a donut hole. Komoda makes malasadas with a guava filling. Truth be told, I am not a huge donut fan and haven’t figured out what is so special about malasadas. I like saying the name, though.

Another fun item they sell is donuts on a stick. They are cooked on the stick, not put on afterwards.

Sugi takes a picture as Andy poses with the stick of donuts. He then notices Kenny looking on an lures him into a PG13-rated photo.

McDonalds

I didn’t go to McDonald’s while in Hawai’i but Andy W did. He likes eating trying the local specialties that McDonald’s features in many places. Here in Hawai’i it is the Island Breakfast, which features scrambled egg, rice, grilled SPAM, and grilled Portuguese sausage. My verdict: no more special than any other McDonald’s breakfast… which is to say, not very.

Krispy Kreme

Just outside the Kahului airport sits a Krispy Kreme. Yes, I know that Hawai’i is one of the 50 United States but it seems a cultural intrusion to have Krispy Kreme there. Curious, though, I wanted to see if there was anything local on the menu. There was.

The only local offering was the pineapple fritter. Frankly, it was hard to tell it apart from a regular apple fritter. After eating about a half, I tossed the rest in the trash and kit the road.

Stay tuned for the next part.

Tawn Makes Pineapple Fried Rice

Posted on 31 May 2012 by christao408

The evening after Andy and Sugi’s wedding, the newlyweds were off at a family dinner so Tawn and I invited Andy W and Kenny over to our condo for dinner. Sugi’s family had sent us home the night before with a pair of very ripe Maui Gold pineapples, so Tawn offered to make pineapple fried rice.

Chef Tawn busy in the kitchen. We had to buy a few items such as the raisins, the pack of which I carried with me back to Kansas City to leave with my sister’s family, since the friend we’re staying with in San Francisco doesn’t like raisins.

Dinner started with a fresh mango and pineapple smoothie. Healthy treat to whet the appetite.

Filling the hollowed-out pineapple with the fried rice. The top shell is placed over the rice and then it is baked in the over until fragrant.

A short video of Tawn removing the top of the pineapple!

The finished product! It was really tasty.

For dessert: green tea ice cream.

Cold Jasmine Rice in Hot Weather

Posted on 16 May 2012 by christao408

Thailand’s hot season, which felt hotter than normal this year but according to the weather service was not, is just winding up. One of the few positives to the hot season is that many restaurants serve a seasonal specialty known as khao chae (ข้าวแช่). Tawn and I joined a few friends to sample this delicacy.

We dined at Lai Rote, a old-timey restaurant located on Sukhumvit Soi 39 across from Samitivej Hospital. It is a traditional Central Thai restaurant and its name means “many flavors.”

Making khao chae is a three-day process. The rice is parboiled, which leaves it with a “toothier” texture than is typical for jasmine rice. It is then soaked with jasmine petals in a container that has lit jasmine candles floating in it. The delicate floral flavor permeates the rice. Finally, the rice is served in ice water, a cool treat during hot season.

The side dishses are the real attraction, though. They vary depending on the house’s specialties but what you see above is pretty typical. It includes (working clockwise) elaborately carved green mangoes, cucumbers, grachai (fingerroot), hua hom yat sai (fried stuffed red onion), prik yuan sod sai (young banana peppers stuffed with pork and wrapped in a crispy, eggy shroud), muu wan (sweet dried shredded beef), plaa wan (sweet dried shredded fish), pad hua chai po (thin strands of dried pickled radishes stir-fried with egg), and luk kapi pad (fried fermented shrimp paste balls).

Unlike most Thai food, the khao chae side dishes are quite bland and not spicy at all. It derives from so-called “palace cuisine,” the types of elaborate food traditionally served in the Thai royal palace. In addition to the khao chae, we ordered some other dishes:

khao tang na tang – Fried rice cracker with a minced pork and peanut topping.

khanom pang na gung – little toasts with shrimp pate and sesame seeds served with plum sauce.

yam tua pluu – a spicy salad of wing beans and toasted shallots with a peanut and roasted chili dressing.

For dessert, I had a less-common dish called khao maow grob. It features grains known as meang lak (hydrated lemon basil seeds) served with syrup and crushed ice, topped with toasted rice grains coated with palm sugar.

Here’s a close up of the palm sugar coated toasted rice grains. Just like very crunch Rice Krispies. One of the more interesting Thai desserts I’ve had.

The meal was a refreshing break from our hot weather. Thankfully, by the time I’ve gotten around to writing this, rainy season has started to arrive and the heat is breaking.

Deep Fried Sous Vide Bacon Dinner

Posted on 9 May 2012 by christao408

My friend Nat prepares the most fantastic dinners. A few weeks ago he bounced an idea off me: sous vide unsliced bacon and then deep fry it. Before I knew it, a date was set and a dozen guests invited.

The Preparation

Nat was at the market and they had a whole, uncut bacon – smoked pork belly. He bought it, certain that it would make an interesting sous vide main course. Sous vide cooking is a technique where the food is vacuum sealed in plastic bags which are then cooked in a water bath for long periods at a relatively low temperature.

Not certain how long would be ideal, he ran a test batch with three bags, pulling a bag out every 24 hours to check the texture. Seventy-two hours was perfect.

After pulling the bags from the water bath, they were plunged into an ice bath to halt the cooking. Once cooled, the slabs of bacon were removed from the bags and patted dry with towels.

The final step, to ensure a nice, crisp exterior, was to deep fry the pieces of bacon for a few minutes.

The end result, a soft, silk chunk of bacon with a crispy exterior. The day before dinner, Nat asked my suggestions for a sauce. I suggested a lychee sauce since it was lychee season and the astringency of lychee would cut through the richness of the bacon. What I received for my suggestion was the assignment to cook the sauce!

Once I arrived, I started turning fresh, seeded lychees through a food mill in order to extract all the juice. This was cooked in a pot with chicken stock and chopped onions and allowed to cook for an hour before I seasoned and thickened the sauce.

A nice rocket and tomato salad was prepared to garnish the dish. Bitter greens in a vinaigrette would contrast with the rich bacon and sweet/tart lychee sauce.

One item was sitting on the counter, waiting to be turned into amuse bouche – appetizers. Do you recognize these?

Poaching on the stove is a dish of tiger prawn quenelles, made by taking a choux paste (same one you use for cream puffs) and mixing it with finely ground, raw prawn meat and seasonings.

The Dinner

As usual at Nat’s house, dinner brought together a wide variety of guests, people with different backgrounds, occupations, and interests – all of whom share an appreciation for good food.

Charming salt and pepper shakers.

Amuse bouche: escargot in garlic crust. Very tasty!

Soup course: chilled leek and lemongrass soup. The lemongrass was very subtle, just sneaking up into your nose when each sip of soup was already swallowed.

The tiger prawn quenelles served with a prawn roe sauce and steamed asparagus. Very light texture with rich flavor.

Palate cleanser: mojito sherbet.

Main course: Deep fried sous vide bacon with lychee sauce served with a rocket salad with soy vinaigrette. Alas, the plate was a little cool and my sauce thickened a bit too much by the time I took this picture. Nonetheless, the meat was very tender and the sauce’s flavors worked nicely with it. Of course, the serving could have been a third this size and we would have been fine!

Linda and I pose for a picture mid-dinner, only to discover a moment later that Cha had inserted himself into the shot!

For dessert, sticky toffee pudding with a toffee sauce and homemade yamazaki ice cream. Decadent!

Baking Pumpkin Bars for Eighty

Posted on 6 May 2012 by christao408

Recently, a friend was cooking at a dinner for eighty people, one of these social events where everyone pitches in to help cover the costs of the food. Being from the panhandle of Florida, she was preparing a Cajun-inspired menu and asked if I would help with the dessert. While I was originally going to make sweet potato pie, plans morphed and we ended up with pumpkin bars, which turned out nicely nonetheless.

Sweet potato pie would have been much more authentic for a Cajun dessert but local sweet potatoes are very small and the larger imported sweet potatoes are ridiculously expensive. I opted instead for pumpkins, which are plentiful and much less expensive. Scaling up from a recipe that serves maybe 16 people, I wasn’t sure just how much pumpkin I needed, so bought six.

After cutting them, steaming them, and peeling and mashing the flesh, I had a lot of pumpkin puree. In fact, it was about half again what I ended up needing. That’s okay – you can freeze pumpkin puree.

Instead of a usual pie crust, I decided on a recipe that used shortbread. Shortbread is not only easier to make than pie crust, it also adds a different dimension to the texture – providing a crispier base versus a tender and flaky one.

Instead of pies, which would be more difficult to transport, I opted for four large aluminum trays that came with plastic covers. I spread the shortbread dough on the bottom and then baked it for about 15 minutes until it started firming up and tanning.

The filling was pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cream, egg yolks, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger powder, and cloves. I whipped egg whites in a separate bowl and folded them into the mixture, creating a lighter texture.

The filling baked in about thirty minutes. After cooling to room temperature, I put the four trays in my refrigerator and carried them to the event the next afternoon. A little chilling helps film up the pumpkin pie and makes it much easier to cut and serve.

The end product, shown from a smaller test batch I did two days before. This version didn’t have the egg whites whipped separately, so the filling isn’t as tall as in the final version. Still just as tasty, though!

Eat Responsibly Day at Bo.Lan

Posted on 30 April 2012 by christao408

Each first Saturday of the month, the upscale, down-home Thai restaurant Bo.lan hosts a farmers’ market they dub “Eat Responsibly Day.” Located on Sukhumvit Soi 26 in Bangkok, chefs Duangporn “Bo” Songvisava and Dylan Jones’ commitment to slow, local, organic, and sustainable food shines at this market, which is held on the front yard of the restaurant.

Tawn and I visited in early April. We arrived shortly before 11:00 on a hot morning that threatened rain, midway through the market’s run, which begins at 8:00 and runs until 2:30. At least a dozen local vendors were present, selling everything from produce to prepared foods. Here is a selection of what was offered:

From Samut Songkhram province, one vendor had fluer de sel (sea salt – left) and palm sugar (right). These are two staple products made in the smallest of Thailand’s 77 provinces and I had to chuckle a bit as the palm sugar comes from the sub-district where I used to volunteer as an English teacher. Every time I went down there, it was all I could do not to return home carrying several kilos of the palm sugar. It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I could have repackaged it with a nice label and sold it as an artisinal product!

Another vendor was selling freshly-baked bread and jars of homemade roasted tomato relish. This relish was amazing, full of whole garlic cloves and cooked at a low temperature for several hours until the flavors combined beautifully. The lady who makes it brought the recipe back from Europe and has been making it for friends, who would wash and return their empty jars, asking her to fill them up the next time she made a batch. April was her first time at the market, and I certainly hope she returns.

Maarten Kaspersma runs a busines selling microgreens, evenrything from mustard greens to carrot, kale to mizuna. The business name is Mr. Maarten’s Microgreens and you can find them on facebook.

We bought a pair of trays. I recall that one was mustard but I don’t remember what the other was. They certainly make for an interesting way to spice up the flavor of salads or sandwiches. I could also use a pair of tweezers and artfully decorate a plate with them and charge an extra few dollars. (If I was charging for my food!)

Joe Sloane of Sloane’s Sausages made an appearance with his grill. Joe has gained fame around Bangkok as a purveyor of fine pork products. He doesn’t yet have a retail outlet so he informs his customers whenever he has purchased a hog or two (always organic breeds that come from up-country) and has more products for sale. In the near future, he hopes to open a proper storefront so he has more processing space.

Cumberland sausages and fresh chorizo. These were so nice, I see no further need for me to experiment with sausage making at home!

Homemade sauces and onion relish with which to tart up your sausages.

Fresh baguette from Le Blanc on Sukhumvit Soi 39 with a heap of onion relish, fire-roasted tomato ketchup, and a chorizo sausage. Heaven on a Saturday morning.

Accompanying Joe Sloane’s sausages was galangal porter, brewed at home by our friend Brian’s Happy Cat label. Hopefully, he will one day turn this into a proper business and make his fine hand crafted brews available for retain sale.

We stopped by the table hosted by Pattaya’s own Lulu and Daisy Goat Cheese company and bought two rounds of medium-aged goat cheese. Nice and tangy, we’ve been shredding this on salads for a wonderful, rich flavor and aroma.

Organic, free range eggs. Not sure if I understood correctly that these came from hens that live on the restaurant’s property. Perhaps I’m mistaken. They were tasty, though.

The restaurant does have its own mushroom hut and so we purchased mushrooms freshly harvested on-site. While it has been more than two years since I wrote a review on Bo.lan, at which time I found the food very tasty but the prices just a little dear, I have to commend the chefs’ commitment to local and sustainable foods. Quite an emphasis on quality!

When we returned home, Tawn whipped up an omelet using the eggs, mushrooms, goal cheese, microgreens, and tomato relish that we had purchased at the farmers’ market. Another Eat Responsibly Day will be held on Saturday, 5 May and will continue on the first Saturday of each month at Bo.lan restaurant, Sukhumvit Soi 26. I already have my calendar marked!

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Tag Archives: food