Week 14: Lebanon

Week 14: Lebanon.....the place of lavish hospitality and fine food

If you were a student of wine, you would know that it all started in Lebanon.  The oldest vineyards in the world were planted in the land of Canaan, the coastal strip of today's Lebanon. It was the Phoenicians who introduced the Mediterranean to wine and viticulture; it was the wines of Byblos that graced the tables of the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt in 2686 BC; and it was here in Lebanon that Jesus performed his first miracle, of turning water into wine.

Today there are 35 wineries in the hauntingly beautiful Bekaa Valley. My favourite winery from this region is Chateau Musar, 20km north of Beirut. The vineyards are high up on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, beyond the opium fields. During the 1989 civil war, the winery's underground wine cellar doubled-up as a bomb shelter. The owner, Serge Hochar, recalled staring at heavily armed Hezbollah fighters, and ducking bullets and rockets to harvest his Cabernet Sauvignon at optimum ripeness. Serge famously said: "Good wine should be dangerously attractive. What I want, is a wine that troubles me". Oz Clarke, top wine author, renowned for his wine tasting ability wrote: "Every time I taste Chateau Musar, one flavour consistently outweighs all the others put together. Courage."
I couldn't agree more.

Our friend Phil's fact for the night (see blog week 1 regarding Friday Night Out rules) - more of an insight than a fact, really - reflects our collective summary of Lebanon: It is a complicated place......

And at the heart of this complication, lies passion. Passion for life, for family, for food, wine and tradition. And this passion translates into the cuisine. This part of the world is known as The Levant, or Eastern Mediterranean. The Levantine cuisine was shaped by the Ottoman Empire, and all the countries between Turkey and Egypt share the distinctive culinary aspect of mezze. These include an array of small dishes of different colours, textures and aromas, like stuffed vine leaves, tabouleh, fattoush, humus, baba ghanoush and kebbeh (Lebanon's national dish). Lebanese flatbread is a staple, and often replaces the fork. Eating is considered a social event, and sharing food with family and friends is central to Lebanese culture, so last night we visited Rouj (red)  for an authentic Lebanese experience.

You will find Rouj  3km west of the city in Brisbane's smallest suburb, Rosalie. In fact, Rosalie is so small, that Council decided it no longer qualifies as a suburb, and re-classified it as a locality. In 1864, this distinctive little village was known as Oxford Estate, but residents started to call it Rosalie, after a name painted on the side of a local bus that passed through daily. Who Rosalie was is a mystery, and her identity may be lost, but her name lives on in this boutique suburb.

Rosalie was one of the worst affected areas during Brisbane's devastating floods of January 2011. Newspaper headlines read: Rosalie going Under, and  Inner City Suburb Rosalie fast disappearing. Rouj was one of the many restaurants in Rosalie that was completely wrecked by the floods. But owner Sodith Aoude, who moved to Australia in 1988, rebuilt Rouj, and today it is a vibrant establishment that celebrates classic Lebanese recipes. She cooks traditional dishes, staying true to the rich flavours of this Mediterranean cuisine, using lots of lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs.

Without further ado: Sahtein!

We were treated to an assortment of mezze to start with, of which my favourite was the cooked green almonds with fresh coriander, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. The mains included a Shwarma Platter, Mansaf ( slow cooked lamb with rice, tabouleh, fragrant rice, nuts and caramelised onions), Moghrabieh ( lamb spiced with cumin, caraway and cinnamon, served with chickpeas and Lebanese couscous), lamb shish and haloumi kafta with tahini sauce and labneh, and a vegetarian dish of pumpkin kebbeh and ftayer served with mjadra, tzaziki and Lebanese bread. We ended the meal with Lebanese coffee accompanied by baklava and Turkish delight.  Everything was delightful!

So, the trivia: Boetie, our flag-and-national-animal man, managed to give us a run-down on the flag, but came up short with the national animal......Google, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Ask.com.....no-one can tell us what the national animal of Lebanon is. If you have the answer, please let us know. Nielen, our resident uni-student, informed us that the first Law School in the world was built in Beirut and that Lebanon has no less than 42 universities. Martina had facts on the age of Lebanon (oldest nation in the world at 4000 yrs), and its biblical connections (mentioned 75 times in the Bible). Keith took us into a maze of caves to see the world's longest stalactite (8.2m). And Phil was still pondering on the complications of the place.......

There are roughly 200,000 Lebanese living in Australia. The majority are Maronite Christians, congregating in the western suburbs of Sydney, and engaging in their rich cultural heritage of lavish hospitality and fine food.

Next week we shall travel further east, and test the hospitality of Vietnam.

Mansaf

 Vegetarian platter

Moghrabieh

shish and kafta

Lebanese Coffee

Week 13: Belgium

Week  13: Belgium....the quality of  France and the quantity of Germany

It rained yesterday! A huge downpour. For the first time in about three months, the heavens smiled upon our dying gardens. But heavy rain is usually accompanied by traffic chaos. Driving back into the CBD on a Friday night in absolute gridlock was a frustrating exercise and I cursed our decision to reserve a table for the 6pm sitting at The Belgian Beer Café.

My patience was rewarded with a parking spot right outside the entrance. The Belgian Beer Café is located in a heritage listed building on the corner of Edward and Mary Street, constructed in 1887. During that time, this end of town became a warehouse district, conveniently close to the wharves on the Brisbane River, and this beautiful building was then filled from floor to ceiling with handmade boots.  Today, this magnificently restored storage facility is filled with the smell of beer and the sound of laughter. The bar section was buzzing with suited businessmen discussing the US debt debacle and the Google share price whilst savouring their favourite beer on tap.  The beer menu is extensive: from Artisan and Trappiste, to Blonde and Brune....something for every taste. The beer is served in chilled traditional beer glasses, quite different to the German shapes, as most of them have stems.

However, The Belgian Beer Cafe is not just about the theatre of beer. The Belgian national dish is Moules-frites (the fried potato chip is actually a 17th century Belgian invention, and they eat it with mayonnaise not ketchup). The mussels are served in traditional steaming pots, and there are four options : Provencale (with olives, tomato, chilli and basil), Mariniere (white wine, bay leaves and persillade), Roquefort ( with blue cheese, chardonnay, cream and baby spinach) and Norwegian (creamy veloute, smoked salmon, white wine and mushrooms). Keith, Lani and Boetie tried a variation each. It is difficult to describe the taste of mussels: sweet, fluffy, sea-salty but never fishy is the best I can offer. If you are not a fan of this delectable bivalve (often referred to as the poor man's shellfish)  there are many other dishes on the menu. I had the duck, Nielen ordered risotto with spring peas, cavola nero, mint and shaved parmesan, Vanessa had a fillet of perfectly grilled snapper with mashed potatoes, a Mediterranean salsa (similar to pesto, but without the pine nuts) and apple cider beurre blanc, and Sophie chose the organic beef eye fillet with frites, béarnaise and red wine jus. I have to admit, the food far exceeded our expectations. It was well presented and deliciously prepared.

After beer, the second most important food group in Belgium must be chocolates. The history of chocolate begins in the South American Jungle, and huge gratitude should be bestowed on the Spanish explorers for introducing the cacao bean to Belgium during their rule in the 17th century. When the Belgians colonised the Congo in 1885, they stumbled across an unlimited supply of  stronger, more assertive cacao beans, which led to an annual production of over 220,000 tons of Belgian chocolate today. So, needless to say, we ended the meal with traditional Belgian waffles and dark chocolate sauce with hazelnut, pistachio and caramel ice cream.

Dark chocolate has many health benefits.  It lowers blood pressure, lowers LDL cholesterol, improves memory and acts as a natural anti-depressant as it stimulates the release of endorphins to produce a feeling of happiness and pleasure. I can testify that this is true, as the stress of driving to the city centre in mangled traffic on a Friday night was replaced with a feeling of happiness and pleasure, after indulging in a jug of silky smooth dark chocolate sauce.

Discussing all things Belgian, it would be remiss of me not to mention Tintin (the heroic reporter who together with his four-legged companion Snowy, get involved in dangerous situations and eventually save the day) or the Smurfs ( the tiny blue-skinned humanoids, who live in mushrooms, eat sarsaparilla leaves and wear Phrygian caps, which represent freedom), both created by Belgian comic book artists. My childhood would have been so much poorer without these characters to escape with.

Listening to Gotye (our very own Grammy winning Belgian-born Australian.....one of 5,762 living here) on the way home completed a most enjoyable Belgian experience.

Next week, we travel to Lebanon.



The heritage listed building, home to the Belgian Beer Café, Mary Street Brisbane

 

Mussels

 Grilled Snapper

 Confit Duck

 Steak and frites

 Risotto

 Best frites ever!

 

 Belgian Waffles and chocolate sauce.

Week 12: The People's Republic of China

Week 12:  China..... it's all about the Yin and the Yang


Chinese cuisine has an incredibly long history of development and diversity. Each  Dynasty contributed to the evolution of food preparation, until the art of culinary excellence
peaked during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). Intertwined with the love of food, is the basic philosophy of harmony, balance and duality of existence. Essentially, this can be translated into the blending of contrasts, or Yin and Yang.

Contrasts in taste and texture, colour and cooking method, hot and cold, plain and spicy all contribute to a balanced meal - a triumph of philosophical theory. To gather more insight into this cuisine - one that strives for the perfection of all senses - I referred to some of my long forgotten Chinese recipe books, covered in dust amongst all the modern day "celebrity chef "cookbooks in my library. It did make me re-think the significance of sweet and sour, fried versus steamed and the contrasting flavours of ginger and spring onions, the foundation of most stirfries. 

Brisbane has it's own Chinatown. This is a significant landmark and recognisable precinct for Chinese cultural activities. The street names are all signed in Chinese and the roads are flanked by  Chinese supermarkets, yum cha palaces and traditional herbalists. There are 69,343 Chinese living in Brisbane ( 866,205 in Australia....excluding all the international students studying on temporary visas), and today mainland China is the largest source of migrants to Australia, overtaking the United Kingdom.

We decided not to go to downtown Chinatown, but rather visit a popular Chinese restaurant on Grey Street in South Brisbane. I am glad we had a reservation, as it was packed, and the queue outside was about forty deep. The kitchen is a central glass cube, through which one can witness the numerous chefs hand-tearing noodles, steaming the dim sims and displaying their impressive knife skills.

There are many ways of saying bon appetite in Chinese. Take your pick: Zhu Nihao Wei! Ge Bao! Ging Man Yong! or Sihk Faahn!

Unlike any of the previous weeks, I approached China with unprecedented philosophical expectation.
And sadly, I was hugely disappointed. Not even the intervention of the Blue Dragon, the Red Phoenix, the White Tiger of the Dark Turtle could bring back the Friday night Feng Shui. 

It could have been a case of overpromising and under- delivering, or that we were just too tired after a very busy week, or (most likely) that Martina's depressing facts about the air pollution, water degradation and waste generation simply dampened our spirits. But my meal was more yang than yin, which led to a night of interrupted sleep, as I frequently reached for the glass of water on my bedside table. Where my soup was too salty, Keith's stirfry was too bland. Boetie enjoyed his crispy duck, Nielen and Phil both had Sweet and Sour Pork, and Martina is still questioning her vegetatrian choice.  The service was over efficient, and I ( a slow, measured eater) ended up being the only one with food in front of me, as the others' plates were cleared away the moment the chopsticks hit the table. Speaking of chopsticks (another depressing fact): 45 billion pairs of wooden chopsticks are produced in China annually. This equates to the loss of 25 million fully grown trees every year.  Chopsticks were only introduced as an eating utensil during the Ming Dynasty, when it was the imperial fashion to have food prepared in bite-size portions.  It is also rumoured that Confucius, in his wisdom, declared that there should never be a knife on a dining table.

True to "Friday Night Out" tradition the trivia is always a highlight: Boetie enlightened us on the    interpretation of the Chinese flag and the national animal (the giant panda);  Nielen pointed out that one in every 5 people on the planet is Chinese; Keith (again with visual device in hand) scrolled back  4000 years on a histomap, and Phil had the most entertaining fact about all Chinese jumping simultaneously and causing a tsunami to devastate the west coast of America, but later confessed that he made it up! He redeemed himself by quoting from his databank of Chinese Wisdoms.

Hopefully we can regain the balance between  yin and yang next week, as we take a trip to Belgium!

Week 11: Turkey

Week 11:  Turkey....Veni Vidi Vici

In 1992, six of us charted a yacht and sailed the south-western coast of Turkey. I often refer to it as our Peter Stuyvesant holiday....remember those amazing cinema ads with that very distinctive jingle, depicting an idyllic lifestyle?  That was us...for two weeks at least. We did not have a care in the world, and because of that, I saw the world in cinemascope - the beaches were whiter, the sky was brighter, the ocean more turquoise and the tomatoes tasted sweeter.  I couldn't get over the flavour and colour of the tomatoes (in hindsight, I believe they were so good because they never saw the inside of a fridge!) We sailed to remote locations, explored rural settlements and enjoyed their local produce. Language was often a barrier, so-much-so that the owner of a tiny eatery in Gocek actually invited us into his kitchen to prepare our own meal, as he couldn't understand what we were trying to order. And I can still smell the wafting aroma of freshly baked borek, with spinach and goat's cheese filling, that we bought from a local woman on the quay of Kalkan.  In Istanbul, I was overwhelmed by the perfume and variety of exotic spices as I traversed the aisles of the Grand Bazaar. That holiday, now 21 years ago, holds a very special place in my memory. How life has changed since then......

It is widely considered that there are three major cuisines in the world: French, Chinese and Turkish.
This week, we explored the culinary delights that emerged from the Ottoman Empire. We visited Mado, a truly authentic Turkish restaurant situated south of the Brisbane River in a 17ha cultural and recreational precinct called Southbank Parklands. In 1840, Southbank was the preferred place of settlement for most Europeans, but after the Great Flood of 1893, most residents and businesses moved to the northern side of the river. After WWII Southbank declined into a ghost town. Change happened in 1977 with the construction of the Performing Arts Complex, however the real re-birth of Southbank was in 1988 when it was the site for EXPO'88. Today Southbank is a vibrant visitor's attraction, drawing over 11million visitors each year. It has a man-made beach, garden and rainforest walks, picnic and barbeque areas, cycling paths and many restaurants, of which Mado is but one.

The spice profile of Turkish cuisine is subtle and refined. They prefer sumac, paprika, black pepper,
cumin and pimento. Herbs include mint, oregano and thyme. Eggplant has an important place in Turkish cuisine, as has yoghurt, which accompany nearly all meat dishes, meze and manti (bread).We decided to try some of the more traditional dishes on offer, and after being wished Afiyet Olsun by our delightful Turkish waitress, we shared a meal worthy of a Sultan: Kofte Izgara (lamb mince chargrilled on a skewer), Imam Bayildi (a vegetarian grilled eggplant dish), Hunkar Begendi ( lamb on a smoked eggplant puree), Anatolian Chicken Guvec (traditional chicken casserole), some calamari, got to have shish, and a Turkish musakka. Halfway through the meal, we were entertained by a belly dancer, who dragged Boetie out of his chair to join her......I am convinced there is some YouTube footage available of this energetic performance!

Turkey is such an amazing place, and this was reflected in the variety of interesting facts (see blog    week 1) offered around the table. We covered ancient history, modern history, geography, religion, wars (it was in Turkey that Julius Caesar uttered the famous words veni vidi vici after conquering Pontus), carpets and kilims, and my favourite fact: The Turks gave the Dutch their tulips. In the 16th century, tulips were growing wild all over Anatolia, and it is an important emblem on tiles, carpets and textiles. The name tulip derives from the Turkish word tulipa, which means "turban". Makes sense, doesn't it?

Last night we were also joined by Sophie, a young student from Germany, who shared the fact that there are 2 million Turks living in Germany, and the issues surrounding this Muslim nation becoming a member of the EU. In Australia there are over 300,000 people of Turkish origin, most of them settled in Melbourne.

One cannot complete a Turkish dinner without a strong Turkish coffee and some rosewater lokum (Turkish delight) to enhance digestion, as was the norm after meals during the Ottoman era. But sadly, it's time to travel forth. Next week we shall complete the trifecta of most noted world cuisines and exhibit our chopstick skills (or lack thereof...) in China.

Imam Bayildi

 Musakka

 Chicken Shish

Anatolian Guvec

 Turkish Coffee and lokum

 The entertainment....