Week 23: Nepal

Week 23: Nepal...snow capped  mountains, yaks and yetis.

Nepal is  a small landlocked Hindu Kingdom, wedged between the high wall of the Himalayan Ranges and the dense jungles of the Indian plains. Since it opened its door to international tourists in the late 1950's, Nepal has become a trendy travel destination for intrepid Australian trekkers. It has some of the best hiking trails in the world, and eight of the highest mountains, including Mt Everest. "The Great Himalaya Trail" is Nepal's latest tourism product, and spans the country with 1,700km of trails. It is an alluring destination, not only for the adventure seeker, but also for those who wish to embark on a profound spiritual journey to the birthplace of Buddha. Lord Siddhartha Gautama Buddha was born over 2500 years ago (563BC to be exact) under a Bodhi tree in Lumbini . We, however, are on a culinary journey, which led us to a Nepalese restaurant named after this heritage listed place of religious significance, right in the middle of bustling West End, 1,9 km from the heart of Brisbane city. West End was so named by early British settlers who found the area reminiscent of the West End of London. We shall return to West End many times in the next couple of months, as it is a melting pot of culinary diversity, with multiple ethnic restaurants straddling the streets of this vibrant suburb.


Lumbini Nepalese Restaurant prides itself in serving authentic Nepali food. It is often said that you go to Nepal for the mountains, but you return for the people. If the friendliness and gentle manner of the staff at Lumbini is the bellwether for the nature of Nepal's people, then that is definitely true. There are just over 400 Nepalese living in Brisbane (17,000 in Australia), and at one stage, it felt as though all of them were hovering outside Lumbini. We were the only non-Nepalese diners, and when people started to get up and make speeches in Nepali, we knew we were caught up in more than just a regular Friday Night Out. Our waitress, a charming Nepalese student, explained that we were actually surrounded by celebrities: Stars from Nepal, performing at the Tivoli Theatre the following night, enjoying a welcoming function hosted by dignitaries of the Nepalese Association of Queensland.


Oblivious to the importance of our fellow diners, the eight of us started with a selection of  entrees. Masti Garna! They were absolutely delicious: Momo ( the unofficial national dish of Nepal - steamed pork dumplings with a spicy dipping sauce); Apple Chat ( stuffed vegetable puff with apple chutney served with raita and fried lentils); Poleko Khukuru (spicy grilled chicken served with yoghurt)  and my favourite, Aloo Chop (Himalayan spiced crunchy potato cakes served with tomato chutney). We placed the mains all in the centre of our long table and tasted a bit of everything:  Traditional Goat Curry; Lumbini Chicken Curry; Aloo tama Bodi ( slow cooked potatoes and beans with herbs and bamboo shoots); Beef Masala; Butheko Ginger (mixed mushrooms and vegetables) and Masu Bhat (a combination platter of beef curry, daal vegetables and roti). Phil ordered the Himalayan Briyani, which must have been served to one of the celebrities, as it never arrived at our table......not that we had a shortage of food to share! Taking a conservative approach, we ordered most of the curries as medium, however the heat of some of the dishes could have been amped up a little bit more. Being a neighbour to India, it comes as no surprise that most of the local cuisine is a variation on Indian themes. Malai Nepali khanna man parcha (I like Nepalese food).


Fact Time! The sharing of facts is starting to overshadow the importance of the food, and evolve into an amazing compendium of highly useful, extremely fascinating and completely irrelevant  information on the chosen destination. Last night alluded to the prospect that we might have a "spot-the-fake-fact" trend developing. One of the most interesting facts was that 90 % of the Nepalese population is Hindu. I wrongly assumed that most of them would be Buddhist. That also explains why the national animal is the cow, a fact Boetie shared with us, together with an analysis of the very unusually shaped flag. Keith pointed out that the bio-diversity of Nepal is second only to the Amazon forest, Martina's fact pertained to the geography of the mountains and Phil informed us that there are four different types of sign language in Nepal (at first I thought this might be a "spot-the-fake-fact" candidate, but apparently it is true). The Grevilles joined us last night, and did not disappoint in their fact contributions. Andrew had a long fact (expanding on the history of the Gurkha Soldiers); Finn had a short fact (the shortest man in the world at 57cm is from Nepal), and Louise had a topical fact (the production of textiles from wild nettles, de rigueur amongst the foremost Italian fashion houses).


Next week we'll try our luck in Ireland.


The Nepalese Flag, the world's only non-quadrilateral flag.















   

Aloo tama Bodi

Lumbini Chicken Curry

Masu Bhat

Beef Masala

Aloo ra Kauli

Week 22: Thailand

Week 22: Thailand...where eating alone brings bad luck.

Harmony is the guiding principle in Thai cuisine. The food is lightly prepared with strong aromatics. A balancing act between sweet, sour, spicy and salty, it is the juxtaposition of these taste profiles, together with the complexity of flavours that the Thai delight in. The dish Tom Yam Goong  summarises the aromas of Thailand best: lemongrass, lime leaves, galangal, shallots, chilies, fish sauce and fresh Thai basil. Other essential ingredients to have handy in the pantry (should you wish to whip up a quick Thai supper) include garlic, tamarind, coconut milk,  fresh mint and coriander. Substance to a dish is provided by fish or shellfish, meat or poultry and leafy greens, paired with steamed jasmine rice ( there are over 5000 different varieties of rice....clearly a staple.....to choose from) or noodles.
In Brisbane, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to Thai restaurants. They are everywhere, some  offering Thai cooking lessons (like Mon's Thai Rarnaharn in Windsor). Once exotic, Thai food now features prominently on the weekly menu in Aussie homes. Supermarket shelves are well stocked with the necessary ingredients, and just about everyone has a jar of Thai Green Curry paste in the fridge. And for the less adventurous cook, Thai take-aways offer a guilt-free fast-food alternative.

In Thailand, food is a social occasion. All dishes are shared and enjoyed together, and to eat alone is considered to bring bad luck. There were six of us sharing in the pleasures of Thai food last night. We visited Thai Ayuthaya in Kelvin Grove, 3km northwest of the CBD. The restaurant is named after the historic capital of Siam, Ayuthaya. From the 14th to the 17th centuries,  Ayuthaya was one of the world's largest and most cosmopolitan cities. Conveniently located equidistant between India and China, it acted as the centre of economics and trade in the East.  In 1767, the Burmese burnt the city to the ground.  Never rebuilt, today it is an important archaeological ruin and World Heritage listed site. The perfect city plan of Ayuthaya was used as template for the layout of Bangkok, the new capital. This perfect city plan may have worked in 1400, but today, Bangkok has some of the worst traffic issues in the world - they even have a medical team on permanent standby to deliver babies on congested motorways (Phil's fact...see blog week 1 and 19 regarding Friday Night Out rules).  The fact that Bangkok is the world's most visited city (ahead of London) obviously contributes to the road chaos.

We, on the other hand, had an easy drive to Kelvin Grove, named after the famous Kelvin Grove Park in Glasgow, Scotland, on the banks of the Kelvin River. True to Thai tradition, we ordered a banquet of dishes which filled the centre of the table - Gang Karee Gai (yellow curry), Pla Nueng Ma Now(steamed fish with lemon and Thai spices), Pad Med Ma Muang (stir fry with cashew nuts) and Gang Panang Curry. This allowed us to taste all the subtleties of the cuisine, however it was difficult to convince Boetie to share his Pad Thai  with the rest of us. Pad Thai is considered to be Thailand's calling card to the rest of the world: all the basic herbs and spices with noodles, beansprouts, coriander, onions and ground peanuts.  Gin Khoa! (eat well!)
We all agreed that we really enjoy this style of food. The enthusiastic use of fresh herbs and spices, the right amount of heat and the balance between salty, sweet and sour is a recipe for success. Even though we ate quite a substantial amount of food, no-one left the table feeling full, just comfortably satisfied.

Family-Friday-Night-Out would not be complete without the facts, and this week everyone remembered to do their research (unlike last week....) with free-facts aplenty! Nielen's fact also related to the tragic traffic situation in Bangkok: All traffic police wear facemasks as protection against the dangerous levels of pollution, with more than 20% of officers suffering some form of lung disease. One Thai bank estimated that the city's pollution woes add up to $2.3billion in lost production and health costs. Martina reminded us that Thailand has never been colonised (the British and the French agreed to keep Thailand as a neutral state between India and Vietnam to avoid conflict). Keith showed images of unexplained natural occurring fireballs that shoot out of the Mekong river. Boetie detailed the origin and meaning of the Thai flag and the national animal - the elephant. The elephant plays a very important role in Thai culture and history and acts as a symbol of royal power, peace, tradition, fortune and superstition. Their traditional participation in warfare often determined the ultimate winner, as was evident in the 300 year war between Burma and Thailand.  Elephants are highly intelligent and easily trained (can respond to more than 60 commands), and they love to play. Amongst their favourite games are tug-of-war, racing, and polo.

Fondly known as "the biggest" sport in the world, Ele Polo is the game of kings and dukes and people on the Forbes Rich list. Attracting sponsors of luxury goods like Piguet Swiss Watches and Mercedes Benz, the Elephant Polo World Cup of 2013 was held in Thailand. Participating countries included England, Scotland, Switzerland, India, Sri Lanka and.....our next destination....Nepal.

Week 21: The United States of America

Week 21: G'day USA!


O say does the Star-Spangled Banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave....
I reckon! The USA is the land of opportunity, where hard work is celebrated and success congratulated. A nation that oozes optimism and radiates confidence. A country that sets the pace, a pace that is frantically fast, and influences the way people prepare and eat food.

Food culture changes quickly, mirroring the times - nowhere more evident than in The States. The twentieth century was one of staggering transformation: The scientific approach to farming resulting in higher yields and more affordable food; Food processing in the 1910's (think Hellman's mayonnaise, Oreo cookies and Corn flakes...and don't forget the indestructible Spam, with a shelf-life of 7 years!) ; the invention of kitchen appliances (an essential in every post-war home kitchen); the introduction of frozen foods (the brainchild of Clarence Birdseye after a fishing trip); the opening of self-service supermarkets (which offered huge variety and abundance); the highway transportation network (which gave birth to McDonalds and the like, as pit-stop-road-side-dining on long haul journeys); Trans-Atlantic jet travel (which opened a whole new era of culinary awareness)...right up to the arrival of The World Wide Web.

When one thinks of American food, it's hotdogs, hamburgers and fries. True, but there is more than just the fast food culture. The re-settlement of millions of people from 1950 to 2000 introduced a pantry full of new foods and flavours - once exotic, now mainstream ( think Tex-Mex). The 1950's was the decade of "culinary kitsch" - processed food was the norm, and TV- dinners in alfoil trays substituted table-dining. One critic referred to the food trend of the 50's as "gastronomic debasement"!   In the 1960's Julia Child revolutionised home cooking with her unique and easy approach to French Cuisine. At the same time Jacqueline Kennedy appointed a French Chef to the White House kitchen. It wasn't long before every dinner party featured Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon. The late 60's witnessed the hippie-era, where a generation returned to nature and eschewed anything pre-packed. A trend to grow your own veggies, eat bean spouts, chew granola and make hummus started. Protest against the war in 'Nam, high inflation, free love and a long sleep-in resulted in the birth of "brunch"! The 70's focussed on fresh food, simply prepared.  The  80's saw unprecedented wealth creation, the height of consumerism, the introduction of platinum credit cards and the appearance of the Celebrity Chef . It was a decade of excess. Novelle Cuisine dominated - featuring oversized plates with miniscule portions of "something" - but diners where happy to pay more for less....till the Dow Jones crashed in 1987, which led to a yearning for comfort food. All that comfort led to excess weight, which the 90's had to deal with: enter a decade of personal trainers, treadmills, home gyms and reduced-fat-everything. Fusion cooking became the buzzword ( basically taking the healthier eating habits of Mediterranean and Asian cuisines and turning it local). Having said all that, we still ended up eating hotdogs, hamburgers and fries last night!

American-themed restaurants and pubs are becoming increasingly popular in Brisbane, and we had quite a choice: Lefty's Old Time Music Hall, Yard Bird, Tipplers Tap or Shady Palms. However,
we decided to make our first stop in 2014 at Carolina Kitchen in Coorparoo, an inner-eastern suburb, 4km from Brisbane City. Coorparoo is the Aboriginal name for Norman Creek that borders the west of the suburb, and translates into the place of the mosquito.....still over 14,000 choose to live here! Mike Perry, the owner of Carolina Kitchen moved to Australia from North Carolina and opened his suburban diner in 2010. He is one of 71,718 residents who declare they were born in The States, of which 6,057 live in Brisbane.

There is no mistaking that this is an American eatery. With buntings of the Stars and Stripes draped outside the entrance, posters of Michael Jordan and Louis Armstrong on the wall, and Dr Peppers Root Beer in the fridge, this is an all American affair.  Mike does not take reservations, so Martina, who arrived first, had to fight for a table in this very busy dine-in or take-out establishment. People are happy to queue for the Buffalo Wings with blue cheese dipping sauce, Aunt Lilly Mae's slow cooked BBQ Ribs served with southern potato salad, New York Fries (topped with chilli sauce, sour cream and grated cheese), Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and Hoagies.  Food for the Soul, says Mike, with southern jazz music playing in the background.  Trying to keep your waistline in check is not an option when eating at Carolina Kitchen. This is where you stop counting calories, and indulge in the naughty pleasure of eating fried and finger lickin' saucy food ...it does not happen every day!

Best we follow the clean food trend again next week, and take a trip to Thailand.