22

February
2009

Hainanese Salmon with Rice

category: recipes
by Yun, 10 Comments »

I recently bought a lot of salmon fillets. So, now I have a chance to experiment different ways to prepare and cook salmon. One day I chatted with my friend, E, who reminded me about Hainanese-style cooking using salmon fillets. As written in my earlier blog, Hainanese chicken rice is one of my favorite food. To prepare Hainanese salmon is similar to cooking Hainanese chicken rice. I simply replace the meat with salmon fillet. To prepare the salmon, I use the same seasonings as what I usually use to cook steamed fish; but this time I use an oven/broiler instead of a steamer. I share details of my Hainanese salmon recipe below.

Main ingredients:

1 pound salmon fillet

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin

3 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thin

1 tsp sesame oil

2 stalks scallion, shredded

1 cup seasoned soy sauce for seafood

For rice:

2 cup jasmine rice, washed

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp chicken fat (optional)

1 tsp salt

2½ – 3 cups chicken stock

For chili:

5 fresh red chillies, chopped and blended

5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1 tbs chicken fat

salt, sugar and lime juice to taste

For sauce (my favorite):

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced

4 tbsp light soy sauce (approximately)

1 tbsp sesame oil (approximately)

Direction:

Salmon:

Rice:

Chili:

Sauce:

Finally, Hainanese salmon is ready to be served with cucumber shreds on the side. Enjoy and happy cooking!

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15

February
2009

Honey Pig

category: restaurants
by Yun, 8 Comments »

Most of my recent blogs were focused on travelling. So now it’s better for me to start writing a blog about restaurants and food again. ^_^

I arranged my flight to Fiji (last December) so that I could have a several-hour stopover at Los Angeles. During the LA stopover, I sneaked out of the LAX airport and went for a dinner at one of my all-time favorite restaurants: Honey Pig. Its specialization is in Korean barbeque and its location is in Koreatown in downtown LA.

It turned out that a total of eight people joined us for the dinner. The only barbeque table that could accommodate that many people at that time was located on the outside of the restaurant. It was winter and very cold outside. First, I thought that they would provide us a heater while eating outside. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any. Yeah… even it was still too cold to be outside for a barbeque. However, we had no choice since I had to rush to catch my next flight that would depart in two or three hours. So better to hurry and no complaining. I felt that it was not a good idea to share one barbeque pan with too many people. I could hardly savor the food to my fullest satisfaction. Once the raw meat was properly cooked, all of us fought to grap the meat to fill our plates and then we guarded our food like a pirate’s treasure. No morsel left our plates for others. Hahaha… So funny. Realizing the insufficient amount of food, we ordered more meats and waited for the next batch before eating again. By the time our next order arrived, I had lost my appetite. I’m not the type of person who can stop eating and wait for some time and then eat again. From that dinner experience, I now realize that the ambiance heavily influences the enjoyment of food. I prefer to dine in a warm, relaxing, and festive atmosphere. Dinner in such a cold weather exposure and with inadequate food order is certainly depressing, no matter how good the food is. Well, I learned my lessons. After that dinner, I became even more determined to come back to Honey Pig again after my Fiji trip, but only with four people MAX. ^_^

We had a layover at LA again subsequent to our Fiji vacation. This time the layover at LA was for several days, so we had plenty of time. Woohoo! We returned to Honey Pig again, and we ordered three large main courses for only three of us. Hahaha… Yeah, we were craving Honey Pig’s barbeque so much.

Honey Pig uses a big arch-shaped inverted pan for customers to make barbeque, which is very cool and special. The grill pan includes an outlet at the bottom surface for grease and oil from the meat to flow out to a pot mounted below the table. Similarly to any other Korean barbeque, at first the meal is started with banchan, but in Honey Pig, you will get a lot more selections that include complimentary octopus, complimentary pancake, traditional sesame oil and salt dip, soy bean and chilli paste, raw garlic, cold kimchi soup, radish sheets, rice paper, lettuce, green onion salad, kimchi, bean sprouts, and more. The kimchi and bean sprouts are placed onto the grill pan to warm while waiting for the main dishes to arrive. Their best seller is the special pork bellies (samgyeopsal), which tastes heavenly. Their beef thin slice (chadolgui) is also equally good. One of the most essential considerations in choosing a Korean barbeque is quality of the meat. Honey Pig’s meat quality is so superb that you can taste all the delicious juices and the nice texture of the meats when grilling them even with no seasonings at all. One unique thing about Honey Pig is the rice paper sheets used to wrap the meat together with the lettuce and some dipping sauce, and you will get an amazing bite.

In one of my earlier blogs, I told a story about Cho Sun Ok, my favorite Korean barbeque house in Chicago that serves chadolgui as well. Cho Sun Ok is pretty good for the Midwestern area, but I personally think that Honey Pig is much better. One reason is because the inverted grill used in Honey Pig is quite efficient so a minute or two is all we need to cook the meat until it finally becomes very crispy. The heat of the grill is adjustable by turning the knob next to the grill table.

Also remember to save some room for the fried rice served at the end of the meal. The waiter will place a mound of spiced rice on the grill pan and add roasted seaweed, then proceed to make fried rice mixed with leftover bean sprouts and kimchi. I like to flatten the fried  rice so that the rice becomes crispy on the pan surface. Yum yum!

The dinner meal that I had at Honey Pig was very savory. Ahhh, too bad there is no Korean barbeque at Columbus that is as good as Honey Pig. Talking about Honey Pig makes me drool and want to go back to LA right now! I wish I had Doraemon’s “Anywhere Door” that could take me to Honey Pig instantly. Hihihi…

 

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05

February
2009

The Gili Islands, Lombok (part 2)

category: travelling
by Yun, 13 Comments »

We started the second day in Gili Trawangan with breakfast at the hotel. Then we circled the island in one hour using a cidomo. Whereas the east side of the island is crowded and full of facilities, the other parts of the island are much quieter. If you seek a quieter place to stay, there are bungalows on the western and northern stripes of the island. We passed several secluded and beautiful white-sandy beaches. We stopped at the Coral Beach on the northeastern part of the island. The beach was not full of people at all. The sand was so white. The water was so clear. The sea color was turquoise. It’s beautiful! Sadly, we had to rush to catch our boat to go to Oberoi Hotel in the afternoon. Before ending our island tour, we stopped at a sea turtle hatchery, where baby turtles are kept in secure tanks until they grow large and healthy enough to be released into the sea. It is a part of some efforts to preserve the natural turtle habitat that was so abundant in Gilis. After circling the island, it is obvious that Gili Trawangan’s economy depends solely on tourism. The island is too small and too remote for industries other than tourism to prosper.

There are no dogs on the island, because the inhabitants are predominantly Muslims. There are no police on the island either. Consequently, illegal drugs are broadly available. They openly sell and advertise magic mushrooms and other types of drugs such as marijuana. Gili Trawangan is also known as the party island of Gilis, where you can easily find a beach party everynight on the island. Most of young tourists find themselves “lost in paradise“. With the absence of police on the island, the small community regulates itself. The punishment for commiting crimes is a beat-down, followed by banishment from the island.

Before I went to Gilis, I searched online information about Gili Trawangan. Eight out of ten people that I talked with told me to try ‘magic mushroom‘, to taste a few hours of heaven. I was perplexed, not knowing what ‘magic mushroom’ was. I naively thought it was some kind of a local food. Haha… They are called magic mushrooms because they are ‘magical’. Magic mushrooms grow widly throughout the island, and they are harvested and consumed to make people ‘fly’. The mushrooms are usually blended together with your choice of fruits, usually pineapple. Some said that a glass of magic mushroom juice would take you anywhere for up to several hours. The legality of magic mushrooms is questionable since they give physical and psychological effects. Try it at your own risk.

Many of coral reefs in Gilis are dead as a result of a local fishing method by dropping dynamites into the water and then collecting the fish. As a counter action to such irresponsible deeds, the government has created bio-rock structure projects aimed at conserving Gilis’ dive sites, regenerating coral reefs, and gravitating marine life around coral formations. During our snorkeling trip the day before, the boatman brought us to see the bio-rock structures, where some new corals were already formed after one-year installation.

A’s cousin (who was born and grew up in US) told us that Gilis accurately matched with her definition of a tropical island. She indicated that for her, Bali was not a real tropical island as it’s similar to any crowded cities in Java but with beaches. She said that she liked Gilis much better than Bali for the sunny weather, the nice beaches, and the place that was not densely populated. Her claim made me more appreciative of Indonesia’s natural beauty. It’s interesting to view Gilis (and Indonesia) from a foreigner’s perspective.

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28

January
2009

The Gili Islands, Lombok (Part 1)

category: travelling
by Yun, 18 Comments »

The promise of crystal blue sea, white sand, and tropical sun lives in the Gili Islands. The islands are located off the northwest coast of Lombok, Indonesia. Gili means “islet” or “very small island” in Sasak language, which is spoken by the native Sasak ethnic group of Lombok. Gili Islands are a sequence of three small islands: Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno, and Gili Air. Popular among Westerners as paradise island getaways, Gili islands offer a peaceful seclusion and a true tropical island feel. With their white beaches, tropical fish, and attractive coral formations, Gilis are one of Indonesia’s top places for diving and snorkeling.

As an extension to our Bali vacation, we took a two-hour boat trip from Benoa Harbor, Bali, to Gili Trawangan. The island is surrounded by turquoise sea water with beautiful sunrise over Lombok’s Mount Rinjani. A spectacular sunset over Bali’s Mount Agung can be seen from the south tip of the island. The island’s entire perimeter is only 8 km. No motorized transportations are permitted on Gili Islands. All rely on bicycles or horse-drawn carts, locally known as cidomos. After arriving at the harbor on the east side of the island, we then took a cidomo to go to our hotel.

Because 24-hour electricity is relatively new and not widely available in Gili Trawangan, we expected that hotels in Gilis would not be as modern as Bali. So, we selected Hotel Vila Ombak as it’s one of the best and newest hotels in the island. After hotel check-in, we went to our hotel room. Our impression about the hotel was below than our expectation. The hotel exterior is great, but internally it’s just basic and poorly maintained. We base our evaluation on the pricey room rate (around US$145 per night) and the new condition of the building. The room has a TV, two beds, and a wardrobe with a safe. Bathroom has a toilet and outdoor shower area. The good side is that the beach and the sea scenery in front of the hotel are stunning.

After dropping our bags at our hotel, we walked through the busy touristy region of the island that is full of restaurants, accomodations, pubs, and diving shops. We had lunch at the restaurant of Beach House Resort. The restaurant stands right next the beach with an incredible view of the blue sea, Gili Meno, and Lombok.

Next, we went for snorkeling. Woohoo! We chartered a boat to snorkel around Gilis from 2PM until 6PM. Luckily, the day was sunny. The boat had a glass bottom to view underwater. The first stop was the Meno Wall, which was a breeding ground for sea turtles. We saw sea turtles swimming freely at the bottom of the sea, and some even surfacing for a gulp of air. Sea turtles are cute marine creatures. ^_^ Our second snorkeling adventure was moved to Gili Air. Unfortunately, sea waves were quite big, making the water murky. We quickly ended our snorkeling and moved to the west side of Gili Meno. Although the coral reefs and fish habitat at this place were not as abundant as those at Gili Air, the waves at this place were most minimal. We all loved this tranquil place. We spent the rest of the afternoon snorkeling at this one location. Beside colorful fish and corals, we saw a ship wreck visible from the sea surface. We also saw two cute cuttlefish, which probably were trying to mate. Both separated as we’re approaching, and they united as we’re moving away. It was my first time to see with my own eyes the color-changing ability of cuttlefish to camouflage them from predators. What a remarkable sensation! Afterward, our boat halted at the south coast of Gili Trawangan for us to witness the beautiful sundown over Mount Agung, Bali. Then we returned back to our hotel. Overall, our snorkeling trip was terrific and memorable.

The worst experience was the saltwater shower. Fresh water resource is scarce, so they have to transport fresh water everyday from the mainland Lombok. Desalination is used in the island to convert the ample sea water to fresh water. However, the desalination technology is still new and expensive. So, that’s why the shower water was still salty, though not as salty as sea water. It’s good that the hotel provided a bucket of fresh water in the bathroom, for cleansing our face and hair. Without the given fresh water, it’s impossible to get clean and our hair would become sticky and matted. Phew… What an odd but interesting experience!

After taking showers at our hotel with salt water (yaiks!), we searched for a restaurant along the main street for dinner. Scallywags was our restaurant choice for the night. We had seafood for the dinner. A was always so excited about seafood. After dinner, we went back to hotel for sleeping.

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23

January
2009

Qamea, Fiji

category: travelling
by Yun, 12 Comments »

Qamea Resort, located in Qamea Island, was one of our stops in Fiji. Qamea is a small island just three kilometers east of Taveuni. The perimeter of the island is only ten kilometers, with some lovely bays, lush green vegetation, mountains, and secluded white sandy beaches. Qamea is rich in birdlife. It is also noteable for the Lairo crab, a very special land crab species that live in the hills and mountains of the island. In their breeding season (from late November to early December), Lairo crabs gather in abundance during their migration from the mud flats towards the sea.

At first, a driver from the resort picked us up at Taveuni’s airport. It took twenty minutes to drive to a secluded beach where a small boat from Qamea had been waiting for us. For another ten-minute boat ride, we arrived at the resort and greeted by the staffs and the owners. After receiving an orientation about the resort, we were guided towards our bure. I was surprised to see that the bure was nicely decorated with furniture, artwork, and craft originally from Bali and Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Food served at Qamea was delicious and presented beautifully. Considering that the chefs never went to a culinary school but only read books to learn cooking Western food, I gave them two thumbs up. I had to admit that the chefs were very talented. Almost every meal that we had was excellent. They provided about ten selections for breakfast menu, in addition organic fruits, cereal, home-made bread, and freshly baked muffin. In one morning, I had chocolate pancakes and it tasted heavenly. They added chocolate to the pancake generously. I just loved my breakfast in that particular day. A loved their salmon brucheta so much that he orderred it almost everyday. The next morning, I ordered the same pancake again. However, I was upset because the chocolate added to the pancakes was much less than before. It was totally different and disappointing. Oh well, maybe it was prepared by a different chef.

Lunch and dinner options were written on the daily bulletin that was delivered to our room the night before. If at any chance the daily menu selections did not fit for us, they would prepare something else per our request, as Fijians often said Seqa na Leqa (pronounce: senga na lenga, meaning “no problem”). For both lunch and dinner, they offers several choices for the starter, the main entree, and the dessert. During cocktail hour, we occasionally had a glass of wine (alcohol is not complimentary) accompanied with some snacks provided by the chef.

A new spa was just built at the resort. They named it “Jungle Spa”. Indeed, it was truly in a jungle. Each treatment room was just perched on a cliff in the jungle. With the sound of the waves and native birds, having a spa there will lull you into a complete relaxation. I was uncertain if I want to have a spa there, since my previous massage experience at Yasawa was not good. But since many guests said that Qamea’s spa (especially the massage) was wonderful, I finally made an appointment to have a massage with Mita. And you know what… Her massage was fabulous. I had one of the best massages I’ve ever had. She looked like she was dancing when giving me a massage. Her body followed the rhythms of the massage… It just felt wonderful and relaxing. So, if you plan to go to Qamea, have a spa there and you won’t regret it!

Snorkeling right in front of the resort was one of the best we have ever had. They have amazing coral reefs right off the beach. You can see a lot of fish there. Even A went for snorkeling for hours every afternoon. We saw a giant grouper and a white tipped reef shark that both live around the reef.  In fact, Qamea was nominated as one of the ten best snorkeling reefs in the world by Rodale`s Scuba Dive Magazine! We also went kayaking to a nearby secluded beach. We parked our kayak and then went snorkeling around the beach. I screamed when I saw a pretty-looking banded sea snake on that beach. But the sea snake was also scared of us and ran away. Hehehe… Beside water activities, we also had a chance to learn how to cook a Fijian traditional dish Kokoda. It was very tasty and extremely easy to make. No need fire to cook it. Just mix the fish with some seasonings and coconut milk. Thanks to Maraia for this wonderful cooking class.

After returning from Fiji, many of our friends asked us. Which one is better, Tahiti or Fiji? It’s hard to tell… Tahiti, especially Bora Bora, has a spectacular view, stunning blue lagoon, and dramatic island. Fiji offers one of the best dive spots in the world and particularly the nice, kind, friendly, and laid back Fijian people… We were treated like a family. Everyone welcomed and greeted us by our name. It made our experience memorable and very personal. We cherished our friendships that we had during our stay. So, it really depends on what you seek. For us, Tahiti was a perfect destination for our honeymoon a couple years back and we would go back to Bora Bora for its beautiful lagoon and turquoise water. And we would return to Fiji mainly for the people and the dive spots. It’s simply different reasons for different places.

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