A Fine Farewell

On one of our final nights we had reservations at the Tree Tops of the Anatara Lawana Resort, on the north eastern coast of the island. The restaurant is a collection of treehouse-like dining rooms built amongst large tree tops of the manicured grounds, connected by a network of stairways and wooden bridges. Very Robinson Crusoe-esque... or Gilligan Island chic.

Helen's friend (and now mine!) Tiffany and her husband Laurence generously gifted this dinner to us in celebration of our wedding. Here's how the meal went down:

We were greeted by a very friendly host and seated in a "sala" with a picture perfect view of the neighboring hills and open water. Tiffany and Laurence's gift started with a bottle of New Zealand brut which was crisp, slightly off-dry and quite complimentary of the seafood courses to come.

Helen and I order our appetizers and mains as we thought Tiffany and Laurence would have done for us.

The amuse bouche following our order was a grilled pork meatball served on top of blanched lettuce and Thai sausage. Served just before the amuse bouche came the fresh bread: white, whole wheat, and brown bread baked in their own individual ramicans and left to rise unobstructed until they become golden lightbulbs. We tear into them, finding them still warm, which helps slightly melt the avacado butter. Very good bread... and I don't even like bread!

You can kind of make out the bread in the dark picture below. Sorry... the light was fading by this time.

After the amuse bouche, our appetizers are served:

Tuna tartar topped with pomello, avocado and tomato salad, garnished with taro chips and radish sprouts. We found that pomello is very common in all of our destinations throughout Vietnam and Thailand. But, I've never had it paired with tuna. It was very refreshing. The slightly bitter, then sweet citrus worked well with the tuna; as did the buttery avocado and acidity of the tomato. The tuna itself was quite lean, but held up despite all that was going on with its garnishes.


Seared duck served on top of sweet potato puree and duck spring rolls; essentially this is duck two ways.

The seared duck was juicy and cooked perfectly just under medium rare. The sweet potato puree was a nice alternative to the regular cherry or port sauce that you would traditionally find with duck. You still get a sweet element that compliments the protein, while offering an additional soft puree texture to each bite.

As good as the seared duck was, the springrolls turned out to the star on this plate. The rolls were still warm and very crispy, giving way to the unmistakable richness of shredded roast duck, with a hint of five-spice. Along with the savoury duck, the roll also housed blanched bean sprouts and julienned carrots which were all tender but still crisp to the bite, reminding us that this is indeed a fresh house-made springroll. The lychee ginger dipping sauce was a nice variation to the ubiquitous sweet chili dipping sauce we have been having throughout our trip.

At this point, we were already pretty full. The mains were going to be challenge. Fortunately, a passion fruit sorbet was offered as a palate cleanser. It was refreshing and a great touch to the meal so far.

Before our mains were served, the resident "Salt Guru" comes by with a set of different salts and explains what each type of salt would be served with which types of protein; basically a quick dissertation into salt pairing. But since Helen and I both ordered seafood, we were served a side of sea salt only. Still, a pretty cool experience. Sorry for the poor photo... it was dark in the sala, and the flash on the iPhone is abrupt... or maybe it was the user.

After another 15mins or so, our mains are served:

Local prawns and grilled sea bass served on sauteed morning glory and roasted potatoes for Helen. I didn't have room to even try her dish, so unfortunately I can't comment on how it was. Despite Helen not being able to finish it, she seemed to like it.

For me, house-made tortellini stuffed with lump crab meat, served with king crab, fish, scallops, and prawns... basically an ocean on a plate! It was enourmous. The cream sauce took this dish over the top of decadence. The pasta was cooked nicely to al dente and the crab meat was immediately evident inside. I work my way through the prawns, king crab and some of the scallop and soon tap out in a briny, savoury haze. It was delicious but way too rich for my state. Sorry to my boys at home (Dru, Vince, Derrick, and Rich!) who like to take over my unfinished meals... you guys would have loved it!

We finish off our meal with an Earl Grey tea for Helen and my favourite dessert, an old vintage port to go with our pettite macaroons.

The service and pace of our meal was impeccable. The staff should be given credit for traversing the network of stairs and walkways through these trees alone, serving plate after plate of well-crafted cuisine. As printed on their toohpick wrapper, it is indeed "in the little things." Along with truly professonal service, it is apparent that the restaurant carefully considers the customer experience; like leaving a bottle mosquito repelant on the table. A very nice touch.

And in your little gesture, Tiffany and Laurence, you have provided us with a priceless experience. Thank you for your gift. You have exceptional taste ;)

So ends our honeymoon journey. Thank you all for your interest in our travels. We have missed you all, and hope to see you very soon. Take care in the meantime!

With love... Helen and Danny.

 

Sawadee Kha!

Spoiler alert! This post will be all about the food we have encountered here on Samui. And there is much to tell.

 

FIRST OFFICIAL DINNER ON SAMUI

We arrived from Bangkok, oh so ready for a beach getaway. We had reservations at our resort in the once renouned The Heights restaurant. The dining room is perched on one of the highest points of the island's south eastern tip, facing directly onto the Gulf of Thailand. It certainly does have a beautiful panoramic view, but at night, it's all black so it's not like it made a difference for our dinner.

We started off with cocktails, then moved on to a nice bottle of pinot noir to accompany our appetizer and mains. First came the prawns wrapped in egg noodle with a sweet chili dipping sauce:

I've had this dish before in a slightly different variation in that the prawns were wrapped in fried glass noodle, which is very fragile, light but offered little more than a crisp exterior to each bite. But here with the egg noodles, the crispiness was much more robust and lended a nice starchy base to the dish. Along with the sweet chili sauce, it was a very satisfying first bite into our dinner.

For our mains, Helen ordered sweet & sour fish with rice. Sorry no picture or big description of that since any and all of us have had a version of this at a food court Manchu Wok or The Lingnan... maybe even both.

I went with the fish of the day, which turned out to be barracuda. Our server explained that it is a local fish that is common in these waters. I jumped at the chance to try something new. I ordered it char broiled served with a beurre blanc sauce.

I had a hunch that the fish would be quite lean as barracudas are predatory fish. With all that swimming, chasing, and trashing prey, I couldn't imagine there to be much fat in barracuda meat. The fish came out smelling and looking nicely charred, with visible grill marks uniformly distributed on the surface of the filet. And, I was right, the meat was very lean, dangerously close to being on the dry side, but the beurre blanc and smokiness from the grill helped make it quite appetizing. The most interesting part of this presentation is the fact that it was garnished with several pieces of solid honeycomb, topped with a corn salsa. I've never had honey comb in this manner before so I had no idea how this would pair with the fish. In short, it really didn't. The honeycomb, even in moderation is concentrated sweetness that overpowered the corn, and definitely the delicate fish. To me it was an unnecessary addition, but I can appreciate what the chef was trying to do in balancing contrasting flavours.

 

ISLAND EATS

Throughout our week here on the island, Helen and I looked for things to try that caught our eye. Like Bangkok, the streets on Samui are filled with food carts. Vendors sell everything from soup noodles, to fresh fruit, to deep fried goodies, to grilled meats of all sorts... and when I say all sorts, I do mean everything... inside and out. One of our favourite finds was a makeshift hawker market on the opposite side of the island.

We looked around and I stepped up to a lady who was frying chicken in a wok over an oil drum. Fresh frying was important to us because we noticed that any food what was cooked and left out on display, soon had a swarm of flies swarming around it. So, we thought the best strategy to avoid the ring of fire, is to eat street food that is cooked as fresh as possible. So Helen points to piece of chicken that came straight out of the fryer... it was a hunk of deep fried-ness that was largely unrecognizable. We paid 20 bhat for it, which is about $0.70. We also got a delicious looking, if abnormally shaped drum stick to go with the mystery piece. We sit down and tear into our newly fried, heavenly smelling chicken. The original hunk of fried meat that Helen picked out turned out to be chicken liver, kidney, and chunks of gizzards. Excitedly, I bite into the liver with crunch and was rewarded with the irony, and pate-like richness that makes chicken liver so good. The gizzards were also very good... but what isn't when deep fried?

We move onto the drumstick. We didn't see this particular piece come out of the fryer so we didn't know how long it had been sitting out. But it was still warm so we felt it was safe to tuck in. We take our first bites and were incredibly surprised at how crispy the skin was. It was audible. Adding to the texture of the crispy skin and moist dark meat, the seasoning was spot on with a fine balance of salt, pepper, a slight kick of heat right at the end to warm our throats. It was, dare I say it, better than most of the fried chicken I have had here at home. This is saying a lot as those who know me, know that I'm a ardent fan of Church's chicken. This street side chicken was that good.

We explored the local market and streets around Lamai beach. We noticed another hawker grilling skewers of yet more chicken. Helen does her best to identify what parts are actually on the sticks by asking the lady, "Chicken? Chicken?" Her philosophy is to keep it simple when trying to communicate to locals. The lady nods and responds, "Chicken, yes." Helen points to a darkly marinated collection of meat and says, "Chicken... inside? Inside?" circling then pointing to the centre of her own torso. The lady responds, "Yes, inside. Chicken." Helen then points to another set of meat that looks more recognizable as perhaps skewered breast meat and asks, "Chicken, outside?" this time pointing to her arm, flapping it a little. The lady once again agrees, "Yes, chicken outside." Great! We get one skewer of each.

One of the things that deterred us from trying many of the street grills earlier on our trip was that the skewers seemed to have been pregrilled and set out to sit. But we soon realize that the pieces you choose to purchase make their way back onto the hot charcoal grill for a reheating and to take on a little more smokiness! After about 5 mins on the well-used wire grill, we get our goods. As expected the meat was nicely charred, cooked through and extremely reminiscent of backyard barbeques. Unexpectedly, the "chicken inside" that I chose was actually not chicken innards at all. It was randomly hacked up thigh meat... so despite Helen's strong efforts, some things remain lost in translation.

TESCO LOTUS

To refill on bottled water and for a quick look at a local super market, we spent some time at one of the largest chains, Tesco Lotus. It's like a small WalMart where you can get books, electronics, groceries, etc. They had an aisle they called "Food of the World":

Here you can find such worldly classics like Mac 'n Cheese in a can! Just add SPAM!

And look! A section of SPAM to choose from!

Over a few aisles and you'll find local delicacies... in spades! How about an entire section of shrimp chips?

Or hotdog flavoured chips? I'm not sure what the hotdogs are saying in on the package but I bet it's something tasty!

An entire section of dried cuttle fish and squid!

Or how about this local specialty?

It just so happens that our resort shuttle bus drops off and picks up at a McDonald's. This is one of my favourite pictures from our village visit:

Even Ronald demonstrates the warm and ever-welcoming Thai hospitality.

This was supposed to be the last post of our trip, but I think I'll need to start a new one to cover of our last (and best meals) of our Samui trip. Stay tuned!

 

Koh Samui - A Little Bit of Paradise

For the last leg of our trip, Helen and I check into the Silavadee Resort on Koh Samui, a little island on the Gulf of Thailand. After traveling through towns and cities, great and small, we were looking forward to a week of just chilling out and not doing much at all. Island time.

 

We decided to treat ourselves and end off our honeymoon with a stay in a villa with a private pool. I'd like to say we spent much of our time out in the pool, but unfortunately it rained a lot during our stay. But we made the best of i when the sun was out:

We very quickly fall into a routine on our island getaway. Our days start off at breakfast with a view:

Then we get back to more pool time, spa treatments, or just hanging out in our villa where we catch up on email and messages with friends. We are relishing our down time within the grounds of our very secluded resort.

On our second day, we rented a car and explored the island ourselves. Like the British, people drive on the opposite side of the road here. Having never driven in this manner, I had a crash course in left-lane driving. Fortunately, we made it through our day without incident... a few close calls, but without incident.

The island is basically a collection of beach communities, connected by a major road that rings the island and intersperses off to smaller roads that lead to resorts, villages, and markets. Many of the other tourists are seemingly transplanted from lost episodes of The Jersey Shore. It was quickly apparent to me that the closer we got to the beaches themselves, the more of these characters there were. Coincidence? I think not

The beach villages really are just communities of bars and massage parlors with names like, Wayne's World, Super Girls Bar, Camel,s Toe (spelled exactly like that), etc. Certain people with certain dispositions could quickly find themselves in a heap of trouble here. But not me. I'm married.

Our first stop is the Samui Aquarium/Tiger Show. The aquarium was... basic. Imagine connected high school hallways, in the dark, lit by faint blue fluourescent bulbs on one side, and random tanks of local fish on the other. The walls are black, and we just move on from one tank to another, all without any placards or any sinage that indicates what you are looking at. However, despite not following the regular aquarium format, the tanks were filled will interesting and very active aquatic wildlife, including a fish with a giant cranium and would follow you if you make eye contact!

The marine show consisted mainly of 3 well-trained seals that did many tricks with beach balls, music, and hoops. It was quite entertaining, even if it really was the bootleg version of Sea World.

And, the tiger show is much more than our original impression with this facility. The bleak aquarium gave us the impression that the "tiger show" was not much more than a sad old tiger too slow to run from it's own shadow. We would have been very wrong. The facility housed about 6 or 7 adult bengal tigers, and a couple of cubs. Very cute. We entered an dark chamber that opens out to a caged area in which 4 of the tigers were kept. They are HUGE! At one point, two of the cats aggressively sparred with each other and the roars seemed to shake the walls. It was enough for me a Helen to cower back away from the open cage. The power of these tigers had us convinced that steels bars may not actually be capable of holding them back. It was a scary but exhilarating experience.

We then rode an elephant. I guess we figured it was the tourist thing to do. It was an interesting experience, but probably one that neither Helen or I would do again. Riding an elephant is like riding an open topped pick-up truck with one speed and no suspension. The elephant, while docile and cooperatiive was not an easy ride. It waddled left to right and vice versa the whole time, and the pitched us forward with little warning when it found its footing working down a small hills. I am not usually prone to motion sickness, but this nearly got me there, thanks to the wavering ride and the trail being peppered with elephant doo doo the size of cannon balls.

My next and last post will be of our last meals here on Samui. Some of you have commented that you like the food posts so I'll go out with a bang. For those of you who aren't interested in food posts, then you can end your read here. Thanks for checking in on us! See you all when we get back! Cheers!

 

Bangkok - Poor First Impressions

We had scheduled two days in Bangkok before moving on to Koh Samui. Neither of us having been to Bangkok before, we didn't really know what to expect - except for advice from people to be cautious. We've handled other large crowded cities before, so we weren't really worried.

We had a whole day planned, starting with a visit to the Grand Palace, then onto lunch and one of the many mega malls to stock up before heading to island time.

We get to the Grand Palace ok. The day was hot and sticky, but other than that, the visit was a very interesting experience:

The entire complex was extremely ornate, with most of the buildings guilded in gold leaf, gold paint, real gold plating and mosaic glass. Home to many sacred temples, the site was indeed grand and regal. But it wasn't until we left the palace, that our adventure really started.

We get back to the sidewalk just outside the palace walls. Spent from the heat and humidity, we look for the first way out of area. We approach the first taxi in the taxi line up. We negotiate with the driver to get us back to the hotel for around the same amount as it cost to get us there... around 100 bhat. The driver says ok, but he says for 100 bhat, he will need to make us stop at a couple of stores before we head back to the hotel. Helen jumps into action and practically pushes me out the door.

We try a few cabs down the line and they all tell us the same thing, "Sure, 100 bhat... but we stop here, here and here." We figure these cab drivers prey on the tourists coming out of the palace and take them to shops that will give them a kickback for every rube they drop off in front of their door. Obviously we want no part of this. Helen tries one more cab in the line up. The driver says the same, "Sure, 100 bhat... but we stop..." Helen jumps in, "No stop. Just to hotel." The driver says, "No stop? Ok, 300 bhat." WHAT?? It cost us 90 bhat to get there! Now this joker wants 300 for the return trip??

So now we're pissed and decide to walk away from the area and hail a random cab off the street. We walk several blocks away and flag one down. This cabbie says 200 bhat! We said no way... we know it doesn't even take 100 bhat for that distance, so we keep walking. We keep an eye out for other cabs, but none seem to want to take us for less than 200 bhat. Less than that, they would want to drop us off at certain shops for their kickback.

We keep walking, and keep checking for cabs. We are now well away from the palace. In fact, we are over one third to our destination... about 45mins of walking so far. We flag down another cab. Same thing! 200 bhat! Even though we are closer to the hotel than we were 45mins ago!

So we decide then that we will try to walk the rest of the way, not knowing how long it will actually take us. We walk for another half hour or so and come across some traffic police. Great! They will help us get back to the hotel, or at least get us a cab without getting hustled... or so we thought. As we are asking the officer questions, another traveler overhears our conversation and mentions to us that sometimes these traffic cops work with the cabbies to get them business. In fact, the tuk tuk that the cop was suggesting would quote us even more than the cabs! What?? Now we can't even trust the cops?!

Disheartened, tired and frustrated with all of the hustling we have had to fight through, we commit to walking the rest of the way, since we are now over halfway there, thanks to an untrustworthy lot... not to mention the anxiety of having to wade through throngs of people who, as we have been warned, may pick-pocket, threaten, or outright mug you for all you are worth at that moment. Not a fun afternoon.

We finally reach our hotel as a storm begins. Strong winds and rain work us over as we cross the final street and scamper into the lobby. The journey took us just over two hours. We hole ourselves up for the remainder of evening in our hotel and room where we are safe from anyone else trying to fleece us.

If the cabs would just do the honest thing and take people to where they want to go, based on the running meter, I'm certain that they will make much more in a day than waiting in a taxi line up for the next sucker who will let themselves be taken for a joyride.

Bangkok, you cannot be trusted. Despite your beautiful sites and culture, you made a poor impression on two tourists where were ready to love you. We will not be back.

Leaving Hoi An

Hoi An Ancient Town at Night

Man, Danang has a nice airport! We are sitting here waiting for our flight to Ho Chi Minh City, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to add a few notes about our time here in Hoi An.

Mainland Chinese tourists really ARE everywhere! As we were having lunch at Wan Lu, we watched a couple of large Chinese tour groups march through the street. As they passed, they left a trail of garbage in their wake. Hoi An is a VERY clean town. There are people cleaning the streets all the time with bins and brooms. It really bothered me to see the inconsiderate and cavalier attitude of these tourists. It made me want to say to them, "Your abhorent behaviour offends me a great deal, sir!" Then slap him with a white glove. But he'd probably slap me back and then find ourselves in a proper sissy fight, which benefits no one.

One of the things we did a lot of while waiting for each fitting was look for different happy hours around the old town. We found several... but few were any good. This cocktail for example consists of rum, passion fruit and orange juice. If you don't know what natural passion fruit looks like, there's some at the end of my straw here. Whoever thinks it's ok to put something with the consistency of snot into a cocktail is dead wrong. Because it's not. (Get it?! Get it?! hehehe!)

 

When we first booked the trip, we thought maybe five days in an old town may be too many. But I'm glad we did. It gave us a chance to really get to know the town, and observe local culture, including the mad hustle from the ladies in the market. Helen got so used to the streets, we no longer needed a map to get around. Plus, the few extra days allowed us time to take advantage of our beach resort, the ocean view, and to catch up on some reading. It was time well spent.

We are now ready to get back to city life. On to HCM City!

Mean Cuisine

The cuisine of Vietnam, like most countries, varies depending on each unique region in the country. For example, pho isn't pho unless it comes from Hanoi, or is an exact replica of what you can get in Hanoi... in the north... right down to the types of herbs you are served - sans bean sprouts... at least, according to people in Hanoi

Here in Hoi An, in central Vietnam, Helen and I have had the real pleasure of experiencing what is local to this region of this engaging country. We ate so much, and in such variety, I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet.

Seemingly, I am a product of my environment. In Vancouver, when we largely think of pho, or grilled meat meals... which are excellent. And although my friends and I have really tried to try different dishes at local Vietnamese establishments, we are only really starting to scratch the surface, and shops advertise "beef noodle soup" heavily. So here in Hoi An, I guess I was expecting variations of pho as a staple here. Not so.

One of the specialties here is "cao lau" which is a bowl of just warm egg noodles in a very light fish sauce dressing, topped with slices of roasted pork and the ever-present bouquet of fresh herbs. Enter, Wan Lu; a very local spot. It was packed when we came across it. That's what caught our attention... we decided to try it maily because, if the locals like it... the food has to be good!

We ate there one night and tried the cao lau. We liked it so much we went back for lunch the next day:

The real magic, one would think is the pork... afterall, what's better than slow roasted slices of pork? It turns out, at least for me, the best part of this dish is the egg noodle. Now, I like pasta... big fan. But this noodle is like the best al dente pasta, beefed up. It's tender and just elastic enough to provide an amazing texture that balances out the soft juicy pork. The herbs add bright floral accents to each bite. But I do have to say, I'm not a big fan of the local watercress. It tastes fishy. Who knew an herb can taste like bad oysters?!

The night before, we noticed that all the locals were ordering this thing that looked like a skinny tamale. Wrapped in banana leaf, they open up to reveal an organic stick of what looks like rice? Flour? Rice flour?

So, for lunch, Helen orders us a couple:

It turns out, it's seasoned steam pork! And you know what? It tastes like a mild pepperoni stick!

The pork is ground fine like a pepperoni seasoned with black and white pepper, with slight floral sweetness coming from the banana leaf wrap. So good!

We complete our meal with "white rose," small bit of pork, covered with a gelatenous rice wrap, garnished with fried shallots and garlic. Is is similiar to shrimp dumplings at dim sum except with pork. The sauce is what makes it. It's sweet and slightly sour which brings out the starchy flavour of the rice wrap.

Usually, we are very small eaters. It doesn't take much to make us full. But Helen and I polished off one bowl each of the cao lau, all of the white rose, and the banana leaf sausage... all this for about $8. Incredible meal for what a combo now costs at McDonald's.

One of the major highlights of our time here in Hoi An would have to be the cooking class we did. We took it at Morning Glory, a mainstay restaurant owned and operated by a local chef who was one of the originals who started Hoi An a a tourist town.

We start off at the market where our guide walks us through the different sections and explains the different ingredients used in local cooking. We taste fruits and smell our way through herbs as we walk past fresh meat and live seafood:

Then we make our way back to the restaurant to start our class:

To call it a cooking class may be over extending the concept a little. As we were under time constraint, all of the prep was done for us, and much of the "cooking" was closely watched over by cooks helping our instructor, so there really isn't much risk in screwing up. Still, it was a wonderful experience to work with authentic local ingredients.

We make five dishes - cabbage soup with shrimp parcels, fresh salad rolls, banh xeo (Vietnamese pancake), grilled chicken with lemon leaf, and mango salad:

Even though Helen was a little apprehensive with having to be hands-on with this class, she did great! We both had a great time creating this food. We are given the recipes for all of these dishes, so we hope to share them with you all when we get home.

One last true highlight I want to share is of this banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich). I was first made aware of this thing on yet another episode of No Reservations where Bourdain finds "the best banh mi" in Hoi An. I have had a few banh mi's at home and Los Angeles. Good stuff. Great french baguette, slathered with pate and usually filled with chicken or sliced ham and topped with pickeled vegetables. In the Bourdain episode, his traveling companion (his former boss at Les Halles) calls it a "banh mi deluxe." After trying it, I am going to one-up him and call it a "banh mi extrodinaire!"

Helen and I ordered one each... with everything, including a fried egg on top! That means, along with the usual toppings of fresh herbs, pate, pickeled veggies... they put in sausage, chicken, and pork slices... THEN to it with a freshly fried egg! Here's the evidence:

There are many, many more food experiences that I would like to share with you of our time here in Haoi An. But this post is getting long enough, and I'm satisfied that we covered the very best of what we came across. Can't wait to try to make my own banh xeo!