crab fry vid

On this nights menu we had having beef and pork Satay with fixins, ketupat(pressed rice), cucumber, onions and a fiery peanut sauce. I’ll tell you that cooking your satay on a charcoal fire is far superior than the bbq, imparting a natural smokiness.

Grandpa Eddie(while sipping on homebrew) also fried up some chicken wings that were marinated in a ‘secret’ powder brought back from Singapore, I think it has blachan in it, giving it a slight not quite recognizable stinky but good dimension.

Mr Creative, my bro, tossed together a watercress and red pepper salad with fish sauce, it was so mouthwatering, we were going back for more.

We both had the Croque monsieur $6.00-Baked ham, gruyere and béchamel sandwich and glorious coffee. Love this place.

For our one night in Seattle we decided to check out Le Pichet for dinner recommended by several of our buddies. I’m a big fan of the rustic neighbourhood French bistro with its low lit wood heavy interiors and long bar seating for dinner or drinks, attracting a somewhat mixed bag of diners. I also kinda like sitting closer to people unlike in most western restos where personal space is expected.

True to my expected ordering and eating ways I went for the confit while the man had steak frites. There was liver in my dish, what a nice surprise, guess i didn’t read the menu fully. The frites were fresh and crispy, steak was topped with a tad of mushrooms, yum. Wine, yes, we had a French one.

As we ate we reminisced of the French restaurants we experience in Vietnam, quaint little places in Hanoi and Saigon, filled with French speaking tourists, expats and some locals. Clicking of wine glasses, food that made you relax and go ahhhh, some times there would be a faint smell of after diner cigarette smoke(long gone in Vancouver restaurants) and the chatter in different languages, mostly French.

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Guanajuato City, Mexico

The latest recurring memory of taco trance is of the arracherra tacos sin queso(no cheese) from Brasilia on Salida a Celaya street in San Miguel de Allende. This is the first time I have ever had skirt steak taste so beefy and tender and smell so glorious. And of course it isn’t any fun if you don’t have the 6 garnishes that are set on your table for you to create that personal tacos. At Brasilia they plunk down small bowls of: hot pickled onion, pico de gallo, limes, smoky chilli salsa, green salsa and guacamole. So yummy its enough to make you plan another vacation in that town, or at least a stopover!

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more photos at my Flickr set

Mexico City, Saturday night, we went down to the concierge to ask for restaurant suggestions. The well turned out señor suggested two places within walking distance of our hotel, Hilton Reforma, as it was already closing in on eight o’clock.

Out and to the right we walk, expecting a breath of fresh night air, there is none, its stale. A few crowded blocks later we came to the first suggestion(to all tourists) the Torres Latino Americano Restaurant which offered ‘international’ fare. We were super surprised and kinda horrified at the condition of the building(tallest in Mexico City in 1959?), rundown and through the windows it seemed that all one could see was stuff strewn up against the grubby windows floor after floor. Next…

Next was the task of finding Café Tucuba, local fare and authentic Mexican said Mr concierge. That was really the the one we were aiming for anyhow.

At Tucuba street now and the sight of a crowd and the lure of drumming took us to the gorgeous Museo de Artes where I’d say about 50 dancers were in a dance that seem to be about saluting the four directions, the elements and freedom(of sorts).

A few more blocks and we see Café Tacuba! From the outside it looked like a small bakery, oh the hesitant momentary disappointment, but, when we went thought the doors, delight and sheer awe of the décor and architecture, Mexican/Spanish to the core, what a hidden gem, I love it! Omg, i think this is going to be good.

Our lovely server Margarita in her nursemaid outfit with her perfectly hairsprayed bleached blond hair with giant bow all of 50 years was a pro you could tell. $2.80 Modelos and we are ready to check out the menu. What to have? Appies, special of the house, ensaladas, sopas…we chose: 4 little things(tamale verde, chicken taquito, enchilada?…), Puerco Oaxaca (con guac, frijoles y tortillas), cheesay chiles rellenos in a rojo sauce, and the boys had crazy garlic soup with poached egg in the middle with cheesy toast.

There was a gang of talented mariachis to top off the vibe.

Ok so we had such a lovely experience we went back the next night and I had Tinga(pictured above), it was a delicious pork and stringy cheese delight!

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