Text 8736, 91 rader
Skriven 2014-01-12 14:17:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av NANCY BACKUS
Ärende: north South Asia 48
===========================
 RH>> Doesn't hurt to be spoiled every now and again. (G)
 ML> I just got over a 13-hour flight in coach, so my spoiled gene
 ML> needs stroking again

Well, this leg is just about over, and with only small
exceptions we were both spoiled - good feelings all around
especially as I didn't make her eat any scary stuff.

 Lilli just did it by getting me into
 ML> the first class lounge in Hong Kong, which is embarrassingly
 ML> luxurious.
 NB> Nice.  :)

The food was not great, the booze middle-shelf except for
the Champagne, which was from the Peninsula Hotel and made
by Deutz: it was nicely balanced, quaffable and appreciable,
with just a hint of herbaceous bitterness giving way to a
very nice texture and citrusy-oaky flavor. A bit of bottle
age gave a pleasant slightly oxidized toastiness. A slight
contretemps - the place has been renovated all in what I
thought was black glass but Lilli informs me was black
granite. In any case, on my way from the restroom I walked
full tilt right into the wall, my eyesight not telling the
difference between a moderately-lit corridor and a shiny
rock face.

 ML> We sat next to each other in coach, as we had many future
 ML> trips to discuss. 
 NB> Just as well, then...  Was the time used well...?  13 hours could
 NB> cover a lot of territory... :)

A lot was spent figuring out what we were going to do in
the far north: Hall of Opium vs. House of Opium, that sort
of thing.

If all goes according to plan, we may just take the tiniest
peek into Burma or Laos - sometimes there are painless ways
to get brag rights to having been in a country. There's a
duty-free market at the edge of Myanmar where you can go
without a visa, just pay 500 baht, and within sight of the
Hall of Opium (I think), right in the middle of the river, I
think it's the Mekong, there's an island that appears at low
water; it is probably the only place in the world where
three nations could reasonably lay claim to some property
and nobody does. You can apparently take a boat there; the
Google satellite view makes it look like even I could swim it.
On the first part of the trip we did the easy way to North
Korea - went round the table at Panmunjom, had a minute in
the evil empire under the watchful eyes of various guards,
and scuttled back.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: U Ponnya's Nwa Mee Hinga (Oxtail and Watercress Soup)
 Categories: Soups/stews
      Yield: 4 servings

      1 lb Oxtail, divided into                4 c  Water
           -sections                         1/8 ts Pepper
      2    Cloves garlic, chopped fine       1/2 bn Watercress, divided into
      1 tb Fish sauce (nam pya ye)                  -stems
    1/2 ts Salt

  The combination of oxtail and watercress gives the soup a rather
  unconventional flavor and makes it a fine luncheon dish. It is reputed to
  be nourishing for nursing mothers.  Watercress is specified, as substitute
  for the traditional green known as 'chaste leaf' or 'Indian wild pepper'
  (Vitex trifolia), kyaung- ban in Burmese.

  1.  Broil the oxtail in a gas or electric broiler until well roasted and
  slightly charred, about 15 minutes.  Better still, barbecue over charcoal
  to impart a slightly smoked flavor.

  2.  Put everything except the watercress into a pan, and bring to a boil.
  Cover the pan and cook over moderately low heat for 1 hour or more to
  tenderize the meat until it comes away from the bone.

  3.  Add the watercress, cover the pan, and cook for 3 minutes more.

  Serve hot.

  From:  THE BURMESE KITCHEN by Copeland Marks and Aung Thein, Evans and
  Company, Inc., New York.  1987. ISBN 0-87131-524-6 Posted by: Karin Brewer,
  Cooking Echo, 9/92

-----


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