Sir Joshua Reynolds, the 18th century painter held the view that defining good art required standardisation and classification. He argued in one of his discourses on art that general beauty makes more sense than particularities because it was rational and because that’s how the human mind operates. Of his most famous critics was William Blake who replied to his notion of general beauty that “To generalise is to be an idiot; To particularize is the alone distinction of merit” Yes, I have finally eaten myself to madness. I once held the view that London was the gastronomic capital of the world. I have had some wonderful meals in the last eight years in the city, defending the Big Smoke’s reputation against naysayers. London restaurants naturally become my benchmark when defining a good meal. Generally speaking, there are lots of great places to eat in the city, but I just wonder if we examine the city’s gastronomic landscape through a microscope, would the finer details alter the general aesthetic?
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Technorati Tags: london, restaurants, standard, Type of Cuisines, world
Posted in: Featured, Food Articles
Hello folks, I am officially back from my month long vacation, trust you have applied yourselves positively while I’ve been away. My yearly visit to the folks is always enlightening if perspective bending though this is the first time in eight years that I went home in time to celebrate Chinese New Year. I’m carrying alot of holiday weight right now, five kilos to be exact, heavy stuff. Astrologists are predicting a gold rush this year and have interpreted the year of the Metal Tiger to be one made of solid gold. Bling. I had originally intended this post to be the closer to my run of unofficial Chinese New Year write-ups and was suppose to coincide with Chap Go Meh – the fifteenth day of the new Lunar year – the same day which also marks the end of the Chinese New year festival… but other more pressing commitments had ensured a five day delay – building websites still doesn’t quite pay the rent. I had spent most of the time travelling between Brunei, Singapore and Taiwan, the latter was where I decided to spend my money. I have good reason to stuff myself silly and I filled my schedule with pit-stops to restaurants which served something representatively local – like a crash course into the native cuisine. It’s all well and good that we have so many restaurants which cater to all sorts of world cuisines, but it occurred to me that London has been the first destination that I have sampled certain international flavours. Something as common as say pizza for example – I can’t say I’ve actually tried a Neapolitan recipe passed down from the ages. This holiday would double as gastronomic adventure and I view it as a way to build my CV in a particular style of cuisine, so that I’ll always have something to compare my London exploits against. And so Kang’s quest to catch a glimpse into the world of Taiwanese cuisine was born. Here are his notes (So weird writing in the third person).
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Technorati Tags: cuisine, Taipei, Taiwan, taiwanese
Posted in: Chinese, Food Articles, Other Restaurant Reviews, Taiwanese
Ask any Taiwanese what their number one to-eat dish is and the answer is likely to be Niu Rou Mian. Originally a Northern Chinese recipe, it eventually made it’s way to Taiwan when millions of Nationalist Mainlanders fled the Middle country to escape Communism (source : Travel in Taiwan). It’s a relatively simple recipe, but that’s also why so many adore it. Niu Rou (beef) Mian (noodles) are slow cooked beef slices (Either sirloin or stewing (braising) beef is used) ; spicy soya sauce (or lighter clear broth ; some vegetables and the all important mian. Today Niu Rou Mian’s popularity is so wide spread and deeply rooted in Taiwan’s gastroculture that there is an annual Beef Noodle Festival with the intent to rubber stamp Taipei as the bona-fide capital of Beef noodles. Speaking of Taipei, the city is like a really large open-air food hall. There is just too much to eat. On almost every other street corner, you’ll likely find mobile kitchen units. These movable street vendors are usually manned by single individuals, selling a savory or sweet snack and with nothing but the loudness of their voice as their main form of advertisement. If there is something you crave, chances are you’ll likely run into a street seller just by walking down the street. With such a wide selection, the problem isn’t finding something ‘authentic’ in the city, it’s about finding where the real gems are hidden. Of course, like many things in the world of food, the way to find out about the best in town is through word of mouth. Fortunately for me, I have my entire extended family in Taipei to help me put this hit-list together. On this occasion, we went to three of the most established names in the Taipei Beef Noodle scene, namely Lao Chang, Lin Dong Fang and an unnamed shop in Taoyuan Street. This isn’t the stuffy world top 50 awards folks; This is old fashion, word of mouth street food opinion. Let’s get slurping.
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Technorati Tags: beef, niu rou mien, noodles, restaurant, reviews, Taipei, Taiwan
Posted in: Food Articles, Other Restaurant Reviews, Taiwanese
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