Adapting to life as an Australian Housewife ..... ah, Risa!

A shout out to our friends Ross & Risa, who we met in Hokkaido and who did the most awesome trip of Japan in their Delica with a Honda Mini Cub & bed in the back .... got married, and then took off to Australia. We caught up with them while we were back in Oz a few times, but were lucky enough to be invited around for a BBQ at their place. They have a pretty sweet pad in the Valley, with a nice outdoor space that opens up into the eating area. Ross cranked up the BBQ, and Risa had knocked up some true blue Aussie rissoles & even a potato bake.



All was enjoyed in the sunshine, with bread rolls, salad, white wine & even a bit of roo steak! Ross, & Risa adapting to life as an Australian really well, we will be back again next time we're home for another BBQ feast!;)

So much porky goodness.

Hong dae, I hadn't thought much about the area at first but this is because we had be visiting in the wrong time zone. Hong dae is most definitely a night time show. As we walked back around the formerly empty streets it was had to remember how it was pre-midday. Crowds of people thronged the streets and alleys delicious smells were every where, music pounded out of clubs, it was fantastic. We stopped for a little appetizer at a busy bbq place picked at random. A plate of meat, wraps, accompaniments and a couple of Cass beers and we're good to go.





We knew we wanted more and traveled a good few feet to get it. As we stepped out of the bbq joint we saw a lot of people enjoying Bossam right next door, with this way up on our must do dishes we took a few steps and sat down again.



A towering plate of pork arrives along with chillies, garlic, kimchi, wraps, saeujeot (pickled fermented shrimp) and a Haejangguk, a murky bowl soup made from ox bones and blood jelly.
the first moments are spent thinking, wow glad we ordered the small size, but then first taste and we know there's no way we won't finish this bad boy.





Grab a little pork add some sweet sweet Korean garlic, chili and a splash of baby pickled shrimp, wrap it all up in a sesame or lettuce leaf and chow down, have a little kimchi to cleanse the palate, totally awesome.

The Haejangguk is a traditional hangover cure so this was a preemptive strike on the following morning. The soup was of the Seoul variety made with a soy bean soup base, cabbage, green onions, bean sprouts and plenty of the blood jelly. This sort hangover cure I could get used to.



We sat for a good while, every time a banchan bowl was emptied a refill was quick in coming, and magically the plate of pork disappeared, amazing.

With bellies filled with awesomeness and doing the happy dance of satisfaction we took once more to the streets to watch and join the spectacle that is Hong dae by night.

Parting gratuitous pork shot

Asador Etxebarri

Asador Etxebarri was high on our list of places to eat on our recent trip to Spain. Even months prior, we had tried reserving a lunch spot - we sent e-mails, and tried the online reservation system with not much luck ... We were determined to get there nonetheless. Upon arriving in San Sebastian, we kindly asked the owner of the little guesthouse we were staying, if he would mind calling and booking us a lunch in just a few days time. Success !! We were super excited, and made our travel plans to Bilbao around our lunch reservation.

Upon arriving in Bilbao, we set out to find a rental car. We book online, and just have to go into the office to pick it up/settle payment. Seems easy enough, but the map given online was terrible ... We wandered around for a while, asking anyone and everyone for help. Finally a young girl points us to the 2nd floor of the main train station (why of course!). We take the car just for the day, and are very happy to pay the extra for the GPS. We are ready, pack into the car, iPhone maps and an internet printout as backup. Punching the address into the GPS is harder than we thought, as the address is in Basque, while the GPS input in Castelana. That proved to be the least of our worries, though, as when Kim starts the car we realise it's a manual. We are both confident driving manuals, but in an unfamilar city, on the wrong side of the road, not having to worry about changing gears is always a bonus. We set off, me of course doing a fine job of back-seat directing, even with all the maps & GPS ... We have allowed nearly 2 hours to arrive Atxondo, but find ourselves there within 45 minutes. Words can't describe the serenity that surrounds us, but this picture below will give you an idea of the mountains encasing this quaint little village that were looking upon us as we step out of the car ....



We hesitantly push our way through the closed doors, we're a few minutes early. Behind those doors is not what we expected at all, it's a rustic little bar top with wooden stools, some small tables and a set of stairs leading up in the back corner. We find one body behind the bar, who speaks very little English, but directs us upstairs. We announce our reservation and ushered over to a beautiful table right in the window, the afternoon sun bursting in behind us ... Beautiful wooden menu's are placed in front of us as so another 4.5 hour Spanish lunch begins.



Of course we choose the seasons tasting menu, which offers a vast selection of fine local produce. After we order, a small glass plate is placed in front of us with 2 pickled white anchovy fillets. They are so plump & full of life, with a young grassy olive oil lightly coating them.



The home made chorizo sits like a piece of fine art on the table in front of us ... 3 perfect rounds of the house made sausage, that shows so many different colors & textures. I bite each slice in half, savoring each mouthful of smokey, fatty sausage. It is so good ...



Smoked butter may seem like an odd 2nd course to some, but we were both very excited for this particular offering. A slab of the smoked butter sat on a thin slice of lightly toasted bread. Paper thin slices of a local mushroom are melting in to the butter, and a smokey ash salt finishes it off. I don't even have words to describe how happy this singular plate made me ... We sat on this one for a while, allowing every little bite to fill our mouths with the smokiness, as the ash salt dissolved on our tongues the flavor intensifies.



Our next course was an addition we made to the tasting menu, I mean who can resist foie gras? This one simplicity in all it's beauty, a fat slice of foie terrine with poached rhubarb & fruit toast.



Palamos prawns are a deep sea prawn caught of the Costa Brava. The color is vibrant, the taste intense. Salt & smoke coating the fingers with each bite ... a finger bowl & fresh towel allows these gems to be enjoyed by hand.



Grilled cockles with fresh pink grapefruit segments & a light foam excite the palate. I am captured by the gorgeous plated they are resting on, with 3 little cockle shell imprints in the ceramic perfectly holding the shells ....



Now, I have eaten some baby octopus in my time, but the little buggers that were served at this lunch were something else. Their bodies were size of my pinky nail ... they were plump & tasty, a black ink sauce, spinach & pickled shallots gave the dish a real earthiness ...



The angulas, or baby eels, is something I remember so vividly from Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. We knew these were seasonal, but were super excited to see them on the menu - we were in luck, they were coming into their last week of the season. The bowl of baby eels served with a mother-of-pearl spoon was aesthetically pleasing. My first mouthful was somewhat overwhelming though .... It was a scent that permeated all of my senses, and I wasn't quite sure if I liked it or not .... it mellowed out as I was trying to decide, and then I did quite enjoy the flavor. We later found out the eels are infused with tobacco. Once it had a chance to mellow out, the rich butter taste combined with the tobacco was divine. The little angulas were another favorite of the day.



Our fish course was Salt cod with roasted red peppers & butter sauce. The fish portion was massive for a tasting menu, and a little underwhelming. I would have been happy with a plate of roasted peppers, the flesh sweet with a robust smokey flavor. Yum!



The savory courses finish with a perfectly grilled piece of beef. Pink in the middle, a crusty salty exterior, each bite so full of flavor, leaving an intense charcoal taste in the mouth that is pleasant and not at all overpowering. A bowl of dressed butter lettuce leaves add a nice bit of acidity.



Nothing like cleansing the palate from a flavor intense meal full of differnt smokey flavors and charcoals then with a smoked ice-cream with fruit infusion. The smoked ice-cream coats the tongue and is velvet smooth, the fruit infusion refreshing & tart.



Milk cream is a bar of set custard cream, with a French toast-like coating and cinnamon ice-cream.



Coffee to finish with little financiers. The cafe con leche is is a fine cup of coffee, strong but not bitter coffee & creamy milk at just the right temperature ...



We sit pondering life & it's simple pleasures ... looking out the window behind us and feeling as though we are part of that picture. Nothing else matters .... I'm not sure how long we sat there, but all of a sudden I am hungry again.



We make an odd request, another portion of smoked butter. Think of it as a cheese course ....



Followed by a white & dark chocolate souffle. Bizarrely, the souffle comes to the table still with the metal ring around it ... as we crack into it the centre is still extremely wobbly, so may have been there to hold it all in?



As we are leaving we are lucky enough to get a tour of the kitchen ... Lennox, an Australian chef who came to Asador for a 6 month stage and still hasn't left, showed us around. He shows us the different ovens where the coal is being made, they types of wood, and the different sections of the grill .... and passionately talks about the local produce, and early morning drives across the border to France to pick up ingredients. As we talk we run into Morgy & Trish, who were having lunch this day as well and also getting a tour of the kitchen. Morgan McGlone is the Chef/Proprietor at Flinder's Inn in Sydney.





One of those lunches that inspired, enlightened & gave us a whole new appreciation for an ancient cooking technique.

BBQ'in' at the Kennewells

Derrek and Ange have the perfect place for BBQ'ing .... to one side, the picturesque Mt. Yotei ..



to the other side, Hirafu ...



and then sweeping fields of corn all around.



We throw all sorts of stuff on the barbie including burger patties, little cherry bomb chili's and slabs of Otaru cherry wood smoked bacon.



I'm quick to sandwich a burger patty and a slab of bacon between some bread and hold a cherry bomb in the other hand and alternate bites ....



Luckily I'm armed with some other implements in my pocket, which make for multi-tasking a breeze ..



and picking at the eggplants sizzling away with soy, negi and mayo is quite a treat!



Now, I'm off to play Katamari .. ciao!

BBQ at Northfield Lodge

We heard about the BBQ event taking place at North Field lodge and were quick to call up and reserve our spot. But still it seems, a bit late, as we missed out on sitting outside and doing the bbq'ing for ourselves ...



We were comfortable inside, and had Rob in the kitchen, doing all the bbq'ing for us.



After everyone is seated, we start with a bowl of soup ...



and then a plate of salad.



Then the meat starts rolling on out ... first some thinly sliced pork cooked to a nice char;



a variety of meats on sticks are next to hit the table, always a winner.



Fair chunks of grilled beef are next to follow,



then some little weiners and grilled onions.



We even get treated to a bit of kangaroo meat. Nice and juicy, still pink in the centre.



Before finishing off a fine summer Niseko BBQ with a banana split.



North Field Lodge
Izumikyo No.2 83-76 Aza-Yamada,
Kutchan-cho, Abuta-gun,
Hokkaido, Japan, 044-0081

T: +81 136 226 675
E-Mail: info@north-field.jp

Hot Pan Mae Nam

Recipe for a great time; first take a bunch of friends, then some how find yourself at the northern end of Koh Samui in Mae Nam, now find the restaurant with "We are number 1" plastered across the front, the great time is sure to follow......





Hot pan Man Nam is a Chinese BBQ restaurant, the Chinese BBQ some times called hot pan is like a cross of a steamboat and a BBQ plate, with a vented dome where the funnel is usually located on a steamboat, placed on top of a charcoal pit full of glowing coals the moat is filled with soup and a good whack of pork back fat is placed on the center of the dome



while this is heating up you can then take a stroll over to the (in this case) expansive array of sliced meats and prepared vegetables, oh and don't forget the dumplings and eggs as well.











Once you've filled your plate with tasties you bring it back to the BBQ, now hot and the plate nicely lubricated with the rendering pork fat, which once it has flowed down the domed plate slides across the surface of the soup in shiny rivulets. Now you can grill the meats to your liking while cooking the veges and dumplings in the ever increasing flavor soup. Some prefer to baste the meat with the soup to encourage the meaty flavor back into the soup, we just like to let the natural juices flow.



You can repeat these last few steps until you feel like the reason your not going back for more is your unable you move under your own power, it's ok, if you look around you'll see most of the people at the other tables in the same state. Of course even after all this some how when ice cream is mentioned the ladies will magically have found room. All this can be yours for the princely sum of 100 baht, that's right for hours of belly busting taste bud tantalising fun just 100 baht. How sweet is that!  Add it to you list.