The Burping Dog

the burping dog continues chomping through...

Sun, 27 May 2007 04:05:43 GMT

North Vietnam - Part II

Despite what our last posting suggests, we really did do more than just eating in Vietnam. As far as sightseeing went, the most compelling destination must be Phat Diem. Off the beaten track for most foreign tourists, the journey there saw us traversing rice fields, limestone landscapes and small towns on xe om (motorbike taxi) in a persistent light drizzle. An hour later, a perplexing vision loomed before us: a century-old cathedral complex that, incongruously, looks like a Chinese temple. Even within the cathedral, the altar and Catholic imageries were rendered in the typical Vietnamese style of red-and-gold lacquered woodcarving.

Ok, normal transmission will now resume. More food.

The Green Tangerine: As a finale to our trip, we booked ourselves and badnomad a table at The Green Tangerine, a well-reviewed restaurant serving Vietnamese French cuisine in a beautifully restored shophouse near Hoan Kiem Lake. Our meal started off promisingly enough with a three-layered soup that cleverly melded the flavours of passionfruit, avocado and mushroom. Our desserts also more than passed muster. Alas the experience was let down by the mains which met with comments like "cold", "tough", "overdone" and "average". It didn't help that ants decided to conduct a military expedition across the terrain of our table, which necessitated some chair shuffling and a change of table linen.

Rating (out of 10): 6.5 burps

Ca Fe Sua Nong: After a few encounters with bad morning coffee, we called in an expert - the auntie from the neighbourhood laundry and bike rental shop. And her recommendation were spot on. Ok this is a bad shot, but the ca fe sua nong (hot coffee with milk) was gooood... Sitting on low stools along the sidewalk at a busy street corner, watching the morning bustle also helps :)

Rating (out of 10): 8.5 burps!

Che Trai Cay: At night, To Tich Street is a darkened lane full of Vietnamese teenagers sitting in large circles on low plastic stools, spooning crushed ice into mugs, stabbing their mugs of che trai cay (fruit dessert) with their spoons, laughing and chatting away. Alongside, a clutch of competing spartan-looking shops are busily filling mugs and more mugs with chunks of fruit, crushed ice, and lashings of evaporated milk and syrup, then whisking them off to their eagerly waiting customers. This is the unpretentious Hanoian equivalent of the cafe culture.

Rating (out of 10): 7.5 burps!

Che Nong: One of the best hot che in town is found on the sidewalk along Hang Bo Street. We couldn't help gushing about the gloopy goodness of this che, and kept going back for more! Our favourite variety is the starchy red beans topped with a heapful of steamed mung bean and rice, which was just heavenly.

Rating (out of 10): 10 burps! (and a sigh of bliss)

the burping dog chomps its way through...

Wed, 23 May 2007 06:51:54 GMT

North Vietnam (yes, again) - Part I

Gastronomically, Vietnam left one of the most indelible impressions of all the countries that we've visited. Its food is at once familiar and exotic. You see elements and ingredients you've known all your life, but they are combined and presented so differently as to create entirely new flavours. This resonance shouldn't surprise given Vietnam's proximity to China, and yet somehow, it does. By the end of the last trip, we made a promise to return soon. And so we did.

Bun Dao: This dish snared our attention during our last visit to Hanoi, but we didn't have a chance to savour it then. Our curiosity has been piqued ever since, so it ranked high on our list of must-try foods this time round. And it seems to be gaining popularity among the locals. While we only noticed one vendor (this shop on Ma May Street) before, there were roving bun dao vendors everywhere on Hanoi's sidewalks this visit.

From the same family as bun cha, Hanoi's second most iconic dish (the first being pho), bun dao features deep fried tau kwa (that's firm tofu to the non-Singaporeans) instead of char-grilled pork. And while you get a tangled mess of bun noodles in bun cha, the noodles in bun dao are compressed into thick pancakes (ala putu mayam), then cut into neat wedges which makes for easier handling. Another distinction is the dip, which might prove a bit of an acquired taste to some. The main flavour of the dip comes from mam tom, a strong-tasting, purple-hued fermented shrimp paste. Fortunately for the faint of heart, a milder funk-free nuoc mam dip is available on request.

Rating (out of 10): 7.5 burps!

Nuong tai: The pea soup fog in the hilltown of Sapa left little to do but foray for interesting nibbles in the market. Behold, nuong tai, a salad of thinly slivered pork rind, shredded green mango and carrot, coriander, lemongrass and sesame seeds. It's eaten with a mildly astringent vegetable. Interesting texture and taste, but nothing out of this world. Besides, the pork rind demands a fair bit of masticulation which gets tiring -- literally -- after a while.

Rating (out of 10): 5 burps!

Pho Bo: No, they aren't queuing for donuts. This is the famous pho bo shop at 49 Bat Dan Street (with a pretender to the throne right next door who only sees customers when the real McCoy's closed and locals are desperate to quell their pho cravings). There's pho bo tai (noodles with blanched beef slices) and pho bo chin (noodles with pre-cooked beef slices), but everyone's ordering pho bo tai nom which has the best of both worlds.

It's not difficult to understand this shop's popularity once you see their generous servings and taste the flavoursome beef, all for a mere 15,000VND or S$1.50. A perfect start to any morning! Overall, it still can't compare with the pho bo at 39 Cau Go Street, alas that may be a moot point since the Cau Go shop seems to have called it a day for good :(

Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Lau Bo: In the quiet town of Ninh Binh, gateway to the ancient capital of Hoa Lu and Tam Coc where a sinuous river picturesquely framed by limestone hills wends its way through watery ricefields, we finally got down to having another item on our must-try list: lau or Vietnamese hotpot, at a restaurant packed with racuous locals. Offered a choice of meats, we opted for beef (lau bo). It didn't turn out as tasty as hoped, but the side dish we ordered more than made up for it. Tender beef slices in hot gravy that's poured over crisp puffed rice crackers. Mmmm...

Rating (out of 10): Lau bo - 7 burps! Beef and crackers - 10 burps!

Bun Rieu Cua: The name translates to crabmeat noodles, nevermind that there's but a few wispy strands of crabmeat in the entire bowl. The soup is flavoured with tomato and mam tom (fermented shrimp paste). The unexpected star is actually the tau pok (that's deepfried dehydrated tofu to the non-Singaporeans) which is really tasty at this shop on Bat Dan Street!

Rating (out of 10): 7.5 burps!

Banh Goi: Another of bun cha's relatives, banh goi also has a clear dip with bits of pickled green papaya, as well as a basket of salad greens and herbs on the side. But in this case, the star is deep-fried puffs filled with minced pork, glass vermicelli and other goodies. You can order other deep-fried snacks too. Plenty of banh goi vendors in Hanoi, but this shop on Ly Quoc Su Street must be the most famous.

Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Fish mint: Not a dish but deserving a write-up all the same. Introducing diep ca or dap ca or fish mint. Pretty, you say? The taste of this innocuous looking bugger is spectacularly funky, and it's often found hiding in your basket of herbs and salad greens. Pop it into your mouth by mistake and you'll be desperately reaching for your drink to wash out the taste. Urk. Consider yourself warned.

Rating (out of 10): Ptooi! Ptooi! Splutter.

the burping dog has...

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 10:29:24 GMT

Lunch at Leeuwin Estate

Our recent spring getaway to wine country in WA. Meaning to visit Flutes at Brooklyn Estate, we ended up in Leeuwin Estate instead. Our confusion was due to the fact that Singapore's own Flutes at the Fort is located on Lewin Terrace. Anyway, pictures...

An assortment of wine-paired appetizers (oyster, shrimp, marron and bacon), a goat cheese and pumpkin tart, latte art, and a kookaburra who decided to look in.

the burping dog stirs up...

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 12:37:22 GMT

Sarawak Laksa

The Singaporean palate has recently been introduced to the Sarawak Kolo mee. Curiously though, the feisty Sarawak laksa has yet to carve a name for itself here.

The essential ingredient of Sarawak laksa is the laksa paste, a mysterious concoction of herbs and spices. Its precise composition is a closely guarded secret known to only a few select families in Kuching, each wielding its own recipe. To make Sarawak laksa, you'll have to buy the paste from them.

The burping dog had the good fortune of laying its paw on some laksa paste, so we decided to stir up a laksa dinner this weekend.

The laksa gravy is made by simmering the laksa paste with a mixture of chicken and prawn stock for 2 hours. It's then sieved to remove the pulp from the laksa paste before the final ingredient is added: coconut milk.

It's served with thin rice noodles, topped with shredded chicken, prawns, shredded omelette, blanched bean-sprouts, coriander, a twist of lime, and a dollop of sambal belachan....Heavenly!

the burping dog cooks up ...

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:59:22 GMT

A Moroccan Feast

Of the many wonderful foods that we ate in Morocco, the Harira and the Djej Emshmel (Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives) were firm favourites. Being the culinary adventurers that we are, we decided to cart back a Tagine pot from the Souks in Marrakesh to cook our own tagines at home!

Menu:

~ Starter ~
Harira

~ Salad ~
Essaouira Style Tomato and Green Pepper Salad

~ Main Course ~
Djej Emshmel - Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

~ Dessert ~
Orange Salad

The Harira is a soup prepared during Ramadan that traditionally breaks the fast. Full of chick-peas and lentils, and flavoured with a myriad of herbs and spices, it makes for a hearty meal in itself.

The Djej Emshmel is a specialty of Fez. The key ingredient in this dish are the preserved lemons (lemons preserved with sea salt and lemon juice), which imparts a unique taste and fragrance. The chicken is stewed slowly in a rich sauce of onions, spices, lemons and olives in the tagine pot until the meat is "fall off the bone" tender.

The most common dessert we had in the restaurants in Morocco was a simple yet delicious Orange Salad, dressed subtly with Rosewater and dusted with Cinnamon. Served chilled, it is most refreshing after a heavy dinner!

All in all, the meal was a success if we don't say so ourselves :). We are pleased with how it turned out. To be repeated for sure!

the burping dog cobbles up...

Wed, 27 Sep 2006 07:36:42 GMT

Che Trai Cay

Part of a Vietnamese dinner that we stirred up last week. Che trai cay simply means "fruit dessert". Every vendor in Vietnam has her own interpretation. Ours is a recreation of one that we tasted in Hoi An. A simple concoction of tropical fruits, condensed milk, coconut milk, sugar syrup and shaved ice. The magic ingedient is Vietnamese toasted coconut chips, crushed and mixed into the fruits...Yum!

In case you're wondering, the other items on the menu were Bun Cha and Ca Phe Sua (Vietnamese milk coffee). Regrettably, we were too busy stuffing our faces to remember to take any pictures...!

the burping dog presents...

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 09:46:49 GMT

Cranberry Chocolate Fudge Cake

Reinventing the our trusty old favourite, the Gooey Fudgy Brownie, we concocted this cake by referring to a cranberry-chocolate cake recipe, substituting ingredients like crazy, and applying the time-honoured culinary technique called aga-ration.

The end product was not too sweet but very chocolatey. The tartness of the accompanying homemade cranberry sauce cut through the richness of the cake. What goes into it...

- Cake: Lots of Valrhona chocolate, dried cranberries marinated in Grand Marnier
- Glaze: More Valrhona chocolate, more Grand Marnier
- Sauce: Fresh cranberries, yet more Grand Marnier.

Cake could do with a bit more time in the oven or a brief stint in the fridge to firm it up a little. Sauce will be more tart next time. Or better yet, we'll serve the cake with puckery whole cranberries! But otherwise quite pleased with the results!

the burping dog talks of...

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 02:24:11 GMT

Dates, Flowers and Nuts

During our recent trip to Morocco, we stumbled upon a tiny bakery-cafe in Marrakech with a staggering variety of tantalising Moroccan and French petit fours on display. Needless to say, we couldn't resist sampling everything (see picture) -- only to establish that there's much truth in the saying about "too much of a good thing"...

The one distinctive flavour that features in many traditional Moroccan sweets is orange flower water, an aromatic distillation of orange blossoms. The Moroccans also love their dried fruit, nuts and honey. Check out this chappie in a souk (market) in Marrakech, surrounded by a sea of dried dates, apricots, figs and nuts...

In an entirely different world known as America, you find Date-and-Nut Bread. While quintessentially American, its flavours invite one to draw parallels with Moroccan sweets and just shout out to be given a Moroccan interpretation. The result is Date and Orange Flower Bread, made with dates, pecans, orange flower water and orange zest. All that's missing is a piping hot glass of Moroccan mint tea to transport us right back to Morocco...

the burping dog tries its paw at...

Sun, 13 Aug 2006 09:47:19 GMT

Zucchini and Sweet Potato Loaf

After weeks of artery-clogging breakfasts at the office desk, it's about time for atonement. Well, okay, that, and just being sick of Spinelli's lemon scones, heh heh. Hence a low-fat fibre-loaded quick bread^ made with zucchini, sweet potato, walnuts, wholemeal flour and applesauce. Nobody said atonement had to be painful :) Tastes rather like a carrot cake...sans the cream cheese frosting of course. But not quite sold on the coarse texture of the grated sweet potato, which will be replaced with pumpkin or carrot next time!

^What's a quick bread? Quick bread is, in a way, the opposite of yeast bread. Making yeast bread requires a fair deal of time and effort -- first you have to knead the dough to coax out the gluten in the flour which imparts to bread its characteristic tensile chewy texture, then leave it aside for an hour or so to rise (called 'proofing'), then knead and proof a second time, and finally pop it into the oven. (Which is probably why people just stick to Gardenia... egads.)

In the case of quick bread, the leavening agent is not yeast but baking powder (or soda) which is quick-acting and heat-triggered, so you just toss everything into a bowl, stir vigorously, stick it in the oven, and Voila! Off to the gym! Well, okay, I may have oversimplified the process a wee bit in the interest of making my point -- yes, I do have one -- which is that quick bread is, whaddyaknow, quick to make. Of course, it doesn't taste anything like 'real' bread -- none of that yeasty flavour or elastic texture -- it's just shaped like a loaf of bread. Matter of fact, it's basically a giant muffin -- by which I mean a real muffin and not a cupcake-disguised-as-muffin -- but somehow tastier :)

Risottoing to desperate measures

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 15:12:07 GMT

When the supermarket has neither canned chicken stock nor vegetable stock, there is....Vegemite.

the burping dog cobbles together...

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 15:48:44 GMT

Apple Caramel Cake

What happens when you're in the midst of following a recipe and realise that the recipe is absolute nonsense? First, you go "AARRRRRGH!", crush up the recipe and throw it violently into the bin. Then you peer at the gooey buttery mass (or mess) before you and start wondering how to salvage it. The result?

It started life as an Apfelkuchen, a German apple cake. The recipe had been lying around for a while (went through a German dessert phase), so I finally decided to try it out. But as the crust was being put together, it became quite evident that the proportions were totally off. So much for Apfelkuchen. After scanning through a bunch of recipes and rummaging through the kitchen for ingredients, the not-very-crusty crust was converted into cake batter -- with the addition of other ingredients of course.

So, Apple Caramel Cake. It's studded with apple chunks and chopped walnuts, flavoured with cinnamon and lemon zest, and glazed with a caramel sauce. Surprisingly it actually tastes pretty good -- especially considering its disasterous beginnings...

Notes for next time:
- Equal parts of butter, oil and applesauce
- Add blackberries
- Add ground clove

the burping dog tries its paw at...

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 01:46:27 GMT

Chocolate & Chili Cake with Chocolate-Coated Brandied Cherries

For our friend Tom's birthday, an innocent-looking chocolate cake that's in fact spiked with cayenne pepper. A tad too much pepper perhaps because we all started breaking out in sweat while having the cake! Nonetheless, it was fun -- the initial taste is chocolate until your tongue starts to tingle. Tasty too! In fact, the best flourless chocolate cake recipe we've tried yet. Next time round, we'll try it with chili padi or szechuan pepper instead of cayenne : p The brandied cherries weren't made with the intention of garnishing the cake, but since they were on hand... And people never object to a little alcohol!

the burping dog tries its paw at...

Sat, 03 Jun 2006 08:01:23 GMT

Kasekuchen

Whenever either of us chats with a new acquaintance who hails from another country, the conversation ineluctably veers towards our pet (!) topic of food and we always like to ask, "So, what desserts do you miss having in Germany/Belgium/St Louis....?" This one time at a party, we were chatting with a pretty German lady who works in Singapore and had -- quite incongruously -- a Singaporean accent. Anyway we asked the question amd her answer was "Kasekuchen". (Gesundheit.)

Kasekuchen (say "kai-zer-koo-ken"), she explained, is a German cheesecake made with a kind of German cheese called quark, the closest approximation of which is fromage blanc, a French cheese. Quark is a low-fat cheese, she continued, so it makes for a light cheesecake nothing like its cloyingly rich American counterpart. Well, anything that's worlds apart from American cheesecake (bleh!) definitely warrants our attention!

After some dogged (!) research, we found out that quark is a fresh white cheese with a fat content from as low as 0.3% to 11%. Literally, the name means "curd" in German. We also found a number of recipes for the cake. Fast forward to the supermarket -- we certainly didn't expect to find something as esoteric as quark but disappointingly there wasn't any fromage blanc either. There was however fromage frais, which is apparently a generic name for French fresh cheese including fromage blanc. Seeing as that's the closest we'd get to quark in Singapore, we next had to decide on the fat content as there was a variety to choose from -- 0%, 20% or 40%? 0% was too healthy, 40% too rich, so Goldilocks settled for 20% which sounded just nice. Ok, not as healthy as quark but whatever.

The result? Batter tasted promising before baking, with the lemon zest shining through. But the finished product? Tasted more eggy than cheesey...kinda like bread and butter pudding actually...not terribly exciting, sigh...pass the vanilla sauce, someone?

the burping dog goes on a Moroccan adventure...

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:23:39 GMT

the burping dog will be closed from 28th April to 15th May. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but we will be back to tickle your tastebuds very soon!

the burping dog chomps its way through...

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:24:15 GMT

Hoi An

Che - The two desserts in Hoi An that seem to be most popular with the locals are something very much like tau suan but gloopier and scented with mandarin zest, and a thick red bean soup (more beans than soup) with ginger bits. The fun part about che is that you can ask the vendor to mix them up!

Comment: The "tau suan" gets our vote! The mung beans are well-cooked and soft, and the mandarin flavour gives the dessert a nice lift!
Rating (out of 10): 6.5 burps!

Ram Cuon, Thit Nuong, Nem Nuong & Banh Xeo - Just like the sign says! Spring Rolls, Grilled Pork, Grilled Pork Satay and Rice Pancakes. You basically roll the various ingredients up in rice paper like a popiah, dip the parcel into the rich sauce, then chomp it!

Comment: It's like a mini feast! The coffeeshop-like restaurant which we discovered by chance was hidden in an alley near an ancient square well built by the Cham. It was packed out with locals having dinner, so they set a tiny table for us alfresco in the alley itself. As we were having our meal, a feathery drizzle began but it was such a fun experience and the food was good so we didn't mind!
Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Com ga - Chicken rice! Similar to the local Hainanese chicken rice, except that it's topped with shredded veggies and served with a rather salty drenching sauce and a sweet-but-spicy chili paste.

Comment: Our chicken rice is still better! :)
Rating (out of 10): 6 burps!

the burping dog chomps its way through...

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:50:35 GMT

Hue

Making our way south, the burping dog stopped at Hue, once the capital of Vietnam and now the final resting place of the Nguyen emperors. Apart from its walled citadel which was designated a World Heritage site in 1993, Hue is also famous for its culinary specialities and it is said that Hue cuisine is the best in Vietnam. A city like that, who could resist? :)

Bun bo - Just as Hanoi has its pho bo, Hue has its bun bo -- a spicy lemongrass-scented beef noodle soup to which you add raw veggies, a twist of lime and chili paste.

Comment: Nothing beats a good bowl of pho bo, but bun bo can hold its own!
Rating (out of 10): 8 burps!

Banh khoai - A tasty afternoon snack, the ban khoai is a small crispy pancake topped with beansprouts, shrimp and lean pork then folded in half. Before the bird flu hit, a quail's egg would also be cracked over the sprouts and pork....it was really cute. It is served with a tasty sauce (made from peanuts, sesame, soy beans and...umm...liver), pickles and lots of fresh veggies including sliced green bananas, sliced unripen figs, lettuce, spearmint and fish mint. It's like a mini version of Hoi An's banh xeo, but a little less oily and with a different, tastier sauce!

Comment: Yum yum yum! Except for the fish mint which tastes funky...blech!
Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Ban Loc & Ram It - More Hue snacks. Ban loc is a dollop of manoic flour dough containing a tiny shrimp and slice of pork, that's steamed in a banana leaf. Ram it (also called banh ram it) is two dollops of glutinous rice flour dough, one fried and one steamed, then stuck together and sprinkled with some dried shrimp flakes. Apparently, ram refers to one dollop and it refers to the other! Just don't ask us which is which! Both come with a dipping sauce.

Comment: Pretty bland...
Rating (out of 10): 2.5 burps!

the burping dog chomps its way though...

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:02:51 GMT

More of Hanoi

Pho bo - Nothing like a piping hot bowl of good pho bo to start the day, especially a winter morning! Pho bo is flat rice vermicelli (pho), beef slices and beef brisket in a clear broth topped with coriander and spring onions. Squeeze a wedge of lime, add a dollop of chili sauce, toss in some sliced chili and dig in! Optional doughsticks for dunking.

Comment: The best pho bo so far!
Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Seafood! - The best seafood in Hanoi is to be found on the street! Never mind that you sit on tiny plastic stools on the sidewalk, amidst huge piles of empty cockle shells and crab shells strewn on the ground by diners before you. The seafood is fresh and absolutely lipsmacking! We chose to have crabs, cockles and huge prawns charcoal-grilled, and clams steamed with lemongrass. They were served up with fresh ram rau (Vietnamese coriander) and two kinds of dip: a tangy chili-calamansi sauce and a pepper-salt-lime sauce. Yum!

Comment: Excellent!
Rating (out of 10): 9.5 burps!

Nom bo kho - This is a salad of green papaya, cured beef and mint, dressed in lime juice and other unidentifiable liquids, then topped with chopped roasted peanuts. You can add chilli sauce to taste. The cured beef is rather like beef jerky, and the salad tastes similar to the Thai papaya salad but without the taste of dried shrimp and fish sauce. The mint imparts a interesting twist.

Comment: Worth repeating!
Rating (out of 10): 7.5 burps!

Nom luon - Salad featuring crispy deep-fried mini eels called "luon". Other ingredients include cucumber slices, beansprouts and coriander.

Comment: Bleh! Next!
Rating (out of 10): 3 burps!

Bun cha - We found the bun cha institution in Hanoi! The shopfront is tiny and deceptively sedate, with workers efficiently preparing bowls after bowls of bun cha but only a few tables and a couple of seated customers in sight. But that's because all the rest of the customers are upstairs - 3 upper floors packed with locals sitting on benches, eating nothing but bun cha and nem ran! There's no need to order...everyone is served the same 2 things!

Comment: It says something when you can sustain a business on two dishes and no menu!
Rating (out of 10): 9 burps!

Banh cuon - A close relative of the chee cheong fun, bahh cuon is freshly steamed rice rolls with a filling of minced pork and wood-ear fungus. It's sprinkled crispy fried shallots and fish floss, then garnished with coriander and served with a fish sauce dip and a basket of lettuce and herbs. Vietnamese "luncheon meat" is usually available on the side.

Comment: Tastes like fresh, well-made chee cheong fun, given a novel twist!
Rating (out of 10): 8 burps!

the burping dog chomps its way through...

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 09:32:12 GMT

North-Western Vietnam

Vietnam's northwestern mountain range bordering China is inhabited by ethnic minority groups such as the Flower Hmong, the Black Hmong and the Black Thai, who still dress in their traditional attires. The burping dog ventured there to explore the colourful tribal markets that the region is famous for.

H'Mong Noodles - Sampled the local noodles sold at a weekend market of the Flower H'Mong tribe in north-western Vietnam. Pho noodles in a clear pork broth garnished with lots of coriander, spring onions, dried chili flakes, and too much MSG :)

Comment: Bland, but the chili really warms you up when it's cold outside!!
Rating (out of 10): 3 burps!

Do Nuong - Various charcoal grilled items, including tau-kwa cubes, pate-filled glutinous rice pancakes, pork kebabs and innards. Served with cucumber sticks, heaps of lettuce and herbs, and a tangy dip consisting of chili powder, salt, pepper and lime.

Comment: Surprisingly yummy stuff from a street vendor right next to the Lao Cai train station. The pork kebabs tasted like satay, the innards were kinda chewy, and the pancakes were crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside - like freshly fried "nian gao".
Rating (out of 10): 7.5 burps!

Chao - Congee topped with minced pork, coriander, spring onions and fried shallots from the same Do Nuong vendor.

Comment: Not bad. Comforting on a chilly winter evening in Lao Cai but nothing terribly exciting.
Rating (out of 10): 4 burps!

Chiku? - We found this peculiar fruit being sold at the Bac Ha market. As far as we can tell, it's a type of chiku. Its calyx resembles that of a chiku, and it tastes faintly like the ordinary chiku. But inside is a large stone similar to a jackfruit seed, and the texture of its flesh is akin to a sweet potato...or durian flesh that's too dry.

the burping dog chomps its way through....

Sun, 18 Dec 2005 22:54:39 GMT

Hanoi

Bun cha - Pork burger patties and belly pork strips grilled over a charcoal brazier. Dunked into a bowl of clear dip with pickled green papaya slices. Served up with a mound of cold rice vermicelli (bun) and heaps of fresh lettuce and herbs (including basil, mint, coriander and lemon balm). Optional extra chili, garlic and vinegar for the dip. Bun cha is usually served with nem ran - deep-fried rice paper rolls stuffed with crab meat, ground pork, wood-ear mushrooms and other good stuff!

Comment: Not the best bun cha in town, but still mighty tasty! We'll be sniffing out better ones!
Rating (out of 10): 6.5 burps!

Xoi - Yellow hued glutinous rice (xoi) covered with generous shavings of mung bean paste (tau sar) and topped with various savoury toppings of your choice like chinese sausage, pork floss, pate, braised belly pork, minced pork and shredded chicken. Eaten with just a spoon.

Comment: More! More!
Rating (out of 10): 8 burps!

the burping dog goes on an adventure...

Sun, 04 Dec 2005 10:25:18 GMT

the burping dog will be chomping its way through Vietnam in the coming weeks. While we won't be around during Christmas (sorry!), we will be back on Dec 30 to tempt your tastebuds with some festive sweets! We'll also be filing field reports on our food discoveries in the land of conical hats! Stay tuned!

the burping dog tries its paw at...

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 10:04:00 GMT

Lavender & Chamomile Jelly

Over the weekend, the burping dog stirred up a batch of Lavender & Chamomile Jelly and offered it up to some friends who were game to give it a try.

The subtle yet distinctive scent of lavender makes the jelly a good accompaniment to buttery sweets like English scones, pound cake and vanilla ice cream, or meats such as grilled pork loin and chicken.

Hey guys, let us know what you think!