Location: Southeast Asia Population: 31.9 million Capital: Kuala Lumpur Geography: Coastal plains with a forested, mountainous interior Language: Malay Signature flavours: Rice, coconut, seafood, pineapple, pandan, shallot The Menu Recipes abound for Malaysian cuisine, and so it was a matter of narrowing down my choices (unlike some past assignments that saw me actually emailing tourism…
Category: Asia
Assignment 22: Timor-Leste
Location: South Asia Population: 1.2 million Capital: Dili Geography: Mountainous and tropical Language: Tetum, Portuguese Signature flavours: Seafood, chicken, ginger, hot peppers, basil, lemongrass The Menu I got to cook back-to-back assignments since Eric hasn’t gathered all his ingredients yet for Kiribati. Still recovering from my 56-course Japanese meal on Saturday, I had no idea…
Assignment 21: Japan
Location: East Asia Population: 126.7 million Capital: Tokyo Geography: An archipelago of four main islands and almost 7000 others, with primarily mountainous, forested terrain. Language: Japanese Signature flavours: Rice, seaweed, seafood, soy The Menu Japanese food is beautiful, with a stunning composition of colours: green, white, red, black. Its aesthetic appeal can make it seem…
Assignment 16: South Korea
Location: East Asia Population: 51.5 million Capital: Seoul Geography: Mostly mountainous, with some plains Language: Korean Signature flavours: Sesame, cabbage, rice, pork, beef, scallion, egg, seaweed, hot pepper The Menu Five days ahead of South Korea night, Eric got started on kimchi, a signature Korean dish of fermented cabbage with garlic and spices. Each night…
Assignment 12: Macau
Location: A tiny, autonomous region of south east China Population: 650,000 Capital: n/a Geography: A developed, bustling area, the “Las Vegas of Asia” on the Pearl River Language: Chinese, Portuguese Signature flavours: Pork, beef, rice, garlic, bay leaf, soy sauce, almonds The Menu “I’ve been making too many stews lately,” Eric told me, when I…
Assignment 1: Bhutan
Location: Asia, on the northern border of India Population: 800,000 Capital: Thimphu Geography: Landlocked, mountainous Language: Dzongkha Signature flavours: Chilli peppers, datshi (Bhutanese cheese), dried meats The Menu I wanted to choose menu items that were characteristic of Bhutan. In my research, I looked for language like, “You can’t talk about Bhutanese cuisine without…
Wooden Spoon Wanderer 