Hong Kong boasts a diverse culinary history, with influences ranging from China (their big neighbour to the north), to Portugal (the first European power to set foot in the region back in the 16th century), to Britain (Hong Kong was under British control until 1997).
Tag: Asia
Assignment 84: Brunei
Location: South Asia Population: 459, 500 Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan Geography: Two disconnected pieces of land on the island of Borneo, mostly covered with tropical rainforest Language: Malay Signature flavours: Seafood, shrimp paste, chilli peppers, coconut, garlic, tamarind, ambulung, pandan The Menu Sayur Lodeh: A vegetable and shrimp curry with cabbage, carrot, and green beans,…
Assignment 77: Myanmar
Location: Southeast Asia Population: 53.6 million Capital: Napyidaw Geography: A country of lowlands and coastal mountains, with a tropical climate Language: Burmese Signature flavours: Seafood, rice, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, lime, pandan, coconut, chilli peppers, onion, shallot The Menu When we first began the Wooden Spoon Wanderer blog (way back in Bhutan…remember that?), we relied almost…
Assignment 76: Tibet
Location: Central Asia Population: 3.2 million Capital: Lhasa Geography: Extremely mountainous and receiving little precipitation, and host to the sources of several of Asia’s major rivers Language: Tibetan Signature flavours: Barley, beef, garlic, szechuan peppercorns (also called prickly ash), blue cheese, daikon, dumplings, scallions The Menu Eric and I fondly remember our trip to New…
Assignment 71: Saudi Arabia
I ordered a couple of cookbooks from the library for this assignment. One ended up being more focused on Lebanon, but the second book, the Arabian Nights Cookbook, yielded loads of Saudi dishes (among others — the book covers the whole Arabian Gulf area). I sought to build a…
Assignment 64: Afghanistan
Location: Central Asia Population: 31.6 million Capital: Kabul Geography: A landlocked, mountainous country Language: Pashto Signature flavours: Rice, lamb, rosewater, cumin, dried fruits, nuts, yoghurt The Menu Eric went straight to the Toronto Public Library for cookbooks when he was assigned Afghanistan. A newly-released and well-reviewed Afghan cookbook was on order for the library and…
Assignment 55: Singapore
Location: Southern tip of the Malay Peninsula Population: 5.6 million Capital: Singapore Geography: A highly developed island city state Language: English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil Signature flavours: Seafood, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), garlic, chillies, anise, noodles The Menu Recipes abound for Singaporean cuisine, so my challenge for this assignment was choosing between them all. Singaporean…
Assignment 51: Laos
Location: Southeast Asia Population: 6.8 million Capital: Vientiane Geography: A heavily forested and mountainous landlocked nation Language: Lao Signature flavours: Sticky rice, fish sauce, lime, mint, shallot, chilli pepper, lemongrass The Menu I love the flavours of southeast Asia, namely Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese foods. Having no experience with Laotian cuisine, I was looking forward…
Assignment 37: Tajikistan
Location: Central Asia Population: 8.7 million Capital: Dushanbe Geography: Landlocked and mountainous Language: Tajik Signature flavours: Dairy, wheat, lamb, onion, apricot, mulberry, rhubarb, pumpkin The Menu Ah, Toronto, you continue to surprise us with your bounty of international resources, edible and otherwise. I found a Tajik cookbook in the Toronto Public Library system: With Our Own…
Assignment 30: Palestine
Location: Middle East Population: 4.5 million Capital: Jerusalem/Ramallah Geography: A flat or rolling-dune desert with low mountains in the West Bank region Language: Arabic Signature flavours: Sumac, lamb, sesame, pita bread, thyme, mint, eggplant The Menu We try to keep WSW a place about food, the joy of eating together, our discovery of unfamiliar flavours…
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