Thai Salty Plum Soda

A drink we had over the weekend during our quick dip into Bangkok for lunch. I had forgotten how much I truly love this beverage. A salty, sweet and sour soda!

2 salted Chinese plums, with 2 tsp of juice from the jar
1/4 cup simple syrup
pinch of salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup soda water (or plain water)
ice cubes to taste

1. put plum and its juice in a glass and mash until plum breaks down
2. add salt, lemon juice and syrup, mix well
3. add soda water

Langoustine & Lardo

I was reading about this earlier today, a dish Rowley Leigh sampled at his friend's favorite restaurant in Venice. Sounds so spot on, need to make it soon. This is the simple way in which the recipe is described, although I might be tempted to insert a tiny pinch of finely chopped fresh rosemary or thyme in between the crustacean meat and lardo.

langoustine tails (or best quality prawns)
lardo

1. wrap a 1-2 inch slice of lardo around the langoustine tail or prawn
2. place under broiler until meat turns pink and it is embraced by the lardo 

Honeydew & Coconut Cooler

From Monsoon in Yangon. A delicious combination that leaves you craving for another glass, right away. This was the perfect quencher for 42 degree weather.

cold honeydew melon
cold coconut milk (or cream)
honey to taste
1-2 ice cubes (1 if ingredients are very cold)

1. cut up the melon in rough pieces
2. fill up blender with 3/4 melon, 1/4 coconut milk (a tad less if using coconut cream)
3. add ice cubes and blend until smooth

The Farm's Lemonade

From The Farm in San Benito in the Philippines. The Farm is quite a popular health and fitness destination these days. I remember it because we attended the wedding of the then-owners way back in 1996. This is good for one serving.

juice of 1 orange
1 pear, peeled and de-seeded
3 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp grapefruit juice
3 tbsp honey
pinch of salt
1 cup coconut juice
3 ice cubes

1. combine all ingredients in a blender except ice cubes and blend until smooth
2. strain using a fine strainer
3. pour into glass, add ice cubes
4. stir and serve

Carrarini's Carrot Cake

From rue Debellyme in the 3rd to Ginza. A lovely carrot cake indeed, and not too much flour. According to Rose Carrarini, this can be enjoyed with a nice green salad.

3 large eggs
1 tblsp sugar
230 ml rapeseed (colza) oil
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/3 cup fresh coriander - chopped
1 cup (140g) sifted flour
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp ground coriander
pinch of cayenne/chili powder to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2 cup ground almonds

• preheat oven to 180C
• in a bowl beat the eggs and sugar until well blended then slowly add the oil
• add the carrots and coriander
• fold in the dry ingredients at slow speed, being careful not to over mix
• when all traces of flour are gone, point into cake tins or moulds
• bake for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out dry

Tokyo Observations

Returned to a few favorites but managed to squeeze in a couple of new discoveries too.

• Yanmo: a fairly upscale izakaya in Aoyama, along the lines of Maru. Kept it simple, with exquisitely grilled salmon and mackerel. 
• Shigeyoshi: way up the street past Omotesando Hills in Harajuku, just before the Meiji shrine. An excellent experience, sitting by the chef as he went through the stock list. He was kind enough to guide me through his cookbook, directing his sous-chef what to prepare me next. Highlights were freshest crab with a simple citrus dressing, the best spring bamboo I've had, sprinkled with katsuobushi and braised butterbur sprouts, a perfectly braised turnip wrapped in a string of seaweed, and a gelatinous grapefruit dessert.