kopi luwak

had my first kopi luwak today. claimed to be the rarest gourmet coffee and the most expensive one, it is merely coffee beans that have gone through the digestive tract of the asian palm civet. it was mentioned by jack nicholson in the movie 'bucket list', and talked about by celebrities, famous and rich people. the term is indonesian for coffee and civet. i bought the roasted coffee beans from downtown and it was the priciest. the viets call it moca chon.

i am not a coffee connoisseur and it was only lately that i started drinking coffee again. but freshly ground coffee is really far better than the instant 3-in-1 whatevers sold in the supermarkets. aromatic and strong, what else can i say?

family

i just finished watching a movie from home. about a mother and a son and daughters and other relations. in short, it was about family which i had, and now which i do not have. makes me long for those times when everybody was still around, and they are not just here anymore. kinda makes me miss them, which i actually do.

i still got relatives and friends. but everyone in my family is gone. i am the only one left. i kinda feel old. and really alone...

i miss my rice

a vietnamese friend said over the phone. he had been eating noodles and duck eggs for the last two days. weather was bad and what can one eat during those times when one is staying inside the school campus?

he asked me if i was cooking the next day. well, he could eat rice at the street cafes and restos but at that moment, it dawned on me he was merely expressing a feeling to a friend. that feeling of longing. only it was not meant for loved ones, but - for rice.



"there is no feast like rice." - a vietnamese proverb

burial jars

when i am dead my dearest sing no sad songs for me, plant thou no rest at my head, nor shady cypress trees...you can't really do that i guess with burial jars...

thap doi towers

twin cham towers at quy nhon.

quy nhon

yellow and white

yellow carnations and white roses to accentuate dinner for friends.

after ketsana

during the storm, a colleague staying at a hotel by the beach sent us a text message: guys, i survived last night's terrible storm. room next door had windows smashed, water leaked everywhere. my room was partially flooded. i slept in the toilet for safety's sake. now just waiting for the storm to pass...hope you are ok too.

a farewell dinner

no goodbyes but only till we meet again.

ginataang tuna

the last of the pork belly

lumpiang shanghai

one pasta dish of too many ideas...hehe.

one evening in hoi an

black pepper crab and some filipino dishes

a singaporean colleague demonstrated how to do this recipe.

variation with rice noodles

my version of the vietnamese chicken salad, with my favorite local herb - the rao dam

filipino lechon kawali

ginisang munggo