Stomachs on legs are proud to present

Somewhere along the line, somewhere at the time when espresso machines and whole coffee beans landed on NZ shores in the late 1980s early 1990s, budding new coffee roasters and their espresso pulling co-conspirators decided upon a meme that has spread like a terrible virus throughout NZ. That meme goes as follows "the stronger and darker and over extracted you like your coffee the more manly you are". This being a country where cauliflower eared rugby playing men are like demi-gods, people all seemed to agree and this dark and henious style of coffee quickly spread. It's rare to meet an short espresso drinker in NZ, most people drink flat whites (cafe au lait) because to drink it without milk usually entails having to suffer through drinking a thick black gunge that is so over-extracted it will instantly give you the shits. Those that do order short espressos (or short blacks as they are known in NZ, not small blacks...Austin) are quietly viewed by kiwi barristers as "tough".

It's time to call a spade a spade. Its not tough or macho and does not signal a sophisticated palate to drink a cup of undrinkable black bitter coffee.

I mentioned this to a roaster in NZ and all the kiwis smiled in embarrasment by my forwardness on the coffee subject

But really....isn't it at least supposed to be.....ummmm....drinkable?

It probably suits the dairy farmers that it isn't.....and I have to say, even though the few NZers reading this post will roll their eyes and think me an insufferable snob (as if that hadn't been established already)....but when I went to Rome I could drink and even enjoy an espresso...there in the home of espresso







My advice when in Auckland, don't do as the Roman's do and get your coffee with milk even if it's past breakfast time...although you might get someone fucking with the froth, trying to write your name for half an hour, believe me....you need the froth.

Rotten mutha fucken truffles that's what!

While Thaksin was kissing the ground at the airport someone left my truffles outside at the airport on a hot Bangkok day.
Not all was lost another 80 grams arrived later in the day...shiny stinky little bastards they were too...YUM.

Guess that ingredient?

My sister once enquired loudly at a family get together whether it would be possible for us all to do something together aside from eat.

Dead silence....stunned looks...finally someone ventured....."like what?"

We've always eaten together, a lot, it's what we do. I like it but I can't attest to this latest and unlikely sociological study on the linkages between family meals and reduced drug and alcohol use.

"Want to bond with your broody teenagers? Try eating dinner with them five times a week. A poll has found this keeps them off drugs and alcohol - and the teens also enjoy it.

The survey reaffirmed previous studies that found teenagers who ate dinner as a family five or more times a week were less likely to use drugs, smoke, or drink alcohol than peers who ate with their families twice a week or less."

Another duff study, I reckon, like the whole wine and heart disease study, which is largely unsubstantiated due to the fact that wine drinkers tend to belong to higher socio-economic groups and thus lead healthier lives...

I don't believe that children that eat with their parents more are less likely to use drugs, they're probably just less likely to get really out of it just before dinner

Since we've been a bit bored lately we've been trying to seek out new things to do in Bangkok

Found....new hobby number one....all night prawn fishing. Thailand is one of the world's largest farmed prawn producers. Whoever decided to turn it into an entertainment venture is pure genius.

On Ratchadapisek rd, next to fortune tower there are 24 hour pubs, karoke and seafood places plus king prawn fishing to which the 2am drinking curfew does not apply....in fact the only places that do seem to have the 2 am curfew is the "hi so" joints where the kids of high ranking officials hang out....rumour has it that Thai officials simply installed the curfew to make sure their kids were home at a reasonable hour.....more laws designed for the rich...anyhooo, it doesn't apply to more 'down home' places that ordinary Thais go to, so if you are looking for a good time kicking back, drinking beer and fishing in the middle of Bangkok....look no further

We went with some of the chefs from Hock's work

We went at 12am by taxi...at the entrance there are Thai parking assistants waving flags and blowing whistles like at a speed way, beckoning the cars to enter...and there is of course a giant prawn



The prawn fishing pool


One of Hock's chef is obsessed and goes once a week at least.....he takes his own rod and bait



It was pretty slow going....Hock caught about 5...I caught none...I had some nibbles but they escaped everytime I went to pull one up











While we waited for the prawns to nibble we snacked on "madan" and rum (pictured below). It's this strange tiny green pod that is shaped like a mango. They chop it up and cover it with chili, dried prawns and vinegar(?) and then dip it in salt. It's sour, spicy and salty....all my favourite flavours in the world


Black cat waiting for prawn left overs


A catch






Kung Pao....Thai for BBQ prawns


Kung woo sen...Prawn with rice noodles


Hungry Cat


After 4 hours of fishing and drinking, the chefs convinced us to walk across the road for one round of darts...we were thinking it would just be the ordinary bog standard pub darts.....but noooooo...this is Thailand and being Thailand they were special, Thai style darts.



The chefs scored themselves a hello kitty...who said hello kitty was for girls?


We stumbled into a taxi around 5am as the sun was rising.....and passed the tanks and tanks of prawns on the way out

Yes and at the risk of stating the obvious, how awesome does this 'Ratatouille' movie seem? I can't wait to see it. It will be the best thing since 'Ants'.

[from trailer]
Remy: What is that?
Remy's Brother Emile: [Looks at the odd thing he is eating]
Remy's Brother: I don't really know.
Remy: You don't know, and you're eating it.
Emile: You know, if you can sort of muscle your way past the gag reflex, all kinds of food possibilities open up.
Remy: [to the screen] This is what I'm talking about.

From the subheading it seems Mr. Bird may have read the Time magazine article about restaurants being the new sweatshops.




Not only does the main character's voice remind me of David Schwimmer (whose brilliance cannot be denied), one of my favourite actresses Janeane Garafalo is in the movie and she says it is her favourite movie she's ever done. Quelle horreur!
Here is a description of her character:
"After many years in a male-dominated profession, Colette is a tough cookie. A talented and ambitious chef, she doesn't appreciate having to look after Linguini but is there a soft center under that hard exterior?"

Can't get enough of those cheesy puns! Cheesy! Get it??

Peter O'Toole is also in the film as the voice of 'Antono Ego': the ultimate food critic and feared by everyone in the world of cuisine. He is known as 'The Grim Eater'.

Then there is Auguste Gusteau, a world-famous chef who mysteriously died after his highly-regarded restaurant was downgraded from five stars to four by Anton Ego.

You can watch this:



You could also watch
this video review by A.O.Scott.
He calls it the best work of populist culture he's seen in a long time or something like that.

By the way, the movie is set in Paris. I have some Paris food blogging on the way for y'all.

Matterhorn Top of the World



April 2007


Matterhorn is releasing the panthers again after being named one of the Top Bars in the World. The Wellington bar of iniquity was judged Number 5 in Bartender magazines inaugural World’s Top 20 Bars in the World.

The only New Zealand bar to be recognised by an international panel of judges and mixxologists. The judges, two of whom placed Matterhorn in the Top Spot, commented that ‘It’s a bastion of creativity and bar culture in NZ and has led the way for many years”.

The number one spot for the Top Bar awards in the world went to Milk & Honey in London, followed Salvatore at Fifty, London; The American Bar, London; Bayswater Brasserie, Sydney and our very own Matterhorn, Wellington.

In 2006, Matterhorn was crowned Best Bar in New Zealand and won Best Drink Selection at the inaugural New Zealand Bar Awards, also judged by Bartender magazine.

Founded in 1963 by Swiss immigrants as a coffee house, Matterhorn was taken over by the current owners ten years ago. Hidden down a long corridor in Cuba Street, Matterhorn prides itself as a 'regulars’ restaurant, cocktail bar and day café with a vibe that is loved by both locals and travellers who can seek out a good thing.

Work days in Cambodia generally start pretty early. Cambodians tend to awake at the crack of dawn and generally go to bed just after sundown. The 7am work-starts (yes, that's starting at 7am) didn't sit too well with me unless I had copious amounts of coffee. Coffee in Cambodia has a strange vanilla flavour. I always used to assume that it was just some sort of Cambodian preference for vanilla flavoured coffee; until I found out later that the preference emerged from manufacturers trying to mimic the taste of the world's most expensive coffee, weasel coffee, or civet cat coffee. Yes, that's right, civet cat coffee. If you don't know what that is, let me enlighten you. It's the world's most expensive coffee, collected from the droppings of the civet cat (aka weasel) which prefers to eat the sweetest and the ripest coffee berries that fall to the ground, and then shits out the beans; which are by this point slightly fermented. Poor Vietnamese labourers pick through their pooh and collect the precious beans that are worrth up to $600 USD per kilo....and then they make coffee....

Vanilla flavouring aside, I know how I like my coffee: and it ain't out of a cat's anus.