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| It just looks so chewy Image from http://www.pizzahut.com.sg/ |
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Fortune Bags Pizza
It's Lunar New Year in Singapore. Pizza Hut wanted on the New Year bandwagon, so they came up with one of the most bizarre and unappetizing pizzas I've ever seen. It's called the Fortune Bags Pizza, which isn't a particularly appetizing name either (mmm...bags). It sounds like quite the hodgepodge of flavors. According to the Pizza Hut website, in addition to the "money bags" the pizza is topped with "oriental sauce, diced BBQ chicken, sliced mushrooms, pineapple chunks, and capped with a sprinkling of chicken floss." Of course. Can't have pineapple chunks with a sprinkling of chicken floss. And what is IN those money bags?! They're so gross and mysterious.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Some Seaweed with those Fries?
McDonald's works a little differently in Singapore. For instance, you can order your Happy Meal online, and 10 minutes later some guy with a McD's backpack will show up on a motorbike, delivering it straight to you. And if you think the regular American version of Mickey D's fries is just a little bland, no fear. Singapore McDonald's has you covered with seaweed shaker fries!
There are some weird things about these fries. First, the fact that they exist at all. Second, the fact that when you order them you expect to get some fries covered in green flakes, but you don't. You get regular fries, a paper bag, and a packet of dried seaweed. You're supposed to dump the fries and the seasoning into the bag and then shake it up. When you open it, voila! Seaweed fries. I tried them. Rather predictably, I thought they tasted weird. I mean really, eating McDonald's fries are all about doing something absurdly, artery-cloggingly bad for you. Why bring a healthy thing like seaweed into this?
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| Because seaweed is just what you expect to get at McDonald's |
There are some weird things about these fries. First, the fact that they exist at all. Second, the fact that when you order them you expect to get some fries covered in green flakes, but you don't. You get regular fries, a paper bag, and a packet of dried seaweed. You're supposed to dump the fries and the seasoning into the bag and then shake it up. When you open it, voila! Seaweed fries. I tried them. Rather predictably, I thought they tasted weird. I mean really, eating McDonald's fries are all about doing something absurdly, artery-cloggingly bad for you. Why bring a healthy thing like seaweed into this?
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Crappy Cup of Coffee
If you're ever in Vietnam and someone tries to sell you a high-end bag of coffee, you might want to investigate a little more before you slap down your dong (dong is the currency in Vietnam- get your mind out of the gutter!). You see, there's a type of coffee in these places called "weasel coffee" (also known as kopi luwak or civet coffee). When we were in Vietnam, we had a chance to talk to a weasel coffee farmer, and the conversation went a little like this:
Me: So how is weasel coffee different from regular coffee? Where do the weasels come in?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Well, first you grow the coffee berries. Good, quality berries. Very flavorful. Then you feed the berries to the weasels. They enjoy the berries. Then you gather the beans.
Me: Wait...what? What do you mean you gather the beans? I thought you fed them to the weasels?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Yes, you gather them after they...uh...well, after they come out of the weasels.
Me: ....Like in their poop?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Yes. The beans are very rich then, after the weasels have had them. The weasels, when they digest them, it makes the beans full of rich taste. It makes excellent coffee, especially if you add a spoonful of fish oil to the coffee.
So there you have it. One very crappy cup of coffee. And as if the poop coffee weren't stomach-turning enough, he recommends serving it up with a spoonful of fish oil! Mmmm mmmm. If weasel coffee sounds like your thing, be prepared to dish out some cash. Apparently it's some costly stuff- among the most expensive coffees in the world! Much of the kopi luwak in Vietnam comes from wild civets and costs literally thousands of dollars a pound. Stuff from captive civets, which is available in several southeast Asian countries, is in the hundreds per pound. And weasel coffee farmers warn you NOT TO BE FOOLED BY IMITATIONS. After all, you wouldn't want to be thinking that you were drinking a cup of coffee that had passed through civet intestines when it really just grew on a tree. No, we wouldn't want that at all.
Me: So how is weasel coffee different from regular coffee? Where do the weasels come in?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Well, first you grow the coffee berries. Good, quality berries. Very flavorful. Then you feed the berries to the weasels. They enjoy the berries. Then you gather the beans.
Me: Wait...what? What do you mean you gather the beans? I thought you fed them to the weasels?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Yes, you gather them after they...uh...well, after they come out of the weasels.
Me: ....Like in their poop?
Weasel Coffee Guy: Yes. The beans are very rich then, after the weasels have had them. The weasels, when they digest them, it makes the beans full of rich taste. It makes excellent coffee, especially if you add a spoonful of fish oil to the coffee.
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| Makes coffee a little differently than your Starbucks barista. Image from http://www.cryptomundo.com |
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| Beans in their...er...unrefined form Image from http://www.teacoffee.tk/ |
So there you have it. One very crappy cup of coffee. And as if the poop coffee weren't stomach-turning enough, he recommends serving it up with a spoonful of fish oil! Mmmm mmmm. If weasel coffee sounds like your thing, be prepared to dish out some cash. Apparently it's some costly stuff- among the most expensive coffees in the world! Much of the kopi luwak in Vietnam comes from wild civets and costs literally thousands of dollars a pound. Stuff from captive civets, which is available in several southeast Asian countries, is in the hundreds per pound. And weasel coffee farmers warn you NOT TO BE FOOLED BY IMITATIONS. After all, you wouldn't want to be thinking that you were drinking a cup of coffee that had passed through civet intestines when it really just grew on a tree. No, we wouldn't want that at all.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Is this Appetizing to You?
OK, so I know I'm a little biased due to the fact that I'm vegetarian. But even so, I just don't understand how people can find Peking duck appetizing. It's AN ENTIRE ANIMAL, cooked with its head and BEAK still attached. I don't get it. It freaks me out.
It appears that some people also find the whole dead-animal-with-its-head still-attached thing disturbing as well, because some grocery stores in Singapore sell heads and bodies separately, which leads to this macabre sight:
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the appetite for duck heads. After all, this is a country where the fish eyeball is a coveted delicacy!
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| Am I the only one eked out by this? |
It appears that some people also find the whole dead-animal-with-its-head still-attached thing disturbing as well, because some grocery stores in Singapore sell heads and bodies separately, which leads to this macabre sight:
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| There go all my happy memories of feeding the ducks at the park... |
I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by the appetite for duck heads. After all, this is a country where the fish eyeball is a coveted delicacy!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Asia's Fungus Fixation
I guess I just don't get the fungus thing. I mean, I understand that mushrooms are fungus, and those taste good, but white fungus bird's nest drink? Almond cream with snow fungus? These are things I don't understand. Fungus as dessert. Fungus as beverage. It seems that here in Asia, there's just no escaping the fungi.
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| Refreshing white fungus |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Spiky Fruit
I think rambutan look unappetizing for a few reasons. First of all, they're covered in spiky hairs that look like they might be sharp (they're not). Like this:
And second of all, they're attached to pretty regular old tree branches. Like this:
Third, once you get them open, they have a texture not unlike that of an eyeball. In fact, they kind of look like eyeballs. Like this:
But if you can get past the spiky eyeball appearance, they're actually quite tasty!
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| Image from http://www.djunadesign.com/dreamweaver_b/week4/hw4.html |
And second of all, they're attached to pretty regular old tree branches. Like this:
Third, once you get them open, they have a texture not unlike that of an eyeball. In fact, they kind of look like eyeballs. Like this:
But if you can get past the spiky eyeball appearance, they're actually quite tasty!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Can't Resist those Funky KitKats
Remember all those weird Kit Kats I've mentioned in previous posts? Well, we finally got a chance to try some. The wasabi Kit Kat was OK, although it didn't taste very wasabi-like. I liked the green tea Kit Kat better. It had a definite green tea aftertaste. Both the wasabi flavor and the green tea flavor tasted more like white chocolate than green chocolate, and both were extra exciting since the actual candy bars were green, although the green tea one was much brighter. Awesome!
In the seen-but-not-tasted category, we have some fascinating exhibits. Cheese Kit Kat, anyone? I mean, cheese and chocolate are both decadent delicacies, but who ever thought of mixing them up into one? And I really hope the candy bars are as yellow as the ones illustrated on the box!
How about strawberry cake Kit Kats?
What will Nestle think of next?!
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| Packaging = much more fancy than a regular Kit Kat |
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| GREEN! |
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| Who knew wasabi and chocolate was such a great pair?! |
In the seen-but-not-tasted category, we have some fascinating exhibits. Cheese Kit Kat, anyone? I mean, cheese and chocolate are both decadent delicacies, but who ever thought of mixing them up into one? And I really hope the candy bars are as yellow as the ones illustrated on the box!
How about strawberry cake Kit Kats?
What will Nestle think of next?!
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