Culinary Delights

I’ve gotten into food lately. There are so many yummy looking asian restaurants here on the gold coast. And I have found a new hobby: grocery store perusing. At home in the US, I used to avoid the grocery store like the plague. And when I went, I just made a loop around the outside with a few stops on some of the aisles. I could probably count the number of times I’ve been down the baking aisle on one hand. My philosophy is that if it’s not healthy, I’m not learning how to make it. BUT, now that I’m in a fun (foreign) place again grocery shopping has become fun. I love looking at all the different stuff. It is so hard to resist those fabulous Cadbury chocolate bars with fillings such as tiramisu and crème brulee. It’s really unfortunate that they only come in size XXL.

During my first week here, we went to a really great thai restaurant. Most places here are BYO and then they charge a small corking fee. I think it has something to do with licensing requirements and availability. Anyhow, BYO works for me. Back to the Thai restaurant… the table was challenging to climb into. Especially for those of us wearing dresses. It was sort of a bench style set up with big cushions to lean back on. We ordered a “banquet” (set menu) so we could sample everything. It was all delicious, but I’m still partial to green curry as well as papaya salad. Yum!

Next culinary delight was a Tian Ran, a restaurant that serves a type of meat substitute (similar to tofu) imported from Asia. Everything is vegetarian or vegan and they use bean curd, mushrooms, soy protein, and seaweed in addition to the meat substitute. The thing is that the tofu or whatever it is has the same texture and almost the same consistency as meat. I had Mushroom Beancurd Rolls and Chicken and Vegetable in Satay Sauce. Yeah, they menu calls it Chicken or Beef or Seafood even though it isn’t really. I was surprised at how Chicken like it seemed. I also had a bite of the “beef” which was really good too. I’m sure I’ll going back to this place soon.

I’ve also been trying to cook new stuff at home. I made lentil soup (with veggies, tomatoes, chick peas, potatoes, etc.) the other day. I was impressed that it was actually decent. It lacked a little flavor (maybe more spices?) but at least I know it was totally healthy. And since I have a habit of piling more and more veggies on, it lasted for a few days. I feel like cooking is more worth it when there are leftovers for another meal.

I’ve been doing a lot of veggies and tofu. Pumpkin is very big here but I haven’t mastered how to cook it. Or cut it for that matter. I like that it’s sweet – somewhat along the lines of a sweet potato. I’ve just recently started cooking with tofu so I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing, but at least I’m getting some protein. I’ve been eating a good amount of meat-free meals. I guess that’s a good thing.

Sushi! Sushi is big here too. I’ve been practicing my sushi-rolling skills. I made my own sushi (from start to finish) for the first time last night and I must say it was delicious. I cooked up some tofu with a sweet chili sauce and incorporated that along with tuna, avocado, lettuce, carrots, and onion.

Lastly, my newest breakfast trend is muesli with a splatter of yogurt, and some banana. I’m really hoping the muesli is good for me. I haven’t really checked into it because I just assume that everything that tastes like cardboard must be good for you.