Eurotour

Before I start sticking my snout back up the many attractive back passages of Saigon, I thought I'd quickly wrap up a few personal highlights from what was a hectic European tour. Click the links below for more snaps and more info. Firstly, in vegetarian unfriendly Andorra, brother-in-law and solid Toulousaine chef Jacques, conjured up the amazing rabbit barbecue pictured above. Twelve lovely, fluffy bunnies were cremated at this Pyrenean forest barbie. He also taught me how to cook paella. In the Place Saint Miguel, Barcelona I tried a paella negre (squid ink paella). I've been wanting to try this dish ever since I heard a Barcelonian (is that a word?) rave about it. However, it was bollocks. Any ink flavour there is gets lost by cooking it with the rice.

In the UK, I had a superb fish supper at the 'world famous' Anstruther Fish 'n' chip shop. It's reputation is well deserved. Not in the slightest bit greasy, bonkers fresh fish, chunky chipshop chips. For my money, which isn't saying much I suppose, this shack is up there with my perennial fave in Oban - the one that featured in last year's mammoth Scottish fish 'n' chip shop round up.

This is the best Scottish breakfast I've ever had (and I've had one or two) - Haggis, Orkney black pudding, organic Tamworth pig sausages and bacon, homegrown everything else including the eggs. East Lochhead B&B in Lochwinnoch, Scotland has that whole healthy, homegrown, Slowfood mashmix going on. Noodlegirl and me had two dinners and two breakfasts here. As the Americans say, "It freakin' rocked." More snaps here.

I did a lot of work interviews in Europe. One of the most interesting was with the manager of Cumbrae Oysters oyster farm off the Isle of Cumbrae in south-western Scotland. He has around a million oysters on his farm, which he tells me is quite small as far as oyster farms go. His oysters, particluarly his 'jumbo oysters', and hand dived razor clams, have a niche following in Hong Kong.

Regulars will know I love oysters and it was fascinating to learn more about how to farm them, how they grow, the taste, the importance of sea temperature, predators (did you know starfish, even small ones, eat oysters by drilling a hole into them and sucking the oyster out over a period of days? No?, well you do now. This blog is a bleedin' education, I'm tellin' ya) I'm pondering whether or not to podcast the interview with him. I record most interviews on a K750i phone which works just like a regular audio recorder, but the quality is not really good enough for broadcast. So, bollocks, maybe I won't podcast after all. I'll just annoy you with the fact that I could, if I wanted, but I won't, or maybe I will, then again... More pics from the oyster farm here.

So that was Europe and those are snails. Now, where was I... Oh yeah, Saigon. One (final) year of blogging from the streets of Saigon ahead of me. I'm looking forward to it, hope you are too.

Comments

[Dzung]

Welcome back! been looking forward to your SG blogs again....

[Joe @ Culinary in the Desert]

Such beautiful photos! Thanks for sharing them!

[OMIH]

Beautiful is right - I think that Scottish breakfast and the battered fish are the two most beautiful things I have ever seen.

[pieman]

I see the withdrawal symtoms are setting in OMIH... You get my email about Shanghai?

[omih]

Yeah I did will look at it - not sure if I can help but will do my best.

[layered]

If you are ever in San Francisco, you can get a squid ink dish like a paella at Piperade http://www.piperade.com/ Chef Gerald Hirigoyen makes a basque Sautéed calamari in ink sauce "txipiroa"
where you do taste the ink.
Sorry to read that we will be reading only one more year of your blog in Saigon -- I trust we will be able to follow your talents to a new location.

[omih]

Christ - just followed the "one or two" link. Now I need a sit down, roll on December 17th. Scandals Cafe on Newcastle Quayside here I come.

It's the black pudding that makes a breakfast and crispy well done bacon.

Biggest turn-off - the whole plate being drowned in tinned tomatos. Hate this. Grilled tomato or nowt.

Also hate when you get breakfast options: "mushrooms or blackpudding sir?" - as if the world would self combust if they were to be served on the same plate. Both, damnit.

Oh and English mustard.

God I am turning into expat.

[pieman]

Tinned tomatoes are fine in a curry, a chilli or a bolognese, but on a British breakfast... Oh no.

Oh and one other thing, you are an expat whether you like it or not. Ouch.

[omih]

Agreed (about the tomatoes anyway) - tinned tomatoes are an ingredient they are not a vegetable.

But I yearn for a decent cumberland-style sausage. Pukkus still lead the way in the err..sausage wars.

[Michelle]

Hi pieman,

Only 1 more year? That's a bit of a sad news :) Where will you be blogging next then? Looking forward to your new blogs.

[Danielle]

Welcome back, Pieman! Just one more year in Saigon, huh? Let's see if I can make it there and buy you a fresh sugar cane drink before you leave...:)

[truong buu khanh]

A Vietnamese folk song for your Sticky Rice item

Thằng Bờm
Thằng bờm có cái quạt mo
Phú ông xin đổi ba bò chín trâu
Bờm rằng : bờm chẳng lấy trâu
Phú ông xin đổi ao sâu cá mè.
Bờm rằng : bờm chẳng lấy mè
Phú ông xin đổi ba bè gỗ lim.
Bờm rằng : bờm chẳng lấy lim
Phú ông xin đổi con chim đồi mồi
Bờm rằng : bờm chẳng lấy mồi
Phú ông xin đổi nắm xôi, bờm cười.

Little Bom

Little Bom owns a fan made of an areca-nut tree palm
A rich man offers to swap with three oxen and nine water-buffaloes
Bom says he does not want of any buffalo
The rich man offers a pond teeming with tenches
Bom says he does not want of any tench
The rich man offers three rafts of iron wood
Bom says he does not want of any iron wood
The rich man offers a couple of birds made of tortoise shell
Bom says he does not want of any tortoise shell
The rich man offers a handful of sticky rice
Bom smiles.