Taipei - Airport 7-Eleven Beers (again)

Another SE Asia trip in the books - this time six weeks. It ended in the same fashion as our last trip - with beers from 7-Eleven at the airport. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Vietnam - Rooster (Bia Gà) and Bia Nhà

During our trip, we sampled some beer from a few craft breweries. It was nice to try a local take on brewing, and even nicer to get a brief respite from the endless parade of lagers that make up the SE Asian beer options.

Our favorite spot was Rooster (Bia Gà) in Saigon. Their IPA was very good - it wouldn't be out of place on a tap list at home.

The beers at Bia Nhà in Da Nang weren't as polished - they had more of a homebrew thing going on. The people running it were very nice, though, and we enjoyed our visit.

Langkawi - Ah Chong Beach Bar

While it took us a while to find our footing with regard to food, we found our spot for drinking right away.

Ah Chong Beach Bar had easily the best vibe (for us) of all the places along Pantai Cenang. Right on the sand with relaxed music and a beach shack vibe, we came here almost every evening for a few beers around sunset.

One night we were disappointed to find Ah Chong closed for the day, so we headed a bit further up the beach at Kalut Cafe and Bar.

More of a thumpy music vibe, so less our scene. But the bean bag chairs were super comfortable and we enjoyed a very pleasant evening.

George Town - Chulia Street and Bee Hoon Cafe

Wandering around on our first night in George Town, Penang, we stumbled across the hawker section of Chulia Street.

This guy was working hard at his wok, turning out nice looking plates of noodles.

Simple, but very good.

Having spent most of our time in Kuala Lumpur in the more Muslim sections of town, we were very happy to be able to purchase beer on the street here.

Keeping with the simplicity theme, we stopped a few blocks away at Bee Hoon Cafe (which is actually a hawker center) for a bit more to eat - this time a plate of fried rice.

Sometimes some simple food and a few beers is the perfect recipe for a good evening.

Taipei - Mazu temple beer garden and Sushi Express

We'd read that there was a temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu in the Datong district near where we were staying that had a beer garden and street food court, so we stopped by for lunch one day.

The central courtyard housing the temple is lined with a large number of food stalls.

Inside the courtyard are a bunch of tables associated with various stalls - many full of groups enjoying lunch and/or a beer.

Only some of the stalls allowed alcohol at their tables. We sat at one that didn't (which was fine for us on this particular occasion) and ordered a couple of bowls of soup. Above is a "pork rib" soup - pieces of boneless pork that had been breaded and fried, along with daikon radish cubes.

The other bowl was shrimp, also breaded, and egg - again with daikon cubes. Both broths were mild, but tasty and refreshing. It was a simple, but enjoyable lunch in a nice setting.

Another evening, after days of eating mostly local old-school Taiwanese food, we mixed it up a bit with a visit to Sushi Express - a local chain that does conveyer belt sushi.

It was cheap and cheerful, with the sushi being nothing special and priced at $30-$60NT (or $1-$2 USD) per plate.

Taipei - Airport 7-Eleven Beers

7-Eleven is the dominant convenience store chain in many parts of Southeast Asia, and particularly in Taiwan. It was our go-to place to grab beer and snacks, but you can (and many people do) get a whole meal there. They sell all sorts of stuff that can be reheated in the on-site microwaves, and even have bubbling cauldrons of soup with various bits of things like tofu and fish cakes simmering away.

One of the Taipei airport food courts had a 7-Eleven and we took advantage of it while waiting for our flight. Surprisingly, prices here were not inflated compared to other Taipei 7-Elevens, and we enjoyed a number of reasonably priced rounds of Taiwan Beer. It seemed a fitting end to our time here.

Hanoi Revisits - Bún Chả, Bún Bò Nam Bộ and More

We had some favorite spots from our first trip to Hanoi last year, and we made a point of revisiting them on this trip.

Bún Chả is perhaps our single favorite dish in Hanoi, and we made it back to the spot we first had it (original post here) twice on this trip. Just as good as before.



Another favorite was Bún Bò Nam Bộ - we also hit this place up again two more times (original post here). Such a great dish.



We did a repeat visit for phở bò at Quán Phở Gia Truyền (original post here). It was good, but I think I'll be looking for a new go-to phở bò spot the next time we are in Hanoi



Bún Ngan Nhàn (original post here) was still going strong, with the duck noodle soup lady efficiently (if grumpily) feeding up a line of hungry customers for lunch each day.



We couldn't say no to BBQ pork on a stick (original post here). Spicy, lemon-grassy deliciousness.



And, of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Hanoi without Bia Hơi (original post here). We visited our favorite bia hơi lady on Mã Mây street, and also enjoyed an evening at a more local spot (where Nhà Hoa and Bát Đàn streets intersect at the west end of the Old Quarter).

Overall, Hanoi was very much as we left it a year ago. More cars on the roads, and the beginnings of encroachment by global fast food chains, but still very much a window into old Vietnam. Hopefully the pace of change will remain slow.

Kata Beach - Beaches, Russians, Ska Bar and Meat on a Stick

Arriving for the first time in Thailand I expected culture shock. Staying in Kata Beach in the Phuket tourist zone I expected tourists. I didn't expect both the culture shock and the tourist overload to be Russian.

It turns out that there are a *lot* of Russians vacationing in Kata Beach.



Despite the Slavic overload, it was a very pretty place to be. Our daily routine was to walk the length of the beach, stopping for a swim or two along the way.

On our first such excursion, we noticed a little outdoor bar built into the rocks at the south end of the beach. We stopped for a few beers, and just like that Ska Bar became officially part of our daily routine.



After our beverages at Ska, we needed something to eat and there is no better first meal in a new country than meat-on-a-stick.



This stand was set up in front of a convenience store and they were doing a brisk business.



We tried the pork, the chicken, and the "smart" chicken:



The "smart" chicken turned out to be chicken hearts. Not sure where the "smart" comes from, but they were quite tasty, as were the other skewers.

Hanoi - Bia Hơi (fresh Hanoi draft beer)

First night in Hanoi, Vietnam. Within minutes of leaving our hotel on our first excursion out into the streets of Hanoi's Old Quarter we encountered what was to become a staple of our time there - Bia Hơi.



Bia Hơi is fresh, locally brewed draft beer served both on the street and in storefronts around Hanoi. It is mild in flavor and low in alcohol (around 3 percent).

In the heart of the Old Quarter, the streets are closed to traffic in the evening on the weekend and the "Bia Hơi ladies" set up shop. The patrons here are largely foreign travelers, but the area also gets heavy use from locals coming into the heart of the city for a night out.



The going price for Bia Hơi on the street was 5,000 Dong, which is less than 25 cents US.



More toward the outskirts of the Old Quarter you will find brick and mortar Bia Hơi spots. They are a bit more expensive (more like 7,000 to 10,000 Dong a glass) and patronized predominately by locals.



These more established business often also serve food and are popular for meals both in the evening and at lunch time.



We really enjoyed sitting along the street and having a few beers each evening, watching people go by and swapping stories (and local food finds) with other visitors.

Holidays 2013 - A Fishy Feast and Other Treats

We've had relaxing and tasty holiday season thus far. We kicked things off Monday evening with happy hour at California Kebab. We'd had their current batch of Pig Nose Pale at the recent Bikes, Boards and Brews festival here in Pacific Beach and were happy to find it on tap at the brewery. Pig Nose is probably my current favorite low(ish) ABV west-coast-style IPA.

And the view never gets old:



Christmas Eve we had our annual "Feast of the Seven Fishes" dinner. This year we did a Korean meal.

We started out with Shrimp and Kimchi Jeon:



For banchan, we had Odeng Bokkeum (fried fishcake), along with cucumber pickles, and kimchi:



The main event was a Seafood Jjigae. We've been making Jjigae at home for a while, now, but we've been cheating by using soup mix packets. This was our first time making stock from scratch - a mixture of dried anchovy, kombu, onion, garlic, shiitake and a few dried shrimp:



After straining you end up with a nicely savory stock:



For the Jjigae, we heated minced garlic, onion, and Korean chile powder in our individual Jjigae bowls:



We added a cup of the stock along with a bit of soft tofu, our fish and seafood (white sea bass, squid, bay scallops and asari clams), and some kale for color.



It turned out really well. Spicy, savory and rich with seafood flavor.

For Christmas dinner, we roasted a pork shoulder in the oven at low heat for 5 hours. The house smelled amazing, and the pork came out perfectly moist and sticky.



Last night we used leftover seafood and anchovy stock to make Chawanmushi:



We also have a few ongoing food projects. We brewed up a batch of our Imperial Stout earlier in the week and it has been happily bubbling away.

We also couldn't resist picking up a 10lb pork picnic shoulder roast to transform into a ham. It is currently brining in our beer fridge, and will later get smoked. It is our first time doing a ham, and we are really looking forward to the result!



Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!