The smaller streets and alleys in my neighborhood are known in Thai as soi (pronounced like "soy"). Many of them have no proper footpaths and pedestrians wobble along uneven pavement, avoiding traffic and obstacles as best they can. Around the corner from our condo is a utility pole whose guy wires rise almost invisibly from the concrete, forming a hazard that is hard to see when approached head-on.

Recently as I passed by, I noticed that some civic-minded person had tied two plastic bags to the wires at about eye level, increasing their visibility dramatically. This is the sort of MacGyver-like fix that I see frequently. A concrete utility hole cover breaks? Someone will place a stick into the hole with an empty plastic bottle on it as a warning to others. If a truck or bus breaks down on the road, someone will cut a small branch from a tree and stick it in the tailpipe of the vehicle, a green flag indicating the vehicle's predicament. These sorts of solutions are interesting to see as they seem telling about how Thais approach problems given the limited resources available.

Visits by Xangans have been frequent this winter. Last month, David (fongster8) was in town for a few days and Tawn and I had a chance to enjoy a few meals together with him. One evening, we took the boat down river to Asiatique, a shopping and entertainment center built on the site of the former East Asiatic Company's old godowns.

The complex opened less than a year ago and is, to some extent, a rebirth of the Lumpini Night Bazaar, which was torn down to make way for another mall. The waterfront complex looks like a series of warehouses and offers a nice promenade along the river from which to catch a breeze and watch the sun set.

The free shuttle boats run from the Taksin pier (near the BTS Saphan Taksin station) every fifteen minutes, making a convenient and enjoyable way to arrive at the shopping complex. I had to laugh at this sign (and ignore the "no photography" sign) that lost the word "beware" or "watch out" when translated to English.

The most recent addition to Asiatique is a giant ferris wheel, not so large as the London Eye or Singapore Flyer, but a landmark in its own right. I mockingly called it the Bangkok Eye and a friend commented that the name sounded like something you might catch in the sketchy Patpong nightlife district. The brightly lit wheel is located adjacent to a large temple complex and I can only imagine that the monks next door are forced to endure both noise and visual pollution.

The shopping isn't much, mostly nick-knacks of the tourist variety but there is enough to entertain you for an hour or so of browsing. The restaurant selection is wide, from an inexpensive food court to expensive restaurants of all stripes. There are nice public spaces, too, and the architecture is pleasing, albeit in a Disneyesque way.

As for David, his visit coincided with his birthday. He said he didn't want to make a fuss over it, but I find that people who don't want to make a fuss over their birthday usually don't bother mentioning that it is their birthday. Tawn and I took David out for a nice Italian meal, complete with a birthday tiramisu and candle. Thanks for visiting again and happy birthday!

My blog receives an ever-increasing quantity of spam comments. The comments are usually incoherent, sometimes just text copied from my entry, and always include a link to whatever site the commenter is trying to promote. These comments take a lot of time to delete and are annoying. This seems like a problem that Xanga should be able to help us solve or, at least, manage.

What current options exist to help me deal with this spam? I could enable the sign-in lock feature, but many of the commenters set up a Xanga profile before commenting. I could enable friends lock, but that restricts people who want to view my blog without signing up for Xanga and sending me a friend request. My grandparents, for example. 

I've thought of two potential solutions that Xanga could implement:

• Introduce a feature, similar to YouTube's and other blogging sites', where comments must first be approved before being posted. This moderation would make it easier to quickly delete spam comments.
• Alternatively, any comments that contain a link in them (or, alternatively, comments that contain a link and are from someone without a Xanga username or with a relatively new Xanga username) are flagged as potential spam and are sent to a spam folder, much in the same way that email providers flag potential spam.

What do you think? Have you had a problem with spam comments on your site? How do you think it should be dealt with?

Time to take a break from the trio of dessert entries and provide a few updates on life here in Bangkok. Lots of odds and ends going on that are worth mentioning.

The sun sets on Bangkok and on my job at Ricoh.

As I shared in early December, I was provided with notice that my job of 13 years is coming to an end. My last day is February 15 and there have been many late night conference calls (my employer is in the US) as I try to train my colleagues and, starting next Wednesday, my replacement. They always knew there was a lot of work I did that they were unaware of. Now they are coming to see just how big a load they will have to carry. Still, I have no illusions that they will find a way to make it work.

The job hunt has been a slow process. I wasn't able to start until after the new year, thanks to so many people being out of the office over the holidays and businesses not making hiring decisions at that time. Thankfully, I have a severance package that will cover me through May, so there isn't a lot of pressure to rush into anything.

I have been working my network, following up on a half-dozen job prospects. Networks are important anywhere in the world, but especially here in Thailand. All my life, I've worked at places where I knew someone already. I'm convinced that you have a better understanding of a workplace if you already have a connection there. These job prospects have not yet blossomed into offers, and some of them look unlikely. Soon, I will broaden the search to include companies where I have no direct connections.

Left, the TAWN C. advertisement in the first issue of Vogue Thailand, released a few days ago. Right, an outfit from the Holiday 2012 collection.

After a modest December (for the entire department store, not just us), Tawn's business picked up dramatically in January. He continues to design beautiful clothing and build his customer base. Last week another journalist visited our home to interview him and there have been murmurs of interest from stores in Singapore and Malaysia about possible overseas expansion. Of course, all of that is potential for the future. The focus right now is on developing the existing business and, of course, producing brilliant designs.

This week, our personal assistant of six months quit. He had let us know that he wanted to move back to the countryside but had agreed to work through the end of February. On Tuesday, the day after his monthly salary was paid, we discovered a bag left with the guards downstairs containing his laptop, keys, etc. No note, no explanation, and he has not responded to any phone calls or emails since. The fact that he was didn't work the final four days of the month for which he had already been paid doesn't much bother me. Instead, I am disappointed that he didn't have the professionalism or courtesy to talk to us in person. Of course, he has lost us as a reference despite having been a good employee.

Doris and I flash the initials of a Xangan friend we have in common. A Xanga gang sign, if you will.

Ever since the middle of November, we have had a nearly nonstop stream of visitors from around the globe. While this results in us eating out quite a bit more than we usually do (making my weight loss goals harder to attain), it is a pleasure to see old friends and meet new ones. Most recently, Doris (aka snowjunky8) and her partner visited us from Amsterdam by way of Beijing. We've known each other for several years, connected through many mutual Xangans and friends in the independent film and film festival industries. We had never met in person, though, so that was a treat. 

One of the funny things about knowing people through Xanga is that they feel like they know Tawn, at least in a general way. Of course, since Tawn isn't on Xanga (well, he started blogging several years ago and that lasted about two weeks), he doesn't know anything about the Xangans with whom I interact. This produces interesting situations where we meet someone from Xanga and they feel like they know Tawn, but he has a bit of a "who are you?" sensation. Of course, he's always nice to strangers and is every bit as pleasant in real life as I make him seem on this blog, but I have to laugh when these situations arise.

There is plenty else going on - a friend's father passed away, another friend's new restaurant project is about to open, and a third friend raised funds to send an underprivileged youth to university - but that's enough updating now. I hope you and yours are in good health and doing well.

Widely considered Bangkok's finest French restaurant, Le Beaulieu serves dishes that would be at home in Paris. It also charges prices that are simply beyond my budget. But when I want un petit goût of that French sophistication without landing in the poorhouse, I stop by the Le Beaulieu cafe and purchase a few cannelés.

Cannelés, a pastry from Bordeaux with a dark, richly caramelized crust and a soft, almost custardy center, are painstaking to make. They require copper molds that are lined with beeswax and butter before being filled with a crêpe-like batter that has rested up to 48 hours. The two-step baking process begins with an extremely hot oven that is later lowered to a more reasonable temperature in order to produce the distinctive crust. Done right, the results are heavenly. Done wrong, they resemble either a burned brick or an eggy sponge.

The cannelés at Le Beaulieu have the ideal texture, the right amount of caramelization on the exterior that makes for a complex flavor without tasting burnt. Served with a tasty espresso drink from Malongo, a family-owned coffee firm from Nice, I can afford to have that French cafe experience without having to survive on crumbs alone.

As dessert for a barbecue with friends last weekend, I baked a kaffir lime cheesecake. Kaffir lime, a member of the citrus family whose fruit and leaves are an essential part of Thai, Indonesian, Laotian, and Malaysian cuisines, is an unusual flavoring for cheesecake. It is very aromatic but also astringent, a quality that I thought would go well with the richness of cheesecake.

To impart the flavor, you boil cream with whole kaffir lime leaves and then let it simmer for about twenty minutes as the cream reduces. The sweet, almost lemony scent is distinctive and you cannot successfully substitute regular limes for kaffir limes. Most Asian markets sell kaffir lime leaves, which freeze well.

The end result was fantastic. The recipe, which I based on this one (but used two eggs instead of one as I think the author wrote the incorrect number), produced a substantial but not overly-heavy cake, rich enough to be a dessert while not leaving you feeling like you ate a brick. Deviating from the recipe, I made a sour cream glaze with kaffir lime zest and sugar. I will definitely make this one again.

While in Hong Kong, Gary took us to a fantastic 1960s style restaurant called Sunning. The menu was full of classics including Baked Alaska. This being only the second time I have had the dessert, I was taken by the over-the-top nature of the dish and decided that when I returned to Bangkok, I would try preparing it.

The version prepared at Sunning Restaurant is beautiful, nicely shaped, like something right out of a Betty Crocker cookbook or Better Homes and Gardens magazine. 

The whole video experience is here - pardon the less-than-stellar audio quality.

Baked Alaska is a single layer of cake with ice cream on top - quite a thick layer of it, ideally domed. The whole dessert is then coated with meringue, which provides insulation when the dessert is then placed in a very hot oven for a few minutes to brown the exterior. 

Instead of the traditional pistachio ice cream, I opted for alternating layers of macadamia nut and mango sherbet. For some contrast, I also added crushed raspberries. The kitchen was quite warm when I was molding the ice cream into a stainless steel bowl, so instead of neat layers, there were gaps, air pockets, and swirls. Unmolding the ice cream from the bowl was a challenge the next day. Lining it with plastic wrap did not help.

The most showy versions include setting the dessert alight with some brandy. That was a bit too much to accomplish this first time. The most important thing is that the birthday boy and all the guests enjoyed the dessert. Next time, I will work on improving my technique.

Just like the surprise return of a critically-acclaimed but unpopular television series, my attempts at urban gardening are back for another season. The story of a green-thumbed underdog trying to coax vegetables to grow in a balcony planter under the hot and humid Thailand sun had a well-documented first season. This season's theme is "hot and humid tomatoes". The soil is more fertile and the vines better supported, but will the plants yield any fruit? Tune in to find out!

I ended last season (which, because of my south-facing balcony, is roughly November through April) realizing that my soil had too much clay in it and that I was growing tomato varieties ill-suited to the heat and humidity of Thailand. Tomatoes like hot weather but most varieties require relatively cooler nighttime temperatures so the fertilized blossoms set. 

To address the first issue, I ended last season by creating two compost bins, filling them with the remaining soil from the first season's plants, and adding kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, and eggshells every week. The earthworms bred like rabbits and by December, I had a much better quality of soil. 

To remove the clods, stones, and other debris, though, I needed a dirt sifter. Dragging my personal assistant to the port-side wood working district, we arranged for a local carpenter to build a sifter using some chicken wire I purchased at the hardware store and some scrap wood from a packing crate. The sifter worked perfectly and over the course of a few mornings, I removed the larger objects from the soil while amending it with ground coconut husks (perfect for aerating the water and helping to retain moisture) and steer manure.

To address the second issue, tomato blossoms not setting, I ordered the "Tropical Hot and Humid" seed collection from TomatoFest.com. Among the varieties I received are, from left, Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter, the Hawaiian Currant, and the Arkansas Marvel. They are all heirloom varieties and all are supposed to do well under tropical conditions.

Season two is well underway with the first blossoms starting to appear on a variety called Anahu, left, and the Hawaiian Currant, right. Last weekend I transplanted seedlings for the Mortgage Lifter and Arkansas Marvel, and planted seeds for another three varieties including the delicious sounding Chocolate Stripes.

We will see what happens and whether the improved soil and more carefully selected varieties will be sufficient to make my garden a productive one this season. Otherwise, I may just have to give up and be content with herbs. 

On New Year's Day, Tawn's university friends gathered for what I hope will be an annual tradition: New Year's Tea. Our host, Bim, prepared scones and a variety of snacks. I prepared the tea sandwiches. Everyone had a good time.

Bim's scones. This was her first time making them and she experimented with a few different sizes. The larger ones were more delicate although the small ones were tasty, too.

My two types of tea sandwiches. Finding bread that was soft but would hold up to the cutting was a challenge. The bread on the left is also made with black glutinous rice, which explains the small specks.

Making the spreads. On the left, a watercress compound butter. On the right, a green olive and parsley tapenade.

Partially made sandwiches. On the left, the watercress butter is covered with cucumber slices. On the right, the olive and parsley tapenade is covered with provolone cheese. Round cheese does not work so well on square bread.

Friends and baby pose with a lovely spread of afternoon snacks.

As good fortune and careful scheduling would have it, the return leg of my Hong Kong trip was aboard THAI Airways' new Airbus A380. The A380, affectionately known as the Whale Jet because of its profile, is the world's largest passenger jet, eclipsing the venerable Boeing 747's floor space by almost half. 

The first A380 went into service in October 2007 with Singapore Airlines after lengthy production delays. These delays produced a roll-over effect and THAI Airways, the ninth operator of the type, just received its first aircraft this past September. (Only 92 aircraft delivered in five years...) Initially, THAI used the airplane for Singapore and Hong Kong flights before adding Frankfurt and Tokyo.

Unlike the Boeing 747, which has only a upper deck for only part of the length of the aircraft, the Airbus A380 has a full upper deck. This means that airport receiving regular A380 service need to have passenger jet bridges that can reach doors on both the upper and lower deck. In Hong Kong, one jet bridge is used for each level, although in many airports there are two lower level jet bridges and one upper level.

Most airlines reserve the upper deck for First and/or Business Class passengers. In THAI's configuration, there is a small economy class cabin on the upper deck, the final eight rows of the plane. When you book your flight online and choose your seat assignment, the small upper deck cabin is not visible. Knowing that those seats existed, I had to visit a THAI ticket office and request an upstairs seat. Above, a view of this economy class cabin, which has a pair of exits in the middle of it, making for some generous leg room.

I was able to secure the last available window seat, the one you see on the left-hand side of the picture with the bin open next to it. One of the nice things about the upper deck is that there are small storage bins underneath the windows to supplement the overhead bins. This makes it easy to store small bags out of the way, freeing up your leg room while keeping items close at hand.

A look forward past the economy class cabin into the large business class cabin. Two interesting things I observed: there is a small security camera in each of the bulkheads, allowing crew members to see what is happening in each cabin, even if the curtains are closed. Also the overhead bins above the center seats have a different shape in business class than they do in economy. Usually, a single design is used in most aircraft.

Another nice feature of the A380 is the tail-mounted camera. You can watch the view on your seat back monitor. Unfortunately, there appeared to be some dirt (bird poop?) on the lens, making the view a bit less enjoyable. I have been on other airplanes that have cameras located under the fuselage looking forward or down, but this tail camera seems to be a consistent feature of the A380.

Taxiing to the runway, you can see a Russian made cargo jet and on the mountain behind, the tower from the Nong Ping 360 gondola. Here's the view from the gondola at just about that tower, as I wrote about in this entry.

The view of the New Territories about a minute after takeoff. I lived in Hong Kong in 1998-99, not long after the new airport opened. In those days, there was significantly less development in this part of Hong Kong. Nowadays, there are clusters of high rise buildings everywhere as the city continues to grow, mostly vertically.

Inflight dining: chicken and greens served over egg noodles. There was also a salad of chicken and mixed vegetables and a panna cotta with berry coulis for dessert. The food was decent. 

As a comparison, here is the food we were served out of Bangkok, a Penang curry with chicken and bitter melon. It was very tasty, actually so much so that if they served it from a restaurant, I would seek it out. Also interesting that the service out of Bangkok had sturdier dishes for the main course as opposed to the aluminum ones out of Hong Kong. The salad was a so-so shrimp salad and the dessert was a mediocre chocolate mousse.

If you would like to see highlights of the entire trip, include a tour through the business class and first class cabins upon landing, please view the six-minute video above. Coincidentally, on my way out the business class cabin, I was recognized by one of the flight attendants, a friend of one of Tawn's friends.

Another video covering my flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong aboard a Boeing B777-200, is located here.  

In this final shot from the gate in Bangkok, you can see that there are three passenger jet bridges attached to the plane, two on the lower level and one on the upper level. They have to be very careful as the bridge are close to each other.

Here is a view of the two forward bridges taken from the window on the upper deck bridge. I hope you enjoyed the trip!

Yesterday was my mother's birthday, so this morning (because of the time zone difference) Tawn and I called her. As my parents age, I realize that they will not be around forever. This, combined with listening to the drama-filled stories of friends about their families, makes me appreciate what good parents I have.

While not perfect, they have been supportive and encouraging throughout my life. When I was a child, they set regular routines and clear expectations of behavior. While punishments were not harsh or unreasonable, breaking the rules has predictable consequences. Raised in the American Midwest before starting a family in California, my parents instilled typically conservative, Midwestern values that they summed up with time-worn sayings: If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right. A penny saved is a penny earned. Waste not, want not.

There were times when this conservative approach to life chaffed. When I wanted a particular new toy or didn't have the popular brand of jeans and was reduced to wearing Toughskins, I didn't appreciate their thrift. But when it came time for college and they paid for the tuition so I didn't have to take on student debt, I saw the wisdom of their ways.

To this day, my parents lend supportive ears. When I face challenging times, they listen, nod with understanding, and wait to be asked for their opinions. Even when invited, their opinions are conservative, rarely intruding very far across the "you should do" line. Instead, they acknowledge that life can be tough at times and then generally encourage me to tough it out.  

One thing I most appreciate about my parents is that our family is free of any psychological games. As I listen to other people talk about their families, I can see behaviors and actions that could keep a psychologist in business for decades. My parents raised us without using guilt or goading, without projecting their own aspirations on their children, and without seeing us as competition for their spouse's affections. Drama was something reserved for the television and our viewing of that was tightly restricted.

Perhaps such a life, like the rolling fields of Kansas, is a bit boring by some accounts. But it also provided a steady, stable environment in which to grow and - another of my parents' sayings - to reach my full, God-given potential.

Twice during my trip to Hong Kong, I enjoyed dim sum at Tim Ho Wan, the (world's least expensive) Michelin-starred restaurant founded by former Four Seasons Chef Mak Kwai Pui. The first time was at the original Mongkok hole-in-the-wall location, which closes the end of January to move across Kowloon at Olympian City. The second time was on my final morning at the newer location one floor below the Airport Express check-in lobby at the International Finance Centre.

The crowd that gathers (and waits for hours) outside the original Tim Ho Wan location. I am sure that the neighboring shopkeepers are thrilled that this crowd will soon go away, as I suspect few of the dim sum customers, many of whom are non-locals, shop at the neighboring businesses.

The inside of the shop seats perhaps two dozen people. That was part of its charm, but what was a hidden treasure has spawned three branches, each much larger. It seems that the magic of the hard to find gem of a restaurant is gone, replaced by the desire to cash in on the popularity.  

Above, a full house within five minutes of starting service for the day, with another full round of customers waiting outside. 

One of the nice things about Hong Kong is the Airport Express train. What makes it so nice is that for most airlines, you can check in up to 24 hours before your flight. The agents tag and collect your luggage, leaving you free to roam the city until it is time to head to the airport, unencumbered by heavy bags.

I checked in for my flight at 8:00 am, more than five hours early. Ten minutes later I was downstairs in front of the restaurant, the first person to arrive. I opened my iPad and settled in for a wait. Slowly, other customers arrived and formed a queue behind me. At 8:50, Gary, Rudy, and the other Xangans arrived so we were the first seated and snagged a nice table with great lighting.

Since I have written about the original location and the second location before, I'll just share pictures of the food. 

While there are some folks who complain that the food at the branches isn't as good as the original, I think they are carping mostly to make themselves sound superior. The food at the branches continues to be very high quality and the additional seats means that the wait is shorter.

 As I observed, having arrived early, the kitchen staff is still making everything by hand and that quality and attention to detail is clear when you eat the food.

As we finished our meal and I headed to catch the train to the airport, the crowd had grown even larger. As you can see, it is a first or last stop for some people who are going to or coming from the airport. A very convenient location and perfect if you have a long layover and crave some world-class dim sum!

After posting the write-up of dinner at The Pawn in Wan Chai, which is located in a nearly 100-year old building, Angel happened to find a picture of the building from the 1960s. Makes for a fascinating comparison.

Relatively recent picture.

And a picture from the 1960s.

What most strikes me is that you can see the hills behind Wan Chai - no skyscrapers! Standing in front of the building today, you have no sense of the nearby geography, only the sheer vertical nature of the cityscape.

Image courtesy flickriver.com

Located in a 100-year old former pawn shop alongside the tram tracks in the bustling Wan Chai district, The Pawn is one of a number of newer restaurants in Hong Kong that promise (and mostly deliver) standard British pub food done well. 

On Friday evening, the entire group of Xangans plus two partners and another visiting friend (who, coincidentally, is a long-missing-in-action Xangan) gathered around a second floor table located on a balcony with a street view. Because of the desire for privacy by a number of the diners, certain faces have been obscured.

The atmosphere is nice and service, like most in Hong Kong, is spotty. When one of our diners asked the waiter for a suggestion of a drink with vodka (or something like that), the waiter replied, "The drinks are in the menu." Very unhelpful. The menu itself is interesting and decidedly meat-centric. We ordered several starters and opted for larger mains designed for sharing. 

Glazed pig cheeks with apple cider, mustard seeds, and warm potato salad garnished with a crispy sliver of fried pig skin. This was a well-prepared appetizer with classic flavors. Nothing cutting edge but certainly enjoyable.

We also had a roast chicken risotto with thyme and sage crumble, quail egg, and sweet onions. Risotto is always a treat, although this one (as with so many others) was too firm. A real risotto should be soft and spread out on the dish. Flavors were fine, though, and the rice was properly cooked.

The organic beets, ricotta cheese, pear, pistachio, dandelion leaves, and sunflower seeds arrived on a weathered serving board in a presentation right out of Jamie Oliver's "30 Minute Meals". It was difficult to tell whether the chef was trying to be rustic or artistic. Again, the combination of flavors was nicely autumnal although a bit more seasoning would be nice. 

A main dish of macaroni bake with Shark Bay crab in champagne cocktail sauce, topped with toasted Gubbeen cheese served as a reminder that one should under-promise and over-deliver, not the other way round. The pasta was gloppy, the crab nearly absent, and the "champagne cocktail sauce" was indistinguishable from a typical cream sauce.

We ordered a trio of roasts which are suitable for sharing. All are served in proper British fashion with crisp Yorkshire puddings, a side of cauliflower and cheddar cheese bake, duck fat-roasted potatoes, and an oversize boat of gravy. This was the whole young chicken with smoked garlic and marjoram. It was a nicely done chicken, juicy and tender.

This was the lamb shoulder with sticky redcurrant sauce. It was nicely cooked, pink but not underdone, and had loads of flavor.

The Berkshire pork belly with caramelized Granny Smith apples was also tender with crispy skin. The fat was nicely rendered and meaty - not too squishy in the way that excess fat can be. The apples were a little scarce, another few slices would have been nice. On all the dishes, the quantity of potatoes seemed stingy for dishes designed for sharing.

Finally, the naturally reared (whatever that means) Cedar River sirloin with sage slow-roasted onions. Didn't see the onions, though, just some cabbage and mashed potatoes. Still, the meat was well-cooked and surprisingly tender for a sirloin.

For all of the mains, the preparation was competent even if there was little that was groundbreaking about the menu. For a restaurant setting out to be a traditional British gastropub, they fulfill their promise. Even if you leave uninspired, you leave satisfied.

The dessert menu turned out to be the spot where the inspiration was hiding. While the dishes remained simple, there was greater playfulness and creativity.

A clever take on Eton Mess, one of the most classic of English desserts, arrived a martini glass filled with small toasted meringues, rich raspberry sorbet, clotted cream, and delicate Thai basil leaves. Using individual meringues instead of a larger meringue broken up, made for an eye-catching presentation and the basil leaves added a delicate perfume that elevated the dish. 

A chocolate fudge pudding was properly rich without being monolithic. The malt chocolate sorbet provided an interesting contrast in chocolate tones and the toasted homemade marshmallow and dusting of pistachio crumbs were perfect accompaniments.

One of the "more than meets the eye" desserts was this treacle tart. Treacle, a golden sugar syrup not unlike Karo corn syrup, makes for a sweet and crisp tart that is essentially a pecan pie minus the pecans. In and of itself, it is crisp but otherwise uninteresting. Add to it a scoop of the blood orange jelly and your taste buds are sent to another dimension. The jelly is sweet, tangy, and brings out the slight saltiness to the tart. Excellent combination.

A final dessert, leaning towards the modernist edge of plate design, was the watermelon, white chocolate, strawberry sorbet, and granola. The watermelon was, I think, compressed. Each piece was firm, seedless, and bursting with concentrated watermelon flavor to a degree one could never find in a simple slice of melon. The effect was intense and the combination of flavors and textures made for a satisfying finish even if the plate itself was a bit of a mess.

Overall, the Pawn turned out to be a good choice for dinner and will be on my to-return list next time I am in Hong Kong.

On Saturday morning after a hearty local breakfast, we headed to Lantau Island to visit the Po Lin Monastery and try the famed vegetarian food served there. Lantau is the largest of Hong Kong's many islands and is among the least populated. More than half of it is covered in park land, making it a pleasant contrast to the densely populated areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

When I lived in Hong Kong in 1998-99, a visit to Lantau required a 45-minute ferry ride from Central and, if you wanted to go to the monastery, an additional bus ride to the far end of the island. Since 2006, you have had the option of taking the Nong Ping 360, a nearly 6 km gondola that leads from the Tung Chung MTR station across the water and over the peaks, dropping passengers off just a short walk from the monastery. The gondola ride, which takes about 25 minutes, is not for the faint of heart!

Along the way, you are treated to a spectacular view of Hong Kong International Airport. Built on neighboring Chek Lap Kok Island with tremendous amounts of landfill, HKIA serves more than 53 million passengers a year and will soon be building a third runway and additional gates.

The Nong Ping 360 gondola sets you down in a shopping and entertainment area called the Nong Ping Village. Built in a Chinese architectural style, it contains a number of very touristy attractions and, of course, a Starbucks. We would have hurried past the village and on to the monastery but a stealth storm caught us. We sought refuge in a tea shop for an hour, where we learned the intricacies of the Chinese tea ceremony.

After the rain, we headed to the Tian Tan Buddha, a 34 meter (112 foot) tall bronze seated Buddha statue that was, until 2007, the largest seated Buddha statue in the world. You have to climb 240 steps to reach the statue and on this overcast and misting day, the view was limited. Afterwards, we visited the Po Lin Monastery across from the entrance to the statue. 

The monastery, which dates from the early 1900s, is famous for its vegetarian food. When I visited in 1998, the food was very tasty. With the opening of the Nong Pin 360, the number of visitors has increased tremendously and, it seems, the quality of the food has declined.

The spartan dining room was filled with visitors, mostly Chinese. We purchased a ticket in advance for a set meal and the dishes were brought by a waiter.

The meal began with an odd soup. We struggled to identify the ingredient but eventually decided it was some sort of a yam or sweet potato. The texture was very soft and the broth itself was nondescript.

A dish of stir-fried lettuce and shitake mushrooms. I expected that the mushrooms would have more flavor but these were pretty bland. Of course, I should point out the Buddhist vegetarian food is generally supposed to be bland - no onion or garlic, for example - as the purpose of food is to sustain life, not to bring pleasure.

Stir fried vegetables and firm tofu. While this was a simple dish, the vegetables had a pleasing crunch that added some much-needed texture to the meal.

A stew of corn, peas, and tofu in a tomato sauce. This was pretty tasty because the corn provided a more pronounced flavor than most of the other dishes.

This stir fry dish had a trio of mushrooms, baby corn, carrots, and textured vegetable protein. TVP is basically made from soy flour, the after product of soybean oil extraction, and can be fashioned into meat-like pieces. This dish was actually pretty tasty and did provide more of a meaty feel.

An interesting deep fried dish like a spring roll. The outer skin was very flaky, perhaps made from tofu skin? The inside was very bland but of course the crunchiness offered a nice change of pace.

Interior view of the fried spring rolls. I think the filling was primarily daikon radish strips and carrots, although I may be wrong about that.

Overall, the meal was a disappointment. The experience of getting to and from the monastery by gondola was interesting, though. While on the way there, we noticed a hiking path that more or less follows the gondola's path from Tung Chung to Po Lin. It looks like it would take about 2-3 hours to hike. Maybe on a future trip the focus should be on hiking the route instead of eating the vegetarian food. 

As we left the monastery, the rain started to fall again. Along the path back to the gondola, Rudy spotted a shop (a tent, really) selling douhua, a dessert made with very soft tofu. You might best call it "tofu pudding" and it is served with a mild sugar syrup and has a pleasing texture. Served warm, this was the highlight of the trip, a perfect conclusion to an otherwise bland meal.

The evening I arrived in Hong Kong, I joined fellow Xangans Gary and Rudy for dinner at Sunning Restaurant in Causeway Bay. Sunning is a long-time favorite of locals, dating to 1948, and specializes in Western food. It is the type of place where local families go for special events or weekly Sunday dinners, a chance for "fancy" food that today feels reminiscent of the era of Julia Child. 

Despite its lengthy history, the restaurant moved not long ago to Lee Theatre Plaza, a modern building in Causeway Bay. The new interior is tasteful, clean, and modern. The white linens are starched. The waiters dress in tuxedos. It is easy to imagine that you have entered a time warp and landed in the 1960s Hong Kong celebrated in director Wong Kar Wai's film In the Mood for Love.

Gary ordered (and shared, thankfully) a dish of escargot. Unlike all the other escargot I have eaten, this dish wasn't drowned in butter and garlic. Instead, the snails were served with a rich brown sauce and rested on a layer of broiled, molten mashed potatoes. They were tender and scrumptious.

I ordered foie gras on toast, a very basic pate that was tasty but not fancy. The taste of the foie gras reminded me of the Oscar Mayer liverwurst my grandfather used to serve me for lunch on Triscuit crackers.

As the main courses arrived (Rudy had the lamb chops and Gary had the sirloin steak), the waiter brought a plate with baked potato toppings: sour cream, bacon, and chives. Classic!

I ordered the Spanish Kurobuta pork served with the special house sauce - same the was on Gary's steak. All of our dishes were garnished identically: baked potato, half a roasted tomato, and a floret of cauliflower. The simple presentation reminds me of the food at Uncle John's in Bangkok, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where a former hotel chef turns out Western classics in distinctly hotel banquet style. The Sunning version was tasty, well-cooked, and completely unimaginative. That isn't a complaint, though, because the restaurant serves exactly what is promised at a reasonable price. No molecular gastronomy is needed here.

The three of us shared two desserts. The first to arrive was a lemon soufflé, perfectly spongy and light with a dry middle.

The second dessert was a Baked Alaska. This Betty Crocker classic is something I haven't seen in a long time and was eager to try. It was the expected show-stopper, a meringue covered Mount Vesuvius with two maraschino cherry nipples served en flambé. 

Here's a brief video showing the flaming dessert in all its glory:

The inside of the dessert was different than I had previously had. In addition to the yellow cake base and ice cream, there was fruit cocktail. While unexpected, it lent additional retro credibility to the dessert and I've decided that I will have to prepare Baked Alaska one of these days soon.

(For a more complete review with better pictures, visit Gary's entry about the restaurant.)

Returned Sunday afternoon from four days and three nights in Hong Kong. The purpose of the trip was to meet a group of Xangans who were visiting from Los Angeles, Vancouver, Jakarta, and Singapore. Our own mini Xanga meetup, I guess.

The city was lit up with holiday displays, as spectacular as ever, if not more so. The weather was moderate for the first few days, but took on a damp chill near the end of my stay. It made for a pleasant break from the warm weather we have had in Bangkok.

Different people were available on different days, as many had other friends and family members to visit while in Hong Kong. Nonetheless, there were plenty of fun activities.

We rode many different modes of transportation, including the gondolas on Lantau Island.

After soaring to new heights, we visited the Po Lin monastery and had a vegetarian lunch.

We had the opportunity to learn about the intricacies of Chinese tea while dodging some rain.

We found ourselves in crowds, waiting to eat at popular places.

We tried intriguing and tasty foods.

And, of course, we took lots of pictures of the food - even things as mundane as dinner rolls! More details in the coming days.

Even though Thailand doesn't officially recognize Christmas, we still had the opportunity to celebrate, gathering at the house of friends for a 16-person dinner. It was several days in the making and, of course, I was in the kitchen, too.

This was the third or fourth meal that Nat and I have cooked together, supported by his staff. I'm definitely the sous chef in the operation, responsible this evening for only the soup and appetizers, although insert myself in plenty of other tasks. Left, looking a bit like the Soup Nazi in Seinfeld, I call people over with their bowls for a serving of cioppino. Right, Nat and I share a laugh while cooking. (Thanks to Nat's cousin Kik for the pictures.)

Simple canapes: white bean hummis with roasted red pepper and sundried tomato chutney, and shredded roasted beetroot with fresh mozzarella and a drop of balsamic and black truffle syrup.

My latest version of cioppino, the classic San Francisco Italian style seafood stew. This recipe is from chef Michael Mina and is even nicer than the previous recipe I used.

A beautiful foccacia bread sprinkled with flaked sea salt - perfect for sopping up the broth from the cioppino. One of our two stuffings, this one made with mushrooms and the other with chestnuts.

Potatoes dauphinoise, thinly sliced with a rich and creamy interior. Sous video turkey, super moist and perfectly cooked, dropped in a deep fryer at the end for a crispy exterior.

Carrots roasted with maple syrup and sprinkled with corriander. Creamy Brussels sprouts with roasted pine nuts.

Desserts are served! Angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries - elegant - and a coconut cake with fresh coconut in both the cake and the buttercream frosting. Served with homemade peppermint and pineapple ice creams.

Bee, Doug, Oates (former Xangan), and Tawn pose mid-way through dinner, trying to pace themselves so there is room for the cake.

After our dinner, half the group stuggles to remain upright. From left, Linda, Doug, Bee, our hosts Nat and Cha, Tawn, and me. Hope you and yours had a happy celebration, too!

Bangkok-based Beervana, a specialty beer importer, recently sponsored a Christmas Luau, a Hawaiian feast cooked by chef Tim Butler (from Eat Me restaurant) and hosted at Flow House, Bangkok's first spot for "indoor surfing" on the FlowRider wave machine. Bangkok Glutton writer Chow invited me to come along for the fun.

It was a warm and windless evening, which didn't bode well for an outdoor dinner. The location, Flow House Bangkok, is on Sukhumvit Soi 26 near Rama IV Road. It has a nice second floor terrace that overlooks the Flow Rider wave machine and provided a private dining space for our twenty or so diners.

The Flow Rider provided plenty of entertainment, watching the (mostly younger) crowd surf on this high-powered sheet of water. Especially fun was to watch how, when they wiped out, the spray of water would carry them up the ramp and onto the platform at the top of the wave. Looks like fun!

While we waited for dinner to be served, Beervana's owners plied us with a couple of their imported beers. Beervana searches for unique beers with character. They are typically non-pasteurized and non-filtered and are made by small, independent brewers. While I'm not a beer drinker, several of their beers were very enjoyable and all paired well with the food.

After a bit too long of a wait, the first course arrived, an ahi tuna poke with ginger and chili coconut vinaigrette. Poke is a typical Hawaiian dish generally made with raw fish mixed with various dressings. In this case, the vinaigrette made the poke into more of a ceviche. It was okay in itself but the accompanying beer, an Anderson Valley Poleeko Pale Ale, was excellent.

Second course was a grilled prawn with ogo ogo seaweed salad, basil, and Spam. When preparing prawns for large groups, the risk is that the prawns will be overcooked. In this case, the prawns were actually slightly undercooked. The seaweed salad was underwhelming and the prawn lacked seasoning. The addition of Spam (and cilantro instead of the basil listed on the menu) added nothing to the dish other than a convenient shortcut to make the dish more "Hawaiian"... kind of. Paired with an enjoyable Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale.

The third course was very nice, a spicy lomilomi salmon with heirloom tomatoes and coriander. Lots of lomilomi salmon in Hawaii is served with smoked salmon of so-so smoked salmon and is usually too heavy on the tomatoes. In this case, the salmon was excellent and there was plenty of it. Assertively flavored, it had a nice kick. The course was served with an Anderson Valley Solstice Cream Ale, which tastes heavily of cream soda and didn't do much for me.

After a long wait, the whole roasted pig was served. It was ostensibly served "family style" but that meant that we needed to walk over to get our plates.

The pig was very flavorful and moist. Pieces of crisp skin were enjoyable but the skin attached to the sliced meat was rubbery. The taro puree and pineapple lime confit, while simple, were nice accompaniments for the pork. This was served with a Rogue Yellow Snow IPA, which was nice but I soon reverted to some more of the Anderson Valley Poleeko Pale Ale served with the first course.

For dessert, we were served vanilla coconut custard with roasted pineapple and rum. This tasted okay but way too much gelatin had been used so the custard was rubbery. The pineapple went well with the custard, though. Served with a Rogue Chocolate Stout that complimented the dessert but I don't like stout - too bitter for my taste.

All in all, it was a fun evening. It is fun to try a new experience and the idea of pairing beer with food is an interesting one. The beer was a bottomless flow, so if I were more of a beer drinker, it would have been heaven. Instead, it was just a slice of beach in Bangkok.

There are moments when I feel like there is little point in writing entries about meals, about my garden, about interesting sights I see here in Bangkok. This is a period of time in which there are a lot of uncertainties, a lot of decisions to be made, and it is hard to whip up my enthusiasm to write posts about the more pedestrian aspects of my life.

Being an adult is about making the choice to do the correct thing, even when it would be easier or more pleasant to do something else, right?

Sometimes I hate being an adult.