Milk Fish and Garlic Rice

After living in North America for most of my life, I moved to a hot climate where every single day was about 30 degrees.   While living in warm weather definitely had its advantages, the one time of year when I had difficulty appreciating it was during Christmas.  Somehow it became absolutely impossible for my mind to picture snow, reindeer, and fat men in snuggly suits as I was surrounded by palm trees and mangoes.  That was when I first fell in love with stollen; and I learned how taste can powerfully conjure up memories, images and feelings.   

For me, stollen tastes of Christmas.  Perhaps this is because this Christmas loaf originated in Germany. It has a dense consistency and is speckled with currants, dried fruits, nuts and orange zest.  My favourite type comes with a thin ribbon of marzipan in the centre, and it is finished with a fine dusting of powdered sugar.   One bite of its spicy sweetness and I am immediately transported to one of those outdoor German markets (something else we’ve appropriated in Vancouver!)

A friend of mine is into a car show called Top Gear and had me watch an episode recently in which three bungling British fellows receive the impossible task of getting from one end of Vietnam to the other, solely on scooters and motorbikes.  While I enjoyed their dry British humour and slapstick comedic style, what I  appreciated most about the show were the scenes where the characters shared meals. The outdoor cafes and quaint little restaurants provided much more of a lure to come and explore Vietnam  than any of the beautiful scenary shots did. It got me seriously craving Vietnamese food. 

One of my favourite expressions that Filipinos have coined is the term: “food trip.”  The expression is not to be taken literally, as in traveling with the intention of cultural exploration through food.  Instead, going on a “food trip” means enjoying a dizzying array of food with friends and family.  The food may be local or foreign, at home or in a restaurant, and the only goal is to eat until one’s belly is stuffed and one’s palate is overwhelmed by all those fantastic flavours. 

My most recent food trip adventure occurred on Cambie St. at Balilicious Modern Indonesian Cuisine.  The name is a mouthful to be sure, but it is exactly as it states: a small cozy place that serves very tasty Indonesian cuisine with a modern twist.  Indonesian food is an exotic blend of Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, and Middle Eastern cuisine that still retains its Southeast Asian roots.  I find that it draws on flavours quite similar to Thai or Malaysian cooking.  

The story starts with a sore throat.  You know the kind: like swallowing razor blades unless it’s some hot soothing liquid that calls mum’s chicken noodle soup to mind.  It wasn’t that I suffering through the tortuous ordeal, but a good friend of mine.  Having just undergone a week of being ill while traveling, however, I could commiserate.  In order to soothe her achy throat, we decided to try out a suggestion from another friend of hers which involved warm savoury soups.  

Her instructions directed us to a brightly lit small café with a line up coming out the front door.  Cattle Café indeed!  Nevertheless, turnover was speedy and after a very short wait, we were seated in a cozy corner perusing their meal line up.  The menu at Cattle Café is large, random, and a little surprising.  Case in point: the menu lists “Ice cream on cattle french toast” just under ‘Two kinds of meat balls with vermicelli in soup.”  And if you are squeamish about internal organs or exotic meat, you might want to have a friend screen it for you.