The Malaysian Insider :: Food
The Malaysian Insider :: Food |
| Can a veggie be trendy? Bon Appetit says yes Posted: 25 Jul 2013 07:03 PM PDT Like shoulder pads and skinny jeans, food also goes through trend cycles, including those in the vegetable kingdom. That's according to Bon Appétit magazine which recently traced the "trendiest" vegetables over the past 44 years, identifying the very year when beets, for instance, reached the height of culinary sophistication. It was 1982. Chef Wolfgang Puck, caterer to the stars, paired beets with goat cheese. The world never looked at beets quite the same way again. In 2004, eating heirloom tomatoes was akin to toting a designer handbag, acting as a "status symbol of the new foodie elite." "Their punchy flavor made them instantly addictive. Rampant overuse made them a punch line." Market research firm Technomic meanwhile predicted 2013 to be the year of the vegetable, when the humble plant kingdom would finally take centre stage on dinner plates as the star ingredient, and not just play the sidekick. Analysts also predicted kale and Brussel sprouts to be this year's menu protagonists. Other vegetables that made Bon Appétit's list for enjoying their epicurean 15 minutes of fame include the avocado (traced to 1969 when major appliances took on the subdued green hue); arugula; asparagus; Portobello mushrooms (which despite insistence, don't taste like steak, editors point out); Brussels sprout; heirloom carrots; and for 2012, the ubiquitous kale in all its forms -- sautéed, raw, and roasted as chips. – AFP/Relaxnews, July 26, 2013. |
| The world according to Bernardo Posted: 25 Jul 2013 05:38 PM PDT People from Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia as well as the United States and the world over have heard of this little locale; most come to stuff their faces like there's no tomorrow. Then you have the odd British couple who subject their poor child to chips and sausages. The best thing about Can Maño in the fishing barrio of Barcelona is, no doubt, the fish. White and blue fish - such as sardines, boquerones (anchovies), barat (mackerel), as well as grilled squid, cuttlefish, and, my favourite chipirones (baby squid). Grilled seafood come drizzled with good oil and parsley, so don't expect Asian-style seafood with rich sauces. Juan Luis and I have been going to Can Maño for 6 years, ever since I came to Barcelona, April 2007. As my late maternal grandmother used to say in Cantonese: yat yat dou hai sang yat (every day is your birthday). And we truly feel that every time we're at Can Maño, it's as if we were celebrating our birthdays. A regular who works at the local Maritime Club says there are other restaurants in Barcelona which serve food as cheap and good as Bernardo's, but he stays faithful to Can Maño. We stay faithful to Bernardo too because although he's the boss, he's plainly not forgotten his roots nor the obvious principles of what makes a Small Giant: fresh, honest food, consistently good quality, quiet attentiveness and a genuine desire to do dana, the practice of cultivating generosity as defined in Buddhism and Hinduism, though he knows not the word. Pili (the diminutive of Pilar), his daughter, takes after her father in a way and takes pride in making the best coffee in the barrio. A meal for two comes up to a very reasonable 35 euros, drinks and coffee included, but we're small eaters so our bill is often about 28 euros for two. The oldies are ravenous - they seem to eat for the entire week - and they easily eat double our share. Even so, 50 euros for two is an excellent price as it'll cost double were you to eat on the main promenade, Passeig de Joan de Borbó. Mum and dad love their cafés con leche with their meal which we find too milky, so we go for beer and cortados (espresso with a tinge of milk). Some locals, like Bernardo, end their meal with a carajillo (espresso with any liquor such as rum, whisky, brandy, anís or cognac). Bernardo has his with Anís del Mono. I've had a carajillo on an odd winter's day which warms up the belly in a flash. Bliss. But I prefer sober mornings, and have given that initial novelty up. The origin of this drink - similar to the Italian drink known as caffè corretto, dates to the Spanish occupation of Cuba. "The troops combined coffee with rum to give them courage (coraje in Spanish), hence 'corajillo' which was modified to carajillo in recent years." "What's your vision of the future, Bernardo?" He's 65 in July, the age of retirement, but sees himself staying on at Can Maño - "to help my daughter" and ensuring a smooth transition when the time is right. The future is bright with Cesc, born in the Year of the Water Dragon, who reaches out to family and strangers with happy, fearless eyes. - July 26, 2013. * Sue is a Malaysian writer based in Barcelona, Spain. She blogs at https://medium.com/@suechienlee and twitters @suechienlee * Can Maño is on Calle del Baluard, 12, Barcelona, Spain (La Barceloneta). Tel: 93.319.30.82. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d931622-Reviews-Can_Mano-Barcelona_Catalonia.html). It opens daily from 08:00-11:00 h. / 12:30-16:00h / 20:00-23:00 h, and is closed Saturday evenings, Sundays and Monday mornings. |
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