Did I mention that Riesling is my favorite wine, and that Chateau St. Michelle Erocia Riesling is damned good for under $15? A vivid description of the taste? Fuck that noise - all I can say is it's fragrant and it tastes sweet, but it definitely doesn't leave your mouth feeling like you just sucked on a jolly rancher.
Highly recommended, especially when it's approaching midnight and you have nothing else to do than drink a bottle of wine...
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thanksgiving: next time, give thanks away from home!
As an airline employee, I have standby travel privileges. That means I can fly on any flight with open space. It also means that it is impossible to fly when demand is high, like Thanksgiving weekend...only there's a caveat to that.
Most of us think Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and that's true domestically. Flying internationally is a completely different story because most people only fly home - domestically. It means that I have a better shot at traveling internationally on Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. I haven't purchased a full-fare ticket in a long time, but logic would suggest that tickets for international travel are priced very low during Thanksgiving, if you're so inclined.
I have taken two trips during Thanksgiving week so far: once to Curacao (Netherland Antilles), and another to Taiwan. In both instances, I was happy with my decision to get away, and in both instances, I had interesting Thanksgiving meals.
In Curacao, I stayed with a friend who lives there, and we ate at his parents' place. From their backyard, we had a great view of the countryside. We had a server to keep our champagne glasses full, and there was a display of food that probably took 10 people all day to make. From yams, to real cranberry sauce (as opposed to that canned stuff), to a variety of vegetables, to a humungous turkey that was marinated the best way possible, and to the many pies and desserts, I'm not sure I was ever more thankful for my Thanksgiving than I was that day.
In Taiwan last week, I ate "Thanksgiving" dinner in central Taiwan in a resort area near the Sun Moon Lake. I was a bit disappointed not to have Turkey, but I wasn't expecting Turkey to be served in Asia. What I didn't expect was to be served "some sort of seafood", as my wife described it as the dish was served. It was VERY fried food that could have been tentacles of some sea creature, but very much took the shape of an insect. I didn't find out until after I finished that I ate fried bees, but it was a fairly good dish. I can't really describe it at all. It tasted like sweet fried food. There was no texture beyond the fried batter that made this dish unique. Thank goodness.
Most of us think Thanksgiving is the busiest travel weekend of the year, and that's true domestically. Flying internationally is a completely different story because most people only fly home - domestically. It means that I have a better shot at traveling internationally on Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year. I haven't purchased a full-fare ticket in a long time, but logic would suggest that tickets for international travel are priced very low during Thanksgiving, if you're so inclined.
I have taken two trips during Thanksgiving week so far: once to Curacao (Netherland Antilles), and another to Taiwan. In both instances, I was happy with my decision to get away, and in both instances, I had interesting Thanksgiving meals.
In Curacao, I stayed with a friend who lives there, and we ate at his parents' place. From their backyard, we had a great view of the countryside. We had a server to keep our champagne glasses full, and there was a display of food that probably took 10 people all day to make. From yams, to real cranberry sauce (as opposed to that canned stuff), to a variety of vegetables, to a humungous turkey that was marinated the best way possible, and to the many pies and desserts, I'm not sure I was ever more thankful for my Thanksgiving than I was that day.
In Taiwan last week, I ate "Thanksgiving" dinner in central Taiwan in a resort area near the Sun Moon Lake. I was a bit disappointed not to have Turkey, but I wasn't expecting Turkey to be served in Asia. What I didn't expect was to be served "some sort of seafood", as my wife described it as the dish was served. It was VERY fried food that could have been tentacles of some sea creature, but very much took the shape of an insect. I didn't find out until after I finished that I ate fried bees, but it was a fairly good dish. I can't really describe it at all. It tasted like sweet fried food. There was no texture beyond the fried batter that made this dish unique. Thank goodness.
Where I Get My Information
Maybe for my future interest, I wanted to post the periodicals I subscribe to, in order of preference. For those of you reading this blog, these periodicals are where I obtain about 60% of my information; the rest comes from blogs.
1. The Economist (weekly)
2. Wall Street Journal (daily)
3. The New Yorker (weekly)
4. Harvard Business Review (monthly)
5. Taiwan Review (monthly)
6. Whole Dog Journal (monthly)
7. The Atlantic (monthly)
8. American Scholar (quarterly)
9. Cook's Illustrated (monthly)
10. Wine Spectator (biweekly)
11. Forbes (weekly)
12. Businessweek (self explanatory)
Now, let's be honest; it is impossible to read this many periodicals cover-to-cover. I don't even try. My staples are #1-4. Wine Spectator is a picture book to me, so I spend literally 30 seconds reading each issue (it was free to subscribe to for a year, so again, not very important). Forbes and Businessweek seemed like great magazines before, and even during, business school, but the Economist is vastly superior; why waste my time with other business magazines?
I used to read only the business related articles in the Economist, but now I read everything. Having a better understanding of the political news around the world has rid me of the "Dumb American" syndrome. Hooray! The best articles usually are in the "Buttonwood" section, which are somewhat wonky economic discussions. Those articles actually make me miss microeconomics classes...wait, no that isn't true at all.
I subscribed to HBR while in grad school and thought it was stupid. It contains no concrete analyses and all the subject matter is abstract as hell. After two years of real world experience, however, the concept of making sense of abstract situations seems a heck of a lot more interesting. Managing isn't easy, and there hardly is one correct way to approach a situation. HBR tries to frame and provide solutions for those situations.
Are there any other great periodicals that are missing from my list?
1. The Economist (weekly)
2. Wall Street Journal (daily)
3. The New Yorker (weekly)
4. Harvard Business Review (monthly)
5. Taiwan Review (monthly)
6. Whole Dog Journal (monthly)
7. The Atlantic (monthly)
8. American Scholar (quarterly)
9. Cook's Illustrated (monthly)
10. Wine Spectator (biweekly)
11. Forbes (weekly)
12. Businessweek (self explanatory)
Now, let's be honest; it is impossible to read this many periodicals cover-to-cover. I don't even try. My staples are #1-4. Wine Spectator is a picture book to me, so I spend literally 30 seconds reading each issue (it was free to subscribe to for a year, so again, not very important). Forbes and Businessweek seemed like great magazines before, and even during, business school, but the Economist is vastly superior; why waste my time with other business magazines?
I used to read only the business related articles in the Economist, but now I read everything. Having a better understanding of the political news around the world has rid me of the "Dumb American" syndrome. Hooray! The best articles usually are in the "Buttonwood" section, which are somewhat wonky economic discussions. Those articles actually make me miss microeconomics classes...wait, no that isn't true at all.
I subscribed to HBR while in grad school and thought it was stupid. It contains no concrete analyses and all the subject matter is abstract as hell. After two years of real world experience, however, the concept of making sense of abstract situations seems a heck of a lot more interesting. Managing isn't easy, and there hardly is one correct way to approach a situation. HBR tries to frame and provide solutions for those situations.
Are there any other great periodicals that are missing from my list?
Don't Call it a Comeback
I figured it's time to give this blogging thing a second chance. I tried to focus specifically on travel, but even for a person who travels a lot, the topic is such a super-niche that blogging regularly is difficult. Instead, I am going ahead with a random subject approach. Maybe it will develop into something readable; most likely it won't. At the very least, I will give myself something to do during my downtime, usually as M-F, 8:30AM - 5:30PM...
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Best Places to Eat the Next Time You're Hungry
I didn't travel anywhere this weekend, so it's time to recapitulate. There's a bit of an incentive issue with working at an airline, in my mind. Most people who start at an airline do not have kids, so its very easy for them to travel. However, they are at the bottom of the seniority list and new employees have the least amount of vacation. My coworkers who have been in the company for a few years now have families, and although they have more vacation timel, they have no way to use it because their 2 year old son will cry throughout the flight, wherever they go, and the stress of traveling is unneeded.
Well I've used up all of my vacation and am relegated to weekend trips, which usually turn into Saturday day trips - getting back on Sundays can be difficult because flights fill up very quickly. Which got me to thinking - what are some of the best one-day trips I've taken over the past year or so? But most day trips are made for the purposes of eating - so what are some of the best restaurants I've visited in the last year? Here are a top 10 for best restaurants I've visited in the last year. Rankings are based on taste, value, experience, etc. Non-breakfast cuisines only:
10. Rendezvous Room - Memphis, TN
9. Anthony's Pier 66 - Seattle, WA
Well, this wasn't a trip taken for the food, but to get away from the cold of Minneapolis for a day. The view of the Puget Sound from this restaurant is amazing, and the seafood was good, but overpriced. This place will impress, though, if you're looking for that sort of thing. Price: about $35 per person.
8. Taste of India - Rochester, NY
Hands down the best Indian buffet I've had. It has a lot of variety and all the food is well made. There are a lot of Indian restaurants in this town, so there's pressure for quality and affordability. I wouldn't say that this is the best restaurant in Rochester, but it's the restaurant I visited on my day trip last year, so it's the only one that qualifies for this list. Price: about $10 per person.
7. Giordano's - Chicago, IL
Deep dish pizza! So much better than what you can get outside of Chicago. It's filled with cheese, if you want it, and it's made with tons of butter. Yum. Price: a pie is around $25, but I dare you to eat more than two slices; very filling.
6. La Marée - Montreal, QB
I was told to visit this place for the lobster bisque, and at just over $9 per bowl, you may wonder if it is worthwhile. And I'll tell you - it was. The salmon in a boysenberry sauce wasn't bad, either. Price: about $40 per person, but no need for a large tip in Canada!
5. Dintaifung - Taipei, Taiwan (also in Los Angeles)
Great food. Simple meals that taste very good. I wasn't as impressed as I should have been, mostly because this was one of the last restaurants I visited while in Taiwan, and all the food I had in Taiwan was good. Price: not sure - the bill was not in English!
4. Arthur Bryant's - Kansas City, MO
Best BBQ place I've been to yet. It's cafeteria-style, complete with a waiting line that extends outside the building. I ordered my meal to-go, which was great. They took my beef brisket, complete with my fries, and wrapped it up hoagie-style. It was more food than I possibly could eat in one sitting. Price: less than $10. Slip a $1 to the guy taking your order and your food will double.
3. Safari - Minneapolis, MN
A Somalian restaurant in the Twin Cities. I've had nearly everything on the menu and I still haven't found a dish that I disliked. Most dishes are a concoction of either beef or chicken, vegetables, and a special sauce. Can be spicy or not, and everything is served with a banana. Free refills on the Mango Juice. Price: $10 per dish, including mango juice.
2. Saburo's - Portland, OR
If you like sashimi at all, you really need to try this place. Everything is fresh, the portions are large, and they have a wide variety to choose from. Everything is served cold, and the rice is never dried out. Make sure to come early because the wait has always been 2 hours or more when I've gone. Price: depends on what you order, but it's probably half the price of what you would expect. You can easily fill up on $15, or you can go crazy and spend $40, but you won't be able to finish your food.
1. 草山松園 (I Think) - Taipei, Taiwan
I have no idea how to say this name in English - sorry. It was a bath house that has been converted into a restaurant. The view is very scenic - it's on Yang Ming Mountain - and the food is so fancy, some would refer to it as "exquisite". I won't bother describing the style, but if a restaurant can serve me 8 dishes that are completely different and they all taste good, then something must be done right. Did you know that vinegar can be served as a drink? I didn't either, but it was a good experience. You need to book your reservation two weeks in advance or else there's no way to get into this place. Price: $40 per person, and they choose your food for you.
Well I've used up all of my vacation and am relegated to weekend trips, which usually turn into Saturday day trips - getting back on Sundays can be difficult because flights fill up very quickly. Which got me to thinking - what are some of the best one-day trips I've taken over the past year or so? But most day trips are made for the purposes of eating - so what are some of the best restaurants I've visited in the last year? Here are a top 10 for best restaurants I've visited in the last year. Rankings are based on taste, value, experience, etc. Non-breakfast cuisines only:
10. Rendezvous Room - Memphis, TN
I went to this restaurant because it is arguably the most popular rib joint around. But the ribs were disappointing. They are dry cooked, and served dry. You add sauce as desired. I just didn't get the wonderful stick-to-your belly experience I was expecting. Price: $10-20 per person, depending on how much beer you drink.
9. Anthony's Pier 66 - Seattle, WA
Well, this wasn't a trip taken for the food, but to get away from the cold of Minneapolis for a day. The view of the Puget Sound from this restaurant is amazing, and the seafood was good, but overpriced. This place will impress, though, if you're looking for that sort of thing. Price: about $35 per person.
8. Taste of India - Rochester, NY
Hands down the best Indian buffet I've had. It has a lot of variety and all the food is well made. There are a lot of Indian restaurants in this town, so there's pressure for quality and affordability. I wouldn't say that this is the best restaurant in Rochester, but it's the restaurant I visited on my day trip last year, so it's the only one that qualifies for this list. Price: about $10 per person.
7. Giordano's - Chicago, IL
Deep dish pizza! So much better than what you can get outside of Chicago. It's filled with cheese, if you want it, and it's made with tons of butter. Yum. Price: a pie is around $25, but I dare you to eat more than two slices; very filling.
6. La Marée - Montreal, QB
I was told to visit this place for the lobster bisque, and at just over $9 per bowl, you may wonder if it is worthwhile. And I'll tell you - it was. The salmon in a boysenberry sauce wasn't bad, either. Price: about $40 per person, but no need for a large tip in Canada!
5. Dintaifung - Taipei, Taiwan (also in Los Angeles)
Great food. Simple meals that taste very good. I wasn't as impressed as I should have been, mostly because this was one of the last restaurants I visited while in Taiwan, and all the food I had in Taiwan was good. Price: not sure - the bill was not in English!
4. Arthur Bryant's - Kansas City, MO
Best BBQ place I've been to yet. It's cafeteria-style, complete with a waiting line that extends outside the building. I ordered my meal to-go, which was great. They took my beef brisket, complete with my fries, and wrapped it up hoagie-style. It was more food than I possibly could eat in one sitting. Price: less than $10. Slip a $1 to the guy taking your order and your food will double.
3. Safari - Minneapolis, MN
A Somalian restaurant in the Twin Cities. I've had nearly everything on the menu and I still haven't found a dish that I disliked. Most dishes are a concoction of either beef or chicken, vegetables, and a special sauce. Can be spicy or not, and everything is served with a banana. Free refills on the Mango Juice. Price: $10 per dish, including mango juice.
2. Saburo's - Portland, OR
If you like sashimi at all, you really need to try this place. Everything is fresh, the portions are large, and they have a wide variety to choose from. Everything is served cold, and the rice is never dried out. Make sure to come early because the wait has always been 2 hours or more when I've gone. Price: depends on what you order, but it's probably half the price of what you would expect. You can easily fill up on $15, or you can go crazy and spend $40, but you won't be able to finish your food.
1. 草山松園 (I Think) - Taipei, Taiwan
I have no idea how to say this name in English - sorry. It was a bath house that has been converted into a restaurant. The view is very scenic - it's on Yang Ming Mountain - and the food is so fancy, some would refer to it as "exquisite". I won't bother describing the style, but if a restaurant can serve me 8 dishes that are completely different and they all taste good, then something must be done right. Did you know that vinegar can be served as a drink? I didn't either, but it was a good experience. You need to book your reservation two weeks in advance or else there's no way to get into this place. Price: $40 per person, and they choose your food for you.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Tasting Notes: Describing Wines
Admittedly, I am not a wine affectionado. I want to be, but I know nothing about wine. So how do I start learning about wine without spending hundreds of dollars on bottles of liquid that may or may not taste like rubbing alcohol?
The only way I've found are:
1- To rely on friends' opinions. This is usually the best approach, since friends' opinions are least likely to contain any bias. But it can be difficult to find the wine they recommend. At least it is for me, when most of my friends live somewhere other than Minneapolis.
2- To rely on experts in magazines. This is the approach I use most often. And these guys know what they're talking about right?
Well, according to an article entitled "Faking It"in the March edition of Forbes Life, a famous winemaker admitted during a blind taste testing that, "he couldn't tell which [wines] were his...and he doubted his colleagues could consistently identify their wines among a bunch of others either." That bit of information is extremely reassuring to me. I might be able to tell a good Chardonnay from a bad one, but I don't have to sweat it if two good Chardonnays taste the same. Okay great.
What I have noticed on my own is that, although the adjectives used to describe a wine are laughable, amount of adjectives adjectives used seem to be correlate with how good the wine tastes. It's also important for these adjectives to be specific, and a description with many adjectives tends to be more specific. Take this one for example:
2004 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec
From the winemaker - Intense red colour with purple hints. Round and velvety, ripe black fruits, violets, species and tobacco. Long and complex finish.
Travel guy says - See? The description is vague at best. What kind of taste is "round"? It doesn't say what fruits, it just says "ripe black fruits". It doesn't say what kind of finish, but hey, it's long and complex.
Well, if you couldn't guess already, this wine sucks. It tastes like a red wine I can get on a first class domestic flight on NWA - which means it already tastes like vinegar. It starts this way, it ends this way, but after you initially taste it, the teases with a slightly smooth taste, but it trails back into mediocrity quite quickly.
Some might say I'm just crabby after my vacation because I'm back in snowy Minneapolis...
Google Shopping result: $15; I bought this wine at Costco for about the same price. When shopping at Costco, I often use the "if it's at Costco, it must be good" heuristic because I don't like to think when grocery shopping. This was one of those rare occurrences where that assumption was wrong...
The only way I've found are:
1- To rely on friends' opinions. This is usually the best approach, since friends' opinions are least likely to contain any bias. But it can be difficult to find the wine they recommend. At least it is for me, when most of my friends live somewhere other than Minneapolis.
2- To rely on experts in magazines. This is the approach I use most often. And these guys know what they're talking about right?
Well, according to an article entitled "Faking It"in the March edition of Forbes Life, a famous winemaker admitted during a blind taste testing that, "he couldn't tell which [wines] were his...and he doubted his colleagues could consistently identify their wines among a bunch of others either." That bit of information is extremely reassuring to me. I might be able to tell a good Chardonnay from a bad one, but I don't have to sweat it if two good Chardonnays taste the same. Okay great.
What I have noticed on my own is that, although the adjectives used to describe a wine are laughable, amount of adjectives adjectives used seem to be correlate with how good the wine tastes. It's also important for these adjectives to be specific, and a description with many adjectives tends to be more specific. Take this one for example:
2004 Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec
From the winemaker - Intense red colour with purple hints. Round and velvety, ripe black fruits, violets, species and tobacco. Long and complex finish.
Travel guy says - See? The description is vague at best. What kind of taste is "round"? It doesn't say what fruits, it just says "ripe black fruits". It doesn't say what kind of finish, but hey, it's long and complex.
Well, if you couldn't guess already, this wine sucks. It tastes like a red wine I can get on a first class domestic flight on NWA - which means it already tastes like vinegar. It starts this way, it ends this way, but after you initially taste it, the teases with a slightly smooth taste, but it trails back into mediocrity quite quickly.
Some might say I'm just crabby after my vacation because I'm back in snowy Minneapolis...
Google Shopping result: $15; I bought this wine at Costco for about the same price. When shopping at Costco, I often use the "if it's at Costco, it must be good" heuristic because I don't like to think when grocery shopping. This was one of those rare occurrences where that assumption was wrong...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Hell's Kitchen Cont'd
Taipei
Behold. These are the images of my in-law's kitchen in Taipei:
Behold. These are the images of my in-law's kitchen in Taipei:
And honestly, what more can I say? My mother in law is perfectly content with her kitchen. If you ask her if there's anything wrong with her kitchen's setup, she'll be completely forthcoming and tell you that there's nothing that should change. No irrationally there...
If I offer to clean up, my mother in law will get upset. I can understand that - we all want our personal space. If I offer to buy an organizer, she will get upset - why waste the money? The irony of it all is that the floor throughout the house is completely spotless. There's not a spec of dust on the white linoleum floors.
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