Dreamland

My first day in Bali was spent in search of the ever-elusive perfect beach. Expectations were high and anything less than postcard-perfect would not do. This took us to Dreamland, a dreamy cove hidden away in a luxury villa development. The beach is open to the public but there were so little people there it felt like we were in on some exclusive secret. Lonely planet wrote one line on how 'exquisite' the cove is, but really should have given budget travelers tips on how to stay in cheap guesthouses and weasel your way into the prime beach real estate of ultra-luxe hotels.

The waves at Dreamland are strong, and many pro surfers in the know make the pilgrimage to this site. Obviously the waves were too amateur for my mad surfing skills so I opted for infinity pool-side lounging in a beautiful restaurant located on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Some reading, conversations with locals, a couple bottles of Bali's finest Bintang, a breathtaking sunset, and delicious seafood curry brought the day to a lazy close.

beds and bugs

Another night in Kuala Lumpur, another night of insect extermination before bed.

Budget travel can really bug me sometimes. Harhar. Was woken up at 3 am yesterday by creepy crawlers and was given a new room along with an industrial sized can of insect repellent. I did not know that bed bugs were real until this point. Didn't parents just make them up to scare toddlers? There were two kinds on my bed, one about 2mm in length that looked like a beetle, and the other so small I couldn't make out its shape. I have become paranoid, to the point that I believe I am being bitten even when my bed is parasite free, and jolt violently at the sensation of my legs being scathed by giant beetle fangs of my imagination.

We've spent the last two days in an air-conditioned mall, seeking refuge in the clean toilets of the Petronas towers as consequence to overzealous eating and drinking. I got too excited about the prospect of drinking delicious sweet milk tea served in a plastic baggie and forgot that ice cubes on the street are usually made with less than filtered tap water. It got so bad that our day trip yesterday to Melaka- the food capital of Malaysia- had to be forgone at the thought of a 2 hour bus ride towards a street food haven. Very disappointing, as the most 'authentic' culinary experience I've had since coming here was a curry laksa from Papa Rich, the Malay version of Manchu Wok. It was delicious though.

I won't bore you any longer with the invigorating details of my last few days indoors, over toilets, and in hysterics on the hostel bed.

I realize I never said goodbye to Beijing, I was in such a rush with my last exam, hosting Megan on her visit, packing and flying to KL, that I didn't have a chance to post any of my amazing photos and experiences from the last week. And oh, there were some great memories. I'll try to do so intermittently throughout the next month, while attempting to post somewhat in real time about my time in SE Asia. Enjoy the pics.

umami

As promised, here are the photos from my culinary adventures in Chengdu two weeks ago. We arrived on a Thursday night, right on time for dinner at famed Baguobuyi, a traditional Sichuan restaurant. Since we hold the keys to the vip, we watched the chefs prepare our food in the back kitchen. What a kitchen. The largest work stations I've ever seen, with few equipment but high utility from each one. Every dish except soup is cooked in one large wok, and complicated utensils are whittled down to one multi-purpose soup ladle with which they stir, separate, and fry. Each station also has a constant-flowing tap that speeds up the cooking process. What marvel!

Notice the silver tins of seasoning on the side. There are only 6 or so because that's all there is to Sichuan cooking. Salt, Sugar, MSG, cumin, chili powder, pepercorns. This is incredible considering how many varieties of flavours can be achieved just with different combinations of those! A delicious dish called Huiguorou. Twice cooked pork that is thinly sliced fatty meat cooked in chilli paste and sometimes eaten in between guokui, small baked buns.
Dry-cooked green beans. Deliciously fiery beans fried without any water to preserve flavour
A traditional Sichuan face-changing show after dinner. They just nod their head and the mask changes in a flash to new colours!
Our table getting some face-changing love.
The next day, visiting the Sichuan Culinary Institute, one of the foremost cooking schools in China, where we took a tour and had a master class in four staple Sichuan dishes by one of the most sought-after chefs in the country!
Here the students are hard at work rolling dough for dumpling wrappers.

How come all the boys are rolling the dough and the girls are wrapping the dumplings? Inequality if you ask me.

The ingredients set up for our master class.
Teacher cooking a batch of ground pork as a condiment for our Dandan noodle dish later.
Deep frying a batch of eggplant coated in cornstarch to make it soft on the inside.
The final product. This is called Fish-fragrant eggplant. There's no fish in it, but the sauce used is a little sweet and sour from a combination of sugar, vinegar, chilli paste and garlic. I suppose a lot of sweet and sour fish dishes have a similar flavour, hence the name.
One of the most famous products out of Sichuan, the green peppercorn. It is more sharp and pungent than the red version, but has less lingering flavour. The two are used in combination sometime to add a more multi-dimensional ma (numb) to the la (spicy).
No dish is complete without a dash of ground peppercorn powder.
Preparing for our Hot Pot Fish dish.
Instructing us not to try this at home.
Admirable knife skills! Clearly I'm still transfixed!
And still...
Fish is thrown in to simmer in a pot full of chili oil, water, dried chili peppers, and peppercorns
The finished product!
Our dandan noodles!
In each bowl, we place some preserved vegetables called "yacai", some of the fat from the fried pork earlier, a bit of the minced meat itself, and adjust to taste.
Cooking the noodles is an art.
Said "yacai". This brand called "Yibing" is the most famous so watch out for it at the grocery store! It makes a great condiment to any stirfry; with mushrooms, greens, and meat.
Topping up our noodles.
The finished product. How cute in their little bowls!!!
Trying our own hand at the four dishes. Check out how pro I look. Teehee
My precise knifework that unpeeled an entire eggplant. Naw, that was the instructor. Look at those veins popping!
Slicing to make a decorative flower!
Glorious tofu.
Cooking Mapo Tofu. Anyone who knows an inkling about me knows this is my ride-or-die dish. In my memory, my mother made the best version. But I think this weekend may have topped hers! oops.
Final product. With a dash of peppercorn powder.
A visit to the Pixian Preserved Chilli Bean Paste factory. Where factory operations consist of thousands of terra cotta pots just chilling in the sun, chilli bean paste fermenting away inside.
Oh, process #2 is an old man who walks around mashing the concoction up every hour or so. Some high technology here.
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A lunch-time visit to the Sichuan Food Museum. Beautiful presentation but slightly lacking in taste.








A traditional tea ceremony. This is the tea master who hosted the LVMH event last weekend. She's a tiny lady who packs a feisty punch, cute and definitely knows how to pour an Oolong tea.
A delicious meal in a "fly" (hole in the wall) restaurant. So much baijiu. So much plum wine. So much delicious.
One of the most memorable trips. Hope you enjoyed the visual feast!