Hong Kong, Part 2- Nan Lain Gardens and Chi Lin Nunnery

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Another throw back from last year.

Hong Kong is diverse and densely populated, to get everyone one where they need to go, the city has one of the best public transport systems I’ve ever seen. As soon as you arrive, invest in an Octopus Card. These can be used to pay for everything from ferries, some taxis, trains, buses, and paying for purchases in convenience stores at metro stations, and you can top them up at any metro station. I know it sounds like I’m geeking out, but the public transport was amazing, cheap, fast and clean.

Exciting as the city is fantastic, but sometimes the heat and the crowds can be exhausting. When you need to recharge you batteries seek out a little oasis of calm like the Nan Lian Garden and Chi Lin Nunnery.

The gardens are in the Diamond Hill district and covers 3.5 hectares, in a city with so many people this place provided some much needed chill out space away from the frenetic energy of the rest of central Hong Kong. The gardens are landscaped in line specif rules and methods, and no tree, rock, or plant is there by accident.

View of the tea room in Nan Lian Gardens

The Chi Lin Nunnery located within the gardens, is a series of elegant wooden structures made up of temples, and prayer halls lining courtyards with expertly pruned bonsai gardens and calming pools. Despite being slap bang in one of the world’s hubs of cut throat capitalism, it has a really gentle vibe, and is beyond beautiful.

If you can spare the time I’d recommend spending a day vising the garden and nunnery. If you do there are a couple of different options if want to eat or drink. The tea house is beautiful but is expensive even by Hong Kong standards. The staff are lovely and will take time to explain the different teas, and show you how to brew it correctly. We spent much more than expected here, but in fairness it was our mistake for not reading the tea menu correctly (be careful). A much better option is to go for the set lunch at the garden’s restaurant. Like with the Po Lin monastery, it’s a set vegan lunch made up of several dishes. One of which was monkey head fungus, I know what your thinking (doesn’t sound too appetizing), but it turned out to be delicious. The best food I had in Hong Kong was at these temple restaurants. Go visit these places and try the food, or just enjoy a little bit of chill before going back out into the world.

The water mill

Mushroom, hazelnut and gorgonzla tart

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A bit more “rustic” than I planned, but I put it down to me trying to make pastry with nuts in it. Save yourself the time and energy and use shop bought short crust pastry. It’s what I plan to do next time.  This recipe might be best saved for the weekend, as it’s a bit more labour intensive, but it’s well worth the trouble, (I had to stop myself eating half of it).

If you’re a vegetarian cooking for meat eaters, they’ll love this. The rich and unctuous filling feels really meaty, and unlike a lot of tarts isn’t too eggy.  This is delicious hot or cold.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Sheet of ready made short crust pastry

2 Onions (thinly sliced)

1 Tbsp Chopped rosemary

3 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1 Tbsp Olive oil

25 Grams Dried porcini mushrooms, (soaked in 50 ml of hot water)

200 Grams Button mushrooms (sliced)

50 Grams Gorgonzola (sliced)

50 Grams Hazelnuts (chopped)

2 Eggs

150 Ml Double Cream

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Grease a 23 cm loose based flan tin, roll you pastry until thin and line the tin, (chill in the fridge for 30 minutes)
  2. Put the porcini mushrooms in a bowl with 50ml of warm water and allow to soak
  3. Take your flan tin out of the fridge and over the base with grease proof paper and add baking beans on top, (I use old lentils that had been hanging about). Bake blind in an oven heated to 180 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the grease proof paper and baking beans, and bake for a further 5 minutes, before removing from the oven
  4. While the pastry is baking add the olive oil and onions to a large heated frying pan. Turn down the heat and cook gently for 10 minutes
  5. Add the button mushrooms, garlic and rosemary to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
  6. Add the porcini mushrooms and the water they were soaking in to the pan. Cook over a medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated, and leave to cool
  7. Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat (the temperature should be 180 degrees again)
  8. When the mushroom mix is completely cool, spread it evenly across the pastry base
  9. Distribute the gorgonzola on top of the mushroom mix
  10. Beat 2 Eggs, and add to the cream, season with salt and pepper, pour into the tart case and sprinkle chopped hazelnuts across the top
  11. Put the filled tart tin on to the heated baking sheet in the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the centre is set
  12. Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes before cutting

Mostar – A medieval gem

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When visting Dubrovnik, we decided to take an excursion to see Mostar in Bosnia, which is a couple of hours away. The countryside along the way was rugged and beautiful, with lush orange groves, pencil cypresses and wild pomegranates everywhere.

View of the old town

Like Dubrovnic, Mostar dates back many centuries, and had been owned or occupied by various rulers during it’s history. It also suffered badly in the war that followed the break up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, and large parts including the medieval old bridge had to be rebuilt.

Koski Mehmed pasa Mosque.

Mostar has some amazing Ottoman architecture, and while it’s maybe a little more rough around the edges it does seem a bit less sterile than Dubrovnik, and is a lot more affordable. There are plenty of local artisans ready to sell you leather and brass tourist tat. Eating and drinking is cheap and hearty, our waiter suggested a local dish (we never got the name), made up of bread, spicy sausages, vegetables and a sweet spicy red pepper relish which was delicious. This along with a couple of beers was half the price we had paid for an overpriced pizza in Dubrovnik. This is a really interesting and historic part of the world, and well worth a visit, but a day is probably enough to see the old town.

The countryside is rugged and beautiful, with lush orange groves, pencil cypresses and wild pomegranates everywhere.

Dubrovnik – Practically perfect in every way

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When I mentioned to some people I was going to Dubrovnik, their faces lit up. Anyone who has visited the the place will testify to how beautiful it is. I had never been to Croatia before and to be honest didn’t know a lot about it.

The old town which is pretty sizable is a UNESCO heritage site, and was a pretty important port for trade in the Adriatic. It has been a Republic and occupied by various other nations, more recently it was damaged and rebuilt in the 1990’s after the break up of the former Yugoslavia.

Understandably the locals prefer not to focus on this (coming from a place that has had it’s own troubles I’m glad that they prefer to look ahead, instead of dwelling on a difficult past). More recently, the city has been one of the most recognisable locations from Game of Thrones.

Rector’s Palace

The architecture is beautiful and I don’t think I have ever been to such a clean city (I mean it seriously looks like the whole place has been freshly scrubbed just for you coming). The old town has steered away allowing the eponymous chains seen in most cities. You won’t find a Star Bucks or McDonald’s to save your life.

It is however not a cheap place to eat or drink. Eating out was at times eye-wateringly expensive. Food in the old city tended towards Italian, with pizza being a popular choice. During the day, the bakeries sell savoury pastries and sandwiches, and this is probably the most affordable way to eat. I didn’t really see much in the way of local food promoted, so I can’t really tell what Croatian food is like.

Dubrovnik is ideally located if you want to visit other cities/countries. You can take day drips to Montenegro, or do as we did and visit Mostar in Bosnia.

Butternut Squash and Pea Curry

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This is an easy, healthy curry that even the most ardent meat lovers can enjoy.

Don’t be put off, if it seems that there are a lot of ingredients.  I know I prattle on about how good Asian supermarkets are, but you can build up a good stock of cheap spices that will help change how you cook.

Ingredients

500gms Butternut Squash (peeled, deseeded, and diced)

200gms Frozen Peas

150gms Red Lentils

1 Large onion (chopped)

2 Tbsp Coconut or other oil

1 Red chilli pepper

4 Cloves of garlic

1 Tsp Fennel seeds

1 Thumb sized piece of ginger

2 Tsp Garam Masala

2 Cardamom pods

500ml Vegetable stock

2 Tbsp Chopped coriander

Serves 4

Method

  1. Add the fennel seeds and cardamom pods to a dry pan and toast until you can spell the spices.
  2. Add the coconut oil and once heated add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The onions should be cooked gently until they caramelise and turn brown.  Taking the time to do this might seem like a bit of a faff, but it does help improve the depth of flavour
  3. Add the butternut squash (which has been diced in 1.5cm cubes), and continue to cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes
  4. Grate the ginger and add to the pan along with finely chopped chilli, garam masala, red lentils, and vegetable stock, cook for a further 10 minutes
  5. Add finely chopped garlic to the pan, along with frozen peas, and cook 5 more minutes
  6. Check that the butternut squash is tender, and check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. (I usually go easy when adding chilli, as it’s always easier to add more, but if you like a super hot then go nuts)
  7. Serve with basmati rice or naan bread (or both if you’re a total carb junkie like me).  This curry reheats really well, and will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days

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Cheese and Wine -The perfect way to spend a cold wet Saturday

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A great Friday night spent at Direct Wine Shipments “walking wine tour” sharing gorgeous wines with friends and probably spending much more than I intended.

Direct Wine Shipments, in Corporation Square in Belfast is an institution. For 65 years it has been bringing great wines from around the world to Northern Ireland. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and the owners have their own wine Crua Celta from their vineyard in Spain. Their historic premises have been everything over the years from a grain store to a brothel, and are reportedly haunted.

I enjoy wine, but what I love even more is cheese. The Artisan Cheese Monger from Holywood brought some brilliant samples for pairing with wine. It turns out brie and the right Champagne are a marriage made in heaven.

I arrived home, a little tipsy and with a bag full of cheese. Saturday turned out to suck, a day full of house cleaning, laundry and sh*tty weather. However, the upside was being able to settle down with my purchases from the night before. Brunost cheese from Norway is amazingly delicious. It’s made from boiling the whey after cheese making. It’s like fudgey, caramely cheese, it sounds wrong but it’s fabulous. Go try some!

Bali calling…

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I use Google photos, which decided to try and depress me by sending me reminders of being in Bali.

Bali may possibly be the happiest place on earth. If sandy beaches with crystal clear waters and busy nightlife are your thing then resorts like Kuta are for you.

Personally, I prefer to go and chill out and soak up some culture.

The Balinese people are amazing, and I found them to be kind, polite and gentle. The local tradition of every home and business making small offerings each morning to give thanks is a beautiful sight, that we could all learn from. It’s like they invented mindfulness before it was co-opted by some Westerner who now makes a fortune tells us about we need to regularly show gratitude for what we have.

I prefer to travel inland to towns like Ubud. This town has a much more chilled out vibe, and is a good base travel round to visit sites like the 3 volcanoes shown above, or the breathtakingly beautiful temples.

Balinese food is fresh, delicious, and healthy. There are also plenty of Western options available if you prefer something familiar. One day cookery classes offer a great option to learn more about local ingredients, food culture, and offers the chance to meet other people (especially if you’re a solo traveler and feel like some company). You learn how to make an impressive range of dishes that you can enjoy afterwards. The local beer Bintang, is similar to Heineken and hits the spot on a hot afternoon. But a lychee Martini looking out over luscious jungle is hard to beat.

Yoga, wellbeing and spas are very popular across Bali. Prices are good, but remember that the local’s take home pay is significantly lower than in the West, so be a good guest and tip well. You will always receive good service regardless, because the Balinese are unfailingly gracious and polite, so enjoy your pampering, feeling good that you’ve recognised how hard the person pampering you works.

Lila, and the Piece of Cake Bakery, my food hero!

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Lila and her family run my favourite Belfast bakery, Piece of Cake, now with a shop in the Europa Bus Centre in Belfast. They are also much loved regulars at St George’s Market in Belfast.

Due to unrest in their native Croatia in the 1980’s, Lila and the family relocated to Belfast. Once here they worked their socks off, getting up at the crack of dawn everyday to build a business and a home.

While she might be 80 years young, Lila’s work ethic and energy would put most people half her age to shame. On top of this, she is also a sweetheart.

This bakery creates amazing artisan breads, pastries and cakes. I have a secret fantasy about being locked in their shop overnight. Just two among my many favourites are their potato rostis, and the coconut meringue cheese cake, OMG they’re fabulous.

Some moronic pr*cks like to spout off about how immigrants don’t contribute to society. I would say they obviously haven’t met women like Lila or her family or see how hard they still work, and the local people they employ.

Pineapple Smokies

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Are smokies just a Belfast thing?

A Belfast childhood can best be described as character building. One of the plus points was that every now and again you would get to have a smokey!

A smokey was normally served in a tall glass and consisted of pineapple lemonade, vanilla ice cream and a chocolate flake.

I’ve never been able to track down who started serving these in Belfast, although there was a well known Italian ice cream shop in Castle Street where I got mine. Give this a go, it’s really scrumptious. If anyone does know the origin of smokies please let me know.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Large scoops of vanilla ice cream

1 Litre Pineapple lemonade

4 chocolate flakes

Method

Get 4 tall glasses, and a scoop of ice cream to each glass and top up with the pineapple lemonade and stick the chocolate flake into the ice cream when floats to the top.

Mmmm super delicious!

Coastal Food Foraging

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I’m fortunate enough to live in a part of the world where you are never far from the sea. Despite this as a nation we don’t eat enough sea food. We definitely don’t take advantage of the absolute heaps of sea vegetables and edible coastal plants we have access to

On a mild but rainy day, the immensely knowledgeable David (former National Trust Ranger, with a passion for coastal flora and fauna), was kind enough to share a small portion of his encyclopedic knowledge with me and a small bunch of other food nerds.

To make things even better David’s partner Celia, an extremely talented and well known chef in her own right, treated us to a fabulous meal centered around foraged food.

Who knew that trendy foods like sea purslane can be collected for free!, and scurvy grass was used as far back as the Romans to give sailors a massive hit of vitamin C on long voyages, (it also tastes like wasabi).

Other top discoveries were pepper dulse, which tastes somewhere between an oyster and black truffle, OMG it tastes so good.

All sorts of terrestrial plants such as sea spinach, sea radish, wild peas and orach all make amazing salad vegetables, and sea vegetables like channel wrack, and sea spaghetti are super tasty when lightly steamed and are bursting full of iodine, and other trace elements that are really good for you.

Who would have thought of baking fish in sea weed. Celia treated us to hake wrapped in sugar kelp and it was properly delicious. She also made us a feast of breads seasoned with seaweeds, dulse butter, wild garlic pesto, and great salads.

Get out and get foraging, make sure you check what you are picking, and don’t be a d’ck and over pick plants that are scarce. Other than that, go forage!