Red Dragon Chinese Fire Truck, pt. 2

Prep is everything. The actual cooking takes minutes, so get your mise together. Check out the flame on that thing. 

And this is why it's not approved for indoor use. 

Karen was brave enough to take pictures. From a distance. The column is impressive. 

She also bought me the Lucky Peach cookbook, which does a great job laying out all the Shaoxing wine and Chinkiang vinegar and Sichuan peppercorns available only at the Asian grocery where no one speaks English. Worth it. 

Red Dragon Chinese Fire Truck, pt. 1

We stayed home, but it was an awesome Xmas. J-than got me a 100,000 BTU, propane-powered wok ring. Not approved for indoor use. 

So it became a project. One tank, one red cart, a couple of zip ties, and a whole lot of assembly later...

...with a trip to True Value for a dowel for the handle, 'cuz you don't want to touch this thing when it's blazing...

...and you've got yourself a mighty fine, self-contained food toy. 

Why is this important? Because residential kitchen stoves, even the good ones, get nowhere near hot enough to deliver wok hay, that distinctive hot iron taste that makes take-out so good. Thanks, J-than!

More later when I fire it up tonight.

Spiral Jetty, part deux

So excited to visit Spiral Jetty at the Great Salt Lake for the second time.

Hopscotch in Oakland

Oysters with salmon roe and sea urchin gonads. Jesus H. Christ in a chicken basket.

You are either with us or against us.

Hello Hong Kong

I had the option of delaying my connection in HKG for twelve hours, and I took it. I've never been outside the airport before.

What do I think? I think I need to come back. Typhoon Mujigae has been buffeting the island all day with heavy rain and gale force winds. Sites were difficult to get to, and the legendary views non-existent.

That's okay. I took the airport express to Central and met my old friend Trac at the Apple Store (motto: bringing people together across the globe). We went to high school and college together, drove across Canada, starred in each other's plays and films, and got too drunk too many times in New York to count. He's now the point man for Goldman Sachs TV Asia, having just moved here with his wife Nicole and 20-month-old Julien. So we went shopping for dinnerware and refrigerators safely indoors.

But not before lunch. Spicy cashew shrimp, dan-dan noodle, soup dumplings, pork buns, jellyfish, fried rice and black fungus in Chinese black vinegar. Somehow, we ate 90% of it, likely because it wasn't Indian.

He showed me his new place in Happy Valley, then we went shopping for dinner. Half a goose, plus roasted and Chinese BBQ pork. Picked up some Chinese broccoli at the wet market. Back at the ranch he made rice and we got fatter with glee. Don't worry; they've got leftovers.

Caught the MTR back to the airport. Clean, fast, efficient. In fact, I'm struck that the whole city seems to operate this way. There wasn't a hint of litter; construction sites were orderly and well kept; the trolley was cute.

I hate to feel jaded having arrived from Earth's largest cesspool, but there it is: both were British colonies for centuries; both struggled for autonomy, though the circumstances were vastly different; one has more natural resources, but surveying the population, it's hard to argue one is more homogeneous. Perhaps it is size that matters; perhaps it is appropriate governance. But Hong Kong has built a city on a hill, while India struggles to build a single, viable sidewalk.

I'm going to go get on a plane now and dream of perfectly roasted geese and squandered potential.

Bye-Bye Bangaluru

Ram picked me up from the residence for dinner, but first we stopped at the new statue. It was fenced off, maybe the result of an earlier ceremonial unveiling. In either case, it's only the second picture I've taken in India that has no people in it.

Dinner was slim pickings. Any establishment serving alcohol was closed by law, leaving street counters and chaat bars. Still tasty.

Now I'm at the airport, waiting for the counter to open. Hopefully there will be no hassles, but it's India, so don't relax until you're on the plane.

It's Quiet Today

All the government offices are closed, most businesses, and many shops. It's Gandhi's 146th birthday. I was looking for some weirdness, but except for a statue unveiling on the other side of town, there's not much going on. Even the traffic has been downgraded from apocalyptic to merely ridiculous.

It's just as well. I woke up yesterday with the traditional Indian upper respiratory infection and have been enduring the Trial by Green Snot. Maybe I'll take a nap. In 12 hours I leave for Hong Kong.