noodlepie

Videos of some bloke eating British food

Not blogging this for viewing value - the videos are not that interesting of themselves - but it is interesting that some bloke took the bother to video himself eating certain foodstuffs and putting them on YouTube. Click the picture, hover over it and click on the notes. Or just go here. I wonder if he takes requests...

Never mind the cod, here's the pollacks

Do you remember the scraps of batter, crusty fish, malt vinegar, salt and soggy paper in the bottom of fish n chip wrappers of yesteryear? Well, according to Steve Busfield, now some poncey restaurant is trying to charge for them. While I disagree that scraps are a northern thing - they existed in Rugby which is hardly shipbuilding and mining country, but Steve does have a point,

"the crispy batter leftovers have long been a delicacy. And a staple/treat for young Tykes. I remember scores of youngsters finishing cub scouts of an evening and immediately trooping round to the chippie and asking for bags of scraps. Those with money might invest in a bag of chips. But the scraps were free. And delicious."

All true. However, I have absolutely no problem with someone charging for them because only idiots will buy them. On a related theme - fish n chips - and also in The Graun - I've added the links...

Fish stocks are vulnerable and this year's so-called summer has played havoc with crops of potatoes and made prematurely mushy peas. The country's 10,500 chippies have offered exceptional value for such a long time. That matters, especially in those areas where the meal is the only cheap and cheerful way to eat out, and the process of buying it a social ritual as strong as going to the pub. But a generally more prosperous country can afford to pay more, and will. The greater test is the need to safeguard cod and haddock and accept less familiar fish inside the batter sleeve. Huss and chips, anyone? How about skate, some
mahi-mahi, next to those mushy peas?

When will Brits lose their faith in cod? Huss, plaice, pollack, wolf fish are all perfectly tasty and (I think) ethically acceptable, sustainable and all that green blah-di-blah-di-blah. As discussed previously the Brits have no taste buds, so stop fannying around and serve them pollack, just tell them they're eating cod. The North Sea will love you for it and the wooden palated British customer will be absolutely none the wiser.

Technorati Tags: Fish and chips, British food, north sea fish stocks

Eating London

I'll be in London again for five days. I've been scouring the restaurant scene to see what's hot and fairly close to Victoria, where I'll be staying, or near where I'll be working - at the BBC in White City and in central London. Here are some of the highlights I've picked up on thus far. NB: map links are just reference notes for me,

"Seafresh Fish Restaurant - ...if you want a change from the standard fried fish (though it is awfully good), might we suggest the hearty fish pie. Seafresh Fish Restaurant, 80-81 Wilton Rd, SW1V 1DL " from Time Out London and here's a map from Victoria

Ever since I read this, I've wanted to visit Franklins. Here's the map.

The Inn in the park has mixed chatter surrounding it, but you can't deny it's fabulous location in St. James Park in the centre of London, just across from Buck House. Here's the map.

The Larder - my friend newmediafreak Mike recommended this joint in Tooley street, SE London. Map.

Gary Rhodes recently opened W1 in W1, near Marble Arch to be exact. It has French touches. Map.

I'll should also be dining at Tosa with the folk from BBC Good Food, although Jemima suggested what looks like a decent alternative in Ukai on Portobello road. Tosa map and Ukai map.

Lastly, Dominic twittered in with Arbutus on Frith street in Soho. Map.

If you have any tips for eating in London, particularly things I may not be able to find out about easily on the net, then please drop me a line. I'm researching a piece about London restaurants for a magazine.

Technorati Tags: London, London dining, London restaurants

Vietnamese cannibal case a hoax

Well, that's a relief then...

Reports of the murder of a Nepalese national by four Vietnamese who then cannibalised their victim in Qatar are false, according to Qatari officials.

A fully-fledged investigation was launched after several newspapers in Qatar, the Gulf and France 's Liberation daily ran coverage on the story. The Vietnamese side has requested that Qatari law enforcement investigate the source of the story as a precursor to pressing libel or slander charges against the culprit.

The Vietnamese side has also demanded that the newspapers that ran the story print a correction. Presently, close to 10,000 Vietnamese people are working in the Middle East, including Qatar. via Intellasia

Technorati Tags: Vietnam, cannibals, Qatar

Pho 31, Toulouse

Pho 31 is a recently opened Vietnamese joint on the edge of the Chinese quarter in Toulouse, France. The owner used to run a particularly popular Pho joint a number of years ago. There are at least three other Pho spots in Toulouse. Pho 31 offers a number of other dishes beyond the simple beef noodle broth it takes it's name from. As a new customer, the owner plies me with a sugar rimmed glass full of frankly bloody awful house speciality litchi alcohol and I order a bo la lot and a banh xeo. Noodlegirl goes classic with the Pho bo option.

The prawn, onion and beansprout filled Banh xeo arrives with a few paltry greens and a fairly thick layer of grease... It was much the same story for the leaf wrapped dish, bo la lot. However, I'm told the pho was a very beefy triumph - I only got to try a mouthfull of Pho before it was all gone... Back to my order, now I've been holding off on Vietnamese restaurant food for maybe too many a month - I get fantastic Vietnamese food cooked for me at home whenever I want it. And, I could've predicted the outcome before I made my first order, if you know what I mean.

Neither of these dishes was total crap. But, after a decade in Vietnam, they couldn't live up to the memory of the Saigon rendition. Maybe that's not so in California and other places outside Vietnam - and THAT's a debate we've had a number of times. But, when I know I can eat French food at every turn and get great Vietnamese food cooked at home, the desire to eat out in a Vietnamese restaurant outside of Vietnam is virtually non-existent. That said, I'm trying another one tomorrow :)

White lines don't do it

On 21 June Toulouse, along with the rest of France, celebrated the Fête de la Musique. It's a countrywide musical celebration to mark the onset of the summer solstice. It's a festival held in over 100 countries. On the day of the fête, some local genius thought it would be an absolutely brilliant idea to lay a white sticky tape trail over the pavements and roads of central Toulouse. I believe it was part of some whacky 'follow the mystery trail and win a prize or donate to charidee" thingamy. I witnessed one of the trail layers on the eve of the Fête as a group of us were enjoying an aperitif in a cafe across from Saint Sernin. I remember wondering why a couple of blokes were swearing at the trail layer. Well, now I know why. It's almost a month since the fête ended and, even though the street cleaning department is up and at it every day of the week, the trail scars remain littering up lovely Toulouse. I hope the idiotic trail layer is utterly ashamed of themselves and we don't see a repeat performance in 2008.

Technorati Tags: Toulouse, Fête de la Musique, vandalism

Vietnam set to amend press law

Following on from earlier, a little more info. on the Vietnam blogging crackdown

The Ministry of Culture and Information is drafting regulations to prevent bloggers from posting subversive and sexually explicit content online. Vu Xuan Thanh, the ministry's chief inspector, said they would enable agencies to control weblogs and slap fines on people disseminating 'subversive or licentious information'.

He said once the regulations were finalised a circular would be issued and they would be incorporated in the amended Press Law.

But the manager of Ngoi Sao Network Company, which runs the licensed weblog www.ngoisaoblog.com, warned that superfluous formalities like asking bloggers to register their real names and ID card numbers would only see a rise in blogs located outside Vietnam. via Intellasia

If you're Vietnamese, living in Vietnam and want to start a blog why would you ever want to submit your blog to the vagaries of the Ministry minions? Especially given their track record with people writing online. Even if you have absolutely no intention of publishing anything 'subversive or licentious', why run the risk of falling foul of a flimsy law when you can easily set up a blog on a free service hosted outside the country?


Technorati Tags: Vietnam, internet censorship, internet dissidents

Good news from Gaza

Good news from Gaza. After roughly four months BBC journalist Alan Johnston is free. Welcome back Alan. Now I need to find something to replace your mug in the right hand column. Plenty more reactions elsewhere. Impossible to imagine what he's been through. Hope he's doing well.


Technorati Tags: Gaza, Alan Johnston, BBC journalist

The seemingly impossible is possible

I saw Hans Rosling present at Le Web 3 in Paris in December 2006 and was well impressed. The presentation above is this year's follow up recorded in March 2007. If you are at all interested in what makes the world tick, it's well worth watching.

Technorati Tags: Hans Rosling, TEDtalks, globalisation, poverty, international development