Archive for December, 2011

Sumalai Thai Traditional Massage – Bangkok

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

logo copyright sumalai massage

Sumalai Massage
159/14 Sukhumvit 55 Thonglor 7-9
Opposite Thonglor 8 Wattana BKK
Opening Hours: 9.00 – 24.00
Tel. +66 (0)2392 1663

Royal Thai Massage or Ayurveda Massage

Royal Thai Massage or Ayurveda Massage is unique and focus mainly on treatment. Emphasis on courtesy and ability to secure an outcome to Organs and tissue that is deep by increasing blood circulation and activity of nerve.

The massage is used in the palace. Thus, styles must be polite and usually by fingers and palms only pressing massage on the body (friction massage) not only for weight control and a weight in the direction of the force properly discharged, still with the soft focus.

Sumalai is one of the best Thai traditional massage available in Bangkok. The massage therapists I consider to be excellent to good in this order are: Na, Gee, Ja, Jan, Sei, and Mai.

Traditional Classic Thai Massage     60 min 200 Bht.     90 min 300 Bht.     120 min 400 Bht.

Foot Reflexology Massage     60 min 250 Bht.     90 min 400 Bht.     120 min 500 Bht.

Head-Neck-Shoulders Massage     60 min 200 Bht.     90 min 300 Bht.     120 min 400 Bht.
Foot Massage & Head, Neck, Shoulder, Back     250 Bht.     350 Bht.     450 Bht.

Aroma Touch Therapy     60 min 600 Bht.     90 min 900 Bht.     120 min 1200 Bht.

Thai Heritage Herbal Compress     60 min 500 Bht.
Body Scrub     60 min 500 Bht.

Facial Massage     60 min 500 Bht.

Huge Australian Crocodile Destroys Large Lawn Mower – Australia

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

I couldn’t resist posting this very interesting mainstream news story, at least in this part of the world, about an enormous 50-year-old crocodile that attacked a large lawn mower near Sydney, Australia.  He did major damage to it, to the point it can never be repaired although, the behemoth broke two of his own teeth during the mêlée, and then dragged the mower underwater and continually guarded it (this is a typical reaction to anything a crocodile captures). The keepers had to lure the animal away by giving it kangaroo meat in another part of the pool, while they hauled the lawnmower out of the water.  In the past, this beast has been known to eat two of his possible female partners, it is unknown if they had mated yet or not. This guy has a case of too much testosterone!

Video Link To: Crocodile Attacking Lawnmower

 

Olive Garden, “Italian Inspired” But At The Mercy of Its Provincial, Unsophisticated Diners – USA

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Olive Garden is “Italian inspired”, but at the mercy of its provincial, unsophisticated diners.

The Olive Garden is subjected to the whims of the people who eat at Olive Garden, and the chain has no choice but to bend to their wistful, suburban, and tyrannical needs. That means value (a $6.95 unlimited soup, salad, and bread-sticks lunch special), overcooked pasta, frosted plastic salad bowls, and avoiding confusing words like “gnocchi.”
Olive Garden Headquarters knows that their diners have limits: “Capers, with their salty, pickled flavor, are too unexpected for many customers, says a spokeswoman.”
And the restaurant chain will do whatever it takes to make customers happy: “At Olive Garden, pasta is served soft, not al dente or slightly firm, the traditional Italian method.” Is it authentic or not? “We don’t use the word authentic,” said the president of Olive Garden. He prefers the term “Italian inspired.”

The chain does indeed take “inspiration” from Italy: Chefs at Olive Garden HQ went on a trip to Northern Italy and had “a fresh-torn pasta dish with olive oil, garlic and herbs.” Somehow that dish was “reverse-engineered” into “baked pasta romana—a mix of lasagna pasta, rich cheese sauce, spinach and either a beef or chicken topping.” Originally it was chicken with roasted tomato sauce, but diners didn’t find it “cravable.” And the chain pushes the limits of gastronomy: “Earlier this year, a pear and Gorgonzola ravioli with shrimp went too far.” The chain deemed the dish too “culinary forward.”

And all Olive Garden wants to do is update the damned dishware, but they can’t. The frosted, “semi-translucent, plastic, flower-shaped salad bowl” that delivers unlimited refills has been in use for decades, and every time Olive Garden tests new bowls, diners revolt. “There is a lot of love for that bowl,” said Dan Kiernan, executive vice president of operations for Olive Garden. This is hard to believe in today’s marketplace, although it must be true and the company wants to keep their customers happy at all cost.

Link to:   Olive Garden article Wall Street Journal

 

N/Naka, Omakase – West Los Angeles

Saturday, December 24th, 2011

Culinary Tidbits . . . N/Naka, Omakase, West Los Angeles
After the head sushi chef and owner Niki Nakayama sold her sushi bar Azami, (near Melrose and LaBrea) to Koreans, they incidentally, have ruined the place with dreadful, sweet tasting sushi, to cover up the poor quality of the fish, and are now closed.
She then was found working at her sister’s seafood store, Inaka Seafood Gourmet in Arcadia, and now she has finally opened N/Naka in West Los Angeles, a nine table restaurant specializing in seasonal Omakase.  Her parents are in the fishing business, which guarantees fresh fish. 3455 South Overland Avenue, between Palms Boulevard and Lawler Street, Culver City, 310-836-6252,  n-naka.com, Tuesday to Saturday, 6-9pm.

 

 

Surface Restaurant, Sukhumvit Soi 53 – Bangkok

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Surface
107 Soi Sukhumvit 53
Kwang Klongton-Nua,
Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Tel. 02 258 2858
Opening Hours: Lunch: 11:30am-2pm; Dinner 6pm-11:30pm
Credit Cards: Visa

The restaurant is difficult to find, as the main entrance is in the rear of a large parking lot at the dead end of Thonglor Soi 11 and from the soi 53 side it is only accessible by foot or bicycle. Once you find the entrance, and wind through a narrow passageway that leads to a lovely garden with day beds stretched out on one side, vegetables growing in wooden boxes amongst white umbrellas on the other, and then of course, the restaurant itself you will find the experience a pleasant surprise. Again, Thai-style bars (this time two of them) one outside and one within, with nary a bar-stool to be found and no real purpose for their existence. Jazz is playing softly as background music, and the whole scene is quite idyllic.

The menu is brief and that is all right, but the choice of starters, for no particular reason were not very appealing while the main courses in distinct opposition, were enticing enough to order them all. The predominantly California wine list, it seems, was chosen haphazardly by someone who fancied these unappealing wines for some unknown reason. I have rarely come across any of these selections on other wine lists in this city.

Following is a list of a few of the reasonably priced dishes:

Roasted game hen 320
Tenderloin on truffle risotto and black trumpet sauce 470
Tongue and cheek – ox tongue and veal cheek, sauce bordelaise 350
Braised lamb shank with parsnip puree 360
Monkfish saffron sauce 420
Linguini Crab tossed with tomatoes and salsa verde 490
Scallops with celeriac and Kielbasa 670

Waffle and berries pudding 180

Beccofino Gala Christmas & New Year’s Dinners – Bangkok

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Fancy Food Show, Jan 15-17, 2012, Moscone Center – San Francisco

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Kim Jong-il, An Infamous Gourmand

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

The late, Kim Jong-il,  was a famous gourmand who fancied a wide variety of delicacies, purchased by his personal chef  from all over the world, and flown back to be consumed at lavish banquets for his friends and generals.  It was estimated that he had a cellar of over 10,000 bottles including wine and his favorite cognac and scotch Hennessy XO and Johnny Walker Swing. He was purported to be the largest single buyer of Hennessy, spending between $650,000 and $720,000 per year on the cognac during the nineties.

Kim Jong-il’s, now-escaped former chef, who managed to make his run while on a buying trip for Sea Urchin (Uni) to Japan. He went into hiding and wrote a book under the pseudonym Kenji Fujimoto, throughout the pages he emphasized that the Dear Leader refused to eat anything but the very best.

Bûche De Noël, Pâtisserie Sadaharu Aoki – Paris

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Japanese pastry chef  Sadaharu Aoki creates a whimsical Bûche De Noël. 56 boulevard de Port Royal 75005, sadaharuaoki.com, 01.45.35.36.80; 40€


Related link: Hidemi Sugino Pâtissier Tokyo

Paris Bangkok French Restaurant, Christmas & New Year’s Menus – Bangkok

Monday, December 19th, 2011