Kaohsiung: Food, Karaoke & Wine
December 20, 2008
By: thenhbushman
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Category: family, Food, leisure, Lifestyle, local cuisine, Taiwan
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Photos, including FOOD PHOTOS, by MJ Klein & Hui-chen
A few weeks ago we went to visit the family down in Kaohsiung. Of course we had a great time because we love Kaohsiung and our family knows how to enjoy themselves.
We went to this cool restaurant and covered the table with food, basically.
I didn’t white-balance the camera, so you’re going to have to deal with a slightly yellow tinge to the shots taken in the restaurant:
Man, this dish was great. I just love duck meat.
Crispy pork. Unbelievable.
I told you we covered the table with dishes! This is just the beginning.
Taiwan is known for fantastic greens and this is just one example. I could live on this alone, I think.
This is the end of the meal. Notice the big bowl of custard that I have in front of me. Taiwanese call this “pudding” and it’s virtually the only flavor available – caramelized sugar flavor.
Hui-chen (left) and Hui-ling sure are happy after that “greeze-back” session we just had!
Hui-chen’s parents had this old DVD player. It wouldn’t play some discs and it was acting up really badly when I wanted to play some stuff for them. So, we went out and bought them a new DVD player, a Tobishi brand. It was just about the cheapest model on the store floor, and featured 2 microphone inputs. What the heck? We bought 2 mics too and brought everything back home and hooked it up.
Right away, Hui-chen’s parents popped in a karaoke VCD and they were off!
Can’t beat how the Tobishi plays back discs. They look and sound great.
Hui-chen belted out a few, too.
Recently we had been to Thailand, where I found a rare alcoholic beverage that I had enjoyed once before, several years ago. Mind you, we have the colors jacked up on our camera and my skin tone really doesn’t look like this….
This is village style Thai hootch. A traditional style vessel, packaged up as you see.
First order of business is to break the plaster seal….
Upon opening the seal and the inner bag, the fragrance was familair. Then Hui-ling said “sheao mi jeow” and I remembered that yes, it did smell like millet wine.
One simply adds whatever mixer one would like to have with the wine. The jar is basically dry inside and we had no problems taking it back with us into Taiwan, in our carry-on luggage.
There was a pinkish white paste on the top, and I have no idea what that was. You can see the millet husks in this shot.
Once filled with whatever you want (soda, sprite, or our choice: coconut juice), one thrusts the bamboo straws into the millet husks and waits for the alcohol to come out of the husks and precipitate into the solution.
I had 6 straws but I only put in 3. In the village, many people drink together out of one jar.
Hui-chen’s dad takes a swig to start off.
“Not bad!” he exclaims.
Next, it’s my turn. I found it a little too sour, and someone suggested that we use Sprite instead of the coconut juice. Adding Sprite did help a little but, but it was still a lot more sour than I remember. Perhaps that is just the way this brew is because I bought this jar in a different place than where I got the original jar, back in 2005. Each village has it’s own recipie of course. Hui-chen’s dad has refilled it several times, as it’s good for several infusions of mixer. The Thais tell me it will last for a long time. I’ll let you know what I find out.
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December 20th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
wow man, that’s one cool drink. i’d love to try that someday.
andress last blog post..frank’s texas bbq
thenhbushman
reply on December 20th, 2008 11:36 pm:
andres » i think you should try it. and i think you should try it with me, in Thailand!
December 21st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Wow… If the bootleggers only knew.
thenhbushman
reply on December 22nd, 2008 3:39 am:
Colby » other countries aren’t as idiotic about alcohol…. it’s not that big of a deal here. you can buy whiskey in the 7-11 24 hours every day.
December 21st, 2008 at 6:20 pm
[...] bookmarks tagged wine TheNHBushman.com | Kaohsiung: Food, Karaoke & … saved by 5 others subscribingprince bookmarked on 12/21/08 | [...]
December 21st, 2008 at 10:18 pm
I’ve drunk that wine before in Thailand. It is quite nice. I have also had a similar brew in Sikkim (India).
David on Formosas last blog post..Links 15 December 2008
thenhbushman
reply on December 22nd, 2008 3:37 am:
David on Formosa » i found it one time, years ago, when traveling in Thailand by car. apparently each village makes their own version of it. i had been unable to find it again until very recently.
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 am
MJ they are very popular especially when you go up to Mukdahan and also the Chong Mek border to Loas. I always added something sweet to the husks, It has a good kick to the stuff. Can make you really happy
Bruntys last blog post..Nong Bua Temple, Isaan Thailand.
thenhbushman
reply on December 22nd, 2008 3:38 am:
Brunty » what did you use for the mixer? when i took one back to Taiwan in 2005, we used coconut juice and that was what we tried on the recent one too. i’d like to know what you drank it with. thanks.
Brunty
reply on December 24th, 2008 12:08 am:
MJ. I have added Sprite and Lemonade, I also tried soda with lime. I like sweet. I remember our Thai friend pouring beer Leo in one. If you bring them back from the border the villagers love you
Bruntys last blog post..Free concert under the stars, Thailand.
thenhbushman
reply on December 24th, 2008 10:01 am:
Brunty » sounds like fun to me!
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:29 am
Good thing I followed the link from the Flickr page to read this… seen the pics and I had NO idea what you were drinking.
Speaking of karaoke… there is now a karakoe store located where Paul’s TV shop use to be. No… I haven’t been in there to see what they have (never done karaoke in my life). However… from looking at some of the pics/signs in the store window… I think they may be Thai owners. Well try to get some daytime pics of the store front to send to you.
thenhbushman
reply on December 23rd, 2008 11:51 am:
mike01905 » you should ask them if they have Peacemaker and Stamp songs. if they know what you’re talking about, they’re Thai. i would like to see shots of the store. is the Korean hairdresser still there? thanks Mike.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:23 am
Great post! Your posts always make me hungry.
Sandys last blog post..Taiwan: Food, Glorious Food
thenhbushman
reply on December 23rd, 2008 11:50 am:
Sandy » thanks! we hope to continue the tradition!
December 24th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Damn, that village style Thai hootch looks good. :O
Life always looks good on this blog.
(One thing about the ratings thing, many, like myself, only read through RSS and come visit when we want to comment. If the rating could somehow be added to the RSS, that would be great!)
Filis last blog post..Tasting Korean Food : Making Kim-Chi
thenhbushman
reply on December 24th, 2008 6:07 pm:
the ratings have to load from outbrain.com and i’m not sure how to make that happen in the RSS feeds, but thanks for the information, Fili. i’ll see what they can do about it.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Well… there is still a hair dresser there… don’t know if its the same Korean woman as before.
The Asian Food Store is still there as well.
thenhbushman
reply on December 27th, 2008 12:14 am:
chances are, it’s the same woman as before. when will you get shots of that area? thanks Mike.