Above/featured: Christmas market at Berlin’s memorial church – 6 Dec 2012 (450D).
It’s easy to underestimate how much “punch” is delivered in a single GlĂĽhwein drink at a Christmas market. If I’m not careful and drink GlĂĽhwein too quickly and without food to soften the blow, I’ll encounter the very repeatable experience of “mind-body separation”.
What is this magically mysterious Christmas concoction called “GlĂĽhwein”?
I’m with my friend, Belinda, on Little Bourke Street in the Chinatown area in Melbourne, Australia.
We make a turn off the street, and as I’m being led down a poorly-lit grungy alley with the sight of waste containers to the side, pools of stagnant water on the pavement, and the faint yet distinct smells of rotting food, I can’t help but wonder into what I’ve got myself now.
“Don’t worry,” she said.
“Famous last words,” I groused, only half-kidding.
At the end is a sign, indicating that there’s something here: a place to have a drink, or to come face-to-face with an ugly demise.
There are flasks, beakers, and tubing; old chemistry lab benches like high-school of old. And that’s where we’re going to prop ourselves after we fetch our drinks!
While the Croft Institute might appear like a Dr. Evil science-lab gone mad, in truth the only dangerous thing here are the beautifully delicious drinks.
Located at the end of Croft Alley just off Little Bourke Street in Melbourne’s Chinatown, The Croft Institute closed for good during the 2020-2022 Covid19 pandemic.
Disclosure: No Connection, Unpaid, My Own Opinions. I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to The Croft Institute. Thanks to BR who kindly led me to some of her favourite bars in Melbourne’s CBD. I made the photos on 27 August 2012. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-2Vf.
Above: Chicken, mushrooms, and snow peas in black-bean garlic sauce – 26 January 2013.
I’ve had versions of this dish before, hundreds of times, either at home or at a restaurant. When I decided to make this dish, I didn’t start with any recipe: it was all about ingredients, memory, and experience.
When I posted a picture of the final product (which was delicious), I was urged to describe my makeshift recipe. The most common question (re. demand) was: “how’d you make that?”
I describe here what I’ll make from scratch …
1 Sep 2022: Tung Po forced to close after 30 years in business: Tatler Asia.
If you’re in Hong Kong, one thing you should do is make reservations at Tung Po in North Point (北角) for a truly local dining experience. Reservations are especially recommended as the place is packed solid by 7pm.
Why should you care?
As a “dai pai dong” which has moved indoors into the Java Road Cooked Food Centre, Tung Po Kitchen has excellent fresh seafood, is recommended by many, and frequented by locals. The place opens for dinner between 530 and 545pm, and within an hour to two, the floor is full of people, the noise levels are so high it’s hard to hear the person in front of you, and the food keeps coming and coming and coming …
You should care, because this is a place where locals come to eat.
I care, because my sister had been to Tung Po before, and she satisfied my request to dine at this well-reviewed joint.
We decided to keep things “light” by ordering only the following four items:
Recently, I’ve been craving tacos.
Between June and September (2012), I’ve traveled through Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. I’ve had the great privilege of eating inexpensive and out-of-this-world Asian food including Chinese (Cantonese), Himalayan, Indian, Nepalese, Thai, and Vietnamese. I continue to eat, and I still want more.
But occasionally, the memory of visiting friends in Ciudad de MĂ©xico (MĂ©xico City) surfaces, and I think of tacos.
I needs the tacos.
On my final night in the city, Eva and I are out at a concert, but we leave before the end of the gig for the promise of late-night tacos. We’re going to a taco-place she frequented in her youth as an out-late after-party place for food in the early-morning hours.
Just before 4am, we arrive at TaquerĂa Brasil Copacabana in Delegación (the borough of) Coyoacán.
There are some ten or so tables around, but there are only a couple of people eating when we enter.
Bright fluorescent lights illuminate the cafeteria-like restaurant with a familiar cold glare. Decades’ old tables and chairs are scattered throughout the place, sitting on tired scratchy linoleum floors. There are more staff than customers; a couple of staff with hairnets are lingering about in quiet but animated conversation.
It’s absolutely perfect: it’s exactly the kind of place I had hoped to visit, and one I know only the locals would go for their taco fix.
As Eva describes the “hole-in-the-wall”:
… The name “TaquerĂas Brasil Copacabana” comes from the original location in Villa Coapa (in the Federal District or state of Mexico City). The place used to be a double cinema called “Brasil” and “Copacabana”. The cinemas closed down, and a bunch of small taco stands (carts) began popping up in the evenings. Over time, the taco stands became popular. Eventually, someone bought the entire place, cleverly converted it all into a single taco eatery, and decided to keep the name.
Tacos al pastor has been described as the Mexican version of döner kebab, but with porky goodness. Tender seasoned melt-in-your-mouth pork is fried on a metal grill right in front of you, and the pork is served hot, enveloped lovingly within heated soft taco wraps. Bottles containing sauces of varying evil and spice await your taco devouring needs. Alternatively, I ask for “alambre de pastor” complete with grilled onions and peppers and a layer of melted cheese for that stick-in-your-stomach soak-up-the-beer goodness.
But I’m also here for tacos de lengua, or tacos with beef tongue. It’s not something many would entertain, but I know it’s commonly served here, and I’ve had beef tongue before. While tonight’s tacos de lengua is downright delicious, my preference of the three choices tonight would be the “simpler” tacos al pastor.
When everyone in the room nods at my eating pleasure, I know I’ve done exactly the right thing. And I know I’ve done right by them, too. It’s a perfect way to end a fantastic week in México City with Eva and her family.
I made the photos above with a 4th-generation iPod Touch on 10 March 2012. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com as http://wp.me/p1BIdT-2mW.
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