Shanghai - dumplings for breakfast

Shanghai, after arriving here on Tuesday late afternoon and the worst cab ride in the world, today is the first real chance we are able to look at what this city has to offer in the way of food. We are up early after shaking off the jet lag and ready for breakfast, we are met by our tour guide and translator Min Min.

We head off downtown looking for the famous Jia Jia Tang Bao to try their xiaolongbao [ soup dumplings]. The store opens at 6am ready for the morning rush for this traditional Shanghai speciality. Most would argue that these are the best soup dumplings that you can get, so we decide to try the menu, but not before Chung Yin joins the kitchen to make our dumplings, which seems to go down well, although I'm not sure if he would get the job.

The speed in which they turn out these small parcels is incredible, the dough is made just from flour and water the days batch is made at 5am every day, which i am told they will have sold out by mid afternoon.

After 5 minutes we are ushered to sit at one of the tables where are order is being laid out, we have a total of 5 types of dumpling which include pork, pork and salty duck egg and pork with river crab.
So time to tuck in, we start with the pork dumpling that is dipped into a light vinegar, as you bite into the dumpling you have to be careful not to get covered in hot soup, the flavour is good. It is when you try the pork and crab that you really know what these little parcels are all about. this is all washed down with a soup of chicken and ducks blood.

After our fill of these wonderful dumplings we decide to cross the road to try Yangs fried dumpling shop, another speciality within Shanghai, we take a few photos and purchase some of these larger style dumpling for our journey across town to Tesco, my first store visit in Asia.

We arrive at the Changning store one of the medium size operations within the city, as you enter it is much like any other in the empire, but on closer inspection it is a totally different. Catering very much to the Asian market, from wide selection of tofu fresh and ambient, Asian pickles, ducks tongue, & chicken feet to name a few, walking along the fresh counters you will find steamed dumplings, noodle/ salad bar & a fish counter that includes live fish, eels and Frogs.

As we progress around the grocery Asles we manage to find some good examples of noodle ready meals, sauces and marinades, stir fry additions, cake and desserts.

Only one problem with shopping here the trolley is to small, most Shanghainese shop daily so the trolley has been down sized.

Next up will be lunch at Baulou in the french concession Quarter

On the menu

Braised shredded eel

stir fry shrimp and ginger

Crab with tofu Noodles

Salted chicken

Hot and sour soup

We finish off our day with Dinner joined By April and Dan at another french concession restaurant the Victorian Home ,a traditional Shanghai Restaurant

Next up on schedule is Hangzhou and West Lake.

Shopping in Milan

No not what your thinking, Gucci, Prada or Armani

My kind of shopping was going to be Coop Italia, Carrefour, Auchan, designer McDonald's and Peck all finished off with a pistachio, rum and raisin Gillato.

Each store was a totally different shopping experience and a foodie lovers heaven, from an Eco friendly store 2 floors below ground that include a play area & park on top, to Peck which makes Harrods and Selfridges foodhalls look like any general food store

When i set out a few days ago i started thinking about what i may find different on each trip. You expect to find the layout of store pretty much the same as the previous country especially in Europe, the type of groceries you would not think vary that much, and eating habits would be the almost the same,
Well at this stage of my travels and the further into Europe i go it becomes apparent that it really is only us Brits & the Americans that are into convenience foods / ready meals as we know them. Here in Italy as previously mentioned these do not exist,

The risotto here is King, if you want a quick meal, and rightly so as this needs some degree of skill & time to produce consistently, and the risottos that i have found here in Milan in pouch format are as good as any chef could make.

Still with risotto in mind, if you do want to make yourself, they now provide par cooked Arborio rice and jars of vegetable ingredients that are simply stirred into the risotto whilst preparing, which could be used for many different cuisine applications .

Moving slightly away from risotto but a dish with the same skill level required is Polenta, This is now also making an appearance on the shelves both at the trade shows & stores, Again these come with all the seasonings blended and the consumer just adds water, and in 12 minutes you have a gourmet Polenta for supper.

Also being promoted is a white Polenta that is from the Venice Region,

In the cooking sauces arena ragu and Passata are the two key sauces predominately being used as a base, sauces for one are starting to be featured within this category

Another area that seems to be taking off here is the kit.

Like the UK so far there has only been the El Paso products on sale, but slowly others are beginning to creep in, for example Barilla have launched a pizza kit, along with Carrefour own label and Star. Chinese cuisine here is a very small market but Suzi wan kits are being promoted with own label having a presence. Japanese is the more popular cuisine with sushi kits featuring. Italy is also into cake and desserts in a fairly big way, with Kinder being the biggest player in all stores, Balconi i only found in one store and fairly low key within the fixture. Cake slices and bars seem to be the best sellers followed by whole cake and tortes with fresh patisserie tarts from the in store bakeries. Finally with a fresh batch of products in hand it was now time to check out Milan's finest grocery store Peck.

This well healed store has been serving Milan's elite since 1883 and is something that every foodie should put on their travel map, [unfortunately no pictures allowed]. It has the most impressive array of hams, cheeses, vintage balsamic, pressed oils [which included a fig olive oil] and gourmet ready meals of a quality that you would find in some of the best restaurants around the world.

http://www.peck.it/lingua-EN/sid-1264995080/

And to top it all just around the corner at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele where you will find the major fashion houses and not to be outdone, Designer McDonald's, only in Milan could this happen.

Next stop, China- beginning 24Th June

From Truflles To Parma Ham

From Truffles to Parma ham and Pasta to Parmesan, this food show has it all, and what better place to showcase food than in one of Europe's most fashionable cities, Milan. On arriving early at the show i am immediately impressed with the amount of exhibitors on display, after recently visiting similar show in London it is hard to believe that we are in a recession, as this is a food show at its best.

It is just after 10am and the show is all ready busy, i cant help but trip over the wild mushrooms, truffles and olive oil, but that is not all this show has to offer.

The tastings have begun, bruschetta and crostinis, risotto's in various formats and flavours, vintage balsamic . Each hall has its own speciality, meals and ingredients, dairy, patisserie, cured meats and finally pasta in every shape size and colour.

A show of this size takes a while to cover and an amount of back tracking and zig zaggiing the aisles is required to cover each and every stand.

No money seems to have been spared with each stand trying to out do the next, some even with restaurants above with teams of chefs demonstrating and displaying the vast array of products. After some considerable time, a few miles covered with some interesting products found it is time to visit the town of Rho, just a short distance from the convention centre to trawl the first two on my list of Italian retailers.

Esselunga and Fin Iper.

Esselunga, on entering the store you are met with well spaced aisles,large produce department and coffee shop, on closer inspection the store is similar to others previously visited in Europe, grocery and produce only taking up half the store with the fixture merchandising in no particular order. I decide to head back towards Milan to visit Fin Iper. The store is in a suburb called Portello, and is situated in a new shopping mall.

Immediately you enter the store it has that American Wholefoods/Central market feel, all the produce is well merchandised [ more wild mushrooms] with market stall blackboards for pricing, Grocery aisles are well stocked but cover a relatively small area due to the style of store

As it is early evening the hot deli is doing a roaring trade with Fresh Paella, seafood spaghetti and rotisserie chickens. It also boasts an amazing cold deli, fish counter, bakery and even wine bar in the beers wines and spirits aisle to try before you buy,

So far ready meals are non existent, the only convenience food i can find is Risotto, every shopper here is buying fresh items for the scratch cook. With products purchased and aisles photographed i head outside for one more shot of the store, before heading back to the hotel.

Central market

Central market and market street are the last of the stores on my list, i was expecting them to

be similar to wholefoods and that i would be disappointed with what i would find. On entering the

store their was another fantastic produce department, but the attention to detail with product layout put wholefoods to shame, there is every kind of fruit and vegetable that a foodie could wish for, the array of herbs that are on offer would grace the best professional kitchens of Europe.

As i continue around the the department i come across the " Kit Kitchen ", this is ready meal USA style, a vast selection of pre - packed ingredients that include portions of salmon with sliced lemon wedges and marinade, a selection of sauces that will compliment various recipes, portioned protein items again packed with various garnishes, as i move further along the counter i come across chopped garlic, finely chopped onion and shallots, grilled and roasted peppers, all the ingredients you would ever need for cooking Thai, Chinese, Indian, gastro etc, this is the ultimate lazy way of scratch cooking but it beats all the convenience junk food that i have seen. These items are all accompanied by recipe cards that match the ingredients below.

The bakery is just as impressive with a good range of artisan breads every shape and size and all have tasting buckets with good size chunks to chew on as i move into the grocery aisle and where i am met with hundreds of tubes, dispensing coffee beans from around the globe to my left, and to my right, confectionery, peanut butter, flour, flavoured sugars the list of products is endless.

As i reach the other end of the store we have the opposite of the scratch cooking, counters full of cooked individual protein items, vegetables, cous cous, rice , along with the sauces to compliment, "pick n mix" ready meals which are packed for you just to be reheated at home, the fixture is constantly busy.

As logistics in the US prevent ready meals as we know them, maybe Central Market has hit on the next best thing, as i said at the start of my Trek, it is a country of two extremes "ultimate convenience" fast / junk food or scratch/ semi scratch cook.

When i visit market street a few hours later the story is very much the same, great produce, good quality grocery and the store layout being very similar.

Next stop Dallas - London for IFE

streetfood dallas

Sreetfood Dallas ! before i came out to the city of Dallas i had read an article on the Internet fromD magazine titled a " foodies guide to streetfood" by Rawlins Gilliland, i decided to contact Rawlins before i left the uk and see if he could point me in the right direction. He not only did that but decided to take me to some of the places that featured in the article.

we agreed to meet on Sunday morning and try some of the foods that he had experienced. He arrived at my hotel around 10.45 with two hounds in tow.



From speaking to Rawlins the original article came about by wanting to find real streetfood made to order by a real person offered from a window kiosk or cart and to show the food culture still exists in parts of Dallas. This was going to be good.




We head off to north west Dallas to a mainly Hispanic area and after about 20 Min's from the downtown area we arrive at Tacos to go . A small taqeueria that with a blink of an eye you would miss and not even know it existed. It has a few permanent stalls which are placed around this stainless steel counter with a window on either side of the building and all very clean. What could i expect of the food from here? I was about to find out.




As we arrive at the window we are greeted my Mauro who instantly recognises Rawlins. We explain that i have come over from the UK to look at food in the US and today and i am particularly in the streetfood featured in the Magazine.





After Rawlins explains the menu to me Mauro brings out the first tacos, comprising of the Mileneza and the chorizo, I first take a bite of the Mileneza, the flavours are immense, the lightly breaded beef strips that have been pan fried and seasoned to perfection, the ripe avocado slices are topped with sliced fried onions and coriander wrapped in a soft tortilla, i decided to add a little more punch by adding fresh green chili sauce and and the juice of a lime.After trying the barbacoa and the fajita we move onto the pork burrito with pork and beans, a meal in itself for a giant let alone two people who have just polished of the tacos.

The visit would not be complete without trying the Sopes de pastor [ pork] a thick corn cake fried and slathered with refried beans shredded pork, Mexican cheese, ripe avocado and again topped with fried onions and coriander, How i am supposed to eat as it is open and stacked, well the only way is dive in and get messy, and boy was it messy but good


All this was washed down with a Big Red and a Jarritos [ tamarind soda]







We then move onto another highlight of Rawlins tour, downtown to Shed 1 at the Dallas farmers where we find Paul's corn stand, on arrival Paul is not around so Rawlins heads off to find him, but not before ordering me a ear of corn, The corn is place into a rotating oven where it is roasted with the leaves on, after a couple of minutes it is ready. It is then covered in butter,mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese, i am then offered a range of other toppings to complement the all ready smothered corn. I go for the lemon pepper.





Biting into the corn i am instantly hit by all the flavours, it is perfectly roasted and the Parmesan is a great addition complimented by the zing of the lemon pepper. As i proceed my way down the cob, Rawlins appears with Paul the owner who is amazed that i had seen the article in the UK and was now stood at his stall trying his corn. He then proceeds to get the article which has been framed and we pose for some photographs, he then insists i try one of the sausages that he also sells, which is served on a stick, i top this with mustard, and give it a go, this again is very good with a nice level of spice.

Since Paul's stand featured in D magazine business has been very good and i can see why, there is a steady stream of customers and at one point 20 or so people gathered around all eating corn and sausages.

What a great way to spend Sunday morning.


We then proceed to head off around the market, each stall has the most fantastic array of fresh produce, it is hard to understand that in this country of fast and junk food why more people do not make use of all these wonderful ingredients. As we pass each stall we are offered tasters of watermelon, Mango's, and the best grapefruit i have ever tasted the Texan red..

After Rawlins makes a few purchases it is time for us to conclude, i can honestly say that i have seen a side of Dallas that as a tourist you would not even know existed, and having done so tasted some of the best food since arriving in the city.


Whilst i had tasted some of the cities leading chefs dishes the previous night along with a lot of foodies of the Dallas area, these two streetfood vendors are the soul of the Dallas food scene, to which i have been fortunate enough to see.



"What a breakfast"



I now head over to Renee and Doug Toon the courier agents to have[ yes you guessed it] some more great food and Texan hospitality, Doug has prepared ribs which have been smoked and cooked in the back yard, these are served with grilled asparagus tips and beans, all accompanied by some spicy cornbread which i wash down with iced tea.



I certainly will not be requiring another meal today, i head back to my hotel to prepare for my last days trawl to Central Market & Market street, two supermarkets that are supposed to be comparable to wholefoods.

Culinology?

what is culinolgy? over the next few days i intended to find out. Having joined the RCA [ research chefs association] a couple of months ago i am in Dallas for their annual conference. Looking at the programme it was going to be a busy few days with a number of professional development seminars and breakout sessions scheduled. The first day starts early with registration and continental breakfast whilst attendees arrive. i am immediately greeted by a number of other delegates who are instantly interested that i have travelled from the UK to understand their organisation. Over the next three days i have booked myself onto 10 sessions which include culinary communication :" bridging the flavour gap". Make room for the millenials:" product development geared to Generation Y. Trend profiling : " resetting the stage for trend forecasting, and also Student - professional speed networking . Each session has food industry professionals presenting and covering all aspects of product development, insights and trend analysis. I also attend the annual business briefing which i am hoping will explain the question posed, what is culinology?.

We are greeted by the RCA president and board members who provide the organisations activity reports and updates. A number of speakers discuss membership, scholarship programmes, and list of future activities. It becomes apparent that the RCA is a lot more than just a group of chefs, technologists, food scientists meeting up for a general discussion, it is a network of industry professionals that offer culinary and technical support, insight into the world of the consumers, issues affecting the industry from government legislation, culinology degree programmes, professional certification and workshops for chefs and techs.

As the first day of the conference comes to a close we attend the new members and student reception. This is where i get to meet some of the board members where i finally get the chance to really understand that culinology is the blending of culinary arts and food science, its about education and giving the chefs and food scientists the support they need to become professionals in their field of expertise.

we round the day off with a visit to the Nasher sculpture centre to attend the kick- off reception where some of the leading chefs of the Dallas food scene serve us tasters of some of their signature dishes such as Kobe beef meatloaf, smoked oyster veloute and Texas peach barbecued pork tenderloin with bourbon creamed corn.

After attending further sessions on Friday and a sous vide and molecular Gastronomy demonstration by Richard Blais, the culinology expo opens with over 200 trade booths with many of the suppliers who shape the industry. As the conference comes to a close on Saturday i attend the annual luncheon in which we we are served with a menu Dean Fearing, a four coarse affair including cowboy shrimp on white corn grits which was simply outstanding, this is followed by Dr pepper braised short ribs, caso fresco corn whipped potatoes and tobacco onions, the beef being succulent and tender, potatoes a perfect puree complimented by the corn and a nice smokey back note from the onions, but in true American style far to much food. The afternoon sessions are going to be hard going after such a lunch, i am beginning to get to reach the fill factor.

5pm time to attend the closing reception where ,yes you guessed it more food is served, who could possibly want more food? i ask myself especially as we have the Savor Dallas event to attend in two hours.

I arrive at the the Westin city centre plaza for the international grand tasting for an evening of food and wine from the best restaurants and chefs in town. On entering the plaza i am met with three levels of some of the best food and wine the city has to offer.

Every station that i arrive at i am met with sample tasters from each restaurant menu, i first taste a smoked salmon and pineapple soup, an interesting combination, this is quickly followed by crab, lime and mayonnaise tortilla which is a pure flavour explosion, as i move onto each tasting table the cuisine is of the highest standard that would certainly compete with some of Europe's top chefs. This is an event that you can only cope with for a couple of hours considering the amount of food i have sampled over the last few days And bearing in mind the next day brings on more delicacies of Texas.

tomorow,

Streetfood Dallas.

Note : found two familar faces in Tom Thumb Supermarket in West Dallas.

supermarket sweep

in this country of "small portions" i decide to start the day with the all American skillet, 2 sunny side eggs, toast and a combination of fried potatoes, peppers, onions bacon and rice, not the healthiest breakfast but America does not do healthy. Today i have set myself a target of a trawl of five of the major supermarkets in the area armed with the innovation shopping list. First stop Super target in Northeast Dallas, on arriving i am met with the usual American layout with a large produce department to the left that starts you on your journey around the store, each chain has almost the same format, look and feel only the name changes. I am immediately impressed at the quality and quantity and variety of the fresh produce, from raspberries, asparagus to fresh cactus[ well i am in Texas]. the grocery aisle is next on the agenda, these are well stocked and merchandised, with every imaginable convenience product that i can think of, in all shapes, sizes and formats that i could possibly want and being well utilised by the consumers in front of me, it soon becomes apparent that some of the areas that i need to cover during this trek will be easier to find than others. In the couple of hours it takes too complete the store i realise that the all to familiar chilled convenience aisle was virtually non existent. I then move onto Albertsons and Walmart stopping on the way at the Twisted root burger company to check out there highly recommended home made burgers, root chips and their homemade sauces and relishes. Feeling a little peckish as i only had the light American breakfast mentioned earlier, i decide to go for the jalapeno and blue blue cheese burger with the handcut sweet potato chips, topped with ancho chili ketchup and horseradish mustard just to add a little more kick than it all ready has. I wash this all down with their own recipe root beer [ TCP] to some people.

But know time to waste Wholefoods is next on my list. This is a totally different experience to the one in London, which in my opinion has never really matched the concept here in the states. I decide to visit one on Preston road in a very nice suburb northwest of Dallas. I am hoping to find some things a little out of the ordinary that the major supermarkets wont stock

This is another level again, on entering the store you are met by the concierge[ yes i am in a supermarket] who asks if you would like a tour of the store or help with your shopping experience. Every aisle and area of the store is carefully thought out and being constantly stocked with fresh meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables.

Being late afternoon the store is busy with commuters and families stopping by to grab the evening meal and groceries, this is very much a store that is shopped on a daily basis with the hot a cold entree selection that is on offer.

I decide it is time to head off to the courier agent [Renee] to store the grocery haul that has been collected through out the day, Four out of the five stores complete.

next stop Culinology!