At long last, the Top 8 meals of the trip!

I figure I've had near 350 meals over the course of this trip. Many got highlighted on the blog. A full 28 got special recognition as memorable. But we have to get even more specific than that. We have to get down to a smaller list, and they will be ranked!

Last to make the list but not least in terms of yumminess, #8 is the fabulous meatballs on a hill in Turkey. Kofte at Yucetepe, a small cafeteria on the top of Buyukada, was spectacularly simple and delicious. The meatballs sang with the combination of freshly ground meat and a small number of spices. They were grilled to perfection, with char marks and a crisp exterior yielding to luscious medium rare meat inside. Superbly fresh veggies on the side, a hit-the-spot pilsner to wash it down, and a view of all of Istanbul's glory made the meal one of complete happiness. Full post here.

Lucky #7 is the brunch at Gugelhof. Were I ever to live in Berlin, I don't know how I'd let a month pass without making it here for brunch at least once. The flammenkuchen showed off the locally harvested chanterelles. The egg dish was simple done beautiful and perfectly. And the choucroute plate, oh choucroute plate, was bite after bite of delicious. The element that took this to the upper echelon, however, was the blood sausage. It was like cake, it was like sausage, it was like a pack of delicious spices. It was all of these things and more, combined to balance on the palate like an egg on a knife's blade. Full post here.

Just out of the top five but still on the list at #6 is the transcendent dumplings at the sidewalk stand in Ha'erbin. Max and I had variably luck, to be sure, but this meal made all missteps worth it. Perfectly cooked dumplings. The exterior, a rice-flavored pasta that had been hand-stretched and cooked until it was tender and chewy, but not sticky. The interior, a mix of pork and herbs that created a juicy flavor explosion with each bite. And the dumpling sauce, simple yet high-quality vinegar and chillies to bring the most out of each of the 16 perfect little pillows. Full post here.

Coming in at #5, the various Turkish breakfasts in Istanbul but, especially, the delightful treat at Kale. My first taste of simit, a sesame bagel stretched to the limit and toasted until crisp. My first plate of marinated olives that were so packed with flavor they didn't need stuffing. My first (and simplest) shepherd salad, with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and Turkish peppers mere hours from being picked. And the bal kaymak, well, about the bal kaymak I can only say that this clotted cream and honey spectacular may have taken some time off of my life but it was well, well worth it. Full post here.

Next up, at #4, the very unknown and very delicious tasting menu at Chaya Mario in Hiroshima. Presented by an ambiance that felt like a homey inn on the side of a travelers' road, I immediately warmed to the place and the two friends running the establishment. Their tasting menu, of which I only have the untranslated Japanese kanji, presented surprise after surprise with a handful of standouts. The first dish, a rectangle of tofu topped with salmon roe, redefined what tofu could be. A clam soup, thick with the grain of a barley, redefined hearty in the Japanese style. Importantly, early on, this meal blazed the trail of a true "What's That?" experience that would be an enduring source of exploration in the months to come. Full post here.

With the bronze medal, at #3, is fresh fish. But not just any fresh fish. The best fresh fish I've ever had. And I only had to wait three hours in the rain in Tokyo to have it, not a bad deal. Piece after piece of amazing nigiri sushi flowed our way. The uni was melting like butter from the sea, an extravagant bite. The spanish mackerel packed a wasabi punch that amplified the fish's own flavors. And the kawahagi, a slice of fish with a piece of its own liver on top, was the chef's recommendation and a truly unique mouthful. I was raving throughout and raving afterwards, and now I still don't know when I'll be able to have nigiri sushi again without comparing it to this fantastic set. Full post here.

Oh-so-close, our runner-up, at #2, the seafood feast at Long Beach Restaurant in Singapore. I knew I would love the pepper crab. And I did, oh I did. Savoring every bite, licking the black pepper flakes encrusted on the crab's shell, it was superb. But then! Out of nowhere! Golden river phoenix fish! Steamed a la Penang! Wow, this fish created new possibilities for what steamed fish could be. It was cooked so that a simple poke with a pair of chopsticks would reveal a luscious bite of fish. The fish itself, sans sauce, was full of great meaty flavor. But the sauce took it to the beyond and back. Tomatoes and scallions to bring flavor and depth and some chillies to add the needed kick. Long Beach is known as the splurge place in Singapore and I can definitely see why. Full post here.

And...

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...is...

...the amazing trio of Sichuan dishes I had over three weeks in China. The Sichuan hot pot, half and half yet full of flavor. When the big bold chillies overwhelmed, a brief retreat to the soothing broth would ready me for more. Sliced meats, great veggies, more pig brain, and Kung Fu noodles, definitely a full-on feast. The Sichuan dry pot, a mix and match of pick your own ingredients. The cow stomach, a new favorite for me in China, blended well with mushrooms, bamboo, and others. But, really, they were just a side note to the resplendent Sichuan peppercorn. This little feisty guy doesn't bring the heat, he just makes your mouth numb in an amazing, novel, and let-me-have-it-again way. And, at the top of the list of Sichuan meals, the near religious experience I had eating the slices of beef poached in chili oil. Sure, there were other things on my table, like lettuce and peanut sauce and some Chuan noodles, but the poached beef was king. Each bite transported me to a land I had not seen before, a land full of spice and heat. Each bite also confirmed that my chopsticks would head right back for the fiery broth just as soon as my corporeal body would allow. I walked home delirious from that night, that meal. These won't be the last great Sichuan meals I have. Full post here.

Penultimate food post: Memorable meals from the trip

122 days, 17 weeks, 4 months, a third of a year. Any way you slice it, that's a lot of eating. But what really stood out, what were the memorable meals? To answer that question, I'm going to use only my memory, and leave the blog archives for another time. After this chronological review, I'll sift it all down to a Top 8 of the trip. Here are the candidates:

Japan

Sushi near Tsukiji Fish Market: The freshest, fishiest, most flavorful sushi of my life (details)

Tasting menu at Chaya Mario: Unbelievably good tofu and surprise after surprise hidden away in Hiroshima (details)

Iron Chef Matsue nights: Round after round of local seafood and bizarre creations (details)

Indonesia

Roast pig at Babi Guling: Succulent, spicy, and celebratory, as all roast pigs should be (details)

Mangosteens on Gili Meno: The essence of simple, bursting with vibrancy (details)

Singapore

Intricate Chinese tasting menu: Taste after taste of new eats ending with a hands-on demonstration of a sensational omelette (details)

Long Beach seafood extravaganza: Fantastic black pepper crab and a steamed fish that was even better (details)

Ah boiling at a hawker centre institution: Amazing and amazingly unexpected peanut dumplings in broth (details)

China

Hunanese fish head: A very big fish head with very many chopped chillies, soon reduced to bones and nothing more (details)

Ha'erbin streetside dumplings: After many, many plates of dumplings, these reigned supreme (details)

Sichuan, Sichuan, Sichuan: A hotter-then-hot hot pot in Shanghai, a bowl of chili oil for poaching, and a dry pot so spicy it made me numb (details 1, details 2, and details 3)

Sour cuisine of Guizhou: A big bowl of pig stomach and sour seasonings and, as a side, smelly fish grass salad (details)

Turkey

Kofte with a view: Meatballs and uberfresh vegetables on one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara (details)

Feast at Ak Deniz: Where the food started and just kept coming, showcasing Turkish food done right (details)

Turkish breakfasts: From Kale at the beginning to Caffe Privato near the Galata Tower, a range of treats that makes any morning lavish (details 1 and details 2)

Israel

Home-cooked food from Ima: Delightful starter spreads and a tour through the best of Israeli cuisine (details)

Poland

Zapiekanki to celebrate: A pizza baguette after a fantastic set of World Cup semifinals (details)

Germany

Eating without seeing: Going dark at a dunkelrestaurant with ok food but an amazing eating experience (details)

Biergarten all afternoon: The biggest and best pretzels I've ever seen, raw radishes with lots of spice, sausage and whole fish to boot, rounded out by stein after stein of delicious weissbier (details)

Brunch at Gugelhof: Seriously the best blood sausage and seriously surrounded by three exceptional brunch-time dishes (details)

Doner kebab at Hasir: After one bite, I could feel the new addiction forming (details)

Czech Republic

Redemption at Lokal: Czech cuisine saves itself with fresh horseradish, fresh dumplings, and great beer (details)

Denmark

Arty cafe treats: At the Louisiana, easily one of the best museums I've ever been to, the most beautiful food that was fresh and tasty as well (details)

The Netherlands

Late-night Netherlands: Stuff-it-yourself falafel and vlaamse frites with special sauces end any day well (details)

Bai, Singapore: Some thoughts on my time in the Lion City

Country number three flew by. It was wonderful, filled with food and family. The recurring themes...

Multicuturalism in everything, especially food: Singapore's mixing of cultures is nowhere more evident than it its food. The best of Indian, Chinese, and Malay cooking is thrown into the mix. Creativity and experimentation take over, and the result is some amazing and unique dishes. A great approach to cooking and, indeed, to life.

"Help me, I'm melting": Coming from Indonesia, I thought I was prepared for heat in the tropics. Boy, was I wrong. It was so hot, everyday. And, more than that, for this guy raised in Minnesota, it was so humid. I got a masochistic kick out of reading weather.com and learning that, though it was "only" 95 degrees outside, it felt like 110 because of the humidity. I would become a puddle of sweat instantly after any amount of time outdoors. My glasses would fog up and make me temporarily blind. That, and then you go inside, where it is maybe as warm as 65 degrees. The contrast is enough to make an immune system go haywire (and mine did). Definitively not the climate in which I thrive.

The joys of extended time with family: It was the first chance I've had to spend several weeks straight with my sister since, at least, 2004. And it was great! It becomes a different feel when it's not holiday season and the days turn into weeks. Plus, as I knew it would, it was so great to get so much time with my niece. Especially now, when she's up, about, and talking so much. Hopefully she had as much fun hanging out with me as I had with her!

Up next, China!

It's becoming automatic, more fantastic hosts

A quick and full-throated shout-out to my sister, her husband, and my lovely niece. They were exceptional hosts for more than two weeks, and while they were in the middle of moving no less. Absolutely delightful to get to spend time with them and explore Singapore, their new home.

A crab feast for the road

Final meal in Singapore and it has to be chilli crab. I am amazed I've made it this long without the signature dish. We (especially Jenika) hunt down the only open lunchtime highly-rated chilli crab place and head over. It's called No Signboard Seafood and it is in Geylang.

With chilli crab a definite order, we go all in and order a white pepper crab as the second dish.

The chilli crab comes. Holy cow, that's a lot of chilli. This bowl is deep and it is full of sauce, what looks like a gallon full. the whole Sri Lankan crab has been cut into about six pieces. I start with a front claw, and it is scrumptious. It also tries to burn me several times, so I slow down. But I keep eating, and licking, and pulling. Man, this is work! But totally worth it.

As a necessary side, we get an order of white bread. It's amazing stuff. With a crunchy outside and perfectly fluffy interior, these buns are made for soaking up the chilli sauce. They are also about a 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, so we implement a bun cooling scheme. It works and the buns disappear.

Then the white pepper crab comes. It looks totally different, in fact it is hard to tell that there is any sauce on it whatsoever, just so long slices of green onion. But one bite reveals the tremendous amount of pepper lurking in this crab. A great spice, sets the lips tingling. Back and forth from chilli to pepper, just how it is meant to be.

We end with a plate of fresh mango. Perfectly ripe and nicely sliced, this is quite the finishing touch on the meal. A very sweet soup of lychee is a bit over the top, but no bother. I just head back to the mango.

Chilli crab, check. Though a little (tiny, perhaps) bit not as good as Long Beach, it was a great meal. And my eating in Singapore is complete.

Hawker centre #8: Lau Pa Sat (last one!)

The final stop for the hawker centre adventure tour was Lau Pa Sat, just outside of Chinatown. This particular one is a historical relic and may be the oldest remaining hawker centre in Singapore. It is also well known for its satay street off to one side, where charcoal grills cook up meat on a stick.

We grabbed a table and began our meal.

A mix of satays got us going. There was chicken satay, duck satay, mutton satay, mushroom satay, and hot and spicy chicken satay. The results were mixed. The mutton was number one and the mushroom was dead last. A bit disappointing, because how hard can it be to grill meat?

I was also craving a final murtabak, and so we got one with mutton. Or so we thought, it turned out to be chicken and we had to send it back. But neither the chicken nor the mutton murtabak came close to the delicious murtabaks at Zam Zam or, especially (and cryptically), at ION Orchard.

To end the meal on a high note, we went inside and found a lady that had been hand-rolling popiah since the 60s. It was fun to watch her work, and the resulting popiahs were excellent too, warm and flavorful. Jenika and I decided to memorialize the popiah, the hawker centre tour, and my time in Singapore with a photo.

A museum worth its salt

To up my knowledge of Singapore and meet my high-brow culture quotient, Tuesday brought an excursion to the National Museum of Singapore. Great choice - this was one of the neatest museums I've ever seen.

It was redone completely in the last few years and the storytellers have taken over. Upon entering the history portion of the museum, you get an audio guide. Then, you enter through a curtain, and find yourself on a bridge in a circular room surrounded by video screens. On your audio recorder an instrumental song begins to play. This is a day in the life of Singapore.

From there, you progress down a spiral ramp and are presented with a choice: the "events" path or the "personal" path. The events path explains the pivotal events that have defined Singaporean history. The personal path tells the story of the past through the voices of various participants, often ones that are little recognized. I chose personal, and was immediately immersed in the memoirs of some of the earliest chroniclers of Singaporean life under Sir Stamford Raffles. Cool stuff.

The most dramatic section came when the museum discussed the occupation of Singapore from 1942-1945 by the Japanese. The Japanese did not leave a good impression, and the museum communicated this through the stories, the lighting, and the exhibits.

It was such a packed museum that I probably made my way through 15% of it in an hour and half before getting kicked out. Really, it is exceptionally done, highly immersive, and probably great for kids (that are a bit older than Sahana, alas). It did bring some life to a picture posing board out front of the museum.

From there it was a short walk to Clarke Quay and to Brewerkz, a local microbrew that really hit the spot. Jenika and I enjoyed our beers (fruit beer and IPA, respectively) and Sahana enjoyed her coloring. We all relished the fries.

The cutest of cute

I can resist no longer. For two weeks and counting I have been joined on my adventures by the cutest two year-old, my niece Sahana. I recognize my bias but also must exert my uncle prerogatives. Forthwith, a collection of the best shots of this wonderful little girl.

Diving into a bowl of ice cream like it would disappear from the earth. And also celebrating a fantastic Chinese meal from Summer Palace.

Staring at a rava dosa like she is calculating the geometry of stuffing the whole thing in her mouth.

Putting on her best smile with the mascot of Tiger Balm.

Surveying her kingdom from a perch at the playground.

Riding her mamu's shoulders, making friends with an orangutan, and hamming it up for the camera.

Looking excitedly around while cruising the Singapore River.

Patiently riding the bus sitting in her own seat.

Learning the history of Melaka at the old Portuguese fort.

See, she's pretty awesome, right?

Abort mission!

Our Saturday morning plan was simple. We would head to Joo Chiat and do a DIY walking and eating tour of the area, as posted on the Makansutra website. Joo Chiat is known as a historic area with lots of Peranakan architecture and a historical feel.

Things started out normally, if a bit late in the day. We took a cab to our starting place and walked to the first destination, where wanton mee and nonya dumplings were on offer at a coffeeshop (which functions as a mini hawker centre).

The wanton mee was tasty. With chilli served on the side, we could ratchet up but make it still palatable. There were wantons hidden underneath the noodles that provided great flavor and texture contrast to the dish.

The nonya dumpling was nice too. Initially wrapped in a banana leaf and looking like a three dimensional triangle, the hawker unwrapped it for us. With an outside of sticky rice and an inside of barbecued meat, it is similar to bao. A good but not earth shattering rendition. With that, I also picked up some pandan flavored buns. The subtle sweetness of these was a great breakfast snack.

From there, however, the wheels came off. First, it started getting hot. I mean real hot. Singapore during the day has generally been about 90 degrees with 80% humidity. This day was worse. It felt like 105 degrees with 99% humidity and the sun was bearing down. Sweat started to pour freely and what we were doing was more akin to swimming than to walking.

Also, our walking tour began to betray us. The hand-rolled popiah maker was on holiday, with no popiah on offer. We had to settle for fresh fruit juice. The old-timey barber shop was nowhere to be found. And the fresh bakery that you just follow your nose to had also ceased to exist. We recognized our luck had changed. I snapped a couple of quick pics and we jumped in a cab...

...and headed straight home, and from there straight to the pool. Ahhh, much better!!!

Forty types of Penang food on the buffet, forty types of Penang food...

After seeing the Merlion, we were seriously hungry. And Carolyn, once a long-time resident of Singapore, had given us our destination: Princess Terrace restaurant at the Copthorne King's Hotel. Home of "Singapore's best-loved Penang buffet," we knew to come hungry. (Penang is a region in northern Malaysia with a reputation for really good food, some of which are Singaporean classics.)

We made sure to get the full value out of our buffet (and Penang eating experience) with a total of seven plates of savory food and six plates of sweets totaling well more than twenty dishes. Get ready...

On the first plate, there was, starting at 12 o'clock: rice flavored with herbs and seafood, La La clams, vermicelli with tamarind paste, assorted Penang appetizer with peanut sauce, chicken satay with peanut sauce, and braised pork ribs.

The standouts from this mix were the vermicelli, the satay, and the pork. The vermicelli had a sweet quality while still retaining its appetizer essence. It also had a soothing coolness. The satay were addictive, and this stick was the first of about 15 that our table consumed. The pork ribs were flavored richly and jumped off the bone, with a good mix of fat to meat.

Next was a small plate of otak otak, a fish dish that is fish and spices mashed and steamed in banana leaves. It had an odd texture, slightly gelatinous, that grew on me as I ate more of it. The middle, where there was more fish, was better than the outsides that seemed over steamed to me.

Third was a fresh bowl of laksa, a noodle soup flavored with coconut milk and fish. This dish was fresh, but ultimately had a bit too much fishiness to the broth to be lapped up.

For the next course it was back to appetizers, namely popiah and kueh pieti. The popiah are the spring roll lookalikes, and they were excellent. The shell is thicker than Vietnamese rice paper. the insides are filled with a variety of ingredients, some hot and some cold, that blend nicely and also make each bit just a little bit different. The kueh pieti (which translates as top hats) are little fried shells stuffed with the same ingredients inside popiah. These were delightful as well, and so easy to pop in my mouth.

The second full plate had, starting at 12 o'clock again: many more satays, yellow rice, fermented fried chicken, fried fish in curry, and green beans with citrus and garlic. Everything was tasty, with the fried fish being a particularly nice balance of fish, fry, and spice. The green beans were also a change of pace and a good reminder of fresh vegetables. The fermentation of the fried chicken was a puzzling addition and remained subtle until the aftertaste, which had a vinegar-like quality to it.

Time for another soup course, this one with thick noodle soup on the left and duck and vermicelli noodle soup on the right. Both were winners, and had light and clear broths. The thick noodle soups noodles were scrumptious, perfectly cooked and easy to slurp. The duck lent a richness to its soup that brought out more flavor from the scallions and vermicelli.

Switching to desserts, the first wave was a bunch of kueh (rice-based desserts). The best were the glutinous rice dessert with kaya spread (at 9 o'clock on the right) and the green topped piece on the left (also at 9 o'clock). Not too sweet but with enough to tell you it's dessert, these were nice. Paired with these was a crumpet-like pancake topped with caramel and banana. As you might imagine, tasty!

Wave two of desserts went to the nuts. There was a freshly cooked peanut pancake with sugar and honey and fresh tofu with simple syrup. The peanut pancake was a good couple of bites but hard to finish. The fresh tofu was a delight. It was lovely to scoop it out of its big bowl into this little one, lovelier still to eat. It tasted of clouds.

The anchor leg of desserts was mixed fruit plate, fruit rojak, and DIY ice kacang. The fruit was excellent, as you'd expect. The rojak was a miss; I just don't get adding fermented shrimp paste to a dish and calling it dessert. Maybe my palate is just off in this regard. The ice kacang was fun to make and fun to eat (and, picking the ingredients myself, I got to tone down the bean-heavy nature of the dish). Here's the full ice kacang station, where, if you zoom in, you can see the various ingredients at play and the fresh ice shavings maker at right.

At the end of the meal, we were no longer hungry. After writing this post, I am made full again. It was at least twenty-four separate items, and maybe more depending on how you count. Yum!

H/T to Carolyn for the recommendation.