March 20 isn’t just the first day of spring. In New York, it’s also Macaron Day, where at least 11 bakeries across the city will be handing out free macarons.
As www.macarondaynyc.com notes, macarons are the “new cupcake.” What’s so tasty about macarons? For starters, the classic French pastry feels less indulgent than a cupcake, but the flavors like caramel, coffee, ginger, pistachio, raspberry are sweet enough for any sugar fix.
New York’s first annual Macaron Day coincides with the fifth annual Jour du Macaron in Paris. So far, participating shops in Manhattan include Bouchon Bakery in Columbus Circle and Macaron Cafe, a sweet little find in the Garment District that sells its namesake treat for $1.95 a piece.
You know you’ve found a good macaron when the candy-colored confections are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside (gotta love that buttercream or ganache filling).
Details: Tell the participating bakery you’re there for Macaron Day. One free macaron per customer; quantities are limited.
I know I’ll have a hard time walking out of the bakeries without being tempted by all the other treats.
Next month, look for something new coming from kitchens across the Fairmont chain. Chefs at these upscale properties will be showing off their skills not only with seafood but the sustainable variety. So, when you cut into your fish of choice, you’ll be experiencing both culinary and environmental bliss. Throughout April, Fairmont will be inviting guests in its dining rooms do donate merely $1 to the National Geographic Society to support ocean conservation and other sea wildlife initiatives.
Seriously, only $1. Is that too much to ask?
I’ve been a big fan of Fairmont’s corporate social responsibility initiatives for a while, and since I enjoy seafood, I’m particularly fond of this latest measure. The move will help to preserve aquatic habitats without detracting from your dining experience – something we used to call a “win-win” back in my consulting days]. If you aren’t staying at a Fairmont, find one near your home and dash off for a great meal.
Most people will agree that dog is man’s best friend. In parts of Asia, however, it’s also what’s for dinner. The consumption of dog and cat meat by humans is practiced in parts of China, Vietnam, Korea, and the Philippines. Cat is eaten in parts of China and South America. The times they are a-changin’, however, because the Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating dogs and cats illegal there, in part because of how the practice negatively impacts overseas tourism.
The Chinese government has signaled a willingness to take the meat off the market. To avoid upsetting international visitors during the Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat off the menus at local markets. Officials in Guangzhou have warned vendors to stop selling it ahead of the Asian Games, which will be held there later this year.
Professor Chang Jiwen of the Chinese Academy of the Social Sciences is one of the law’s top campaigners. “Cats and dogs are loyal friends to humans,” he said. “A ban on eating them would show China has reached a new level of civilization.” Anyone else finding irony in that statement, considering 2007’s massive pet food recall — the result of melamine-tainted exports produced in China?
While inconceivable to most North Americans and Europeans, these animals have been used as food for thousands of years, usually for purported medicinal purposes, although poverty also plays a role in some countries or regions.
While owning dogs and cats for house pets isn’t the norm throughout Asia, it’s certainly common in China. But the roles of ingredient and animal companion never cross: special meat markets exist that cater exclusively to the sale of dogs and cats for the meat trade. Chang cautions, however that there is always a chance they’re someone’s lost or stolen pet.
Regardless of how you feel about dining on dog, the most critical issue regarding this “specialty meat” trade is animal welfare. The animals can be kept in horrifying conditions until they’re sold at market, and subjected to cruel, inhumane treatment. And before you condemn certain cultures as barbaric, take a second to think about the conditions in puppy mills and factory farms in the United States. Livestock sold at auction for the commercial meat market, and live meat animals and poultry at slaughterhouses may also be subjected to inhumane treatment. The U.S. government is cracking down on these abuses, but factory farms don’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
The ban on eating dog and cat meat is part of a larger proposal to toughen laws on animal welfare. Individual violators could face up to 15 days in prison and a small fine. Businesses found guilty of selling the meat risk fines up to 500,000 yuan ($73,500.)
The legislation is gaining support from China’s growing number of pet owners. With living standards rising and disposable income growing, more Guangzhou residents are investing in house pets.
Meat vendors and specialty restaurants, however, see their livelihoods at stake.”The dogs you raise at home, you shouldn’t eat,” says Pan, a butcher who also declined to give his first name. “The kind raised for eating, we can eat those.”
Lonely Planet has just asked me to edit their annual literary travel anthology for this year. I edited the first three — The Kindness of Strangers, By the Seat of My Pants, and Tales from Nowhere — and each time it was a tremendous challenge and pleasure. One of the things I’ve loved best has been publishing a mix of authors spanning the spectrum from best-selling to never-been-published-before. I think this has added to the richness of each book.
The title this year is A Moveable Feast: Life-Changing Food Encounters Around the World. The fundamental premise is that the food factor unites every traveler and every journey. Wherever we are, we all need to eat. And because we need to eat, food becomes one of the traveler’s fundamental fascinations – and pathways into a place. On the road, food nourishes us not only physically, but intellectually, emotionally and spiritually.
I believe every traveler has some unforgettable food story – a larger-than-life feast, a mind-bending immersion in a rural market, the homemade, heart-opening treat shared by a stranger on a claptrap train, an adventure on the trail of an edible exotic. In all these tales, food is an agent of transformation, taking travelers to a deeper and more lasting understanding of and connection with a people, a place and a culture. And if they’re really lucky, it tastes good too!
A Moveable Feast will present true travelers’ tales set around the world. The theme threading through them will be the inimitable ability of food to inspire our serendipities, satiate our senses, and enlighten our journeys – in short, to transform the planet into a moveable feast for mind, soul, and stomach.
I’m looking for original, unpublished pieces of exceptionally high literary quality. Length is from 1,000 to 3,000 words. Deadline is April 19.
If you have a great food story to tell, email it to me at don DAWT george AT sbcglobal DAWT net, with Food Anthology in the subject line. All submissions are on speculation.
Hong Kong is truly the city of the future. The city’s ubiquitous skyline of shiny beveled-angle skyscrapers towers above you like a giant wall of steel and glass. Meanwhile, residents tap their Octopus cards at cash registers, magically paying for purchases without bills or coins. Yet lying beneath Hong Kong’s fancy neon wizardry is a puzzling trend. It seems these days, Hong Kong is not looking to the future. Instead, the city’s residents have decided to look to the past.
Perhaps it’s inevitable in a city as amazingly dense as this bursting Asian megalopolis. The city sits on a series of tiny islands leaning precariously onto the South China Sea, meaning there’s simply never enough space. The city’s modern skyscrapers and futuristic bridges exist side-by-side with ancient colonial tenement homes and incense-shrouded Buddhist temples. But whether you’re in search of a souvenir, checking out a museum or simply looking for food and drink, you’re likely to encounter a slice of Hong Kong’s growing love for all things vintage.
But “old and musty” vintage this is not. Hong Kong retro is all about reinventing and reusing the pieces of its textured past, providing visitors with a unique slice of checkered history in a decidedly modern way. If you’re in search of a unique taste of days gone-by or a one-of-a-kind souvenir, Hong Kong’s retro style is ready to be discovered. Keep reading to see where to find it…Retro Dining For many food is the ultimate source of nostalgia, a reminder of our youth and days gone by. It’s a fact that’s been well-absorbed in retro Hong Kong, where a cuisine of fresh ingredients and age-old family recipes prevails. Nowhere is this better evident than at Kowloon’s Tai Ping Koon restaurant, an eatery defiantly still around after more than 150 years of business. But this is no tourist trap. Each evening Tai Ping Koon’s elegant Mid-Century modern dining room is packed with locals enjoying the restaurant’s signature chicken wings in Swiss Sauce and its light, puffy souffles. It’s the original example of East vs. West eating – a distinctly Hong Kong take on Western food.
Retro Shopping Those looking to experience Hong Kong’s retro past need not only find it on a plate. These days, Hong Kong’s high-energy shopping experience is going retro too. It all starts at Goods of Desire (G.O.D.), a popular home goods store dedicated to “increasing interest in Asian lifestyle and culture.” The products for sale at G.O.D. aren’t your average spatula or cooking utensil. Instead, many items like the store’s retro textiles, kitschy selection of Mao Zedong postcards and old-school furniture pay homage to an earlier era of Hong Kong, a time when it was “the world’s factory,” producing cheap goods for sale in Europe and the U.S. It’s a great place to learn more about the city’s history and pick up a unique souvenir.
Just down the street from G.O.D. is Shanghai Tang, a clothing store that references Hong Kong’s famous reputation for custom-made clothing. The chain takes much of its inspiration from traditional Han Chinese apparel, updated with modern touches. Inside the stores’ Art Deco interior you’ll find both men’s and women’s clothing as well as an array of leather goods, stationery and household goods referencing traditional Chinese symbols and design.
Retro Drinking The Pawn in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighborhood offers another example of the city’s reverence for its historic roots. Pawnshops are a particularly iconic fixture of Hong Kong life. Long before the city’s mammoth banks like HSBC were established, pawn shops played an important role as money lenders for a growing city of merchants and traders. The spartan interiors, high counters and darkened lighting have became a common sight for the city’s residents.
These days, many of Hong Kong’s pawn shops have been replaced, or as is the case with The Pawn, remade into fun hangout spots. The Pawn’s comfy interior pays tribute to Hong Kong’s days of old, offering visitors a wood-paneled interior, leather armchairs and old-school rickety foosball table inside what used to be a working pawn shop. A selection of international beers and cocktails rounds out the menu.
Hong Kong might be the city of the future, but it’s a place that hasn’t forgotten its unique past. From retro eating to shopping to drinking, visitors will find opportunities to enjoy a one-of-a-kind trip through time in this world-famous city.