Happy Day of Kings!

by Abha Malpani on

In most Hispanic countries, the day the Three Wise Men visited Jesus (Epiphany) holds more significance than Christmas Day. On the night of January 5, children write to their favorite king (rather than to Santa) for what they want and leave their shoes outside, filled with straw for the Wise Men’s camels to eat; today is when they open their gifts.

Yesterday evening, the streets of Madrid’s center were packed with people waiting excitedly from 2pm to see the Parade of the Kings that began around 6pm. Today as families spend time together, there is a tradition of eating “Roscon of the Kings” which is a large loaf of bread in the shape of a king’s crown, coated with nuts and dried-fruit and filled with cream or chocolate. A gold coin is hidden inside, and it is believed that the person who gets it will have good luck throughout the year.

To reassert the importance of this day over December 25, recently in Madrid there was an anti-Santa campaign to spotlight the existing capitalism around the concept of Father Christmas. It highlighted his unacceptable behavior that included: doping his reindeer, racism, exploiting his elves, relations with the Romanian mafia and general susceptibility to commercialization. There was a demonstration outside the Finnish Embassy demanding the closure of Santa’s toy factory — a cause of contamination in the Scandinavian country.

Based in Madrid, a website has been created for the cause that includes an anti-Santa pro-Kings rap by campaigners dressed as the Three Kings which you can see here; it ends with a stage killing of Santa Claus.

Bon appetit on the Eiffel Tower

by Abha Malpani on

Taking further our kicks of eating things either made by someone famous or with someone famous, now eating on something famous takes a new turn. Friends, friends and friends, you can now dine in new style at 410-feet on the Eiffel Tower.

Called Jules Verne (after the famous French author?), the revamped restaurant on this monument is the brain child of celebrity chef Alain Ducasse that will serve authentically French food (duh!), and will seat up to 120 people. For safety reasons, there will be no gas-cooking and the food will be prepared in a kitchen underneath the Champ de Mar garden which is located at the base of the tower.

With the 6.7 million tourists that visit this monument every year, dine at the restaurant and you will be taken up in a private lift. Meals are priced at $108 for lunch and $216 for dinner, making them totally “accessible to everyone”.

Anyone enticed to go?

Known for his eccentric ideas of taking cuisine to new heights, Ducasse was heard saying “I don’t work, I dream…I illustrate my dreams” — the next one being a restaurant on Mars. Now that’s somewhere I would love to go for a meal.

Big in Japan: Turmeric keeps Japanese women fit and beautiful

by Matthew Firestone on

Ever wonder why it is that Japanese women are so fit and beautiful? Ever wonder how Japanese women manage to work endless hours without visible signs of aging?

What if I told you that there was a simple and cheap remedy for staying healthy and energetic regardless of how hectic your life may be.

What if I told you that this remedy costs less than US$3 a day, and can be started at any time no matter how busy you happen to be.

Although the secret is slowly spreading to the Western World, for years Japanese women have been taking turmeric extract to stay fit and beautiful.

Yes. You read that correctly.

A good number of Japanese women take daily doses of turmeric, that rare and exotic Indian yellow spice that is most often used to color curries.

Seriously. I am not making this up.

Now, I guess at this point in the post you are probably thinking one of the following:

a) Why turmeric?
b) Does it work?
c) What does it taste like?
d) Where can I buy some?
e) Some or all of the above.

Well, keep reading and allow me to explain the powers of this magical Indian spice!

In Tokyo, you can buy a 100 milliliter bottle containing 30mg of dissolved turmeric. The suspension solution also contains several vitamins and minerals and a pinch of sugar to make the medicine go down.

And remarkably, you don’t even have to go to a health food store to buy the product.

Instead, just simple walk our of your apartment, head into the first convenience store you see, and give into your vanity for the price of a couple of dollars.

As I’ve commented so many times before on this blog, I know that it’s easy to be skeptical about health and beauty products, especially since the next big thing is always being touted on late night infomercials across North America.

But, there exists a decent sized body of scientific evidence to suggest that turmeric might actually have positive health effects.

For instance:

– In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, turmeric has numerous medicinal properties, and is readily used as an antiseptic.

– In several Asian countries including Japan, turmeric is taken to alleviate stomach problems and other related ailments.

– According to a 2005 article in the Wall Street Journal, turmeric is being investigated for possible benefits in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, liver disorders and depression.

If you live in North America, and you’re interested in trying turmeric extract, your best chance is to check out a health food store near you.

Or, you can simply find the nearest Indian supermarket and just buy a pound or so of the stuff and add it to your morning OJ.

Anyway, if you’ve ever taken turmeric before, or know anything about its health effects, please chime in and let all of us know!

** Turmeric photo sourced from the Wikipedia Commons Project. And yes, the girl at the top of this post is in fact Maria Ozawa. **

This is America, please order in English

by Abha Malpani on

Since 2005, a Philadelphia based cheese-steak bistro owner has been defending a signpost in his shop that said: “This is America, please order in English.” Not surprisingly, he was taken to court on grounds of discrimination, equating it to derogatory signs like “Whites Only”. No ruling has been given yet.

I wrote a post earlier about how surprising I found it that people barely speak English in a big, cosmopolitan capital city like Madrid. It triggered a debate over whether it’s necessary for big cities (where English isn’t the first language) to have basic knowledge of English, or not.

I think it is relative. In non-English speaking metropolises, as long as the tourists put in some effort, lack of basic English may not be an important day-to-day communication hindrance, but it is definitely a disadvantage in the larger scope of things. For example: Madrid is bidding to host the 2016 Olympics — surely the knowledge of English would play an important role there. How is China tackling that issue for next year’s games? Anyway, I digress.

What do you do in an English-speaking country when your customers don’t speak English? Do you put up a sign like our friend did? Hmmm, I don’t think so — it’s quite an insult. The sign reminded me of when the English ruled India and the “No Indians or Dogs” sign was not uncommon. Couldn’t they just be offered picture menus where they could point out what they wanted? Or what about bilingual menus?

There is an online poll on the article asking whether people approve this sign post. At this moment, of the 115,732 people who voted, 92% of them approve. Call me overly sensitive but I’m kinda shocked to see the response.

What do you think? Are signs like that acceptable?

%Poll-7601%

Spanish ham, sweet Spanish ham

by Abha Malpani on

For those of you pork-eaters in the US who have never tried made-in-Spain Jamon (ham) Ibérico, now that you can avail of it in again locally, jump on the opportunity because you don’t know what you have been missing.

Although produced in the US since 2005, it’s import from Spain had been prohibited by the USDA because Spain’s slaughter houses did not adhere to it’s safety regulations, and presumably because of the pig-borne viral swine virus that was prominent in Europe years ago. Last week, the ban was lifted and now authentic Ibérico can be bought in the US at a cost of US$50-$100 a pound, depending on the type.

This ham is the Spanish delicacy I can’t get enough of. A general fan of sausages, cold ham and bacon, since I have been introduced to cured Spanish ham, it has happily replaced my desire for any other pork production. I will eat it anytime, anyhow, anywhere — sometimes even preferring it to dessert (*gasp*). I am a regular customer at Madrid’s Ham Museums where you can nip in for a cold beer and a plate of ham that fits your budget.
Jamon Ibérico is made from the Iberian pig that is bred in Southwestern Spain and Southeastern Portugal, for a period of 14-36 months. Good ham in general is also called “Jamon de Pata Negra” (ham of the pig with black feet), the most expensive is the acorn fed Jamon de Bellota that in Spain costs atleast US$720 for an entire leg.

Yes, extremely expensive, so most of the time I have to resort to a ham of lesser quality and appreciate its remote similarity to Jamon Ibérico, but now and again it is something I generously pay for.

I would say eating ham in Spain is like eating noodles in China, households rarely go without it. Also, eating and gifting high-quality ham is a sign of status in Spain; for Christmas (for example), it is not uncommon for the Spanish to gift each other legs of ham.

Knowing how to buy ham and then how to cut it is an art in itself that I am still clueless about, but am determined to understand at some point very soon.