Travel

Are you allergic?

Posted on by Chanie

Milk, egg, peanut, fish, shellfish, wheat, nuts from trees and soya…

Then there are dermatitus, eczema, psoriasis and hayfever… the list goes on!

I certainly don’t recall too many kids on the playground at school when I was little who couldn’t eat pretty much whatever they liked or touch anything they wanted, other than one poor kid who blew up like a blowfish when someone threw some peanuts at him.

Then again he may have been choking on the nut rather than having an anaphylactic fit… the details are vague…

It seems we’re becoming more and more allergic to things that once seemed part of the everyday.

I say we, because I’m including me in this sentence…

Once upon a time I could eat whatever the hell I wanted and put whatever skin creams full of perfumes and pathogens on my skin whenever I liked, until one day when I was about 24 I used some skin cleanser that turned my face into a bubbling lava pit of blisters (yes it was as sexy as it sounds) and I started to “react” to certain creams.

About a year later, I’d gotten on top of the skin issues by using non-fragranced and PH neutral products to wash, moisturise and beautify myself, then I discovered I’m lactose intolerant.

I’d always assumed being gassy and bloated by dairy products was a normal part of consuming them, apparently not.

I now come to a familiar cross-roads in my life prior to going to Vietnam, a malarial risk country.

The question is “to take the antimalarials?”

The chemical structure of DEET

I have been informed (by a travel specialist doc…. FANCY!) I should be ok if I cover myself in DEET laden insect repellant… aside from the fact that I’m pretty much allergic or “react” to most insect repellents, there are many reasons I don’t really want to take the antimalarials…

  1. They can make you sun-sensitive… CMON I’m already a pasty ranga, I don’t need to be ANY more sun sensitive
  2. They cause yeast infections… ew
  3. They negate the Pill…
  4. Nausea and vomiting

…and a whole bunch of other, albeit rare side effects that are pretty gross… I’m talking about Doxycycline by the way, one of the only antimalarials that the pesky mozzies aren’t resistant to yet, and the most commonly used of the bunch.

So tell me? Are there any good sensitive insect repellents out there that DO contain DEET?

Do I put up, shut up and take the malarials? 

Gin and Tonics could be the answer! Tonic water contains Quinine – which has anti-malarial properties… so I could just get rip-snortingly drunk each day… the Quinine can fight off the malaria and the alcohol could fight off the stomach bugs (as discussed in “don’t trust a ham sandwich“)…

UPDATE! – Thanks Mum 🙂 Apparently you can get a safe for sensitive skin insect repellant containing “Picaridin” instead of DEET… huzzah! OFF is the only brand I can seem to find in Australia that has it.

Weasel Poo Coffee???

Posted on by Chanie

Yep… you read that right…

Coffee… made out of poo…

Well technically that’s not completely true, it’s halfway there, but I’ll get to that…

My friend has recommended that when in Vietnam I try to look up this delicacy that comes in at a very hefty price (apparently about $50 a cup or up to $600 per pound for the beans). She managed to locate some of the ground beans, but never actually got to try the brew.

So now I have been charged with a mission to find some. According to what I’ve managed to research from internet sites and other blogs, the coffee is delicious and definitely worth trying!

Would you trust this weasel?

Here’s how the strange stuff comes about… The coffee is made out of coffee berries that have been digested by a weasel type creature called an “Asian Palm Civet” who poops out the indigestible coffee beans, which are scooped up, washed and given a light roast then ground into coffee like a normal bean.

“Kopi Luwak” (I prefer “Weasel Poo Coffee”) is apparently very unique in flavour, and whilst inside the civet/weasel, the bitterness is leached away by stomach enzymes which actually starts the bean to germinate in the digestive tract… mmm delicious?

Gross-out factor aside, and provided I can afford some since it’s the most expensive coffee in the world (it’s been around since the 1800’s and is very popular and sought after in many countries), I guess I’d better pop by Dak Lak province when in Nam and visit the weasel farm for a cuppa…

I wonder if it tastes nice with Soy Milk?

The poo... or coffee... :/

More fun facts about Weasel Poo Coffee can be found at this handy site… Weasel Poo Coffee

Eating Chicken Feet: A question of taste…

Posted on by Chanie

Yum Cha Lunch

It’s only 32 days till Vietnam…

…and my once eager palette and taste buds have hit a roadblock.

It happened last week when I was out to Yum Cha lunch in Bourke St with my mother… Salivating at the thought of an endless supply of dumplings and Chinese delights mum and I ordered eagerly from every cart that rolled past our table for 4, that even though there were only 2 of us we had somehow managed to fill with steam baskets and plates within the first 10 minutes. Prawn dumplings, shark-fin dumplings, Prawn and vegetable, chinese broccoli, steamed eggplant and prawn rolls, warm tofu custard, crab meat parcels and every single way you can think of to cook, bake or fry a prawn trundled past…

Then… came the chicken feet…

Now, chicken feet are on my list of things to try in Vietnam… and there they were, sitting in their bamboo basket all crispy and golden and part of the “All-you-can-eat” lunch deal right in front of my face… a million thoughts went through my head like “why not? you’re already here anyway!”, “ew, you can’t eat that!” and “can my mum stomach the sight of my gnawing on chook toes?” Finally I settled on a lame excuse that “I wanted to leave room for more dumplings” and politely declined…

Declined an opportunity to test my mettle, and if I’m honest I “chickened out” when put on the spot…

… so the question is, do I risk wigging out and possibly missing out in Vietnam? Or do I drag myself back to yum-cha, order a plate of fried chook feet and get stuck into them claws and all?

Chicken Feet

I also passed on the tripe… but who doesn’t?

Side note: After discussing chicken feet with a few friends who have been game enough to try them, apparently they are delicious… especially with plum sauce, and that if I can’t do the feet that the un-born eggs will be no-chance for me!

Don’t trust a ham sandwich…

Posted on by Chanie

The root of all evil

There are a few things i’ve learned about unsafe food so far on my travels that will hopefully assist me and my stomach in the future…

Imagine for a moment… you’ve woken up in the idyllic setting of a Railay Beach resort in Thailand, keen to get around doing some rock climbing, or scuba diving or generally hang out on the beach… you wake up 1/2 an hour before you have to so that you can gulp down 2 imodium with water and lie there fingers crossed that they take hold for the next few hours… you know at this stage that if you stand up at any point, you will be calling god from the porcelain telephone all morning or worse things will come from the other end… you know this because this is the same routine you have had to endure for the past week…

… all because of a ham sandwich… a last-minute… “yeah whatever, that will do…” ham sandwich…

The kitchens of Thailand, as a general rule don’t really follow the same strict refrigeration rules and regulations we have come to enjoy in Australia, and their preparation procedures can sometimes leave a lot to be desired as well. I know you’re probably thinking “duh, of course! Why would you even eat a ham sandwich over there?” and my answer would be… 

“Yes… I’m an idiot” I didn’t think… I thought I’d be ok… and I let my concentration lapse. 

Even though losing 11kgs in 2 weeks might seem a blessing to some, getting dysentery whilst overseas (I’m lucky it wasn’t worse and my imodium x buscopan concoction worked) isn’t for the faint hearted and can leave you incredibly weak, incredibly tired and it incredibly f*cks up your trip… So here’s a list of things to consider food wise (more so in S.E Asia) to hopefully help others avoid my messy fate: 

  • Don’t drink the water…
  • See above… ice = water… don’t drink that either
  • See above above… Shakes (i.e. Mango Lassi or any Lassi etc.) = water
  • If you are going to drink the water, buy those purifying tablets (even though they taste like crap)
  • Boiling water first also works a treat
  • Bottled water = OK 🙂
  • Don’t drink the shower water and use bottled water to brush your teeth
  • Avoid Cold meat platters, cheese platters
  • Avoid unpasteurized dairy products (check the labels)
  • Eat where lots of people eat… never eat from a street vendor with no-one there
  • Eat what you can see has been or is being freshly cooked
  • Wash your hands before you eat… there is always poo on them apparently
  • Make sure the water you wash your hands with is “safe water”
  •  Check that the cutlery is not too filthy… cutlery sometimes = hands
  • Beware of raw meats, runny eggs and fruit you haven’t peeled yourself
  • Edit from wordpress comment: Avoid shellfish as the refrigeration temps are all over the place (Thanks Misty!)
  • And the best of the best tip… Alcohol and spice is everything nice! They both contain goodies that kill germs… while this isn’t a foolproof remedy I can recommend this option!

So there you have it… if there are any other suggestions or home remedies to prevent against or cure getting food poisoning I’d love to hear them!

Can I eat that?

Posted on by Chanie

Is that edible? Are you going to finish that? Can I try some of yours?

Life is a revolving door of food and drink. Major life events are planned around it and the mundane reality of the day is broken up by it.

If you have never tried a particular food before how do you know if you like it or not? I was lucky enough to be brought up in a family where the words “oh I dont like that” food were never uttered and no matter what dish was served, it was expected to be finished. The chef (generally my mum) was always to be complimented… a task that wasnt hard in a kitchen that served dishes like fresh sushi 15 years before the Sushi Sushi invasion, delicious Kelapa lamb curries before greasy take-away indian and hearty home meals that never allowed for leftovers. Take-away food was a once in a fortnight rarity…

Such varied gastronomic beginnings have stood me in good stead for travelling, with a willingness to try new food with abandon… both locally (within Australia) and abroad, the prospect of sampling new food fills me with excitement and a chance to challenge myself… The stand-out memories from every single trip I have been on have revolved around food and drink, the pictures I have taken seem to always have such a theme, from roasted half a pig in Munich Germany, “meat bird” (chicken) in Sigatoka Fiji and the hottest green curry that gave me the ability to see through time in Koh Phangan Thailand…

So the challenge begins. Can I cross off the list of both standard and exotic fare that I have not already tried?

The next trip I embark on is to Vietnam… can I bring myself to eat White ant eggs, soft-shell turtle, fertilised duck egg or raw blood soup? I dont know… do they taste good? There is only one way to find out… though perhaps some of those dishes are too left of center even for myself…

This isn’t going to be some sort of Chanie vs. Food adventure or a mission to eat the grossest dishes out there… I’m sure I can find the most delicious Bahn Cuon (Rice paper rolls), Pho (Vietnamese Soup) or Glazed curries (Glazed curries?) to tempt everyone’s tastebuds but I also wont rule out other “delicacies” if they are on offer…

Except dog… too many of my friends will kill me if I do that.

Come with me on my journey… recommendations on what to sample are welcome and I will endeavour to try them and report back…

White ant soup

Banh Cuon