SOME LIKE IT HOT

MY SPICE SOULMATE, ABBY LEE, SURPRISED ME LAST NIGHT WITH A JAR OF HER AND BETTY'S HOMEMADE HOT SAUCE.

I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF... I TOOK TWO HEAPING SPOONFULS TO "TRY" IT AT ONCE.

IT'S DEADLY DELICIOUS. AND GARLIC-IOUS.

TODAY I MADE SOME PORK STIR-FRY WITH JUST A TINY BIT OF ABBY AND BETTY'S HOT SAUCE.

THANK YOU, LADIES! LOVE YOU!

(COULD I REALLY HAVE BEEN...
LESBIAN IN A PAST LIFE?  )

// YUM. //

Spicy Noodles Diary 2: Laksa

Kiehl's Singapore brand ambassadors flex their hyperactive muscles
fom welovekiehls.blogspot.com

Hello, Friends!

Singapore muscle boys are yummy, sure. But hot as they are, they're no match for the hunky appeal of a steaming bowl of laksa, which was what truly made me salivate first about the city.

My dear friend Ryan and I had just come from a night of "clubbing." Turned out to be a non-event after I had been silly enough to believe that Valium (it was all the rage back in my uni days) might intensify the experience. Honestly, I was just being pretentious. I assumed that Valium would give me a good time even if I could hardly afford club entrance fees, never mind overpriced watery vodka cranberries.

Back to yummy topic.


Ryan brought me to a hawker center for a cheap bowl of laksa. It was ginormous. It was tasty. It was at once silky, gritty, creamy, spicy... It woke up my taste buds, my nasal passage, my pores, my hairline - everything.

I cried.

Well, not really. The laksa was just so spicy that my tear ducts, which had gone into hibernation from Valium, promptly went hyperactive.

Since then, I haven't found a bowl of laksa which measures up to the memory of that first experience. Laksa in Hong Kong is so watered down, it makes me cry with frustration.

I was in the middle of an old I-don't-know-why-we-can't-do-laksa-right rant when a friend recommended Katong Laksa in Sheung Wan. So I went.

Katong Laksa's - well - laksa.

It was close. The scalding-hot soup had a satisfying richness without being too cloying. It had just the right amount of oil. The cockles were fat and juicy. The bean curd was perfectly spongy. And the level of heat was enough to make me break into a decent sweat. Except this being Hong Kong, of course, Katong Laksa's laksa "supreme" is much pricier than the standard Singapore hawker version. Besides that, you can't really beat a Singapore hawker centre for atmosphere, anyway...

Thank goodness Katong Laksa is just few steps away from Hong Kong's new gay precinct. I had fun being watched by someone who looked like a Singapore muscle boy whilst I noisily slurped laksa all over the place and pretended to read a trashy Sidney Sheldon paperback.



With Affection,
James



 

The Spicy Noodles Diary, Part 1

Hello, Friends!


Honestly, I don't see the point of "medium spicy" noodles. I mean, might as well grab cup noodles from a 7-11 shelf, right? "Just add hot water."


If you really want spicy, commit yourself to the challenge.

I like my noodles so spicy, each mouthful grinds a million excruciating pinpricks into my palate. I want my bowl of noodles to make me sweat like I'm in a sauna. I want the soup to burn my throat. I want my spicy noodles to make me werq.

Death

My favourite spicy noodle comes from a greasy, little dive on Stanley Street. Nobody speaks English. It's intense. The tables are shared - that's fine. But space is so tight, you literally need to eat with your elbows clipped to your ribcage whilst your butt is in danger of falling off a rickety stool.

Thank goodness for delivery. My colleague, Kris, who is addicted to Marc Jacobs, helps me order "maximum spicy" beef noodles at least once a week. I like mine with two kinds of mushrooms.

The broth is so muddy, it almost looks like gravy. But one spoonful and you realize that the muddiness is because the soup contains an indeterminate amount of unspecified spicy ingredients... It's mysterious. But why engage with spice at all if you haven't got a sense of adventure?

Say grace before you dive into this bowl of noodles. It's so spicy, you just might die.




With Affection,
James