Friday, December 19, 2008

Ox-Tail Crumpets

It's now holiday season, when people eat their favorite holiday treats. Your favorite cookies, grandma's apple pie, egg-nog, chestnuts roasting on an open fire...whatever was a favorite in your house growing up. I'm one of the few people in the world (me and my Dad are the only ones I know) who likes that heavy old fruitcake. The ones made by the Trappist Monks at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Oregon are the best. Unfortunately, Christmas monk cake is hard to find in Singapore. I bought a locally made one I saw in the grocery store, but it was horrible. There were actually little crunchy pieces of eggshell in it.

As I sit here and wallow in my cake-less state, I received an email this morning my friend (now ex-friend) Jeff sent out to a few of the boys from back home.

You know around the holidays how people leave random treats and stuff out for people to sample? Someone brought in a box of these Trader Joe's "Candy Cane Joe Joe's". Basically they're oreo cookie with a filling that's a mix of oreo cookie filling and candy canes. Freaking insanity! If you have a Trader Joe's near you, I highly suggest you buy yourself a box. Matt, perhaps you can swing by the local Trader Ming's and pick yourself up a box of pickeld oxtail crumpets. Just as good.

Jeff can bite me. First of all, everyone knows that ox-tail is for breakfast in Asia, not dessert. Second, what the heck is a crumpet. You have to be English to know what a crumpet is.

The worst part of all of this is that he's not all that far off the mark when it comes to dessert in Asia. I'm very open minded about food, but people here like some crazy stuff.

1) We've now learned that you should never buy the rolls at the bakery that have sesame seeds on them. Apparently sesame seeds mean, "I'm a horrendous dessert item. This bun is full of some sort of crazy bean paste."

2) Chendol = coconut milk, brown sugar, red beans and "green starch strips." Yes, I tried it. No, I don't know what green starch strips are made of.

3) Grass jelly. Yup. Grass jelly.

4) Durian does not taste any better when you make a cake out of it. Trust me.

5) Just get the fruit plate or the ice cream.


I think I'll try to make an apple pie for Christmas.

4 comments:

Lynda and Joe said...

Dude. First of all you can also be Canadian and know (and LOVE) crumpets!! They are a delicious breakfast item and you can get a halfway decent approximation of them at Fiesta but I actually want to learn to make my own. Toasted crumpets with butter and jam... Yum!! Oh, my mouth is watering just thinking of them.
For dessert try the mochi. Glutinous rice ball with red bean paste in them. Delicious. The green ones are flavored with green tea. The texture is a little weird, but they are yummy. I get them at the Hong Kong market here when they have them, but find them easily in Vancouver and San Francisco and New York. You should them!

Liza said...

Isn't a crumpet just an English Muffin that's like twice the price? I like English Muffins. The one's in New Orleans aren't Thomas' though, they're some local brand but they're just as good.

I think you should make a chess pie for Christmas. It's a Southern thing and I made one a few Thanksgiving ago and it was really good.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Pecan-Chess-Pie-4504

Anonymous said...

Seriously man, those Joe Joe's things are mighty tasty. I'd send you a box, but I fear they're too similar to gum and you might have to be caned.

Anonymous said...

Do people who are into S&M come to Singapore and chew gum on purpose? Just something to think about!