My Human Interest Story

I have always wanted to go to Thailand mainly because I find their culture interesting. They have many different foods and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. My uncle is married to a Thai woman and I went to their wedding in Thailand. It was amazing to see how clean and beautiful the place was. Coconut trees were everywhere. There was thick jungle as green as can be, crystal blue waters that feel more like a warm bath than a swim in the ocean, and food that can curl your nose hairs while tap dancing across your taste buds. Exotic, yet safe; cheap, yet equipped with every modern amenity you need, there is something for every interest and every price bracket, from beach front backpacker bungalows to some of the best luxury hotels in the world. And despite the heavy flow of tourism it is a wonderful place. Many different seafood’s and although Thailand is a very popular place for tourists it is not as crowded as you think.

The Best Cooking Lab Experience

The best cooking lab experience was the Terra Madre day cooking. Mostly because we had to plan and do everything by ourselves. I believe that’s what really inspires students to get into cooking, to be under pressure and to be excited to see what their food turns into. The Terra Madre day cooking was an experience like a restaurant. We were given very little time and had to plan everything out. Witch made it feel like a real cooking experience in my perspective. We had to look for a slow food meals, list ingredients and think of quantity. This is mainly what restaurants do when getting prepared for a meal. This is giving me and the students an option to get the real feel for cooking. Instead of getting given a recipe and everyone is making the same thing. It gives everyone freedom of choice on what to make plus they have the choice of making something they would've never thought to have tried. This lab also introduced healthy cooking. No deep-frying, no overdose on calories. It was all about Mother Nature’s healthy gifts. How the food created by the earth should be cooked regularly and not rushed like fast food companies.

My inspiration

My grandma inspired me to cook. She was the first person to show me a form of cooking witch was baking. She made pies all day. One day I decided to ask if I could learn how to make them. So first she taught me how to make basic pie dough. But the tricky thing was when I asked her what to put inside she said anything you can imagine. This made me think. Well what flavors would go together. I was thinking about coconuts at the time because that was my favorite thing to eat. So we made a coconut custard pie also known as coconut cream pie. This was the very first thing I liked that I made. It was amazing and the thing that helped me make more and more food was the compliments. I love when people go mmmmmm or this is amazing it really boosts my self-confidence and gives me a boost in self-esteem. Giving me the ability to not care about the bad comments but only about the good comments. My grandma is amazing and I learned that you can honestly put anything in a pie. It might not always taste good but it can work. I also learned about the campers pie, basically putting all your leftovers in a pie and baking it. For some reason it was always good.

My Tourism Story

come and enjoy a day in Thailand at Federation Square. The vast array of free entertainment for the whole family included Thai cultural performances of dance, music, Thai Beauty contest, Muay Thai, cooking and fruit carving demonstrations. Relax with a Thai massage or visit the Thai Tourism information, handicraft and product stalls. Savour wonderful Thai food from some of Melbourne's best Thai restuarants and relax in the Singha Beer Garden with live music. The 10th Anniversary 2013 Festival  at Melbourne's Federation Square will feature: Live performances by over 50 Thai performers direct from Thailand Huge SINGHA Beer garden - featuring great Singha beer & live music from fabulous local and Thai bands, Interactive Thai Cooking demonstrations throughout the day, Thai massage and product stalls, with over 20 of the best Thai Restaurants serving  mouth-watering Thai food, desserts and drinks. Thailands main food festival. Many people can come and enjoy the extravagant variety of thai foods from these restaurants who are making many different foods.

When:                                                       Where:

     Sunday 17 March 2013                                Federation Square and River Terrace

Tapioca Pudding with Young Coconut Recipe

 ·         1/3 cup coconut milk

·         1 pinch salt

·         1/3 cup sugar

·         1/2 cup tapioca- small pearl

·         2 cups water

·         1/3 cup young coconut

Thai Massaman Chicken Curry

·         1/2 to 1 pound chicken pieces OR chopped chicken breast/thigh

·         1-2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks

·         1 14 ounce (400 ml) can coconut milk (not lite)

·         1 small red pepper, thinly sliced

·         1 medium tomato, sliced

·         2 Tbsp. coconut oil OR vegetable oil

·         1/3 cup onion, sliced

·         1 thumb-piece ginger, grated

·         4-5 cloves garlic

·         1 red chili, sliced, OR 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. chili flakes/cayenne pepper

·         1/2 cup good-tasting chicken stock

·         1 stalk lemongrass, minced, OR 2-3 Tbsp. frozen/bottled prepared lemongrass

·         3 bay leaves

·         1 tsp. turmeric

·         1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews (+ handful more to finish)

·         1 tsp. ground coriander

·         1 tsp. whole cumin seed

·         1/2 tsp. white pepper

·         1/8 tsp. cardamon

·         1 tsp. tamarind, or substitute 1 Tbsp. lime juice*

·         3/4 tsp. shrimp paste (available by the jar at Asian stores)

·         2 Tbsp. fish sauce

·         2 Tbsp. fish sauce

·         1 Tbsp. palm sugar OR brown sugar

1000 Island Sushi Restaurant Review

Service: couldn't seem to maintain restaurant when their were more than 50 people were seated. Servers did not have very good English and could not communicate well with the customers. The atmosphere was very nice and open, with lots of fresh air entering the restaurant. Including TV's and music.

Meal of choice: (all you can eat restaurant)

1.      Spicy tuna sushi

2.      Sirloin steak

3.      Various types of raw seafood

4.      Shrimp tempura

5.      Chicken

6.      Garlic short ribs

7.      Seaweed salad sushi and salad

Whole menu: http://www.1000sushiislands.com/menu/

Bibliography

"1000 Sushi Islands - Menu." 1000 Sushi Islands - Menu. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.

N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.

"Tapioca Pudding with Young Coconut Recipe." The Full. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.

"Thai Massaman Chicken Curry." About.com Thai Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2013.