Food and Drink

A golf course agronomist shares three personal reflections: the seafood experience at Phuket’s floating restaurants, observations on tracking turfgrass performance at Tublamu Golf Club over nearly a decade, and the seasonal abundance of tropical fruits like rambutan, lychee, and longan in Thailand’s markets.

A golfer and turfgrass specialist recounts a busy early August filled with eating live “dancing shrimp” in Chiang Mai, winning a medal at the Run4Mom race, presenting at the Philippine Turfgrass Forum, and cross-training through an unconventional jumping regimen.

A series of farewell parties (soubetsukai) across Ishigaki, Fukuoka, and Tokyo featured local foods and drinks including awamori liqueur, yakitori, Ishigaki steak, and an array of notable ice creams, culminating in travels aboard five different Boeing aircraft models within a single month.

A botanist traveling through Japan shares observations on local food and drink enjoyed between fieldwork, highlighting regional dishes like Hiroshima oyster okonomiyaki, kakigōri, and Yaeyama soba, along with a note that Japan excels in alcohol-free beer—with Orion Clear Free earning top marks for its can design.

A golf turf professional describes a whirlwind visit to Tokyo while on a Japan trip, recounting weekend runs through city streets, browsing quirky Zoff eyewear frames, catching up on golf magazines, and dining at notable spots including an award-winning ramen shop, Japan’s best sweet potato restaurant, and a riverside bar serving imperial stout and unusual yogurt and green banana flavored beers.

A first-person account of eating various whale (kujira) dishes in Japan — including bacon, katsu, karaage, sashimi, and a mixed set platter — with recommended drink pairings, alongside visits to Kumamoto Castle to study turfgrass species and sampling of horse meat (uma) specialties.

A turfgrass professional reflects on a series of international trips enabled by air travel, recounting experiences ranging from ski runs in snow country after flying from tropical Bangkok, to family visits at Niagara Falls, to discovering exceptional octopus salad at a seaside village near Seoul.

Spending a working sabbatical in Japan’s Yaeyama Islands, the author has been making significant progress on writing and research projects, while also squeezing in some hands-on marine biology study before the intense tropical sun drove them to work in the shade of a palm tree.

A turfgrass scientist recounts a rewarding week in Thailand that combined professional field work—botanizing coastal plants, studying calcareous beach sands, and observing solar halos—with personal highlights including a second-place finish in a Bangkok 10 km race and frequent visits to a favorite noodle shop.

A traveler shares their “vicinal diet” philosophy of eating local foods in their native places, describing recent culinary experiences across Thailand, Vietnam, and India — from Lobster Hot Plate potato chips and Bangkok street food to phở in Hanoi and aloo paratha in New Delhi.