Food and Drink

A turf scientist shares a lighthearted collection of July musings, including tasting notes for Buckfast Tonic Wine, a review of the Japanese golf magazine Golf Today, and an update on his data visualization work with heatmaps and scatter plots during a sabbatical in Japan.

A golf turf professional recounts a week traveling through South Australia and Melbourne, highlighting experiences like planking at Jacob’s Creek in the Barossa Valley, attending a social gathering, and playing the renowned Melbourne sandbelt golf courses, where he improved his record to three wins against one defeat.

A food-focused travel post describes the author’s culinary experiences in Thailand, including shaved ice desserts at Sweety Ice in Sriracha and traditional dishes like rice porridge with pork and the multi-ingredient wrapped snack miang kham, drawing a playful comparison between the complex flavors of Thai food and fine Oregon Pinot noir.

A turfgrass management consultant shares personal highlights from a work trip through Sapporo, Furano, and Asahikawa in central Hokkaido, covering standout food and drink experiences — including exceptional shirako, a surprisingly subtle sweet potato shochu, and late-night ramen — alongside uncrowded powder skiing at Furano and a visit to Asahikawa’s Otakayama sake brewery.

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A food writer recaps their top culinary discoveries from 1,091 restaurant meals across sixteen countries in 2010, handing out whimsical “Sam Khok Awards” for standouts ranging from coconut crème brûlée in Laos and goat satay in Indonesia to the best chippie in Fife and a tom yum martini in Bangkok.

ATC’s end-of-year bonenkai company party at Senri Chuo followed the Turf Science Seminars held in Tokyo and Osaka, celebrating the close of 2010 after a busy week of professional events.

A traveler describes trying a notably spicy Burger King burger featuring a thick layer of red chili peppers, encountered repeatedly at Thai airports during a trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Pai.

A visit to Siracusa’s Teatro Greco reveals common bermudagrass and seashore paspalum growing among the ancient ruins, while an apartment kitchen allows the author to prepare a simple Sicilian pasta dish featuring sun-dried cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and pesto.

A food and travel blogger shares their experience eating goat (dê) stir-fried with vegetables at a Vietnamese restaurant with a distinctive suspension bridge, while offering practical tips for ordering goat across Asia in Japanese (yagi), Vietnamese (dê), and the shared Malay/Filipino/Indonesian term (kambing).