6.240

2 (Wed) September 2015

Spinach in Soy Sauce

3.5

at Pacific Seafood Restaurant

-Honiara-

with colleagues from the country office

Mission to the Solomon Islands, Day 4 (see previously 6.239 Escargot).

In Honiara.  Flew from Manila via Singapore via Brisbane, arriving Monday afternoon — 24 hours, door to door.  Yesterday through tomorrow, I’ll be helping to facilitate a workshop on national health policy planning. Leaving Friday, back in Manila by Saturday.

My project to eat at Korean restaurants in different cities and countries around the world hasn’t progressed since last December in Melbourne (20th), Australia (12th) (see 5.342 Cocodile Meat…).  Most recently, I attempted Amman, Jordan, but failed to find the restaurant, which may have gone out of business (see 6.159 Memories of Hummus).  Tonight, we found the place, but it was closed, maybe also out of business.  Crap.  Shilla Terrace, the only other Korean establishment in the city/country, is only open for lunch, so that’s probably not going to happen, at least on this trip.  Hopefully, I’ll be back soon.  Furthermore, if work goes according to schedule, I’ll have new opportunities through the end of the year in Guam, Nadi, and Kuala Lumpur.

In a way, I’m glad that Plan A didn’t work out, because Plan B turned out exceptionally well, well beyond expectation.

Without exception, the dishes clearly demonstrated an expert hand in technique and seasoning.

The standout was the spinach.  Lightly stir-fried, perfectly seasoned with soy sauce, plus a touch of chili for kick, vaguely reminiscent of phak boong fai daeng, but more subtle.  Such a humble ingredient, elevated to greatness.  We ended up getting 3 orders.

Never would’ve imagined that such exquisite Chinese food could be had in the Solomon Islands.