Over the past five months, the people of Christchurch, New Zealand had become used to having the ground  ‘shake, rattle, and roll’. After all, it had been doing it with annoying frequency ever since last year’s terrifying 7.1 earthquake.

And having come through the 7.1 relatively unscathed, we figured it was a small price to pay.  Sooner or later, we thought, the aftershocks would stop and life would go back to normal.

But just as we were thinking that normal was within reach, Christchurch and its residents have been beaten, battered, and pretty close to broken by a 6.3 earthquake.

When it struck, I had only just left my favorite bookstore, where I had been sitting in their café, drinking coffee, and flicking through the newest travel magazines, day dreaming of new and exotic places to go.

But the day dreaming was violently shattered by the earth’s tremendous shuddering and shaking that felt like it was never going to stop.

My hometown of Christchurch, New Zealand was in the midst of yet another massive earthquake. And unlike the 7.1 one last September, which resulted in structural damage but no loss of life, this earthquake did both.

In the days that follow, having accounted for family and friends who luckily all managed to escape without injury, I watch with disbelief reports of death and destruction, all the while wondering how much more Christchurch residents can take.

Meanwhile, we clean up the mess and cry with sadness and with joy. We buy food and put gas in the car. And I go to work at the hospital, providing care and help to those injured.

Because, despite feeling like we are all in the midst of a disaster movie that you just want to end, life goes on.

Whether we will ever get back to normal, however, is a question impossible to answer.

(A tribute to the city of Christchurch, New Zealand as we pick up the pieces after the 22/2 Earthquake. The song is “You Build Us Back” by Newsboyz. Kia Kaha Christchurch.)

A ranch in the central US, a Greek American community, an English kitchen…

Ree Drummond has become a well known online personality: a city girl turned Oklahoma farm wife turned blogger who writes about food and ranch life with humour and with just enough sass along with the information to attract a wide audience. She has a cookbook out now too, calledThe Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. Along with step by step photographs and often funny instruction on how to cook hearty dishes from the heartland, there are photographs of life on the Drummond family’s Oklahoma cattle ranch enough to interest the traveler, even if you never cook one of her recipes — though the photographs and breezy instructions may get you to thinking about that.

How to Roast a Lamb is not breezy, but you will learn a lot about Greek and Greek American flavors from it. When chef Michael Psilakis ( you may have seen him on the Food Network ) first began school, he did not speak a word of English. The Greek American community to which his parents had come from Crete was that strong. His book is as much narrative as it is cooking instruction, and he intends that, drawing on memories and stories to frame each chapter and set of recipes. Some of the recipes are traditional, some are ones he’s evolved through his restaurant building career, and all will allow you to learn something about Greek culture and food. Ever wanted to know how to braise an octopus? how and why you might want to dehydrate slices of watermelon? what dried feta cheese is good for? Chef Psilakis has you covered.

Nigella Lawson brings a good bit of family feeling to her book Nigella Christmas: Food Family Friends Festivities, too. Christmas may be past (or coming up, depending on your view of things) but that’s no reason to skip reading this. Lawson offers the same generous abundance of food stories, wry wit, and creative cooking ideas that you will have come across if you’ve seen her live or on television. She is thoroughly British too, and you will get a strong understanding of that, even though some of her recipes incorporate influences as diverse as American barbecue and Asian sauces. They all come back to the English kitchen and table. Reading Nigella Christmas you feel as though you are sitting in that kitchen, talking about food and planning your next celebration.

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The metal tables and plastic chairs that spill out onto the sidewalk are still there; they’re practically on top of traffic-jammed New Petchaburi Road. The concrete walls are still barren, save for a few merciful fans set to medium that help counter the humid evening air. The dirty-dishes station is still off to one side, next to the bin brimming with fresh green beans, cabbage, and other greens on ice. Opposite is the grill, the som tam stand, bubbling cauldrons of aromatic soups and broths, and a cooler full of beer bottles.

Three-liter towers of Chang beer are still available. Checks are still configured the old-fashioned way with hand-held calculators, a pen, and pads of paper. The bathrooms are still to be avoided if at all possible–the splashed-over squat toilet has me thinking about Karl Pilkington’s escapades on An Idiot Abroad–and I’m pleased to see that a copy of an article I wrote nearly 2 years ago for Time Out Singapore, in which I named Jae On Restaurant as one of five hidden treasures in Bangkok, is still taped to the concrete column near the accounting table. It’s a little torn and a little dirty, but it’s still there and it’s still the only clip on display.

Jae On is still packed with locals feasting from communal spreads of enticing Thai food and drinking from bottles of 100 Pipers whiskey. There’s still a Chang beer girl working, dressed in a wraparound silver-grey Chang top and black tights. The staff is still endearingly shy, eager to please and quick to smile, but politely and innocently trying to avoid dealing with us, the farang, due to the language barrier.

Eyebrows raise in surprise and delight when we order some of our dishes in Thai (sticky rice = cow knee-ow, papaya salad with 3 hot peppers and no baby shrimp = som tam prik sam met, my ow goong-hang, etc); the rest of our order is written on a small pad of paper with numbers on the menu that correspond to the dish, a clever way for both parties to get around the language issues. The bargain prices are still pretty much the same.

Still, some things have changed in the 17 months that have passed since my last visit. They’ve installed a corrugated tin roof that hangs out from the main dining area and protects much of the outdoor patio from rain. Many of the servers we came to recognize and who came to recognize us, don’t seem to be here any longer; the staff’s makeup is still largely comprised of young girls and boys aged somewhere between 14 – 18. The menus are new, with more English descriptions in the front and a few different dishes (though I’m happy to see my old standards are still available).

There are more farang here tonight than I recall seeing in total for weeks at a time, which may be as much a product of the Ratchathewi area’s rise in popularity as it is Jae On’s reputation for good food and good times, though I’d like to think it’s the latter. When we find local spots like this that grow to hold a special place in our heart, we selfishly want to keep them to ourselves–though, admittedly, writing about this place in Time Out Singapore, Lonely Planet, and now Perceptive Travel isn’t exactly an attempt to keep it secret. But while I’m admittedly not thrilled to see other farang here, I’m happy that Jae On is thriving and has been successful for long enough to afford the roof and menu upgrades. Plus, honestly, it’s not like this place has become touristy–there were only three tables of foreigners–and I doubt it ever will be.

We pour two glasses of Chang from a sweating bottle, and our food starts arriving. Baskets of steaming sticky rice, plates of som tam–some of the best I’ve had in Bangkok–perfectly blackened grilled squid, and a spicy white mushroom salad that has me working up a sweat by the time I’m done devouring it.

Yep, there’s one more thing that hasn’t changed since I lived here and frequented this place at least once a week: Jae On still has some of the best food in the area and is still one of my favorite places to go to after the sun goes down. It feels great to be home again.

Food photos by Brian Spencer

Welcome to the Carnival of Cities blog carnival, where we tour the world in a single post, via submissions from a variety of different blogs, all about any aspect of one, single city (or fair-sized town.)

The previous edition was hosted on Sheila’s Guide and the next edition will be hosted on Best Family Travel Advice on Wednesday, March 9.

If you would like to host a future Carnival edition on your blog (March 23 and April 6 are still open) please contact me at Sheila “at” sheilascarborough “dot” com. Thanks!

Off we go….

Cities in the Middle East

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Anne-Sophie Redisch presents Magic of Cities: Daydreaming Dubai posted at Sophie’s World, saying, “The most famous of the seven United Arab Emirates, Dubai is full of contrasts.”

Cities in Asia

Beijing, China thevagablond presents Beijing Bizarre: 7 Obscure Things You’ll Want to Do posted at the vagablond.

Bangkok, Thailand Zhu presents Hello Bangkok posted at Correr Es Mi Destino, saying, “Unsurprisingly, the traffic is horrendous in Bangkok. The streets are packed with motorbikes, tuk-tuks, cars, taxis, trucks, bus and pedestrians. Don’t think for a minute you are safe on the sidewalk: motorbikes will happily ride on it. And don’t think looking both ways before crossing the street helps as there are always people driving on the wrong side of the road.”

Tokyo, Japan sophielynette presents Future City Odaiba posted at Four Thousand Miles, saying, “A recount of my trip to the manmade island of Odaiba in Tokyo.”

Cities in the Americas

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA Christine Belsom presents I Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans posted at BlogFerret, saying, “There are many people from New Orleans who still feel the same way as I, in spite of the fact that 5 1/2 years have passed since Katrina. Many of us are scattered throughout the United States and still wish they were back in the Land of Dreams.”

Whistler, British Columbia, Canada Lacy Kemp presents Happy Again… posted at The View From the Corner, saying, “A little piece about why Whistler makes me happy.”

Nashville, Tennessee, USA Francesca Folinazzo presents Eating Our Way Through Nashville posted at Folinazzo Family.

Omaha, Nebraska Morgan Schwartz presents Join the Mug Club at Brass Monkey posted at Omaha Food, saying, “If you’re tired of the nondescript corporate-type bars that have overrun South Omaha, you deserve a drink at Brass Monkey. In his review, Stephen Gates talks to owners Kevin and Maria Tworek about craft beer.”

(more…)

For a weekend in early March, Fair Park in Dallas — which you might at first think of in connection with Big Tex at the Texas State Fair and big time football at the Cotton Bowl — takes on another aspect: it is home to the the North Texas Irish Festival.

The NTIF is one of the largest Celtic festivals in the country. Though Texas is not often thought of in connection with Irish culture, people from Ireland have been coming to the lone star state since the 1700s, and there’s a long standing and active interest in Celtic culture in the southwest.

There is Guinness and shepherd’s pie at the NTIF, and along side there are funnel cakes, egg rolls, and Shiner Bock, as well. Taking account of the changeable Texas spring weather, there are many things for kids and adults to do in the sunny (well, when it is sunny) plaza and indoors at the main stages as well, including storytelling to listen to, Irish travel information to explore, books and jewelry on sale, Irish dance, and of course, loads and loads of music. The festival always is a draw for regional Celtic musicians, this year including Clandestine and Beyond the Pale.

One of the reasons it’s a top festival, though, is the quality of international performers festival organizers are able to invite to Dallas. This year, as the festival takes place on the first weekend in March, Tommy Sands brings his incisive and lyrical songs of Irish history and social justice, Dervish puts the west of Ireland spin on Bob Dylan songs and high flying jigs and reels, Cathie Ryan brings insightful and heartfelt original songs and songs from the tradition, and Altan adds fiery fiddle playing and ballads in Irish to what is a top notch mix that will deepen your understanding of Irish music.

photographs made with permission of the artists, and are copyrighted. thank you for respecting this.

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