Paradise Cinema - Vision City, Port Moresby

Finally, Port Moresby has opened a multiplex cinema. It is called Paradise Cinema and is located on the top floor of Vision City. I never would have thought this day would come when I first moved here 6 years ago but here it is. Watching movies is a hobby I have sorely missed and I hate how I'm left out when conversations touch the subject of movies with friends.

The cinema currently is screening 4 titles namely Sherlock Holmes 2, Journey 2, Darkest Hour and Alvin & the Chipmunks. Prices are at K25 for the normal cinema and K45 for the premium cinema. Kiddie prices are K5 cheaper. 

At the cinema's foyer is a snack bar and a cafe. You can buy popcorn and other goodies and even a choc-top just like in Australia. The cafe serves the usual coffee concoctions plus some chai and a host of baked delights such as brownies and muffins. Inside the cinema, the sound was good but I thought the seats were a bit uncomfortable. My thigh ached a little after the movie but hey, I'm still glad there's finally a cinema in Port Moresby and I bought another ticket for tonight.

One thing though that I didn't like was how the guards are too strict. Not all people like being touched and the guards can get a bit touchy when they scan you with the metal detector. But I guess they have to be strict so it's alright. The big challenge here would be the maintenance of the cinema. I hope the operators do periodic maintenance especially with the toilets.

They don't allow cameras inside which I totally agree with so I was only able to take 1 photo outside.

Well, I'm off to watch Darkest Hour. Ciao!

Bratwurst / Mettwurst Sandwich

Bratwurst is a very popular German sausage available as a street food in a large number of countries. It's made from pork with some marjoram as a spice. Mettwurst is also made from pork but is usually smoked and strong in flavour. I believe combining the two in a sandwich would make for a delicious delight and boy was I right.

 

The ingredients:

• Multi-grain cob
• Bratwurst
• Smoked Mettwurst
• Mustard
• Dill pickles
• Butter
• Cheese

The procedure:

 

Pan frat both sausages until they are brown. Slice the cob and slather one side with butter and theother side with mustard. Put cheese on both sides of the cob. Slice the sausages and arrange them on the cob then put the dill pickles across. Close the sandwich and start eating!!!

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

the bratwurst is on top and the mettwurst at the bottom

bratwurst is darker than the mettwurst

 

This is quite a spicy salty sandwich so make sure you have some water close by to wash it all down. Enjoy! Ciao!

 

Tuna in Blue Cheese Aioli Sandwich

I've always loved tuna but I'm not such a big fan of those tuna melt sandwiches. I feel that a cold tuna sandwich is immensely better as I feel that fish is a dis better served cold. Anyway, I felt like making some aioli which is essentially garlic infused mayo. Today, I've decided to make a nice tuna sandwich using freshly made aioli from scratch on a fresh baguette.

The ingredients:

• 1 egg yolk
• Oil - up to you if you want to use virgin or something else. I used peanut oil.
• Lemon juice
• Blue cheese
• 1 bulb Garlic
• Flaked tuna
• Brown onion
• Tomato
• Apples
• Baguettes
• Mustard to taste

The procedure:

Slice your apples, onions and tomatoes and set aside. These will be used to garnish your baguette later. Chop the garlic and set aside. In a blender or food processor, mix the egg yolk with about 150-200ml of oil and about 5 teaspoons of lemon juice. Blend until thick and creamy then put in about 75 grams of blue cheese and all the garlic then blend again until it's all smooth. You can add salt and pepper if you want.

Slice your baguettes lengthwise and garnish this with the slices of apple, onion and tomatoes. Drain the flaked tuna and put in a bowl. Mix the aioli with the tuna along with some mustard. It is important that you do not put too much aioli and make the mixture too wet as it will ruin your sandwich and make it hard to eat. Now scoop the tuna mixture out and lay it thick onto the baguette and serve! This is delicious!

Here are some photos: 

Make only enough aioli for what you need as this can spoil fast especially since the yolk is raw. Adding salt will make it last a bit longer. Enjoy! Ciao!

A Focus on Dance in Papua New Guinea

Yesterday, I attended a book launch in Boroko. The book being launched is called "A Focus on Dance in Papua New Guinea." It is the first book of its kind in the country and was a project 3 years in the making. Alot of research and work went into the making of this book and the result is a wonderful work detailing the various dances in the country.

The book launch was held at the Institute of Papua New Guinean Studies in Boroko a few blocks away from where the office of the National Cultural Commission is. The programme was hosted by Don Niles who is an American ethnomusicologist who has made PNG his home. 

The primary researcher for the book is Naomi Faik-Simet, the country's first and only dance researcher. Martin Tonny from Transparency International as well as Dr. Jacob Simet who is the Executive Director of the NCC were also contributing authors.

Sophie Naime from the University of Papua New Guinea officially launched the book and the event was capped by a brief performance by the Cont Cho dance group.

Here are some photos:

I apologise for the photos in advance. The venue was pretty dark and my camera is a dinky point and shoot.

don niles

naomi faik-simet

martin tonny

dr jacob simet

sophie naime

here's the book

The book is now available for sale at the IPNGS! Email them at ipngs@global.net.pg or call them on +675 3254644.

Ciao!

Duffy's in Port Moresby

It was my friend Olie who told me about Duffy's. He said that their coffee is good and I should try it. When I first heard of Duffy's though, I couldn't help but laugh since the name conjured up images of the popular Duff beer from the Simpsons and I imagined I'd find someone like Homer sipping away in a dark corner and Moe serving up drinks. Anyway, I don't write about resaurants and cafes these days ever since my restaurant review column Bite Me in the Post-Courier stopped coming out. I thought I'd make an exception with this cafe.

I dropped by yesterday but it was closed to my disappointment as I was in a coffee mood. Today, I made a quick stop and I wasn't disappointed. They had a proper coffee machine with bean grinders. You have a choice of either an imported coffee or Banz which is a local coffee. I chose the imported one as I like my coffee to be stronger and a bit more robust. Though PNG has very good beans, I find that the roast isn't good and the coffee lacks soul. It's sweet as it is pure arabica but it could have been roasted better.

They had a selection of cupcakes, cheese cakes, chocolate delights and other delectable delights. I had the banana bread which was quite chunky. It wasn't bad but it wasn't as moist as I would have liked it to be. I was told though that they had two types and I ordered the drier variety. I'll try to order the moist one next time. I also had the chocolate tart which was pretty good.

They have a good drink selection with a variety of teas and coffees. I will most likely stop by again in the near future to try out their other offerings. Their cafe area is divided into an indoor air-conditioned area and an al fresco one. I watched a guy the rigging up one of the large umbrellas while I sat sipping on my coffee through the window and took a photo as soon as he was done.

Here are some photos.

They also had a street fashion shop upstairs but I didn't go up anymore as I needed to be somewhere else.  If you want to try this place out, it is on Gabaka street besides Hitron. It is in-between Ela Murray and Hitron if you're on Gabaka.

Ciao!

Coppa on Rye

It's a lazy Sunday. When I woke up this morning, I rolled around in bed for a good half hour before I decided I had to get up. Anyway, my friend's brother-in-law was leaving today so we all decided to meet up for lunch at Good Day. After a good meal of butter sotong, claypot fish head and hot pepper chicken, we decided to have coffee. Unfortunately, that new place Duffy seemed closed so off we went to Vision City.

 

We decided Brumby's would be a good place to have some coffee and sit down for a bit. While sitting down, the baker brought out some freshly baked rye loaves. The lovely smell of rye inspired me to make a sandwich so off I went and bought a loaf then proceeded to the supermarket where I bought the rest of my ingredients.

 

The ingredients:

• Coppa - this is a raw deli meat made from neck parts and fat.
• Tasty cheese
• Fruit chutney - you can get the spicy variety if you want
• Dijon mustard
• Green capsicum
• Brown onion

The procedure:

 

Slice the rye bread in thick slices. Smother the fruit chutney on one slice and the dijon mustard on the other. The reason why I am using dijon mustard is that it has a smoother and milder taste as compared to other mustards. I also chose the not so spicy fruit chutney so that it won't overpower the other ingredients. I also chose tasty cheese since it is milder. Using a strong cheese like aged cheddar would just drown the other flavours. Slice the cheese as you would like it and put it on the bread.

 

Now slice your onion and capsicum and put it in the sandwich along with your coppa. I put in double portions of coppa to make its flavour stand out a bit more from the other ingredients. Now bon appetit!

 

This is a very simple sandwich. Heck, I just figured it out while walking around the supermarket but I recommend you guys try it out.

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

While making this sandwich, I was listening to the vocal musings of Camille, one of my favourite French singers. What a relaxing Sunday. I hope you all had a good one too!

 

Ciao!

Food in Kokopo

Well last week, I made a quick trip t o Kokopo to check on a few things and talk to some people. The weather there has been similar to Port Moresby of late which is rainy and overcast. There are several places to stay at in Kokopo. This time, I decided to stay at Gazelle International Hotel. My recommended places to stay at are Rapopo, and Kokopo Beach Bungalows (KBB) along with Gazelle. Other places to stay at are Taklam (also owned by KBB), Queen Emma, Kokopo Village Resort and a few more resorts and lodges around the area. Here are some photos from Gazelle:

My first stop whenever I come to Kokopo is Andresons. They make some of the best pies in the country! Their steak & bacon as well as steak & onion really do have a strong bacon & onion taste though their steak is more minced than I prefer.

One thing I like about going to outstations is that the supermarkets outside of Port Moresby always stock up on items that you won't find in the country's capital. On this trip, I got some basmati rice, A&W root beer and real maple syrup as well as some Vittoria coffee.

As I was pressed for time, I decided to eat at a fast food place. I ate over at KFC which is short for Kokopo Fried Chicken. I remember I had their burger before and it wasn't bad. In fact, I remember it was a contender for Brian Bell Lae's burger which for me is the best burger in the country. I had their burger with chips as well as siomai. I was disappointed on this trip though. The food was more tummy filler than a tongue tickler.

I had dinner at Gazelle. Their restaurant isn't bad and I was pleasantly surprised at their cappucino and shortbread. I admit that I really lower my expectations whenever I travel. The best restaurant hands down in Kokopo and Rabaul is still Rapopo though. If you want Chinese food, you have to travel all the way to Rabaul. The Rabaul hotel serves the best Chinese in this part of the country. There's a Chinese restaurant at Takubar but it's not good. There's also a Filipino restaurant called skowhagon but I don't like their food either. All the hotels and lodges serve food so you can try them out.

I always make it a point to stop at the market whenever I come here. This time, I was aiming for Galip nuts as well as Pau nuts. I do not know if these are endemic to the province but I have never seen them outside of East New Britain. The PNG Chinese love to eat these. They are excellent when mixed with butter cake or banana bread but if you wish to eat them plain, put them on a baking tray, sprinkle some salt & sugar and bake them for a few minutes.

galip nuts

pau nuts

I lucked out. I didn't know it is fruit season there. I was surprised that the long mangoes and the apple-mangoes were already available along with rambutan, the local orange and pineapples. I bought a box and quickly loaded it up with fresh fruit to take back with me to Port Moresby.

I have to say I got pretty lucky with the fruits I got. The apple mangoes proved to be delicious and at K0.40 each, I scored! I wish they had my favourite though, turpentine mangoes. I also wanted the little Matupit mangoes but they weren't available too.

a bunch like this only cost me K2.00

Anyway, Kokopo isn't just for adventure seekers. When you get here, you should try out the taro, the fruits and the wild fowl too by the volcano. They lay eggs that are really oily similar to duck eggs. Ciao!