World Dinner Club

World Dinner Club
World Dinner Club

Monday, April 15, 2013

Where's the old blog?

You may be wondering where our old blog went.  We are now on HungryGlobetrotter.com where we have a new Food and Travel blog with more regular posts and all the same eclectic stories of gourmet eats and tasty travels.  Come check us out!


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Azalina’s Malaysian Products



Azalina's Coconut KayaAzalina Eusope is a San Francisco-based chef from Penang. She is a member of the Mamak tribe, a people who are deeply tied to spices and were renowned cooks for Malaysian royalty.

After a successful career as a pastry chef, Azalina moved around cooking in Singapore, Japan and several other countries before finally moving to the United States. It was in San Francisco that Azalina rediscovered her love of Malaysian culture and cuisine, but she was unable to locate any of her favorite foods locally. Eventually she started her own line of Malaysian simmer sauces and other products.


Azalina’s Peanut Sauce
Peanuts have long been a Malaysian staple, and peanut sauce is a traditional condiment that frequently graces the nation’s tables. Exceptionally versatile, it is used in everything from marinades to pasta sauces, and even as a salad topping or vegetable dip.

Azalina’s Kaya Coconut Jam
Kaya, a coconut spread, is a great alternative to traditional jam or peanut butter. Also try serving kaya with ice cream or yogurt. For a sweet touch in savory dishes use it as a glaze for proteins and vegetables or to flavor rice. What else do we love about this exceptional jam? The gorgeous copper colored tops of Azalina’s jars are no accident: copper is considered very lucky in Malaysia.  

Friday, February 8, 2013

The world's best street food on your stovetop


Malaysia is known for great food that melds flavors and cultures, and Penang is well known within Malaysia for featuring some of the country’s most interesting cuisine.  The street food of Penang stands out, as it offers people from all walks of life fresh and delicious fare from the land and sea.


Spicy soups like Laksa and noodle dishes ranging from sweet to spicy are common.  And if anything can be put on a skewer and grilled, it will be. However, in this February's  World Dinner Club box, we’ve taken noodle dishes that require a lifetime to master and made them simple. Our “stovetop” satay delivers flavors that can be enjoyed without the difficulty of grilling over coals.
This very special dinner box is not to be missed!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

An introduction to the Street Food of Penang, Malaysia


San Francisco Chef Azalina Eusope helps Hungry Globetrotter bring the famous street food of Penang to life in our February dinner box 

Check out this great video of Azalina via the Food Network:


Discover Malaysia with Azalina in our  February World Dinner Club subscription box.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Enjoying Mole at Home


Mole is a rich chili and spice sauce from Mexico that incorporates sometimes dozens of ingredients cooked over many hours and reflects the complex flavors of each cook or restaurant.

The best-known legend of the origins of Mole Poblano says that it was created at the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla. An archbishop was visiting, and there was nothing on hand to prepare. However, the resourceful sisters pulled together some leftovers. The bishop loved the intense sauce of chocolate and chilies served over an old turkey. 

It’s said that the original recipe for Mole Poblano contained over a hundred different ingredients. Today it usually consists of dried ancho, pasilla chilies, chipotle, tomatoes, raisins, unsweetened chocolate, almonds, sesame seeds, clove, cinnamon, pepper, parsley, onion, garlic, and tortillas. 

Of course, you don’t have time to gather and slowly cook all these different ingredients. After testing several mole short cuts (and even making it from scratch to be sure), we’ve discovered an easy mix from Urban Accents, which is in our January box shipping this week, that makes it possible for anyone to enjoy this complex and rich sauce at home… without a team of Puebla nuns on hand in the kitchen!

While putting together this box we enjoyed thinking not just about how to showcase two unique ways to use chocolate, but also how to appreciate some key techniques of Mexican cooking.  We do this by using soffritto as a base for rice and by adding tortillas in a flavorful soup.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Fun Food Facts from Mexico



  • Many of today’s favorite foods come from traditional recipes developed by the Mayans and the Aztecs.
  • Chili peppers, corn, tomatoes and other New World foods spread to the rest of the world after the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. 
  • Mole poblano has its roots in Mayan and Aztec food, but the modern version was created in Puebla State (in light green in the center of the map above) in the colonial age. 
  • Many of Mexico’s candies are not only food, but small pieces of art. Skull-shaped candies or chocolates (like the ones in our box) are specially prepared for the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a holiday when it is typical to pray for and remember friends and family members who have passed away.