Canadian author Naomi Duguid introduces herself on her website as being “curious about the world, an insatiable asker of questions…writer, photographer, storyteller, traveller“. Well, it takes a special gift to be able to meld those qualities and talents in the way she does, unfailingly engaging readers time and again.

Like so many readers (and cooks) around the world, I’ve been travelling vicariously with Naomi for many years now, going back to the day I came upon “Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker’s Atlas” in a Vancouver bookstore. (That was the first of  her six award-winning cookbooks*, co-authored with Jeffery Alford). And ever since, I’ve been straggling along in the wake of her passage through countries as far flung and unfamiliar as Senegal, Azerbaijan and Mongolia, and some as near and familiar as India!

Through a medley of recipes, beautiful photographs, and evocative vignettes of places and peoples, Naomi lets you see and share more than just the food and foodways of those she meets on her travels. Her books read like the diaries of someone in love with the world. And that passion is infectious!

So, naturally, I was thrilled to meet Naomi in person when she visited  Vancouver last November, on a book tour for her newest work, “Burma: Rivers of Flavor”.

The venue was Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks, the wonderful book store run by Barbara-jo McIntosh, a pillar of Vancouver’s culinary scene and, among other things, a chef and award winning author herself.

With the backdrop of a slideshow of her stunning photographs of Burma, Naomi drifted over the geography of the country, touching on a little history and politics, then on to talking about her experiences in the writing of this book. For the independent traveller, or those who would soon be heading to Burma and Thailand with Naomi on one of her immerse through tours, there was a taste of what to expect on their travels.

From practical advice on how best to approach aspects of Burmese cuisine, planning a day of eating in Burma (skip the hotel breakfast, head for the stalls and plan for the noon rice meal!) to fun details like making sure you know what time and day of the week you were born, she kept the gathering engaged in rapt attention. (This last detail is to do with the Burmese style of astrology, and you are liable to be asked by a local if you’d like to visit the shrine that corresponds to your particular day of the week!)

One of Vancouver’s star chefs, Angus An of Maenam, prepared delicious appetizers with a flavour of Northern Thai cuisine for the happy gathering.

Signed books in hand, a warm parting hug, and a promise to visit if we happen to be in Toronto, and we were off into the chilly, autumn night, dreaming of a distant land and rivers of flavour.

While Naomi’s previous books have garnered many awards and accolades, something tells me this book may be particularly close to her heart. It comes across in the warmth with which she speaks of the Burmese people, to whom she has dedicated the book. It makes a lovely “coming out” gift to them, to introduce the world to their world of flavours!

Burma:Rivers of Flavor has already started notching up the awards, having recently won the “Culinary Travel” award from the IACP, and is nominated in the “International” category for a James Beard Foundation award.

After all that travelling, research and touring, you might think it would be time for a well earned rest. Not Naomi, who is halfway around the world, in Turkey, and Georgia, working on her next project! I can barely keep up with reading about it (and that’s why I’m mostly an armchair traveller). 🙂

Here’s wishing Naomi good luck and good eating!

* The others being: Home Baking: Sweet and Savory Traditions from Around the World, Seductions of Rice, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Mangoes and Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent, and Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China.

A taste of Burma on a spring afternoon

After having been away in India over much of the winter, I returned to my kitchen, eager to begin cooking from Naomi’s book. More on that in another post, but meanwhile, we visited one of the rare** restaurants that offer Burmese fare in Vancouver.

At the restaurant Rangoon in Kitslano, Burmese born chef Thant Zin, and her husband Thaddée, offer a selection of Burmese salads and soups, including the soup that’s known as the “Burmese National Dish”, Mohinga. Though it forms only a part of an eclectic menu, which includes steaks and pasta, for people unfamiliar with the unique cuisine of Burma, this is a great place to start exploring.

Over lunch one sunny afternoon in March, we ate our way through two deliciously textured and flavoured salads from Rangoon’s menu. One featured pork belly, the other tomato and shrimp. We then tucked into a bowl of comfortingly silky mohinga with the fixin’s – chopped onions, fresh coriander, chilli oil if you want it, wedges of lemon and crunchy rice and split pea crackers.

Thaddée mentioned in conversation that they are hoping to find a reliable importer of key ingredients for Burmese cuisine, especially the unique lepet (fermented green tea leaves that are eaten mixed with various condiments as a stimulating snack or as a salad).

I look forward to more great meals at Rangoon, and wish them good luck in their efforts to put the cuisine of Burma on Vancouvers’ culinary map.

** I really hope this is going to change soon!