Foodie Friday
All you need to make the perfect (and easiest) salads are equal quantities of the right virgin olive and the right balsamic vinegar – plus, of course, the right greens, spices, and other ingredients.
A franchisee in Hong Kong sells an odd combination of products, and infused balsamic vinegar is one of them. Will it go well with salads?
I am intrigued by a shop on Hollywood Road, which – according to the sign over the storefront – sells oils, vinegars, spirits, and wine. So I walk inside, with no intention of buying anything.
I’m working on a blog post on Hong Kong’s growing French community, and I mistakenly assume that the store in French owned. So I’m hoping to get some sound bites on French owned businesses for my post.
As it turns out, Vom Fass is a German brand selling cask-aged vinegars as well as oils and select wines, spirts, and liquers “direct from the cask”.
Some of the casks are wooden; others are glass or clay. The brand also sells reusable glass bottles.
So much for my post on French owned businesses in Hong Kong …
Candy Store for Adults?
The salesman – who has obviously been well trained – is knowledgable about the brand and the products. He starts by explaining that this is a “candy store for adults”.
Then he explains the concept. On your first visit you purchase a bottle. On subsequent visits, you bring back the bottle and have it refilled with the same or another item. So it’s environmentally friendly.
I’m a big fan of balsamic vinegar so I taste a few samples, all of them infused with a different ingredient – apple, mango, grape, forest raspberry, the list goes on.
I am particularly smitten by a vinegar infused with honey. Since it was also one of the cheaper varieties – and I’m a cheapskate at heart – I buy a bottle and have it filled with the vinegar.
The total cost comes to HK$132.50 for the 250 mil Marasca bottle and 250 mils of Honey Balsamic Vinegar.
Key Ingredients
That night I make a salad with ingredients I already have on hand – baby spinach, , iceburg lettuce (torn, never cut), cherry tomatoes (cut into slices), and peeled baby carrots (chopped) – plus my newly acquired vinegar.
As always, I sprinkle some McCormick Perfect Pinch Salad Supreme, McCormick 100% Organic Itallian Seasoning, and Mc Cormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning (from a grinder) over the top.
If I had any avocados, Hormel Real Bacon Pieces, Pepperidge Farm Croutons, and one more kind of lettuce (ideally you should have at least 3 types of leafy vegetables in a salad), I would add those, too, but I don’t have any so I don’t.
My salad dressings are usually a combination of extra virgin olive oil, a few kinds of vinegar, and lemon juice.
I never measure anything. A dash of this, a dash of that … And I hope for the best.
Because I haven’t tried my new vinegar yet, I prepare my salad as usual, but I only use equal parts of olive oil and my new vinegar. I will give it a try first and then decide what needs to be added.
One bite and OMG!!! This is the BEST salad I have ever tasted! The virgin olive oil and honey balsamic vinegar in equal quantities are a marriage made in heaven.
Nothing else needs to be added! Is this the world’s simplest (and yummiest) salad dressing ever?
On subsequent nights, I procure bacon bits and garbonzo beans (chickpeas), adding them to the mix, and both work perfectly, just as I expected.
Now all that’s missing is some avocado and some croutons (there weren’t any at the supermarket). No guesswork there! I KNOW they will taste perfect, as well!
I’ve told you what I WOULD try, now I’ll tell you what I WON’T try: corn (it doesn’t belong in salads), uncooked broccoli (it’s hard on the digestive system), uncooked bell peppers (ditto), and Jello sprinkled with coconut flakes (no thank you, Pizza Hut).
Von Foss has branches throughout the world. Its website is also full of recipes (videos, even) and other interesting information.
Where
Vom Fass Hong Kong, 68A Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong. Store