Southeast Asia

Scratch in Downtown Phoenix: Happy Hour Report Card

How This New Music Will Make You Smarter (Thanks, Science)

A good 90 percent of my job as a music journalist is keeping my finger on new music, continuously discovering the vast spectrum of sound that human beings can create. Another 9 percent is attending concerts, where I destroy my liver and my hearing for shits and gigs. That final 1 percent is being a ... More >>

Quick PHX 2013: Eat

Not Fade Away Lays Bare David Chase's Rock 'n' Roll Heart

Pizza Hut Singapore's Double Sensation Pizza

We're roughly pretty sure that Pizza Hut Asia has the Epic Meal Time guys on permanent retainer because the ideas hitting the market out there are pretty amazing. The latest over-the-top creation is from Pizza Hut Singapore which introduced a "Double Sensation Pizza" just in time for the holidays. ... More >>

Join the Slow Food Movement and Celebrate Terra Madre Day on Dec. 10

If you haven't made it to the Biltmore Fashion Park's latest addition UNION -- a mix of 18 small, distinctive boutiques run by local vendors -- mark your calendars to visit on Monday, December 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. for Terra Madre Day. This international event is a celebration of slow food and eating ... More >>

Hue Gourmet: Vietnamese Cuisine Fit for Royalty

Pizza Hut Malaysia Introduces Sauce Stuffed Pizza

See Also: 7-Elevens in Singapore Have Mashed Potato and Gravy Dispensers See Also: Hey, Here Are Those Pizza Crusts Stuffed With Cheeseburgers and Chicken Tenders You Were Asking About See Also: How Pizza Flows Like Blood Through the Veins of America Pizza Hut Malaysia has jumped into the global pi ... More >>

6 Favorite Spots for Hawaiian Food in Greater Phoenix

Take one tropical location and mix it with influences from across the Pacific Rim -- like Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and Thailand -- and you've got the cuisine of Hawaii, the ultimate in fusion food. And whether you prefer Spam musubi over saimin or manapua over a massive plate lunch of kalua ... More >>

Johnny Chu Dishes on Hong Kong Street Food and the Questionable Authenticity of Local Chinese Restaurants

See also: Johnny Chu Opens SoChu House with a Hip Ambiance and Plenty of Cocktails Johnny Chu SoChu House Neo Asian Martini Bar 2801 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix 602-340-9777 This is part one of my interview with Johnny Chu, chef-owner of the just-opened SoChu House Neo Asian Martini Bar. Come b ... More >>

Point-Counterpoint: Is Pho King or Is It Pho-King Awful?

We had so much fun chucking Chow Bella contributors Ando Muneno and Lauren Saria into the ring over Alton Brown, food trucks and movie theaters with food, we put them back at it again. This week's topic: Pho, Vietnamese beef noodle soup. Pho joints have been growing in popularity throughout the Va ... More >>

Jay "Akshen" Valdez Talks Para One, Jam Master Jay, Fools Gold, and More

If you pay a visit to AZ/88 tonight, its urbane décor and trendy drinks won't be the coolest thing going on inside the haute Scottsdale hangout. DJ Akshen will be working hard on the wheels of steel providing a fitting tribute to the late Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys during his weekly gig Fluid F ... More >>

Honor, Courage, Popcorn: Act of Valor Wants You!

They Might Be Giants Are Playing for Adults Again

Dengue Fever Finds a Second Home in Cambodia

Dengue Fever: "It Doesn't Matter...They Don't Know What the Hell We're Saying Anyway"

Imagine wild organ swirls, rolling surf licks and jazzy party horns coupled with angular and decidedly eastern melodies, plus a sultry singer who shifts between English and her native Cambodian dialect. That's just a fraction of what shapes Dengue Fever's original sound. The band discovered its ca ... More >>

Hippopotamus Fritter Recipe from The Fresh Baked Freak; Pen and Fork Reviews The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfort

A round-up of tasty morsels from Valley food blogs. We're so excited when we stumble upon a really great local food blog. We need more of them, people. And if you have one you've been keeping secret, please let us know. This one we found is smart, funny, healthy, delicious and interesting - and the ... More >>

Palace World Music Party Shows "Love For Southeast Asia"

Art by Japanese artist Aya Miyake​DJentrification's weekly Palace World Music night at Filmbar always features far out world music, but this weekend, it's got another goal as well. "I have been to South East Asia and feel very lucky for all the good people I met, for the records I was able to di ... More >>

The Return of Mr. Pholtosa and His Northeastern Thai Cuisine

Jackie Mercandetti​If you have been to Siam in Glendale or, more recently, Thai E-San in Central Phoenix, then chances are, you have tasted Pete (or, in Thai, Tossapis) Pholtosa's offerings of classic Thai cuisine as well as specific dishes from his home in northeastern Thailand. Now, Pholtos ... More >>

Body Parts Made From Bread Make Us Turn Down Lunch Invitation

​Beastly yeast.​Fine artist Kittiwat Unarrom, who also helps run his family's bakery in Ratchaburi, Thailand, has found an unsettling method of combining his two trades. Since 2006, Unarrom has used dough to create crazy-creepy and realistic renditions of heads, feet, hands, arms, and ... More >>

Sa Bai Modern Thai Turns an Old Wendy's on Its Ear

Natalie Morris' Perfect Food Day

Natalie Morris​Natalie Morris really gets around when it comes to food. She went to culinary school, wrote about food, then wrote some more about food. She went clear across the globe only to learn more about food and returned eating fewer foods as she's mostly vegetarian these days. You can ... More >>

How to Use Tamarind

wikimedia​ This week we answer the question: I saw tamarind concentrate and tamarind paste at the Indian market. What's the difference? How do I use them? Don't think you've tasted tamarind? Check out the list of ingredients on the label of your bottle of Worcestershire sauce and you may be ... More >>

Baby Goats, Banoffee Pie and Chipotle's New Concept

A round-up of tasty morsels from Valley food blogs. ​Mouthbysouthwest shared the news that Chipotle is opening a new concept called ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, the first of which will be in Washington, DC this summer. The restaurant "is inspired by the traditional shophouses found throug ... More >>

Fresh Spring Rolls

Carol Blonder fresh spring rolls​ Leafy lettuces and fresh herbs are more than just salad fixin's. Roll them up, toss in some protein, and you've got a wrap. At the Asian market, the sight of fresh Thai basil, mint and cilantro puts us in the mood for fresh spring rolls on Meatless Monday. ... More >>

Money Problems? Arizona Ranks 40th in Per-Capita Income

​ Arizona apparently deserves its reputatation as a mecca for low-paying jobs, ranking 40th in an economic analysis among states for per-capita income. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports, according to the Biz Journal this morning, that the average income for state resi ... More >>

Tsunami Footage Breathtaking, Heartbreaking; West Coast on Tsunami Alert -- Schools Canceled Along Northern California Coast

Image: AP /Kyodo News Tsunami as it hits Natori, Miyagi.​We just saw some of the video footage trickling in from the epic disaster that hit Japan last night. Unbelievable. Gut-wrenching. Scary as hell. Nice to be safe here in the deep desert. Just called a friend who lives near Half Moon ... More >>

Fox 10 Falls Head Over Heels For Mail-Order Bride Service on Valentine's Day

www.loveme.comWhat are the odds this woman doesn't speak this guy's language?​Fox 10 (KPAZ) reported last night that the "business of love" is "booming" in these hard times -- in the form of increased mail-order "relationships." Who says romance is dead?(See the Fox 10 video below).The TV station ... More >>

Closed for Business: Anise Vietnamese Restaurant

​Anise, a stylish Vietnamese restaurant located at one of the Valley's biggest hubs for Asian cuisine, has closed its doors. Situated near the intersection of Dobson and Warner Roads in Chandler -- across from Lee Lee Oriental Grocery Store, catty-corner from Lee's Sandwiches, and close ... More >>

Kinch, River Jones, Joe Strummer, Barrett-Jackson, and the Stray Cat Over the Weekend

​Kinch at Rogue Bar Last Night The Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Marathon was this morning -- thousands of runners, both locals and tourists, jogged 26 miles of Valley streets on a warm January day. The race wasn't the weekend's only impressive show of endurance along Scottsdale Road, though. Kinch's ... More >>

Cafe: Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery

​We are not ones to turn our noses up at Asian cuisine. Quite the opposite actually. So when we here that there is a new Thai restaurant opening up, we've got to check it out. Fod Critic Michele Laudig on Soi 4 Bangkok Eatery: Despite the glamorous digs, Soi 4 isn't dramatically pricier than ... More >>

Our Picks for Picnic Parks and Takeout Options

flickr.com/aprillynn77​As temperatures begin to fall, what better way to enjoy the cool weather than with an evening picnic? Free from pesky birds and harsh sunlight, nighttime picnics have a lot to offer. Bring music and games for entertainment or plan accordingly and enjoy a movie or live ... More >>

How do I use my wok?

We were recently asked by a first time home owner: I received a wok from the Asian market as a gift, what do I do with my wok?   Carol Blonder Seasoned Wok​ Woks are most commonly known as the preferred cooking vessel in creating stir-fry. Those of us who dwell in the Western hemisphe ... More >>

Hell's Kitchen Season 7 Opener: Continued Abuse, Crazy Contestants, and a (Yech!) Chef Ramsay Make-Out Session

Another Hell's Kitchen, another ride on the Chef Ramsay roller coaster. In last week's first episode, it didn't take long for Gordo to send food flying all over the kitchen, repeatedly kick defenseless stainless steel appliances, and shout out such gems as, "You're gonna blow someone's mind off!" ... More >>

Huntington, West Virginia, Needs More Than Jamie Oliver, in This Week's "TV Dinner"

Ding! Ding! Ding! America, thanks to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (the best reality show on TV right now) we now have a winner for the Glad-I-Don't-Live-in-This Hellhole award: Huntington, West Virginia! Great job, Huntington! What's your secret? Children who don't know how to cut food with a knif ... More >>

Beat Poets

Get down with the underground at 602’sdays

Thai E-San Brings the Heat, but It’s the Pickled Crabs That Might Get You

That '70s Art Show

The price is right in retro-looking exhibit

Hang (with) the DJ

Mekong Plaza Offers Asian Groceries and Good Eats to Adventuring Foodies

Righteous Brothers

Tom and Dick sing softly but carry a big shtick

Restless Spiritualist

Globetrotting photog tracks time and myth

Anti-Heroic Measures

Artist and his alter ego stick it to the government

Newcomer Latitude Eight Thai Grill scores points with tom kha and garlic prawns

Tattle Tale

L.A. Theatre Works rats on the gov

For All Nam Kind

Viet youngbloods paint the future using age-old techniques

Lust for Laab

Fresh flavors restore our critic's faith in food

Missing Earl Jr.

A Glendale couple forges a national alliance and a personal bond in their mutual quest to find the 2,087 Vietnam-era POWs and MIAs

THAI SCORE

MEE KROB RUNNETH OVER