Matthew Lang's Blog, page 10

Review – Spice Temple

Ye Heung Ke Zi(Fragrant Fish Eggplant)

I’ve been to Niel Perry’s Spice Temple twice now, and I figured it was time to write a review for it. I have a lot of respect for Neil Perry. He’s done wonders with the QANTAS food, is a massively internationally respected chef, and for me to feel disappointed by his food, was something I was not expecting.

But there it is. I was disappointed. In terms of cuisine and flavour, the best description I can give is ‘lite’. It was ‘lite’ in a number of ways I would normally expect from a Chinese restaurant. It was ‘lite’ in oil, which was good. It was ‘lite’ in size–i.e. servings were quite small–and it was ‘lite’ in drama. For me it feels like Perry has taken the western sensibility of flavour balance, understated, restrained and refined food and applied to Chinese cuisine, where I’m not sure it sits.

The words I associate with Chinese–and specifically Cantonese–food is powerful, generous and dramatic. Heavy’s probably in there too, but not in the good way. Cantonese food is about powerful, bold flavours, large servings to be shared and visually stunning. I find this important because if it looks appealing, I want to eat it, and I get more excited about eating it. From a cultural standpoint, having expensive, dramatic food was also a way to show your status–as if to say ‘hey, look at me, I can afford to eat crab’, and everyone could tell because you had a giant platter mounded high with noodles and the crab shell perching proudly on top. When I lived in Hong Kong, my father pointed out how some families would deliberately over order. Much like Jewish families traditionally want to have leftovers–otherwise someone may have gone hungry–Chinese families have often seen being able to waste food as a sign of wealth, and one that can be done very publicly.

I’m not advocating that mindset in any way, but looking at that, I hope you can understand why Cantonese food is so dramatic–the piles of crab shells, the giant serves, the way you can identify what a dish is just by looking at it, the hand made noodles stretched and shaped tableside–and why I expect it. So when Spice Temple served up a crab already de-shelled as a rather insipid looking stir fry, I wondered why someone would bother ordering it when it looked just like chicken–a rather dry chicken, given crab meat’s tendency to fall apart very quickly.

So it was with some trepidation that I returned for yum cha with my sister, ordering a range of dishes, from our favourite pot stickers, xiao long bao, a fish fragrant egg plant hot pot (pictured) and a garlic cucumber salad and a few other oddities such as a szechuan style Wagyu beef and imaginative ‘sliders’–a fusion of the white Chinese bao and a western style burger. It started well–after the daintiness of the previous dinner I was ready for miniscule servings and . . . → Read More: Review – Spice Temple

Matthew Attending: Goodreads M/M Romance Group February Catch Up

Matthew is planning on attending the Goodreads M/M Romance Group February catch up this Saturday the 16th of February. If you’d like to come along to chat with other readers of queer fiction–and a few Aussie Authors, like Matthew and Isabelle Rowan, feel free to come along as well.

The catch up is lunch at Blue Train Cafe in Southbank, starting at 1 PM. If you arrive early there will be a gathering in the food court below the cafe from 12 noon. It’s nothing formal, just a chilled day out with cool people who love books.

Where: Blue Train Cafe, MR5 Mid Level, Southgate Landing, Southbank, VIC 3205 When: Saturday 16th February, 1 PM. Cost: Whatever you order for lunch.

For more information, visit the Goodreads thread here (Goodreads account and membership of the group required).

Guest Post: What if the Gods Walk Among Us? – M. A. Church

Perfect, by M. A. ChurchSequel to PricelessThe Gods: Book Two

Cupid (Latin, cupido, meaning “desire”) in Roman mythology is the god of desire, affection, and erotic love. His Greek counterpart is Eros, but Cupid is also known in Latin as Amor (“Love”).

Many names for one person, right?

Eros appears in Classical Greek art as a young-looking, slender-winged youth who is often depicted as being mischievous, but during the Hellenistic period he’s increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. It was during this time he acquired the bow and arrow that remains a distinguishing attribute; a person, or even a deity, who’s shot by Cupid’s arrow is filled with uncontrollable desire. But he also has arrows that could fill someone with hate.

But… what if the gods do walk among us?

What if Cupid is more than what the mythology tells us? What if he isn’t married to Psyche, and insteads stumbles across a human male who is destined to be his mate while in Las Vegas at The Palms, shooting his arrows to meet his quota? Heavenly day, what if Cupid wants to take human form and age himself so he can attract the interest of this man?

What if we humans have no idea just how badly we’ve messed up the pantheon?

And finally, what if there’s a side to Cupid we’ve never heard about? The dark, obsessive side of love that’s caused more than one war throughout time; an alter ego known as Jealousy that even the god of all gods, Zeus, fears? Can the love of the human known as Jeff control Jealousy? Can he tame the beast?

 

Jeff backed Cam into the door and brushed his lips across Cam’s. Heat flared between them as Jeff lost himself in the feel of Cam’s soft lips and scratchy five o’clock shadow. He enjoyed the kiss, but something was missing. He raised a hand and rested it on Cam’s neck. His strong, quick pulse thudded under the silky skin. Cam slid his hands around Jeff’s waist and suddenly turned them around. Surprised, Jeff broke the kiss. He opened his mouth to say something but Cam leaned into him, backed him up against the door, and attacked his mouth. Desire roared out of nowhere, knocking Jeff off stride as Cam took over again. Jeff’s head spun with pleasure as Cam ground against him. Shock waves of pleasure raced through his body. Shaking from the intensity, he moaned as Cam led him down a whole new path; he was actually concerned he’d come in his pants… from a kiss. Breathing harshly, they broke apart. “I need to go inside.” Cam ran his thumb over Jeff’s wet bottom lip. “Let’s go.” “I’m going inside; you’re going back to your friends.” Confused, disappointed, and aroused to the point of pain, Jeff ran his hands through his hair. “Are you…? Do you mean to tell…? Dammit, Cam.” Jeff rested his head against the door. “I’m dying here. You really . . . → Read More: Guest Post: What if the Gods Walk Among Us? – M. A. Church

Happy Australia Day!

Australians All Let Us Rejoice…

For on the 26th of January, many years ago, our country was invaded, its land claimed by a foreign power and a long running campaign to subjugate and kill its native inhabitants was instigated by a foreign power: The British. Um, actually I was meaning to say something about mateship, the lucky country and crack about us probably failing our own citizenship test, but there’s no way around the fact that historically, Australia Day wasn’t a happy time for a lot of people, much in the same way that Thanksgiving in America is often seen–rightly or wrongly–to commemorate of an indigenous slaughter.

Cartoon by Joel Tarling

Almost all of us are immigrants to this nation, and we bring with us our cultures, our histories, our food, let’s not forget food, and to some degree we all adopt the cultural cringe and attempt to distance ourselves from Being Lara Bingle and The Shire. That’s not really Australian, we say. January the 26th means a lot of different things to different people, but perhaps the most important thing to do is take what may not have had the most auspicious of beginnings, and reclaim it for the future. We are lucky, having avoided most of the economic crises that have hit other countries in the last two decades. We have relatively low unemployment, a good name internationally for both business and tourism, and a healthcare system that Americans can only dream of—or cringe at if they’re staunch Republicans, I suppose.

We’re lauded as friendly, hard working, and with some notable exceptions (cue the cultural cringe once more) multicultural. Technically, on Australia Day we’re supposed to celebrate the landing of the first fleet. I have no ties to the first fleet. Many of my friends don’t either. But we can and do feel privileged to live in this country and for many Australians, Australia Day is simply a time to celebrate those things that make Australia great—the country that is, not the movie. Clearly the only thing great about that movie was Hugh Jackman shirtless. And I believe we can do that while acknowledging that most of us live on the land of native peoples who have never ceded sovereignty of it to the occupying power that is still here today, that they too are part of our rich—if sometimes bloody—history, and while we count our blessings, I think we should also spare a thought for those who we have not always treated in the spirit we laud ourselves for today. And those people may not be Indigenous Australians. They may have been Greek or Italian, Chinese or Vietnamese, or the more recent immigration waves of Indians and Africans that are now seen as ‘un-Australian’. It may have been those who don’t drink, or vegetarians, or just that weird kid in the corner with the acne and no friends because he or she wasn’t cool.

. . . → Read More: Happy Australia Day!

More than Romance: Ana Bosch

Today we bring you Matthew’s interview with Author and Illustrator Ana Bosch, who considers herself a writer of more than just romance, and currently working on a trilogy about, well, why don’t you just wait and find out? Matthew began by asking her why she wrote:

Ana: There are so many reasons! Primarily, I write because I love crafting stories. I love exploring the ways characters interact with each other, and I love being able to step outside myself and into another world. I also find it cathartic. While none of my writing can be considered anywhere near autobiographical, I often find ways to make sense of the struggles of my daily life by twisting and translating them into fiction—often in surprising and unpredictable ways. Also, as someone with tastes that usually don’t fall within the realm of mainstream American entertainment, it’s really important to me to be able to share stories that are a little outside the norm and serve an audience that is often neglected by the mainstream.

Matthew: You’re also an illustrator, correct? Do you find your writing informs your illustration or vice versa?

Ana: It really does go both ways. My artistic background was a source of inspiration for Art of Death, More than Romance: Ana Bosch

Pre-Order ‘The Way You Are’ Today!

Art by Christine Griffin

It’s nearly here. I’m going over the final galleys now and the novella should release on the 2nd of January 2013 (well, the 3rd for us Aussies given  Dreamspinner works on American time). You can Pre-Order the eBook now for $3.99, or $2.99 if you catch the Christmas sale. And because it’s Christmas, here’s an excerpt from the story–the very first time our friend Leon (that’s him in the blue hoodie), meets Warrick the student nurse, AKA the guy in the green box on the cover. Not the footnotes start at seven because this section is already six footnotes in.

The room wasn’t what Leon had been expecting. For starters, it was mostly bare, with two ward beds empty and the third containing the limp figure of an aging matron, a thin, white cotton sheet doing little to conceal her bulk. Leon focused his gaze on the furthest corner of the room, where a yellow privacy curtain had been drawn back, allowing sunlight from the nearby window to play over the unmoving figure in the fourth hospital bed. The bed was large to Leon’s eyes, and the patient it contained looked a bit like a child in comparison, even though Leon knew Rook to be at least six inches taller than himself. The bedsheets were tucked around the recumbent figure, still neat and crisp, as if they had just been fitted around his body. Obviously, coma patients didn’t move much. An unused tray table and a soft chair—upholstered in the poo brown that had been ever so popular in the 1950s or some other decade before Leon’s time—sat off slightly to one side, a bunch of wilted flowers on the bedside table, and a small stack of get well cards the only personal touches in the otherwise institutional space. Leon would have expected a scrunched tissue or indented cushion or something—anything—to indicate the presence of parents, but apparently they lived far out in the middle of Woop Woop7. The last few days hadn’t been kind to Rook—or as he was known on his patient chart, Travis Rookford. The left side of his face was still swollen and bruised, the skin lacerated with a myriad of cuts that, according to newspaper sources, had been inflicted by a smashed bottle. One source8 said Rook was lucky to not have lost an eye. His right leg was elevated and in a heavy cast, and Leon knew that somewhere under the chest bandages were a number of broken ribs and a lot of internal bruising, and a significant amount of internal bleeding. “H-hi,” Leon said. The only response was a triple-fluted snore from the lady in bed three and the steady beep-beep-beep of Rook’s heart monitor. “You probably don’t remember me. Actually, I’d be surprised if you did,” Leon said, eyes wandering over the tubes that led from Rook’s muscled arm to the bag of intravenous . . . → Read More: Pre-Order ‘The Way You Are’ Today!

Now Screening: Confessions of a Drunkard

It’s been a while, but we can now show you Confessions of a Drunkard, Matthew’s screen debut. Filmed for the 48 Hour Film Festival, Confessions of a Drunkard made it to the finals before being beaten by some very stiff competition. It’s finally made it onto YouTube, and more to the point, we’re now allowed to show it to you, so enjoy. In case you’ve missed it, Matt’s the one in the rainbow t-shirt. He’s also got a new boyfriend, but he’s not in the film, and we’re not allowed to say anything more apparently. We’ll try to slip you some pictures if we can get Matt to agree not to fire us for it. We will be slipping you cover art from his newest novella shortly. It’s just about ready to go and The Way You Are is slated for a January release at the moment, but it might be pushed back if the edits drag out.

In other news, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has urged Uganda to reject its ‘Kill the Gays’ bill, likening it to the apartheid Africa fought so long to reject, scientists have found homosexual behaviour in male animals makes them more attractive to female animals (okay, at least in fish), and Simon & Schuster have launched a new self-publishing arm brought to you by the Author Solutions crew–they who rip off would-be authors for thousands of dollars and take half of any sales that eventuate. Here’s a tip: avoid them.

Here’s to a happy holiday season, whatever season you’re actually in, or what season the weather thinks you’re in. Currently Australia is fluctuating between spring cold and summer heat, and we’re trying to convince Matthew to spend more time writing and less time at the beach with his new man. Maybe the storms will help. Or not. In any case, check back soon for more writerly goodness and hopefully a cover art reveal or two.

If you’re in Melbourne, Australia and feel like making a film or two, check out the Film By Democracy crew.

More than Romance: Kim Fielding

Today we bring you the first in what will hopefully become a series of interviews with writers who publish under the gay romance banner, but consider their stories to be more than romance novels, much in the way Matthew’s own writing tends to not foreground romantic relationships. We are incredibly happy to present Matthew’s recent interview with Kim Fielding, author of the Ennek trilogy and the just released Brute. Matthew began by asking her why she writes:

Kim: I don’t have much choice in the matter. I’ve had stories inside my head, clamouring to get out since I was a little kid. It’s only in the last few years I’ve found the courage to share them with others. When I go without writing for very long I get itchy typing fingers. It’s a huge plus for me that readers seem to enjoy my work, but frankly I’d probably keep on writing even if nobody ever saw my words but me. It’s all probably some kind of diagnosable compulsion, but not one I ever want to be cured of.

Matthew: Is there any particular reason you decided to write about two men?

Kim: Well, I like men! Seriously, I have very little control over who my characters are and what they do—or who they’re attracted to. And I think there are some specific advantages to writing about two men. It allows me to play with power themes and tropes and also to challenge stereotypes. It also creates a distance between myself and my characters that I think is a good thing. Nobody is going to assume there’s something autobiographical about my novel when the protagonist is a male, gay, maimed giant, for instance. Also, I write the kinds of things I enjoy reading. I’ve never liked het romance very much; it tends to bore or frustrate me. I think some of the ideas in gay romance are a lot fresher.

Matthew: I know you say you write more than ‘just’ romance. What then do you write and how do you feel it differs from traditional romance stories?

Kim: I think a lot of what I write defies neat categorization. Maybe that’s because the books of many of my favourite authors, such as Neil Gaiman, Isabel Allende, and Kurt Vonnegut, also cross genre boundaries. A lot of what I write has elements of magic or paranormal in it, but those elements tend to be blended in pretty thoroughly with everyday life. I suppose if I had to choose a category I felt most comfortable placing myself in, it might be magical realism. In my newest novel, for example—Brute—magic definitely exists. People can be healed by it and one of the main characters has dreams that foretell deaths. But most of the book centers around more everyday concerns, such as how to earn money, how to find friendship and love, and how to weigh conflicting duties.

One thing that sets a lot of my work apart from more traditional . . . → Read More: More than Romance: Kim Fielding

Restaurant Review: Chat Thai

Beef Salad at Chat Thai. Apologies for the slight messiness of the photo. We’d started eating before I thought to take one. Still very tasty though.

The stand out new dining experience for me in Sydney was Chat Thai in the new city Westfield shopping centre. One of a growing chain of restaurants boasting authentic Thai food, my friend Mel and I chose it on her recommendation, and because it had a queue out the front. We’d just completed the harbour bridge climb, which was quite a lot of fun, I have to say, and were just starting to get ravenous. Taking the escalator up to the top of the shopping centre, we found a mass of people sitting outside Chat Thai, waiting for a table. Everywhere else was doing a brisk trade, but had a few tables free. We could have walked into any other restaurant and had a good meal I’m sure, but we didn’t. We checked how long the queue was going to be—the waitress we spoke to estimated a fifteen minute wait—looked at each other and shrugged. We could wait fifteen minutes.

And I’m very glad we did.

I often say that we don’t get a lot of good Thai food in Melbourne. Part of the reason of course, is that there isn’t quite as many Thai people in Melbourne as there are in Sydney. We seem to have a much larger Vietnamese community—and as a result have more Vietnamese restaurants than Sydney does, which is excellent, but after living in Hong Kong for nine years where my family had a more or less dedicated table at a certain Thai restaurant, I really do miss good Thai food, and I can’t afford to be a regular feature at Longrain. Chat Thai isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s reasonable as long as you remember the dishes are meant to be shared.

We ordered a green curry, a thai beef salad and the char grilled tumeric and lemongrass chicken, which was the closest one I’ve had to my childhood memories from Asia. They also had fresh coconut water, which made me a very happy man. The food was light, filling, beautifully balanced and had just the right level of sweet, sour and hot that you look for in good thai food. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I left a very happy man wishing I could go back and order a pad thai. We nearly did, but the waiter warned us that might have been too much food—and it probably would have been.

The issue with reviewing a place like Chat Thai, I suppose, is that the food was excellent, but there’s very little more that I’d want to say about it other than it’s great food, worth the price and that you should go check it out. I do recommend the beef salad, which was the dish of the . . . → Read More: Restaurant Review: Chat Thai

Restaurant Review: Mamak

On my very first trip to Sydney I was told by my cover artist, Richard, that I had to try this Malaysian place that did excellent roti, which was interesting because prior to that I had never had any roti in Australia that came close to comparing to the flaky goodness that you find on the roadside in Malaysia. Now the roti at Papa Rich comes close, although the rest of their food is a bit of a mixed bag, but Mamak was the first and the best I found—even if it was closed for renovation that first trip and it was a good year before I made it back up.

Mamak means ‘eat’ in Malay, and one funny thing about people in South East Asia is that their local knowledge is impeccable when it comes to knowing where the best food is, actually, that’s not the funny part. The funny part is the way they define the best food. “No, that stall has the best satay, and you need to go there for Ipoh Hor Fun, but not on Tuesdays,” and so on. One place will become known for a specific item, and when you want to eat that, you make a trip out for it. In this case, roti at Mamak.

For those of you who don’t know, Roti is traditionally an Indian bread—a dry, flaky wholemeal bread. Brought by workers to Malaysia, Roti has quickly become something different—a soft, flaky bread that is stetched paper thin, sometimes to the size of the entire griddle on which the bread is fried, and then folded and refolded into near melt-in your mouth buttery goodness that is just on the sweet edge of savoury and you wonder whether you could eat it with more than just curry.

In Malaysia, you can get roti in a number of varieties—plain, with egg, or with egg and onions fried inside. It’s one of the dishes I will happily return for, as well as satay that costs about ten ringgit (about three dollars Australian) for twenty skewers, and the real banana fritters—tiny, sweet ladies finger banana pieces battered and fried in some random oil that’s probably full of saturated fats that’ll make your arteries harden but are oh so delectable. For the longest time, Malaysian food in Australia tended to focus on the noodle and rice dishes, such as the ever present Nasi Goreng and the Char Kuey Tiao. Occasionally, if you were lucky, you’d find a place that did good Hainanese Chicken Rice, and you’d know it was good if the rice had been made with chicken stock, not yellow chicken salt (and I highly recommend Papa Rich for that). Mamak however, has made a name for itself on the strength of its roti, and the first thing you notice there—aside from the long queue outside—is the chefs in the open kitchen at the window, shaping and throwing the roti dough . . . → Read More: Restaurant Review: Mamak