Working with the Burmese mines and cutters in these recent years had been a really interesting experience. Learning about the ins and outs of the Burmese Rubies and Sapphires has been a continual eye opener. I had been introduced to Burmese curries (excellent mix of spices - with a restrained hand in excessive spicing and salting - way superior to the Muslim curries and the Singapore curries we have here, in my view), the excellent all time snack of la phet, a chickpea based vermicelli soup Mouhinga (I'm spelling it phonetically as I cannot remember offhand how it was spelt), Oun Nau Khau Hswe (seafoodish noodle soup with refreshing lime).. the list goes on. 
I am addicted to their fresh concoction of Tamarind juice... the incredible fresh mix of tangy sourness of tamarind with soothing sugar/honey. I believe this originated from a East African recipe but I'm not sure. It is perfect with crushed ice, especially on a hot summer night.
Whilst I'm still on the topic of Burma (Myannma) - you would have heard that the American Congress has renewed the Tom Lantos Block Burmese Jade Act of 2008 which prohibits the import of Burmese Jade and Rubies in full for any jade/ruby acquisitions since September 2008 (See : http://www.jvclegal.org/index.php?categoryid=310 for full details).
And back to tamarinds and hot summers.. I had the opportunity to create a pair of earrings named after my current obsession with the tamarind - simply named tamarind, these are made using fancy colored sapphires and oxidised sterling silver which had been extensively polished to a soft grey.
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