PCL

Why bother to talk? Just cook it anyways... plonk it on the table and I'm sure someone will be curious enough to try. Talk is cheap. Action man, action!!

So because there is plenty, the other bits are left to waste... so in the greater picture, its possible that its not necessary to consume offal. But some possible ramifications are: Approximately 30-40% of the carcass is wasted because it's considered offal... sent to canneries, pet food companies, and ending up as sausages and yeah, dim sims!!!... so the toll to produce 'good' meat is increased... everyone only wants to eat the outside... not the inside and the dangly bits... I think we're spoiled that's what. Necessity will encourage genius no? So whilst we're good at other things, we suck at cooking and eating offal... generally, that is, not specific cultures that have made Australia home... basically I'm talking about the mainstream... The rant continues...

So what's wrong with Australian diners then? Is it the association with 'old fashioned' liver dinners? Or is it some throwback to anglo conservatism? Being a multicultural society, it seems that Aussies are slow in embracing the wholesomeness of offal. One never finds trotters except at Chinese restaurants and some Vietnamese noodle joints that serve Bung Bo Hue. Bistro cooking?? I mean, I want to see France Soir plate up pied d'cochon man... And it seems we have enough of other cultures hanging about to fully diversify what the whole idea of offal goodness is all about. Why isn't it happening? Are chefs and diners too concerned with the latest fads? Sure, as a developing culture, still nascient in terms of culinary tradition, would it not be more wise to look within and to history for reference before striking out to a bold new world? So, one gets off a soapbox and another begins to rant... And Dan, sure, thanks, say hi to Frank for me... tell him I'll catch up with him before Christmas... hopefully...

For all meat needs in Melbourne, please go visit Excell Meat Co. on Lygon St, Carlton. Ask for Frank, he owns the place, a real Italian butcher who knows everything and everyone. Tell him Pino sent you and then tell him what you need. For cheeks best to ring first... Shin, can you dig up their number, I um, don't have it handy!!

I'd say try Interlude... Chef Robin hasn't posted in a while, but I'm sure he'll be doing something interesting...

I"ve heard that European cuisine in Bangkok is very very good, you seem to think so too huh?... your recent trip to KL must have been a real disappointment... Most times I've been to Bangkok it's been over a weekend so the brunch at Sukhothai always featured. Otherwise, local food had always been in the majority... but that was a while ago, last time being two Octobers ago... looking forward to the return trip and dude, keep posting! It ain't over till the next election!... the Coup I meant...

Okay... some more field research here... asked a few friends and next time I'm in Borneo, Sabah, to be precise, I'm gonna try the local coconut based spirit, and hey hey, a rice based spirit... although I must qualify that rice is not a traditional crop in that part of the world, whereas coconuts, whole different matter I am told... Looking forward to it... will also be counting the beer drinkers... I mean, like in coffee shops, you see dudes sucking on long neck bottles of Carlsberg, Oraanjeboom and the lot... not many locals drink local beer over there it seems...

...and congrats on getting your Mac back... I'd die if something happened to mine... and oh, careful when eating and Mac'ing... especially if it's an aluminium case... very difficult to get sauce off of the case...

Excellent... you've learned me. This forum doesn't fail to amaze me now and then. Brings a whole news perspective to 'ask and thou shall receive'. By the way, Mr Green, do you have like a search-bot or are you simply one of those Jim Thompson types, complete with safari suit and all, intrepid explorer etc?... gettin' late...

Bravo. Smooth sailing indeed. Sheet in and ride it out man. Be a good chap, maintain a good beer level, and you should be right. Incidentally, I'm keeping notes on the establishments you've mentioned due to an upcoming trip to BKK in the near future I hope, but it will be a juggle between BKK and Bali methinks...

Having spent some time in North Borneo recently in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia... the seafront market in the centre of town, known to locals as the Filipino Market due to the large immigrant population that both frequent and trade in the area, is pretty cool. Every evening boatloads of fresh live seafood is brought to shore and sold within hours. The variety is simply stunning and all of it is caught in local waters. To add to the mix, there is a substantial section of the market devoted to food stalls selling things like grilled chicken wings laced with the famous Sarawak black pepper sauce, fried bananas, curries, rendangs, noodles, fried fruit... yum...

Note 'preliminary research' so I assumed you'd be reading other guidebooks as part of said research in addition to posting your question, I mean, some dudes I used to drink with were Lonely Planet staffers and they always seemed to reading some guidebook or another to keep up so to speak. So anyhow, seems like a few good people have googled, yahoo'ed, MSN'ed away so you should be well on the way to discovering who discovered beer in SE Asia if it wasn't indeed brought by colonialists/traders/etc. Would be interested to see what your in-depth research trawls up once we're past this preliminary stage.

Trust me... Ottoman's... it is memorable, and it is outstanding... Modern Mid-East doesn't get better than this, well, except for say Momo's...

Ottoman's in Barton. Hands down. Bar none. Check the dining in Canberra thread, if there's no mention, let me know and I'll be more than happy to post an in memoriam review... Nothing else in Canberra really comes close for consistency and quality and service.

Bali is indeed and island! last time I looked anyway... which was like, 5 weeks ago. Enjoyed the very good, very crisp, Bintang Beer.... which is very similar to Anchor Beer in Malaysia, both in outside can/bottle appearance and taste. A pilsner type I believe, but very dry, aromatic, yet easy on the palate and head. I would say the white man brought beer... obvious enough yeah, but it would be a toss up between the English and the Dutch... I mean, San Miguel... yeah, Spanish in origin but were they big brewers who couldn't live without beer in the lands they colonised? I don't know, this is kind of ignorance and speculation here, but my money would be on the Dutch or English... and if I'm wrong, hell, there's always beer to turn to! Maybe you could focus on actually tasting the stuff rather than origins in the region? I mean your comment about it taking over rice based alcohols... those would be of mainly Chinese origin, and really, alcohol in the region is based on quite a number of products, not just rice... I mean, there's coconut, there's cane, there are various fermentable fruits of the tropical variety, and really, rice based alcohols really isn't that common when you pop into Bali, Bangkok, KL, Singapore, Hanoi etc etc. It is BEER... I think you need to do some more ethnicity related research into what each culture distills or drinks... and if possible, taste the stuff... which guide books are you reading anyways??? edit to add: And how are you defining SE Asia? If it's geo-political, then 'officially', according to ASEAN, which stands for the Association of South East Asian Nations, or some such, the count includes Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Phillipines, Thailand... not sure if Burma is a member, nor am I sure if Cambodia is a member, or Laos... but these are SE Asian... China is not included in that definition... much Indochine comprises many of the countries mentioned... am I ranting? going off topic? maybe... but it's good to define something no?

teflon? oh, i have one teflon pan for doing fish fillets skin down... but then again i find myself using the cast iron more often than not... fond ain't fond of stainless is all i can say!! and re: copper, yeh yeh yeh...

Excellent. Really glad you enjoyed yourselves. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling overall. Now, where the best laksa is will be up for serious debate, and I'll defer to the KL regs, but one should note that the key to hunting down the best laksa is to identify the type of laksa one is after... Penang Laksa, Johor Laksa etc etc etc... it goes on and on and on... Maybe the best satay is something to consider too!!!... My favourite, or one of them, happens to be on the way to the airport on the highway... it's a couple of stops from the airport exit proper... too vague I know, but I'm sure someone will chirp up! JC... over to you re: hawker food!

Hi JC... I really hope GastroChick and hubby enjoy themselves in KL. Right now, I'm typing this from Xiamen, China. Returning to KL tonight, but then heading off to KK tomorrow, back in KL in a week or so I think. I know I know... need to organise, group up, then eat up!!

THe pots and pans suck, but while in London, I found their oven dishes and pans pretty good. 2 years worth of roasted rosemary garlic potatoes wil attest to that. While moving around and staying in serviced apartments, most in Europe had Ikea knife sets... while useable definitely not for the workhorse kitchen... might sound stupid, but good for kids learning to cook... I knew a family where each kid over the age of 12 had their own set of Ikea knives and the eldest, an 18 year old, was saving up for his first set of Globals... How sweet.

What's wrong with cast-iron french skillets? If one is set aside simply for saucing after proper seasoning in the oven, you can brown and deglaze no problems and better than any stainless surfaced piece of tin-crap leftover recycled Wusthoff. Everywhere I've worked where saucing and deglazing is the norm, which is most places these days, had only a couple copper pans and they were the domain of the dessert chefs... you know, them weird dudes. I mean, if you wanna brown and get a decent fond leftover, good luck with stainless.. not to mention discolouration... Only disclaimer is to remove said sauce from cast iron before adding lemon... some say white wine don't work, but I've made beurre blanc a hundred times and blah... all good... till you add the lemon... off the heat, in the serving bowl if you please. copper is just pretentious and expensive and can be unhealthy... but no matter, each to their own... it ain't the gear, it's what you do with what you got.. kind of follows on from Lance Armstrong's 'it's not about the bike'....

... there's a Chef in Kuala Lumpur doing crazy durian desserts including one with foie... I could just be tempted, but for the record, I'm a fresh durian fruit fanatic... I like the following: 'wild' durian picked off the jungle floor by intrepid 'hunters'. I can't stand the grafted and interbred 'composite' varieties and I can't handle the taste of the Thai stuff...

I won't be dwelling on the various parts of crabs, nor will I be expounding on the use of mallets and the such... Reporting from Xiamen, China at the moment (always wanted to say that, comes from days of addiction to CNN and BBC World) and I just had a crab and duck soup tonight. Take one massive mud crab, dismember the large claws, rap with hammer, chop body into quarters and simmer in a duck and vegetable stock with a whole duck in there somewhere... One gets the 'mustard' and the crab flesh is infused with a curious yet interesting and not so unattractive 'duckiness'... A whole new meaning to surf and turf... wish I took a picture.

No worries... Hakka Steam Boat is an institution... don't forget to order the famous braised pork belly with preserved vegetables.... and deep fried 'wan-yue' although with steam boat you will be well fed... eat slowly and drink beer... RE: Jap... You're better off going to Wasabi at the Mandarin Oriental to continue from Cilantro. It's in the basement... setting is average, but food is good... try to sit at the sushi bar... more interesting watching the chefs work than the so so decor... Hope you enjoy Cilantro... and if you don't let us know why.

The Modern China place in Times Square is good for a quick feed if the queue ain't too long, but I do wonder why the queue is the way it is there... I mean, the food is good, but not spectacular, but they do turn over tables fast... the food literally cascades on to the table when you order... Nice pics by the way. I should be more dilligent about using the camera on my spanking new Nokia... it's 3megapixels for goodness sakes and with a flash and portable memory stick and everything... I mean, it's cool... oops, wrong forum...

I await eagerly any further floggings. They have always pissed me right off. Never bothered to post about them for that reason alone. Overrated. And a 2 star place doing lunch specials advertised weekly? I mean, if you're that good do you need to flog yourself so hard?