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PCL

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by PCL

  1. The one on the left is a the onion soup right? I mean, hearty, deliciou, warm. The one on the left, we're talking Bonox and hot water right? Poor man's consomme?... thin, veneer like, lacking in depth and substance?
  2. Tha tahu goreng was also good. Didn't mention that huh? The dipping sauces were also interesting. I had to be careful not to eat too much rice with all the superb sambals though, otherwise I would have had to have given up on all those delectable pieces of fried chicken. I'm still dreaming about the fried chicken!!!
  3. I found myself parachuting into Bandung this morning, the wake of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Work calls, and if that's the case and bread must be won, so be it. In fact, the last thing from my mind was any notion of threat to personal safety. I only wondered about what on earth was I going to eat. To my surprise, food is good here. The local Sundanese cuisine is simple, effective, centred on fresh produce, and above all, damn tasty. The grilled fish (ikan bakar) and ayam goreng (fried chicken) absolutely rocked. For the record, every piece of chicken I've consumed in the last 12 hours (and at last count, I've eated 8 whole chickens... more on this in a minute) were of the kampong (village) variety, meaning, organic free running must-catch-'em-with-your-hands fresh and tasting like chicken. They air dry their chooks prior to bathing them in boiling hot oil, simply seasoned with salt and the local ground black pepper. Even the offal, consisting of grilled cow's lung, heart and what they claimed to be brain, although I'm pretty sure it came from a goat (no lambs here to speak of, funny that) was good. Lightly spiced, and easy on the palate. Not stringy or nosey at all. Everything was washed down with fresh young coconut, straight from the 'nut. And yes, the chickens... they're only the size of a large squab... really, they are... all that running around keeps 'em trim and healthy. and yes, I did eat 8 of the succulent little things. Anyone else got tasty bits to share about this region of the world??
  4. Okay, to be fair, it was quite a piquant sauce. It wasn't too Thousand Island-ish... And yunner, re: Outback Steakhouse... sounds like another chain/gimmick thing ... scary... But in the name of intrepid dining... I might just venture forth.
  5. Go kick some Shins... information... the most valuable thing in the world....
  6. Hmmm... the Le Med... could be an American chain. I've heard rumours of Morton's opening up in KL. They are a Chicago based chain and they have a restaurant in Tsim Tsa Tsui, Hong Kong. It's pretty good, but there are better in HK. Julian, first up, I just remembered I never got round to giving you my notes on that thing you were doing. Apologies. Now, re: Le Bouchon... not good reports at all from my folks and friends, but seeing as you've given it a thumbs up, I'll just have to wander down. I like the area. RE: Goose foie... I am confident that in KL, one can get good quality foie. Like at Cilantro, Frangipani etc. Even some high end Chinese restaurants to it well. The problem with Sydney, or the whole of Australia really, is that you can only get the stuff pasteurises, aka mi cuit as the French call it. Damn quarantine laws. It's illegal to grow it in Australia. ecr: The sauce is the American type, actually, pretty close to a Thousand Island... now, that is retro classic steakhouse stuff... JC: Vlado's is Vlado's... an institution. It's a good place to start. The steaks are superlative. Nothing fussy, just meat meat meat and more meat. I've never reviewed it simply because it's been too long since I was last there, but post a question on the Aussie forum... I'm sure people will bite.
  7. All good news... Shin... can you shed any more light on the Richmond situation?
  8. I've eyed off San Francisco a couple times now... always been wary of chains, but hey, always a first time, so next time I'm at Mid Valley, might just give it a whack... probably for lunch. Funny thing was, the family and I piled into Jake's last night (the original) and they were celebrating 25 years in the business with one change of ownership like I'd mentioned earlier. I got talking to the present owners and turns out, seeing as I started going there with the fam from when I was about 5, they kind of recognised me as the 'longest' serving customer there that night!! Pretty cool. I digress... food was excellent. The old fashioned prawn cocktail rocked, the potato skins rocked, the oxtail soup was tasty but maybe with a little too much starching to thicken up... and the steaks... they exceeded expectations. Dad had the tenderloin and I saddled up with a Wagyu sirloin. Well cooked, and even though we sent back an overdone rib of lamb, service did not miss a beat. I was also impressed with the beer list! Any other names for KL/Singapore???
  9. Being based in the region at the moment, I recently had the a couple of revelatory steak related experiences while in Hong Kong. I thought to myself, 'it's impossible that the same can't be had in KL or Singapore,' however, people I've spoken to have all either sneered or shaken their heads. In KL, there used to be Jakes in Damansara, off what is now that ultra busy super road that leads into town. Then the chefs moved to Bukit Damansara and opened up Rib Cage. They were good. Wholesome, no nonsense steak houses serving up an awesome oxtail soup to boot. Then The Ship, I'd tried them a couple times in the past, but we're talking years now. So it occured to me, ask eGullet. There might just be someone who knows....
  10. Hey Tepee... RM36??? What kind of prices are those???? Puchong?? Must go!! I'm back in town in a couple days, so maybe next weekend I can convince dad to drive me to Puchong, well, drive us all!! Thanks babe, you're a champ!! But hey, does 'mei-cai' on the menu mean 'mui-choi' in Cantonese???
  11. RE: Specials, The roti canai, on Fridays if memory severs, is passable. Nothing special, but the chicken curry that it comes with SENSATIONAL. You can get it with the 'nasty' as well. The Penang Har Mee, or prawn noodles, is sensational. I like it with plain egg noodles only instead of the traditional egg/rice vermicelli combo.
  12. Go ASAP. If you like offal, and you should the trippa is one of the best in town, if not THE.
  13. Sorry, don't know the Kowloon side very well... very much an Islander/TST boy here! But most definitely... PM's it is then.
  14. Chinese produced foie is just fine. It's not as silky as 'the real thing', or so my memory tells me, but I haven't eaten foie for a while. Might pop into the local for a slab tonight.
  15. PCL

    Lead Crystal

    Lead is used in glass production to improve the refractive properties of the material. Meaning in non-flat shapes, it improves clarity and light transmission hence colours look brighter and 'sparkier'. Commercial glass for windows contain very very little lead, and is green tinged. 'Crystal' glassware refers to the shape of the drinking vessel itself which is often faceted like a cut 'jewel' hence the name 'Crystal'. Because of this faceting, non-leaded glass would not transmit light as clearly as leaded glass, hence the expensive stuff always contain some degree of lead for clarity. So how clear do you need your wineglass to be? I mean, 99% of modern designs are not faceted therefore the requirement for 'clear' glass is not as stringent. Besides, modern glass technology means that low-iron glass is used most oftentimes, such as in Riedel 'O' series and others, and it's difficult to discern the difference in most cases anyways. Hope this helps.
  16. Never heard of North Bondai, but then again, I'm not a Sydneysider. Maybe some of our Sydney people can elaborate, but you might have to start a new thread... they don't generally look at Melbourne reviews unless it's a 'big name' Icebergs is expensive, and inconsistent, and has become a bit like what most Sydney places become... enough said. then again, i'm probably being a bit cheeky. Shin, sorry dude, I kind of left in a hurry. Will let you know... PM you soon!
  17. Dim sum at Zen was totally cool, good and fantastic... about 8 years or so ago... however, their outlet at Festival Walk, Mongkok is still going strong.
  18. Nice read. Well done. A couple of notes however: The guy who runs the place, Umberto Lallo, is Cafe Cucina alumni. He was their sommelier/accountant. He also co-founded Sud on King St with Giovanni Patane (who puts in a few shitfs a week at IBN) who is also a veteran of Cafe Cucina, right there on the frontline that is Chapel St and then later, Il Bacaro in the City. We're talking about warhorses who know what they are doing. Signore Terzini has in my opinion left restauranting a little too 'high' of centre, preferring to focus on Sydney type lifestlye and bars and clubs. Whereas these guys, the Cavalieri if you like, soldier on. They do good stuff. RE: Grossi, forget the fucking doors, go inside, eat, learn, enjoy. And if you mean whether I think Melbourne needs more places like Grossi F, yes, I do. It's old school. It's real. It's fucking fantastic. When I get back into town, I will give the Italian a go however...
  19. My mouth is watering already. Hopefully I'll be in HK again before too long, in about 5 weeks or so. Care to lead up an eating expedition or two april?? HKDave??
  20. Just to add to the ravenous praise for the little subterranean joint... they have daily specials and their nasi lemak is one of the best in the country.
  21. Thanks april!! I walked past there on Saturday and thought, yeah, looks good. Next time I'm around, will bring a group along and gorge on XO Cheung Fun... it's a favourite of mine.
  22. Dave, just checked my name card collection... it's TST Mansion, which is pretty close to Prat!! I just thought things were fresh and well done, kind of a rarity in most chain yum cha places and the quality of the seafood was above average. It does seem the kind of place where you need to know someone to get to the good stuff though, and if you're there, ask for Ricky Lam, he's a manager and knows his stuff.
  23. We call that place 'The Smelly Place' and they are open for lunch only and weekdays only. I'm not sure what the actual name of the place is, but as is, I only ever go there when in Sydney for business and never have had cause to visit them on weekends or in the evenings. Besides, it's lunch food!!
  24. Hah, I think I know exactly where that is too!!
  25. The construct known as 'social acceptability' can sometimes amount to plain simple bullshit. Why is it wrong to lick your fingers if the sauce is so damned good that you simply must have that last bit? Is it because the staff might look at you funny? Are the papparazzi watching? Ask for a finger bowl and go for it if you really must. I wouldn't care. And if you have to entertain or eat with people who might frown and for whatever reason their opinion might matter, such as someone you're schmoozing or whatever, then for heaven's sakes, order something you know won't tempt you. Think ahead. Hell, for Rogov to say never, well, tell that to the guy eating the most fantastic BBQ ribs at a hog-stand... tell that to my grandmother. Sure, there relativism applies to cultural sensitivities so on and so forth, therefore, the pronouncements of absolutes is plain nonsense.
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