prasantrin

Y'all can take your plastic trays for recycling? Around here, we can take the styrofoam-like meat trays, but not the plastic trays, so I try not to buy anything with the plastic trays or lids.

My friends all know when I say, "....internet food community..." I mean eGullet. It sounds much nicer to call it a "food community" than just the internet. You get fewer "Are you crazy?" looks!

Ooh, how is this done? ← I linked to a video of hoy tod in this topic. I tried making it at home. It was good, but not as good as Thai street food. I like oysters cooked teppanyaki-style. High heat, butter, and wee bit of soy and lemon juice. Oh so good...

I love it, too! But a 125mL bottle in Japan is Y525, so I haven't had it in ages. Or maybe it was 250mL. I like cashew butter, too, but my other favourite it sesame butter. I prefer the black sesame, but either will do.

...when you have your second eGullet-related dream in a row. This time you're pastry shopping with Ling, and she refuses to let you take pictures of the goodies! Can you imagine? Not taking pictures of beautiful pastries? Wait a minute, is that a dream or a nightmare?

Why doesn't Kansai get the Zeppin Cheese Burger? Poor Kansai...we never get any respect!

...when you have a dream that you're baking someting in FatGuy's kitchen, and he hands you two very odd-looking eggs from his fridge, one of which is about to hatch...

I've travelled with cakes as carry on, and haven't had any problems--flying through the US or Canada (or internationally). That includes travelling with a small savarin which had a dollop of custard and rum syrup. The cake on its own should be fine. But the icing would present a problem, so icing should definitely be checked in. Freezing the cake is a good idea, too, depending on how long your flight is. Butif I froze it, I'd probably check it in. The baggage hold is usually colder than the cabin, so that would help keep the cake fresh, I would think. But if you want it to be pretty, carrying it on is safer.

Does anyone else want to vote that Ah Leung not be allowed to leave for more than a day again? I'm anxiously awaiting more pictures! Ah Leung, when you come back from your hike, can you tell me the best bakery for gai mei bao (sp? The coconut-filled cocktail buns). I'm thinking about visiting HK in the near future, and other than hum sui gok, the only thing I really really want is gai mei bao. And maybe some steamed char sui bao. And maybe some rice rolls filled with char sui. And....oh nevermind. Just eat everything!

I've often travelled bearing cakes or other foodstuff. If you want the cake to arrive in one piece, bring the un-iced cake as your carry on, and pack the icing separately in a cooler with some ice packs, and put that in your check-in suitcase. But really, I think it would be best if you made the cake for them there. If you need a special ingredient for the cake or icing, just bring it along with you. It would be far less hassle than bringing the entire cake with you on a plane.

I'm so sad to hear about his passing! I quite liked his show, though I can't say I always liked the things he cooked. He always seemed like such a nice man--like a grandfather everyone would love to have!

That's a very difficult question to answer, as people's tastes vary widely. Just take a look at this topic and all the topics it links to, and you'll see hundreds of ideas for what makes a perfect burger. For me, though, the burger patty itself should not be too thick or dense, and it should be lightly flavoured (it must have some flavouring--like salt or pepper). I generally prefer 100% beef, but I don't mind a bit of pork mixed in, as long as I can still taste the beef. But it should be only meat--no onions, egg, etc. mixed in. The bun should be soft, but not so soft that it breaks apart while you're eating, plus it should be toasted, preferably on the same grill that the burger is cooked on. I like sesame or poppy seeds on my buns, but they aren't necessary (Kua'Aina's bun is poppy seed, and I always end up with poppy seeds sticking between my teeth, so I look like I have a million cavities). There shouldn't be too many toppings or condiments, as they will squish out when you eat, and I hate messy burgers. And a good burger place will let you choose your condiments. At Awajishima Burger, they use barbeque sauce on their burgers, but I like ketchup. They are kind enough to let me substitute, but there are some burger places that won't. If you won't let me put ketchup on my burger, I ain't eatin' at your burger place.

Yup, the Namba Parks one. That's the only one in Kansai I've been to, but I think there might be others in Kansai. They used to have one at USJ, but I don't know if it's still there. The last time I was there (early Sept.), it wasn't so good. But the thing about Kua'Aina is that you never know if you're burger is going to be good or not. I make my own burgers, too, but since I found Awajishima Burger, I haven't felt the need to. Their burgers are much better than any burger I've made, and I really like my own burgers. My burgers are like Kua'Aina burgers, but with a better bun (mine, I mean, not theirs). Awajishima burgers are on a different level. They look almost exactly like the burgers Magus is making over in the Heartland forum. There's something very comforting about them. ETA: I check Kua'Aina's website, and the Namba Parks location is the only one in Japan outside the Kanto area, plus the have the two in Hawaii. I thought I had read they were planning to open one in LA, but I don't know if that's true.

Mini Caramel & Cocoa McVitie's.

Are your dates fixed? Because that period is o-shogatsu (New Year's), so a lot of the really good little places will be closed for the holidays, from a few days to a full week, depending on the place. No budget?

You mean I didn't invent my own dim sum item? And I thought i was being so creative! Good to know about the wheat starch. I was really worried that my hum sui gok was going to suck! Maybe I'll just fry some thinly rolled pieces of the dough, then. It takes forever for burns on my skin to heal! It's my delicate Asian skin, doncha know!

If you add it while it's cooling, should you stir it? I'm thinking of chewy caramel, not the soft liquidy kind. I'm thinking of making peppermint-flavoured caramels. I love peppermint anything!

I've seen it, more than once, done by Japanese people. I've also seen them swish their chopsticks around in their tea. It's mostly people from certain backgrounds, though.

There's a Russian candy (but not candy bar) called Mishka Kosolapy that is "made of dark chocolate, wafers, and sweet condensed milk." And you may have already seen this, but do any of these at russiantable.com look familar? There's a bar with a little boy on it called "Alenka" that comes in different varieties. You might want to try posting on the "Elsewhere in Europe" forum, as someone in Russia may be more able to help. I think Alinka is still there, so perhaps you could pm her.

I was thinking...it's not just dairy, but anything with a high fat content that makes me feel worse when I have a UTI. They don't necessarily increase the amount of phlegm, but they make my chest feel heavier.

I can't believe I forgot one of my favourite brunch places--Cafe Kohler! I love their grilled goat cheese and tapenade sandwich! It's small, though, with a limited menu, so if you have a large group (more than 4 people), you're better of going to Saucers down the street. They do a decent brunch, but I'd rather go to Cafe Kohler. Cafe Kohler also has very nice desserts. Marion Warhaft recently reviewed two possible brunch places--Fresh Cafe on Corydon and Promenade Bistro on Provencher. Unfortunately, I find her to be one of the least reliable restaurant reviewers I've ever come across, but I'd still give them a try--particularly the latter one as it's owned by the former chef from Dubrovnik's. And if you ever do brunch/lunch on Saturdays (probably not, since you're probably working), I love Bistro Dansk. They're always reliable, and I love their hazelnut pie!

Crap. Thanks, though. I was wondering why this topic has been dead for so long! I'll start browsing through for other options.

Just to be sure, your children aren't hyper-sensitive to legumes? i.e. they can eat food that has been prepared in the same environment as legumes, as long as there are no legumes in what they're eating? (Or for example, if you ate a legume and then kissed them, they wouldn't have a reaction?) I'm finding these days that a lot more restaurants are more sensitive to food allergies in Japan. Some places signs that note which common food allergens are contained in their dishes (like wheat, egg, soy). That being said, you might be better off sticking to places that specialize in the Japanese foods your children can eat (like tonkatsu places--but avoid the sauces which may have miso, or tempura places), or also Japanese family restaurants which may be more likely to have those signs I mentioned above. You just may end up eating at Italian, Indian, Turkish, etc. places more than Japanese to be on the safe side, but I think you will be able to get at least some Japanese food. I forgot to mention, make sure you get the kanji, katakana, and hiragana for the foods your children are allergic to. Even at bakeries, you won't find much romaji (English alphabet), so if you have the ingredients written down in Japanese, you can check them against labels or such.

Having had many URI's, I think it's true. Stay away from dairy, unless you want her to be your ex-girlfriend. Some kind of warm ginger and citrus beverage with honey is always nice, like yuzu-cha with a bit of ginger thrown in (just a bit, though). Whenever my URI is at its peak, the last thing I want to do is eat, so warm, soothing liquid-y things are always best. Cold things feel like they hurt, and I find strongly flavoured things make me feel like throwing up. Jook is good, too. ← With regard to the bolded sentence above, I'm assuming you're being sarcastic, since there's no scientific evidence that the dairy-mucous theory is true. You say you think it's true. Since I don't notice any difference in my mucous production with differences in dairy consumption, I don't see any evidence that it's true. That's the problem with anecdotal evidence. I do like your idea of a honey-lemon-gingerade to be consumed either hot or cold. ← No, I'm being serious. Sorry, perhaps there should be additional smilies for such occasions. Regardless of scientific proof or not, if it might make her feel worse, then why give it to her? Or instead of asking a bunch of strangers, maybe you should ask her what would make her feel better. Then you'll find a sure way to please her.

Has anyone been here lately? My mother has a very long stop-over at YVR, and her friend is taking her out. This is the type of place they'd both love, but I'm wary of sending there after the most recent not-so-favourable reviews. Those reviews are almost a year old, though, so maybe things are better now?