prasantrin

Anyone been to the new Ikea, yet? I'm thinking of making a trip to Tokyo just so I can go there (the one in Kobe won't open until 2008--a few months after I'll be leaving Japan! ).

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Only in Brooklyn, you say... Never on the prairies, I say. Mustard? Hmmm, chili sauce maybe... ← Some "Chinese" restaurants in the prairies use that crappy fake chicken or pork meat in their "chow mein" (I can think of two off-hand, one in Winnipeg and one in Saskatoon). But of course, in true prairie-style it's mixed in with all the other stuff.

I think I saw that being advertised at the local Mos Burger. I've been eating at Mos Burger more frequently (well, twice in the last two weeks, compared with not at all the last two years). I've been getting the Spicy Mos Burger. I like the jalapenos, but that Mos sauce is just like bad Japanese spaghetti sauce. I'm going to have to start trying their other stuff. I used to like their chicken burgers, so I'm thinking I might try their fish burger, too. Their fries and their onion rings suck, though.

Thanks! I don't actually have the book, I'm using the Russ Parsons version from the LA Times. I am far from a pastry expert (I fear pie crusts) so I'm sure my crust will have more butter lumps in it than Mr. Keller's does, even if he makes it by hand, too! But I shall do my best, and follow some of the tips from this thread (cutting the butter up, then freezing/chilling it again, then working it in). Thanks again!

I've been planning on making the quiche from the Bouchon book for a very long time. I don't have a 9x2 inch tart pan or ring mould, but I do have a 7x2.75 inch cake pan with a removable bottom (more like a springform pan, but it doesn't have those clasp-things as the side). I know there's a difference in volume between the two pans, so I'll have excess batter, but aside from the baking time, the quiche should be do-able, as is...right? After reading about some of the problems with this quiche, I'm worried about leakage, but that seems to be more of a problem with using a larger-volume pan, rather than a smaller-volume pan like mine. Also, I have no food processor or stand mixer--is the crust do-able entirely by hand? I do have a hand mixer, if that might help, otherwise it has to be a low-tech operation.

And we'll probably never have them in Manitoba, either! Damn LC... We do have wine and beer samplings at Costco in Japan, though. Just last weekend there was a beer sampling, complete with model-type (more car-show-model than Fashion-Week-in-Italy-model) women wearing skimpy little hot pants and low-cut satin shirts. I'm still trying to figure out why low-cut satin shirts are supposed to be sexy on a woman with a maybe 30AA bra size. In Japan the Costco hot dogs are Pork, and very salty. I wish they'd do up some Johnsonville Brats, instead. Those would be oh so much more tasty!

Cake. I will almost always order cake over pie. But I have noticed that even the worst pies are still better than the worst cakes, so if I have an inkling that the cake is crappy, I'll take the pie. I definitely prefer cakes, though.

It's a great word! I think I'd have bought it, too, for that very reason! Orange pekoe, by the way, isn't a type (like oolong, pu erh, for example) or flavour of tea, it refers to the quality of the tea--it's usually the leaves at the tips, I think (I can't remember exactly, and I left my Mariage Freres tea book back in Canada) I, too, am happy to see a blog from you again, Chufi! I have no requests (you've already done the apple cake I requested ages ago, and I still haven't made it, yet!), but one...my birthday is in a couple of weeks...would you care to extend your birthday celebrations by a couple of weeks to include mine? That would be two more weeks for food for you! (and I could live vicariously through your celebrations.) Happy birthday!

Hey! I can get Hunt's tomato puree in Japan (though I still can't find Hunt's tomato sauce). Could I just use that and add a bit more sugar? I found using ketchup, as suggested by hzrt8w, results in a slightly odd-flavoured sweet and sour sauce (that's what I used the last time I tried making it), so I'd rather go with something a little "purer". Edited to add: I forgot to ask. Can sweet and sour sauce be frozen? I prefer making full batches (rather than 1/2 recipes), but there's no way I'd be able to finish it all. But if I could freeze it, I'd be set!

It's not a just a Chinese thing. Most Asians (born and raised in Asia) prefer dark meat, as do many other people of the world (in Morocco, for example, I had a lot more dark meat than white meat, but since I only spent three months there, I can't say if that was their preference in general). I think most Canadians/Americans/certain Europeans have been brainwashed by the "white meat is better for you" craze of the 80's. Many Asians are still concerned with flavour first, so it's dark meat for them.

I'm confused. Did you use coconut *milk* or coconut *cream*. The recipe linked to above calls for coconut cream, but from your fourth sentence, it sounds like you used coconut milk. Did you use a different recipe that called for coconut milk? I have a lot of coconut milk, but no coconut cream, so a recipe with coconut milk would be great! What's SMB?

Finally! Just the one I've been waiting for! Question...Japanese tomato sauce is a bit odd tasting (to me), so I'd prefer not to use it. Would you suggest I make my own instead? My usual tomato sauce is drained crushed tomatoes, lightly cooked with a bit of garlic and some herbs. I could blend it a bit to make it smooth, or add some of the drained liquid to make it more...well...liquidy. I finally made mabodofu (I just finished eating it!) and it was great! I'm not used to cooking with such high heat, though, so I burned my fingers a bit. Such is the price to pay for good food!

Usually, I just scroll through the pictures without noticing who the poster is. Until I read Percyn's post following yours, I had just assumed those were pictures of one of his breakfasts! The breakfast thread is going to get even better, now!

Two words..."banana seat".

I don't know how many of you watch the Shopping Bags (sort of like a TV show version of "Consumer Reports" geared towards women), but they had some Italian grandmothers test a variety of tomato sauces. Here are their ratings (prices are in Canadian dollars): Hope that wasn't too much quoting to get me into trouble!

Who here has claimed to take that kind of political donation in stride? I, personally, find it to be even more disgusting than greasing. Can you be more specific about your experiences in Europe? Most people participating in this discussion are US-based, but I'm also interested in how greasing works in Europe--does it work better in some countries than in others? Does it result in better service/faster seating times/etc? I would guess that in many European countries, it's less effective than it is in the US.

Do you think she reads eGullet?

I've always thought of unagi as being fattier than anago, with a stronger flavour. In grocery stores, unagi (kabayaki/unagiyaki) is much more readily available than any kind of prepared anago (at least in my area), but I've never noticed fresh/raw unagi or anago in any of my local stores. I can't speak to cooking either.

Well, I know that seems like a simple solution, but if you look at it closely, it would bring the prices up 40 to 50 percent, at least. Possibly even more. While not a "living wage", restaurants in many other countries pay at least minimum wage, and have prices that are about the same (sometimes more, sometimes less) than in the US. Canadian servers get at least minimum wage plus tips, while Japanese servers make at least minimum (usually Y100-200 more) and don't get tips at all. True enough. Even when I'm in non-tipping countries, I feel obligated to tip. Being in Japan is a blessing, because one never tips, but whenever I have a facial, massage, or haircut, I feel a little guilty for not tipping. And when I was in the Philippines recently, I often tipped (even on top of service charges) even though most Filipinos don't. Because tipping is so culturally-based, I do wish more people outside the US would speak up. Not so much on tipping, but on greasing, which I still insist are two different things.

Is the US capitalistic first, democratic second? Someone mentioned the practice in China of people giving their doctors money before surgery, and someone else mentioned countries where bribery is a daily part of life. Most of the people participating in this topic are, I believe, American. I'd like to hear more from people in other countries. I currently live in Japan, and as far as I know it doesn't happen commonly here (I'm specifically referring to giving money in order to get better service from waitstaff or others in the service industry--bribery happens here in big business here all the time). However, tipping doesn't happen here, either.

From another eGullet topic of the moment (Steve Odland, as quoted from the article iin USAToday about CEOs and waiters) Some of those belong in very different categories--bonuses are given based on past performances, stipends are given for services rendered, or as an allowance to be used while performing stipulated work/studies, gifts are (should) be given with no strings attached (except perhaps the expectation of a word of thanks). Endowments are not always given with the expectation of a return, and charitable donations are just that--charity. Giving a md money to give you a better table or better treatment, is a very different thing (though endowments given with the expectation of getting your children into a certain college are definitely in the same league). I would also not use tip and bribe interchangeably here. This topic is specifically about giving money to people *before* receiving a service, in order to get preferential treatment. Tipping is done *after* receiving a service. The main reason religions ask their congregations for money is *not* to guarantee a "better place in the hereafter." The main reason is to allow the religion to spread its teaching, help its less fortunate congregants or others of need, etc. I think most religions still expect people to live moral lives in order to get into the hereafter. Edited to add, by "moral lives" I mean living according morals which can be ascribed to the teachings of that particular religion.

That still sounds pretty self-important. "Take...a real good look at me, I am going to take care of you." What exactly do you want the person to see when they take that "real good look"? When you take care of someone, you're always in a position of power over them, and also over the other people waiting, since they can't or won't "take care" of the person as you can.

Here's a question to those who grease: When you pre-tip, you are essentially saying, "I'm better/busier/more important/richer/etc./choose-one-or-more-of-the-previous" than everyone else who has been waiting in line longer than I, so I deserve a table right now." Why do you think you are better/busier/more important/richer/etc./choose-one-or-more-of-the-previous than everyone else who has been waiting in line longer than you, and why should you deserve a table before them (aside from being better, busier/more important/etc)?

This might be too late, but I've done it with two crepe layers with cream alternating with one crepe layer of sieved blueberry jam. One must be careful, though. Crepes with holes shouldn't be used for the blueberry jam layers (top or bottom). I can't remember the reason, though (I made the cake in baking class). One nice presentation option is to do the cake as a dome. That's how we did it in class, and my friends were very impressed with it. Edited to add: Oops! Now I see I was too late! Note to self: Read the entire thread carefully before posting a reply...

Okey smokey! I'm going to use the mapodofu tofu, which is available here in Japan (or at least in my area of Japan). I think it might be an extra firm tofu, which would help with the freezing. Sunday will be my cooking day for the week!