
prasantrin
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Today we hit the Croatian Pavilion. The pavilions of the former Yugoslavia (Slovenijan, Serbian, and Croatian) offer some of the best food of Folklorama, and definitely the best value for your money (foodwise--I'll post the prices for what we ate). Generally, however, the people who go to these pavilions are often members of their respective ethnic communities. It's really a shame that they don't get more visitors. First, we started with a combo plate and some strudel. The combo consisted of potato salad, coleslaw, and your choice of two meats (there was cevapcici, some kind of kebab, smoked sausage, cabbage rolls, and a schnitzel type of meat) for only $7.50. We took the cabbage roll and sausage (made especially for them by a meat shop). They use stinky cabbage for their cabbage rolls--pickled cabbage? Like the Hungarians, they also use quite a lot of meat and very little rice. We also had the spinach and feta strudel and the apple strudel. At this pavilion, they make their phyllo from scratch. The spinach and feta was a bit flavourless, but the apple...oh my! It was wonderful! And they were only $1.50 each. We decided since our selection was so good, we needed to try more of their foods. We got the cevapcici ($2.50 for 4 pieces), palacinka (filled with cottage cheese $1.50 or $1) and some kind of cake ($1 or maybe $0.50). Again, oh my! The cake, especially, was delicious. It was moist, and the filling (which I was told was cottage cheese) was so light it was refreshing. Finally, we got more dessert and a cabbage roll to take home! Four pieces of apple strudel, a walnut roll ($1), and some kind of torte ($0.50) that just looked good. I'm thinking it will all be gone by tomorrow, but my mother seems to think we can make it last so we can take some strudel on our drive to MSP. That's definitely wishful thinking on her part! We got a lot of food there for just $25. Much, much too cheap, especially when you consider that Folklorama is essentially a fundraising event for the different ethnic communities. I walked in on my mother talking to one of the volunteers of the pavilion, telling him that they should raise the prices of their food! She's definitely not a true Winnipeger! Edited to add: A couple sitting near us had a Folklorama Visa, given to them by someone. It gave them free entry to any and all pavilions, but I can't remember if it was just for one night, or if it was for the duration of Folklorama. It was just a card, indicating that the bearer was entitled to free admission. Does anyone know anything about this? I don't recall reading about it in any of the Folklorama literature. It seems like it would be a replacement for the passports, though the cards don't get stamped at all.
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Is she very fluent in Japanese? If she is, I know of the Tsuji Cooking Academy--the one affiliated with Shizuo Tsuji, author of Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. They have an open house coming up, so she could drop in to check it out. I think they expect proficiency in Japanese from their students, but I've seen specialty travel tours from the US that go there for cooking classes. Generally, their classes are more for people who are serious about cooking (wannabe chefs/bakers) but from what I can tell, they also have courses for the more leisurely cook. There's also Le Cordon Bleu but it's in Kobe, not Osaka. Again, one should be proficient in Japanese to attend that school. I know there's at least one other large cooking school in the Osaka area, but I can't seem to find it on-line. I remember reading that foreigners had to take a Japanese proficiency test to attend, though. I finished Cakes A, B, and C but I also registered for Cakes Challenge (easy desserts one can give as gifts), so I have 5 classes left of those. I also finished Breads A and B, and have 7 classes left in C course. I haven't been to a class since June, but once I get back to Japan, I'm going to limit myself to two classes per month. I was getting pretty worn out going to 2 or 3 classes a week. That was my choice, though, as I wanted to finish as many as possible before I left for holidays. I might register for some extra bread courses (called "Riche Club) but I really only want to learn to make yeast Belgian Waffles and bagels, the other breads in those courses don't really interest me. But I'll wait until I'm almost finished my other classes to decide. If your sister wants, I'd be happy to take her to a demo class at ABC when I get back to Japan. I like taking people to the Namba school, since Imai-sensei is there. She's so sweet! Plus I just like going to Namba Parks...
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It's hot here in Winnipeg. Too hot. But it's perfect weather for bubble tea! One place in Winnipeg, Asia City, has bubble tea like you've never had before. The young coconut is more of a dessert than a beverage. They use frozen young coconut, and blend it with half&half, ice, and some powder--bubble tea flavouring? I don't know what it is, but it tastes good! Look how thick this baby is! Actually, if anyone has ever been to Viva's in Osborne Village, the owner claims to be the originator of the slushy-type of bubble tea in Winnipeg. I've not tried it, but my mother says it's even richer than Asia City's. He uses whipping cream rather than half and half, she says. Maybe I'll have to try one out before I leave.
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They don't give you the passport anymore I loved those passports, too. But I understand why they switched...it was much more difficult for each pavilion to keep track of the people who came through, so many were not getting adequate compensation. It's also a great reason to visit Winnipeg, even if you're not from Canada. Folklorama used to be the number one destination of bus tours in North America. That changed when SARS hit Canada, but I've seen a lot of bus tours at the pavilions I've been to this year, and I've noticed a lot more people from abroad (Sweden, the Philippines, Mexico, etc.). Hopefully, more non-Manitobans will take advantage of Folklorama, too!
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The Greek Pavilion (not Greek Islands) has always been one of my favourite pavilions for food. They have the best spanakopita I've ever had. There's also something about their bread--it's not anything special, but it's very good bread. This time we also had pork souvlaki--moist, but not as flavourful as I would have liked. I bought their recipe book...again (I can't find the one I bought a few years ago)...so I can try to duplicate their spanakopita when I go back to Japan. We also had the galactaboureko for dessert, as usual. Then the African Caribbean Pavilion, not to be confused with the African Pavilion, the Caribbean Pavilion, or the Indo Tropical Paradise Pavilion. I had chicken roti and a patty, while my mother had ackee and saltfish. I forgot to take a picture of my roti and my mother's ackee and saltfish. She liked her meal a lot, but then she likes salted cod. I liked the ackee, but the salted cod was very very fishy tasting. My mother let three ladies (strangers) try her dinner. That may seem odd, but this is friendly Manitoba, after all . Today we went to the Scandinavian Pavilion. It was our first time there, as well as our last time. It was, without qualification, the worst Folklorama pavilion I've ever been to. And I've been going to Folklorama for as long as it has been going on (my mother was one of the first co-ordinators of the Filipino Pavilion). We did not have one of the meals, as they were limited to a rather dry looking roast pork dinner, a sickly looking Swedish meatball dinner, and several types of tiny open-faced sandwiches (shrimp. salmon, havarti, etc.). We had some stale-tasting lefse (rolled with margarine and brown sugar), and a slice of vinaterta that tasted overwhelmingly of artificial almond flavouring, and very little of cardamom. Then we sat through a torturous show which could only be compared to a pre-school talent show. We would have left, but the tables were so close together that it was impossible to stand up without forcing everyone else in our row to stand up, as well. Never again... In order to soothe our tortured ears, eyes, tongues, and souls, we headed on to the Slovenijan Pavilion for take-out. The roast pork or roast chicken dinner is one of the best deals at Folklorama. Both are cooked on-site in huge smokers. The price has gone up to $11 for a plate (just two years ago it was only $8), but you get quite a lot of food, and very tasty food, it is. It comes with a slice of ordinary rye bread, and delicious sides of potato salad and coleslaw (the coleslaw is hidden under the bread). We always ask for some of the skin of the pig, and they always oblige. It's not crispy, but it's very tasty. Haven't had the chicken recently, but I remember it as being very moist and flavourful. We have just two more pavilions on our list for this year--the Serbian for take-out, and the Croatian one for the show and food. We leave on Thursday for MSP, but I think we can make it! Edited to add: Czech and Slovak Pavilion. I can't believe I forgot about it! It had a very good show--great dancers--both local and semi-professional dance troupe from the Czech Republic. We had halusky (with bacon, feta cheese, and a dollop of sour cream), apple strudel, and sausage.
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I knew Gunn's was a Jewish bakery, but didn't know City Bread was, too! Wow! You learn something new every day! We don't do City Bread rye very often, but I have a lot of ex-Winnipeger friends who always buy a few loaves to take back to wherever they now live. I should bring some rye and pumpernickle back to Japan--it's very difficult to get either. Although I remember talking with one of the Gunn brothers last year, and he mentioned that they were working on a deal to export some of their breads to Japan. I'll have to ask about that next time I visit. By the way, I may have asked this already, but do you remember a bakery called the Donut House? It was on Academy Road and was open until the '80s or early 90's. They had the best cheesesticks ever--seriously good stuff. The original owners were asked for their recipe many time--by Gourmet and other such magazines, but they refused to divulge it. Until they sold the bakery, that is, and then the "new" owners eventually closed the bakery and the recipe was (as far as I'm concerned) lost. The Gunn brother I was talking with said those cheesesticks probably used puff pastry, but they did not puff because they were underbaked. My question is...if you knew the bakery, and you knew the cheesesticks, do you have any idea how to go about making them? I still dream about them, and so do other members of my family!
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At the risk of sounding like a dumbass, when you told the staff member your food was cold, did you also ask her to reheat it? Although most people would find it obvious that you wanted it reheated, some really need to have it spelled out. After waiting too long for orders/corrections, I will usually tell the waitstaff that I've been waiting too long, and that I will have to leave. Usually they comp the meal, since I never received it or was unable (because of their error) to eat it. However, sometimes the order is just about ready, so they wrap it up and I pay for it. It's possible that the staff with whom you spoke did not expect you to pay, since she seemed to have considered your meal as returned. However, I would probably not have walked out without paying, offering to pay, or offering an explanation, but that's just something I've had drilled in since childhood.
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There's also the Red River Ex. one, starting today. It's much too far for us (way out on Portage at Red River Ex Park), so I doubt we'll be making it out there this summer. They only allow local products, while the St. Norbert's market lets in anything (or at least used to). edited the Midlands foods reference out--my mother tells me the stand I referenced is now completely local, so what I said no longer holds true.
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Gunn's is a Winnipeg institution, but I'm not sure why or for what. Well, obviously it's for their baked goods, since they're a bakery, but I don't know if they became popular for a specific item, or if it's just because they've been around forever. Every former Winnipeger I know always makes at least one trip to Gunn's, and often to take goodies back to wherever they currently live. Here's what I bought during my first trip there: First, a pizza bagel and a spinach and feta knish. I love their pizza bagels and I've never had a pizza bagel that compared. It's heavy on the onions, though, so it's best not to eat one for breakfast, as I do . The knishes are usually quite good, but I'm not a knish expert so others may not agree. These, however, tasted ever so slightly of freezer burn. Next is an applejack. Gunn's is famous for their applejacks. Maybe that's their claim to fame. It's like strudel that has been filled with apple pie filling and rolled in cinnamon sugar before being baked. They used to be bigger, though, and have more filling. If you look at the inside of the applejack, there isn't much there. Perhaps it was just an off day??? I'll be going back again, like every dutiful former Winnipeg does. Next time for bagels for the trip back to Japan. And maybe some applejacks....and some florentine cookies....and some apple fritters, if they still have them....
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There used to be a Farmer's Market somewhere off Main Street, too. We never managed to find it, though. Do you know anything about it?
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Wow! Those are absolutely beautiful! The amount of patience you (and others who engage in similar activities) must have amazes me! And it's not just the patience that amazes me, it's the talent, too! As an aside...nice manicure, too!
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Bringing this back up with a question... Is your pastry cutter the type with wires, or blades? I've read that one is better than the other, but I can't remember which. I need to bring one back to Japan with me. I've been cutting in the butter with my bench scraper (as we learned in baking class) but I find it too tedious for US-sized crust recipes--especially double crust recipes. Can't get a decent food processor in Japan without spending a fortune, so pastry cutter it will be!
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I've finally downloaded some pictures, so it's time to add a few more restaurants to the list! My mother and I finally visited Bernard Mirlycourtois at his new restaurant on Princess. I love the space--it's large, spacious, and somewhat rustic-looking. We went for lunch, so we had sandwiches. My mother had a reuben and I had croque monsieur. My mother's sandwich (no picture) was pretty good, but nothing special. It was a reuben, after all. How can you screw that up? My croque monsieur was a different story. I love croque monsieur, and I'm often afraid to order it because I'm afraid I'll be disappointed. The best cm, in my opinion, are those with bechamel. I've read that not all cm are made with bechamel, but they really should be. To give you a frame of reference, this is a picture of the best cm I've had. I should note that I've never been to France. This little baby is from a French bakery in Japan called Burdigala. There's bechamel both in the sandwich, as well as on top (under the broiled cheese). The ham is just one thin slice, but it's not your average supermarket ham. The bread is from a crusty loaf of some sort of French-style bread--tender crumb, chewy but not tough crust. This is what I had at Bernard Mirlycourtois. It was a disgrace to croque monsieur everywhere. You'd think for $7.95, they could use something better than shaved honey ham (or maybe it was black forest, I'm not sure). The cheese was barely even melted, and the sandwich was leaky--probably because of the cheap-ass ham they used. I was not impressed. I will, however, probably go back but for dinner. Hopefully they'll have a better menu (the lunch menu is mostly soups, salads, and sandwiches). But do not use this as a benchmark for Winnipeg lunches. Bistro Dansk, I'm happy to say, is as good as it always has been. We started out with their freshly made bread. We always finish the basket, because the bread is really quite good. My mother had the palacinka. The filling was tasty, though it could have used more chicken. I had the chicken schnitzel. I almost always have the chicken schnitzel. It's fabulous. The chicken is pounded thin, but it's tender and moist. The crust is crispy, but not heavy. The highlight is the potato salad. I don't really care for potato salad, but theirs is particularly good. They use finely diced potatoes, not big whopping suckers like in most potato salads. Finally, I had the hazelnut pie. I love their hazelnut pie. It's chock full of hazelnuts which are barely held together with...something...maybe a type of caramel? We were almost finished our pie when my mother found a foreign object in the whipped cream. It reminded me of dental floss, and I told her so. Bad idea. She wouldn't eat anymore (we only had about 1/4 left) and reported the object to the waitstaff. The waitstaff took our plate away (with my fork just about to pierce the pie for another bite) and showed the foreign object to the owner/chef. It turned out to be part of the pastry bag used to pipe the whipped cream. We were fine with that, and we asked for the rest of the slice back so we could finish it. But they gave us another slice! There was no way we could finish it, so we asked if we could take it home. They obliged, and included our leftover slice to boot! So we had two pieces of hazelnut pie--yay for us! More food later...
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Well, it looks like my fellow Winnipegers are slacking off with regards to Folklorama, so it's up to me to pick up the slack! So far, I've only really been to one pavilion. We went to the African Pavilion with out of towners. The African Pavilion has a comparatively limited menu. I didn't take note of names, but I know they had boiled peanuts, samosa, something called chin chin, kebabs, and a chicken dish. They don't note on the menu which countries each food was from, though I know a number of countries are represented at that pavilion (we saw dances from Liberia, Eritrea, Ghana, etc.). We got samosa, of which I forgot to take a picture. Their samosa are vegetarian--filled with lentils, not potato. As for the chicken, it was moist, but not very flavourful. The rice was cooked in tomato sauce, from what I could tell. It also came with plantains, which were the best part of the meal. But I'm a sucker for plantains... Tonight I stopped by the Hungarian Pavilion for take-out. I got my usual--a cabbage roll, sausage, langos, and dobos torte. Hungarian cabbage rolls are my favourite of all cabbage rolls. They use a lot more meat than rice, and the sauce does not overwhelm the roll. The Ukrainian ones, for example, are almost all rice and all you can taste is the tomato sauce. These were fabulous! The sausage is also very good. Very dense, and slightly spicy. By the time I got home, my langos was a bit tough. I think these are best eaten hot. I love their dobos torte because the cake, itself, is quite moist. Even the dobos torte I had in Hungary was not, to my taste buds, as good. Unfortunately, it has been quite hot and humid recently, so the caramel became a bit wet and grainy. It should be mentioned that at most pavilions, the foods are all prepared by volunteers of the various ethnic communities. At the Hungarian Pavilion, for example, you could see little old grandmothers in the kitchen, preparing the foods and washing the dishes. Eating at Folklorama can also be a little expensive. My Hungarian visit totalled $12.25. Many people visit two or three pavilions a night, sampling foods at every pavilion. It adds up. But in my opinion, it's well worth it!
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I used this recipe for my pirohy making adventure earlier this year. It's from a Slovak friend. Generally, the dough is very pasta-like. This particular adds a bit of mashed potato to the dough. It was very easy to work with, and very forgiving. I don't like Sauerkraut, so I used mashed potato/cheese mixtures (one with cottage cheese, another with cheddar) as fillings. You can pretty much do anything you want, but I usually see sauerkraut, potato, potato cheese, and cottage cheese as fillings. I've also seen fruit ones--usually blueberry. For pictures of my pirohy experience, look here. For the faint-hearted, beware. I like to pan-fry my pirohy in butter, along with onions. Very authentically Winnipeg .
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Because it takes a village... Fact is, many parents don't take steps to discipline or correct a child's behaviour in the presence of others. Many do, but many don't. If a parent were handling his or her child, I would not dare interfere, but if a parent were ignoring the behaviour, despite the obvious discomfort of others, I would likely say something--especially if I were one of those "others." Why should a manager be any more qualified to deal with the situation than a patron? Or why should the offending child's parents give any more weight to what the manager? Been there, done that. During a performance of the Lion King, a child behind us kicked our chairs throughout the entire first act. At the beginning of the intermission, I asked the parent nicely to please have his child stop kicking our chairs. What did that parent do? He got angry with us. "My child can do whatever he wants." And the child did. At the end of the intermission, my companion stopped being nice and said a more forceful, "Please stop kicking our chairs" directly to the child. The parent was still pissed off, but guess who stopped kicking our chairs? Sometimes talking to the parents is enough, but sometimes it isn't. FWIW, I see nothing wrong with talking directly to a child. Children of any age deserve as much respect as an adult does. When you speak to a child directly, you are showing him/her a certain amount of respect. And I don't see that, in most cases, having a stranger talk to your child is such a bad thing. Sure it can be dangerous, but I really do believe that people would be much better behaved, in general, if they had a better sense of community. If people don't talk to each other, how can a community exist? But perhaps that is a cultural thing. If only all parents could be so rational.
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I have found that, as well. Even just a "Hello...you look sad," to a crying child from a stranger helps to quiet them. I have also found, however, that many parents object to even the slightest hint of a non-parent "disciplining" their child. I said much the same thing as you did here, and this was one of the replies.
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The farmer's market is so small, that people really must get there as early as possible in order to get what they want. Even my favourite cookie guy will sell out of lemon tarts by 9 or 10am on some days. Is that the one that's attached to a little golf course? I've never been there, but I often drive past it. Now that I know what you can get there, I'll have to stop next time!
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Thanks for all the information and suggestions! I've actually brought seeds into Japan without even thinking I had declare them (so I didn't). I guess I'm lucky my bags weren't checked, because I could have gotten into big trouble! I wish I were stopping over in Vancouver--I'm sure some Japanese butcher/grocery store would know exactly what to do, or what I might be able to bring. Unfortunately, it's just a short stop-over for me. I tried to write to the animal quarantine service and to my surprise, they wrote me back--in English! They say: So, it looks like I should be able to bring pork products, and if I can get non-beef salami products, salami is OK, too! I just need to get the appropriate certification. I got some information about getting that, too, and it does sound like you have to go through a bit of red tape to get it. As long as it's free, though, it may be worth it for all that bacon and hard salami! I'm going to be the envy of all my co-workers!
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I haven't been eating out as often over the last week, believe it or not . I did make it to Bistro Dansk today for lunch, and it was just as good as I remembered! I even had the hazelnut pie for dessert (my usual) and, because we found a bit of the fraying pastry bag in our whipped cream, got a whole new piece to take home, even though we only had about 1/3 left of the original. I'll put more pictures up as soon as I don't feel so lazy...
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Hope this isn't going too off-topic, but just so I have this straight... Hershey's now owns Scharffen Berger. Hershey also owns Mauna Loa. Does this mean Ghirardelli Mauna Loa nuts will soon be covered with either Scharffen Berger or Hershey chocolate? I would hope Scharffen Berger over Hershey's, since I think Hershey's chocolate is crap, but the Ghirardelli ones weren't so good, either.
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Filipino Food Is Fantastic!
prasantrin replied to a topic in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Cooking & Baking
Do you know what cruise line they were using? My mother was on a cruise last year, but didn't get any such offer. Poor her! But she got sick everytime they left port (which coincidentally was always around dinnertime) so she couldn't have eaten anything, anyway. However, she's going on another cruise in December, and this time with a big group of Filipinos. Now that she knows it has happened to others, she'll probably take the initiative and ask. Like many Filipinos, she's pretty bold when it comes to getting what she wants . -
A friend has a recipe for a bar cookie that has adzuki beans in it. I wasn't expecting to like it, but it was delicious. When I return to Japan I'll ask for the recipe. A famous cake shop in Kobe, Japan (Antenoir, for those in the area) has a seasonal dessert called Ichigo Blancmange. It's served in a little cup, with strawberry flavoured anko in the bottom, and topped with strawberry-flavoured blancmange. There's quite a lot of anko in it, but it's actually quite good.
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Interesting! I bought the wine at Boutique des Vins in Budapest, which I thought was a reputable wine shop. The gentleman helping us certainly seemed knowledgeable, but being a wine neophyte--actually, I would fall into a category a few steps below neophyte--it doesn't take much to impress me with knowledge about wine . I must admit, though, I chose the shop based on a comment in a guidebook. No ordinary guidebook (Budapst: A Critical Guide by Andras Torok), but a guidebook, nonetheless! I'm going to open it by the end of the week, and have it along with some cheeses and nuts. We have a big family event this week, so it will fit perfectly into the party plans!
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Thanks! It's in the fridge as I type. I bought it in Budapest last summer, from a well-reputed wine shop. I would assume they stored it properly, but once it was in my hands...well, that's a different story! When I bought it, the gentleman at the store said it should be opened within a month or two, but not being big wine drinkers, combined with putting the bottle in a closet in an unused room, meant a year passing before finding it again. Oops! Thanks again...tomorrow will be the big drinking day!