prasantrin

Thanks, all, for the replies! I did have a digital scale, but it died and have not yet replaced it. I used to use it a lot, but over the last year or so I've used it primarily for weighing cat food (she's on a very strict diet)! I do need another one so I'll add it to my list! I used to have a Polder, too, but the probe fritzed on me causing an overdone rib roast. I've been probe-shy ever since . I did like it, though, so it will go on my list, too (albeit in the "when I have more money" column). Some of the other things I think I can "borrow" from my mother (she never uses her cooling racks, oven thermometer, or off-set spatula, anyway! Though she does love her mini muffin tin so I may have to buy my own). My big spatula is heat-proof, but my little one isn't. I think I have a tamis (which I've only used for making lemon souffle cheesecake) but no other fine-mesh sifters, so those will go on the list, as well. I'm pastry-phobic--do I have to buy more than one pie pan ? And is an 8x12 pan the same as a brownie pan? I lust after a baking stone but that's way down the list, and the stand mixer...well...one day! I'd like a red KA, or a Bosch. I like the way Bosch mixers look (I'm a slave to the fashion fairy, even in the kitchen!).

When I was at grad school I found in some French bread, hair that had been kneaded into it. Suspiciously kinky hair. Never ate their French bread again, and it was one of the few decent things at the cafeteria (at the School for International Training, which supposedly had very good food for a school cafeteria).

I've been doing further research based on some of merlin's recommendations. I've so far discovered that Hardware Grill and I think Boulevard aren't open on Mondays, so those are definitely out (and Packrat Louie's, as was thought!). Copper Pot, while I love seafood, didn't seem all that interesting to me. Their dessert menu was particularly disappointing, and I love dessert (did I mention that already . An on-line menu for Chance doesn't seem to exist so I couldn't check it out more throroughly, but I found a menu for the Harvest Room and a brunch menu for L'Attitude. The Harvest Room is still within my price range, as almost all the main courses are <$20 so I could still have dessert, too! Their menu seemed interesting and there were a number of items I'd love to try (herb and feta crusted salmon? Yum!). L'attitude's brunch menu was a little cheaper than the Harvest Room, and a little less interesting, but still had a few things I'd be interested in trying. I'm sure their lunch menu would have even more choices. I liked Sorrentino's menu, as well, and I am very tempted to try it (wild salmon carpaccio...lamb chops...pan fried wild salmon...). Bistro Praha--I just love schnitzel (my mantra: Anything fried is good) and so it is also on my shortlist! To recap, so far the Harvest Room, l'attitude, Bistro Praha, and Sorrentino's are on my list and I would love more suggestions! Hmm, looks like my shortlist isn't going to be so short! I think Silk Hat is the only definite right now. I just love diner breakfasts. I might have to go there for lunch instead--burgers, onion rings, and milkshakes..oh my! re: the King and I...I really shouldn't slam it as much as I do. My first and only visit there was in 1996 so for all I know it has improved greatly. However, I think the waitress summed up my feelings about the place pretty well. When I questioned her about the dish I had ordered (chicken with basil--what was served was not at all what I was expecting) she replied, "Well, you know, it's made for the Canadians" . Oh, I'm a she (my name is really Rona) , though Prasantrin is a Thai man's name (specifically my dad's).

For everyday baking and sweets making (breads, muffins, cakes, cookies, the occasional pie, truffles, etc.) what essential equipment would one need? I've been searching the boards and have not found such a list (though I did find excellent Indian and Chinese pantry lists). So far, I have: candy thermometer dry and liquid measuring cups measuring spoons rubber spatulas wooden spoons mixing bowls cookie sheets 9x13 baking pan 9" round cake pan square baking pan (I think it's 9") muffin pan a couple of sizes of loaf pans pie pan little ice cream scoop for truffle scooping regular ice cream scoop for big cookie scooping (and ice cream, of course!) rolling pin electric hand mixer parchment paper I don't yet have a pastry bag or assorted tips, nor do I have tart pans or a springform pan, but I will be purchasing some eventually (as the need arises). I can't afford a stand mixer at this time but it's on the list. Am I missing anything?

I'll be there March 8th. I fly in around 8:30 and fly out around 5:30 so it's a very short trip! I think it would be great if you could post to the board--just because there is pretty much nothing on Edmonton to be found here (I'm pretty bad about PM-ing, too, so I may never see them!). Even Chowhound had a few more recommendations, but they all included the King and I so I discounted them immediately. Seriously, that place had bad food! Have you ever heard of Cafe Amandine? From what I've read, it sounds promising (desserts! Yum!) and although my knowledge of Edmonton's geography is nil, I think it might be around Whyte Ave (or was it downtown?). Of course, the reviewer who said it was good also gave the King and I 4 or 4.5 stars, so...

I say "soft drink", but most others around here (Winnipeg) say "pop".

I've only been to Edmonton twice and neither time was I impressed with the restaurant scene. For example, during my first visit I was excited to find a Thai restaurant--the King and I, it was called. Too bad there was nothing remotely Thai about the food and even if I ignored the lack of Thai-ness, it was very bad food in general (and might I add, any Thai restaurant calling itself "The King and I" cannot possibly be a good Thai restaurant). During my second visit, well, it's just not worth discussing. So now I appeal to Edmontonians (or anyone with knowledge of Edmonton's restaurants) to steer me to a place where I can have a lovely lunch for one. Unfortunately, I have a couple of constraints. I will only be in Edmonton for 5 hours and will be limited to public transportation (ie the bus). I will definitely be downtown (in the vicinity of the Japanese consulate) and if the weather is decent, I will be venturing out to Whyte Avenue. The restaurant would have to be in one of these two areas. The other constraint...it will be a Monday. I know some restaurants (in Winnipeg, at least) close on Mondays, so recommendations for places open on Monday would be great. And as I mentioned earlier, it would have to be open for lunch, since I'll be gone by dinner time. I am not really interested in Chinese or Thai food, but perhaps something unique to Edmonton would be nice (is there anything unique to Edmonton?). I'd be up for French if there's a good French place, Italian not so much. Moroccan or Middle Eastern would be fabulous since we have neither of those in Winnipeg. I know Edmonton has a large Ukrainian population and while I like Ukrainian food, I prefer Polish, Serbian, or Croatian. Any Hungarian places in Edmonton? I love Hungarian food, too. I'd like to keep the check under $30, if possible (I don't really drink, but I love dessert!). Any suggestions out there? And is there a breakfast place downtown (again, near the Japanese consulate would be nice) where one might get a good diner-style breakfast? A place that has hash browns made from shredded or grated potatoes? (none of that cubed stuff for me!) I should say that I did have a very good meal at a Japanese restaurant in Edmonton so I know there are some good Japanese places there! Edited to add: I've been doing some reading and by "Whyte Ave" I think I mean the Old Strathcona area. Also, I hate pretentious restaurants and pretentious food. Posh is fine if it's honestly posh

According to Frommer's and Fodor's online, Gaylord still exists. I've not been there in a few years, but should I find it upon my return to Kobe in March, I'll let you know!

A Japanese friend of mine was telling me that her sister, who now lives in Israel, has opened a takoyaki business. However, since most (all?) people in Israel can't eat octopus, she has had to modify her recipe. Instead of using octopus, she fills her takoyaki with chocolate! Obviously it isn't really 'tako'-yaki anymore, but it seemed like a neat idea. What other fillings can one use in place of tako? I'm thinking jam, fruit, chicken...pretty much anything would be good. Are there any places in Japan that serve alternatives to tako in their takoyaki? Perhaps I should bring my takoyaki grill back to Japan with me (even though I lugged it all the way back to Canada and never used it) and experiment!

In my experience, food in Japan is usually served when it is ready. A group of diners may have their orders served at different times, resulting in one person beginning and finishing his/her meal before another even gets his/hers (this happened to me more than once, and I was usually one of the last to get fed ). It is possible that the restaurant at which you ate served dishes according to when they were completed without really given thought to "Western"-ness. But reading your post again, I think maybe I'm wrong in this case.

I think there are many places in Japan with better Chinese food than in those Chinatowns. I know that Kobe Chinatown, in particular, sucks (for lack of a better word). It was even worse than North American food court Chinese food. Really, really horrible. In Kobe the best Chinese restaurants are far away from Chinatown--there's one very good one near Shin-Kobe station, though I can't remember its name. Nagasaki's Chinese food was better, as was Yokohama's, but both places are still filled with sub-par Chinese food. It was difficult to pick out the best restaurants in either place, since there were so many ones that weren't good. For me, Chinatowns in Japan were huge disappointments in terms of food.

Actually, some women do quite well on White Day. A friend who works for Fuji Bank would give her supervisors cheap chocolates for Valentine's Day, and get Tiffany key chains or expensive scarves on White Day. It really depends on what business you are in. At the school I taught at, none of the female teachers gave their male co-workers gifts on Valentine's Day and so they got nothing in return.

I was once nominated to be the tour guide for some friends who had never been to Kyoto. One insisted that she needed to walk through Nishiki-koji since she had read about it. Without telling her where we were, I lead her down the street. She began wretching because of the smell of fish (she was "allergic") and she yelled, "Why the hell are you making us go through here?" I replied, "Because you wanted to go through Nishiki, and this is it!" I was annoyed, yet strangely pleased . I always wanted to buy a knife from the knife shop on that street, but I could never afford to. I couldn't even afford to buy one of their onigiri molds!

I lived in Kyoto for two years about 10 years ago. I can't remember names of places off-hand, only locations. One place I do remember, for reasonably priced lunch kaiseki, is Mukade. It's off Shijo-dori, just west (or is that east?) of Karasuma-dori. There's also a fabulous unadon place on Sanjo-dori, and a tempura place off Shijo, near Daimaru. Of course, this isn't really helping you much. I'll try to e-mail my friends and see if they can give me specific names and locations. In the meantime, I found the Kyoto Restaurant Association website which has information in English. I'll be in Kobe by the end of March (April 1st at the latest, I think) so I can always help you find some of the cool places! Great stationery shops, Japanese tea shops, traditional handicraft shops, etc. Osaka, Nara, and Kobe are just short train rides away for additional fun.

Of course, you'll know in the middle of the night whether is was really OK or not! Whatever happens, it wasn't my fault! I just made the suggestion!

I say go for it. We use canned/tubbed curry until it's gone--however long that may take. We also don't usually refrigerate it, and it hasn't killed us, yet!

I like food, but am rarely impressed by restaurants I dine at. I always thought if I became a food critic, most of my reviews would be more negative than positive. As Fresco said, most critics are not critical enough. The good thing about Joanne Kates is that if she gives a place a positive review, it most likely is a restaurant worth visiting. Unlike the Winnipeg restaurant critic who thinks like a Winnipeger (ethnic, posh, and "different" restaurants must be good). I've been so dozens of restaurants to which she has given rave reviews, and almost all have had little to rave about.

I don't like wine, either. I don't even like champagne, though I do like ice wine and fruit wines. I do like kir, though...does that count?

Maybe you haven't found them because you're spelling Filipino incorrectly. The first site that came up during a google search lists at least six Filipino restaurants in Toronto. I can't say if any of them are good, as I live in Winnipeg (which also has 6 or more Filipino restaurants, and a few other take-out only places), but you can try them and report back. My favourite Filipino breakfast is tocino with two eggs (sunny-side up) and fried rice with garlic. Only $4.50 at most Filipino restaurants in Winnipeg.

I love reading of other people's travels! I've never been to Greece, so it's wonderful being able to read someone else's impressions of the country! One small tip--while I know these posts were originally e-mails to family and friends, if you're serious about writing as a career, double check grammar and spelling. In these posts, incorrect grammar and spelling are not so important but if you want to write professionally, they will be.

I remember hearing (years ago) that the participants were told not to eat before taping so they would be very very hungry. Can you imagine watching two excellent chefs prepare divine food, then not being able to eat anything because you voted the wrong one? That would be TORTURE!! But boy did they ever make delicious looking food! I wonder if they'll ever let non-foreign looking foreigners who can't speak Japanese very well on that show. I'll be first in line!

It was my favourite show when I was in Japan, too! I'm so glad it's still on so I can still watch it when I get back! I used to tape the shows (as well as Iron Chef) and send them home to my parents. They loved them, even though they couldn't understand Japanese at all .

For me, Old Dutch Barbeque chips are the only barbeque chips worth eating. No other barbeque chip will do. For dill pickle, Old Dutch are best but Hostess dill pickle were good, too. Hostess O'Ryan's sour cream and onion chips were my absolute favourite chips of all time, though. I even e-mailed Hostess asking why O'Ryan's chips were discontinued and begged for them to bring them back. Someone replied, "I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong company. We make Hostess Twinkies, not potato chips." Oops! I suspect that the company that makes President's Choice chips is the same that made Hostess chips since the flavours are very similar. While not in the same league as O'Ryan's, they are the only sour cream and onion chips I'll eat. Oh, Old Dutch chips are available in some parts of Ontario. There used to be a website giving names of stores that carried them, but I can't seem to find it now. If you lived in Minnesota or North Dakota, you'd have an easier time finding them, though!

Not just seem, but they really are ! I think it has to do with technique as well as quality of ingredients--at least if comparing to most (not all, but most) Canadian baked goods. I haven't been able to replicate it yet, but I'd love to be able to! sigh!

Thanks so much for putting a name to it! Now that I know what it's called, I can try to find a recipe. I've been browsing through recipe sites, but no luck so far. I'll see if I can find it in a Serbian or Turkish cookbook at the library. Yum! $3.50/lb seems very reasonable. A friend of mine is Serbian (and half Croatian) so maybe I can ask her mother to make me some! I loved your pictures! The Serbian Pavilion is one of my favourite pavilions at Folklorama. We don't even watch the show anymore (it's the same every year) but we go in just to get food for take out! The women who do the cooking seem to look very pleased when we tell them we just came to pick up some food. Unfortunately, they don't do roast pig but the Slovenijan Pavilion does (two a night for a week) so we go there for that. I'm always very happy during Folklorama, and I gain a lot of weight !