prasantrin

In terms of reasoning, however, the limb is still strong. Montreal is even closer to NYC than Toronto is, so it's still possible that you had NY-style halvah growing up. Most grocery stores in Winnipeg carry the same kind of halvah which I would guess is the most common type of halvah sold across Canada (because if they have it in Winnipeg, they probably have it everywhere else, too). If you check out your nearest large grocery store (Safeway, Superstore or whatever Westfair foods chain, Sobey's or whatever Loblaw's chain), you can probably find it in the deli section and check out the ingredients. That will help you narrow down the type for which you're looking.

Really? No name? I get joking, flirting, cuteness being an issue, but waiters are people with whom you're transacting a business deal, not robots. I work in an office, and it is nearly mandatory to begin phone conversations with my name, right after thanking the customer for calling my business. You don't HAVE to remember your waitresses name to complete said transaction, but doesn't it make it easier, not to mention showing the restaurant and it s employees their proper respect. I get frustration with TGIMcFunster-type waitresses who do every cutesy trick to pull for a higher tip, and I'm in no way condoning that, but come on! I like number 7. It's much more of a traditional model for waitstaff (i.e. European model) where it's understood and accepted that not everyone is equal. Fact is, waitstaff is there to serve you, not be your best friend (or potential friend). And before anyone makes assumptions, I have waited tables. And no, I never gave my name, nor did anyone ask, and yes, I made good tips. Waitstaff need to be good at their jobs, and guests do not need to know my name in order for me to do that. That being said, if there were regular customers with whom I had repeated contact, then the name thing might come in handy. But I would never presume to offer my name, but if they asked, I'd tell them.

It's late here, so maybe that's why I don't understand what you've written at all. What was he really saying?

Well, really, nothing discussed around these parts is "worth a moment's consideration," but people certainly do manage! I've noticed that, at least in North America, descriptively hot chocolate and hot cocoa are interchangeable terms, but prescriptively, cocoa and chocolate are different things, so if you know the difference and can use different terms, then why not be more precise? Of course, living in a country known for its attention to detail has made me appreciate that sort of thing, but it's not for everyone. FWIW, where I live now, ホット　チョコレート　(transliterated as "hotto chokore-to) is made with chocolate (possibly in addition to cocoa, but chocolate is definitely the main ingredient), while ホット　ココア ("hotto kokoa") is made with cocoa powder and no chocolate. When I first moved here, I would buy different brands of "cocoa" from vending machines, and I could never understand why they were so watered down and crappy tasting (other than because they were from vending machines). Finally figured it out a few years ago when the hot chocolate "boom" started.

About the Chinese BBQ pork recipe--did you happen to notice if there was anything unusual about the recipe (as compared to Chinese BBQ pork recipes)? I'm just wondering because I know a lot of Chinese-influenced Thai dishes will have a slight twist. Like S&S pork--one of the main differences is that the pork isn't breaded in the Thai version. I was looking at Australian on-line sellers, and the cheapest price was AU$80-ish with free shipping. The cheapest that would ship to Japan was AU$90-ish with a whopping $24 in shipping charges. Were my father still alive, I'd have bought the book. Not for the recipes, because he never used recipes, but just for the pictures and the memories it would help evoke. In fact, I'd buy the book now because it would remind me of my dad.

They are? I didn't know that! I always imagined they were tart--tarter than cranberries. Thanks for the tip! My order is coming in on Sunday, so I'm hoping to get my cake made sometime next week. I love the cranberry upside downer! I think it's my favourite recipe from the book so far!

So. . . it turns out the reason Kikuya's frozen cranberries are so much cheaper is because they're frozen red currants. That'll teach me not to read more carefully! (I think I stopped at the ク and just assumed the rest).

The best cheap onsen-type place breakfast is the breakfast buffet at Q-kamura hotels (not exactly hotels) around Japan. The one at Daisen has the best milk ever! If you don't mind being stuck kind of in the middle of nowhere, I'd go there just for breakfast. I'm about to eat the last of my brown sugar bacon with some goat cheese scrambled eggs on a bed of rice. (but that's really my dinner.)

Let's say I wanted to make the Cranberry Upside Downer, but I accidentally ordered frozen red currants instead of frozen cranberries. Could I make a Red Currant Upside Downer? Or would that be a bad idea?

It only happened once. In Japan. Come to think of it, I don't think it was a bartender, I think it was just one of the waitstaff (it was at a restaurant that has a cocktail menu, though no real "bar").

I would say a few hours at the most (and really, not even that). It gets pretty tough once it has been fried, but I supposed if you're using it in congee and cutting it into thin-ish slices, it might not be too bad.

Don't put ice (especially not crushed ice) in my Kir.

I can't even remember the last meal I shared with my father. Good food was always important in my family, and it saddens me that I can't remember it. I remember one of the last things he cooked was a meatloaf (I didn't eat any--he and my mother ate it all). My mother said it was the best meatloaf she had ever had, and he had to tell her his secret in case he died. He replied, "Don't worry. There's another one in the freezer." He died a couple of weeks later. But yes, having a whiteboard in common with Thomas Keller is important.

Understood. About this book in particular, I read the Penguin "Details" page. Although the book is in the category of "General Cookery & Recipes", the actual description of the book makes it sound more like travel guide rather than a cookbook. The part mentioning cooking ("then try your hand") seems to be secondary (or even tertiary) to all the other stuff that will be in the book--it's just a coffee table book (as someone else said) with a few recipes thrown in, rather than a cookbook with a bit of travel info. That would be disappointing for people expecting it to be a cookbook, but it doesn't seem to be marketed that way, so it really shouldn't be that disappointing or surprising. (It can still be disappointing in the sense that you'd rather have had a real cookbook, just not in a "this book isn't anything like what it said it would be" way.) ETA--there are a few recipes up on the Penguin page if you're interested in seeing the type of food he has in there.

I don't think so. It's about 45 minutes from Namba, and though it's pretty close to the train station, that would be at least 3 hours of your time, more if you make your own instant ramen from scratch. If you were staying for closer to a week, it would be much more do-able. You could easily use up all your time just by staying in Namba/Shinsaibashi. BTW, if you need train help, Hyperdia is an excellent resource. Just make sure you scroll to look at all the options it gives. I've found the first route isn't necessarily the best one.

Exactly. Put your yogurt in a cheesecloth and hang it until it is about half the original volume, and you've got Greek yogurt. Let it hang until it is about a quarter of the original volume, and you can spread it like cream cheese. Hmmmmm. Recently I've been lamenting the fact that there is no decent cream cheese available here in Cleveland. I am going to try straining Fage and see if what I get is something that I could use in place of cream cheese for baking and spreading on bagels, toast etc. He said "apread it like cream cheese", not so much that it was a sub for cream cheese. It's much tarter, and less dense than cream cheese. I'd use it for spreading on bread or for making a dip, but I wouldn't use it for baking, at least not as a substitute for cream cheese like in cheesecake. ETA: I did some research, and a lot of recipes on the 'net say yoghurt cheese and cream cheese are the same. I still have my doubts, but another recipe for cream cheese can be found here. This is more like what I think of as cream cheese--much higher fat content than yoghurt cheese.

I don't know if I'd say that. I've heard enough about his restaurant in London to make me think style is just as if not more important. I believe Thompson now merely 'consults' to Nahm, so it's not quite 'his' restaurant in the same sense that it used to be. Nahm opened in 2001. I don't know when he became a "consultant", but this review was written in 2003. I doubt it was that soon after opening.

I don't know if I'd say that. I've heard enough about his restaurant in London to make me think style is just as if not more important.

If you make coffee at home in the morning (I can't tell from your initial post if you do or not--I suspect not, but just in case. . . ), you could just put some in a thermos (real one, not just a thermal coffee mug) and bring that. It won't degrade in quality as quickly as the stuff on your burner at work.

Osaka-style okonomiyaki is worth a try while you're in Osaka. I don't know of a good one off-hand (my favourite Osaka-style okonomiyaki place is in Kobe). Then you can compare with monjayaki in Tokyo (different animals, but many people compare them, anyway). Doguyasuji used to have a particular day when most of the stores were closed. I can't remember which day that was, but from their website, it looks like most stores should be open every day, 9-6. I prefer to go around 10 before it gets too crowded. It's not like Kappabashi where the stores are along a real street, but it's more like a covered shopping arcade, so when it gets crowded, it's difficult to move around. Most restaurants and stores will be open on the national holiday. If anything, things will be more crowded rather than less. If you're taking the Shinkansen on that day, I hope you already have your tickets.

Doguyasuji is really small compared to Kappabashi, and I've found a lot of their prices are a bit higher. You might be disappointed (I love Doguyasuji, though). I know you're coming for Japanese food, but. . . if you can get to a really good Neapolitan pizza place, I'd save one lunch for that. It's probably oodles better than what you can get locally (not that I know what Neapolitan pizza is like in the UK), so it unless you go to Italy fairly often, it'll be the closest you can get to the real thing.

If you start doing the checkerboard sandwiches and such, I think the parents will be pressuring you in a different way. I can just hear their kids now. . . "Mommmmmmmmyyyyy! Why does PJ get all the cool lunches while we get crap? I want checkerboard sandwiches, too!"

If you have a little room to spare, you could get a 1-cup cone filter or an all-in-one type. I use a cone filter at work, or I use the completely disposable type which would take even less room.

Any type of food? "Omakase" is not exclusive to a particular type of food or style of cuisine. If you're familiar enough with the staff, you could go into an Italian restaurant and say "omakase" (I sometimes do that at my favourite local Italian place).

I'm not Torakris, but it's natto.