prasantrin

I've had Sadaharu Aoki stuff, but not from the Roppongi Hills shop. I've only gotten take out from his store at Isetan in Shinjinku (take-out only). I wasn't really impressed with what I had (macarons and eclair), but I'm always willing to try more sweets! Did you try any of the Japanese-brand macarons? I found the Japanese makers of macaron did a better job (or at least one more suited to my tastebuds) than the French makers--I placed both Chez Cima and Henri Charpentier (they don't sound like it, but they're Japanese companies) above JP Hevin, Pierre Herme, Lauduree, etc. Did you make the short trek from Roppongi Hills to Tokyo Midtown to try Toshi Yoroizuka? I wanted to try his stuff, but the day I went (a national holiday), the line up just to enter the place was way too long. It was worse (I thought) than at Hidemi Sugino!

There's a Vera's Burger Shake at YVR. The burgers are OK--a bit heavy-handed on the mustard, and the bun falls apart in no time, but it wasn't too dry for a well-done burger.

Do you have any family in the US? You could buy a crapload of stuff and have it sent by balikbayan box. Super cheap shipping, and much safer. I'd do it, but I'm in Canada and the supplies are generally quite a bit more expensive here than in the US (and not as varied or plentiful).

I've eaten at two which I thought were not good enough to try again. The sauce was too acidic, the crust of one was overcooked, the other was undercooked, and both were soggy in the middle. I probably should try them again, just to make sure they weren't one-off experiences, but Neapolitan-style pizza is expensive in Japan, and I know a place where I can always get a good one.

I've been to several VPN places--one in the US, and 4 in Japan. Although VPN places should have a certain minimum standard, of the 5 I've been to, only 2 have been great and even the quality of the crust and sauce (which should just be crushed tomatoes) varies widely. And the best Neapolitan-style pizza I've had isn't a VPN place. Keep in mind that (from what I understand), pizza places don't have to be tested in person to meet the standards. They must only submit written statements and pictures. At least that's how I interpreted what I read (but I've seen pictures of VPN people at almost every restaurant, so I assume personal visits are made at some point).

What a waste, to each their own. ← It's fairly traditional, I thought, but it's added after baking. Very common with a bit of arugula.

That truck is pretty amazing, and I love Filipino chocolate cakes! They're quite different in texture from North American cakes. BTW, did you happen to look up "hackleberry" in the urban dictionary?

Although I don't use them now, when I lived in VT I used The Cultured Cup (which I know Richard uses, too). I thought the service was much more personable than most online merchants. I now live near a Mariage Freres tea shop, but when I move back to Canada I imagine I may be using The Cultured Cup again.

I looked and I liked it. I might be tempted to split the two languages with the picture (one above, one below), but that's just might personal preference. Beautiful photography, btw.

Oops. Well, next time tell them it could have been worse. You could have put in MSG! I'm guessing they never let you make coffee again. . .

What kind of oven are you using? Are you using a convection? It kind of looks like they're being blown over (caveat: I've never made macarons).

Why should anyone here be any more qualified to give a scientific/medical perspective? eG members are generally members because they have an interest in eating and/or cooking food, not because they are experts in the scientific/medical side of being a picky eater.

it will it will! (excited) haha! if your anywhere near new manila itll be in balete drive corner 3rd street. the construction is on going so hopefully ill finish that up and open mid august =P hope to see you on december! ← Did you choose a name yet? Or is it a surprise?

I've reused buttermilk that was used to brine chicken, but I used it almost immediately after I took the chicken out, and I used it for another savoury application (onion rings). If you used it right away, I'd consider using it for biscuits or onion rings. I don't think it's really that big a deal.

How exciting! I can't wait to see how things progress. BTW, I'll probably be in Manila for a bit over the Christmas holidays--hope your new shop is open by then!

Cause it would be a bitch to enrobe in chocolate! ← why? cool buttercream is solid, give them a pre coating, let them come up to room temp to avoid expansion and dip. ← Perhaps you should try it and let us know how it goes. . .

Thanks KarenDW! I had intended to add a link in my original post, but I guess I forgot or accidentally deleted it. Lior, depending on how quickly you need it, I can pick up some cheap stuff in Japan and send it to you. I'm leaving in a few days for summer holidays, though, so you'd have to let me know asap unless you're willing to wait until September. (a quick estimate for a 1.5kg small paskage is about 85 shekels by small packet airmail, 65-ish by SAL which would take , and 40 by surface which is 1-3 months). I don't know how well the cheap coolers would work for your purposes, or what size you would need (the ones I'm thinking of are about 25x15x10 cm maybe? Or a little smaller.)

Small collapsible coolers are very reasonably priced, so even if you needed a few, it would still be a good investment. I get small thin ones at the Y100 store, but I don't know how well they keep things cool as I only use them for short periods of time. Then the reusable gel packs are also reasonably priced. The ones on this site are a little expensive. http://www.keepyourcooler.com/cryopak-gel-ice-paks.html But again, I can get little ones at my local Y100 store. I'd spring for larger ones, though, as they won't melt as quickly as the smaller ones. You might have similar cheap stores in Israel where you can get stuff like that. How many planes go out at once? The coolers could be kept in the office, then the chocolate could be transferred directly to them and brought to the planes, rather than keeping the coolers in the planes themselves. All else fails, I'd go with the fondue idea. Yum! But you could also make hot chocolate with water rather than cream or milk as the base. It's not as good, but it works.

Grant Achatz wrote a bit on comps and "special treatment" in his Back of the House column in The Atlantic. Interesting to see the other side (though in part I, it's less about comps than why some people get different treatment at his restaurant--it's more a matter of logistics in Alinea's case, so it seems).

Does cold-brewed coffee have more caffeine than hot? The two days I drank my cold-brewed coffee, I suffered the same sleeplessness I usually get when I have caffeine too late in the day. The only problem was that I finished drinking the coffee before 10am on both days (before 7am on one of them, actually). I read that Toddy coffee has less caffeine, but what about non-toddy cold-brews?

I thought the "After the fact" part referred to if the incident were reported after the dog had already been in the restaurant and had already left (ex. reported by someone to the authorities the next day).

← So the restaurant would have been required to send the dog out, but would it have been fined as well?

I'd have said something like, "Unfortunately, unless people are willing to pay more for the meals, we don't have enough in the budget for that." Ha ha. I'm glad things have been going well lately! I want to make that chicken, too!

You're welcome! Now my turn to ask a question. . . The French yoghurt cake--can it be multiplied without any problems? I want to triple the recipe--if I do that, are there any modifications I need to make? It's too hot to bake in Japan, so my goal is to make 3 cakes at once!

I am sooooo jealous! Your pictures make me want to hop on a plane tomorrow! Syrian baqlawa has always been my favourite, but I never knew if it was just the one particular Syrian restaurant that made good baqlawa, or if it was all Syrian baqlawa that would be good. Your explanation of why it's good describes my feelings exactly. One of the reasons I never cared for baqlawa/baklava was because it was too sweet, but the Syrian version is perfect for me. Now I'm going to have to find a way to go on a Syrian food tour, too! May I ask if you speak Arabic? I'm wondering how easy it would be to get around without a tour guide. Is it easy to go to markets and restaurants even without Arabic?