prasantrin

In my area, I can get chicken carcasses at a couple of grocery stores--Ikari and Coop. They're about Y20 per 100 grams. And the meat store at Coop (not part of Coop, but an independently owned shop) sells beef bones. Haven't found pork bones, yet, but I bet if you go to a pork store, you'll be able to get some. As for meat with bones, I can get spareribs anywhere, and chicken with bones (small whole chicken or a leg and thigh combo) at Ikari. I know Costco carries whole chickens, but if you don't have a Costco membership, try Ameyokocho. It's a bit far for you, probably, but they'll probably have everything you're looking for. It's that big building like a department store where they have all the Asian food places in the basement. They even have plantains there! (not meat, but hard to find) My Ikari has beef short ribs with bones, too, but they're way too expensive for me to even look at. I forgot, there's also Kohyo--whole chicken and leg/thigh combo, and I think they had some beef bones, too. I think they're all over Japan, but I can't find their website, so I'm not sure. And you can always try the Meat Guy. I still think Ameyokocho is your best bet, though.

Have you checked it recently? I just looked at the website and they seem to have a number of different tagines in stock, including the Rifi.

I took a bread baking class in Japan, and the whole wheat shokupan was more or less just white bread that had wheat bran added to it. Most of the "whole wheat" breads in Japan are like that, at least the ones available in supermarkets. Whole wheat flour isn't readily available.

Roquefort is a type of cheese similar to bleu cheese (blue cheese). I'm guessing "broiche" is a typo and it should be "brioche", which is a type of bread (quite rich compared to your average bread--more yolks and butter).

Day 3 More temples. Is there anything else to do in Siem Reap? I think it’s impossible not to feel awestruck by the temples. That being said, it’s difficult to cram so many temples into just a few days, and after the first few, they start to lose their lustre—not because they’re any less stunning, but simply because they begin to blend together. It’s much like temple-hopping in Kyoto if anyone is familiar with that experience. Were I to go back to SR, I would try to space out my visits more. We only did about half the temples most people do, mostly because we (my mother, especially) were just too tuckered to try to fit in any more. Banteay Srei was one of the last temples we visited, and it was probably our favourite. Both my mother and I have a love for fine things (we don’t look it, but we really do!), and the carvings at Banteay Srei were far and away the most refined of all the temples. On the way back from Banteay Srei, we stopped by several roadside stands that had baskets and other woven things. We were really trying to be good since we still had about 2 weeks left of travels (and shopping), but we overdid it somewhat with the baskets. And then we saw this I thought it was some kind of homemade alcoholic beverage, but the stall-keeper pointed to these things Anyone know what they are? I assume they’re from palm trees because what I thought was alcohol turned out to be palm sugar sap being cooked down. On the far left, there are some long green cylinders. They’re palm sugar tablets wrapped in palm leaves. She gave us a bit to try, and we ended up buying 5 or 6 of them. Cambodian palm sugar is tasty! I’ve been eating little bits as candy, but I still have some left. I wonder what I could make with them. Any ideas? Our next stop was Ta Prohm. I was a little disappointed with this temple. Yes, the trees are magnificent, but when I first read about it, I read that this temple in particular was going to be left untouched to help preserve the romanticism surrounding Angkor Wat and all the other temples. Perhaps that was true several years ago, but it’s not longer so. They’re doing quite a bit of work there, and not just restoration, but they’re building little things here and there—a deck for picture-taking, bridges, etc. etc. It sort of reminded me of Disneyland. No, not that bad, but I just didn’t get a good vibe from the place. Ahem. . . Nevertheless, we loved this tree Dinner that night was at our inn again. We had to catch an early bus to Phnom Penh the next day, so we wanted to stick close to home. I had some kind of pork with garlic. Very thinly sliced, and very tasty, but terribly dry. My mother had fried chicken wrapped in some kind of leaves. I thought it would be chicken fried and then wrapped in leaves, but it was chicken wrapped in leaves and then fried. Interesting idea! I didn’t care for it—flavourless (it was almost all breast—they must be catering to farangs) and again, terribly dry. My mother says most SE Asian meats are cooked till very dry, possibly to help off-set any dicey food safety conditions (did I mention her theory before?).

lilyhotel--did you make those dishes? What's the one on the bottom? Is it just the cheese that has been shaped, or is there more to it? It's so cute! Another question--why is it considered a dessert? From your description it seems to be more of a savoury-food component.

Peter’s catching up, so I must move quickly! Day 1—Siem Reap After a long stopover in Singapore, we flew out to SR early morning December 21. We just as early in SR, and went straight to our little guest house, L’Auberge Mont Royal. It’s a nice little place, owned by a Cambodian man who managed to get out of Cambodia in the early ‘70s, and he settled in Montreal (hence the name of the inn). He only recently opened the inn, and was just back for a short visit (his children live in Cambodia and his eldest son normally runs the inn). Although our room wasn’t available, they let us have breakfast! Lucky us, because we were starving! They had wonderful baguettes and croissants, and a choice of pancakes, eggs (scrambled, fried, or omelette), or a fruit plate. Our first day was more or less a blur. We were quite tired from our overnighter at Changi Airport, and the only thing I remember about food, other than our breakfast, was that we had dinner at our inn. We chose Cambodian dishes—some kind of lemongrass-flavoured soup, fried fish which I think was Trey bom poung, and something else I can’t remember. The fish was overcooked, but the flavour was fine. I really should take notes like Peter does, but I’m too lazy! No pictures, anyway, because it was too dark. So, moving along to. . . Day 2 I have a few more food-related pictures of this day. We started out the morning with our usual breakfast, and then we set out to Angkor Wat. My mother always has to have a hand in something. . . I can’t remember what we did for lunch, but for dinner we went to Sala Bai. This was the smallest of the three hospitality schools in Siem Reap. It’s run by a French organization that has been operating in Cambodia (or near Cambodia—they were helping Cambodian refugees in Thailand) since 1984, and since 1992, they have continued their work in Cambodia by focussing on education. Sala Bai is their hospitality school which opened in Siem Reap in 1992. It is completely free to students, and it relies mostly on funding from French government and private donors (the other two hospitality schools being Paul Dubrule and Shinta Mani which opened in 2002 and 2004, respectively). All three schools do wonderful work helping severely disadvantaged youths improve their lives, and I would recommend staying at one of them if you can. We wanted to stay at Sala Bai, but the manager feared the stairs would be too difficult for my mother to manage. Anyway, the restaurant was just down the street from our inn, so it was easy to get to. It’s a nice little place, but the area is most definitely underdeveloped. They’re doing a lot of construction in Siem Reap, and the conditions of the roads are somewhat less than ideal. But the restaurant itself is kind of nice. Dark woods, simple decor. What’s not to like? As far as I can remember, we only had a choice of two set meals—two courses (appetiser or dessert plus the main course), or three courses (all of the above). We ordered the three course dinner. Our first course was soup. It was sort of like tom yum goong, but without the heat. Our first coconut! After we drank all the juice, we had them crack them open so we could eat the meat! We were feeling very smart, because most of the farangs around us just drank the juice and didn’t realize they could eat the meat, too. The meat’s the best part! For our main we had some kind of beef massaman-like dish. The name was very similar to massaman, as well, but I can't remember it now (no notes, remember. . . ). I thought it was good albeit a bit too sweet (like massaman for farangs). My mother didn't like it--she had a lot of tough bits of meat in hers. It was quite dark by the time we had our main (and dessert), so the pictures didn't turn out. Dessert was sangkaya fak thong, but again, not called that. Sorry, I mostly remember Thai names for things, and the food is very similar, so the Thai stuck in my head more than the Khmer. Service was a bit rough, but it wasn't any worse than anywhere else, and at least at Salabai they have the excuse that they're still in training. I don't know that the food was good enough for me to want to return, but I'd return just to support the program.

Leek and carrots. And one potato. Think that's the problem? The only seasoning other than salt and pepper is thyme, and I used 1/2 chicken stock, 1/2 water. I think I used too much liquid for the amount of solids I had, and I also think the carrots weren't at their best. I've never liked curried soups (carrot or pumpkin), but ginger would be nice. I can't eat much garlic during the week, so I'd have to use very little of it, or just eat it on Friday night and Saturday.

It's chilly in Japan, so I've been doing a lot of soups, simple ones that don't require much work. For the last couple of weeks it's been: roasted red pepper potato broccoli leek and kabocha leek and carrot The least successful has been the leek and carrot. I need to do something else to it to make it more palatable (maybe add a can of crushed tomatoes or something?).

Question about the Philippines episode. I've only watched it on YouTube, but when I compare the list of restaurants on the Travel Channel website to what I saw, they're different. I don't recall seeing the first two spots (Café Ysabel and Lumpia House) or the last one (King Ginno's Parres). Does anyone remember if they were on the show as originally broadcasted? I'm wondering if maybe the YT version is missing parts.

If you're interested in what goes on in the L2O kitchen, Laurent Gras has posted some videos of the restaurant on YouTube. Check out the guy in the background on the far right (shaved head). I'm sure it happens in more kitchens than I'd care to know, but I just don't care to know it's happening (hear no evil, see no evil. . ).

I've been meaning to make the Friendship Bars (on David Lebovitz's website, recipe adapted from Alice Medrich) forever and a day. It's mostly fruit and nuts with a little bit of brown sugar and flour, and an egg. If you cut the recipe (8" pan) into 16 bars, each bar is about 190 calories, with 9.43 grams total fat (only 0.88grams of which are saturated), 26.27 grams of carbohydrates (including 13grams of sugars and 2 grams of fiber), and 2.5 grams of protein. Seems like a lot of sugar, but it's mostly from the fruit, so it's not quite as egregious as white sugar. You could probably cut back on the brown sugar or use agave or some other sweetener, and also sub in other fruits for the dates and apricots. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007...hip_bars_1.html

Why do you think that was? Was semolina less available, or was it just a regional preference? I had never seen stewed kibbeh before--it looks great! Now I'm thinking I should try making it. Any small-batch recipes you'd recommend?

I just reread. I think it's unclear, but I interpreted it a different way, and after re-reading I think you're right. And you're also right that it doesn't make sense to charge less than supermarket prices, especially if, in fact, the product is superior.

Why would you charge LESS for your (superior) product? ← He's not. That $3.50 is his cost, at he's charging the customer $7-10. I vote for the catering option, too. They have to pre-order and pre-pay. That way you never make more than you need, and it will be easier for you to plan. It's a good way for you to get your feet wet.

Chez Copain went bankrupt! Actually, its parent company went bankrupt, taking Chez Copain, Takatora (cream puffs), and Ashiya Gin-nan (ramen shop) along with it. It was quite a popular shop in the Kobe-area (where it originated). I know they had shops across Japan (including Tokyo).

Ippudo is a ramen chain in Japan which also has a place in NY. Tonkotsu and tonkatsu are not the same thing.

Wow! You have a much better memory than I! I tried to look online for it after, but couldn't find it, and I was thinking what I posted was really of no help at all. Thanks for posting it!

I vaguely remember Fine Cooking or Cook's Illustrated (I think the former) did a thing on rolling pins, and they suggested the shaft and bearing pins were better for a specific purpose (but I cannot remember what that purpose was. . . ).

That's almost the same as mine! It's actually much cheaper than a top-of-the-line rice cooker, given that totl rice cookers can run closer to US$1000 now, but also because that price of $120 is in HK dollars! It works out to about US$15 which I think is what mine cost (it was a "Secret Santa" gift and the limit was Y1500). It's just a plastic thermos-like thing--not even an appliance. Just put your eggs in, pour boiling water over them, and cover for 20+ minutes (depending on the size of your eggs and the doneness you desire). The person who gave it to me (or rather, who I think gave it to me) knows how much I love onsen tamago, so she thought it would be the perfect gift! Batard--yes, you probably could just use a regular thermos, but it wouldn't be as cute!

Does this apply to delivery or is it just walk in? ← In the very first post Fay Jai wrote delivery, too. I assume that still stands with the extension of the discount to all sized pies.

Just in time! My oil just went on the stove, and it's heating as a type! Thanks! Will just drain and IQF, then bag. I hope they last long enough to bag. . . I might have to eat them after seeing all the delicious fries here recently.

mmmm, those looked good! May I ask why you used the same temperatures for both fries? I'll try single fry vs double fry for pre-cooked potatoes and see what happens. My potatoes are a lot thinner than yours. Hope that doesn't make too much of a difference! ETA--Boiled and left two nights to dry (not in the fridge, but since it's only 10C in my apartment, I thought it would be OK to leave them out). First fry at 130C for several minutes (still light-coloured), as instructed by jackal10's eGCI course. Second fry at 185C till browned enough for my liking. I used two types of Japanese potatoes that I was told were good for frying. I had used them to double-fry before, and they were OK, but not great. The triple-fried fries were awesome! Crispy on the outside, but tender on the inside. I've got some cooling to stick in the freezer, but I'm thinking of maybe just eating them, instead. Ahem. . . The precooked (boiled) then fried at 185C fries were not nearly as good as the triple-cooked ones. They took a lot longer to brown, and they did not get nearly as crispy as the triple-cooked one. I think they'd make good pan-fried potatoes if I cubed them. So in order of preference, from best to worst: Triple cooked Double-fried Boiled then fried I'm itching to try this with my regular potatoes (I can't normally get special frying potatoes), but will have to put it off.

Other than in the type of wood which would play a part in the higher cost, you mean? You can get a cubic zirconia ring much more cheaply than a diamond ring, too. Is there a difference? Some people would be satisfied with a Seiko, while others prefer Patek Philippe. In terms of usage, there probably isn't a difference. But in terms of silliness, that would be a very subjective. My baton-style rolling pin was from the Y100 store. Don't know what kind of wood it is, but it's only 8% the cost of your pin (1% of the boxwood), while your pin is 15% the cost of the boxwood one.

Did you blot off the oil before freezing, or did you leave the surface oil? I was supposed to do my first fry yesterday, but I put it off till today. I've got to get moving, because I don't want my potatoes to deteriorate too much!