prasantrin

I thought it looked African, so I did a little research. It's an asanka. Much more interesting than a suribachi, imo!

Thanks. It appears to be hand made as it is quite rough and ready and there are no manufacturer's marks of any kind. Was it marked as a suribachi? It doesn't look like a traditional suribachi to me--too shallow and wide, and the ridges are going the wrong way (the surikogi is usually used in a circular motion, and if the ridges are horizontal rather than vertical, the sesame won't get ground very easily).

Try Balderson or Agropur 5-year cheddars if you can get them (Balderson is available at Canadian Costco stores, but I don't know if it's available in US stores). There are other Canadian cheeses (especially out of Quebec) worth trying, too, including some very delicious raw milk cheeses.

It's sold under the "Diamond" brand in CostCo and Sams Club in the US. If "Diamond" is Black Diamond, it's definitely not better than most of the US domestic stuff. It's actually pretty crappy cheese, imo. I think pork is much better in most of Asia than in the US or Canada.

There's a pie pan you can buy that has a divider in the middle. Personally, I think making smaller pies is the way to go.

Chicken skin Pata (resulting in crispy pata) I forgot. . . salmon skin (I think I like any kind of fried skin)

I looked at the Rakuten site and it was about C$85 for the machine but shipping was calculated at $40. I also looked at the cost of shipping to the US, and it also came up as $40. The only Y6600 I saw was for the cost in Japanese yen. Are you using the shipping estimator for the shipping cost, or did you go all the way through to the end (as though you were ordering it), and then it quoted you Y6600 for the shipping?

I had the commercially prepared version of this recipe for kulfi ice cream. It was quite tasty and would make a nice addition to your Christmas dinner (Indian, traditional, or otherwise). I'm with the folks who say go traditional but add a couple of more Indian sides, though. It's best to transition into the un-traditional slowly rather than all at once. And since you started with one dish last year, doing two or three wouldn't be too much too soon, but doing a completely Indian-influenced meal might be.

I found a number of recipes like that on the net. could this one be similar enough to be able to tweak until it becomes your old favourite? I'd love to make butter chicken at home one day, so another's favourite recipe would be a good place to start!

In my part of the world (Canada), dentists do charge for no shows. I would bet doctors do, as well, but they don't charge the patient directly since doctors are paid through whatever provincial medical insurance you're a part of. I was once charged for a missed dentist's appointment. I showed up, but an hour late (I got the time wrong). I didn't mind paying, but the attitude of the receptionist pissed me off so much that I never went back to that dentist, and I had been his patient for close to 10 years. And I would wager that restaurant no-show rates are much, much higher than missed doctor/dentist appointments. Much. Most people have some respect for those professions, but little, if any, for owners of restaurants much less general staff.

One more question, have you ever had the fancier version of woo kok? The woo kok is shaped like a basket and it's filled with some kind of stir fry (maybe something like chicken and cashews?). I don't normally like woo kok, but it wasn't so bad in that form (my sister's childhood pen pal took my mother and me to Spring Court and we had it there). It was pretty neat to look at, I thought.

One of my mother's childhood dreams was to have a Singapore Sling in Singapore. When I took her to Singapore, I had planned to go to the Raffles Hotel and treat her to one. Once she learned the price, however, she balked at going (especially since she's a cheap drunk and she wouldn't have had more than one or two sips) so she instead settled for a free mango sling at an expensive hotel's New Year's Day brunch buffet. Fortunately, on our second trip to Singapore together, she was able to have her first (and last) Singapore Sling. Sure it was on Singapore Airlines, but they probably use the same mix as Raffles does! About some landlord's not renting to Chinese, other than the wok hei smell, a lot of Chinese food is kind of stinky. My siblings and I used to call salted fish "stinky fish" when we were kids, and there are all those preserved vegetables that are quite pungent and which have a lingering smell. When we make stinky fish now, we usually heat the oil, then carry the pan outside and put the fish in the pan then. Or during summer, we do the whole thing in a pan on the barbecue.

I miss Singapore so much, and you're just making me miss it more! Although I do think KL is more interesting food-wise, the ease of public transportation in Singapore edges it out in terms of being an eating destination for me. Any chance for a curry puff taste-off? I did one the last time I was in Singapore and my rankings were: Tanglin Crispy Curry Puffs (at Hong Lim) random cart at Pearl Centre (?) OCK Homi 1A Muslim Nasi Pedang stall at People's Park(?) Ci Yan (organic and vegetarian--need I say more?) But I didn't get to Tip Top or Rex's (I think Homi was in KL, but the others were all in Singapore). I love me some curry puffs! If you do get to do a mini-blog for Melaka, my favourite of the trip was this place http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2008/07/at-830am-with-t.html . We got there too late for the laksa (11 am was too late!), but the chee cheung fun was the best I've ever had! And we wanted to try to get to this place http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2008/07/heading-out-of.html but we ended up taking the bus to Melaka, so no off-the-beaten-track places for us. We also became addicted to the chile con queso at Cafe Iguana. I think we had it two or three times while we were there. It's pretty much just tostitos con queso dip, but it was a very guilty pleasure.

And in the second picture under the Borhi Muhllah section, what are those things that are rolled up? They look like large spring rolls, but I'm guessing they're rolled roti filled with meat? And are the square ones like murtabak?

I'd like to see some Indian Chinese food. How are the flavours different from American Chinese (or even "authentic" Chinese food in the US) Or are they? And what was in that Frankie? Frankfurters?

I thought it would be nikkib. I've been waiting for her to do an official foodblog since she was in Beirut, and then was still hoping for one when she moved to somewhere else in the middle east (Kuwait? Can't remember now). I've been to Singapore, so it's not quite as exciting for me, but she eats out a lot, iirc, so I know she'll have a lot of interesting places which I can add to my "next time I'm in Singapore" list. Maybe if we beg, she'll take a day trip to Melaka.

Have you tried/seen the Magic Bullet? They appear to be the same type of "blender", so I'm wondering if the premium price (comparatively speaking) of the Millser gives a better quality product. I have the Magic Bullet, and I haven't found it works anywhere near as well it does in the commercials.

It actually says at the top of the bottle that it should be drunk quickly. And saké is just as bad as saki. Neither reflects the pronunciation of the word (and there is no accent aigu in Japanese)

But doesn't the farmer's market shot look like one of the markets in Cleveland? The one where Diane sells her delicious pies and jams?

Put them in embutido. The sausage of choice is Vienna sausage, but hot dogs will do fine.

wait! Don't go yet! Tell us more about Kera Per Eda - Eggs with spices on Bananas Are the bananas ripe or unripe? What kind of spices? I kind of like the looks of it--maybe I can replicate it! I will follow your blog wherever you post!

Percyn, you have always been one of my favourite posters, so I am overjoyed to see a full week of your eating/cultural experiences! You may have addressed this in a past travelblog, but are you ever wary of digging into the goods of street food or roadside vendors? Or do you travel back to India often enough not to worry about re-introducing such foods to your diet. In reading your blog, I am reminded of my father who, after spending decades away from Thailand, found that he could no longer partake in such delights without some serious consequences. Thanks for the pictures of jalebi. I love love love jalebi, but I prefer mine with cold milk. :-) Did I miss the burfee pictures, or are they coming? hint hint. . .

I'm inclined to think Panaderia if she hasn't done one yet (haven't been following much, so I'm not sure who has/hasn't blogged). She makes bagels often.

I forgot to add. . . Maybe you could be the eG Heartland Gathering planner for 2013! I'd love to do it in Madison, and it's sort of within driving distance for me! (or maybe driving to MSP+a Megabus ride!)

Were those large butternut squash $1 each? Holy fricking cheap, batman! In my area, we pay about $1/lb (or more) at the farmer's market for those, and it's still 70cents/lb at the big box grocery store. I enjoyed your blog. I've always been curious about your avatar, and I had for some reason assumed you were much older!