prasantrin

That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. If they let you bring a bagful of 100mL liquids on board, then a box of chocolates shouldn't be a problem. I can fit at least 5 100mL bottles in one of those plastic bags they give you--they think I can't combine them all to make some kind of explosives? Not food, but the March after 9/11, some friends and I flew from Casablanca to New York. They allowed my friend on board with a fairly large dagger, but they confiscated my camera batteries. I'm planning to smuggle a sweet potato or two into Japan upon returning from summer holidays. My mother was going to bring me one last December, but she forgot it at home (where it languished until she returned almost 6 months later...).

JudyPH--are you based in the Philippines? If so, I wonder if it might be something about the ingredients. I've had chocolate cake in the Philippines which, while moist, has been somewhat heavy and rubbery. Or not...I just did a search and found this:

Frankly, I think you and the other members of your party should refrain from dining out in large groups again. 87cents? You quibble over a frickin' 87cents? I rarely eat in large groups, but even I am aware that there is usually an autograt for such parties. I don't even approve of tipping (pay a decent wage for cripes sake), but I would never have refused to pay even a portion of the autograt (and I always tip when in the US and Canada, even if I don't approve of the practice). That's like saying, "I thought this state only charged 5% tax, not the 7% I was charged, so I'm not going to pay the extra 2%." And I'm just going to forget you had the gall to even charge me that extra 2%. What a smart-assed thing to say. It was a valid charge, and you refused to pay a portion of it. Even for 87 cents, that's theft. Had I been your waitperson, I'd have called the manager over. With luck, you and your party would have been banned for life. All for a measly 87 cents.

If I can't pawn them off on anyone else, they're all yours! Maybe I could bring them to chicago for you? Another disappointment--the Kirkland brand Marcona Almonds. I've read so many positive things about them in the general Costco topic, so I had to pick some up when I saw them. I don't know what they usually taste like, but the ones I have taste kind of stale. Maybe not stale, but soft, and I've had at least one very bitter one (there may be more bitter ones, but I just opened the can, so i haven't found them yet). I checked the expiration date, and it's supposed to be good until January 2009. Bummer. But I'm sure I can manage to finish them. Perhaps I'll just freshen them up in the oven or something. edited to add--definitely more than one very bitter almond in the can, but they're kind of addictive in a weird way.

I'd want something like this! If you go to flickr and type in "turndown service" you'll get some pictures of food (though mostly of towel animals) that you can look through, but very few. That was the best of the bunch. It seems most hotels (even high-end ones) just do chocolates.

Along the same lines, Tom Colicchio says: I think generally speaking, though still working long hours, P&B does give a person slightly more "normal" life. You start working earlier, but you can also get home earlier--just in time to get dinner on the table for the family, help with homework, etc.

I think you misunderstood. I was not suggesting you tell him what he was doing was wrong, but that you tell him you posted to eGullet about it. Why not print out the topic for him to read, so he can know exactly what you've done? Right near the top there's a "print this topic" button. But I'm quite sure you won't be doing that...

He wants the reference.

Mentioning his name certainly helps not "screw" him. But you said earlier that you wanted this topic so you could reference it when future employers wanted to know why you really left your job. So which is it? Regarding the use of the forum, why don't you come clean with your boss? Something the lines of, "You know, I brought up some of my concerns with an online community about food, and they all think you're unethical, too." Perhaps that will have greater weight with him, knowing the whole world knows about his deception. Of course, that would mean he would also know about your deception, and something tells me you're not going to let that happen. If that's me, I'm a she (my name is right down there in my sig.). Again, mentioning your full name, mentioning the chef's name, and giving plenty of details about the area where you're located, etc. certainly does nothing to "protect the identity of [your] current employer". I hope he sees right through you. You trash-talk him but want a good reference from him? That's pretty unethical, too.

afaik, soba is rarely stir-fried, if at all, in Japan. Yakisoba, for example, isn't even made with soba noodles, so perhaps it's your noodles that are horrible and worthless. I'm certainly sure it can't be you!

It looks like it used to be a Robin's or something like that. We only had lunch there, and it was good enough (though I didn't think it was great). I'd never drive all the way out there again just to eat there, though if it were in my end of the city, I'd go when craving Indian. (We usually get samosas from an Indian grocery store on Pembina, but that's the closest to Indian we get out there unless you count Sweet Palace which I think is Pakistani.) It's been years since I've had Indian food (other than samosas) in Winnipeg, but I used to go to Taste of India (Sargent and Young, conveniently across from Asia City). I think India Palace on Ellice used to be good, but again, it's been years since I've eaten there. If the owners haven't changed, they were once part-owners of Bombay Snack House (which was in the same strip mall as Maxim's Bakery). BSH was awesome, and I was quite sad when it closed. I know India Palace's samosas are still good, but can't speak to the rest of the food. Maybe Indian should go on my list of summer eating!

The ability to use slang in another language is indicative of the level of cultural assimilation one has undergone. The more assimilated a person is into the new culture, the more naturally he/she will be able to use all aspects of that language, including slang. If we're talking about language for restaurant purposes, the best way to learn it is to hang out at a restaurant. You don't need to be completely fluent for that, and chances are you won't learn a lot of the vocab you'll need from classes or even "regular" people (i.e. those who don't work or have never worked in restaurants). Having even a little background in the language before entering an immersion situation would help, of course, but I think it would be most important to start training your ears than your tongue (being able to distinguish between the different sounds of the language, and having greater receptive abilities than productive abilities). In a kitchen situation, if you're pretty low on the totem pole you'll probably be listening to others give you orders rather than the other way around. Learning from a boyfriend/girlfriend (also called "sleeping dictionaries", at least in Japan) can help by giving you greater access to the language. However, it can also be detrimental when learning languages with distinct gender differences. Some of the Japanese I learned from an ex still gets me into trouble (men can use much more "vulgar" language than women can, but I didn't realize I was learning men's language at the time), and a lot of men who date Japanese women tend to sound very feminine because they use women's language and intonation.

Better not eat wherever Spike is working in NY. I think she's working for him or helping him out (so he says on chow).

One more thing, make sure your pan is the appropriate size for the amount of noodles and sauce you're using. The bigger the better, imo.

I think a potential employer might appreciate that you disagreed with your current employer's actions, but might also see that you're taking private concerns public. In other words, if you're trash-talking your current place, what are you going to say about their place if it doesn't meet your "standards" or if for some reason, you become disgruntled while working there? As chefpeon said, if you have a problem, "rant to the appropriate people", but to take it to a public forum in such a way as you have can also be construed as "unethical".

I sure hope you meant "tongs"!

Use higher heat. Don't overcook your noodles before you even add them to the pan (assuming you're using dried noodles). When I make things like Cantonese-style chow mein, I don't even add the noodles to the pan. I fry them separately, put them on a plate, then put the other stuff on top. That helps prevent sogginess, too (good Chinese restaurants will box them separately for take out, too).

Toss and burn.

And the seniors in the area might appreciate it, too. My grandparents used to live in Villa Cabrini, and a lot of the seniors don't walk much farther than the benches in front of the building. It would be nice for them to have access to something a little more interesting.

Chinese sausage and bacon. I brought some into Japan after my trip to HK in March. I never ever get checked anywhere in the world (I guess I look too innocuous), so I was home-free! My mother, however, actually admitted to the customs officer (they weren't searching her, but were just asking the standard questions) that she had some Chinese sausage in her carry-on bag, causing it to be confiscated! Luckily she had another package in her check-in luggage that she didn't mention.

Interesting. I think it's a great idea in theory, and it could do very well given the area and some of the psuedo granola types out there. But the traffic and parking situation out there is already hell (I read it would be even worse this summer while they do some watermain work), and the "regulars" who hang out at that corner don't inspire a lot of people to linger. I can't imagine it's going to be popular with anyone who doesn't live in the immediate area. It seems like it will be quite small, though, so they may not need a very large customer-base to be successful. But I'll still go at least once.

A friend's sister works at Hanabi (I think Hanabi) on Corydon, and she told me they were opening another branch almost right across the street from the current branch. It's going to be bigger and nicer. Is the Clay Oven a branch of the one on Inkster? It would be nice to have an Indian restaurant in the south end of the city.

A lot of food professionals read eG, and even if they don't, their friends or loyal customers may. At least one eG member has been fired because of what they've posted online, so it's not in your best interests to post your full name, unless you've already quit and found new employment. Of course, you've already posted enough to be recognizable, so perhaps it wouldn't matter if you used your full name or not.

I wonder if your cake flour is self-raising flour. I know you can get self-raising flour in Singapore relatively easily, so perhaps that's what you've been getting by mistake, or perhaps it's the "default" flour for cakes there.

Maybe the difference is bleached vs unbleached flour?