prasantrin

If "transplant" means "heart transplant", it wouldn't surprise me so much...

Are the cups at Cukrarna Alchymista custom-made for the shop? They match the ceiling! If I were there, I'd try to buy a set. I love them! Now I feel the need to go back to Prague. You're showing me so many things I missed when I visited--especially the food things!

Fuchsia Dunlop translates tian mian jiang as "sweet fermented wheat paste". Maybe you could try that if you haven't been able to find a good translation (or if you haven't given up after four months ).

I'm just baking off the last of my chocolate malted whopper cookie dough. These things rock! Horlick's was definitely the way to go! Mine are rather flat, so they have a really nice chew to them. My cookies are also dark, unlike some lighter-coloured versions I've seen on the web, and I think it's either because of the cocoa I used (Penzey's natural), or because some of my chopped chocolate was more like shaved chocolate (so it melted into the cookie). I love these, but next time, I'm either going to use nuts instead of chopped chocolate, or do half/half nuts/chocolate. I'd like a bit more crunch to them, and I think nuts make everything better!

How's your wife doing lately? I hope she's doing well, or at least better!

Costco.com has a page where they list recalls and so far, there's no mention of saffron.

I was hoping you'd make these! They're one of my favourite bakery items, and the bakery I frequent uses rum raisins (or maybe puts rum in the custard cream, or both!). And a little strawberry jam never hurt anything!

If you do get mould in your maple syrup, just dump it in a pot, skim off as much mould as possible, then bring it to a boil, then skim some more. If you need to, bring it to a boil again, and skim again. You should be able to get most if not all the mould out. Wash your container thoroughly (or put it in a new sterilized container), pour the syrup back in, and you're good to go. The mould isn't toxic, it just tastes like...mould. If you don't get all of it out, you'll sometimes get a bit of mould flavour in a bite of pancake--a bit off-putting, but not the end of the world. Just be careful that you don't overboil the syrup, because once it cools, it could end up as a hard mass that will never ever pour out of your container again (not that I know from experience ).

It's not an issue, I was just confused about what was going on. It took me a bit of time to figure out you weren't travelling with her (wouldn't that have been fun? ).

I'm a little bit confused about MizBaggin's travelling companion. Is she no longer travelling to and from eGulleter's homes? Sounds like the services were out-sourced!

I've been looking for a new digital camera, so I took a look at the S520 specs. It looks like they're relying on high ISO for the low-light shooting. But the coolpix has a maximum ISO of 2000, while if you look at the Fuji Finepix F50, it's highest ISO is 6400, so it would have greater light sensitivity. Also, the S520 claims a macro focal range of 15cm, while the F50 is 5cm, allowing you to get a closer shot, should you want. DPReview gives the FinepixF50 a (barely) "Highly Recommended" rating, and the price is roughly the same as the Coolpix S520. They haven't reviewed the S520, though. Standard disclaimer...not related to fuji...etc. etc., but my very first very simple P&S digital was a Fuji, and it took great pictures despite its lack of features, so I have great fondness for the brand. (My current is a Canon 620 which also takes great pictures, but is heavy and most definitely not pocket-sized.) Note: It's specifically the FinepixF50fd to which I refer.

I am dying to make the chocolated malted whopper drops. I know the recipe calls for "malted milk powder" or "Ovaltine", but I have Horlick's. Horlick's is malted milk powder, as far as I know, but Ovaltine has cocoa powder in it, too. Should I add a bit more cocoa to the recipe (which calls for 1/4 cup) when I make it? I want them to look dark-ish, and people have commented that they don't always turn out as dark as they do in the book (and I suspect that's because they're using regular malted milk powder, and not Ovaltine).

I can't speak for the Fox& whatever, but I've had friends work at the Keg, and the Keg very much cares about attentive and professional service. They offer extensive training, including mandatory "product knowledge" seminars (wine tastings, food tastings, etc.). If I got crappy service at a Keg (not likely, since I don't eat there), I'd report it to the management of that particular Keg, as well as send a letter to the corporate offices since they still oversee the franchises to a degree.

Me, too, but I have to admit, the little squirrely one in the first picture makes my skin crawl! It's too wormy!

Nishla--I was just rereading your Italy trip yesterday, so I had to read about your Alinea experience, too! I very much want to do the Tour, but I don't think I handle all that food! I had a hard enough time with Sweet&Savoury's 3-course (larger portions, but still, only 3-courses) dinner, so I think Alinea's Tour would send me into a coma...The food looks so good, though! Great pics, too! May I ask what kind of camera you're using?

I don't know if this qualifies as a snack, but it's a snack to me, so... The other night I made homemade sausage rolls, intending to bake them off, then save them for snacks at work. Fresh out of the oven they smelled soooooo good, I just had to have one...two...three... I did manage to save 6 for the next day, but they were gone by the time I left for work (7am)!

Ahem... Now that's a recipe I'd love to try! hint hint Ling's peanut butter cookies get raves from my friends. I'm not a huge pb fan, but I thought they were good. I'd like to try the Dorie Greenspan one, but that would mean buying peanut butter. I'm trying to cut down on pantry items that won't get used up within a year or two. If pastrygirl posts her recipe, though, I'd be at Costco in a minute!

I think fiddleheads are always comparatively expensive. Your best bet for cheap ones is to make friends with some Vietnamese or Cambodian folks who know where to get them (and forage for them themselves). My mother used to be gifted with fiddleheads every spring by some Vietnamese and Cambodian clients (and the Filipinos would give her chicken skins from the processing plant ).

Do you eat things made from/with pork? If not, most ramen shops will be off-limits to you, too. Soba and udon should be OK, but most ramen places have a soup-base made from pork, I think. I think soba and udon have fish-based soups or dipping sauce. I think I know that dessert blog of which you speak--I got a lot of my recommendations from there, too! Since you're in Ikebukuro, Tobu has a very very large depachika so you'll be able to get a lot of cheap eats (to go) and French pastries at the same time! There are also some small restaurants in the basement--mostly counter-type places. I find depachika restaurants are usually much better than department store restaurant floors (usually the upper floors of the stores), and much more reasonably priced.

I triple the zucchini answer. If it's a take-home test, should you be asking elsewhere for answers? Just wondering...

Very cool! I loved Prague, though I don't think I'd ever go back except under very particular circumstances. Where are you from originally, and as I like to ask all ex-pats, what do you miss most (foodwise, especially, but any kind of answer is OK!) from wherever it is you're from?

I think you need to specify a price range for your "must-do splurges". What is a splurge for some, is a bargain for others. You might also want to mention whether you speak or read Japanese. Assuming since you're staying at a hostel a splurge is anything over Y5000 per person (a broad assumption, I know), Tsunahachi (mentioned by Paola) is a good choice for tempura. It's actually more in the cheap/mid-range for tempura, with the highest-priced dinner set at around Y6000, and the cheapest dinner set around Y4500. Their lunch sets are very very cheap (comparatively, at least for tempura), so if you're really budgeting, consider going there for lunch rather than dinner. If you're into French pastries and the like, definitely get to Isetan's depachika. Henri Le Roux has salted caramels that are the best I've ever had (and the salted caramel tart is even better!). Ryugin is most definitely a splurge (Y15 000 to Y27 000 for dinner courses, not including wine, and though there is an a la carte menu, it's not offered until later in the evening, I think). But there are other slightly less expensive places to try (Aronia de Takazawa is one well-regarded restaurant, but they only have two two-tops and limit guests to something like 8 per night, so are thus fully booked well into June), too. There are also countless of other topics on eGullet devoted to eating in Tokyo. If you haven't already, do a search and see if anything seems interesting, then you can ask for more info about those specific places or types of food. It's always helpful to provide as much information as possible, so people can give more focussed suggestions.

Episure--I just noticed your gulab jamun today (more than two years later...)--wow! Do you ship to Japan? I can only get the ones in a can here, and they're just not the same! To me, the best gj are the ones that have a bit of crunchy undissolved sugar in the middle. Could you make me some of those, too?

Ikea in Kobe has finally opened, and I'm still in Japan to see it! I went to Ikea this morning. It just opened on the 14th, but I figured if I went first thing in the morning, I'd be OK. When I arrived at 9:30 (they don't open till 10), there were already about 150 people in line in front of me, and by the time they opened at 10, there were about 150 more people in line behind me! There were probably as many people (if not more) at the parking lot entrance, too. It seemed most people were going to the restaurant, or at least stopping there while shopping, so it wasn't such a bad experience. I didn't get to try any of the food (sadly, no Daim cake, just the plain Almondy cake and a princess cake), but the only things that really interested me were the salmon bagel, and the marinated salmon. IIRC, I don't like their meatballs (too mystery-meat-like for me), and their roast beef the last time I had it was dry. After checking out, I browsed through the grocery store. They have cheap bleu cheese, so I picked some up. How exciting! And more importantly, they have dill potato chips! I thought they were dill pickle chips, actually, so I was very very excited, but upon trying them, I realized they were just dill-flavoured. The bag says they have chives, too, and they taste a little like sour cream & onion with dill. Not bad, but not great. I'll have to go back one day for cookies (I love their cookies, though I really don't need the temptation to eat an entire box). When I left at 11, though, there were about 300+ people in line at the main entrance, who knows how many at the parking lot entrance, so I might wait a few months longer...

Ditto. I forgot about chocolate. The only chocolate I'm ever tempted by would be very good quality chocolate-covered nuts--almonds, macadamia nuts, peanuts...whatever. If it's got a nut in it, I'll eat it!