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Singapore

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Posts posted by Singapore

  1. At $250, this bar code system does not seem like it would work for me as we don't eat a lot of prepackaged foods. Even cereals and such items often come from the bulk bins at the natural foods store.

    But I would like an inventory management system that could scan my grocery store receipts, manage my pantry and freezer supplies, and create suggested shopping lists for me. I also would like a personal assistant to do the work for me, so I'll add that to my wish list as well.

    It's worse than you think: how about a smart cooktop that uses radio frequency ID to help you cook?

    Here's the link: RFID cooking

    "Something to add to my list of "I want one of those."

    VistaCrafts RFIQin, available in Japan, comes with 24 recipe cards. The pan reads the card you show and "tells" the cooktop what to do 16 times a second to perfectly monitor each cooking step and perfectly reproduce the most difficult recipes.

    Each pan handle is embedded with an RFID chip that uses a proprietary signal to communicate with coordinated chips in the cooktop and special recipe cards that monitor each cooking step for a particular dish."

    The site also linked to a 'weather forecasting toaster', but I just couldn't bring myself to click on it....

  2. What took them so long?

    That was my initial reaction as well! :laugh:

    I noticed that when I went to Shanghai and Chengdu, China back in 1993, 2000, and 2001. The answer that I typically received to this question was

    a) property is too expensive to 'waste' on car queues,

    b) People who can afford cars don't want to be seen eating fast food (the snob factor), and

    c) What's the matter, you lazy American? Too fat to fit through the door?

    :laugh:

  3. Hi Folks!

    I recently took a group of my co-workers to Atlanta for dim sum and a tour of several farmer's markets. We went to Royal China in Chamblee and had an excellent time. I know that Canton House also serves Dim Sum (am I the only one that notices their proximity to the Center for Disease Control?). :blink:

    Have you been to any other good Dim Sum places in Atlanta? How was it, and how varied were the selections? Please indicate if it's served from steam carts roaming the serving floor, or off of a menu (I gotta have the carts or it's just not authentic to me...)

    Thanks!

  4. Deep fried lobster tails from the Hunter's Pub in Hamilton, GA. Picture a lobster tail, shell on, dipped in beer batter then deep fried until the batter is crisp, then served with two other companion tails next to a sweet, buttery dipping sauce.

    A co-worker is a regular there, and since he masses as much as I do, his heartfelt recommendation was cheerfully adhered to.

    If someone can tell me how to attach a picture to the post, I'll be happy to do so.

  5. I've seen it in a clear soup with strips of tofu, bamboo shoots and shredded pork. My in laws call it 'do woo gan', which translates to tofu stew. I'm told it's pretty common to Shanghai.

  6. I am Cantonese, and my grandma always uses a little bit of sugar to balance out the soy sauce. It's a fundamental. May even be universal.

    It's certainly present in Shanghai cuisine. Soy sauce, wine and sugar are the basic cornerstones of "hung xaio" (red cooked) Shanghai cooking.

    And if anyone disagrees with me, you can argue with my mother and my mother-in-law. They're both from Shanghai, and this is the first time they've agreed on something!

    Octaveman is dead on, btw.

  7. I like the retro kind too.  I've always wondered how the rice gets so dark, though.

    The dark fried rice owes it's color to a type of food coloring that's based on molasses. Very thick stuff. You stir fry it into the rice (rice must be hot to pick up the coloring), let the rice cool off overnight, and make sure it doesn't clump up. As far as I know, it's not available for sale outside of Oriental restaurant suppliers. It comes in 5 gallon buckets.

    If you want heat, use the burner from a turkey deep fat fryer like Alton Brown did. Just be sure to use it outside of the house.

    For us it was oil first, rice until hot (if rice is too hard, add a bit of water and cover for 20 seconds or so to let the rice steam a bit, but not too much or the rice will be sticky), then add in scrambled eggs, chopped green onions, salt and MSG (optional), and whatever meat you wanted to add, precooked. Stir fry for under a minute after turning down the heat to medium and serve.

  8. I dunno. If this is going to be on the same network that brought 'Rescue Me' to the small screen, I'm pretty optimistic that they'll do KC justice.

    Bourdain! Quit stuffing that face, get off that bar stool, Mister, and get us a sitrep!

    (Geez, I feel like I've just committed sacrilage, or something!) :biggrin:

  9. 2 parts ketchup to 1 part seafood cocktail sauce, sugar to neutralize the ketchup's saltiness a bit. Marinate pork in this mixture, refridgerated, overnight.

    In the smokehouse it goes for at least 4-6 hours, cut open a piece of meat to ensure it's cooked through every half hour after 4 hours.

    Note: the cooking time depends on the size of the piece of pork, obviously pork strips will take less time to cook through than big pork butts-use your judgement. If it looks cooked, smells good, then take a knife to it and see.

    What, you thought Chinese cooking was an exact science?....... :raz:

    :::looks over his shoulder to see the Chinese-American Chef Association rushing up behind him with cleavers::: AAAIIIIEEEE!!!!!!!

  10. So to give you the answer behind the majority of stupid things done by men, "its for a girl"

    Hell, I once jumped out of a perfectly good airplane to get to know a girl, so who am I to criticize? :laugh:

    When you cruise through Atlanta, stop by the Varsity for lunch! Use the Spring St. exit from I-75/85 Northbound. Hang a left on Spring St., then a left onto North Avenue, and you're there in two blocks. It'll be on the right, can't miss it.

    If you're taking I-85/I-95N from there, it's 18 hours by car. Word of warning, most SouthEast state troopers don't react well to vehicles doing triple figure speeds. ("Bwoy, y'all travelin' mighty fast...time fer y'all to meet our judge...")

    Good luck!

  11. You're dead on about Harry's. Buford is very much an Asian/Latin American food market.

    You won't find sourdough or French baguettes here. Wine and traditional gourmet items (Fois gras, caviar, etc.) are also rare. You've got some basic cheeses, but it's going to be Latin American rather than European style.

    What you will find are bundles of sage, oregano, mint, and other unidentifed fresh spices going for a buck. Quarts of fresh bing cherries will be sitting next to Korean star fruits, in turn sitting next to papayas, right next to the occasional Durian. More bins filled with citrus, pears, and apples....

    You'll browse through row after row of vegetables, such as bags of Shanghai bok choi, bundles of potato leaves, grape leaves, stacks of chives and green onions, and even a rack of Aloe plants still in their growing pots....an entire row of hot peppers, from jalapeno to scotch bonnets...potatoes, bins of onions and shallots, Japanese button mushrooms, white mushrooms, portobella mushrooms, and prepackaged tofu.

    I promise you that you'll see at least three vegetables/fruits that you've never heard of or handled before, even if you're Alton Brown. :biggrin:

    The bakery is small, but you can get a nice gingerbread pig there to keep the baby quiet as you shop. The Cuban sandwich rolls are good too, as is the bread pudding.

    If you're there on a weekend, chances are you'll come across a stand by the dried Latin American spices and stacks of tortillas, where young women present you with samples of quesadillas. Brace yourself as you go through the meat section, not only will you find all parts of the cow and pig, but mutton and goat as well.

    I've already described the seafood and Korean sections in an earlier post. One note: you can pick up a lovely Salmon head for next to nothing. Split it, broil it, and into a clay pot it goes with some green onion, tofu, soy sauce, mushrooms, bean sprouts and Shanghai baby bok choi, a dash of wine, salt and pepper to taste, put it on a low flame for an hour and a half. You'll have a fish soup that kings would kill for.

    As you walk towards the front of the store, you'll find dried and prepared Asian and Latin American foods to the left, and rack after rack of Asian cooking gear, cutlery, platters, bowls and plates. To the far left will be a Korean video rental store, and closer to the front will be Chinese redwood furniture, grass mats, fans, and clothing.

    Then you will come to a checkout counter battery that makes Sam's Club look miniscule by comparison. Don't forget to show your receipt to the Korean chap near the exit. If you hit certain price levels, you get free packets of ramen, pantyhose, plastic ice trays, etc..

    Oh, right next to the exit, there's a Hispanic snack shop that sells soda, popsicles, roasted corn and what looks like waffle nuggets. I have no clue what it's called, but I ate some and it was good.

    I think the best way to put it is if you're Asian or Hispanic, you will find something here that will remind you of the food Mom made for you at home. If you're not Asian or Hispanic, welcome to an incredible (and crowded) potpourri of food experiences.

    Hope to see you there! Cheers.

  12. Shanghai-style marinade, good for beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, mussels....

    1/2 cup soy sauce

    1/2 cup sherry(or rice wine)

    1-2 teaspoons of sugar

    pepper to taste.

    Combine. Marinate for a minimum of a half hour, covered and refridgerated. Drain and stir fry per Ben Hong.

    1 crushed garlic clove or slice of ginger in the marinade is optional.

    Sequim, use your black bean sauce to marinate steaks in before grilling them. You'll draw neighbors in like flies to honey.

    Cheers.

  13. I gotcha.

    Go to the Buford Highway Farmer's market. It's just outside the NE of the perimeter, on Buford Highway. Go all the way to the back where the seafood counter is. Face the counter. Turn left and walk past the freezer section, into where you see a square counter to your left, tofu to your right, and various kim chee in front of you. Face left.

    The square counter area sells the huge (baseball sized) gyoza. Comes stuffed with chicken, pork, or kim chee mixed with ground pork. Any of the three are delicious, and they are sold by the half dozen. If I remember right, they're about a buck apiece, and they'll sell it to you uncooked, frozen, or freshly steamed. They are all handmade right in front of you.

    They also sell other Korean, Latin American, Chinese and Japanese foods there...take a look at the Japanese sushi section opposite the seafood counter-it's a rainbow of different sushi types. Friday's the best day to go, everything is fresh.

    I warn you, however, the place is HUGE.

    If you're there on a Saturday, and you see a 40-ish Chinese guy with size 54 shoulders, and a six year old son in tow (Daddy, can we buy some more crawfish?), say hello. I'm probably there with the family on my bimonthly restocking-the-freezer trip. :smile:

    If that's not what you were looking for, let me know. You might be talking about the steamed buns which are typically filled with sweet bean paste, cooked roast pork, or stuffed with raw meat (pork, egg, chinese sausage) and steamed until done. The first two are available at the chinese bakery across the street from the 99 Ranch Market on Buford Highway. No clue on the latter, I don't think I've seen the Sa Knuo Pao (Shanghai translation, sorry) for sale in Atlanta.

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