Dejah

There are 2 items in this inaugural Chinese cook-off: This thread is for sui mai. You can use ready made wrappers, or if you are ambitious, make your own. The filling too will also be your choice. Do post pictures of your effort...and the recipes or instructions as I know some of you are "a bit of this, a dab of that"...

So glad I found this thread. We have been eating a lot of roast cauliflower, stir-fried cauliflower, etc. etc on our diet. I want french fries; and maybe now I can!

Yetty with the LEGS, Was the pastry savory then? The lo paw bang I've eaten have been sweet and made of wintermelon paste. The pastry looks exactly the same as your "pornographic pictures" Gai jie bang, the recipe I am hunting down char sui bao for, is savory. It would have 5 spice, nam yui and bits of diced pork. It is quite chewy, and I love it so much! The shape and pastry however is different from your pictures.

Exactly my question! How did you make the ears? Royal icing? The carrots at the back? The large Easter egg is awesome! Styrofoam?

Tommy, Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables ). This will be particularly useful for us to see how the same ingredients are prepared in different regions of China. If it hasn't been said already, WELCOME to "eGullet's China".

I hope you and Tommy will both take lots of PICTURES and NOTES!!! (of food and otherwise) while you are vacationing in Toisan. That will be a real treat for people like me who have never been back. One of these days I WILL go.

Have you ever tried to freeze bananas? I do that whenever they are on for half price. Just peel, stick in a popsicle stick and lay them out in a Ziplock. Freeze then you can dip them into chocolate sauce and crushed nuts for a frozen treat. It's like eating a banana fudgsicle. A question about the cherry trees that are in bloom: These are all ornamental cherry trees? Or are some of them of the eating variety?

Ok, that's weird...not sure I can handle eating in a former funeral parlour. It was unsettling to me that Hy's Steak Loft was besidea funeral parlour! Well, you can always come meet me and eat at my house...seriously... I finish teaching on July 22, but away for the second and third week of August. Do you have any idea when you will be through Manitoba?

When a recipe calls for rice flour, unless they specify "GLUTINOUS RICE FLOUR", or "NOT glutinous rice flour" then I use "ordinary rice flour" I buy these pre-package in Asian stores and they are clearly marked as just "Rice Flour" with the red label, or "Glutinous Rice Flour" with the green labels.

Oy. Hy's Steak Loft.No matter when I went to Hy's, I would know at least 3 other tables of people there. Theory is they may be trying to appeal more to the expense account crowd now that they are in the bank district. beachcomber.... am I right in thinking this was next to the convention center? ← Exactly! I was so impressed before with the waterfall, "Hawaiian" dishes, etc. They used to always present the ladies with a gardenia. Then we went in for an early supper one night before they turned the lights down low. It was in pretty bad shape, grunginess hidden by the darkness. The food was pretty mundane compared to all the new places coming into Wpg. We never went back. I wonder if there is still a Beachcomber at the York Hotel in Calgary? We were there in 1966 for our honeymoon.

I heard about it on the radio (I've been paper-less for a couple of months). Do you think they'll rebuild? It sounds like it'll be a great loss to Brandon. I haven't been through in years - but I keep saying I should do more roadtrips - Brandon would be a good one. ← The owners of the building said they will rebuild, but the women who own Lady of the Lady said they haven't gotten beyond the shock of seeing the flames to think about the future at this time. It's unfortunate, but I don't know if they can reproduce the unique atmosphere of the old building. If you ever decide to venture beyond "the perimeter", please give me a shout. Amandasmom and family came out and spent yesterday with us. We had a great visit over eGullet and food. Whatever topic came up, it always reverted back to food! Is Hy's Steak Loft still in Wpg? Anyone remember Happy Vineyard? How about the old Beachcomber? Am I dating myself?

What if you used a double boiler?

Wonderful blog, Kris. Egg of some form seems to be present in many of the food photos. Are eggs used as a filler, for appearance, or extra protein? The chocolate banana that Hide was enjoying, is it fresh or frozen?

I would definitely call the above comfort food, especially"When I get old and losing my teeth , errrr....hair"

Ah...Good for you! Pam for opening the Prairies thread. Don't know how many of you have been in or thru' Brandon. We had a diasterous fire last Sunday and one of our favourite eating places was burnt to the ground - Lady of the Lake. It was one of 6 biz in an old implement dealership. Lady of the Lake started as a unique gift shop...some items on consignment from local artists, and many Manitoba products such as saskatoon jams, jelly, etc. Then they included a restaurant at the other end of the building. They served quiche, paninis, organic baking, great salads, sandwichs and homemade soups. My favourite lunch was the field greens with saskatoon vinegrette. My daughter always ordered the veg panini and hungarian soup. The place was always packed. On Friday nights they had open mike. According to the newspaper, this little gem was recognized as a "must stop" in tourist guide for Manitoba. The manage/cook was to come over next week for a Cantonese chow mein cooking lesson at my house. Guess she will have more time now.

That is confusing. I googled steelhead and salmon, and they appear to be 2 different fish. Wonder why it is called by 2 different names on the same package. Where are our fishing experts?!

I know he used to have a cooking show... and I just thought he went around town doing demos! Let me know if you find out where he is. (Do you think at some point we should start another non-Juno thread? ) ← Good idea! Maybe something about "prairies" just so it is not limited to Manitoba. I know there are a couple from Sask. and Alberta. Not that we want to leave Vancouver and British Columbia! You guys have all been most accepting, but then, most of you are prairie transplants!

Ok, now that you've listed the places, it was Omintsky's. I will look for Desserts Plus next time:-) I found Peter's column in the back issues, but none of them mentioned where he is chef. I may have to search further back. He is no longer in the magazine...

Pam, what is the name of your retail outlet on North Main? I remember buying kosher meat at a store on North Main when our Jewish friend from Brooklyn came to visit for 2 weeks. That was a couple years ago.

Peter doesn't have a restaurant of his own, but he is chef at one of the fine dining restaurants. I will have to check on my back issues of Man. Gardener to find out which one. We knew Peter when he was station manager at CJOB. He was instrumental in our beating out ray St. Germaine for Entertainers of the Year for Man. Music Awards back in 19*^! After he left the station, he followed his dream and took courses towards his chef status. BTW, I am registered to take a 4 hour cooking class at our local college in South African cuisine on April 24th! Yeah!

Pam, You may have told me in another post, but do you have a restaurant in Wpg? Or did have? Maybe next time, Lily and I can come and try your schmoo! She's posting as amandasmom971. Maybe she'll post from my house tomorrow. Are you familiar with Peter Grant? He's a chef in one of the restaurants in Wpg. For a while, he used to have a column with a featured recipe in manitoba Gardener. Haven't seen it for a while but we'd like to try his restaurant sometime too.

But the scrambled eggs are much more fluffy, wouldn't the strips be too long and thin?? I think the Cantonese style served at restaurant are more like a stir fried dish while the style that I get at home is like a watery soup version. ← I usually make sure the "omelet" is fairly thick. They are not really long strips. I cut them into strips then into shorter pieces about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch wide. The scrambles eggs would be fluffier. I will try it next time!

Asparagus is at a good price at the moment. I've been blanching and stir-frying for the last couple of weeks. What is the flavour like with the white asparagus? Do you use them the same way? Different variety or just "kept in the dark"? What is this cheese wrapped asparagus called "sliders"? The only time I've heard that term used was for bad hamburgers at a White Castle! Didn't Harmen's turn into a coffee shop that served falafals? Haven't noticed it the last couple trips into Wpg. Pam: I don't know anything about Mitsy's, but Lily has joined eGullet and she will post some info'. She's actually coming out to meet us tomorrow...for the first time. We were introduced through another food list. This internet is amazing!

I had never had tomato beef with egg until my students from mainland China cooked it for our international food fair. Then my kids ate supper at my brother's while we were away, and she added eggs strips. Now my kids always ask me to add egg like "kow Mo" does. My students add scrambled eggs (clumps) which didn't look as appetizing to me. I like the look of the strips.

I use strips of fried eggs. To me, it adds colour and a different "shape", both in contrast to the rest of the ingredients. I also find the egg is great for scooping up the sauce at the end! Another benefit: I can nibble on pieces of egg while the rest cook.