Jake

Shrimp and lemongrass makes me think of Tom Yam (thai) is this similar?

I'll have to try Saigon Palace next time I'm in the area. I agree Pho Hung can be inconsistent, but I usually don't have any complaints and it is cheap and quick when I'm craving pho. What are your favourite dishes at Saigon Palace?

Tried the Vietnamese Hot & Sour Soup at MiMi Vietnamese on Gerrard last night, it was freaking awsome. Delicious broth, crisp veg, nice heat and full of chix and perfectly cooked shrimp (my request). Sorry, no photos it was a quick take away. Accompanied by their spring rolls. Yumm.

I am speechless. And hungy. Daniel, I really do think you've outdone yourself this time!! Very impressive. I pig!

I'm going to suggest an antique shop or secondhand shop (one of the nicer ones) for these. I've never seen them in a china/crystal/kitchenware shop that I can recall. I have a set of my mothers that I've never even used! The few times I've served shrimp cocktail I use chilled silver bowls. If you can find the dishes, what about stainless martini glasses? Neat presentation, the glasses will hold a chill very nicely and you can use them more often when you want to keep your martini chilled in the warm weather.

Ben, please post about where you're eating and what you're enjoying...we'd love to hear about it.

I cannot wait to see the results, Daniel. Drooling already!

Lucy, thank you so much for blogging again. All your posts are truly wonderful and add so much to eGullet. Sunday lunch looked absolutely delicious. And the cheese....oh I adore cheese. I can hardly wait for each new post, je suis vraiment heureuse! Merci en avance.

FYI, for anyone making an authentic southern pecan pie in the near future, you can purchase Steen's Cane Syrup at Cajun Corner on Queen St E just east of Logan. You can also pick up Karo syrup, frozen crawfish, file powder, grits and a bunch of other great stuff!

Valuemart ?!? You're kidding. Great, thanks. And thanks for that Geoff, I was in Kensington at the weekend, but it was a quick trip.

Whatever you call it, it is making me VERY hungry about now! It all looks delicious.

Klary, any cuisine that involves having gravy available at all times is just about perfect imho! Mmmmm, gravy.

I've been looking for awhile, haven't seen any either...

I've been too busy to do much cooking the last couple nights so we've had quick and easy meals. Last night was a grilled 40 day aged Delmonico, medium rare to rare, pan fried polenta rounds with parmesan (by request) and a green salad with a creamy buttermilk dressing and one of our last tomatos that had to partially ripened indoors. Tonight had to be something warm and comforting as it has been cold, dreary and absolutely pouring rain all day. So we had wiener schnitzel, spaetzle with butter and broccoli rabe blanched and sauteed with garlic, olive oil and chiles. It tasted much better than the picture looked.

KevV, perhaps you can tell us where to find the best Sri Lankan food in Toronto? It's not a cuisine I'm very familiar with, but would love to know more. Feel free to start a separate thread if you've a mind to. Thanks,

French or Dutch!?! Nothing like starting off the blog with a difficult question. I've been following both threads and I want it all! Seriously, just based on what I'm craving now, I'd vote for French. Of course, if you slipped in some of Klary's speculaas for dessert that would be yummy.... Looking forward to the blog, Abra.

Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Okay Marlene, how about this -- I will kindly and unselfishly offer to taste test a dozen or so of your butter tarts for comparison purposes. To get back on topic, I've never found a really good butter tart I like at any of the places I've tried in Toronto. Nothing ever measures up to Grandmas. I have her recipe, but they're just not quite the same. The best butter tart I've had in the last year or so was in Bracebridge this summer. Decadence and then some!

Finally got around to dinner tonight! We had provimi veal entrecote (as described by the butcher, isn't he getting french!), with a demi glace/wine/garlic/rosemary reduction, rosti, sugar snap peas and roasted tomato. My apologies for the quality of the photo.

Yeah, but I got gooey, decadent butter tarts at the Goodwood bakery/sandwich shop.

For fresh herb plants and/or seeds I strongly second Jay's rec for Richter's. It is definitely worth the drive. 17 varieties of basil, 14 of thyme, a bunch of rosemary etc. etc. It's a great little side trip in the spring. Cheese Boutique has black truffles right now....

Cha Liu on Yonge at Eglinton is very good too, although somewhat out of the way if one is downtown. Not as far as Markham, though.

I love doing that with popovers! They may end up on the menu for tomorrow night now that you've reminded me. I really liked those napkins, too. Note to self, limit the intake of alcoholic beverages before torching.

Well, we've been in the middle of renovations for what seems like forever so dinners have been few and far between. (Think semi-cold pizza in one hand, and a paintbrush in the other!) However, last Thursday (I think) we grilled some beef ribs, panfried some fingerling potatos in duck fat and had some sort of veg that didn't make the photos. Last night we got home late after visiting my new baby niece. We had planned to go out but were both too tired so we did some shopping on the way and ate this with some nice wine the other half opened....a cab/shiraz of some sort. On the platter, starting at 12 o'clock and going clockwise: foie gras pate, black figs, a Quebec sheeps milk blue, 24 month aged proscuitto, chevre noir, a three year old Quebec goat cheese, grapes, Le Migeron de Charlevoix, cows milk cheese from Charlevoix region of Quebec and some smoked duck. Served with baguette and water crisps. Currently having a nibble of figs wrapped in proscuitto and drizzled with a bit of honey and a drink while the other half indulges in Nascar. One of the dogs was very interested in the plate.... Dinner to come later... edited to fix photo size thanks to Mooshmouse.

Vietnamese cinnamon. ← Oooh, that's a good one. Not a spice I've ever used, what is the difference between it and "regular" cinnamon? I'll ask one of the girls I speak to next week when I go for Vietnamese food, perhaps she can help.

Geoff, I don't find lime leaves that often, but I've seen them a lot recently at the veg stand at SLM in the extreme north east corner. I have also found them in Kensington.