Dian

I believe it's the same as cod's tongue? There are pictures of what they look like raw here

Kopi is Malay for coffee. The "O" is short for the Hokkien term for black, "OO" (pronounced Orh). I'm guessing where Kopi-C is concerned, the "C" is short for Carnation Milk, a popular brand of evaporated milk. Check out this cute pictorial on how to order coffee in Singapore (and probably Malaysia!). Loving the blog so far!

Quality Matters offers a combo pack.

I'm female and in my late 20s, amateur hobbyist, and I have the books. I'm absolutely new to sous vide, or indeed, any form of modernist cooking. The cost wasn't too big an issue for me (single, no dependents) given that this is about my sole adult hobby. I love the books. I'm not diving straight into the cooking because I want to take my time reading the entire set (I'm at volume 4) now. I had a reasonably equipped kitchen (i.e., table vacuum sealer not chamber, stand mixer etc) and I recently added the Sous Vide Supreme to my countertop. I've been considering the purchase for some time now, reading material available on the internet and not being entirely convinced that going sous vide was something worth investing. After reading through the first three volumes, I was utterly convinced I wanted a sous vide set-up.

My copy has finally arrived, in Singapore no less! The shipping from my US PO Box cost a good 200 dollars but who cares, it's hereeee! It was delivered to my office and I was debating whether to open it during lunch. I finally gave in and after struggling with tearing away at the packaging (in heels, kneeling down), I finally got it out. I have no idea how I'm going to bring it home, it is truly heavy. I'm probably taking two books back at a time. The layout, formatting, feel of the paper alone -- sure, I haven't read the contents but my goodness, just how beautifully it is compiled makes me weep. ps..I've just skimmed through the first volume, doesn't look daunting at all, hopefully I get to read this in sequence. Best. Lunch. Hour. EVER!

If I were to guess the reason for the timing, it would be to ensure an instant burst of steam that comes into contact with a larger surface area of the loaf in a shorter span of time, thus promoting a more efficient gelatinization of the crust? Also, if you place the water in during the preheat, won't it also take longer for the water in the pan (during the preheat) to come up to temperature? I'm also curious to know whether the drop in oven temperature when one opens the door is greater where steam rushes out instead of just hot air. It's all moot for my purposes anyway . I spray the loaf and invert a pot over the loaf and let it bake for 15 minutes before removing it.

I don't have a dishwasher. I also have extremely limited dish rack space (this fact alone is enough motivation to look for a bigger place). My limited dish rack space problem is so bad I actually go through in my mind what to do before starting cooking. The first habit I've adopted since moving to my tiny apartment is obviously, to start packing the dried dishes/utensils before starting prep. I spent so much time cramming more wet dishes into an already full rack and re-wetting the dried items. I have a tiny sink too. I hate overloading the sink with dirty dishes so I try to make sure that dishes in the same "category of dirty" get washed together as I go along. I hate it when I have prep bowls that were stained only with non-oily dirt at the bottom and then someone else comes along and dumps a grease-filled pot/spatula in. So that when you start washing, your grease-free prep bowls swim in the grease filled water and you spend more time scrubbing them. Baking can be a pain in the ass in this regard. Whatever touches dry ingredients gets washed up immediately. Anything that touched batter gets dumped into the mixer bowl and put to one side. When finally the sink is clear, I run the hot water and do only greasy dishwashing. Oh oh I like this habit too - when I'm using greasy bowls and I know I'm going to be boiling pasta/vegetables, I don't bother with cleaning the bowls immediately after use. I usually wait till the boiling is done, then set my strainer over the sink so that the hot water engulfs the bowls in the sink, set the strainer aside and start the washing. Just make sure you don't have non-heat resistant stuff in the sink! If anything, I hate dishwashing because it ruins my hands so and sometimes, gloves are just ineffective because you do need to get your fingers deep into some crevices to make sure some things are clean. Anyone has tips on how to maintain sanity while washing dough encrusted bakeware/hands? I weep when I see scraggly wet pieces of dough in my sink trap (which never fails to attract all sorts of crap). Urghhh just typing that just made me feel sick. . This is why hand-kneading bread (using Lepard's short knead every ten minutes method) doesn't appeal to me that much. Having to consistently scrape off the dough into the sink just messes up my dishwashing routine.

vice, do you make the dough by hand as opposed to machine also ? I am wondering if I can make it a mixed with a dough paddle ? It's a pretty stiff dough compared to a bread dough, so I doubt the dough hook on a KA would be effective (and could possible overwork the motor or gears). Something like the Electrolux DLX may be another story. Perhaps someone who has one and has used it to knead pasta dough will chime in. That said, I like the hand-kneading. The transformation of the dough from a sticky, shaggy mess to a silky smooth ball is rather remarkable. Also, for what it's worth, Ruhlman seems to knead considerably less than Keller recommends, usually calling on his blog to "knead just until it comes together". I've never done a side by side, but I'll try to the next time I make fresh pasta. I've used this recipe many times and somehow, I don't see how it'd work in a mixer. The texture just isn't mixer-friendly. If I'm making a big batch I'd usually use my stand-mixer to incorporate the ingredients then proceed to hand knead. As regards Ruhlman's suggestion to knead "until it comes together" versus the hell long time (10 minutes) that Keller instructs us to do, I've found that it really does take around 10 minutes for the dough to achieve the level of elasticity that one is confident of passing through rollers smoothly.

I haven't tried RLB's recipe yet but it does sound intriguing with its addition of stout to the batter and the usage of dark brown sugar in the toffee sauce. It's publicly available here. Do report back your findings if you do find it .

Oh, wow, really? That's an excellent tip. I didn't think anything got really brown in the microwave, but the oil helps, I guess. That's so much better than standing over a frying pan for twenty minutes, trying to get a whole batch to cook down. Yeah, it's an awesome tip! Will there be splatter though? Any point in clingwrapping the pie plate? I hate cleaning the micro

Failing to reuse the water used for soaking vegetables, even though somewhere on the balcony there's a container collecting used water for our plants. Balancing a small-ish chopping board on the ledge just before the sink, thinking that its only a tomato how much time will I be spending on this board. Needless to say, this has lead to a number of accidents! Looking into a fridge, noting that some leafy greens started to look wet and procrastinating the insertion the necessary kitchen towel paper in the relevant containers/bags. Two days later, wilted greens.

8 course degustation at Becasse @ 130 AUD Canape This was goat curd, chives on an olive sable. Delicious. Bread Olive oil puree and black salt http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/12409508..._6645_23138.jpg Swoon. The breads were warm and crusty. The sunflower seed topped one had fresh pumpkin in the centre, like a little pau. The olive oil puree was fantastic - great idea to use at home! Amuse Bouche Parsley, fennel and asparagus citrus cream. This was okaayy. To be honest, I was still taken with the bread so at this point I was distracted. Salad of heirloom tomato - basil with golden tomato and olive oil sorbet This was beautiful. I love tomatoes in any form but this and the olive oil sorbet really hit the spot. It was simple but interesting enough. Carpaccio of marinated coral trout - with confit octupus, Sichuan pepper jellies and white miso vinaigrette I was dreading this because I was all fished out with my morning trip to the fish market. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The confit octupus blew me away. The balls were firm and tender and a perfect complement to the soft fish. Steamed courgette flower and scallop mouse - verbena tea sauce, vierge and squid ink noodles birds eye view Beautiful. The scallop mouse was reminiscent of south east asian fish otah. By far the prettiest looking dish! Roast fillet of jewfish with potato gnocchi, saute of white asparagus, eschallots and parsnips This didn't go down well with my friends, but I loved it. Complaints were that it was meat and potato-ish. Fricasee of veal tongue with scallops, sweetbreads and parsnips This was a substitute for the course with pork. This was probably the best main course. The tongue was melt-in-your-mouth tender and the sweetbreads creamy. Slow cooked saltbush lamb with confit kipfler potatoes and provencal jus I was so full by then I finished only half. This was a duo of lamb. Every component was well executed and I would probably have enjoyed it more if not for the earlier veal tongue course. Palate cleanser Yoghurt panacotta with orange segments This was fantastic in its simplicity, the yoghurt/orange combi was perfect for removing the excess of fat, jus and savouriness from our palates. Dessert 1 Banana creme brulee with salted peanut brittle and milk coffee sorbet Not my choice but my friends were raving about it to no end. The presentation was exceptional. Dessert 2 Rhubarb and mandarin goats' cheesecake with burnt butter ice cream, lemon balm and honey crumble Absolutely swoonworthy. This was a dessert after my heart- Rhubarb, lemon and browned butter! Petit Fours - chocolate macarons, brandysnaps and fig financiers Absolutely fabulous brandysnaps. Weak cries of joy just about around the table. Just when we had thought the night couldn't be topped.

I just came back from a glorious food trip to Sydney. Fine dining wise, it was lunch at Quay, dinners at Becasse, Buon Ricordo and Marque. Quay - Three course lunch @ 95AUD Amuse Bouche - tuna tartare and yuzu creme fraiche with cucumber jelly and tomato Very refreshing. No complaints from all. Entree 1 - Butter poached partridge breast, roasted new season chestnuts, walnuts, bitter chocolate black pudding, truffle custard, partridge ravioli, sweet leaf This wasn't something I had so no comment but I did nick a bit of the bitter chocolate black pudding which was fabulous. Entree 2 - Sea Pearls. From top to bottom: Sashima tuna (encasing horseradish cream and topped with nasturtium; Eel brandade with octopus and egg white pearls; Dashi jelly with abalone and garlic chives and Sea scallop with lime creme fraiche and silver leaf. I could eat this nonstop. My favourite was the Dashi Jelly pearl. It was firm to the bite but releases a soft liquid abaloney goodness. Main 1 - Brioche crusted Blue eye, parsley, fennel seeds, chives and capers with young garden vegetables, celery heart cream Again, not what I had. but I stole a bite Fabulous crust and fresh fish though. Main 2 - Roasted loin of South Australian Suffolk lamb, baby carrots, Arbequina olives, nasturtiums, capers, calendula, sheep's milk fromage. I was soo pleased with my choice. The lamb was perfectly executed and the olives and capers a perfect match with the soft cheese. Dessert 1 - Eight texture chocolate cake featuring Amedei "Chuao" Chocolate. I went for this one because it was the most familiar looking dessert description on the menu. It was lovely really (the server brought the cake and ladled the warm ganache on the top which melted a hole through the centre) but the next dessert was the winner. Dessert 2 - Strawberry Guava Snow Egg. I was utterly cheated by the nondescript menu description. This was without a doubt the best dessert I've ever eaten. The layers of the egg was as follows: caramel, poached french meringue and custard apple custard. The strawberry and guava elements were in the surrounding granita. The flavours, textures, mixture of warm and cold were perfect. Dessert 3 - Raspberries, violet, almond and vanilla cream This was so pretty. The person who ordered it was distracted by the snow egg though. haha! Overall, the service was excellent and the view was to die for. I'd highly recommend lunch here for the view alone. I had a table at the end which gave us the Harbour Bridge on the left and the Opera House on the right. Next up - Becasse

That is one shocking article! In any case, most cultures that have rice as a staple eat that way, am I not right?

How does a microwave convection oven work? Do you think I could bake a small cake in one? I mean, it seems to work fine (not great) with a small roast so why not a cake?

Lemang.. I almost ashamed to ask, being half malay and all.. but.. how is it different from ketupat?

I haven't had the time to properly read this blog but I just had to chime in.. Great work guys.. I especially love the blow by blow account of the shopping trip.. Is the bowl of red meat the daging rendang?

AMEN! I hated the smell so much when I was a kid that I just couldn't accept vanilla ice cream because it looked like it. Growing up, I would be happily eating something and when someone tells me that it was made with milk, I'd start imagining the smell...and stop eating I am so much better now. I appreciate creams and cheeses in food, but I still can't go near milk.

~zilla369 and KarenS: Your advice was exactly what I needed! Thank you so much

This is a silly art question really: How does one create those perfect concentric swirls you see atop fruitfilling marbled cheesecakes? I'm preparing a cranberry(or strawberry) cheesecake this christmas and I do want a pretty top. Normally I drop teaspoonfulls of filling and then take a toothpick and then just have a go at it. I usually overdo it though, such that it comes out unevenly. Thanks in advance for responding

This is undoubtedly yummy! Who gives you crap about it?

I love tater tots! Only when hot though, they turn into different things altogether otherwise. The best thing I've tried them with is a dipping sauce of minced garlic in chinese black vinegar. It wasn't on purpose; the sauce was an accompaniment to the spring rolls my dad fried up. It was sooo weird but good

I hated chicken breasts until I discovered steaming them. It's a wonderful way to keep them juicy. Somehow even when they're overcooked they don't taste as bad as being overcooked from being boiled/grilled/fried. I season with soysauce, sesame oil and steam it for 5 minutes topped with a handful of chopped garlic, chillies and scallions.

Buko Nero, 126 Tanjong Pagar Road, 6324 6225. Run by an Italian and his Singaporean wife. Excellent food, although it takes ages to get a reservation, despite their one month booking window .

OHMYGOODNESS! Haha! That is funny! But it makes sense, why waste it?