Min

Thank you for all the information and links Lobster, Plastic food displays shouldn't be a fashion statement or something stylish, i assume?They're suppose to guide non-japanese like myself when making decisions on what to order.

Sorry, I have been busy and haven't been posting much. I am really curious about those plastic food displays in front of japanese restaurants i see all the time and how they look very much like the real thing.What are these called in japanese?Any japanese websites featuring them?

Maybe you can try cutting the veggies into smaller pieces or half it even..reduces cooking time that way.Your sauce sounds delicious Usually, I just stir fry with oil, garlic, salt and oyster sauce.

Sorry for this lag..i went back to my home country...been busy with my new home and eating All your replies are very informative, thank you so much! I think every province in china has Hokkien people but the majority of them will of course come from Fujian state.My grandparents are Shandong Fujian people and they speak with a twang.Shandong Fujian's pronunciation is very different from the normal Fujian/Hokkien.I grew up learning to speak the norm and unnorm. Bak Kut Teh also known as Pork Rib Tea is probably a South East Asian cuisine and there are 2 versions of it.. Hokkien- more star anise/sugar and the soup is dark due the dark soy sauce added.. Teochew- soup is clear and peppery..

I love our singapore indian food.You can find great selection along Little India

I love MOS Burger's iced milk tea!! Perfect not overly sweet iced tea with half n half yummmm The other food item i like is their chunky fries.In S'pore, most of us have it with chilli sauce.

Mostly food items (otherwise I wouldn't have started this thread here in this forum ), such as ham, satsumaage (deep-fried fish sausage), cod roe, nori (laver), buckwheat noodles, coffee, just to name a few. I think the oseibo season is a good opportunity to buy yourself those top quality, expensive food items that you usually can't afford, as a kind of a small present for yourself and your family. I have thus far bought grilled eels (expensive domestic ones, not imported ones), satsumaage, cod roe, and the like for our own consumption. ← i have to try satsumaage..it's the only thing on your list i haven't tasted.Do take a picture of the oseibo gifts if you can.It'll be fun to see them "in person".

Thanks laksa!!Looking at your icon is making me very hungry! I am gonna save this page and try replicating the dishes you guys mentioned.Thanks again for your help

That's interesting, Hiroyuki.I am not sure if my chinese culture have something similar.If there is i can't remember offhand. I will get housewares for mom, baby clothes for sis-in-law and beauty products for friends whenever something catches my eye. What kind of oseibo gifts do you send Hiroyuki?

Thanks Michael:)Apparently "Buddha Jumping Over The Wall" is by us too.

The only foods i can think of are.. Hokkien Prawn Noodles Fried Tunghoon(fried vermicelli with pork and dried prawns) Khong Bah Pau(buns with dark stewed meat filling) Most dark soy sauce stewed meat dishes My chinese dialect group is hokkien and it's kinda embarassing i can't provide curious friends with more info on fujian traditional foods .Can anyone help?

Hiroyuki, I love how your kids decorate their own cake..it sounds like a great way to cultivate their interest in baking I will apply this tip when i have my own children. I spied Hello Kitty chocolate candies on your daughter's cake!Excellent choice, daughter! Back to topic, i am with the majority on this one.I find traditional fruit cakes too sweet and rich for my liking.

That's so beautiful, Kris!Presentation is excellent! Just like to share I made a modified version of beef shogayaki(with ginger juice, tamari, sesame oil, mirin, chinese rice wine, black pepper and white onions) last night and my husband loved it! Nothing to do with donburis though..well it could be if i placed atop my bowl of rice.

Well done helen! I'm always fascinated by japanese food and the culture so this blog is a treat.

thanks Kris, very informative as always

tagging on this thread... what about sake for cooking?What are the preferred brands japanese women use for preparing meals?Been wanting to ask for the longest time.

Looks great Kris! I like mine with minced pork,shrimp,scallions and chestnuts.

Oh god!All that talk about kewpie mayo is making me nostalgic.Must.get.this.weekend.ahh. Thanks Hiroyuki :blush:I've been cooking consistently( almost daily) eversince we got married and loving every minute of it.

My experience with kewpie mayo was less traumatic .I had them with homemade burgers a couple of years back and remember liking them alot.

Torakris dedicated a pinned thread on japanese recipes around the web.Maybe those links can throw up more ideas for you. I like mine wrapped with minced pork, chestnut and shrimp then deep-fried or baked in the oven.

i get my bowls & plates from dollar shops too and wow the quality IS superb.

those little confections are so cute!

It's perfect!I wouldn't mind having some of that delivery bento. Thanks hiroyuki for the links.I didn't know the varieties of bentos are so vast.An eye opener really.

I really like how those eki-bens look!Presentation is top-notch. As for bento lunch boxes, are they microwaveable?I normally prepare my husband's lunch the night before and store it in the fridge.Am using Glad brand microwaveable plastic boxes now so he can heat it up just before eating.

For homestyle meals, i like classic 1000 chinese recipes by wendy hobson and chinese cooking made easy by mu tsun lee/wei chuan publishing.Another good read is chinese dim sum by wei chuan publishing.