GaijinGirl

Otafuku (Okonomayaki) in the Village, Pomme Frites in the Village - both good.

Laksa, I'm kind of curious about your nationality. Here you are, obviously a big fan of Malaysian food (hence the Kuih, Kuih thread) and I think (?) Australian ex-pat? Myself, I lived in Australia until about the age of 4 - Melbourne. (All I have from it, however, is a bunch of Aboriginal Tales Golden Books, and Skippy the Kangaroo!) So do tell! What's your story!?

Actually, I tried some of the Vegemite on Toast with Butter today - and God Forbid me for saying it, but it wasn't half bad - I might get used to the stuff!

That Banh Mi place I know - Sau Voi. It's great, but strictly Vietnamese, from what I can tell. Maybe Nyona or Eastanda (are they even still open) might have something???

I'm in search of some good Kueh Kueh in NYC (like Onde-Onde and such) - I know Chinatown pretty well, but can't find anything in the Malaysian/Indonesian vein other than restaurant fare (some Pilut Hitam, but that's about it.) Can anyone advise? Thanks! --Janet (Sorry if this came through twice - the first post didn't seem to take.)

Hey, got 'em! And wow, Economy Candy is terrific! Thanks for the help, I'll definitely be going back there soon...! --Janet

Okay, well I guess my smiley didn't work right the first time, but I still promise to give Vegemite the old college try....!

Ah... javascript:add_smilie("") biggrin.gif ... I promise to try it the *right* way. I don't promise to like it, but hey, I've got a whole little bottle of it, so a little more experimentation is perfectly fair....!

Where is Economy Candy and Tea and Sympathy, address wise? Thanks!!!

Found it! ...and I only have one thing to say: man, am I glad I left Australia when I was four! They have to be really, really sick to like that stuff! (It wouldn't be *all* that bad, but for how incredibly salty it is...!) And Fairway (which I've never been to before), was impressive, although it was crowded enough to be irritating. Thanks all, for the tips!!!! --Janet

For a coworker: he was telling me about a candy he used to have as a child, called a flying saucer. It was a penny candy, with candy beads in it - I'd love to find some and surprise him. Are they still available? Online yes. But in NYC? (Janet, the food adventurer...!)

Hey, thanks (I don't know that I'd like the stuff at all - I'd just like to try.) :) We're talking about the Fairway in Harlem? --Janet

I was looking for Vegemite yesterday (in Chinatown) - found tons of Milo, but no Vegemite! Any idea where in NYC it might be found (I want to find out what the fuss is all about...) Thanks, --Janet

You *absolutely* can't beat Cooking With Jazz, which is in Queens. One of my top three favorite restaurants....IMHO.

Andrea, Thank you! (And thank everyone else who responded.) It's been killing me as to what it is, since I liked it so much. I really could eat bahn day everyday. Now...if only I could get a recipe... --Janet

Hi! Just had a great Banh Vietnamese snack (in NYC), and I'm trying to find out the official name. It was a pork sausage slice, sandwiched between two pieces of steamed glutinous flour. (And it had a little wrap of banana leaf on the outside.) The guy at the counter simply told me that it was a "Vietnamese Hamburger" - but I'm sure there's an official name for it somewhere? Thanks in advance for anyone who can help! (Also, if anyone knows the recipe...!) --Janet

Well, actually, I'm interested in any kind of mochi (although I have to confess that it's the sweet mochi that I care about the most). Hmmmm...I absolutely *have* get a list of all the different types/permutations of mochi that exist. The only things that I've seen in NYC stores are daifuku with sweet bean paste, kinako, and dango. Due to what I've seen on Egullet, I've been experimenting with microwaving up some mochi and dipping the concoction into soy sauce for a homemade savory version. (I've tried mixing the dough and boiling it, but it's way too darned sticky to touch and get into decent shaped mochi balls...)!

Ooooo, those pictures look good! As to what's meant by types of mochi - I'm actually unsure, myself. Some categories appear to be clear cut (ie: dango mochi is a clear subsection), as is manju daifuku (?) (daifuku with red bean paste, right?) But each 'flavor' of daifuku, say, would not be it's own category (I think). IE: you wouldn't call coffee au lait daifuku a different 'category' from a green tea flavored daifuku, just two variants on the same theme. So, I really don't know. But I'd love to learn....! (Kinako does appear to be it's own category, at least from what I've seen...) --Janet

I'm continuing my fascinating with mochi, and daifuku in particular. Question: How many types of mochi and/or daifuku categories are there? Just off the newbie top of my head, I can only think of a few --- dango, daifuku with an paste, daifuku with whole beans, daifuku chopped up with soy bean powder on top (Forgetting the name right now.) Help! I'm obessed!

FYI: Just corrected the Gaigin/Gaijin misspelling on the website, and therefore the URL is now: http://pitchblack70.tripod.com/gaijingirl/gaijingirl.html Thanks, --Janet (Gaijin girl)

*Shudder* - I just looked at the label, and it says 04/04/03. Hmmm. It didn't taste bad...!

Okay (hope this is the right place to post such an urgent, yet somehow trivial, question ) I've had a tub of open miso paste in my fridge for a few months. How long can it last? (I don't want to throw it out!) Thanks,

Yes, I guess I'm going to have to change it to a better spelling. Honestly, I haven't hit very many restaurants at all. You see, I'm queen of thrifty (that's a nice way of putting it, I think.) (If I didn't guard it so closely, I could also clue people in on where one can get a practically-brand new Jones of NY suit for $24 or less....) So I'm ripping through all the street vendors - it's a lot cheaper, with the opportunity to get a much wider sampling. Perhaps when I've exhausted those venues (but there's so much, I doubt it's happening soon.) I've been at *one* Vietnamese restaurant on Mulberry, and disliked it - Phiet Huong, maybe? Too much vertebrae, not enough frog... The two restaurants I CAN recommend highly aren't Chinatown. 1) Manetta's Pizza (best pizza I've ever had!) and 2) Cooking with Jazz (Creole) - both in Queens. Funny, 'cause I'm a Bronx girl... Okay, so where's the best dim sum!? That's my next crusade, worthy of a separate page on the site, probably... --Janet

Hey all - just discovered Thai desserts. Specifically, Kanom Chun and Foi Thong. ESPECIALLY loved the Kanom Chun. 2 quick questions to those in the know. 1) Are there any other desserts I should search out and sample? 2) Is there any book/website out there dedicated to Thai sweets? I can't find any. (Cooking, yes, sweets no...) Thanks so much!

Hi - I'm Janet, new to EGullet. In the past six months, I have become seriously intregued by Asian sweets, and have made NYC Chinatown my second home. But I have a question or two... 1) Can anyone tell me the difference (if there is one) between Mochi and Daifuku? 2)And is Daifuku the exact same thing as the steamed gulutinous rice balls with an beans that one finds in all the Chinese bakeries? Or is there a different name for that? 3) Are there any books that focus on Japanese desserts/sweets? Thanks so much in advance (Glad to be here!)