Laksa

I think that's right. Cassava is the common name for ubi kayu here.

Is it sweet or savory? Do you know if it was cut into its shape? What color is it? Do you know if it was steamed first and them pan fried? Was it deep fried? I need more clues, but I like this game already Maybe in the meantime, someone who really knows can provide an answer.

I got some butterfish over the weekend and ate them pan fried. They were delicious! But the ones I got were no longer than 6 inches, and certainly far from being a large tuna like creature. So I wonder if I ate the same fish that malcolmjolley raved about. BTW, not experiencing laxative effects.... *fingers crossed*.

I got them from Kam Sen in White Plains, NY. Oh.... you mean where where. I think they grow in the desert, probably South-western US? Prickly pears are a cactus.

Yetty, I'm not sure the way I'm doing it is the best way. I shoulda known something was up when the guy working at the produce dept told me that you don't necessarily have to spit out the seeds, you could swallow them. That's useful to know if I need a fiber boost in my diet. The seeds are a major pain, and there are so many of them! They are harder than passionfruit seeds, maybe even harder than guava seeds. The pulpy (and seedy) center has the most flavor. The narrow ring of flesh around the pulp is pretty flavorful too. I think making drinks or jams with the pulpy seeds might be the way to go.

Dejah, melon seeds just seem a lot more traditional, but I quite like the taste of pine nuts and walnuts. The date paste mooncake reminds me a lot of a Chinese fruit candy that's got nuts in it. It's not so much candy as just minced dried fruit in candy shapes, individually wrapped in transparent and colorful cellophane wrappers, dark blue, dark green, maroon etc. I only bought one box of the mini mooncakes and I fear they may not last till tomorrow.

I picked up a box of 6 assorted mini mooncakes from Sheng Kee at the grocery store. I'm eating them as I type. This is the first time I've ever seen mini mooncakes. The box has 3 different flavors: lotus paste, date paste and regular bean paste. The date paste kind has nuts in it (looks like walnut and pine nuts from the list of ingredients. Is pine nut traditionally used in moon cakes? I don't usually like moon cakes, and only eat them during the festival for tradition's sakes, and also so I can tell my mum that yes, I did buy moon cakes and I did eat them. But I like these mini ones. For a change, I'm able to finish one whole one by myself.

Heheh, good catch. Maybe the recipe writer changed his mind halfway through that sentence?

Yesterday, I picked up some prickly pear fruits or tunas from an Asian grocery store. They have a wonderful flavor -- sweet, kinda like a cross between longans and persimmons. But they have a lot of very hard seeds in the fruit, like guavas, which make them a major pain to eat. These ones have had their prickly spines removed so they don't look that frightful or freaky.

Thanks Michael! How fascinating that the Indoesians have a term like menggado. I wonder if that says anything about about Indonesian eating habits. I think every language should have a word for this practice. If there are Chinese people reading, is there special Chinese term for eating the sung and not the rice?

My mum taught me to turn the crab over and open up the triangular piece at the bottom of its belly, and stick a knife or chopstick vertically into this soft spot to kill it. Make sure the claws are well secured to avoid getting hurt. My favorite crab dish is chilli crab.

In Malay, you make a noun plural by repeating it. So kueh kueh is the plural of kueh. Kueh-mueh is another common term, which means an assortment of kueh. The converse isn't always true. Gado-gado is I believe just what that dish is called. I don't think it is the plural of gado. I don't even know what gado means -- gado-gado is Indonesian. So is onde-onde. Also don't think otak-otak is supposed to the plural of "brains". I think there was another thread that discussed the origins of the name bubur chacha. Bubur is malay for congee/porridge, and one theory is that chacha came from Aceh, a place in Indonesia. I didn't really answer your question, did I? If I'm not mistaken halo-halo is Filipino.

How does one pronounce Nigella? Could the incredibly spicy Nigella Lawson have been named after this seed, I wonder. I'd just assumed that her name was like the feminine form of Nigel.

I PM'd a bunch of links to another egulleter but for some reason, PMs are not automatically saved now after the upgrade. Here's one link I managed to find again: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downlo...me/default.mspx It probably does more than you need, but you may find it useful.

I see it as a risk/benefit issue. If you voice your complaint, you stand the risk of being met with defensive or unbelieving management. There's a chance it'll turn into an argument, which can only be bad for your blood pressure. You'll walk away from the restaurant with a bad taste in your mouth, the exact opposite of what you wanted when you went in. On the other hand, a favorable outcome would be that the management becomes aware of shortcomings, and strives to make improvements. You may be comped with a dessert, or have something taken off your bill. If you don't really care if the restaurant improves or not -- you, after all, have a lot of choices -- and being comped or not isn't of much concern, then you may well decide that the risk outweighs the benefits.

A Taste of Home sure carries "a wide range" of goodies. I can't imagine what the home-sick Australian would do without Kit Kat, Coca Cola, or Betty Crocker muffin mix.

Whenever I'm unhappy with the food or service, I make sure to voice my complaints at the very end of the meal. That way, you're not likely to wonder if the froth in your coffee is really froth.

I did a search for "butterfish" on www.fishbase.org under "common names" and came up with a ton of hits, and tens of species. Peprilus triancanthus according to them is also known as American butterfish or Atlantic butterfish, and is mostly frozen and exported to Japan, so this is probably it. Here's a link to fishbase info and picture. I've seen butterfish at an Asian grocer. Very interested in trying it now after reading your comments. Edited to add link.

Being much cheaper, I wouldn't expect them to be as good as the German ones. What bad things have you heard?

I saw a range of Henckels knives at Target, the chefs knife goes for $30 or $40. Mind you, it's not the top of the line Henckels, made in Spain instead of Germany, but it's more than acceptable. Have you tried TJ Maxx/Marshall's/Home Goods? If you're lucky, you could find some real bargains.

I grew up eating Fujian (Hokkien) noodles of course, which I would say are medium sized yellow noodles, but they are always coated with oil. We use it in soup, as well as chao mian, and the classic Malaysian dish, K.L. Hokkien mee. So the first time I ordered "chow mein" in Australia and got a plate of crispy noodles, I thought the server had made a mistake. "Hong Kong style" chow mein was completely foreign to me. I view noodles as a comfort food, something I turn to when I crave carbohydrates, but the fine crispy noodles fail to satisfy this craving. I need something thicker, softer and starchier. I've grown to appreciate Hong Kong style chow mein, and it stands pretty well on its own merits. However, HK style is pretty rare here in NY and CT. For some strange reason, "chow mein" in American-Chinese restaurants where I am means something entirely different, and actually contains no noodles at all! It looks more like braised napa cabbage with some chicken or pork. What is up with that?

Aiyah! First it was Cantonese vs Sichuan/Hunan. Is it going to be East Coast Chinese vs. West Coast Chinese now? I don't ever recall seeing "chow mein" on menus here in NY, so I don't know what it is. In Australia, "chow mein" means fine wheat noodles deep fried to a stiff and crunchy bundle, kind like instant ramen but not as tightly packed, over which you pour a melange of seafood, chicken or pork and vegetables cooked in a thick soupy gravy. I've always thought of this as Cantonese chow mein. Do they serve this dish in Hong Kong? And what is American chow mein?

Hmm... I'm from Malaysia, and what we call dark soy sauce is not really that thick, certainly not like molasses. I'm talking about lau chou (老抽), and mushroom soy, cao gu lau chou (草菰老抽), which are a little more viscous and darker than light sheng chou (生抽), commonly made by Pearl River Bridge and Lee Kum Kee, and are available from almost every Asian grocer I've been to, so probably aren't what you're looking for. Do you have a particular manufacturer in mind or a name other than just "dark soy sauce"? Regardless, www.asiafoods.com have a bunch of soy sauces, including the ones I mentioned, and may well have what you are searching for.

Here's the link to information on Vietnamese fusion dinners at the CIA that Mike posted.

There's an interesting article in today's New York Times about Chinese restaurants in America. You need to be a registered user to read the NY Times online but registration is free. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/dining/2...d=all&position= As I was reading, at just about every turn, I thought to myself, wasn't that a recent topic of discussion on eGullet? Some quotes: