Laksa

That is funny. How funny? I had stingray at Penang with my wife on Saturday night, Aug 21 (about two weeks ago), and the female half of the couple next to us ordered rojak. **cue Twilight Zone music** If you like it spicy, I would second Pan's recommendation of kangkong belacan, but don't order that at Penang. When we had it there, they didn't use enough belacan and the flavor was weak. The stingray we had was spicy enough though, so I have a feeling you'll enjoy it. Satay is served with a sweet and slightly spicy peanut sauce so I think you may want to try that. Let me know if and where you find good satay. The asam dishes are spicy but with sour notes provided by the tamarind. Sambal Ikan bilis is spicy and gets very umami-ish flavors from the shrimp paste and from the dried anchovies. You may have had this already as a lot of restaurants serve it with their nasi lemak. Same goes for achar, which is swet, sour and spicy. All have very strong flavors, as opposed to Yong taufoo, which is a rather delicately flavored dish.

Do you like seafood? In particular stingray? I had a pretty good Pangan Ikan at Penang the last time I was there. Pangan Ikan is fish grilled in banana leaf with a spicy sambal sauce, and it's a pretty popular dish in Malaysia. Squeeze plenty of lime over the fish. Oyster omelette is something I order pretty regularly. Love it. Hainanese chicken rice is another regular, but bear in mind that the chicken is served at room temperature. Eat the chicken with plenty of the ginger/chili sauce. If the sauce runs out before the chicken, don't hesitate to ask for more. Is there a particular food or ingredient that you like, such as meat, seafood, rice or wheat noodle, or tofu; or a particular taste profile, such as sour, sweet, spicy, salty or bitter. Malaysian cooking is diverse enough that if you could tell me what you like, I could try to suggest dishes you might enjoy. I love rice noodles, and "whad dan hor" is something I enjoy, even more than char kway teow when the mood suits. Most menus list it as "Seafood Scramble Egg Chow Fun". It should be served with green pickled chilis on the side, over which I like to pour soy sauce. I don't believe you've said you've had satay (beef or chicken). I've never had satay in NYC myself, but it is considered, along with nasi lemak, to be Malaysia's national dish. If you like tofu, I would recommend Yong TauFoo. Given a choice of soup, go with the clear chicken broth.

Pork fat actually works rather well in desserts. A lot of traditional Chinese cookies and sweets are made with lard, as butter was not a common or well known ingredient.

Let me echo that sentiment. Yetty, you probably already know that I'm a big fan of your photography, cold showers notwithstanding. What do you use for the black background that shows off the pale colored fruits so well? Is that the color of your bench top?

In what weird and wonderful world does a horse and zebra resemble a Trojan? Tell us what they really stand for...

gingerly, although some of the fruits that have been posted hitherto have been pretty scary looking, I could at least imagine eating them. That thing you posted looks like a creature from my worst nightmare. My immediate compulsion is to run away from it. You have forced me to rethink my personal food philosophy of "fear nothing, eat everything".

Pardon my ignorance, but what is kibbe?

Thanks for the tip! I plan to return to Han Ah Reum this weekend and I'll look for Melona. I remember seeing a lot of different flavors, like strawberry, red bean, etc and the most difficulty I had was choosing which flavor to try first. What's your favorite flavor?

Bottles are only sold in pairs, I believe.

Here are pictures of the frozen ice bar and the package label Eating one right now, yum!!

The lady apparently knew the Chinese name of the item. She definitely said "jiucai". I just wasn't able to catch the third syllable, but the last one was unmistakably "bing". You know as it turns out I think I unknowingly bought some of the frozen pastel colored treats. I am almost 100% sure that they're Korean fruit-flavored ice-cream popsicles. They come in a packs of 10 and the packaging is made of shiny insulating material. I got the honeydew flavor and the label says "Melon flavored ice bars". They are truly fantastic - really taste like honeydew and they're subtly sweet, the way I like them. I took some photos last night but they're on my home computer now. Will post them later if you're interested.

You don't think they can gain the support of wine drinkers? I will try to keep abreast of any developments.

Michael, funny how you should bring up air mata kucing when talking about longan. Coincidence? Mata kucing is longan, but in its dried form that's brown in color. Tell me you already knew that. Air mata kucing is simply a drink made from dried longans. Incidentally, longan or 龙眼 is literally "dragon's eyes" in Chinese. Edited to add: The chief ingredient in air mata kucing is extract of Luo Han Guo, a fruit found in southern China.

Danielle, is the eggplant casserole...ahem... gratin recipe Mediterranean in origin in any way? I'm wondering because of the oregano, tomatoes and of course the eggplant. Although the butter threw me off a little. Could it be that olive oil wasn't as fashionable in the 70's?

Susan, thanks so much for your reply! That is a revelation to me. I had assumed that in the U.S. one could only get raw foie gras from local sources; from a farm in California and one in the mid-Hudson valley, NY. Have you ever had local/NY liver and how does it compare with the French product? I think seared foie gras with balsamic sauce is the easiest option for me and that's the one I'm going to try first. So except for the balsamic vinegar, the liver doesn't require seasoning of any sort, like salt and pepper?

I'm delighted that you found it. Did you get any brown sugar or honey hodduk?

Hooters' Vice President of marketing is keeping abreast of developments closer to the US: One can only hope that their expansions have the support of shareholders, and don't leave the company strapped for cash, but continue to pad the bottom line.

why do i have this feeling there's a key word in there somewhere.. I believe the keyword is in fact hidden in the word "opportunity", if you take away 8 of its 11 letters. or add a few for the brand new take on an old classic game 'opportunity knock..s'.. You have a wicked sense of humor. That was the furthest thing from my mind! So are you saying the restaurant will be serving chicken knockwursts?

why do i have this feeling there's a key word in there somewhere.. I believe the keyword is in fact hidden in the word "opportunity", if you take away 8 of its 11 letters. I apologize if I have caused any misunderstanding. I am of course referring to the word "pit", as in "What amoral pit will its customers be wallowing in if Hooters is allowed to open!" Alternatively, "Will they be serving olives with the pits or without?"

why do i have this feeling there's a key word in there somewhere.. I believe the keyword is in fact hidden in the word "opportunity", if you take away 8 of its 11 letters.

Not all the Chinese congees are of the flavored variety. One of my favorite ways to have congee is to have it completely plain, but served with sides of fermented bean curd, preserved bamboo shoots, Chinese crullers, salted egg, century egg, fried peanuts and anchovies, or other pickles or preserved foods. I believe this is known as Teochew style congee. My mum always make plain congee from scratch, never from leftover rice. Occasionally, she would a different style which contains, in addition to rice, sweet potatoes or green (lentil) beans. These were not eaten with savory sides.

Susan, did you get your foie gras from NY or California? I've been thinking about getting some but have been hesitant, afraid of runing it because I've never cooked with it before. Would you mind sharing some tips on how best to prepare it? Thanks. How many meals can you reasonably make with a whole foie? By that I mean serving a large enough portion to feel satisfied, but not so much as to require open heart surgery afterwards.

I was thinking of the minced lamb/mutton... It's a stretch, I know, I know.

In the spirit of inclusion, can I ask this question: Would you have been less disturbed if the sausage had been properly centered in the bun, where each end protrudes no more than the other? Or maybe you simply don't like ketchup on brats?

Curlz, I am with you 100% on that. Immediately after finishing a donut, I am filled with self-loathing and shame. Driven by despair, I usually go to look for a whip with which to self-flagellate. All regret and repentance are forgotten, however, the very next instance someone offers me a donut.