Laksa

I believe simply cornstarch is used instead of a cornstarch solution.

It's very pleasing to the eye. Now my tastebuds want to know if it's just as tasty. The potato grouper or 石班 (Epinephelus tukula) is a somewhat uglier cousin, but makes a very nice steamed fish Cantonese style. Yum!

High fin grouper or mouse grouper.

You mean to say you haven't installed Taste-o-vision 2.0 on your computer? It's from the same people who brought you Smell-o-vision.

Craig, you're probably right. My local wine store plays dirty then. I wonder if the sign was inadvertant. They have enough "wine experts" on staff to make me think they should know that RP was writing about a different wine.

Doesn't "mm ho" when spoken in that context sound more like "moh" (one syllable)? I'm not a native Cantonese speaker, but just commenting from personal observations. On the other hand, 不好 to my ear is distinctly two syllables, "mm ho", or "pak ho".

Dejah, c'mon, tell us the truth. You have successfully created clones of yourself. That's how you managed to rehearse and perform in a band, prepare all that magnificent food and post pictures to this blog, be a chauffeur, a mother, and the zillion other things that we all have to do. Amazing! The food looks marvellous (yes, it does bear repeating ) I would like to use your picture of the dim sum items and jook for my desktop. Do you have a larger image that you are willing to share?

I came across the 2001 Terragens Romio Sangiovese (Italy) at my local wine store for $7.99 and a Robert Parker tasting notes and rating of 90 prominently displayed next to the bottles. I took a bottle home and drank it. My first impressions were .... "ho-hum". I found the nose and the palate pretty much muted, but perfectly quaffable and drinking it required very little thought. I liked it, but nothing really grabbed my attention. I'm pretty much a wine novice so would like to know if there's something I've failed to notice about this wine? I would like to know what you guys think of it. Here's the quote from Robert Parker on-line. I don't know how these reviews work but the source is attributed to Wine Advocate.

I clicked in because there's promise of rum, buggery and the lash. Oh well, I guess I'll check back later then. Edited to add: the link isn't working for me

hzrt8w, when you first posted about 龙吐珠，the fish that came first to my mind was the arawana, (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) a prized aquarium fish among the Chinese in SE Asia. When I saw the picture you posted, I thought I was looking at an arawana as well. Links in this post will take you to photos of fish that look a lot like the fish in your post. The golden Asia Arawana apparently is particularly sought after. The osteoglossum bicirrhosum and scleropages formosus both belong to the osteoglossidae family.

jo-mel: You can say " Siang tiu" which means in one piece... or " mm ho tsee" don't cut! When I buy crispy pork (siu jook) it is really hard to keep all hands off the crispy parts! LOL. jo-mel, if you aren't fluent in Cantonese, I would encourage you to check your pronunciation and tone of "siang tiu" with a Cantonese speaker in person before saying it to the meat chef. Mispronouncing the second syllable could get you in trouble. don't cut or "mo chit" is more innocuous. How about printing your order and preferences on a piece of paper and handing it to the chef?

Link to Dejah's food blog

I think that always having some extra cash should be the number one principle of life!

Dejah, that bowl of wonton noodles looks fantastic! I love your photos, the food looks very artfully presented. I'm looking forward to following your blog. Is that a dollop of chilli/sambal on top of the wontons? I can't tell but those look like fresh noodles? Store-bought or home-made? Shrimp egg noodles? I'm unfamiliar with those.

i moved out of ny about 4 months ago now, but the last tim i checked, the Mosco St. grocery had calamansi juice, but no fresh limes. Cynical as i am, i have to assume that they use the bottled juice in restaurants, since the fruit isn't easy to obtain in the US. My local Thai grocer (in Poughkeepsie!) has them. I think she gets her supplies from Manhattan Chinatown. She tells me they are grown in Florida and Hawaii. Edited to add: If you want to know, I can ask which shop/supplier she gets them from. I'm pretty sure they're calamansi and not key limes as they're pretty small.

Ok. I didn't think you were joking at first, until I started considering the practical implications of not eating cultivated grain. How easy is it to find wild grain?

tryska, you're making a joke, yes?

As you're walking along the streets in Taipei, don't be alarmed if you smell something truly shocking. It's probably just "smelly tofu". If you try it, you might even like it. It's been many years since I was in Taiwan, but for some reason, I remember the street food more than the restaurant food. Corn on the cob cooked on charcoal grills stuck in my mind for some reason. And I remember seeing street hawkers with these giant woks filled to the brim with a dark stew, the surface covered with stewed eggs. I think they're called tea leaf eggs or just "lu" eggs. Wonderful stuff. And isn't Taiwan famous for their "Taiwan Beef Soup Noodles"? 台湾牛肉面

I ate weetbix with peanut butter. Oh yeah, Cherry Ripe. It's also virtually impossible to get honeycomb sweets like Violet Crumble in the states, but I think I've seen Crunchie around once. I can't believe nobody's mentioned Tim Tams! And Kingston biscuits! What about Iced Vo Vos? I like to look at them more than I like to eat them though Whenever someone opens a pack of Family Assorted, I reach for the Scotch Fingers first. Although not really a comfort food, I miss the soft (not toasted) muesli you get in Oz. Most muesli/granola is the crunchy kind here.

My guess is that some vegetarians would like to eat meat, but don't because they are compelled because of religious or other reasons? I have a colleague whose wife is a vegan and raw foodist, but he's not as enthusiastic about that. He often complains about the food that's served at home, but I guess he goes along with that diet to keep the peace.

This week's issue of the New York Observer gives a favorable review of Kittichai (3 stars). The review mentions that Mario Batali ordered his curry extra hot, and he says something to the effect that the restaurant rocks!

Among the female relatives of my parents' generation and also those my age (30s), many on occasions would wear the kebaya and sarong and I very much doubt that they are "claiming" entrance into any club. They are 100% Chinese, as far as I know. For them, I think it's more a fashion statement than a cultural claim. To keep the post on topic, my mum made achar very often when I was still in Malaysia. It goes great with keropok udang or prawn crackers. You eat it like tortilla chips and salsa, except the prawn crackers don't "dip" very well so you gotta use a tiny fork to transfer achar from the bowl onto the crackers. I find some of the new-fangled kebaya pretty sexy. More women, Nyonya or not, should wear them.

When steaming fish or meat, adding a little brandy to the dish for the last five minutes of steaming can only improve the dish.

Thanks Dejah! I've had wife's cake before... just never knew it was called that. I think they give this out at Chinese weddings, right? I also found a picture of pai dan su here.

Pai Dan So is an century egg wrapped around by a crispy crust made from flour/shortening. Wife's cake is..... errr, let me ask my wife... Wow, I never had Pai Dan So before. Do they use a whole egg? That's rather indulgent. I've had battered and deep fried hard boild eggs. Is that how they make pai dan so too? Is your wife's cake likely to be different from my wife's cake?