Laksa

When I read "pork and peanut" dumpling, I thought of chiu jow faan gor, which I believe is a standard HK-style/Cantonese dim sum offering. I don't eat as much dim sum as a civilized person should, but the last meal I had at G-M (Gala Manor) in Flushing was very good. They have an exquisite house-special sweet bao that I highly recommend. GM blows away all the dim sum places (2.5) I've been to in NJ.

Check out the Ajinomoto apron on that fish (?) guy. I wonder if he uses any MSG in his cooking... Okay, let me help with some of the translation... Air Mata Kucing. So what do tears from a kitten taste like? Can't believe they're allowed to sell that stuff!!

My Italian friends* insist that pasta originated in Italy. Isn't Persian Lakhsha is just a riff off La(g)sagna? Seriously though, does evidence exist to support the theory that the Chinese learnt noodle-making from the Persians? I think all "Laksa" tells is that that the Persians (or Arabs) introduced that word, along with a host of others, to the Malay language. *They are those guys you see wearing "Italians do it better" t-shirts.

the strong buzz on Fatty Crab Scroll to the bottom of the page. Hmm...food sounds good!

Thanks for the report Lambretta. So do they serve mainly Malaysian food? From the prices you posted, I gather they're more upscale than the Malaysian eateries in Chinatown? Would be interested to find out how they compare.

Michael Chiarello roasted a chicken using the cocorico on an episode of his cooking show. He placed the chicken breast side down (legs in the air) on the cocorico, explaining that as the hot air in the oven gets channeled up the (hollow) cone, the top will get hotter than the base. Thus, he says, the dark meat which usually requires a longer cooking time can now roast to the required doneness without overcooking the white meat. Interesting theory, but I'd like to hear from others with practical experience with the cocorico.

That's not a problem because the harvesters snack on the chicks as they work.KIDDING!!

Choy poh/chai poh/chaibuoyan is preserved daikon, usually comes chopped coarsely and light brown in colour. There are two versions, one that's very salty, and another that's slightly sweet and not as salty. Never knew that the Teochew laid a claim to it. It needs to be reconstituted in some water before use. A classic dish is chai poh omelette. I remember encountering lots of it in Singapore. An essential ingredient in Chai Tow Kway and Chwee Kway.

I've wanted to know but I'm almost afraid to ask... just how many nipples does a pig have?

hzrt, my post was specifically about making oyster sauce at home, and what challenges one might face in an attempt to make a better product than what's available commercially. (Yeah, I know I wasn't very clear about that.) I lack the know-how (or the necessary equipment) to smoke oysters so doing that is pretty much out of the question. Of course, a big corporation like Lee Kum Kee have the wherewithal to make the most of the raw oysters they buy, by turning out multiple products. I enjoy toying with the idea though because I, unlike aprilmei, live very far from the New Territories and do wonder what the "real stuff" tastes like. I will try steamed oysters next time I get a chance.

Thanks for digging that up hzrt, I found Eddie's post interesting. Given that piece of information, I wonder about the feasibility of making oyster sauce at home. I've never eaten steamed oysters, only raw ones, but I can't imagine that the liquid in steamed oysters would be all that strong in flavour. The juice would most likely need to be reduced. How much liquid would be required to make a bottle of sauce, and how many oysters would you need to get that much juice? I can see how it can get expensive pretty quickly, especially so if you aim for high "oyster juice" content in your sauce. And there's the problem with all the leftover oysters... What? Oyster omelette for dinner again? Oy veh! Now if you're an oyster farmer with a surplus of oysters and no buyer...

Dejah, you mustn't hang around a lot of Chinese people! Only half-joking, sadly. The younger generation may be different, but the Chinese aren't exactly world leaders in open-mindedness. Much of the prejudice is directed at their own countrymen. And never mind a neighbouring province, but neighbouring towns of the same province provide just as good a target for perjoratives. And fodder for unflattering limericks.

Not sure if I did this right. I held the egg up against bright sunlight, right by my kitchen window...but couldn't see much. I held the egg between two fingers like you said, and flicked it. I underestimated my own strength, and the egg flew out of my hands and through my neighbour's open window. The Cantonese lady who lives next door was waiting to catch it with a basket! She disappeared with the egg, shouting to someone in the house how she'd found a great way to score pei-dan using an Internet forum.

Not all buffets are created equal. Some buffets may cost more than dinner at Bouchon.

Because some like to eat enormous quantities of food as much as (if not more than) they do the "best" food. Because the buffets at the Bellagio and the Mirage have pretty decent stuff, and enough of it to satisfy every gourmand. Because the buffet allows you to sample a greater variety of dishes than what you could get ordering a la carte.

Today's the day!! Here's what we're eating: a single yolk mixed nut from a NYC bakery. A nice change from lotus paste or red bean. Nowhere near as sweet.

Almost a year later, I still haven't knowing eaten any tuber of the Dioscorea genus, and would love to try it. This article states that D. alata is the species found in SE Asia while D. trifida is mainly found in Central and South America. Most websites I've googled agree that Ube is indeed D. alata.

I've never been to Saigon Grill so it probably wasn't me who made that observation. (I did, however, make that observation about Sumo Sushi, near the U.N.) I've met ethnic Chinese Vietnamese who speak Cantonese, and even some ethnic Vietnamese who can speak Cantonese (and other Chinese dialects). So hearing Chinese spoken in a Vietnamese restaurant tells me....those folks can speak Chinese!

Hi Cha xiu bao, "steamed rice with lard and soy sauce" sounds interesting. Does the dish have any ingredient besides rice, lard and soy sauce? Or is that something you order instead of plain steamed rice?

Tepee, how did you know? Were you there? It was my first meal off the plane, if you don't count the roti canai snack I had a few minutes earlier, and everything looked too good to pass up. My eyes were wild with anticipation, and I probably looked like a death-row inmate ordering his last supper. The nasi kandar guy saw and knew something. And he decided to charge me as though I would soon have little need for money.

Will it help if you first line the can with (oiled) cling wrap? What might be even easier is if you roll the fish paste into a tube a la Tepee, wrap in alfoil and steam it. After the fish cake is cooked, it'll be easier to cut into slices and fry. Aren't fish cakes usually steamed before frying?

hzrt, how many years ago was that? Were they still playing Teresa Teng on the radio? Now, for RM1.50, you can get a plate of plain rice, and maybe a piece of tofu. I went for some nasi kandar or padang or whatever it was in KL... I lost control of my finger and pointed at too many things, and it ended up costing me RM12 or something.

Yes it is! I wouldn't trade it for those that they sell at $4.95 a bowl (wonton soup, egg drop soup, etc.) Pork neck bones and some kind of vegetables (ours was fun got [Cantonese] - don't know the English name (help! someone please help!), simmered for probably a good 4-5 hours. ← hzrt8w, are you talking about 粉葛? If so, that's kudzu (Pueraria lobata). Was there leaf or root in the soup? jo-mel, you live in the NY/NJ area, right? That house soup looks a lot like the one I enjoyed during a recent dinner at Noodle Chu in Parsippany. Can't beat the Cantonese when it comes to good pork bone soup.

If you'll allow me a few moments to wander around my thoughts... Eating out in Malaysia is something one almost takes for granted. Malaysians don't think twice about sitting down at a coffee shop to a freshly cooked breakfast or lunch. Mostly because it can be as economical to eat out as it is to cook at home, especially if you're single, or a couple dining out. After moving here, I have to adapt a little. I couldn't sit down at a coffee shop for a breakfast of noodles or roti canai before work, for example. There are simply no places to do that where I live. You could go to a diner for breakfast, but the food doesn't come out "fast", and it's easy to spend 6-7 bucks per person plus tip. Alternatives exist, like a take-out breakfast sandwich or bagel, for maybe a coupla bucks, and that's popular with Americans, who eat it on the go or in the car. Americans eat a lot of food "on the run". As for lunch, standard fare from the company cafeteria runs about $5-$6, for a salad, or a subway sandwich, or some very unexciting protein+starch+veg combo. Offerings at fast food chains or the local deli aren't much more attractive. The only bright spot is the local Indian grocery take-out lunch special for $4.50, but I can't eat Indian food every day. Eating out can be as expensive or economical as you make it. I find that it's usually cheaper to bring home take-out from a particular restaurant than to dine-in there. A large single-topping pizza is enough to feed 4-5 people and costs around $12. Ordering 3 dishes from the Chinese takeout costs around $15, but thanks to the enormous American-size portions, that's enough to feed 5 people easily, and you'd still have leftovers. Dining out at the national family restaurant chains like Applebee's/Chili's/Olive Garden/Outback Steakhouse/Red Lobster can cost up to $25 per head like what hzrt8w described. Denny's and IHOP are a little bit cheaper. And you can always find those "buy one dinner get one 50% off" coupons everywhere. You will find a myriad of chain family restaurants in the States, but they're all probably owned by just one or two giant parent companies. If you eat at enough of them, nobody can fault you for thinking the same guy created all the menus! If you're lucky to live near a large Chinese population such as the ones in NYC or SF or LA, your options for inexpensive and tasty food will be much better. Noodle dishes like CKT are $5. Half a Hanainese chicken I believe goes for around $7. Moving up the scale, it's not difficult to find live seafood and lots of dishes that bear a decent semblance to what you find "back home", taste-wise if not price-wise. I think I paid $18 per pound for live shrimp not too long ago at a restaurant in Flushing. A dim sum lunch for 3 came to $60 including tips. When the occasion calls for it, and when you're feeling spendy, high-end restaurants in major cities abound. Here, you're looking at $100-200 per person. You fork over a lot of money for tiny morsels of very, very good looking food. Careful where you devote your attention or your date might start to feel jealous. Admittedly, some of that stuff can be pretty tasty. If you're partial to things like foie gras, air-freighted toro, or perigord truffles, the high-end restaurants are pretty much the only places in town to indulge your predilections. While I certainly won't refuse the top drawer grub -- heaven forfend should one deny one's Mrs. the stuff -- it won't kill me to go without. But, every now and then, I regress to an Early Man-carnivore state and start craving steak. A good prime beef porterhouse for two in NYC will set you back about $80. That's meat only, exclusive of sides, appetizers or drinks. So it's a good thing I don't crave it that often. Spontaneous, nary-a-second-thought dining out is what I miss most about living in Malaysia. That's so difficult for me to do here, for a lack of choices, and the distance I have to travel to get the food I like. As for the prices, sure, they're higher than what you find in Malaysia, but with some adjustments to dining habits, they're manageable. On balance, food prices don't seem so horrendous because some things are cheaper here. If you make apples to apples comparisons, some Malaysian meals can get pricy too. I can remember spending RM40 per person on dingy-JB-kopitiam bak kut teh (but it was very good), and something like RM80 per kg for farm-raised Soon Hock? Albeit live from the tank.

As my less refined friends would say, for under ten bucks, that meal is "ho l*n dai". Free soup and free dessert, don't you just love HK-style restaurants? I think I can go for that HK-style CKT. I can imagine the taste...just like Singapore Noodles, except it's kway teow. Yeah, I can go for some of that. hzrt8w, I like all the food you've been posting. Keep them coming. Wish I could post some food pictures too but my imagegullet account is filled to capacity.