peppyre

Um....Capilano West, just down the street from you. It used to be the best Chinese on the North Shore. There is also a location at the top of Cap Road and Montroyal (the one we used to order from) **Edited to add that I haven't actually had their food in roughly 5 years. Do not post when you've only had wine and no food. Third edit

Karole, I steam lobsters quite frequently and I find that getting a large part is the first hurdle. Once I have that, just add some wine, garlic, water and various other spices to the pot, get it to a rolling boil, then take your little guys and drop in the pot. Slam down a lid quickly, before they can try and escape. It's fast and easy. After about 7-10 minutes, they're cooked. Let them cool for a little bit before you try and break them apart. A lobster burn is nasty. Enjoy dinner!

The Winners in Suburbia are definitely where all the good kitchen deals are to be had. I've also picked up a couple of really expensive Japanese sushi knives with bamboo resin handles for next to nothing. I've also seen Kyocera ceramics in the Home Sense in West Van for are $50. If you are in Canada, that's definitely an option.

Chef Fowke and I were talking a few months about a butchery course, but it just sort of dropped to the side....Hmmmm...Brian, any thoughts?

Tama is closed???!! Oh no!!! I loved that place, of course, when Toshi's opened up at my back door...welll....it's been a while, but it was always good.

The party is July 9 and I am planning on taking a few days off work that so I have plenty of time. No helpers, but that's not a big deal. I've done catering work where I was the only person remaining sober during the crucial cooking/knife moments. Skill level isn't an issue either. It isn't so much that I haven't cooked duck, I have confit in my fridge that I made back in January, (yes Arne, I still have some left) I just haven't dealt with the actual breast in any way and I would like to do something unique. I don't really have a "theme" in mind and if I don't think I really want one other than I'd like to give everything the aura of being simple but yet very elegant and classy. There will be lots of wine and a few bottles of champagne. And cocktails...there are always cocktails with this group. So, will this help with the suggestions

Really? My grandma started making them every year for Christmas when she first came to Canada. They moved to Vancouver in '64 and I know for a fact that she made them 30 years ago. Was Susan that big in the mid-70's?

Over all the other restaurants that we have in this province? I reiterate: you have got to be kidding me. ← Didn't you notice that when we were there? Scrawled on a couple of sign boards in chalk they were announcing the they were on the Conde Nast list. Umm...I should mention that I thought it was a great thing BEFORE I started eating. I'm hoping they have an absolutely knock-your-socks-off wine list, but since it was lunch, I didn't even think to look at it.

Well, if Richmond is out and the idea of smuggling 30lbs of live crab isn't everyone's cup of tea, then how about the beach and BBQ's. I can always get my dad's single propane burner (otherwise known as the giant torch) that he uses for his ...ummm..."wok"...setup...yeah...that's what it's used for. Would be good for at least one pot, and hey, it's really just a BBQ so that should be legal, right? I'm planning on having crab for my mom's birthday in a few weeks, does anyone have any ideas for me. I'm thinking that giving each person a crab is out of the question, but what else could I do with them?

It's my mom's 50th birthday and of course I am planning on doing something big. I need some more ideas for food. I want to stick with basically finger food, appies, salads and things, since we will be in the back yard and I want to keep it quite casual. All my mom really wants to do is drink, so my main focus will be to keep enough food in her to stave off as much of the hangover as possible I would like to do something with Duck breast but since I have never cooked it, I am at a loss. I'm going to have some Hanger steak on the grill, some chicken, prawns, salmon, maybe crab (it's really cheap here right now) but what should I do with everything. It looks like I will be feeding around 20 people. So, what should I cook?

The first thing I ever made on my own was Shortbread. I can't remember exactly how old I was but I was really young, probably 4 or 5.

It's always sad when your favorite chinese restaurant either closes up shop or changes owners. My mom and I still mourn the loss of Shum's in Delta. I think it's been closed for a good 12 years now, yet, we still crave their beef and lettuce wrap. I can still taste and absolutely nothing has come close since. In fact, of all the restaurants in this city that I have tried, not one has equalled Shum's in quality. Good luck finding a new spot Arne. I'm still looking.

As Lee mentioned, a much smaller mafia hit Fatburger for lunch yesterday. I had the Fat on the char with cheese. I found it quite tasty for what it was, a fast food burger. It actually reminded me of the In'N'Out burger I had in San Francisco. The patty wasn't overcooked, in fact mine still had a hint of pink. The cheese was full melted and it had relish on it. I love relish on a burger. I had the skinny fries which were quite tasty. Arne's thick fries looked dry and mealy, you could tell they were the frozen yucky kind. As for the onion rings, Neil, I have to ask why you like the A&W onion rings? I find them unbelievably greasy and doughy with very little actual onion in them. These were lightly battered, fried at the right temperature, not greasy and distinctly tasted of onion. I love onion rings, but I've found that in the last few years, good ones are impossible to find. These were good!! Thanks for ordering them Lee. I can't compare this to Vera's since I haven't been yet (Sorry Gerald. I'll go soon, I promise) but I don't think this would be on the same level and I don't know if I could compare the two. I think Fatburger should be compared to the other fast food chains in the city. If I'm in the area though, I'd probably go back.

New Grand View, my favorite delivery place. Hmmm... I wonder if their number will be changing? Maybe I'll stop by this afternoon and pick up a menu.

Oooohhh...that would be fun

No, I don't believe they are the same thing. I've only ever seen Sea Asparagus sold fresh, the best is still in water, and it's a vibrant green colour and looks like mini asparagus. There are pictures in the link in an earlier post.

I usually pick it up at Granville Island. BTW, it is absolutely NOTHING like Asparagus. It's good, but it's more like seaweed than asparagus. My favorite prep is lightly saueteed in some butter, with garlic, fleur de sel and a squeeze of lemon. Pair that with a nice piece of Sockeye and that's an excellent fresh dinner. Let us know what you guys think of it when you get a chance to try it.

Actually, yes. I had fresh spot prawns about 4 days before I went to Portland and had fresh crawfish. There is absolutely no comparison. The meat is denser and rich, almost like lobster, but quite earthy. Plus, you've got the added enjoyment of getting through the really tough shells to get to the meat and the claws were lots of fun for two crawfish beginners. (One with only her left hand too )

Oh Cate, now that you've sparked interest you must share the story! Please, do not go to Nick's. The last time I was there for my Dad's birthday, I swore that it would be the last. This has been a favorite haunt of my grandmothers for over 50 years, and I don't think it's been cleaned in that time either. I finally had convinced my grandma that there were better Italian restaurants in her neighborhood that weren't overly priced,(like Da Francesco's, and it closed) and had fresh well-made food with quality ingredients. I have a horrible feeling that I will be darkening the doors of Nick's once again.....and of course, due to the nostalgia that old-timers in that part of town have, Nick's will live on forever.

My mom's husband used to pull them out of Burnaby Lake. Of course, I don't think that's a good idea now. Isn't awful when a pet in the Aquarium becomes dinner

The last time I was at Seven Seas, they only had frozen ones which looked like they had been frozen for quite some time.

I picked up a Lagostina Bread knive a few months ago that i absolutely love. I've compared it to my mom's Henkel and I find it much sharper and slices easier. I found at Winner's (Ross in the States) for $22, but I think you could probably pick one up for about $50. It's definitely worth trying to find.

Wow. I was thinking of posting this exact question. After having fresh crawfish for the first time Portland, I could easily become addicted. Unfortunately, I have never seen fresh live ones available here. Only frozen ones at various fish markets, which is a shame. The large pot of freshly steamed crawfish that was delivered to our table a few weeks ago was outstanding. They were so good that I devised a way to get the meat out of the shells with one hand and subjected myself to the agony of pulling them apart with both hands. Damn they were good.

I have no suggestions but I will say that replacing the bowl is the same price as a new one. I've been using a broken Cuisinart for about 7 years. After my dropped the lid, broke the plastic latch that locks it, she looked into replacing it and decided on a new one. You can't purchase just the lid or the bowl, it has to be the whole thing and it was well over $100. So, it then became mine and I still use it all the time, but it's absolute disaster if I can't find the latch for the lid.

Funny, I never thought of this as an odd british quirk. My grandma used to always let the toast get cold before buttering, that way you get that wonderfully thick layer of butter on the top of the bread. I haven't had that in years, not because I don't like cold toast but because I don't want my cholesterol levels to reach a point of no return.