liuzhou

Indeed. Yet their drinks menu, although littered with silly cocktail names (which is normal), is one of the saner ones. The children's menu is the least childish.

Pretentious, ridiculous or just plain stupid menus. I came across this menu from a restaurant in Manchester, England. The restaurant is called The Laundrette and the varous sections in their main menu are labelled using washing machine terminology, almost at random. Appetisers are Prewash, Pizzas are Spin Cycles, Burgers are Prewash (???), Starters are Small Loads, Salads are Easy Care, Steaks are Press (???), Desserts are Delicates, Mains are Full Load, Sides are Rinse (???) and then we have a failure with Extras. The sad menu is here (PDF)

I'd forgotten about this somewhat silly topic, but would just like to introduce you to what is known in Chinese as 公鸡蛋 (gōng jī dàn) which means male chicken (rooster or cock) eggs. They are in fact rooster testicles. And very tasty!

@Smithy Having just read this I'm now wondering which you get (I'm guessing the latter) and whether that may account for your finding them trouble some while I don't. On an aside, I also have this tamarind sauce which comes from Pakistan and is rather good.

It is possible your tamarind isn't so fresh. I find dealing with them no trouble whatsoever. I just crack the brittle shells and discard them then peel off the strings. Then, I simply pop the flesh into my mouth and suck it away from the seeds. (The seeds are not edible in their raw state but can be roasted and eaten, not that I've ever done that.)

Ulva lactuca, Sea lettuce (sometimes known as sea spinach or sea cabbage), grows in oceans around the world and is probably the most widely distributed of all edible seaweeds. The variety found in the N.E. Atlantic is considered by some to be a different genus, Ulva fenestrata but agreement on that is absent. Whatever we get in Scotland is used in salads and in soups, whereas in Korea (both) it is used to make a version of 김치 – kimchi. I’m told it is also popular in Hawaii where it may also appear in soups or salted with raw fish. Etc. In China, where it is known as 海莴苣 (hǎi wō jù, sea lettuce) or in the packets illustrated here 海菠菜 (hǎi bō cài, sea spinach) or 石莼 (shí chún) it leans more to the Korean treatment. This lot comes from near the North Korean – Chinese border. It is pickled with spices and sold as a snack food. Less often, I see it fresh.

I used to buy this regularly in one store, but it disappeared one night a few years ago. I found it this week online and it arrived today. Two bags of fresh tamarind each containing a nominal 500 grams (actually just over).

Beef Fried RIce with Lao Gan Ma

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/09/arrests-made-after-wave-of-sushi-terrorism-upends-japans-restaurant-industry

Out Demons, Out!

What are actual bangers? "Bangers" originally referred to cheap sausages fed to the military in WW1 and which were mainly water and rusk and exploded when cooked. Today it generally just means "sausages" of any kind.

Story here.

Pan-fried pork tenderloin slices, flower shiitake, garlicky culantro. Spuds.

I've mentioned this before. My go to sauce. Except it maybe isn't a sauce at all. The Chinese means chopped chilli. But I used to buy it in 210 gram jars. Then I got excited when I found it in 425 gram jars. Today I'm having chilli orgasms. 2.3 kilogram jar! 210 grams 425 grams 2.3 kilograms!

Thanks, but I think I'll stay with mine.

What is a 'smokie' to you? Not from Arbroath obviously.

Matterhorn no more: Toblerone to change design under ‘Swissness’ rules

I wouldn't.

I just read this word mince on a London restaurant's website and had to take a sedative. "Built on a studio ethos, we are a restaurant, bar, art and performance space that moves and shifts with the seasons via its curated collective program." Utter pretentious nonsense.