liuzhou

I have been known to buy Mae Ploy's* red curry paste but as I can only buy this 1 kg pot, I don't do so often. Must admit I'm not keen on the sweet chili sauce, but that's just me. Too sweet for my tastes. * The brand name means 'Mother Ploy' (แม่พลอย) and is the name of a character in สี่แผ่นดิน (Four Kings), a famous Thai novel. In the novel, she is a strong woman who was determined to preserve Thailand's (then Siam's) cultural heritage.

Sorry. I wasn't aware this was an art or beauty competition!

Good morning! 新鲜肉小笼包 (xīn xiān ròu xiǎo lóng bāo) Fresh pork xiaolongbao (small basket dumplings). Here with a chilli dip. I couldn't decide which picture to use, so you get both.

Indeed. I live about 10 minutes drive north of the Tropic of Cancer - I used to cross it every day driving to work back in the day I did anything so undignified as work. The line is marked on the expressway. So, I believe that counts as 'hot climate'. All vegetation is kept in the fridge (except tomatoes - I'm not a complete philistine) or dies rapidly. It's not a big problem for people here; most only purchase what they will use that day. Chinese fridges are usually fairly empty.

Yesterday, I spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to open a roll of what you probably call "aluminum foil". I could open the box, but not in the neat manner they pretend turns the box into an ideal container with cutting blade. The big problem was they had glued the end of the roll down with what I can only assume was some kind of super-super adhesive developed by the local equivalent of NASA for some nefarious purpose. It was impossible to remove or unfurl the roll without shredding the foil to confetti. Gave up; binned it; bought another brand. No problems. (My spellchecker is screaming at 'aluminum'.)

Indeed, bread and dripping was common throughout the UK, not just England. I grew up in Scotland and until I moved to London at the age of 18, thought that "a piece" was the standard English to say anything on bread / any kind of sandwich. If no filling or topping was mentioned, jam was the default. The use of the word with that meaning is mainly western Scotland.

Well, I wouldn't dare try to speak for Anna but in England where she grew up the dripping would have been on bread, I'm sure.

I finally got round to defrosting my 'Russian style' smoked herring. To my delight it was full of roe. I added butter and broiled 🇺🇸 / grilled 🇬🇧 it for a few minutes. Delicious. The finished dish is on the breakfast topic. It was a bit bony but not excessively so and the bones were mostly soft and edible. Good source of calcium, I guess. Next time, I'll get a larger one. Roe

'Russian style' cold smoked herring with its roe. (Actually produced in China.) I added butter and grilled 🇬🇧 / broiled 🇺🇸 it. Served with buttered sourdough.

I haven't met anyone who disagrees with you and neither do I. It gets worse over here.

That's what I call dinner!

Another clanger from the Grauniad today. Good for the scientists. I hope they enjoyed their bonding over alcohol. I like a bit of alcoholic fruit. Preferably grapes. But what were the chimpanzees doing?

Very similar looking mangoes are common here. Same variety, probably.

You're almost there. Luosifen is 螺蛳粉 (luó sī fěn) with 螺蛳 (luó sī) meaning 'river snails'. However many people, including luosifen shops, mis-write it as 螺丝 (luó sī) meaning 'screws' or' bolts'. As you can see from the diacritics in the pinyin pronunciation guide they are homophones. And yes, there is an etymological connection. 螺 (luó) indicates spiral connotations. The snails used have spiral shells. So, some wag came up with this.

Yesterday, I posted this on the Liuzhou Luosifen topic where it was relevant, but it also belongs here as I have discovered it is but one of a range. Others include and finally a Liuzhou City in-joke. I'll let you stew about the last one for a bit before explaining.

Now, I can demonstrate my affinity with the locals and display my affection of my home city's signature dish by sporting this stylish Luosifen T-shirt, I just discovered on an online shopping channel. Or perhaps not.

It's been a vicarious pleasure to accompany you on your visit. Thank you. (My parents were of the firm opinion that the best place to eat in Paris was in the restaurant IN the Eiffel tower because it's the only place in Paris where you can't see the Eiffel Tower. I'm not sure they were wrong!)

Yes. Stir fried. Usually with garlic and chilli round here.

I am delighted to have learned today that I can have live silkworms delivered to my door within 30 minutes. Only $0.68 USD for eight of the 3-year-olds . They even bring their own food with them! I may adopt some!

Yesterday (Saturday), The Guardian ran a story under this this headline. Have they never heard of beer? 🍻

Unlikely, yes. But if you do find yourself deported to China for any reason, I suggest you avoid fish totally. Most fish is served gutted but otherwise whole and on the bone. There are exceptions but no menu ever tells you which is which, even if you can read it. 🐟🐡

蔬彩色水晶饺 (shū cǎi sè shuǐ jīng jiǎo), vegetable coloured crystal jiaozi (pork dumplings) and 嘎嘎脆春卷 (gā gā cuì chūn juǎn), mini crispy spring rolls.

A Pamflyt Compiled of Cheese, Contayninge the Differences, Nature, Qualities, and Goodness, of the Same A Guardian article giving the background to a recently discovered 16th century treatise on Cheese. A Pamflyt compiled of Cheese_Transcription by Ruth Bramley.pdf

Thinking about herring recently reminded me of something called Chinese or White Herring, which is available here, but isn’t a true herring at all, although vaguely related. 鰳鱼 (lè yú), Ilisha elongata is also called the slender shad, but isn’t a shad, either! It’s what is known as a longfin herring. It is found in the coastal waters around SE Asia, China, Korea and Japan and extensively caught. AquaMaps (2019, October). Computer generated distribution maps for Ilisha elongata (Elongate ilisha), with modelled year 2050 native range map based on IPCC RCP8.5 emissions scenario. Retrieved from https://www.aquamaps.org. I often see it on fish counters but never buy it. Although the taste is fine I’m very bone tolerant, this species takes boniness to an extreme, as I discovered the first and only time I did buy it. There are better species to eat.

皮蛋瘦肉粥 (pí dàn shòu ròu zhōu), century egg and lean pork congee and 小笼包 (xiǎo lóng bāo) small steamed pork dumplings. Dips / sides: pickled daikon radish with the congee; chilli sauce with the xiaolongbao.