pandangirl

Thanks so much to everyone for the responses. It's a strange thing, but knowing where to get get good Asian food helps me feel more settled and comfortable in a city. I currently drive 1 hr to Milwaukee to get authentic Chinese food (this restaurant also has the secret menu feature) so I don't think a couple of hops on the T for sashimi-grade fish will be an inconvenience at all (thank you, slbunge, for the report). Wow, galleygirl, you have an encyclopedic knowledge of Asian restaurants in Boston! You also sound like my culinary soulmate from the kinds of dishes you like to order. I actually did visit Super88 - I really liked the food court (reminded me of Hawaii-style food courts) and the selection of fish was outstanding. I will be living pretty close to Brown Sugar but upon hearing your review, will likely avoid it since the overbearing sweetness is something which I don't like about the Thai food in Wisconsin. I ate at Chau Chow and really enjoyed the clams w/ black bean sauce and the roast duck. I've also heard good things about the Vietnamese sandwiches sold at the corner coffeeshop in Chinatown. Looking through the internet, I did manage find a Hawaiian-type restuarant in Rockport called Hula Moon Cafe. Has anyone been there? By the way, agbaber, I'm not going to BU but the neighborhood around the campus seems to have good restaurant possibilities. Thanks again for all of your input. I look forward to exploring and reporting back.

I'll be living in the Fenway area - no car, but easy access to the T. I am particularly interested in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai restaurant and grocery recomendations.

Hello, I will be moving to Boston in a matter of weeks and would very much appreciate any input on the following matters of great import: 1) best place to purchase fresh seafood 2) best place to purchase fresh produce 3) best Asian grocery store 4) best homestyle (i.e., nothing fancy or fushion-y) Asian food 5) hoping beyond hope here, but is there anything like a local Hawaiian plate lunch place? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences and helping me get my bearings!

Shiewie, the recipe that I am looking for contains no sweet potato although I am curious now as to how the addition of sweet potato changes the end result. Thanks for the tip about the hot water - in my attempts to cook onde-onde, it was after the water boiling step that I got the mess. As though the outside casing was overcooked while the palm sugar inside remained unmelted. Adjusting the water temperature sounds like a good place to start. By the way, are you learning to make other kinds of kuih in your cooking class? kew and lannie, thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I think I will try kew's first - the recipe sounds so simple... I'm sure I'll find a way to mess it up. lannie's recipe is intruiging with the sweet potato - I will try it after mastering the other recipe. trillium, perhaps such an aunty could be convinced to partake in the eGCI .

trillium, I have borrowed that book many times from the library and stared longingly at the pictures in there. I think I tried (and failed) with that recipe as well. Perhaps it is practical technique as much as a list of ingredients that I seek. I often wish I could apprentice myself to some Nonya aunty and learn in that manner rather than in my own haphazard experimental approach. Thank you for the kind offer, though.

su-lin and lannie, Would you please consider posting your recipes for onde-onde? I have many fond memories of greedily eating kuih in Penang when my family lived there. I liked best the steamed leaf packets of blue colored glutinous rice with the little ball of coconut and palm sugar on top. But I dream of onde-onde! I tried making the recipe from Amy Beh's book a couple of times but ended up with a rubbery mess. If you could please advise, the greedy child in me would be very grateful!