[Press Pot/French Press Coffee]

And let it cool down before washing it. Very important! Also, make sure the the glass in the press is heat tempered. Look for pyrex glass or boro-silicate glass, they are more easy going with regards to heat. Bodum uses boro-silicate glass.

[Favorite single malt]

Well well well. Took my first sip of Finlaggan Old Reserve (and my very first taste of an Islay malt) and was blown away. There was little to no burn (added a tiny splash of filtered water) and the initial hit of the peat flavor comes to the forefront as it hits my tongue. Unlike the speysides that I am currently enamoured of, this has only 2 distinct flavour characteristics, peat and the sea. The finish is long but mellow and right at the end, a subtle hint of saltiness. (Sort of like smoking a good cigar. Might be a natural pairing)

All in all, it was a very good introduction for me into the world of Islay malts and I really do not know whether I can make it back to highland malts.

[Favorite single malt]

Well... my local trader joe's have the finlaggan old reserve for sale at 16.99. Couldn't resist it and bought a bottle home. Anyway, when I popped the cap off, I got this whiff of iodine (with a hint of the ocean) that smells repellant but intriguing all at the same time. Waiting for it to be night time before pouring a dram for myself and trying my very first Islay whiskey.

[What's Behind that $15 Martini?]

Whats wrong with selling on volume? If you boil it all down, if lowering your margin results in higher net profits due to higher sales, isn't that better?

Not necessarily true. Higher sales means higher cost of goods sold thus resulting in a lower gross profit. To generate the same profit level of lowering your cost of goods sold by 5%, you would need to generate 10x the sales. Since the prices the liquor is being wholesaled is fixed (with probably no room for price negotiation), there is nothing much you can do to improve the bottom line except raise prices.

It really depends on the price elasticity of the product you are selling. High-end martinis are probably viewed as a luxury item and therefore is probably price inelastic.

[Favorite single malt]

Heh... the funny thing is I can get the Glenmorangie 12 yo Sherry Wood finish for $28 at Trader Joe's but the 10 yo costs me $29 at Bev & Mo (that's only when it's on sale) Macallans are way too overpriced now

[Favorite single malt]

I started with the Glenfidditch 12 (pretty ok for $19), went on to the Macallan 12 (awesome but pricey at $32), continued with the Balvenie 12 (awesome and somewhat affordable at $28), now working on the Glenmorangie 10 (better than the Macallan 12 imho). Got a chance to stopover in London last year and picked up a special Glenmorangie 27 yo and Balvenie 21 portwood. My favorite? Either the Macallan 12 or the Glenmorangie 10.

[Kuih / Kueh]

Heh... the gula jawa sold at my local asian supermart looks likes a cannister that is semi-hollowed out at the top and bottom. It really looks like the gula melaka that I see my mom buy back in singapore. Thus the confusion

Thanks for the explanation spaghetttti!

[Kuih / Kueh]

The pandan extract can be found in most asian supermarkets in the US (it's in a small bottle). My local vietnamese market (vien dong) stocks them. They are usually imported from indonesia. Another question, I can't seem to find gula melaka in the asian marts in my area but I've found Gula Jawa (from indonesia). Wondering if it can be a good substitute?

[Durian]

Yay! Bitter durian lovers unite! Down with the no aroma thai durians. Tasting a really good durian is like tasting a good single malt scotch (imho) [Glenmorangie 10 y.o]. There are just too many flavor characteristics that is lost without the aroma portion of the experience. That is the one thing that I missed about SE Asia.... good cheap tropical fruits (although Durians aren't that cheap). The local asian supermarkets stock durians of the frozen kind (in SD, cali) but it's usually the thai variety and costs a bundle.

Anyway, got to agree that the uncultivated durians are the best!

[dried scallops]

You can also use it to make soup. Kinda expensive but hey! You pay for the good stuff.

Soak the scallops over night, get some lean pork and winter melon (about 1/2 a melon ~3-4 pounds). Put all the ingredients in a big stock pot and bring it to a boil. Then simmer it for like 3 hours. It works best if you have a charcoal stove

[Kuih / Kueh]

Here's an Ondeh Ondeh recipe that does not use sweet potato (adapted from a recipe book by Agnes Chang titled "Agnes Chang's Hawker's Delights" ISBN: 983-40370-0-7).

A:

240g of glutinous rice flour

120ml hot water

2 tablespoon thick pandan juice (good luck finding this in the US) or some pandan extract mixed with sufficient water to meet required amount (my guess? 0.5 tsp)

2 tablespoon ultrafine sugar

fresh coconut milk or reconstituted kara (enough to mix) [my guess would be the thin kind)

1 tablespoon oil

B

half piece of gula melaka (again good luck finding this in the US), chopped, mixed with 3 tablespoons of ultrafine sugar (use the food processor or mini-chopper)

C:

a mixture of grated young coconut and salt (I think you can susbstitue dessicated coconut reconstituted somewhat, get the unsweetened variety). Steam.

1. Mix the hot water into the flour first. Add in the other ingredients in A until it forms a soft dough. Separate the dough into equal pieces (about 15)

2. Add a little B inside and seal up by rolling them into little balls (sort of like making cheese stuffed hamburgers) .

3. Cook the balls in boiling water. They are ready when they float to the surface. Remove and drain following by a coat with C and serve it either warm or cold. [warm tastes best!]

ps: to get your prep work done, I'll suggest starting with B and C. It doesn't take that long to form the dough and no proofing required.

[edited: to simplify some stuff]