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The shape is technically called "tetrahedron", right Origamicrane? More commonly it's called a triangular pyramid. But this is a misnomer because a pyramid, technically, needs to have a square base..... oh, I let the nerd inside of me came out for too long. The 2 pictures shown are nice triangular pyramid shape. But if you use as much "liu" as Dejah, forming a nice triangular pyramid shape, especially with only 3 leaves, is impossible. It naturally turns into an elongated triangular pyramid, or like an olive flattened on 4 sides. And in Origamicrane's case, it looks more like a cylinder (or a sausage shape). Thank you for letting my indulged in sharing what I learned from my solid geometry and topology classes...

When I went out to water the lawn tonight, I noticed the big round (almost full) moon hanging above the horizon (it's 10:00 pm where I am). Arrr.... 2 more months... just two more months to wait. Let's kick up this old thread again! (mudbug... you got competition now! ) May be I should try some ice-skin Moon Cake this year. Is this a fad like the boba milk tea? Or is there really something in ice-skin Moon Cakes that would attract you to buy them over and over again every year?

No I have never been to Malaysia. But some of these Malaysian/Chinese dishes are popular in Hong Kong. I like Char Quay Teow very much. Besides, I have some cyber friends living in Penang. I IM them often and they often tease me with local food pics.

Mudbug got distracted with other life issues and never had time to make any desert... ← Looks like you finally woke up from your long ZZZZZZZZ! I agree with Dejah that China is a desert of desserts! The desserts known to the newer generation Chinese are European influenced (such as egg tarts, cakes, even almond jello). About sweet dessert soups, I always wonder if they are genuine, classical Chinese that existed for hundreds/thousands of years, or also somehow are European influenced. Red bean dessert soup and black sesame dessert soup are the staples. In the summer time, there are also mango/honey dew + tapioca coconut milk (like what origamicrane posted). I am sure in recent years they probably have figured out something else...

Would the following make the list? Char Quay Teow? Laksa? Satay chicken/beef? Hainan Chicken Rice? Bak Kut Teh?

I hope they can distinguish the 2 different tastes.

Besides adding taste, my FIL told me that there is a practical health reason for drizzling black vinegar into a bowl of noodle (soup). He said that the factories use a lot of lye water (alkaline?) to produce the noodles. If you eat a lot of noodles, you risk developing kidney stones. By taking in some vinegar (acid), it neutralizes the alkaline (which produces salt in your stomach? ). It seems to make sense. Any comments from Trillium, our chemist? Any doctor or dietitian in the forum?

What aprilmei described is very common in Hong Kong and the vincinity of Guangzhou. I am surprised that you haven't heard of this before, mudbug. You said you are Cantonese. Did you grow up in Missouri, or elsewhere (in China?) before immigrating to the U.S.? Black vinegar is also essential in cooking many dishes. e.g. Some of the "hot braised" meats such as beef, Zha Jee Gai (Cantonese Fried Chicken) - preboiled in black vinegar, hung and wind-dried before deep-frying in hot oil. Sweet and Sour dishes. As a dip for crab, it is best to mix some black vinegar and sesame oil. That's it. Especially good for hairy crab. Crab meat is very delicate. Dipping it in black vinager with sesame oil can let you feel the true taste of the meat.

That sure is beautiful, Tepee! You are an admirable food artist!

No. The links in post #8 are just Toysanese versus non-Toysanese. They are too civilized. Try this one. Go ahead and stir up some heat again! Cantonese food bland

I was really expecting to taste some kind of flavor in the tapioca balls (like fruit flavor, grape, cherry, sweet, something...). Afterall, they went out of their way to make the tapioca balls purple. Why not add in some flavor? But no... it's plainer than eating white rice.

Here is a good one on Peking duck: http://www.theage.com.au/news/Epicure/Rise...2815699633.html Here is a good one on Squab: http://tamtam-hk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/menu/roasthato.htm Aimed to please.

I have heard about them for years. I never really have the desire to try them. Today, I finally wanted to satisfy my curiosity. I ordered one and tried: Boba Milk Tea (iced) From Tapioca Express. I chewed on the 1/4 inch boba (tapioca balls). It is bland, tasteless, and chewy. The taste of milk tea is interesting. And they added some fruit flavor to it (mine was peach but they sell mango, lychee and many other flavors too). That's nice. But tapioca in the tea... I don't get it. How did this fad spread over Taiwan in the last decade (and the rest of Asia and now obviously the USA too). Why chewing on something that doesn't have any taste? (BTW you have to pay extra for these purple-color tapioca balls...) I like small tapioca in red bean dessert soup. But big ones in iced tea is a different story. Have you tried it? Do you like it? Am I just being a generation too old for this?

Hey mudbug: Nay Ho Ma? From one Cantonese to another. Perhaps one Hong Konger to another. You posted something 2 years ago, then disappeared, and now you came back and stirred up a lot of oldie-old threads? What happened to you? Where were you when they were ganging up against Cantonese food? We need more fellow Cantonese like you! Cantonese food bland. Ouch, still hurts! The forum recently was in the summer doldrum. I thought everybody was at the beach, thinking about margaritas or Coronas than thinking about Joong. Your input has certainly brought a lot of energy to the recent discussions. Toysan is big village Southwest of GuangZhou (Canton). Famous due to the early Chinese immigration in the 1800's to the USA. I am surprised that you have not heard of it. Where are you living now? You are not near any China Town? In Europe?

mudbug: would you like to see some more drooling pics like Peking Ducks or squabs?

BINGO! Thanks carswell. ← Hey guys... (and ladies...) Try to edit your reply and not overquote a big long post. It will make it easier for readers. I used to buy this Yang Jiang [it's Mandarin] brand. But I had bad experience with them... the black beans are too dry and too small. I stopped buying this brand long time ago. I usually just pick up what "looks" about right in the grocery market. When you hold up a plastic bag of fermented black beans, the bag should feel heavy (=> beans are moist). Use your fingers to pinch one of the beans inside the bag. It should be squashed easily (soft). If the beans are dry and hard and have wrinkles, choose a different brand.

It begs the question: why do you need to refrigerate black beans? You open up a bag (or a box), just keep the rest in the cupboard. There really is no need to refrigerate them. They are already fermented. The only thing that would bother me is if you don't use them for a long time while keep them in an open bag, they gradually dry up. I resolve that by keeping them in an air-tight jar. They can be kept for over a year without losing the flavor from my experience. The traditional Cantonese way of preparing black beans is to rinse them, drain well, and smash them with some garlic or grated/shredded ginger. You need to break the skin so they will release the flavor when stir-fried. I agree with most of what earlier posters said. I want to point one one thing in particular: use a little bit of fresh chili pepper (e.g. jalapeno, serrano, or Thai chili) when you cook with black beans: either in stir-fried dishes or steamed dishes (e.g. pei gwut - spareribs). The chili peppers really bring out the taste of black beans. I usually add a few dashes of dark soy sauce too when stir-frying - just to enrich the taste.

I just want to get a clarification. Are you talking about the "seeds" from some "seedless" watermelons, like this: http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/i-wat...n-seedless.html (Note the picture of a seedless watermelon in the middle of the page.) Or the seeds from regular watermelons, like this: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extensi...watermelon.html (Note the picture of a regular seeded watermelon in the upper right of the page.) If that is the latter case, you do not notice these seeds?

Indeed, "Siu Yook" is regular roast pork (literal translation). And "Yue Jue" is roast baby-pigs. Their meat is softer, skin much thinner (thus can become very crispy). "Yue Jue" is much more expensive, pound-for-pound, than "Siu Yook". And thus is "banquet worthy". I visited a small Chinese temple in Marysville, California during Chinese New Year once. I have never seen so many suckling pigs in one room - it must have been over a dozen of them. Many worshippers bought their suckling pigs from as far as San Francisco or Oakland and brought them to the temple to present to, hmmm, whom? Quun Yum? Of course after all the ceremonies, the suckling pigs ended up in the worshippers' stomachs. Here is a good pic of a suckling pig to drool over... http://www.webcreationz.co.uk/image-archiv...crispy-duck.htm

I did not know one can eat wolfberries as snacks. I always use them in herbal chicken soup and in some steamed dishes. I think you can eat them straight off the box. If you soak them in water first, they may become quite messy when you snack on them.

Watermelon seeds are small. I agree. Soft? Hmmmm... I don't think I would call that soft. Unless you are referring to the seeds from a "seedless" watermelon. Those "seeds" are ivory-white and small. The real, natural, seeds are hard-shelled in dark-red color. (The Chinese sun-dry watermelon seeds and eat them as snacks - especially popular during Chinese New Year.) I suppose you can swallow the seeds whole if they don't bother you. I feel that the seeds always get in the way when I chew the fruit. Seedless watermelons can be very sweet. I like those that have a small "cavity" in the core, and their texture is a bit powder-like.

Hmmm.... starting tomorrow, only chicken feet and chicken wings.

Do Koreans cook curry at all (like the Japanese do)?

No, it's not the same stuff. This place also sells the smoked tofu you're talking about, and I don't know what is traditionally done with that either. I think you both are talking about some pressed tofu. Dark brown they are. But they are not smoked. The brown color is from the "lo sui" [Cantonese], or the "master sauce" made from soy sauce, five spice and such. Suggestions for what to do with them: you can slice them up and stir-fry them with vegetables. One of my favorites is the Taiwanese style snack which uses pressed tofu and stir-fried with dried anchovies, garlic and pepper. Cut the pressed tofu into thin strips (e.g. 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch). Use one pack of dried enchovies, soak in warm water for >2 hours, drained. 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced. 1/2 to 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced. 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced diagonally. Use a pan/wok, a little bit of cooking oil at high heat. Add garlic, jalapeno pepper, bit of salt, stir for a few seconds. Add enchovies, stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the tofu strips. Drizzle some dark soy sauce in (to taste). Stir-fry between 3 to 5 minutes. Lastly add the green onions and drizzle in some sesame oil. Finished. Serve hot or at room temperature or cold as an appertizer.

For those who are familiar with Vietname food and culture: There has always been this question in my mind: Dave's report included a "Pho 24". I used to live near Little Saigon (Garden Grove) in Orange County, California. I observed that many of their Vietnamese noodle places are named as "Pho" followed by a number. Such as "Pho 99", "Pho 88", "Pho 89" and so on. It is really intriguing for someone like me who is not familiar with the Vietnamese culture. Is there any significance to the number after "Pho"? Is this some kind of ranking (if so, everybody would like to be Pho 99). Or just totally random?