Paul B

For great, and different types of jerky, you have to go to the Abderdeen Centre in Richmond. On the first floor, in the corner behind the fresh produce stand, is a place that only sells different types of jerky: pork, salmon, beef, sweet, spicy, etc. When I'm there I always buy a pound of the sweet pork jerky. They will vacuum seal it for you but it never lasts in my house. Sorry I don't know the exact name of the stand but it's the only dedicated jerky store in the Centre. Go today.

The paella pan is sitting on top of a dedicated three-ring propane burner that has its own legs. It's a great invention. The first time we made used the pan we built a temporary stand out of cinder blocks and used charcoal. We almost set the yard on fire. The next year we got the burner (from paellapan.com) and it has made all the difference. If you look closely at our t-shirts you can see a picture of the burner when it is lit. It became the symbol of the paella code this year.

Pictures from this year's paella party. The theme this year was The Paella Code. Guests were randomly paired up and given a set of questions about paella. The winner received two small paella pans.

You need a biiiig stock pot with nice high sides.

The big lobsters are back: at Osaka Supermarket, Yoahan Centre, No. 3 Rd., they had some monsters for $8.99 a lb. Thinking of buying two tomorrow to feed four.

I ended up on Saturday morning at T&T. Their mussels were from the east coast. Bought a couple of pounds but they were disappointing: at least half of them turned out to be duds. Ah well.

I'll throw in a quick word for our local monger: The Village Fish Store in West Van on Marine near 15th. A bit cheaper than the shops on Granville Island; they make good crab cakes and they get in some interesting fish. Best of all, I've gone in there looking for bones and heads to make stock and on two occasions they gave me a bag of cuttings for free.

This weekend, baring rain, I hold my annual paella party. A paella is not a paella without mussels and, if possible, clams. I usually buy the shellfish at the downtown T&T on the morning of the party, but I'm a bit worried: there's a red tide warning in effect. Would T&T's mussels be safe? If not, where could I get them? Many thanks in advance for advice.

Many thanks for the advice. I guess I can chop the bunny myself. Hope the kids don't get too upset...

Thanks for the info. For the non-pan (paan?) person, pan is a combination of savoury and sweet items wrapped in a leaf (usually, I think, a lime leaf). You chew the whole thing and extract the juices then spit it out. Traditionally it contains betel nut, but that is a controlled substance in Canada. The ones I bought had some chewing tobacco in them. Anyway, I will go back and ask for them to be a bit less sweet. Thanks for the advice.

At my house we never called it chirashi sushi; we called it sushi bowl. I lived in Japan years ago and know how to make proper sushi rolls, but sometimes when we want a quick meal we'll just toss the rice with sushi vinegar, let it cool, place it in bowls, and put whatever seafood we can find on top along with some nori (cut up) and pickled ginger. Not fancy, but the kids love it.

It's almost time for our annual paella party so I was looking over this forum for ideas and I noticed that no one has offered a recipe. Here is the master recipe that Ian and I put beside us when we're cooking paella for 40 people. I'll post pictures of this year's party later in July. . . Paella master recipe Pre-make Soffrito: tomatoes, garlic, onions, reduced to a paste. Before starting the paella, add 11 cups of Arborio rice to the Soffrito, heat and stir. Heat olive in paella pan. 1. Brown chicken (40 thighs with bone, marinated in paprika for 12 hours) in olive oil 2. Add pork (4 boneless loin, cubed ) 3. Add sausage (3 lbs. pre-boiled, cut up) 4. Add squid (4 lbs) 5. Add shrimp, lobster, 6 chopped peppers, 2 lbs asparagus green beans 6. Add mussels (40), clams (40) 7. Add 4 cups stock, 1 cup brandy 8. Add 11 cups soffrito-prepared rice 9. Add scallops, 4 cups frozen peas 10. Add stock as necessary (lots) 11. Cover with newspaper and allow to steam until done 12. Sprinkle with fresh lemon

Last week I was at Main and 49th, right in the heart of Little India. While my wife was having her eyebrows threaded I walked into Panwalla, a small store on Main just north of 49th. I'd never had pan before but I had read about it for years. The guy behind the counter whipped up two pans for $2.50. I brought them home and tried them: jammed the large stuffed-leaf into the side of my mouth and chewed away. Wild. A real blizzard of flavours but, in the end, a bit too sweet for me. Does anyone know another place that makes them and, perhaps, has more than one kind available?

It's almost time for my annual paella party and, looking over some classic recipes, I've discovered that rabbit is often a part of paella made in Spain. When I lived in Toronto I used to buy rabbit at the farmer's market at St. Lawrence market, but I don't think I've ever seen it in Vancouver. Of course, I haven't been looking... Anyone know where I can get nicely butchered rabbit in Vancouver? Thanks.

Whole Foods has take-out mac and cheese that my gourmand 13-year old swears by.

Wow, that looks pretty authentic. I remember living in Tokyo in 1986 and having those wiener buns a couple of times a week to satisfy hotdog cravings. . .

I reviewed Bistro 1734 (uh, I hope I got the number right) in a separate thread. I recommend it -- we've had two very good meals there. If you want Japanese, Zen (which is right beside La Regelade) does good high end sushi, etc, and has a nice tasting menu of sakes. If you want casual, try the Red Lion in Dundarave. Upscale pub food with good daily specials. Thai Pud Pong on Marine near 15th is small but has very good Thai food. My wife recently had a Thai massage and the masseuse said that it was the only restaurant that Thai people actually go to in Vancouver. There's supposed to be a new Indian place in North Van that is very good: Mumbai? Something like that. It was reviewed recently in the Georgia Strait. I hope to get over there soon. If you want Persian, my Persian friends tell me the Pink Elephant on 3rd near Lonsdale is the most authentic. And finally, La Zuppa, which is on Lonsdale near 16th, does tapas. It's not fancy, but on certain nights they have great live flamenco dancing and it's a lot of fun.

I live some five minutes from the Salmon House but never go there. And I certainly don't bring out-of-towners (I take them to Le Regalade). Why? Because the last time I was there the food only so-so for the price and the service was slow. The view is stupendous, but frankly I don't like to be distracted by views when I'm eating.

Rubina is closing? Drat. I used to live in East Van and would make a montly pilgrimmage to Rubina. The staff were so knowledgeable every trip was an education. Someone mentioned Palki in North Van. Yes, it's pretty good. The best Indian take out I've had comes from Mother India, also in North Van though I believe they have another outlet in Burnaby on Hastings.

Many thanks. Good advice and I do belive Mahet is the one that I was told about. There should probably be an entire thread about Indian cuisine in Surrey -- perhaps this is it...

There are, of course, a great number of Indian places on Scott Road in Surrey, but I'm looking for one that was recommended by a friend. It's on Scott Road above a bank. It's a more upscale place. That's all I know about it. Does it ring any bells? I'd like to take my mother-in-law there for mother's day. Thanks.

The other possibility is an "all you can eat" joint. My son, who is 17 and a competitive rower, can eat his own body weight at a sitting. When he and his friends come off the water they want to eat major portions. They go to an "all you can eat" sushi place on Robson a couple of blocks from Denman and do some serious damage by the sounds of it. Maybe someone knows the place.

Update from my last message. L'ami has opened in West Van (Park Royal south). I was in there a couple of days ago. They don't have as much stock as the original store (yet) but there were some very nice cheeses and I was able to buy epoisse by the slice instead of the whole cheese. Had a nice chat with the woman behind the counter. I don't know if they have plans to install the coolers that they have in the original store so they can stock more specialty items, but I hope so. Anyway, hope they make a go of it.

Bistro 1734 in West Van followed by a walk along the seawall, then drinks at Saltaire.

Good advice all. Went back to Whole Foods yesterday for another chicken. They had some on special (something like $3.99 a lb.). I got a five pounder for $20. It was, I have to say, one of the best chickens I've had in a long time. May go back and buy several to store.