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annachan

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Posts posted by annachan

  1. For everyday cooking, I'm not a planner. I go to the farmers market on Saturday and pick up what looks good for the week. I have an idea of what I want to get, but don't stress if what I want is not available.

    When I have people over though, I go into crazy planning mode. I usually spend a few evenings browsing recipes and planning the menu. I will go to multiple stores to track down ingredients.

  2. We're going to a friend's for dinner tonight. I said I'll make lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly). It'll be my first attempt so wish me luck!

    Anyway, I'm making it this afternoon. I don't want to make a mess in other people's kitchen so I'll be frying at home before bringing it over. Question is, will I have to heat it up before serving once I get to my friend's house (probably 20 minutes away). If I do, how?

  3. At a minimum the pro is (supposed to) have a baseline of experience in dining out. Maybe do some fact-checking.

    For individual Yelp reviews, I wish you could flag them as:

    - reviewer has no familiarity with this cuisine/food

    - reviewer has totally unrealistic expectations

    - reviewer went on opening night and complained that things weren't perfect

    - reviewer is a vegetarian/vegan reviewing a steakhouse/meat-centric restaurant

    - reviewer is posting a retaliatory negative review because wasn't comped when asked

    - reviewer is superficial positive review based only upon attractiveness of wait staff/bartenders

    - reviewer is reviewing the wrong restaurant

    - reviewer is giving a poor review because they preferred the establishment that used to be in the same space, but closed

    - etc.

    That would be great!

    You can actually flag a review if a reviewer did review the wrong restaurant.

    As for the others, if you know that a reviewer may be doing any of those things, I would simply discount the review. I may not be able to change other people's actions, but I can decide for myself if a review has any merit.

  4. I used to be on Yelp, a LOT! And I've gotten to know some yelpers (some in person) over the years. There are actually some trustworthy people on there, you just need to know who they are.

    However, Yelp (the company), like many other websites, are out to make money. Apparently some yelpers as well. And there are bloggers out there who do the same thing. They demand free meals from restaurants and threaten to write unfavorable reviews when that doesn't happen.

    When money isn't a factor, personal taste comes into play. Even with people I trust, we don't always like the same restaurants.

    Instead of believing that one website/blog/reviewer is good or bad, I take all of them with a gain of salt.

  5. This morning a DRTV-Email showed up in my Inbox with this. :blink:

    Eggies

    I'm beginning to wonder about the seeming fascination and plethora of gadgets that attempt to deal with the "problem" of hard-boiled eggs.

    Obviously someone thinks there is money in it! :hmmm:

    I've been looking into getting some egg coddlers later. Wonder how these compares....

  6. It didn't feel lie chili spicy. When I was chewing it, I felt a burning sensation at the back of my mouth and throat. I imagine it's like drinking concentrated ginger juice.

    The bunches of flowering garlic chives was very neat and there weren't any other vegetation mixed in, as far as could be seen by naked eyes. I thoroughly washed them before use.

    It's quite a mystery as I've never encounter this before and I've been eating them since I was a kid!

  7. I have been picking up flowering garlic chives at the local market the pass few weeks. The first bunch was great! They were nice and sweet. So I picked up more the next week and those were great. The following week, I picked up two bunches. The first bunch was great, like the previous. I cooked the second bunch a few days later and they were so spicy that I threw most of them away. I love spicy food but these were literally burning my throat. It was like acid!

    The bunches all looked the same and they were all stored the same, for about the same number of days. I do like them a lot, when not crazy spicy. However, I've not been buying them because I just can't tell which are sweet and which are not. Are there ways to tell when you're buying them? Also, any idea of why my last bunch of chives were so spicy?

  8. bwv554 - as a Chinese who was born in Hong Kong, moved to the US at 11, and after 25 years, moved to Australia, I can't say I agree with you. Yes, I know some Chinese people who feels that their culture is superior (and people from many cultures also feel that way about their own cultures). I, for one, don't. And I know other Chinese people who feel the same way.

    Not interested in learning about other cultures? Again, maybe the Chinese people I know are just...not typical. I love learning about food from different cultures. I love both ravioli and pot sticker and don't feel that one is better than another. And I love cheese fondue just as much as I love Chinese hotpot, though I do crave them at different times.

    Oh, the Asian Tiger mom thing. Seriously, I've worked in schools for many years (as a teacher, a youth worker and a counselor) and frankly, for every one Asian "tiger" mom I encountered, there are a handful of Asian non-tiger moms.

    Anyway, back to the OP's question. I think the restaurant owner said what he said because he wants people to think what he does is difficult, and that people should appreciate his style of cooking. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to this. It's really about that person's feeling or perception.

  9. Ok, I'm sure I saw a Dragon Beard Candy stand from your photos of the Aroma Festival. Did you check it out? Was it handmade there? Any good??

    I am so missing Mexican food! I need to look into getting those chilis and spices so I can make them at home....

    BTW, we happened to spot a Korean grocer over in Civic today. The sign said it carries Japanese grocery as well. I actually found bonito flake! And kombu! I have ramen on my mind....

  10. Do you get your sourdough from Sonoma Baking Company? There is a local cafe that carries their bread here and we get a loaf every week.

    I miss padron peppers! Haven't seen them around here....Having total veggie envy as picking was skim at the farmers market this morning. Not sure why but several veggie vendors weren't there.

    LOVE that butcher shop. I would be quite poor if I live by there....

  11. Another one of us!! Awesome. Question for you and Dejah though: using sliced meat or ground meat, how did your mother and grandma respectively cook the meat? Pre cook it in a pan and then load onto the oatmeal, or cook in the oatmeal itself from the heat of the water?

    I believe my grandma cooked the oatmeal first, and then add the meat. Since the oatmeal holds the heat so well, it cooks the meat quickly, keeping the meat tender. If flavor is more important, then the meat goes into the water the same time as the oatmeal.

    Oh, when I don't have meat ready, I have just added a spoonful of bovril to the oatmeal and it's not a bad substitution.

  12. I love savoury oatmeal as well! That used to be the only way I would eat my oatmeal. My grandma used to make it with sliced or ground beef that she marinated in a combination of soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch and oil. With a little soy sauce, it was great for cold mornings. It's still comfort food for me.

    I eat sweet oatmeal now. One time at work, I decided to pour coffee instead of water into some instant oatmeal. It actually goes quite well with the maple flavor oatmeal....

  13. With the veg, I like to roast them and toss them with couscous.

    Roasted veg ratatouille, provided it isn't too saucy, the leftover would make a great hand pie filling. I usually have frozen puff pastry on hand so leftover often becomes pie. If you have some chicken meat left over, I would even add some of that to the filling.

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