annachan

That's the exact same crab dish that we had at Joel Robuchon in Vegas! No frothy soup though. BTW, that apple dessert looks amazing!

That salmon is just ridiculous! So beautiful and I bet it tastes incredible. Smoked pineapple vinegar? Now that I like to try. I need to find and try that brand of crab paste above. I got one (Thai, I think) that was just really garlicky, without much crab taste. I only know to use it to make bun rieu. I may have to try it on noodles next time. So jealous of that Asian store. Even though we now have a Chinese store, a Korean store, 2 Indian store and one more Asian store coming soon, all 5 minutes away, I just don't think they can beat the selection in that one store. BTW, know of a good website to order Japanese stuff from? Having a really hard time finding bonito flakes over here.

I'm so jealous of the bugs! Only seen them once at the farmers market by us several months ago and none since! Bugs are kind of like mini lobsters. Maybe a cross between lobster and shrimp? Very sweet tasting.

Guy Savoy - even better than French Laundry and Joel Robuchon for me....

Loving all the pics, especially the pantry. Looking forward to the rest of the blog!

Again, returning something that bulky isn't ideal. I much prefer to find out more about it before making the purchase and lugging it home (and returning it) in my little car....

I don't think I would have much concern if Costco is selling the BGE, as I've read so much good things about it. Apparently, the Vision Kamado is a little different, such as not having a separate fire ring (Not really quite sure what that means....). On some forums, folks have some warranty concerns as the metal parts is warrant for 90 days and the ceramic only for 1 year. I guess I need advice more on if this particular brand of kamado (Vision) is good or should I be looking at other brands. I know I can always return it if I'm not happy with it, but that thing is heavy and returning it would be a hassle.

It's never too hot to eat....well, if it does, then I must be in hell....

So, Costco finally opened today and we went by to do some shopping. We came across the Vision Kamado Grill (http://www.canberrafoodies.com/2011/07/21/costco-canberra-opening-day/img_1163/) for $594 (AUS $). We've been looking for a BBQ for our yard and we're intrigued. I looked up the website and it's not really helpful. Just wondering if anyone have experience with this brand of Kamado grill. Good? Bad? I'm quite new at bbq so would this be too difficult as a first grill for me?

Simple lunch in Napa - just go pick up a few things at the Bouchon Bakery.

LOVE Cotogna as well. Don't know about now, but the first few months it opened, reservations were hard to get, even for lunch. However, there are some seats by the counter that are reserved for walk ins. They did fill up quickly when we did that so it's best to get there right when it opens for lunch.

Went to the Canberra opening this morning and I'm quite happy with it. There are many tempting items like wagyu beef (really nice marbling on some of them), Jamon Serrano, whole leg of San Daniele prosciutto, etc. I promptly picked up a Kitchen Aid food processor right by the front entrance! You can check out some pics on my blog: http://www.canberrafoodies.com/2011/07/21/costco-canberra-opening-day/

If you want great pizzas, Tony's Pizza Napoletana in SF is my pick. Not open on Mon and Tue though. If you want to just grab a slice an go, you can do so next door at Tony's Coal-fired Pizza and Slice House.

I have moved away from the standard buffets in Vegas. Frankly, none of them are really good. Even one of the most expensive, Sterling Brunch, was a disappointment. Those skimpy overcooked lobsters just don't do it for me. The lobster bisque was the only thing that stood out as being good. The only buffet that made me happy was the dim sum buffet over at Wing Lei. It was a special one year during X'mas/New Year time. Dim sum were brought out to you when you ordered them, each table received a seafood tower, lots of well made cooked food (still remember the wonderful red and green carrot soup, chicken porridge, marinated pig ear and braised pork belly), and a lot of fancy desserts. I also stuffed myself with fresh longans and rambutans. It was so worth $60.

For steakhouse, I like CUT. As for Guy Savoy, we were actually surprised that the bill was less than what we thought it would be, it was about half of what we spent at Robuchon. The good thing about Guy Savoy is that you can get half order on lots of the menu items. We split the soup and even at half portions, they were really generous servings. Also, you won't have to pay for dessert as you get to feast on the dessert cart as part of your meal, for no extra cost. And that dessert cart has just about everything you want (you are free to have one of everything), from cakes to ice cream to marshmallow.

Which farmers market is this? The Stonestown one - on Sundays. You can also get great Belgium waffles, New Zealand pies, pretzel croissants and cupcakes (Teeny Cake) there. I so miss that market....and Alemany as well.

Those are yummy! When we're in San Francisco, we're lucky enough to have one of those stands (along with handmade dumplings and scallion cakes) at the farmer's market. There was always a line.

I do love cold dishes, like thin sliced pork with garlic sauce. Do keep in mind that we're in the middle of winter here, so hot food is preferred. Come to think of it, even though we're not doing hot pot, it doesn't mean I can't bust out the portable stove. What claypot dishes are good to make ahead and can sustain being on tabletop stove to keep warm? I guess I need something relatively saucey so it won't dry out and burn while being kept hot. About 3 cup chicken: does it have a strong ginger taste? My husband does not like ginger....

Seafood - the family moved to Australia recently from England....so....yeah.... I was going to do hot pot originally, but decided against it as one adult in the party has recently started the Dukan diet (kind of like Atkin). He'll bring his own food. I just thought it would be too painful for him to watch us enjoy hot pot all night! I'm thinking ribs as well. Some sort of sweet, sticky ribs. Maybe something that can be done in the slow cooker or cooked in advance then heat up in a sauce. Any idea/recipe? I'm also thinking a salt and pepper dish, but haven't figured out how I can prepare the protein ahead (morning of) and have it taste fresh. I love and do make Vietnamese caramel braised pork belly. What other protein would work well being reheated?

Having some friends come around for dinner on Sunday and I somehow agreed to make Chinese dishes. Before dinner, we'll be spending time out of the house. I want to have some dishes ready to heat up and keep the cooking to minimal while friends are over. I'm thinking 3 dishes: 2 meat and a veg. She'll be bringing a chicken dish over. What are some dishes that are good to make ahead? One dish I can think of is lion's head meatballs. Anything else? There will be teenagers who aren't adventurous eaters. So, nothing on the bone, nothing to fatty (pork belly, etc.), no seafood, no offal. They also don't care for veg so I'm making a separate veg dish for the adults. Another thing is, I want to stay away from stir-fry dishes (other than the veg dish). My wok isn't quite seasoned yet and everything tends to stick, no matter how much oil or how hot I heat the oil up. Don't quite want to have food stuck to my wok in front of guests. Help?

I miss the street food in Hong Kong. From egg puffs to peanut butter waffles to fish balls to stinky tofu to chestnuts, I love them all! How I would love to go on a street food trip around Asia.

What's the name of the restaurant?

I just roast them plain, sparkle on sea salt when done. Like it with a parsley salad as well. Morimoto season the bone marrow with 5 spice, I believe. Haven't tried it as I'm not a fan of 5 spice....

BOKA (at the Hotel 1000) has really great Happy Hour items for really great prices. The truffle fries are such a deal.

We went to Rakuen (Causeway Bay) for Japanese when we're there last year. We went with friends who are vegetarian so we had mostly vegetarian dishes, though highlight was the fish roe stuffed chicken wing. It was a nice meal and we would not mind going there for a meal again. A friend took us to American Restaurant (serves Beijing food) in Wan Chai. He knew the staff and what to order so we had a really good meal there. Peking duck was good. I also love the pastry pockets (sesame on top) that came with minced meat for stuffing. The caramel glazed fried apple (or banana if you prefer) is great. Hong Kong Old Restaurant (Shanghai food) in Tsim Sha Tsui was really good. Again, we went with my aunt, who's a regular and knows the staff well. If you want to be daring, you can try stinky tofu. Both the fried and steamed version are offered. I say stick with the fried. The smoked eggs are beautiful. There are also these ham sandwiches type thing that was delicious. The ham was sweet and the bread is like very thin steamed bun.