Kent Wang

When lobster was cheap.

This article from the French Culinary Institute goes into detail about the rotary evaporator that they have. Highlights: An initial question I have is that for doing something fairly simple like reducing pomegranate juice to make grenadine, could I just put the juice in a pan and put it in a food dehydrator, which is much cheaper? How about stock? Sure, you would lose some of the aromatics, while the rotary evaporator, based on my cursory understanding, would capture all of it. But that's a compromise I'm willing to make. I could see something like making brandy and syrup from wine (as detailed towards of the bottom of the above article) to absolutely require a rotovap.

Do you think chefs burn their tongue often, having to taste hot stuff all the time? But then that would impair their ability to taste. One strategy I've learned when cooking is when tasting hot stuff to put into a bowl first (I use a Chinese rice bowl). The bowl will cool it down rapidly. Now I almost never burn my tongue when cooking, though I still do it when eating.

Does terroir really matter for any of the grains? Could you just import the limestone water, or make it yourself by adding calcium and other stuff to distilled water?

I just got a tree. How about using the leaves? You could gently muddle them like with mint.

There's a great, older thread about: Everyday Cognac, Armagnac, Brandy, etc. For mixing and sipping

"But it also includes a road-side al fresco shack with communal tables that just so happens to serve the best ribs and martinis in Bali, if not the country." Which one is that? They neglected to mention. Is that the only hole-in-the-wall place on the list? I rather like Michelin New York but it definitely does not have anything as hole-in-the-wall as an "al fresco shack".

It gets even more expensive, like the Hardy Perfection that's 150 years old and goes for $3000 a bottle. They have it on the menu at CityZen in DC for $450 a pour (a shot, maybe more?). I saw a guy order three of them. I think most of the major houses have bottles in this price range. Anyway, that aside, have you tried armagnac and non-cognac brandy like Spanish brandy?

It's a good point. When I start my Shanghai restaurant blog I'm going to include the tones. But it is almost universal to leave out the tones. Even the street signs in China and Google Maps do not have them. That's pretty annoying for trying to tell a taxi driver where you want to go. The only English publication I've seen that has them is the Lonely Planet guide for Shanghai (presumably the Beijing guide would have them too). They have tones for everything including "Shanghai" itself -- which seems a bit overdoing it.

I've been here almost two weeks and will be leaving in just two days. Just a few quick recommendations, I'll post more details and photos later: Jiajia Tang Bao - Best xiaolongbao. Lunch wait is around 30 minutes, try to go early, even for breakfast. Conveniently located near People's Square. Many kinds of xiaolongbao, I got the standard one (7.50 RMB for a dozen) and the crab meat with tomalley (yellow crab "mustard") (81 RMB, expensive [by Chinese standards] but well worth it). Menu is Chinese only; just remember the prices and point and you'll be ok. Shanghai Moon - I went with a Chinese friend and an American. Waiter recommended all terrible American dishes. Not sure if the menu really has anything else great. Nice surroundings, 1930s-style decor. The rest of the restaurants I went to were at the invitation of family and friends. I find it very hard to evaluate these giant Chinese restaurants with over 500 items on the menu. It seems a big part is knowing what to order. These are the ones that I liked: Xiao Ge Lou - Intersection of Wanping South Rd & Zhongshan South Rd. Menu is all Chinese, though there are pictures of everything. Waipo Renjia (外婆人家) - 971 Dingxi Rd. Pretty good. Has English and pictures of all dishes. The roasted turtles is very good.

How are you defatting? If you just chill and remove the solidified fat layer on top, that might not get out all of it as the fat can become dissolved (emulsified?) into the body of the stock so that it won't separate. You have to skim off the top with a spoon as it's cooking. I don't bother with that though. Chilling and separating is just so much easier.

Every city needs a kimchi taco truck that announces its location exclusively via Twitter.

How about garlic powder?

It was fantastic, everything that the Fearless Critic review said it was. You can see more photos and some commentary in my Flickr set.

Is all capsaicin heat the same? Fooey's description indicates otherwise. I believe habanero, jalapeno, serrano, etc. are all capsicums. Does the body just process different amounts of capsaicin differently? Let's not forget about the Sichuan pepper (aka prickly ash) used widely in Sichuan cuisine (of course), that have a numbing effect.

I liked Eamonn's while I was there. Other options did not look so great.

Kids should learn how to pick out their own bones. That's how I (and every kid in China) grew up. It's a valuable skill to learn; I can eat a bony chicken or fish much faster than Americans raised on fillets.

Are you sure there's a City Super in Shanghai? There website says only HK and Taiwan, and there's nothing on Google about a Shanghai store. I'm in Shanghai now and scoping things out. There's a thread on Shanghai in the Beer Advocate forums which lead me to Kaiba. Their website has a bottle of Rochefort 10 on it, so that's good enough for me. Now my number one priority is finding a good liquor store. I went to a supermarket (Century Mart or something) and while they only had big names like Cointreau, at least everything seemed to be about 20% cheaper than the US.

Wow, that sounds cool. But juicing pomegranate and only getting 2 oz yield per fruit is pretty low, and uneconomical. I use 3/4 oz of grenadine in a single Scofflaw so I plow through it pretty quickly. You could still do the ice wine technique with store-bought pomegranate juice. I'll try that.

Do you think the fat tastes astringent?

Or just a dehydrator?

Gautam always has the lengthy, informative post that comes when you least expect it.

My girlfriend Larisa and I are planning on moving to Shanghai in the summer of 2010. I will be visiting for two weeks 20 September - 3 October (just a few days away!) to get a feel for the city and get a start on deciding where to live. Larisa will be teaching English. The program she's going to apply for doesn't start accepting applications until February but we think it's likely that she'll be assigned to Shanghai High School which is in Xuhui (Google Map). I work from home so I don't commute anywhere. Having been working from home for the last five years in Austin I find that the various shops and markets I go to are my "commute". For example, I go grocery shopping about three times a week. So I would like to find a place that's near Xuhui and near good shops. I was born in Shanghai and moved to America when I was six but have been back twice, once in 2002 and again in 2006, each time for about a month, so I have a bit of a feel for the city already. My impression is that there are neighborhood markets in just about every neighborhood, so I'll be able to get a lot of my groceries this way. The places I want to seek out are specialty Western shops. I've been to Carrefour in 2006 and thought their selection good but not as expansive as I'm used to. Which shops do you recommend for: Liquor - Not just the big names like Hennessy and Bacardi but smaller producers like Flor de Cana rum, Rittenhouse rye, St. Germain liqueur. Beer - Belgian ales. If I can get Carolus I'll be happy. If not, at least Maredsous. Wine - I'm not as passionate about wine as I am about liquor and beer but would like a good selection of old world wines. Charcuterie - Especially imported Italian and Spanish cured meats. House-made charcuterie would be great too. Cheese - Imported European cheeses. Is fresh milk cheese legal here, unlike the US? To a lesser extent, living close to good bars and restaurants would be nice, too, but I don't think I'll be going to those as often as I would shops, as I prefer to cook at home. We can keep the restaurant recommendations in their own thread.

Ground chicken is very rare in Chinese dim sum. It's almost always pork. Is that popular in India, or just your personal preference?

I wasn't aware of this. You're saying that (some, most?) American pizzerias cook a sauce first in a pot, then spread it on the pizza, and bake it (cooking the sauce a second time)?