insomniac

I just googled feijoa and apparently their smell is the same as that of methyl benzoate, which is used as a solvent and an insecticide (but to attract, not repel) so I guess my uninitiated Aussie nose is smelling in the right direction

well, I definitely preferred it on the rocks but that's how I like to drink any vodka (perhaps my Russian grandparents' genetic bequest to me )

my daughter just bought a can of chicken feet, said they were fine....think I'll stick with the fresh ps. I can't eat balut since the time a feather got stuck in my teeth...yech...

Helen, I just brought back a couple of bottles plus one of the manuka honey flavour for my husb. (a Kiwi)....he adores feijoas. As for me, altho I enjoy eating the little guys I find the vodka quite detergenty, but definitely feijoa detergent if that makes sense , i.e not for the uninitiated, but I bet you'd like it..... they certainly use real fruit to get the flavour, rather than chemicals.

really?? I am trying to imagine it and I think it must be an interesting addition...we are discussing this at home and will try it as soon as we can get the raw ingredient

Peter, the kamcha ttang looked so delicious I immediately scoured the internet for a recipe....alas, none, could you point me to a source?? ...actually the method/ingredients would do ....hmmm isn't that a recipe ps. my husb. is enjoying your Korea, he pointed out that there weren't many comments, despite the large readership and mused that it probably was because most lurkers were thinking to themselves, 'I could NEVER eat that' (esp the liver and guts ) pps. Do you think not speaking Korean would be a handicap on a trip like yours? It is dawning on us that our Korean visits were woefully inadequate (except, typically, for the alcohol bits)

along with Prasantrin's recommendations, my favourites are kilauwin (sp?), especially the one made from pig intestines blanched and chopped, room temperature with a lemony dressing and finely chopped onions: pinakbet, a vegetable dish with pumpkin, bitter melon and pork bits and sinagang, which is a rich stock, normally with pork or chicken, morning glory leaves, snake beans,small taro and radish, finished with tamarind. you'll love it Ce'nedra

that soup looks stunning, had to laugh at the teeth, looks like a dental plate.....I thought fish teeth were pointy....hope it didn't die of old age hehe...was it taken from a tank or freshly caught?

why waste four syllables when one will do? Drinks...isn't that neater? Actually I think it is an English/American language difference...if I hear someone talk about beverages I want to giggle.....poshifying a normal word.....

I vac packed some camembert and froze it and altho the taste seemed ok the texture was a bit weird

I find the use of the word 'beverages' (rather than 'drinks') irritating in the extreme but I do think it's a cultural difference my ears aren't used to....just annoys me

excellent report rob...that's what I love about egullet, someone will always go the extra mile in the name of culinary research, thanks... ps. I use goose eggs every now and then either scrambled or boiled or in fried rice, but the season is over now, ended around August. Just have to be a tad careful as the little (actually not so little) guys are cholesterol laden....never tried them in baking, .....perhaps because I seldom bake

Montreal, would live there in a flash.....spent happy times there some summers ago while kids in an 'ecocamp' nr Mt Tremblant to improve their French (and give us child-free time ) ps. remember husb. getting very irritated with me as I kept trying to hail police cars instead of taxis look forward to yr services as a guide Gabriel (and yr cooking of course pps. have you heard of the baseloup??? prob. wrong spelling edited to add, I love the Fuschia Dunlop books, use both frequently

ha Doddie I made sinigang beef last night, pretty well the same recipe but I had some beef bones sitting there looking at me, just the weather for it......... ps. love that pork fat

I know exactly where your first photo was taken Jennifer....made me want to dive right thru the frame like Alice in the Looking Glass and grab a bite to eat, buy some ingredients I can't find here, then jump back out ha...or maybe I'd stay loved your report, lucky you ps. Luk Yu is aggravating

.....at the risk of repeating myself, (hmmm, never stopped me before ) gung chaer nam pla is my absolute favourite....well, in the top ten anyway,.......... where I come from (in Thailand that is) the dish is called gung ten, or dancing prawns, for obvious reasons,..... it's got to be one of the hottest of Thai dishes...........and I did drop my pestle,*sob*, but it was so big that even tho I only have 2/3 left it still works like a charm thanks Peter, superlative ......

This is an interesting subset of the topic as it represents trying interpretations of one's own food culture in other countries. I have to admit though, that aspiring to any degree of cultural literacy regarding McDonald's has never been important to me. ← except that recently my friends in China (both local and foreign) have been more reticent about eating local,i.e. polluted water = suspect seafood, pesticides, food sanitation, duff food products,... and at least MacDs imports its food....so you takes your chances latest scandal, don't drink the free tea, it's mainly leaves swept from the floor and I don't doubt it as daughter was at a 'secret factory' last month where people were employed to piece together shredded documents found in rubbish, so if they can be bothered to do that.... caveat emptor ps. my kids, born and raised in HK, feel Chinese sorry, edited for spelling

How long ago was it? My mother talks for going to the German Club for German food, and eating Hungarian food in Bangkok--this was in the late '60s. Not important, really, but I'm just wondering... ← it was in a very rural seaside village, and yes, there was a cafe nr the beach run by an German expat and his Thai family, but the ingredients were locally sourced, eg buffalo meat, but not complaining, just NO CHEESE.....seems to me the Germans 'discovered' Thailand long before anyone else. actually the resto was an experience as the marriage was stormy to say the least and on one memorable occasion there was a violent disturbance followed by Gert emerging from the 'kitchen' with noodles all over him, saying 'ze spaghetti is off' hahahaha, well the kids enjoyed it,...they also enjoyed the wife's 2 brothers arriving on motorscooters shorrtly after carrying cleavers...ah, memories.....

even tho there are lots of chinese ingredients the presence of the Nishiki rice (expensive) and bonito flakes don't scream China to me, and there's a toaster for the bagels, hmmmm, actually no idea (the kitchen looks Asian to me, all ours had white walls) ...just noticed the sichuan peppercorns,the plot gets thicker

when the children were small we spent several months of the year in Thailand and as there were no alternative cuisines at that time (yes, it was ages ago) I would get back to HK longing for nothing but baguette and cheese, so, yes, it is nice to intersperse cuisines unless the trip is very short. Ha Tracy you said which triggered the very unhappy recent memory of trying to remove said fish smell from my son's car, as his chef at the time (from Iceland, and BTW now opened in London at Texture, to instant 2 star standard and rave reviews, give it a go)had hidden some under the flooring for a joke...thanks Aggie, there goes the resale value

My local Xinjiang food area is packed every night. The locals queue up for 羊肉串, 牛肉孜然夹馍, 羊肉泡馍. ← hey liuzhou mutton kebab I could sort of read but...., the beef unwearied effort however clamps steamed bread, the mutton soaks steamed bread??? actually a lot of my southern chinese friends can't stand the smell of lamb cooking, but if I can get them to eat it they love it

no, Peter,if you were in Wales the grope would have been followed by a smack in the mouth from the B/F and then projectile vomiting on your shoes by the groper.........ducks and runs (I love Wales but am happy that Fiji just beat them in the rugby )

Bruce, the fresh green peppercorns taste hot like black peppercorns but, funnily enough, greener and sort of pop in your mouth releasing the heat in a clean burst, without the crunchy dry flavour of the balck ones; comparing fresh with pickled, the same difference as fresh vs green chilis....hope that makes sense

I totally agree v. gautam.....I have to, I'm an Aussie who lived in Fiji for nearly 5 years ps. love your Bengali saying but I will hide it from the kids.... just for the time being..... ...........basically, I'm just jealous of the boundless energy of youth

just curious, Peter, .....does kiiniao mean sticky um, 'poo'? I haven't heard that one....the expression I'm extrapolating from is farang kiinok, (bird poo)the thought lurking behind some Thai smiles describing unattractive western tourists. ps. the kids and I are great fans of Hayao Miyazaki, beats the Wiggles every time pps. no green papayas within 150 miles of us I'll send you quinces if............