CFT

http://dailyfacepalm.com/2009/06/03/pizza-hut-will-not-survive-in-china/ Wow. We used to make a bit of a mound when we went to the salad bar, rather than a "one layer" affair that Pizza Hut would like us to make, but these Chinese efforts are truly stupendous. Not sure that I would want so much pineapple and peach in my salad.

Talking about lunch at American schools ... anyone watch Jamie Oliver's "American Food Revolution"? I'd take a packed lunch any day!http://www.jamieoliver.com/news/jamie-s-american-food-revolution

If it is a metal trim then it cannot go in the microwave. You can do an exeperiment: just pop in the microwave for a few seconds and see if the trim starts sparking.

Change over to a diesel powered motor vehicle and make home-made bio-diesel from the used cooking oil.

Or you could go with Fuji's p&s compacts - it seems to be a design feature that they operate in lower lighting conditions than their rivals.

Nice write up David and good pictures too. re: pork crackling - this sounds very much like a component of a Chinese dish: pork crackling with mooli/daikon radish (usually includes fishballs). The pig skin is deep fried to get the "aerated" texture, then when you simmer it with the other ingredients in the broth/sauce it goes soft but is a great carrier of the sauce.

Just a P&S compact? I guess it really is all about the light in photography. They look like professionally staged and lit shots.

Lovely photos Prawncrackers!

Agree with Blether, roe is found between the legs of prawn/shrimp. I'd say the "red stuff" is tomalley rather than brains. The prawn/shrimp is a pretty simple creature, I doubt they'd have brains that big. Edit: seen a few recipes involving prawn tomalley in Google.

There is no ambiguity in the Chinese. But if you described the cloud/wood/snow fungus as mushrooms you might be confusing people when they go down to the shops to source their ingredients.

Those black mushrooms are more commonly known as shiitake mushrooms. As to your other "mushrooms" they're fungi. Wood/cloud/snow ear fungus.

That looks absolutely yummy.

How bizarre. Never heard of chow mein without noodles. Ragarding mapo doufu on noodles ... I've had chilli on spaghetti a few times when I thought I had retrieved bolognese sauce from the deep freeze!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7718570/Dog-on-the-menu-for-Chinese-astronauts.html A bit of a fuss about dog being on the menu but I'm sure most of us can overlook that. The menu looks quite appetising. I wonder if they have to change the recipes because tastes change at altitude?

That was a good review, but the restaurant is in Brighton some 50 miles away from London.

Yep, those are the characters.

油鹽菜心 Is that a proper term? Can't say I've ever heard of it ordered that way.

Have you considered frozen veg? Don't know how it compares to fresh costwise. Usually quality is better than fresh unless you source local produce. Frozen peas and cauliflower are good. Brocolli goes mushy, carrots are a bit rubbery.

Anyone know what the status of the ban is? Have been reading posts on other forums which seem to suggest it is available again.

I think I have the same impression of wok hei as Ben. Meat/veg/etc. might not be charred in anyway, especially some dishes with lighter meats (no obvious charring). What I think wok hei is: because we can get such high temperatures with the wok, the oil can seal meat (etc) so that the oil does not seep into the food and make it oily.High temperature is a must to carry the food from wok to table. Dry fried beef ho fun (gon chow nagu hor) is a signature dish for wok hei (IMO).

I don't see the need to "flame on" for wok hei. Wok hei is purely about high temperatures and the spatial eveness of the temperature, helped by the shape of the wok, so that all the food is cooked evenly at the same time. So heat source, wok construction (thermal conductance) and choice of cooking oil should be prime considerations in achieving wok hei. You don't make caramel by burning the sugar!

It only sounds outrageous because we associate ramen with "cheap" dining. We'd feel outraged if someone paid $100 for a burger (classic fast food), yet these gourmet burgers are on some menus. We would question paying alot for sharks fin soup, truffles, caviar, foie gras, etc.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20100218/tsc-oukoe-uk-japan-noodles-life-8ad1534.html

^ That's what most people say. You could say the same for Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup, balsamic vinegar, etc.

Anything like this in Japan? Of course umami exists in all cuisines, but it seems the Japanese term is now used worldwide. http://www.waitrose.presscentre.com/Press-Releases/The-Fifth-Taste-Waitrose-introduces-the-ultimate-scratch-cooking-tool-with-extra-deliciousness-46e.aspx