nakji

Yes, like tonkatsu covered in curry sauce, or the Korean version of tonkatsu - doncasse, which always comes soggy, and covered in a tomatoey kind of sauce...but then, is it really so different from something like poutine, where french fries and drenched in gravy? Hiroyuki is on record somewhere, explaining it, but I think he said that the pleasure comes from the contrast in the first few minutes of the dish, when the fried food is still crispy, and the wet food is smooth and soft.

Not only was it egregious, it was sooo infuriating that I'm deliberately remembering the names of those sponsors so I can avoid their products in the future. The brand-whoring made me cranky. I'd like to nominate another show tic for the drinking game: whenever the cheftestants are describing their dishes, almost everyone prefaces their ingredient run-downs with "a little" this, and "a little" that. Watch it back - it's ridiculous. "Yes Chef. Well, we've got a little sundried maple serrano ham, mixed up with a little yogurt whisky reduction, and garnished with a little poppy pollen." Egads. Have they listened to themselves? What's wrong with some?

That lamb feast looks like it was spectacular! I ate the best lamb I've ever had in my life in Beijing. I can't remember the name of the dish, but it was stir-friend in a dark sauce and served over heaps of fresh cilantro - I'll never forget the taste, it was like a revelation, having gone my whole life up until that point hating lamb. The restaurant was in an alley off of a place my friends kept referring to as "Bar" street. I never caught the real name of the street.

His name was Gigi. His best food-related quote: (When Kiki was complaining of having to survive on pancakes) "I find pancakes sufficient, provided there is enough butter." Truer words have never been spoken.

Was there any "Toffee Surprise" on offer? Thanks, Hiroyuki! So, if you can't see the circles, the sake isn't clear enough?

Oh, yes, that's some impressive stuff right there. Lunch in a Box was featuring that book a couple of weeks ago. Snaps to those parents - on some days it's all I can do to roll out of bed and fry up some ajinomoto gyoza and boil an egg for my husband.

Breathtaking, as ever. If I ever get down to Osaka, I'll be calling Rona up! Is it true that the blue circles in the bottom of the sake cup are to test for clarity?

There's a Daejanggeum theme restaurant in Shin-Okubo in Tokyo that my husband and I go to - they do a killer modum kimchi plate. The DVDs play in the background for the whole meal - which you can hardly hear for all the businessmen shouting toasts over their Jinro. I'd say "Old Boy", but it might hurt my avatar's feelings.

Cool beans! I never would have guessed China from those vineyards. I haven't been to Beijing in several years, but from what I remember, "Big Beige" is a good nickname for it. Is it still so dusty? Nice bibimbap. Is it from a Korean restaurant, or have the Chinese adopted it as a dish? It's really popular here in Japan as well.

Asian food + wine country = ......somewhere in Australia? Melbourne?

Well, the pork fat and bone fragment reminds me a bit of the great pork dishes I ate in Vietnam...I have no idea what the round things on the back of the plate are, either. Are they tea eggs?

I PM'd Helenjp this very same question this week, and she suggested we revive this topic. It's the season to think about gardening, I guess. Currently I'm trying to root a stem of cilantro in my windowsill, that's as far as I've gotten. I managed to pick up some soil and containers on the cheap in the Daiso Yokohama, but I have no idea where to find seeds. Anyone?

I don't know where we're going but this: ...certainly has my attention. Is it in Europe somewhere?

Oh, this is so beautiful! Why do my bentos never look as good? I'm breathlessly anticipating Tokyo pics now!

There are lots of interesting ideas and points here. Personally, one of the best things I've done for my health in the past few years is to move to Asia. Food portions are smaller, cities are set up to encourage walking and cycling and public transit; and to discourage the use of cars; food is still seasonal, and in many cases, snack food comes in smaller portions and at higher prices than in North America. When I visited Canada at Christmas for the first time in four years, I was shocked to realize how people's environment, especially a Canadian winter, can conspire to keep them unhealthy. We hear so much about how it's up to the individual to remain healthy - where is the role of society to help reinforce healthy lifestyles and choices? You can download for free a really fascinating podcast called "Sick People or Sick Societies?" from the CBC Radio One program, "Ideas" here which provides a lot of food for thought on this issue.

I started my own about three weeks ago. I just went over to Blogger, picked a layout, and off I went. It lets you upload photos, although I'm not sure how much memory they're offering, if you want to have a lot of pictures. Good luck! It's lots of fun.

Oh, boy. Someone is going to bang on our wall and tell us to keep it down in here! Men's Pocky is really the best, although I'm hoping they're going to come out with a sakura version for the cherry blossom season. What else have you been eating, Peter Green?

New York! How exciting! Your apartment looks beautiful. My husband's parents also keep their birds in the kitchen, but then, they never use their kitchen for actual cooking, so it's not a big problem for them. This is my favourite coffee, too. Can I ask what you do with your leftover cans? I have accumulated quite a few of them, and I don't want to throw them away, they seem too pretty. That I've never be able to figure out what category of garbage they belong to.

Ha! All the directions I ever get to places in Japan go a little like that. You know, "take the west exit, cross the street and go through the blue gate, then turn right at the giant onigiri/pufferfish/french fries." Can't wait til you get to Tokyo!

Well, it's probably a bit late to answer this, but it's a condiment you can eat with plain steamed rice. You don't have to heat it up, as far as I know. Oooh, meatballs. What's in the sauce, Ce'nedra?

Wow! A stunning feat. Adding the lime and cilantro flavours to the shrimp must have made for a great dish. I can taste how crunchy the shrimp must have been. The whole feast is amazing; I can't wait to see the rest of the dishes.

Wow, thanks, milgwimper. I wanted to make a big batch of these to tuck into bentos for lunch - my husband loves green onion, and I thought it would be a good filler. It was always the first pancan to be emptied at our table in Korean restaurants. I've been putting the green onion down first, then pouring the batter on, which may account for a lot of my problems. I will absolutely try your method, and check out the Naver site - I can read read Korean, although how much I'll understand is another question I'd still love to see a pictorial, though, (hint hint). kansa hamnidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! eta: Dodie, we were posting at the same time. Thanks for the recipe! I'll post results!

I'm reviving this, because I tried to make pajeon this weekend, and they turned out pale and floppy, and kind of greasy, too. I don't have a bag of pajeon mix sitting around, so I used a 1:1 ration of flour and ice water, plus shredded negi, since that's what I had on hand. Does anyone have a better recipe? Anyone?

Wow! What an incredible looking bento! As a Canadian, I still feel surprise when Spring starts in early March, and I always want to get out and enjoy the weather while I can - there's some part of me that feels that even if it's warm and sunny one day, it could still snow again the next. What better way to celebrate than to get out and have a picnic! Can you describe how you make this? It sounds like something my husband would love. Hiroyuki, you always make me smile.

Wheeee! I can't wait! No recommendations, sadly, since abject poverty has meant I have eaten in a restaurant exactly twice since returning to Japan after Christmas. I shall live vicariously through your photos, as ever. I had to stop reading the Korea thread because it made me so homesick, but I shall have no such problem with this one.