NickLam

Piazzola, if you are looking for it in Melbourne, Wing Cheong (In the 2nd lane on Lt Bourke from the pub/bottle shop on Russell St side) in Chinatown has it. Unfortunately......it's pretty soggy, so my mate and I used to cut it in half lengthwise and throw it into our deep fryer and its good as new! Here in Singapore (And probably elsewhere), I grew up eating yau char kwai, or you tiao with desserts like, tau huay (Tau fu fa in cantonese, which is very soft and smooth dessert tofu in a sugar syrup), tau suan (A kind of grain or bean boiled in syrup) or congee. Also, Tepee's description of how they shape it is exactly I've how its made here.

TweetyBird and WhiteTruffleGirl, Thank you so much for the replies! It clears up a big headache of mine.

Hi everyone, hope to get some advice from pastry chefs regarding cake and mousse rings. Is material and thickness that important? That is, aluminum Vs stainless steel, and thin metal Vs slightly thicker ones. Been using rings from Europe made of stainless steel with a weld seam, instead of a bolt seam. Its pretty good and the stainless steel is of good quality too. Right now, I've got 2 scenarios to consider: (1) Purchase imported ones like Mafter or De Buyer at around US$3.50 to 5.50 for the sizes I'm looking at. BUt I'll have to buy it from Singapore and lug it back to Thailand in a few suitcases to avoid the 15% to 30% tax on European goods. (2) Get it manufactured in Thailand for the same price and if I choose to use a lower quality stainless steel, can get a 40% reduction on price. Using a European ring as a guide, my guy in Thailand has made several rings of similar quality. I've not been seen the cheaper quality steel yet, but reckon it'd be slightly thinner. Would a lower quality stainless steel affect the ring's performance and durability ENOUGH to make a noticeable difference on the bottom line? A majority of the rings will be used only for preparing entrements, and only 1 type will be used for baking. Any advice and help on this issue will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm gonna be honest here and will probably get stick for this, but I spent 2 years in Melbourne studying at RMIT and have eaten at places like Flowerdrum, Number 8, Vlado's, etc..etc...and honestly, very little stands out. If you want really good, but overpriced IMO steak, Vlados on Bridge Road is the place to go. But for a large hunk of excellent meat, I'd rather get my own at Queen Victoria market at a fraction of the price. Try it once just to say you've done it. If you bring a family of 4 or 5, just for the steak set meal (You have no choice...only set meal), you can buy a Jackeroo grill, several kgs of filet mignon and a slab of beer. I've been to Fenix (There's a thread going on about it now), and whilst it was pretty good, I'd rather book a table at Tetsuya's in Sydney. But in all honesty, I was there for a business function, not on pleasure, so the pleasure may have been taken out of it. Having the lamb shanks on the bistros on St Kilda is another overpriced affair. At AUD$30 onwards for one of the cheapest cuts of meat, I expect some quality sauce that was reduced from some bones, not a masterfoods or gravlox instant stock rubbish. The shining lights for me in Melbourne are the small Italian pizza joint on Little bourke and exhibition st, and of course, Pacific House in Richmond and South yarra. The roast duck at Pacific house IS TO DIE FOR. I rate Pacific House higher than the restaurants in Singapore and the few apparently good ones that my suppliers in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai brought me to. And if you are after Thai food, there are 2 good ones. Thai Taste on Hoddle and something (Its between bridge road and victoria road) has awesome papaya salad, beef salad and the roast pork legs are simply heaven. Krua Thai II on Bridge Road for lunch on friday, sat and sun. You'll see only Thai people here mostly during these times coz of the special menu. We usually have the specials on the board + the beef soup noodles (Nam Tok Luer is the Thai Name and is either number 1 or 2 on the menu). I've had the original noodles cooked by my friend's maids from the North of Thailand. It takes 24 hours for the stock and awhole load of herbs and spices some of which I've never seen before. And its thickened with a bit of pig blood (You can't taste the blood, so don't worry! I don;t really like pig blood too). In Northern Thailand and especially in Laos, they add a pinch of marijuana in the soup! For good coffee, Mama's cafe (Just next to Commonwealth bank and near RMIT) on bourke st between Swanston and Russel serves great coffee from Coffex. The blend is perfect every time! I've ordered 1 cup to a dozen on a tray, and the taste is always the same. Perfect.

Hi Thoughtbox, Whilst in Singapore, you can purchase a food guidebook called Makansutra, and this is where the addresses below are found from. http://www.makansutra.com/index.php Most of us would have been going to these places for years, and this guide book tells us the address and name! Usually, we just say for example, "Hor fun at Geylang" or "Sweet and sour fish head", and immediately know where to go and which shop. Here are the venues I take my foreign friends to: (1) Bak Kut Teh (Pork rib soup) Blk 347 Jurong East Ave 1 (2) Beef Hor Fun (Rice noodles) 237 Geylang Lorong 9 It blows hot and cold this one, the last time I went there a month ago, it wasn't as good anymore. Quality has gone down a lot in recent years, and its pretty expensive too. But this one is the famous one in Singapore (3) Fish head curry Karu's Curry on Upper Bukit Timah road, next to the shell petrol station opposite the Ministry of Defence. The best Indian fish head curry in Singapore IMO (4) Sweet and Sour fish head, chinese style and Claypot chicken rice Chinatown hawker complex, 2nd level. This one will be HARD to find. The only directions I can give are. ..............Face the hawker complex from the main side. There should be a stage of sorts where you should be standing where all the old people sit around. ON your left, to the rear, there should be an automated teller machine from POSB bank. There should also be a small lane on your front left, with shophouses as well as people selling knick knacks on the street. Ok, facing the front of the complex, walk to the rear left. There will be a staircase there. It is at the rear left corner of the complex. When you get up, the fish head store and claypot rice is around that area. All the fish head stores are clustered togather, so ask the store owners where the fish head stores are. Order from the store with a sign that says they are closed on mondays or tuesdays (Can't remember which day). Do the same for the claypot rice, its the shop at a corner. The reason I'm going to such great lengths to describe this is coz its IMO, bloody brilliant! (5) Fried Hokkien Mee Swee Guan fried hokkien mee, 549 Geylang Road (off Lorong 29), Sing Lian eating House. Opens only from 1630. The best I've ever eaten. (6) Nandaman Japanese Restaurant, Shangri La hotel Go during lunch for the Kaiseki set meal, which will set you back about SGD$40++ I don't eat Japanese food outside of Japan, but this one is amazing. The menu changes with the seasons and is prepared by a real Japanese chef, not some young punk. Its a set meal of small proportions that add up to a full meal. (7) Soba noodles in Paragon Shopping Centre, Orchard Road, B2 You can't miss this shop, there's a big glass window with a guy making Soba noodles inside. Well, fresh soba.......Japan is far......so this one's a great alternative. (8) Many more, but can't think of it right now! Enjoy!

Ah, I've seriously damaged some taste buds to test out these combos on durian.....love that prickly fruit! (1) Dark Chocolate (70%) and sweet mongthorn (Thai) durian The bitterness of the chocolate blends with the sweet flesh for a wonderful finish. I think coz durian is slightly fermented when you eat it, there may be similar flavour notes as chocolate that make them taste good togather. (2) Milk or dark chocolate with Malaysian bitter durian This type of durian is 'bitter' in taste. Well.....we describe it as bitter, but its not...it tastes heavenly! Definitely 10 times more flavourful than Mongthorn durians, these kinds of durians are like the criollos of the durian world. Sweet or bitter, your choice. Pretty hard to find these durians outside of SE Asia, coz they don't keep well at all. IF you can find durians in non Asian countries, especially the huge ones, its probably a Mongthorn, cut off the tree whilst green and devoid of any flavour at all. (3) Either type of durian with banana Really really awesome taste. They blend beautifully with each other. (4) Chocolate and blue cheese Saw this on tv with Heston Blumenthal, and even Harold McGhee and Tetsuya have their own recipes for this combination. Did a chocolate and blue cheese cheesecake once and it was amazing. (5) Vanilla ice cream with angostura bitters Yum! One combination NEVER TO TRY FOR THE LOVE OF HUMANITY Durian and blue cheese. This actually damaged me somewhat, gave me a headache and killed my tastebuds for a while. Imagine the good things bout durian and blue cheese cancelling each other out, and the bad things about both being brought to the forefront.

Was studying in Melbourne for 2 years........and though its easy to find most of the condiments we grew up with in Singapore over there.........trying to find the same taste from the hawkers just 20m from my house was almost impossible. What did I miss most? Just from the 24 hour coffeeshop about 250m from my flat in Choa Chu Kang. (Not in any order of perference) (1) Char Kway Teow (2) Hokkien Mee (3) Kway Chap (4) Cai Dao Kueh (5) Prata in all forms! (6) Teh cino (7) Mee Reebus (8) Nasi Lemak (9) Sup kambing (10) Steamed fish head with white fermented soy beans and preserved plum (11) Curry fish head Mmmm I'm hungry now