Beebs

The leafy part looks like what's usually labelled in the Asian markets here as A Choy / A Lettuce. Is it the same thing? Maybe the Taiwanese name? Very tasty stir-fried with fermented black bean or fermented tofu and loads of garlic.

As always, thanks for the blast!

Thanks, @rotuts! I know how I'll be spending my weekend!

Well, I've finally opened my new IP purchased a couple weeks ago. It's bigger & heavier than I expected, so now it doesn't fit in the space I originally wanted it to rest. Haven't turned it on yet either. Anyway, question about pressure cooking. I've used a traditional pressure cooker maybe twice ever in my entire life, and this was in high school home economics. Approximately how much cooking time is reduced by pressure cooking? Half? More? Presumably it depends on what I'm cooking? Say a standard beef stew that takes a couple hours stove top. What about (soaked) beans? I think I'll have a go at the IP this long weekend. Thanks!

Enjoyed your foodblog so much - thank you! I'll be coming back to your blog again when I start planning my own trip to HK. Cheers!

Can you comment on the language? Working in HK, do you conduct most of your business in Cantonese and/or Mandarin? Did you have to take language classes? From your photos, it looks like English is still very prevalent, as far as signage, transportation is concerned. Do you find it fairly easy to navigate through daily life if you are not fluent in Cantonese/Mandarin? That supermarket - I bet I can spend an entire paycheque there!

Bah! Mine is still resting comfortably in it's shipping box. Haven't had a chance to open it and read the manual.

What a great appetizer to your HK trip! Looking at your meal photos when I've skipped breakfast is making me wish I hadn't. I am really looking forward to your adventures in HK, as I'm planning a trip there next year. Haven't been there in 30 yrs, so I'm eager to see what's changed (a whole lot, I'm sure!) and what you'll be eating. Will be taking notes!

Always enjoyed your Asia foodblogs - this one was as awesome as the others! The crispy banh khoai and the banh beo look exceptionally tasty. I think you mentioned you are learning/have learned some Vietnamese. Did you learn it just from being immersed in the country, or books, or language courses? Did you end up speaking Vietnamese a lot or was any English spoken in the areas you visited?

It arrived!! Sadly, I won't be able to bring it home till the weekend, as I don't have the car and I had it delivered to my office. It'll give me time to look up stuff to make in it. So far, DH has requested Taiwanese Beef Noodles. But I'll likely start with something simple like chickpeas or rice, to break it in. Still haven't found a spot for it, but DH wants to get rid of our rice cooker and put the IP in its spot, which I am loath to do. Rather fond and sentimental about it. Popular item - our postal carrier said she'd already delivered 3 IPs in this block alone!

I also bought a Star Wars light saber heat colour-changing mug, the kind where you put hot liquid in it and the picture on the front changes. For the DH. Of course.

I recently grilled wedges of red cabbage with a caesar-ish dressing, and also a grilled napa cabbage/sui choy. Thumbs up! I haven't done grilled romaine, but have had it elsewhere - it's lovely. How long did you grill it for? I'm worried about over-grilling it and turning into a limp pile of sad. It's going on this week's dinner menu - thanks for the inspiration!

Poutine! Not the best poutine out there, of course, and a bit on the overly salty side - but still, hooray for cheap Costco poutine! (Most people here are probably familiar with poutine, but if one has never had it - it's a Quebecois-Canadian dish of french fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds.)

I just impulse-bought one on Amazon Prime Day - hooray! I do not have a square inch to put it anywhere in my kitchen. Finding a spot for it will be interesting. Anyway, what's the first thing I should make with it? Something simple, to get a feel for it. Curry? Stew? Beans?? When I have a bit more time, I will be combing through the all the Instant Pot topics.

I just bought one! So. Damn. Excited!!! $99 CAD, arriving on Friday. Woohoo! Now I need to find a spot to put it.....

Hooray!! Another Anna & Kerry Adventure!

Just caught up to this now. Wow - what a lot of good eatin'! Thanks for taking us along!

But look how happy it is!!

Oh my. If that's not sad on a plate, then I don't know what is. What in the world is going on with those sausages?? Hope some tastier grub comes your way. Following along with interest - thanks for documenting!

Oh dear. In our family, the oldest people are always served first, with the choicest bits. Guests next. Kids & young people last. The younger people always serve the older people, and it's expected that you'd continuously put food on their plates throughout the meal and keep their teacups full. We'd never think of taking the head of the steamed whole fish without offering it to Grandma first! Both my grandmas were slow eaters, so as dishes came out, portions were set aside for them while they finished whatever was on their plates first.

Lots of mustard. Preferably German or Dijon, but any old mustard will do. Also onions & mayo. And potato chips on the side.

You know, at the end of the day, probably not a whole lot of difference. They are both powdered, artificially flavoured fillings, in any event. My understanding is that Bird's will give that characteristic yellow colour for the filling. I confess, I've not tried Nanaimo Bars with vanilla pudding, as Bird's is fairly obtainable here. Bird's on its own tastes more - custardy - than vanilla pudding, I think, a bit more eggy.

My go-to is the Nanaimo Bar. It's a regional treat in my province (BC), consisting of a graham crumb-nut-coconut bottom layer, custard filling, and chocolate top layer. Minimal cooking, and easily scales up. For the custard powder, traditionally it's Bird's Custard, although I have seen some American recipes using just icing sugar or vanilla pudding mix. But for us locals, it's Bird's Custard or it's not a Nanaimo Bar! Also Magic Bars/Hello Dolly Bars/Layer Cookies...whatever they're called. Usually graham layer, topped with nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, whatever you want...sweetened condensed milk poured over top and baked. I'm a big fan of bars for things like potlucks & cook-outs - they're very portable, not messy, and are fine left on the buffet table for a couple hours

What an amazing trip, Rarerollingobject - WOW! I bow down to your powers of eating & drinking - I am lusting after all that gorgeous, beautiful sushi! Japan is on my bucket list, of course. Thank you for the virtual trip!

It isn't about a preference for imitation over natural flavours. In the article, Lohman herself states that "there is a time and place to use every version of vanilla in your kitchen." Including imitation vanilla. Personally, I don't see the point of using bean in say, chocolate banana bread, but would certainly use it in a custard. Bean form is about as natural as one can possibly get. Hmmm...I need to find a decent locally-available brand of imitation vanilla now.