Magictofu

They certainly share the exact same characters (at least when written in Kanji - which I admit is not as common as in Katakana). The different versions of chinese la mian are all alcaline as far as I can tell and so are the Japanese ramen. I've never seen anyone hand stretch noodles in a ramen shop though. Thanks to eveyone here, I'm getting inspired to try my luck at stretching noodles again. My best past attemps did not produce better than udon-like noodles.

This must be an Ottawa thing. I do exactly the same thing but I have to admit that by this time of the year, my garlic reserve is low so I use whatever I can find.

Shalmanese, you know how expensive my electricity bill will be? LOL! Can't do that. I really think you should try the wet towel trick. In a well ventilated area you will be able to reduce the temperature of your crock by more than a few degrees. I used to put wet socks around my water bottles when cycling and I never had to drink the disgusting tepid water my more image-conscious friends had to endure.

You can wrap your crock with a wet towel. By keeping the towel wet, evaporation will keep your crock at cooler temperatures. At the temperatures you quoted, you are likely see various moulds developing faster than lactobacillus acidophilus, which is a problem. Good luck

Here's a review I found. Seems the thermomix is superior although much more expensive.

Such a thing already exist.

Square watermelon?

I remember a previous EG thread on the topic: Here

I've spent quite some time trying to make these noodles (see my avatar) without great success. I am now convinced that the way the dough is kneaded maters a lot. I was told by many that the gluten network in your dough need to be aligned and that the dough had to rest just long enough to allow for proper hand stretching. Good luck and please report back!

Salt

Going on a short vacation to Toronto this weekend with my wife and 4 year old son. Like Kristin, I am very interested in kids friendly restaurants. We will definitely eat somewhere aroud Chinatown, Kensington Market, Koreatown, little Italy and Annex over the weekend but our hotel is closer to St-Lawrence Market. Any recommendations?

I know its cliché but think of them as the truffle of the poors. And yes, this means pasta (sorry) but also egg, rice and cream. They're not bad in pâtés either.

Reading this thread, all I can say is: Best customer service ever!!! I received my books about a week ago and I must confess that barely I barely scratched the surface. That being said, I am already very very very impressed. I have the feeling that Nathan was able to build an amazing team; this kind of work requires so much more than good workers... it takes a lot of dedication, teamwork, expertise and intelligence. Nathan, if you read this, please pass the praises to your team and know how grateful I am (we are) that you have decided to share the product of those years of work with all of us.

Got mine a few days ago but had no time to read. Living in Ottawa, Canada. Home cook.

Thanks, I just made my order