Dan-

I had that experience with top round too from Costco. It was much too tough. Also, when I made it, the liquid seemed to thicken much too quickly using Chaokoh brand coconut milk and I had to add oil. Also, mine looked nothing like the pictures above because it was yellow from the fresh turmeric, which I'm convinced just stains things and doesn't add any additional flavor.

Has anyone had the frozen apple snails from an Asian supermarket?

The herb on the right actually looks like rau ram to me, both from the shape of the leaf and the pattern on the stems/stalks. I've been growing this for the last 2 years. http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/essentials/herbs.htm ← I think you're right. It's sometimes called 'long leaf coriander', which is maybe Heidi was thinking. I still stand by fish mint for the left. It looks somewhat similar to betel, but isn't as waxy. I bought it once to find out what it was and threw it away once I tasted it. The Asian supermarket near me sells all their herbs marked as Rau Thom or Selected Vegetable, making shopping fun.

The one on the right looks like Ngo gai aka mexican coriander, saw leaf or tooth herb. I have only had it on the herb platter for Vietnamese dishes like pho and those that wrap fresh herbs in rice paper with other ingredients ← No it doesn't. Sawtooth herb looks VERY different, like this: The middle is most definitely perilla. The stuff on the left looks like fish mint. Vile stuff. The stuff on the right could very well be some variety of basil, since there are so many. It's tough to tell on both without taking a leaf out of the packaging, but nothing in the photograph is culantro/mexican cilantro/sawtooth herb/pak chi farang.

Dried turmeric ruins dishes. The anti-caking agents dry everything out and make your formerly liquid paste into a gel. It also stains everything. I have fresh turmeric, and while it does taste better, it too stains everything and is just a general pain in the ass. As far as I'm concerned there's no dish where leaving it out would make an appreciable dent in the flavor, but then I didn't grow up eating the stuff daily.

How is mesquite as a board material? Is it too hard? What will using a wood with a janka rating of 2345 do to a knife? What's the maximum hardness you'd want? What are the best wood options for darker colored cutting boards?

I made the sauteed bean sprouts and chives and the eggs with shallots, ginger, garlic and chilis the other night. Unfortunately I was much too famished to take pictures but both were very, very good. I added a small sliced Thai chili to the bean sprouts, which made it somehow very spicy, yet the 2 Thai chilis I put on the eggs didn't make them hot at all. I left my egg yolks runny rather than firm as well.

There is (or was 3 years ago) a small Thai grocer on Locust St just past 43rd street across from CVS. This is near the University of Pennsylvania. Here's a linked map: P P Grocery