BettyK

Lucky you! I really miss those trips to HK. Maybe next time you can be our guide. Have a nice trip and take lots of food pics.

You could also try Lentia.

Megan, your Lemon Meringue Pie looks delicious. Now I'm craving LMP.

Here's a video which might help you. Good luck.

Haven't tried a Burgtheatertorte, eating or baking, yet. Here is Rodger's description: You need 4 cups of crumbs so he suggests that most home bakers would likely need to expressly bake a chocolate sponge cake to generate the crumbs. He gives a recipe for this as well. The basic recipe description is to cream butter, add confectionary sugar and eggs and flavor with cinnamon. Stir in almonds that have been finely ground with cocoa powder, the chocolate cake crumbs and minced candied orange peel. Bake in a buttered springform pan. Split baked cake in half and layer with warm red currant glaze. Top cake with confectioner's sugar and make a crosshatch design in the sugar with a sharp knife. In the backstory of the cake, Rodgers describes how the torte was created by Demel (a famous Konditorei (patisserie) in Vienna that is still one of the best places to visit for pastry and tortes) in the late 1880's on the occasion of the rebuilding of the Burgtheater (Austria's Royal Theater on the Ringstrasse). Demel was a K&K ("Kaiserlich und Koeniglich" or royal) bakery and designed the torte to be served at intermission breaks at the theater. I wonder if it is still served then? I wouldn't put it past the Viennese to still have cake available at intermissions! Thanks for pointing this torte out, BettyK! It wasn't on my "radar" and in reading the recipe it sounds very good as well as simple to make. Interestingly, I've made an American Southwestern-inspired cake with grated chocolate, ground almonds, orange peel and cinnamon; it's a very nice flavor combination. I'm also curious as to anyone's experiences with it. ← Thanks for the description, Ludja. I think I will have to buy this book.

Someone on another website (now defunct) raved about "Burgtheatretorte." What kind of cake is it? And has anyone made this?

Also worth noting Errata for this book.

Oops. Sorry I didn't see your post. Worth bumping up anyway.

Has anyone seen The Shun Lee Cookbook? Any comments would be appreciated.

Sad to say that this is an urban legend. Mythbusters debunked it last year, and the technique was also debated in the Limoncello thread. ← You're incorrect. The Mythbusters actually proved that running the vodka through a charcoal filter does significantly improve its smoothness. What may have "busted" the myth is that even after 7 filtrations it still was not as good as the top-shelf brand. Still there was an improvement. What was particularly remarkable was how the vodka tasting expert placed all seven or eight filtrations in exactly the correct order. For those who are interested, they also suggested (though this wasn't that clear) that you're supposed to use a new filter cartridge for each filtration. The cost of this would far outweigh the cost of better vodka. ← I stand corrected. Skimming has its downsides. Thanks for the comments, plk and BryanZ. ← We're talking vanilla extract here, not liqueur. So, does it really matter? As for those who have not yet started their vanilla extract I suggest not wasting your money on high end stuff (unless you intend to drink it). I've made a few batches. The first one was with maybe 10 beans and it was ok but nothing special. Now I'm using a big bottle (Smirnoff) with lots of Madagascar vanilla beans (unsplit) that I made close to 6 years ago and it's very dark and smells heavenly. I use it in milk shakes and baked goods all the time. The longer it sits the better it gets.

Great blog, Ah Leung. Thanks for sharing your week with us.

You can strain the pulp out by pressing it through a sieve. Use a spoon to stir and press through until the seeds remain. It takes a little while but entirely worth it. I hate those pesky seeds too.

What is Chai dao kueh? This dish looks delicious. Care to elaborate?

Your adobo looks delicious. I'd like the recipe if you don't mind.

This is one that I had at "Shanghai Dumpling King" in San Francisco. Each meatball is about the size of a tennis ball. ← Mmmmmm! I want a bowl full of that gravy! ← A pictorial would be nice too.