Ce'nedra

In what way are Taiwanese sausage different to lap cheong?

Always on the look out for new cuisines to try (new = unfamiliar to me), I very recently had my first Filipino food experience (went to a restaurant that was popular amongst the Filipino community). I would have dabbled in a bit of everything from the menu but alas, there was only myself and a single other friend. I had chicken adobo, something similar to crispy pata (I forget the name...basically, I ordered pata but we were told they ran out and that we could have something very similar, the only difference being the pork piece was ribs instead of leg), lumpia and halo halo. Sorry for the poor quality pictures...my phone isn't capable of taking clear photos and doesn't have flash (note to self: next phone must meet the requirements of the Code of Food Photography)! Lumpia Now this was interesting. I've read lumpia is basically the same/similar to popiah. I eat popiah at home (and boy is it good) and so I was half expecting lumpia to be very similar, yet the other half was very excited to see how the Filipinos served it differently. Seeing as lumpia (as is popiah) is in fact Chinese in origin, I was surprised at how 'un-Chinese' it tasted! The main difference being the filling...and sauce...and skin. I'm used to the drier form -not even dry, just not moist the way this was! Not that it was a bad thing, I just wasn't prepared for an extremely soft-wet, almost mushy texture. But that could have been due to the sauce on top...someone please enlighten me on how lumpia skin is supposed to be like... The sauce was more like a gravy -a slurry almost. It was sweet and cornstarch-y. The fillings I have forgotten by now due to my goldfish memory but I do distinctly remember (by remember, I mean analysing the picture) there being julienned carrots, a variety of vegetables and I recall prawns (minced or something like that). Anyhow, I'm sure like popiah, lumpia fillings differs from restaurant to restaurant to family to family (and what's 'best' is always debateable). Ooohh! I say to my friend. This sort of tastes like the Vietnamese banh cuon (if you could imagine banh cuon with a different sauce and without the Vietnamese ham). This came as a surprise to me...even the lumpia skin reminded me of the rice wrapper for banh cuon. Maybe it's also the way the sauce is poured on top instead of either dipped or spread inside (like I do with popiah at home). I'd have to say I much prefer my home version of popiah. Next up, chicken adobo Upon hearing about this famed dish from the Phillipines, I was extremely excited. The verdict? Yummy! Admittedly, the chicken could have been of better quality (which meant the dish would have been improved in that sense) but hey, I'm at a casual local sort of restuarant where food is simple and cheap. This isn't fine dining and the chicken was tender enough. Anyway, the sauce was delicious and not at all too foreign for my palette. It tasted like good ol' homestyle Asian food and could easily fit into the daily cooking of my home. I detected some vinegar, which I looove, and I saw some crushed peppercorns floating in the sauce (not clear in photo). I eagerly spooned the sauce over my rice. Forgetten-name-similar-to-crispy-pata Mmm! What can I say, I love sauces of almost every kind and this particular one served with the crisp skinned pork was decidedly addictive! The letdown was that a few pieces were sort of stringy and tough (which meant I had to fish out some 'meat floss' from my teeth *ahem*) and were thus left untouched. Oh and...fat is good! Halo-halo Well with all the rave I hear about this Filipino dessert, how could I miss it (even knowing that I would be unable to finish it)! I suppose I was awaiting a taste of exotica but to me, it was rather similar to alot of South East Asian dessert drinks I've tried but with the added vanilla ice cream. It reminded me a bit of the Burmese faloda I once had (which, ironically, was an acquired taste). There was probably too much ice cream and not enough of the ube. Also, I prefer coconut cream/milk in my Asian dessert drinks, rather than condensed milk (as it was in my halo-halo). I do, however, really enjoy the addition of the palm seeds. There's a bite to it that I find so alluring. Hmm...I think I prefer the Chinese tin bo leung and Vietnamese 3 colour drink. All on all, it was a good experience and I appreciated watching Filipino cable tv as I ate my way through a very very tiny piece of the Phillipines. I'm sure though, that I enjoyed my meal much more than my friend did as she mentioned that we should have went to Korean instead (which because of my greed and random cravings, I went to straight afterwards anyway). By the way, when we entered the restaurant, we were slightly disappointed that there was only one other table full but never fear, 5 minutes later, family after family of Filipinos started arriving and the place was buzzing. It's kind of funny (abeit slightly awkward) how many of the Filipinos were looking at my friend and I in blatant curiosity (much like how my aunts would when somebody takes home a new bf now that I think about it). Did I sprout a hairy mole on my nose?

I'd say "wrong". Freshness seems to be important everywhere. I lived in Hunan for a few years and a trip to the market was an education in how to buy fresh. Hundreds of housewives berating the rogue behind the stall who was allegedy attempting to sell them vegetables picked two hours ago rather than one. Same in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi... ← I guess I have to take back my words shamelessly then I suppose it was my misunderstanding from reading Chinese cuisine books and from my previous 'understanding', Sichuan cooking was heavily based on dried and preserved foods and not so much of fresh. Thanks for your correction

I guess the 'best' regional Chinese cuisine is really just a matter of taste, aye? I myself am not 100% confident with my most preferred one, but at this point in time, I suppose I have a stronger love affair with Eastern Coastal and South-Eastern Chinese cuisine. Although the buns and dumplings of the north (and East) are really a pulling force that's making me more and more indecisive everyday...I say, I love them all! Anyway, in regards to your healthier Hangzhou cuisiine, would you say Fujian-Teochew cuisine would fall into the 'healthy choice' too? There's a heavy presence of steaming and poaching in that region I think. Not so much oil is used. Also, fresh produce is of utmost importance. Actually, freshness is a huge deal in Cantonese cuisine too. It's probably in Sichuan and/or Hunan where freshness is of lesser concern (correct me if I'm wrong).

Very interesting Anthony Bourdain video where he samples Bai, Naxi and Tibetan cuisine in Yunnan. Gosh it all looks sooo good (and peculiar)! Really eye-opening. http://youtube.com/watch?v=J0IPNWxkQU0 http://youtube.com/watch?v=0wUBCYEZpXE http://youtube.com/watch?v=ADD1O-CG3Xg The Naxi savoury bean jelly reminds me of the Korean jelly I've had at bbqs. I wonder if there's any link? Oh and I thought eating raw pork was considered a no no?

Wow thanks for the recommendations. I was browsing at the bookstore today and saw it for a few dollars. I guess I'll be picking it up soon enough (if not tomorrow)!

Hahhaha! This reminds me of my experience when I was cracking eggs into my raspberry cake mix (store bought) and to my utter disgust, swimming in the mixture was blotches of a thick, dark red liquid. "Blood! Blood!" I gasped and started frantically scooping out the goo. A few moments later, while reading the back of the cake box, it said something along the lines of: "The berrylicious colours do not appear until there is a reaction with liquid". ...Doh! I say. It was a sad day when I came to realise that I've been extracting all the raspberry flavourings.

Oh and they were stir-fried and FIINGER-LICKING.

Oh no! Is the Chinese cooking thread dead?! Someone revive it...revive it! Oysters are kind of expensive at the moment so we bought a load of mussels, which I'm not very fond of cleaning (well, to be fair, mum did most of that...). Decided to cook them Chinese-style -an eensy weensy bit of salted black beans, some chilli garlic sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and a teeny weeny bit of sugar (enough to mellow out the flavours). Served with bottles of beer or West Coast!

Had a batch of mussels (which btw, are a pain to clean) bathed and stir-fried in chilli garlic sauce, oyster sauce, salted black beans (just a tad) and sesame oil (and a bit of sugar to mellow out the flavour a bit). Great with beer (or West Coast in my case)

Really? When did this happen? You're rerferring to Shanghai Night, right?

I find it rather fascinating that you can use a rice cooker to bake (!) a cake, bread and possibly more Who here has tried their hand at this rice cooker magic? Here's a video for making bread: Korean site (with a picture and recipe) of a strawberry cake: http://blog.daum.net/_blog/BlogView.do?blo...ax_history_home

Rather delayed here, but what's the name? As for my own recommendations, I quite like New Shanghai restaurant and Shanghai Night -apparently they're sister restaurants which I believe considering the menus are identical. New Shanghai, however, is newly furnished and appears much more hygienic.

Here's a wonderful (and seemingly simple) recipe for Taiwanese pancakes http://www.opensourcefood.com/people/asuan...iwanese-pancake

jo-mel: Thanks -you're a legend! I've never heard of the peasant style pancake before -it's rather interesting and reminds me alot of Korean pancakes (the main difference being the Koreans use seafood). Sounds rather filling too (which is always a good thing). What does the shrimp paste add in terms of flavour to the pancake from the Dim Sum booklet? Do you know any of any other that are used to mop up saucey meals or as a wrap?

Lately, I've been increasingly interested in the different varieties of Chinese pancakes -both sweet and savoury (but much more leaning towards the latter). There's Peking pancake for duck (uhh not sure of its official name), popiah, green onion pancake, crisp red bean pancake and...well, that's as far as my knowledge reaches. Please help shed light on the other varities! I've seen some really peculiar ones lately and the combinations of foods you eat with the pancakes are ENDLESS! I figured it'd be a nice change from eating noodles and rice all the time -having crisp onion pancake with lamb as dinner for eg. I'm drooling... On to another note, has anybody here ever tried making Chinese pancakes (in any particular form at all)?

Hi hi, for all those bun cha Hanoi-fanatics, you'd be happy to know that one of the wonderful food blogs I frequent now has a recipe! Although the most vital part, the sauce-broth-ish recipe, has not yet been included (but will be updated soon -so just keep checking the blog). http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/20...mese-hanoi.html

Taro icecream IS amazing stuff -actually, I love taro cream in Chinese-style sponge cakes too mmm... Just discovered this on wiki (what can you say, wiki is amazing): Nai lao (奶酪) Beijng yogurt is a traditional dish of Beijing cuisine. The traditional culinary method of this dish begins with the preparation of the main ingredient by heating the milk first. Sugar is to the boiling milk, which is then allowed to cool in shades. Two types of nuts were needed with outer shell removed: walnuts are soaked in boiling water to remove the membrane, and then chopped into small pieces. Sunflower seeds, on the other hand, were stir fried. After nuts have been prepared, they were mixed with raisins and placed in fifty small bowls. After the milk has been cooled, rice wine made of glutinous rice is poured in and thoroughly stirred. A special device called a yogurt barrel (laotong, 酪桶) is needed for further production processes and this is basically a barrel with heat chamber in the center, where fire continuously burns, providing the heat needed for baking. The milk mixed with rice wine and sugar is rapidly poured into the fifty small bowls filled with crushed nuts and raisins, and immediately covered with flat wooden cap. The bowls are then be stacked along inner wall of the yogurt barrel and heated for twenty to thirty minutes, after which they are cooled in a chamber filled with ice for three to four hours. When the cooling is complete, Beijing yogurt is ready to be served. Would love to try!

Cantonese-style steamed fish with soft, fluffy Jasmine rice.

You're welcome Do post up on the results when you do! Edit: Here are some others http://arabicbites.blogspot.com/2007/06/ch...n-shawarma.html http://mathy.kandasamy.net/virundhu/archiv...aucemayonnaise/

I found an awesome blog which featured two recipes for garlic sauce. Version 1 (without mayo) http://is-that-my-bureka.blogspot.com/2006...ese-cousin.html Version 2 (with mayo) http://is-that-my-bureka.blogspot.com/2008...mayo-sauce.html

About the bun cha from northern cooking, it seems to me that the meatballs are alot like nem nuong but larger in size? Would anyone clarify whether there is any truth in this please? In that case, I have eaten nem nuong with vermicelli and nuoc cham with pickles...which is kind similar I guess...okay maybe not...

Yep, I know the difference but I figured if people wanted the easy route, that's probably one of the few options

I heard it comes as 6 dumplings -how much did it cost? Anyhow, thanks for the tip -off I go at 6pm!

It's not even easy to find in Yunnan. But it is good. ← Really? Why is that? I thought it was a local food? Oh well...too bad...sigh..how did it taste?