KennethT

I don't have data to back this up, but from what I see, I think prepared food delivery would be as safe or safer than eating in an empty restaurant. The same kitchen workers are preparing the food - who, supposedly, have been trained in food safety. But rather than the food being put on an uncovered plate and delivered to your table by a server, it is put into a covered container and put into a bag which is brought by the delivery person. In NYC, they are recommending contact-less delivery, meaning that the delivery person leaves the food at your door and leaves before you open the door. Once you bring the bag into the house, you can handle it in a way that any germs on the outside of the bag don't contact any surfaces in your home and dispose of the bag. The containers as well as the contents within should be clean - or as clean (or cleaner since you have one less person breathing on it) as teh food would have been if dining in the restaurant itself. But in any case, there are always risks to eating food you haven't prepared yourself. Everyone needs to take the precautions they need in order to feel safe. Personally, I'm avoiding eating any prepared food that is uncooked at this time. While the kitchen staff is supposed to wear gloves while handling food that won't be cooked, that doesn't always happen in a busy restaurant, and unless you watch them don a brand new pair of gloves just prior to prepping your order, you have no idea if those gloves have been contaminated by a cough, etc.

Yeah, I definitely could skip the gym this afternoon! Then again, I could skip it most days from the stuff I do at work on an almost daily basis, so this was no big deal. IMO, brown rice should be labeled as not fit for human consumption... I'd much rather have my regular nice jasmine rice (or basmati if I'm making Indian food) and just stir fry some bok choi, or other nice veggie with lots of garlic. That's about as much fiber and vitamins that I can handle... otherwise it would be like that old SNL skit, with Super Colon Blow...

I carried the 20 pound sack home like a baby for 8 blocks while carrying a large bag with the rest of the groceries on my shoulder... Manhattan is not car friendly - or parking friendly at the least...

We don't usually buy rice in such big quantities as we have to schlep it home and have nowhere to store it in a small apt but here it is: 20 pounds... This should last us a month or so...

I haven't read the article, but basically all businesses have to allocate their overhead one way or another. In my manufacturing business, we do it as a multiple of labor hours. So, basically, if a product requires 1 hour of labor, the direct labor cost is 1xDLR (daily labor rate). To get the total costs (not including profit), you add the direct labor, material costs and overhead, which is DLxOHM (direct labor x overhead multiplier). Figuring out this OH is probably the hardest thing to do in business, as you basically have to take all of your fixed costs for the year and divide by how many units you think you'd sell.... For us, the easiest way to do this is by using labor hours - so products that require more labor get more of the OH costs applied to it. Figuring OH using cost of materials is tricky as some items could be very expensive, product wise, but very fast to make. Like a pate de foie gras that you purchase, portion and plate with some accoutrements. Plus, you may not sell that many of them, so you wouldn't be effectively paying for your OH very much that way.

I LOVE mango with sticky rice. It could be my favorite dessert, and usually I'm a chocolate person... BUT - it is extremely dependent on using an awesome mango. I've had decent mangos here in the US (the ataulfo ones, not the Tommy Atkins variety) but in Asia there are so many incredible varieties. @Anna N Your mango looks good - it looks like a nicely ripe Ataulfo - do you know? Or is the restaurant bringing in special mangoes from elsewhere? I know that in NYC, the Indian stores will bring in Indian mangoes. They sell them for a small fortune, but I had to try one one day. I was disappointed - it was not nearly as good as some of the even mediocre ones I've had in SE Asia, forget the best. I think it's because, due to the shipping, they harvest them green and "ripen" them on the way over, which is really not ripening but controlled rotting. I would kill for a good tree ripened mango right about now....

Bun salmon!

ha! I'd love to see the faces of most Americans if they hear that!

I think people here are really worried that they would be confined to their homes and not be able to leave. I have been thinking about Americans' tendency to horde certain items during times of stress... I still haven't made an exact conclusion as to where it comes from... one theory is that an age old American belief is self reliance - you can't (or shouldn't?) depend on others for help during times of trouble... so stocking up on necessities like toilet paper or bottled water is based on the idea that if you are confined to your home, there is no one who will help you and bring you some if you run out.

Here in NYC, the market I visited this weekend was completely normal - if not as crowded as it usually is. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer is still sold out.

Right - it's definitely not a budget retirement place for sure. Being from NYC, it seems (from my few short trips there) that the cost of living for an expat is relatively the same, although some things like local food are much cheaper, and other things, like keeping a car, are much more expensive. The cost of living is much cheaper for citizens though, as they have access to the much cheaper government sponsored housing, even though I gather prices of those are going up also. But I would love to hear more about the realities of living there. Obviously, everyone living there has their own specifics, but I'd like to hear more about everyday life there, as opposed to what you see as a tourist.

I will echo those before... absolutely stunning work!

I love Singapore and have fantasies of moving there when I retire... I'd love to hear your thoughts about the realities of living there as a US expat...

I thought people here would find this interesting. It just happened to pop up in my You Tube recommendations...

This is one dish I still crave from Hanoi. We loved it so much, we almost missed our flight because we spent so much time looking for a street vendor who had it on our last day there.

I'm with you @Anna N hold the truffle oil please. To me it tastes nothing like truffles - it's just way too overpowering

ah... I forgot that the sensor wasn't completely waterproof..

I was thinking that the probe didn't necessarily need to contact the liquid because you want the humid air temp to be at target temp, right? Is it possible to fit the entire probe in the tagline or will it not fit/work?

Could you put the Paragon probe in the tagline and set the temp that way?

Looks great! Do you have a light box or something that you use to take your photos? The lighting is always so even....

I'm sure it's great if you have to grind 3 pounds of peppercorns...

Do it yourself summer rolls.... With lime/fish sauce based dip cause it's healthier...

@Anna N Interesting - just by the name, one would think that all the servingware - cups, bowls, plates would be made from celadon. Years ago, my wife and I picked up a whole bunch of celadon in Chiang Mai - at a factory/store called Baan Celadon (Celadon House). Beautiful stuff - all handmade, and at the time, a great bargain - especially with what the exchange rate was back then... not so much nowadays...

I never would have thought to use a mandoline for deli meat... how did it work out?

Sub some of the sugar with isomalt