KennethT

Personally, I would just use the type of rice paper used in the video to start with to make this dish. There are several different types of rice paper used just in Vietnam - typically varying by the region. The main difference between them is the thickness, thus the flexibility when dry. For instance, the one used in the video is typically used in Hanoi and also in Saigon. A much thinner version (that is flexible like copy paper when dry) is commonly used in central coastal regions like Hue and Hoi An. In the more central area of central Vietnam (away from the coast) I've even seen a version between the two and they put the rice papers out in the morning dew, which moistens them enough to be flexible. To see how the thinnest one is used in Hue and Hoi An, there are lots of examples in my foodblog from that region. I think using anything but the thickest version (which is also the one most accessible here in the US) will turn into wet toilet paper once steamed. While this may not be bad, it won't be like cheung fun, where the rice roll batter makes the rice roll slightly thicker.

Not picky at all - completely accurate. Yes, I tried a few - awful.

Like you say, there is a huge cultural and culinary diversity in Singapore. But the Nyonya are more removed from India than the Singaporean Indian communities - the Nyonya are the product of Chinese men marrying Malaysian women back in the 1800s - but Malaysia itself (especially certain regions) has had Indian immigrants - which is where the Nyonya probably got their dried spice usage. Most Nyonya food doesn't rely on dried spices much, but some dishes that do - for instance, this one.

nothing worse than a pissing contest - especially from someone who hasn't even sampled the wares yet! Personally, with that kind of attitude, I'd make him a tuna fish sandwich and call it a day, but I understand that he's your son's friend and you're a great dad so you don't want to step on anyone's toes. With a guy like that (seemingly) I don't think anything you would do would make him change his mind. Besides, why wouldn't a white guy in KC make good bbq? KC is known for its bbq!!!

I had been growing turmeric for the leaves (hydroponically, indoors under artificial lighting) and it was going great but lately, it stopped putting out new leaves and the old leaves were turning brown. I was wondering what was going on - thinking there was possibly root rot or something so I pulled the plant out of the fabric pot and started to dry root it to see what was going on. Evidently, it's time for harvest!!!! All of this came from a single 3 inch long piece of organic turmeric that I got from my local Indian grocery store. I assume turmeric freezes well - especially since I always crush it into a paste anyway. So I'll freeze most of it and replant one of the ones with a lot of sprouting sites to get a new plant and start all over again.

I make my own Nyonya spice blend which has a lot of ingredients - I make a large batch, then portion into ziplock or vacuum bags and keep in the freezer. A year later, I can't tell it from the freshly made.

On a cold, rainy Sunday, there's nothing better than Indonesian Padang food. This is a padang classic - ayam goreng serundeng - fried chicken. This version simmers the chicken in a spice paste made from shallots, garlic, ginger, candlenuts, turmeric, coriander powder and a lot of galangal, and then shredded coconut. Once the chicken is done and tender, it's removed and the solids strained from the liquid. The chicken is then deep fried and once the chicken is done, the solids are deep fried to a golden brown and then drained. It's a lot of work but so worth it! Served with homemade sambal ijo - literally green sambal made from 3 different types of green chillies, garlic, shallots and green tomatoes.

We have been missing some Singaporean specialties, so.... Old lai huat style sambal grouper Quick pickled cucumber salad

Whenever I grind coriander seeds, I can never get them as fine as when I buy preground coriander powder. I assume the pros are using a burr grinder rather than a blender type grinder. What do you use? Also, when using things like cardamom, do you remove the seeds from the pods prior to grinding or do you use the whole thing?

@rotuts For that space, I have one word: carousel! Seriously, I would consider getting rid of all of the shelves and put in a multi-tiered lazy-susan / carousel, from floor to eye level... Just my $0.02

I don't think I've ever seen a grilled lobster served out of the shell before.

Good luck getting home!

What was the conch salad like? I think I've only had it in fritter form...

Looks like a nice little hideaway! I hope you enjoy.... although that must be the smallest snapper I've ever seen! But certainly enough for 1 person - most snappers are for 2.

As @liuzhou suggests above, there is also an Indonesian bay leaf, locally called Daun Salam (syzygium polyanthum) (daun is a word for leafy things), which is very commonly used in many Indonesian dishes and is quite different from any of the other leaves that we call bay leaves.

It makes a good mash with a lot of butter and a bit of creme fraiche. You can puree it in the blender and the texture comes out great. David Bouley would say that it was also good to add about a half teaspoon of Vitamin C powder while blending which keeps it from turning brown. Or, you could roast it like a restaurant in this post did (last photo of this post) in southern Iceland.

Just an FYI to the recent few posts for clarity of nomenclature - the liquid inside a coconut that you can drain or drink with a straw is coconut water. Coconut cream is made from shredding the white coconut meat and squeezing. Coconut milk is made by adding some hot water to the already once squeezed coconut meat and squeezing again.

Mapo doufu

Being in NYC, earthquakes aren't a problem. He has a bigger chance of knocking it over by bumping into it or his cat knocking it over somehow!

Malaysian bison keema - like a dry curry, ground bison cooked with typical rempah plus homemade curry powder, with homemade roti canai and cucumber pickle.

We only went to Kopitiam once but we were definitely underwhelmed. The highlight was their curry puff, which was amazing and we went back at the end to get a second round. Their kueh were ok, but Lady Wong's definitely better.

The NYC Penang has been closed a long time. I used to go there a lot many many years ago (late 90s!) Nyonya is still there - and we go there from time to time - it's ok, but all things being equal if I had the time, my versions of what they make are better - but I don't have to worry about sky high rent, or wage increases and profit.

I like croissants also, but I prefer to have whatever is local since I can get croissants very easily at home (even though I don't! ha!) In the city of KK, mosquitos are not an issue, however, in the jungle area, they are around, although not as bad as I thought it would be. When we were in that area, we used a bug repellent that was 25% DEET as mosquitos can carry lots of diseases. I don't think malaria is a huge problem anymore there, but there's always dengue, zika and other viruses that are mosquito borne. So it's important to protect yourself from being bitten - especially after sunrise and around sunset when they are most active.

I understand that - and it's funny because a friend of mine who's also been there, upon learning we were going there, was like "RENDANG!!!!!" But, to be honest, when I think of rendang, I think of the original North Sumatran (Padang) version, which is quite different from the Malaysian or Peranakan versions. All of them are delicious, and over the years, we've had quite a bit of rendang all over, but we've had very little opportunity to have Peranakan classics - especially the buah keluak. And after having it, I would make a trip to go there just to have it again.

@rotuts@Shelby Yes, that last meal was by far and away the best meal of the trip - I still dream of it. It also makes me think that we need a trip back to Singapore sometime in the not so far future as we haven't been there for real in years and there's so much more we haven't eaten/done/seen. Kota Kinabalu is not nearly a food city like Penang is - but as much as we enjoyed it a couple years ago, getting sick puts quite a damper on it. Hopefully that's in the past from now on! Fingers, toes and whatever else crossed.... The heat and humidity here was not easy. One day, the weather app said that it was 100% humidity, and it wasn't raining! How is that possible? So that's how it was 90 degrees but the heat index said 110. Then again, that's gardening weather for you Shelby! But we also had some great dives - I'm considering getting an underwater camera for the next trip, and seeing the orangutans and sun bears up close was amazing. A couple years ago when we were in North Sulawesi (Indonesia), we saw a sun bear but it was so high up in the trees, you needed binoculars to see him. Unfortunately, most of the sun bears in Sepilok will never go back into the wild - they've been conditioned too much to be around humans so they're more open to poachers, or they have other behaviors, like pacing, caused by being in captivity (as a house pet) for a long time. The sun bear sanctuary just got a new bear in (not ready for the public yet) who was a pet for a famous Malaysian singer (famous to Malaysians, I never heard of her). A month or two ago, one of her people called in and said they "found it on the side of the road" (it's technically illegal to keep them as pets and there are severe fines/jail penalties if caught) but it was obvious that it had been kept indoors as a pet for a long time. They call this bear the actress since she likes to pose when there are people at the viewing platform: